Saturday, August 31, 2019

Compare the ways in which each author Essay

â€Å"With the deep, unconscious sigh which not even the nearness of the telescreen could prevent him from uttering when his days work started. † In part two Winston’s love for Julia develops and his partaking in the resistance against Big Brother increases. Winston explores new emotions of love, however, we sense their failure through capture, as other party members must notice the rebellion. Part three is Winston’s punishment from his capture, where he receives a broken spirit. Both part two and three mimic each other through cause and effect as Winston’s party life develops. You can witness the change in the character by comparing the previous quotation with this example from part two, which has a cheerful tone. â€Å"The relief of seeing her was so great that he could not resist staring directly at her for several seconds† During Orwell’s structure there is no sense of time, where one day begins and ends, this is the opposite to ‘The Handmaids Tale’ because her sections are split into the structure of time but not the date. One opinion of ‘The Handmaids Tale’ is that it is a feminist novel. Critics say the women in this novel are as in today’s society, â€Å"treated as property and not human beings†. I agree with that this novel contains many feminist concerns. However personally I have not had the experience of feminism like Atwood has, so I do not believe that the majority of women are treated badly in today’s society. When Orwell’s 1984 was first released some critics read it as a negative view of the Soviet Union, this lead communists to believe that Orwell had distorted the publics view the unions achievements. In my opinion, readers may have over reacted, although I believe that Orwell wanted to draw attention to the society around him and how it could develop if no one unattended the problem. Each author’s background influenced their writings of their dystopia. Atwood, when constructing this novel was witnessing the world at a high point of radical feminism. Protests increased about abortions, the right to keep your maiden name after marriage and equal rights for women and men. All these activities had a great influence on Atwood and are portrayed through two characters. Offred’s friend Moira, a radical feminist and disliked males, blaming them for most of society’s past ills and Offred’s Mother. Offred has flashbacks of her mother’s feminist acts, her mother would gather with other feminists and burn pornography magazines. â€Å"But there were some women burning books, that’s what she was really there for† This portrays Atwood ‘s background on a high level as she has created characters based on radical feminists who were around at the time. Another area that influenced Atwood was the Victorian era and how women were treated in it. The Victorian ways and Gilead are very similar. Women were confined to a domestic homelife and if they were to journey outside, would need to be accompanied by another person. This is witnessed in ‘The Handmaid’s Tale’. Offred is accompanied by another Handmaid when doing daily routines like shopping. â€Å"We aren’t allowed to go there except in twos. This is supposed to be for our protection† Also in the Victorian era, women had no rights and pregnancy was compulsory. This is just like the Handmaids role in Gilead, meaning Atwood has taken great influence from this. During the 1980’s when the Handmaid’s Tale was written there was an increase in small religious groups, especially in the USA. The Promise Keeper groups were common at that time. Members had a massive restoration of the biblical way of life. They were committed to God, purity and building strong families as seen in the regime of Gilead. A remaining factor of this regime is the reason it was introduced because of environmental factors obstructing reproduction. AIDS, still births and miscarriages were widespread, hence why Gilead was introduced. When Atwood wrote this the ozone layer was an immense worry. Atwood portrayed her influences to their extremes with her dystopian. Orwell’s influences are completely different to Atwoods, because his novel was written nearly twenty years before Atwoods. In 1948 the Second World War had just ended leaving the promised improvement of a better lifestyle forgotten about. This brought about communists, socialist, poor housing and food rationing, forming a poverty stricken land. This can be seen in ‘1984’ as food quality is poor and only slightly improved by the addition of Victory products. ‘Victory’ produce gin, coffee and cigarettes along with others. They are second rate war products available in London and unfortunately it was the best you could receive being a party member. â€Å"The lifts that never worked, the cold water, the gritty soap, the cigarettes that came to pieces, the food with its strange evil tastes. † The largest influence can be witnessed to come from Joseph Stalin. He was based in Russia and introduced the ‘Five year plans’. The plans brought industry under state control, they decided what and how much would be produced and often unrealistic targets would be set. The first plan started in 1928 and the third finished in 1941 due to world war two. The similarity between this and the novel ‘1984’ is the conditions that Stalin’s workers had to suffer. As in ‘1984’ Stalin was often referred to by the positive euphanism of ‘Uncle Joe’ just like Orwell’s ‘Big Brother’. To the younger workers he was a protecting man, as an Uncle would be and they saw no harm in the way he treated his workers. However with the propaganda which bombarded the workers to work harder, such as labour camps, workers soon developed illness and failed to meet targets. Another similarity is that in Big Brother’s regime, disappearences were very common and unquestioned. Stalin often ordered the abolishment of workers. As seen here in ‘1984’, there is a deffinate link with Orwell’s influences and the story line. â€Å"Syme had vanished. A morning came, and he was missing from work: a few thoughtless peopple commented on his absense† Orwell was correct to an extent with his prediction of the future as a 20th century Stalin would be Saddem Hussein, because this man’s regime is similar to Oceania. His country Iraq suffered catastrophic declines in living standards causing mass poverty. This happened because the regime lent so much money it created high debt. However the borrowed money was used to finance activities such as gross corruption, invasion and human rights violations. In conclusion, both novels share themes of totalitarianism, loss of identity and survelliance to an extreme. Language plays an important part in ‘The Handmaids Tale’ and ‘1984’, it is seen as a means of control within their regime. Both authors develop similar technics by the means of allusions, slogans, euphemisms and categorisation. However, they have very different outcomes as Atwood uses religious beliefs where as Orwell conveys war-approved language, also the nature in which it is used is different. The author’s narrative styles differ in context and basic structure. Orwell sticks with war outcomes of poverty and sickness in his semantic fields too. However Atwood uses non-human nature, the body and feritility, the opposite to Orwell. The novels do become similar when ‘1984’ is at the Golden Country as Orwell’s language developes metaphorically. Conformity is portrayed in the day structure of Atwood’s novel and part one of Orwell’s. Resistance increases for both the main characters in both novels, ‘The Handmaids Tale’ at night and ‘1984’ in parts two. The novels structures are different too, as ‘1984’ is in parts each representing a different story line development. ‘The Handmaids Tale’ is in sections containing passage of time unlike ‘1984’, which has no sense of time present in its structure. The author’s influences play a massive part on the dystopian environment. Orwell was influenced by war, poverty and regimes, which is highly reflected in his novel. Margaret Atwood reflects feminism into her novel as her background contains strong feminist movements and she even portrays this within the characters Offred’s mother and Moira. The novels are very different in context of dystopian environments though they contain similarities. The authors have no similarities in the influences of their novels. This is what alters their views, the time difference that the novels were written in. However, language and structure has a great impact on the environment of the novels and the dystopian writing of the texts. Word count: 3184Bibliography Yorke Notes: The Handmaids Tale 1984 Critical perspective on The Handmaids Tale: http://www. babesinspace. net/report/reports/2000-03-17. html Critical perspectives on 1984: Class handouts. The total word count for this essay is 3,184 words.

Friday, August 30, 2019

HP deskjet Essay

Case: Hewlett-Packard-Supplying the Deskjet Printer in Europe The DeskJet printer was introduced in 1988 and has become one of Hewlett-Packard’s (HP’s) most successful products. Sales have grown steadily, reaching a level of over 600,000 units in 1990. Unfortunately, inventory growth has tracked sales growth closely. HP’s distribution centers are filled with pallets of the DeskJet printer. Worse yet, the organization in Europe claims that inventory levels there need to be raised even further to maintain satisfactory product availability. THE DESKJET SUPPLY CHAIN The network of suppliers, manufacturing sites, distribution centers (DCs), dealers, and customers for the DeskJet product make up the DeskJet supply chain (see Exhibit 17.14). HP in Vancouver does manufacturing. There are two key stages in the manufacturing process: (1) printed circuit assembly and test (PCAT) and (2) final assembly and test (FAT). PCAT involves the assembly and testing of electronic components (like integrated circuits, read-only memories, and raw printed circuit boards) to make logic boards used in the printer. FAT involves the assembly of other subassemblies (like motors, cables, keypads, plastic chassis, gears, and the printed circuit assemblies from PCAT) to produce a working printer, as well as the final testing of the printer. The components needed for PCAT and FAT are sourced from other HP divisions as well as from external suppliers worldwide. Exhibit 17.14 HP DeskJet Supply Chain Selling the DeskJet in Europe requires customizing the printer to meet the language and power supply requirements of the local countries, a process known as â€Å"localization.† Specifically, the localization of the DeskJet of different countries involves assembling the appropriate power supply module, which reflects the correct voltage requirements (110 or 220) and power cord plug, and packaging it with the working printer and a manual written in the appropriate language. Currently, the final test is done with the actual power supply module included with the printer. Hence, the finished products of the factory are â€Å"localized† versions of the printer destined for all the different countries. For the European Market six different versions are currently produced. These are designated A, AA, AB, AQ, AU, and AY as indicated in the Bills of Materials shown in Exhibit 17.15. Exhibit 17.15 HP DeskJet Bill of Materials The total factory throughput time through the PCAT and FAT stages is about one week. The transportation time from Vancouver to the European DC is five weeks. The long shipment time to Europe is due to ocean transit and the time to clear customs and duties at port of entry. The plant sends a weekly shipment of printers to the DC in Europe. The printer industry is highly competitive. Resellers want to carry as little inventory as possible. Consequently, there has been increasing pressure for HP as a manufacturer to provide high levels of availability at the DC. In response, management has decided to stock the DCs so that a high level of availability is maintained. THE INVENTORY SERVICE CRISIS To limit the amount of inventory throughout the DeskJet supply chain and at the same time provide the high level of service needed has been quite a challenge to Vancouver’s management. The manufacturing group has been very successful in reducing the uncertainties caused by delivery to the European DC. Forecasting demand in Europe, though, is a significant problem. It has become common to have product shortages for model demands from some countries, while inventory of other models keeps piling up. In the past, the target inventory levels at the DCs were based on safety stocks that were a result of some judgmental rule of thumb. Specifically, target inventory levels, equal to one-month average sales, were set for each model carried in the DC. Now, however, it seems that the increasing difficulty of getting accurate forecasts means the safety stock rules should be revisited. HP has put together a team of employees to help implement a scientifically based safety stock system that will be responsive to forecast errors and replenishment lead times. They are to recommend a method for calculating appropriate safety stock levels for the various DeskJet models carried in  the European DC. The team has a good sample of demand data that can be used for developing the safety stock methodology (see Exhibit 17.16). HP hopes this new methodology will solve the inventory and service problem.

Thursday, August 29, 2019

CHALLENGING THE OBAMA HEALTH CARE LEGISLATION Research Paper

CHALLENGING THE OBAMA HEALTH CARE LEGISLATION - Research Paper Example The Congress (2010) has once declared: â€Å"By most measures, we have the best medical care system in the world† (p. 32). Yet, there are still major problems and critical issue. A significant portion of the population does not have insurance and costs are continuously increasing. Failure to get a health insurance can prevent one from gaining access to preventative care. The uninsured is given treatment when s/he becomes sick, as recognized by the defendants, since health care in the United States is commonly given because of incapacity to afford medical expenses or acquire a health insurance. Yet, the acquired costs to provide medical services to the uninsured are at times remain unpaid. The costs of unpaid health care services are transferred to economic actors in the form of increased premiums and costs, which, consequently, can contribute to the continuity of the cycle and further enlarge the uninsured population (Congress 2010). The Congress approved of the PPACA against these conditions. The petitioners challenge a number of the interconnected parts of the PPACA as well. Primarily, the new Act considerably changes and enlarges the Medicaid plan. Medicaid is a joint federal-state initiative established in 1965 that supports federal subsidy to states that decide to offer health care to vulnerable and poor populations (Congress 2010). PPACA will expand the numbers of new entrants to the Medicaid rosters by widening the initiative to encompass all people under 65 years of age with a specific income percentage of the federal poverty threshold (Health Care Lawsuits 2011). Furthermore, the new Act opens the opportunity for the formation of medical benefit transactions intended to permit start-up or small businesses and individuals to control their purchasing power to acquire viable prices (Bandow 2011). And finally, the new Act obliges that the states give their workers an agreed health insurance coverage minimum level. The petitioners claim that these co nditions infringe state autonomy and the Constitution by forcing and controlling the states and denying them their ‘celebrated ability’ to govern their own Medicaid initiatives, medical care, and state machinery (Bandow 2011). The petitioners expect that these and a variety of other conditions in the PPACA will generate massive costs for Florida (Health Care Lawsuits 2011). Basically, the petitioners argue that the legislation is invasive, domineering, and may drain states’ coffers. When Congress was pressing on the agenda of President Obama to take into the public sector decision making in health care, lawmakers paid insignificant attention to the Constitution. In spite of everything, the tenants of Capitol Hill had become comfortable with proposing any laws they wanted (Bandow 2011). As expected, all of the followers of the president and their colleagues sacked the constitutional cases against the Obamacare law. Yet, the supporters of state-owned health care ar e not happy anymore. The Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals recently abolished a

Wednesday, August 28, 2019

Sociology Of Education And The Role Of Education In Society Case Study - 3

Sociology Of Education And The Role Of Education In Society - Case Study Example According to Alan Barcan(1993), the word ‘sociology’ has come from the Latin word ‘socii’ meaning ‘groups’ or ‘allies’. This means that sociology is the study of social groups. The word ‘sociology’ was first used by Auguste Comte in 1837 and it was rough during the days of Comte, it has been explained by Craig J. Calhoun, & Joseph Gerteis(2007) that theories began to be sociological. Theories began to focus on social life as an object of study. This new perspective of the social side of human existence developed, argue Craig. J. et al (2007), due to the rise of science, individualism, modern states, large scale capitalistic markets, modern industry, and European explorations and colonization. Thus, as man’s life expanded beyond his town or village, he began to study to, to use the words of The British Sociological Association (BSA) ‘how society is organized and how we experience life’. Let us see the definition given by American Sociological Association (ASA) and find out where we can place education in the domain of sociology: This definition, especially its last point, tells us how sociology is related to education since it is a unification of all studies of mankind. Thus ‘sociology of education’ and ‘educational sociology’ are the sub-disciplines of sociology and education. Education of an individual is not only confined to an individual’s life but it is also a social phenomenon in reciprocal terms. An individual is influenced by society when he gets an education and, in turn, he may influence society after getting an education. All the people of great genius like Aristotle, Confucius, Homer, Sir Isaac Newton, Galileo Galilei, Albert Einstein, Pablo Picasso, Michelangelo, William Shakespeare, Abraham Lincoln, Mother Teresa, Nelson Mandela, and others in different fields, influenced society.

Tuesday, August 27, 2019

Media effect on Women Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Media effect on Women - Essay Example Whether the media realizes it or not, they hold the power to build a woman up or to break her down, in this respect it can lead to a lot of negativity. Nevertheless, for a female who feels in control of herself, and is proud of her own body image, the media simply exemplifies these feelings for her. Even so, it needs to be kept in the forefront of the mind that for some women, these ideals set up by the media are destroying dozens of women's natural ability to cope with how they feel about themselves. Fisher (1986) emphasizes the fact that body image undoubtedly plays a part in all of the behaviors that are visually interpreted to show how an individual feels about themselves. So when a female begins to portray a symptom of depression on her body image one has to pause and ask, "Why is there suddenly this problem" Is the media wholly responsible for this type of crisis simply by presenting a bombardment of extremely thin and sexy women The answer is dutifully, yes. If the media would focus on how women actually are instead of presenting false ideals then perhaps there would not be such an upset among the female gender. There might not be eating disorders, or poor self-esteem levels among women in the real world. Females are highly Females are highly vulnerable to what the media projects, they want to feel good about themselves. When the media only shows examples of thin and beautiful women, then average women are, of course going to feel belittled and bad about themselves. Obviously, the media affects all facets of a females life. If a woman starts to become overtly depressed due to her feelings of failure of herself then it can have a vast impact in other areas of her life such as, sexual orientation, sexual awareness, comfort of ones own self, sexual arousal patterns, intimacy, delinquent behavior, clothing choice, drug addiction, tolerance of stress, and how they interrelate with their environment (Fisher 1998, p.625). A person wouldn't think that issues such as these would go this far, yet they do, and often undetectable, until it is too late. It is a known fact that women arm themselves with their own defensive mechanisms to combat the material that is endlessly thrust in front of them by the media. This is especially true if it is information that subjects them to feelings about themselves that are extremely complex, confusing, or even threatening to who they really are (Fisher 1998). The main point of fact is, is that the media projects these ideas that are in actuality falsely representing women today. They not only place a negativity on adult women but young adolescents are affected by them as well. These unrealistic expectations create all sorts of probabilities for young girls that can lead to eating disorders, lowered self esteem, thoughts of suicide, dissatisfaction of their bodies, self mutilation, and many other psychological disorders (Holmstrom 2004). As was mentioned, there is not only negative attributes that the media presents onto women, but also positive ones as well. Women who are overweight, or are simply slightly overweight have been found to feel better about themselves when the media presents

Monday, August 26, 2019

Evaluation of Learner Performance Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Evaluation of Learner Performance - Assignment Example The complexity factors are often associated with the dynamism and constant interactions among various attributes and dimensions of training and organizational goals, training situations, trainees, and technologies aiding instructions (Bushnell, 1990). Evaluation goals entail varying purposes at assorted levels. The purposes entail the evaluation of instructional materials, student learning, the return of investment, transfer of training and many other factors. To attain all the mentioned purposes, collaboration among different people is essential at different parts of an organization. Furthermore, some of the goals of learners are never well defined and may change with the passing of time. Attempts have been made to come up with approaches to assist in tackling the various complexities associated with learner evaluation. How technology can be incorporated to address these challenges has also been highlighted.Similarly, approaches to evaluation and even associated models are covered in depth. The variety of approaches used in evaluation has their foundation in systematic approaches for training designs. They are characterized by systems of instructional development. Evaluation mainly targets the final stages of systematic approach usually within the main aim of improving the interventions. The other reason can be to aid in making judgments about worthiness and effectiveness of an instructional design. In the recent past, most instructional system developments have incorporated evaluation all through the process (Carnavale & Schulz, 1990). Six approaches applied in instructional evaluation have been identified as, goal-based evaluation, goal-free evaluation, responsive evaluation, systems evaluation, professional review, and quasi-legal. Systems and goal-based evaluations  are predominantly applied in evaluating training. This has led to the proposal of a variety of evaluation frameworks. Kirkpatrick’s model is widely used and is based on the criteria of reaction followed by learning the behavior and finally results.   

Sunday, August 25, 2019

Lab report Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 3

Lab Report Example For the second cycle, the mass of the water alone is the mass of the crucible lid and hydrate, less the mass of the crucible lid and residue after heating. That gives 22.678 – 22.455 = 0.223. Considering the fact that the second cycle represents a time when more accuracy is sought as opposed to the first cycle, the mass from the second cycle is taken for use in the establishment of the % of the water of hydration. The % of water of hydration is equal to the mass of the water of hydration alone, divided by the mass of the hydrated salt and the result multiplied by 100%. That gives, (0.223 / 0.636 ) * 100 = 4% to the nearest whole number. It is apparent that the experiment manifested that the percentage of the water of hydration is 4% as opposed to the theoretical value which is 5%. This may be attributed to the fact that there are some errors in the experiment that result from such attributes as impurities entering the reagents; zero error introduced in the measuring instruments and parallax error on the side of the personnel taking the readings from the instruments. The experiment however proved that indeed there is water of hydration in the reagent and that has weight which is shade off by heating the

Saturday, August 24, 2019

Waste to Energy Industry Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 4500 words

Waste to Energy Industry - Essay Example A common method of converting household waste is to convert the products into gases which is then used as the catalyst for the production of electrical energy (Khoo, 2009). One of the main benefits of using this technology is that there is an after-effect after the conversion of the waste has been completed, allowing for various chemical manufacture or as an additive to livestock feed (Khoo). This gasification process is also known generate much less air pollution and industrial residues, therefore from a community perspective, another main benefit is that it is a cleaner method of disposing of household waste. Plasma is often used in this process and seems to be a more efficient method of converting household waste. Plasmas are â€Å"gases that have been heated to the point of ionization—meaning they are composed of charged particles such as electrons that can conduct electricity and generate tremendous amounts of heat† (Ebert, 2007, para. 2). These plasmas can melt various metals and convert chemicals through the intense heat and electricity being generated by these technological breakthroughs. Food waste, from homes and various businesses, can also be disposed of efficiently. This is quite important as in countries like the United Kingdom, food waste makes up an entire one-third of total household rubbish (Bream, 2007). In this country, where land mass does not allow for ongoing landfill use for food waste products, there is a major benefit as it essentially allows the land to be utilized for other, more community-focused projects. The speed at which the conversion process of this household waste occurs would also seem to be a superior advantage of the technology, as this process can even change the composition of metals, plastics and chemicals in order to provide efficient energy sources. In a landfill, the process of decomposition of these

Friday, August 23, 2019

Brand Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Brand - Essay Example Now it belongs to Goga Ashkenazi, a Kazak former oil and gas tycoon, whose attraction to fashion industry and to Vionnet brand in particular was dictated by a belief in heritage and history of brand (Haritela, 2013). Despite the entire couture industry is directed toward meeting the desires of those customers who can afford luxury clothes, in terms of affordability, the creative director of Vionnet and its owner Goga Ashkenazi is striving to capture more consumers by creating the same couture in a more accessible way (Karmali, 2013). While clothes of couture range sometimes from tens to hundreds of thousands of pounds for the dress, it becomes less possible to all most women to purchase such dress and under such tough economic conditions, it is practically impossible. For that reason, Vionnet offers demi-couture gowns that is full of beauty and captures the couture creation, however, is more affordable for the customers. In addition, couture dresses are usually one-time event clothes, while Vionnet wants to provide its consumers those dresses that will be suitable to wear in more ways than one. Thus, a dress from Vionnet for  £2,000 is considered as affordable couture unit available in differe nt colours, prints and material, and which at the same time does not also lose it exclusivity and unique feature of haute couture. The successful revitalization of Vionnet brand has is also influenced by its designer Chalayan, who is more known for the visionary magician. In U.S. the first new Vionnet collection became available in the house atelier within Barneys New York flagship stores. In Milano the first modern boutique of Vionnet brand was presented in 2011. Today the brand is present in more than hundred and eighty stores worldwide. According to Vogue (Karmali, 2013), the modern collection for Vionnet became also available to order in-store at Harrods. In addition, one can make a purchase through online

Teaching and Education Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Teaching and Education - Essay Example Even the government allocates a large portion of the national budget for the improvement of the educational system of the nation. Education mainly begins at home. Parents have an important role in educating their children too. They should participate more actively in their child’s early development and learning. A child does not only acquire knowledge from the teacher alone, their parents are their first and most influential teachers. Parents cannot just rely on the schools to teach all of life’s lessons to their children. Many of life’s lessons are learned outside the structured environment of the classroom. Parents have a role too in curriculum development. It is not the sole responsibility of the school and the teachers. I believe that parents should have a role in the development of the curriculum because they have an indirect interest and concern in it. At the content level however, curriculum development lies primarily to the state officials and local admin istrators. At the processing level of the curriculum, the facilitators, teachers and support staff take on the major roles. Parents and students play a key role at the process level because they must learn and apply the objectives through their own methods and styles. Parents can be more involved in goal setting, finding alternative learning opportunities and in the evaluation of the curriculum. Parents must however recognize and respect the roles of the other participants in the curriculum development such as the teachers. A teacher’s role is not confined to merely educating the students in various subjects. I view their role as more encompassing. Teachers should educate students so that they will be equipped with the needed knowledge, possess a noble character and be responsible individuals of the society. They should also educate students to develop a strong will power to acquire various skills necessary to fulfill their aspirations and the requirements of the nation. Teac hers have a great impact on the students’ lives during their school years and even after. It is therefore essential that they guide them towards the right attitudes and help the students uncover their roles in society in the future. Teachers are agents of change too. They should have the ability to carry out new changes according to the requirements of the student and the society. Teachers are important factors for a modern, updated and advanced society because their knowledge and skills not only enhances the quality of education but it also serves as prerequisites for future research and innovation. It is the responsibility of teachers to adopt their teaching method to the fast pace of our society today. The role of teachers today has undergone a dramatic transformation. This transformation is due in part by the massive advancement in knowledge and information technology and a growing demand for better learning methods in schools. The teachers of today are more concerned wit h their relationships with the students, colleagues and community. They are rethinking the tools and techniques that they use, as well as the form and content of their curriculum. Teachers realize now that it is their responsibility to get to know each student as an individual in order to understand his unique needs, learning style, social and cultural background, interests, and abilities. Their jobs now include counseling students to assist them to unite their social, emotional and intellectual growth to make better decisions in their lives. This is a totally new form of instruction for teachers which is no longer geared at traditional classroom lectures, but rather a teaching style which challenges students to have a more active

Thursday, August 22, 2019

Project management of a company Essay Example for Free

Project management of a company Essay With the current rapid development of various business. Market competition becomes more and more fierce. Hence, a specific business plan is crucial to help a business successfully achieve goals and become competitive. The aim of this report is to prepare a business plan for a business. Some parts will be analysed in detail below which include a description of the business, sales and marketing strategy and risk management plan. A famous interior designer, Mark, owns Master Furniture (MF) which is located countryside in Melbourne. The major function of MF is providing customized furniture. There are three options provided to customers by MF: buying the existing furniture without any changes, changing the design of existing furniture displayed in showrooms, and providing design plans by customers themselves. In the next five years, MF plans to develop its own ERP system and expand his business to open linkage shops around Victoria. The main marketing principle is that the entire efforts of a company should be directed towards customers needs. MF is positioned as a high quality retailer that offers a unique selling proposition. MF sets its business apart from others due to its unique feature of providing customized goods to its customers. Advertising and Promotion also necessary through a variety of channels in order to attract customers. These approaches include the Internet, newspaper, radio, television and tradeshows. Besides sales and marketing strategy, risk management plan is also a significant factor that cannot be neglected. Specific and deliberate risk management plan should be established in order to minimize the negative influences on the business development and better achieve business goal and objective. The risk management plan contains the following parts, identifying and recording the potential risks, classifying the identified risks and assessing impacts of risks and developing the risk mitigation strategy for each risk. Those identified risks are categorized into six groups, including customer risks, supplier risks, staff risks, competitor risks, product risks and financial risks. 2.Description of the product/service Master Furniture (MF) is a business planned to provide furniture design and sale services for both individual and companies who have special or unique furniture requirements. Goals of enterprise are to provide high-quality customized service that is reliable and convenient. Mark, the owner of Master Furniture, also is a famous interior designer and won many relevant international prizes. Mark praised free spirit as his operation concept, which also directly affects his design. Purposes of establishing this entity are expressing and disseminating his artistic concepts, as well as exchanging ideas with professors and hobbyists. Customers are on top and middle class of society, who have special requirements and enthusiasm for furniture designing are targeted customers. The primary market focuses on special groups, such as the blind, the elder and people who are passionately fond of designing personal furniture. The physical shop locates in the city of Melbourne. Therefore, the target market areas are the suburbs around Melbourne. The shop includes three showrooms, which divided into bedroom, living room and kitchen. Mark designs all furniture displayed in the shop. There also have one meeting room and one stock room, which store the art works and goods customers ordered. Initially, the major function of MF is providing customized furniture. There are three options provided to customers by MF: buying the existing furniture without any changes, changing the design of existing furniture displayed in showrooms, and providing design plans by customers themselves. For the first situation that customers buy furniture directly from the shop and without any change, MF provides discount in delivery service if customers do not want to pick up by themselves. For the second situation that customers want to change the size, color or materials of furniture based on the design of Mark, MF charges extra service fee. The extra service fees are based on the change of furniture. For example, MF charge extra 20% of the furniture price for changing color and extra 30% of price for changing size. In this case, MF provides the design drawing directly to customers in the shop or sent to customers by email. After customer confirm the design, especially in size and color then it will be sent to factory. For the last situation that designs are provided by customers, Mark may provide professional suggestions based on design, such as budget, drawbacks, and safety risks. After the negotiation between Mark and customers, the design drawing will send to the factory. MF owns a truck, which is able to provide delivery service to customers. For loyal customers who had transaction records in MF database, can enjoy discount delivery service as well as customers buy furniture directly from shop and do not have any change. On the other hand, customers also can pick up by themselves. All advertisements include leaflets, which displayed the new designed furniture and price, a phone number that potential and current customers can call to query the service. For the customers who want to change the design or designed by themselves, MF calls customers once their goods arrived in the shop. The background factory of MF is outsourced to Rojos furniture factory, which is located in the countryside of Melbourne. Once Mark confirms the design drawings and send to factory by email or fax, factory sends an invoice which includes due time of production, price, and quantity back to MF. In this period, MF will confirm the price with customers and then response factory. Factory will start to work after receiving the confirmation from MF. After factory completes the invoice and sends goods back to MF, MF will inform customers to decide whether they want to pick up by himself or herself or delivery furniture to home. MF has two full-time receptionists and one part-time driver. When customers step into the MF, the front desk receptionists, who understand Mark’s design concept completely and have excellent communication skills, will communicate with them and introduce products in the showroom to clients. If clients want to design furniture by themselves no matter completely self-design or partly design, they could make appointments with Mark to discuss. When customers decide to purchase, they need to pay whole amounts for existing products or deposit for new design products. Then receptionists will create account for clients in the MF customer information database, which can help customers get discounts for delivery service in next purchase. On the other hand, receptionists also need to confirm delivery information with customers, such as delivery address, time and payment method. Once clients confirm the delivery, it is the responsibility of receptionists to inform delivery information to the driver. The major responsibilities of driver are delivering and unloading products as well as receipts to customers. After customers signing for confirmation, the last mission of driver is bringing back confirmation of customers to MF. MF offers after-sale services to customers, such as maintenance, consultancy. In the next five years, MF will develop its own Enterprise Resources Planning (ERP) system, which includes a website for advertisement Customer Relationship Management System. Moreover, Mark is planning to expand his business, which focusing on open Linkage shops around Victoria. In order to attract more clients, membership will be applied in MF system. Based on the expanding business, more staff is required for different purpose. There are several kinds of positions will available in MF: designers, receptionists, salesman, full time delivery drivers, and back officers. Moreover, as a famous designer, Mark will provide videos in shops to show his award-winning art works, and by this way to disseminate his design concept and let more people know about furniture art. 3.Sales and marketing strategy 3.1 SWOT Based on the goals of MF: build company image, gain competitive market share and refine logistic, productions and operational systems, SWOT analysis applied to in this subsection to analyze strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats. The evaluation of the strategic process has to be done in order to conduct the SWOT analysis. Strength †¢In these recent years there is an increase in demand of furniture products that is modern and unique. These classifications make the house of the MF customers to be different from others. And the minimal design is used to express a maximum effect of the art used in the furniture; the arts used in minimal design mostly will be in the form of visual art and music. †¢The MF has the highly educated workers in the organization. The human resources used in both the outlet shop and the factory are skilled, capable of producing the design requested by the customer. †¢Diversity and ideas is the most important strength of the organization. This innovative idea makes us differ from our competitors. Integrating different ideas into a furniture product, that forms the critical success factors. †¢The furniture market has a big democratic market, where there is always a way to establish our organization and product information through the media. This also forms the strength of our organization. Weakness †¢The major part of the weakness lies in the stock control, which is inefficient. There are many cases where the stocks may be outdated. In some cases there may be insufficient stocks. And at sometimes the stocks would not be available on the time needed, sometime available more than what is needed. †¢Trust, forms the core of the business process. The materials that are supplied by the external organizations at sometimes create a lack of trust in them. As the furniture company is mainly dependent on external organization for the raw materials, lose their trust when the raw material is not good and when it is not supplied the time needed. †¢Master Furniture is known especially for its uniqueness in the product. When there is some situation where the organization has to share the knowledge with the other employees and external organization, the knowledge shared can be misused. These cases the organization has to take the risks. †¢The demand for the traditional structure of the furniture’s is decreasing rapidly. On the other hand new innovation and change in this industry has slow absorption. †¢Till a product is completed the quality of the product cannot be judged. Once the quality of the product fails a new product has to be created and the raw materials used cannot also be reused. As known for producing single furniture a large quantity of raw material has to be invested. Opportunities †¢Big potential is developing in the market sector for designing. As the main part of this business is designing as per requested by the customer, the minimal designs are creating new opportunities for these kind of design patterns in the market. †¢The labor cost can be reduced by outsourcing it to the other countries such as China. †¢There is a large scope in the research and development as the customers are looking forward for the uniqueness in the product they buy. So, research and development capability is high. †¢Hybrid solutions can be achieved by blending and balancing. This can be done using the effective production methods. †¢There is only a very little competition in the designing of the modern furniture’s. Threats †¢The major threat to be considered is that the cost of the raw materials, which is always showing upward trend in the rise of the prices. This causes the regular price fluctuation of the products produced. †¢The new ideas or methods that are used in the manufacturing of the product sometimes lead to uncertainties. The innovation in the product cannot be always successful. †¢The MF Company also has to hope with the fast changes and new inventions in the industry. When a new production method is introduced then there will be a change in the stock control. This will lead to a large fluctuation in stock control. 3.2 Marketing Strategy Customers are considered as core in any business. The companies manufacture goods according to the needs of its customers. They would like to increase their market share by beating their competitors through sales. One should have a proper business plan to achieve this. The company should know the likes and dislikes of its customers. Based on these factors it can build a business strategy that allows you to satisfy your customers. The two main marketing principles are: †¢The entire efforts of a company should be directed towards customers needs. †¢Profitable sales volume is more important than maximum sales volume. Positioning: Master furniture is positioned as high quality, moderate price retailer that offers unique customizes goods. As Master furniture provides special services to their customers their goods are positioned at high quality which lean towards higher prices. Their market positioning goals are accomplished through the following: †¢Appointing outstanding sales persons in Master furniture retail store who understand the customer needs. †¢Explaining their manufacturing capabilities and uniqueness through demonstrations. †¢To highlight their ability to customize and quality they should provide invitational sales. Unique Selling Proposition: A unique selling proposition is what your business stands for. It sets your business apart from others. Instead of attempting to be known for everything, businesses with a unique selling proposition stand for something specific, and it becomes what you’re known for. Master furniture sets its business apart from others due to its unique feature of providing customized goods to its customers. Price vs. Quality Design: Master furniture maintains high quality provides appealing customized design according to the customer needs at affordable prices. Advertising and Promotion: Master furniture will use different sources to communicate with their targeted market. Newspaper, local cable, billboards, pamphlets are different sources to attract customers. They use the electronic media to attract customers and explain their concept of customization. Their customers being the middle and high class in the society Master furniture uses radio and television to advertise. Posturing and vehicle writing methods can also be implemented to advertise. Master furniture uses media to advertise. These include: †¢Internet †¢Newspaper †¢Radio †¢Television †¢Tradeshows Internet: Advertising through the Internet is the best way to advertise these days. Social networking websites like Facebook are used for advertising. This would be the most effective advertising plot for Master furniture. Newspaper: Most people in Australia read newspaper. So for that reason Master furniture can use the most popular newspaper to advertise. Radio: Radio is also considered as a popular media item. Many people use it for audio entertainment. So Master furniture can also use radio as to advertise. Television: Television is the most popular media item. Every person in the country uses television for entertainment. Therefore Master furniture can use television to advertise. Tradeshows: The trades how is an excellent mechanism to stay connected with the market and network potential customers. Aside from sales promotion the trade shows offer you the ability to see your competition. Master furniture will attend the trade shows held every year and try to attain potential customers. 4.Risk management plan 4.1Purpose and Objectives Risk management plan is to identify and record the potential risks which may threaten the company and also assess identified risks and establishing risk mitigation strategies to mitigate negative impacts on achieving goals and objectives of the business. The purpose of the risk management plan is to describe all aspects of risk management, including: 1)Identifying and recording the potential risks; 2)Classifying the identified risks and assessing impacts of risks; 3)Developing the risk mitigation strategy for each risk; 4)Allocating responsibility; 4.2 Target Audience The target audience of the risk management plan includes: all employees of MF company and its customers and the supplier. 4.3 Risk strategy In order to minimize the negative influences on the business development, the risk management procedure is developed by considering both internal and external factors. The necessary steps are risk Identification, risk assessment and risk Mitigation. All identified risks are categorized into six groups, including Customer Risks, Supplier Risks, Staff Risks, Competitor Risks, Product Risks and Financial Risks. Identified risks are measured in terms of likelihood of occurrence and impacts. By combing the likelihood and impacts, the risk rating is identified to provide the priority of the risks, which would present a better perspective for risk management. The detail information is shown in Table 1below. Table 1 †¢L=Likelihood: 1=Unlikely; 2=Possible; 3= Very Likely †¢C=Impact: 1=Minor; 2=Moderate; 3= Major †¢R=Risk Rating: L=Low; M=Medium; E=Extreme #Risk NameRisk DescriptionConsequence RRisk MitigationResponsibility ACustomer Risks A.1The company highly relies on a small number of major customers Once the larger customers turn to other companies’ product, then the company’s profit will be affected in the short time.The company’s profit and cash flow will be affected in a period of time until finding the new customers to yield revenue.22M†¢Improving the customer satisfaction and keeping long-term relationship with valuable customer groups by regularly contacting them and continually providing the superior products and services. †¢Locking the existing customers and make them become larger customers. †¢Expanding the target customer groups and seeking new and profitable customers.†¢General Manager †¢Department Managers †¢Salesmen BSupplier Risks B.1Highly depends on one supplierOnce the existing supplier is not able to provide the products and services or produce the products to the company, then the company’s normal operations will be affected.The company’s normal operations will be affected because of the shortage of supply.33E†¢Seeking alternative suppliers who are able to provide the similar products and services to the company. †¢Locking the existing supplier by the long-term contracts and maintaining the relationship with the supplier regularly.†¢General Manager †¢Department Managers B.2Product delivery delay riskThe suppliers cannot produce the product and deliver products on time.The company will not deliver products for its customers on time and loss reputation and credibility.11L†¢Seeking alternative suppliers who are able to provide the similar products and services to the company. †¢Monitoring supply contract regularly and urging products delivery.†¢Department Managers †¢Salesman †¢Customer Service Manager CStaff Risks C.1The staff turnover riskSome employees are critical to the business success, such as they deal with the key supplier and larger customers. The company will be affected by staff turnover.Resulting in disruption of the business operation and hard to find the appropriate new staff. The company has to spend both time and money to train the new staff.22M†¢Implementing a strict personnel selection mechanism to find the right employees for the company. †¢Allocating more employees to key position and training employees for backup. †¢HR Manager †¢Department Managers C.2Employee face occupational health and safety(OHS) risksBecause of the nature of the work, the employees, such as vehicle drivers and porters, would injure in the particular event.The company will be under the risk of fines or paying for injury or death of an employee.11L†¢Establishing appropriate OHS policies. †¢Regularly maintain vehicles and advocating safe driving.†¢Employees DCompetitor Risks D.1Competitor riskCompetitors will pose a current or potential threat to the business, such as competitors may open the new business nearby or launch similar products with lower price in the market.The sales and revenue of the company will be affected.12L†¢Improving the relationships with large clients. †¢Investing money in developing new products and services. †¢Protecting intellectual property assets confidential and proprietary information, such as designs and copyright. †¢Continually monitoring competitors.†¢General Manager †¢Designer EProduct Risks E.1Large-scale product recall riskDue to product defect, the company has to recall all sold products.The company will huge losses in expense of reworking and the sales and reputation of the company will be affected in long term.13M†¢Monitoring the quality of the products and avoid the situation which would damage the company’s reputation. †¢Training employees.†¢General Manager †¢Salesman †¢Customer Service Manager E.2Copyright riskThe company’s copyright is violated.The sales and revenue of the company will be affected.13M†¢Establishing a copyright policy. †¢Protecting intellectual property assets confidential and proprietary information. †¢Signing a confidential agreement when contracting work out to third parties. †¢Getting copyright consultancy services.†¢General Manager †¢Designers †¢Department Managers FFinancial Risks F.1Liquidity riskThe company doesn’t have enough money to pay its debts.The company’s operation will be affected.22M†¢Managing and monitoring cash flow. †¢Carefully making financial decisions.†¢General Manager †¢Finance employees F.2Credit riskDue to the products and services sold on credit, the customers may be unable to pay the money back.Resulting in financial loss.12L†¢Checking customers’ credit status and signing terms an conditions of trade with customers.†¢Finance employees †¢Salesman 5.Conclusion From what mentioned above wo can get the conclusion that a business plan which includes several parts, a statement of the business, marketing strategy and risk management plan. Establishing a detailed business plan plays a significant role in operating the business and achieving their goals successfully. When setting a plan, the organization should particularly pay attention to risk management plan which can help the business reduce loss the risks result and operate in a smooth way.

Wednesday, August 21, 2019

Lifestyle Theme Based Restaurant In Klang Valley Tourism Essay

Lifestyle Theme Based Restaurant In Klang Valley Tourism Essay Purpose Design/methodology To explore the issues, a quantitative study was conducted. There are 200 questionnaires distributed and less than 200 questionnaires expected to be completed in a correct manner. The questions in the survey will be measure by 5 points range scale, range from 1 (strongly agree) to 5 (strongly disagree). There are total of 20 questions been asked and each question represent the hypothesis that want to be tested. Findings Keywords Generation Y, Lifestyle Theme Based Restaurant, Theme Restaurant, Restaurant Choice Factor, Customer Satisfaction Paper type Research paper Introduction 2-5 pages Nowadays people are eating out more often, but they increasingly put a premium on saving time and eating healthy in better eating environments (Ryu Han, 2010). As a result, the new restaurants with theme based have emerged as a growth category in the foodservice industry. According to Fen Lian (2010) service quality, customer satisfaction and customers re-patronage intentions in the context of the restaurant industry are important. In Malaysia, the restaurant industry is experience an impressive transformation and strengthens competition. Restaurant is a very important area to explore but often become neglected area of study (Kivela, Inbakaran and Reece, 1999). The fact is restaurant business has a low assumption about the service and the quality of service is difficult to prove until customers come and patronize in the particular restaurant. The research problem arise from this study is because currently every restaurant has a theme, it tries to convey to its customers, some more successfully than others and some of the restaurants has failed due to they did not bring some improvement to the targeted specific market and not focus on their food quality (E.S.P consulting broker, 2010). They believe that the essenstial way in susccessful the restaurant is consistent in the good food and excellent customer service. Moreover, based on study done in Los Angles by Weiss, Feinstein and Dalbor (2004), has found out that sometimes theme based restaurants fails to provide an innovative idea and lack of entertaining experience to their customers (Bagli, 1998). The decline of theme restaurant industry also occurred because of high priced menus (Pate, 2000), low quality of food (Bagli, 1998), high development costs (Ramseyer, 2001), low repeat business (Farkas, 1998), poor location (Frumkin, 2000), and dà ©cor that never changes (Bagli, 1998). As there is study proof that Gen Y customers has a different life style compared to their baby boomer parents and other customer cohorts (Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2004) and have greater disposable income (Tomkins, 1999), Gen Y tend to looking for theme based things. So it is an opportunity for theme restaurant management to start look at Gen Y market. It is important to look at Gen Y preferences in choosing several of theme restaurants because Gen Y whose plays the role as consumers has their differentiation in their spending power and preferences. Moreover, if the food and customer service in the restaurant is not up to their preference, it will not drive them to go back to eat at the same place. In order to solve this research problem, I came out with a research question, What are the factors that influencing Generation Y in choosing lifestyle-theme based restaurant? The main purpose of this study is to examine the factors that affect customer to dine at lifestyle-theme based restaurants. Because every single things that experienced by customers during their visit on that particular restaurant may be different each time, for example the quality of service experienced by one customer is different with the other customers. Thus influence their satisfaction level and their re-patronage intentions. The importance of this study is aimed for 2 aspects of service provider. First, it is aimed to help existed theme restaurant managers to form improvement strategies on their business which focus on characteristics that range most important from Gen Y customers. Second, it is aimed for the owners of new comers theme restaurant to improve better idea in order to attract Gen Y consumers to come and dine at their new theme restaurant, it is important for the new business to know and respond potential consumers expectation and preferences. The several objectives in this study were: (a) To identify the main factors that influences Generation Y in choosing lifestyle-theme restaurant; (b) To access Generation Y preference for lifestyle-theme restaurant selection; and (c) To address the importance of Generation Y preference to bring better marketing improvement and increase more revenue for lifestyle-theme restaurant. The type of research methodology is quantitative technique; the data collection method will be a structured survey which is a form of questionnaire, the sampling method will be generation Y respondents and they will be male and female in different background and profile but specific of their age will be between 16-32 years old. There will be 200 questionnaires distributed and less than 200 questionnaires expected to be completed in a correct manner. It will be conducted in area around Bandar Sunway, Petaling Jaya, Subang Jaya, and Puchong. Potential respondents were pre-screened with the question, Have you dined at a theme restaurant in Malaysia during the past twelve months? If the answer was yes, respondents were asked to participate in the study by completing the next questions. The survey will be measure by 5 points range scale, range from 1 (strongly agree) to 5 (strongly disagree). This research consists of three parts in order to meet research objective and to answer research question. First part begins with a review on the literature related to theoritical framework on Generation Y behavior, customer satisfaction in theme based restaurant and hypothesis development. In second part there are two (2) things to highlight on; first (1) is explanation on research methodolgy used in conducting this research paper, second (2) is findings and analysis, it is describes the result obtained comprehensively and systematically. Third part is resolves the research questions, evaluate findings in order to meet research objective and to give recommendations. Then, conclusion will be showed at the end of the research paper. This study begins with a review of the literature related to facts about generation Y and a brief introduction to theme restaurants. Next, this study examines the à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ The study presents findings of aà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦, and concludes that by highlightingà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦.. and recommendations from a marketing and hospitality perspective. Part 1 Literature Review 15-20 pages FACTORS INFLUENCING GENERATION Y IN CHOOSING LIFESTYLE THEME BASED RESTAURANT IN KLANG VALLEY Introduction In order to identify what are the factors influencing Generation Y consumer in choosing which lifestyle theme restaurant to dine in, first main point we must understand the customer satisfaction towards theme based restaurant, because in restaurant concept, customer satisfaction is an indicator whether a customer will patronage to a restaurant (Fen Lian, 2010). Even there is no guarantee of a satisfied customer will return to that particular restaurant, but it is nearly certain that a dissatisfied customer will not repeat their visit (Soriano, 2002). So from the previous dining experience it will affect customer to re-visit the restaurant. In the literature review it will be explained about the facts about Generation Y and how they make their decision making, continue with explanation on 4 types among all of theme restaurants available in Malaysia with focus on lifestyle theme restaurant. Moreover, we will talk about customer satisfaction factors in 2 different types of restaurant, first in casual theme restaurant and second in theme based restaurant, from this comparison we can actually see the differences in customer satisfaction between these restaurants. Thus it drives 5 hypothesis are proposed to confirm the relationship between food quality, service quality, atmosphere, pricing and recommendation as a factors influencing Generation Y in choosing lifestyle theme restaurant. Facts about Generation Y Generation Y was born between 1979 and 1995, now aged 16-32 (Kattiyapornpong, 2009). They are optimistic, technology savvy and very demanding. Currently the majority of Generation Y is in university population. In their generation, they enjoyed Greenday, American Idol, Linkin Park, Black Eyed Peas and they also experienced global terrorism in November 9, 2001 (Kattiyapornpong, 2009). Experiences occur in childhood and teenage years create differences between baby boomers, generation X and genertion Y (McCrindle, 2010). Baby boomers were influenced by advent of TV, the Cold War, Rock and Roll and decimal currency. Generation X was influenced by Personal Computer, AIDS, single parent families, and recession. Generation Y was influenced by the advent of internet, cable television, globalisation and September 11 (McCrindle, 2010) Generation Y or millennial youths of this generation have significant spending power and wield considerable clout in purchase decisions for their family as well as being savvy consumers themselves (Harris Interactive, 2003; ODonnell, 2006; AC Nielsen, 2006; Wilson, 2007). Gen Y people they tend to form a community because they wanted to be understood, respected, included and accepted. This generation contributes strong loyalty to their friends. They work hard to fulfill what their peers expected from them, they have self-esteem and very well in regarded their self in group or sub-culture (McCrindle, 2010). Decision Making by Generation Y A study conducted by Halpern, 1997 saying that in order to arrive at a decision, there are several steps that must be followed, (1) must realize that it is going to be necessary to make a decision, (2) to determine the goals to be achieved, (3) generate alternatives which lead to fulfill the proposed goals, (4) evaluate whether these alternatives meet expectations and (5) select the best alternative. In decision process it seems that women are more affected by the environment, they look for more information and dedicate more time to the decision process (Gill, Stockard, Johnson, Williams, 1987) on the contrary, men are more dominant, assertive, objective, and realistic (Wood, 1990). Theme Restaurant Theming is the process where an environment is decorates by a distinct character. Nowadays theme based restaurant has become common strategy used by the service industry, especially those in hospitality and tourism industry (Munoz, C. Wood, N., 2009). Consumers are attracted to themed restaurants because of variety reasons. Higher standards of living and dynamic development in the food and beverage industry it drives consumer begins to pay attention towards environment, atmosphere and personalization apart from satisfying themselves in physical products. Todays consumers are excited in purchase products and steps to consume the product that brings the enjoyment and fulfill their experience (Miller, 2007). From many theme restaurants which focus on nation or regional like Italian, Japanese, Korean or Mexican, they using different concepts of theme to enrich their food styles and features. For the restaurant that taking music, history, sports or even gaming as their themes, various consuming experiences are deliver to the consumers. However, because of the development of theme restaurants create a lot of competitions in restaurant industry, many of theme restaurants are facing low profit or even negative rates. In order to turn this situation around and solve the problems, theme restaurants begin to attract customers one by one, by meeting their demand as well as increase in service quality and higher the restaurant standard. Clasiffication of Theme Restaurants (variety, deli, seafood) Talk about theme restaurant, it is not only about restaurant with particular theme, but theme restaurant also can be classified into many different types. Especially in Malaysia, there are many different theme restaurant opening now, however the main focus in this research paper is towards lifestyle theme restaurant. Here are the following different types of theme based restaurant available in Malaysia such as Ethnic Restaurant, Country Style Restaurant and Steak House Restaurant. These three theme restaurants will be explain in a brief form and it may not cover all types of theme restaurant in Malaysia, and next to it there will be spesific discussion on lifestyle theme restaurant. Ethnic Theme Based Restaurant In several of studies, the term of ethnic food has been defined differently. Utami (2004) defines ethnic food as a spesific cuisine from different region that reflect particular characteristics of its local origin. Utami (2004) added that people who are from different area from its origin will consider the food is ethnic. Based on restaurant segmentation study done by Olsen et al. (2000), an ethnic restaurant is defined as full service restaurant which offering dishes from foreign origin country for example Chinese, Japanese, Thai, and Italian. For consumers, ethnic-themed restaurant is the most common and also the frequent exposure to theming by the restaurants. Consumers are dine to ethnic-themed restaurants for different reasons, for some of them ethnic-themed restaurants are innovation, a way to connect to their ethnicity (Negra, 2002) and interact with a different culture and gastronomy (Bailey and Tian, 2002; Barbas, 2003; Germann-Molz, 2003; Long, 2003; Tian, 2001). Currently the demand for ethnic cuisine and theme restaurants has been rise (Dundelston, 2003; Lewis, 2007; Wahlgreen, 2005). Walker (2007) argued that every ethnic restaurant is well design based from the crockery, food and restaurant dà ©cor of a national culture is consider as a theme restaurant. The example of the restaurant can be Mexican, Chinese, Japanese, Korean and Indian. If the restaurant is represent several national decorations using traditional ethnic color and artifacts and serving exotic cuisine, it is a theme restaurant (Walker, 2007) Country Style Theme Based Restaurant Based on a study done by Munoz, C. Wood, N. in 2009 about Mexican restaurants, this type of country restaurant has experienced a rise in popularity over the first decade of this twenty first century (Van Houten, 2004; Wahlgren, 2005). Their improving on the availability of spices, peppers, and produces (Ruggless, 2005). While this restaurant chains attentively provide a wider variety of regional dishes and flavors, others still continue to offer patrons on standard Americans menu items while forget the importance of this type of restaurant plays as a cultural arbiter. The majority of Mexican restaurants are often focusing on specific sounds, smells and textures to bring and create an appealing and successful environment in their restaurant (Solomon Englis, 1994). The components for success also often include elements such as restaurant design, employees, cultural artifacts, food, drink and entertainment music (Guinness, 2002). Steak House Theme Based Restaurant There are many steakhouse restaurants in Malaysia boasting to be the best. It can be nationwide franchises or homegrown branch. A lot of factors come into play when looking for a good steakhouse restaurant, ambience for instance, cleanliness of the establishment, fixtures and furnitures, and quality of service (Tilden, 2010). A good steak house restaurant should be have quick and polite servers in raising restaurants popularity and a sommelier should know the right kind of red wine would match with customers steak ordered. The restaurant should be able to fulfill guest spesific orders, have different gimmicks to attract their customers and lastly of course the steak itself (Tilden, 2010). One of the most successful steakhouse restaurant concepts is Outback Steakhouse. In Malaysia it self, we can find it in Kuala Lumpur and Bukit Bintang area. It is first opened in Florida in 1998, at that time beef was not everyones favourite meal but now there are more than 880 Outback Steakhouse restaurants out there (Walker, 2008). Each Outback Steakhouse restaurant is a friendly, casual, relaxing place, with fantastic food, excellent and attentive staff (Walker, 2008). 1.5.4 Casual Theme Restaurant One of the largest casual theme restaurant chains is Tony Romas, it specializing in baby ribs. With nearly 200 restaurants chain in 33 countries over 17 states and 6 continents, Tony Romas is one of the most globally recognizable restaurants name in food industry. Tony Romas also serves signature onion loaf, steak, onion loaf, chicken and seafood to thousand of guests every day. Tony Romas first opened in Miami, Florida on 1972. It featured casual dà ©cor with comfortable ambience. The menu offered is simple and consisted of great tasting food and reasonable price. Baby back ribs are the house speciality menu and everyone favourite menu (source: tonyromas.com) 1.5.5 Lifestyle Theme Based Restaurant Restaurants that featuring all varieties of live music is popular across the country. Theme restaurants segment has struggled during late of 1990s until this decade. Theme restaurants that have survived in restaurant business have given a priority on their quality of food (Miller, 2006). Famous restaurant like Hard Rock Cafà © and Planet Hollywood has been established since early 1990s, and both of these restaurants have promoted their brand reputation and expand in casino market. Theme restaurants like Hard Rock Cafà © and Planet Hollywood have huge of popularity and located in very strategic location nearby major tourist attractions. Like in Malaysia, Hard Rock Cafà © is located at Kuala Lumpur and Planet Hollywood previously also located at Kuala Lumpur but no longer opened. Most of the profit in many theme restaurants is come from the high price of merchandise (MacLaurin and MacLaurin, 2000). Large theme restaurants also involve large of capital and investments. They focus on architec, color, lighting, sound effect, color, fabrics, wall, furniture and fixtures. These all are blended together to create uniquenes, drama and excitement (Walker, 2007). In Las Vegas, different kind of theme restaurants founded however it is often fail because food and service are lost in the high theater. Food is really sensitive and main factor must have in many theme restaurants (Walker, 2007). Miller (2006) gives strategy for new comers theme restaurant concepts to make the food and dining experiences as a fundamental on restaurant business, high quality of food will help theme restaurants meets consumers preferences and expectations. Some theme restaurants appeal to an older generation and present a time for reflection and nostalgia, for examples Hard Rock Cafà © and Planet Hollywood (Walker, 2007). So in this research paper we will look at lifestyle theme restaurants like T-Bowl, The Garden, Full House, Bubba Gump, Gasoline, etc which these are the lifestyle theme restaurants can be found in Malaysia especially in Klang Vallety area and its patronise by generation Y. 1.5.4.1 Garden Lifestyle Store and Cafà © Lately, more and more concept restaurants came in to food industry. Last two years there is new type of outlet which sells foods and decoration items. It is like you are dining in the middle of garden and at the same time you can shop in the lifestyle store. Garden Lifestyle Store and Cafà © established since 2009, offers an extensive of food choice fusing from both Western and Asian cuisines. It is a semi fine dining restaurant with breathaking atmosphere and impressive interior design to give customers an experience of dining in a real garden. The restaurant decorated with bunch of beautiful flowers and plants, a pianist will present a performance of melody rhythm from the stunning white grand piano. In Malaysia there are 6 branches of Garden Lifestyle Store and Cafà © which are located at 1 Utama, The Curve, Sunway Pyramid, Mid Valley, Alamanda (Putrajaya) and Viva (Kuala Lumpur). (Source: garden-cafe.com.my) 1.5.4.2 Full House Lifestyle Store Cafà © Fullhouse Lifestyle Store Cafà © is designed to resemble a full sized house. It offers fusion delight foods, unique menu and enjoyable dining experience. Besides from that, almost everything at Fullhouse is for sale, from clothes, accessories, gifts and decorative items. Fullhouse also provides event management, where you can arrange any party celebration or special occasion. They provide theme party as well as event service to help their guest to arrange the most happening party in town. It is a truly novel home dining experience. Guest will feel a homely ambience from the first step they walk into the restaurant. It is suitable for family gathering, romantic dinner and hangout place with friends (Source: fullhousecafe.com.my). 1.5.4.3 T-Bowl Restaurant T-Bowl or known as Toilet Bowl Restaurant was established on 18th February 2008 and first opened in QueensBay Mall at Penang, Malaysia. This restaurant designed base on bathroom concept, where toilet bowl used as seat, basin as dining table, mini toilet bowl as platter. The restaurant offers varieties of cuisines range from Hong Kong, Japan, Korean and Western. Todays, eating is more to pleasure and enjoyment, it is not as simple as an action only. T-Bowl provides different eating experience, enjoyment and welcome generation of modern and trendy era (Source: t-bowl.com). 1.5.4.4 Bubba Gump Shirmp Co. Restaurant and Market The first Bubba Gump Shrimp Co. Restaurant and Market was opened in 1996 in California. It has grown in many locations throughout the United States and internation. It is chain of seafood restaurants, provides a casual environment and great meal. At Bubba Gump Shirmp Co. food is the diva. They offer features shrimp, famous baby back ribs and everyone favorite drinks. Since 1996, Bubba Gump Shrimp Co. has been providing unique service, fantastic foods and fun casual atmosphere. Todays, this restaurant located in 22 domestic and 11 international locations, it has grown into a global brand (Source: bubbagump.com). 1.5.4.5 Gasoline Cafà © Gasoline cafà © is a new dining sensation that carries out modern lifestyle. It is a new look cafà ©, provides varieties of delicious food, great atmosphere and convenient location. Gasoline cafà © is a concept cafà © specialized in comic themes. It provides fresh and nutrious meals. There is variety of cuisines served which are Hong Kong, Chinese, Japanese and Western cuisines. All the food and beverages are prepared according to teenagers preferences and refined to suit local tastes. The drinks offered such as variety of smoothies, soda drink and flavor taste of tea (Source: gasoline.com.my). 1.6. Customer Satisfaction In todays competitive market, many companies are increasingly their firms marketing strategies and tactics in order to make profits and contribute fully growth of the company. Customer satisfaction factors and repatronage intention are global issues that may affect all organizations, it can be large or small company, profit or non-profit company and local or global company. To improve customer satisfaction and retention, many companies are concerned in learning, analyzing and implementing new marketing strategies which aim for the benefits on firms financial (Fen and Lian, 2010). Quality and customer satisfaction have been recognized as an important aspect for success and survival in todays competitive market. Many researchers have conducted on these two concepts, quality and satisfaction are link together to customer behavior in purchase and loyalty intention (Olsen, 2002); willingness to spread postive word of mouth (Kang, Nobuyuki and Herbert, 2004); and complaint intention (Sà ¶derlund and ÃÆ'-hman, 2005). In restaurant concept, customer satisfaction is used as an indicator whether a customer will patronage to a restaurant. Even there is no guarantee of a satisfied customer will return to particular restaurant, but it is nearly certain that a dissatisfied customer will not repeat their visit. An analysis on customer satisfaction factors will provide clues for food service manager to take action and increase the posibbility that customers will come back. (Soriano, 2002) In particular, food quality, atmosphere, menu, variety, service from staff, cleanliness, styling, price, interior design and dà ©cor, professional appearance of staff and store location are all the components of store image in restaurant industry (Baker et al. 1994; Lindquist, 1974; Prendergast Man, 2002). In this study, in order to identify the factors that drive consumers come back to the specific restaurant, firstly will be look at the factors effect consumers satisfaction in casual restaurant industry as there is a research done by Ryu Han (2010). Continuing to find out what are the factors that affect consumers satisfaction in theme based restaurants industry. So from here we can actually know what the differences between consumer satisfactions in normal restaurant and in restaurant that has a particular theme. 1.6.1 Casual Dining Restaurant Industry Casual dining restaurant industry already been started since late of 1960s, in 1980s it started to specialized into a concepts by create casual atmosphere, expand the menu appeal with alcohol and moderate the food price. Casual dining restaurant try to capture customer attention by create a theme and a brand image that represent a generation of the consumer. Casual dining restaurant also has a wide variety on menu items that can be used for any occasions. They continuously improve their menu choices and offers limited items in limted time so consumers attracted to try and make multiple visits to their restaurant. (Murphy, DiPietro, Rivera and Muller, 2009) Casual dining restaurant has a knowledgeable and higher service level staff compare to fast food restaurants (Muller Woods, 1994). Currently, casual dining is an important segment of the restaurant industry. It is generating $65 billion sales and over 126,000 restaurants in the United States (NRA, 2007). This industry also expected to continue increse on annual sales between 5% and 7% over the next 5 to 10 years (Darden Restaurants, 2006). Quick casual restaurant is a combination of fast food and full service restaurant which offers menus and dà ©cor and it is reflective of casual dining restaurant. This type of restaurant tends to do high sales volume during lunch time and generate profit slightly higher than standard service restaurants. Their guests are commonly adult customers with middle to upper incomes level (Tillotson, 2003). 1.6.2 Customer Satisfaction Factors in Casual Dining Restaurant In casual restaurant, there are some factors can affect customer satisfaction such as the attractiveness of restaurant facilities, distinct food and sufficient level of service quality. Customer satisfaction is one of the most critical marketing priorities, because it is assumed to be an implication of repeat sales, positive word of mouth and loyalties of customer. There are 2 main important aspects in the restaurant industry, (1) tangible (food and restaurant facilities), (2) intangible (interaction between service provider and customer). A proper combination between tangible and intangible aspects will result in customers perception of high service quality in that particular restaurant. The other study also suggested that food quality is the most influence factors affect customer loyalty in restaurant choice (Mattila, 2001). She has indicated top three reasons for customers to patronize their casual dining restaurant were food quality, service, and atmosphere. 1.6.3 Theme Based Restaurant Industry The important charecteristic of theme restaurant service is consumers must present in the consuming process and experience the service delivery by the providers face to face. Customer wants the satisfaction of specific experiences that meet their perception, expectation and satisfy with the personal preference received during their consuming process (Hsieh Chen, 2009). To promote theme restaurant service quality, management starts to focus on Moment of Truth between customers and service providers. Service quality is a communicational aspect, which helps the guest feel the actual warm hospitality showed to them via professional technics and tactics showed in service skills with high quality feeling (Hsieh Chen, 2009). Restaurant frequently develop new menus and offer a selection of different menu items to attract customers (Namkung Jang, 2007). Kivela, Inbakaram Reece (2000) identified menu variety as a significant attribute of food quality in determining customer satisfaction in theme/atmosphere restaurants. To conclude all the studies that have been found, food quality was the most important factors of overall restaurant service quality and is expected to have a positive relationship between customer satisfaction and loyalty. 1.6.4 Customer Satisfaction Factors in Theme Restaurant To assess customer satisfaction in the service industry, there is one most popular and widely way through an application of expectancy disconfirmation theory (Oh, 1999). The expectancy disconfirmation states that consumer form an opinion about particular service by comparing the actual service given by service provider with their expectations of how is the serive should have been performed (Oliver, 1980). The result from customer satisfaction is whether a customers perception given by service provider meets up to their expectation (Oliver, 1980; 1981). Study found that from all the possible factors that affect customer satisfaction in restaurants, food quality is the most important and powerful factors for customer to return (Oh, 2000). In addition to that, according to study done by MacLaurin and MacLaurin (2000) about Customer Perceptions of Singapores Theme Restaurants, has explored and included food quality as one of the most important elements in theme restaurant, followed by theme concept, service quality, menu, atmosphere, convenience, value, product merchandise and pricing. Moreover, one of the examples from the study found that Hard Rock Cafà © is one if the most successful theme restaurant chains, its in highest rank among its competitiors in terms of food quality (MacLaurin Mac Laurin, 2000). Therefore, it is logic to think that theme restaurants food quality may influence customer satisfaction and result in return intent. Beside quality of food plays important roles in theme based restaurant industry, there is a study done by Bitner, 1992; Wall and Berry, 2007 has provided evidence of how the physical environment influences consumer behavior. The physical environment of the restaurant such as restaurants atmosphere, ambience, dà ©cor, furniture, and other facilities can have a great impact on the dining experience (Sloan,2004) and behavioral intentions (Ryu Jang, 2007). Previous studies found that because of the unique nature of the restaurant service, physical environments could guide consumers in evaluating a restaurant experience (Wall Berry, 2007). Therefore, restaurant with theme based has wide opportunity to develop and play a big role in restaurant industry. Quality of atmosphere in a restaurant can influence customer patronage intention (Wakefield Blodgett, 1994). T

Tuesday, August 20, 2019

Determination of Protein Concentration Experiment

Determination of Protein Concentration Experiment ABSTRACT: The objective of this experiment is to determine the concentrations of RNase H which was purified in the previous lab experiment and of an unknown solution, which was administered by the TA. A Bradford reagent was utilized to determine the total concentration which binds to the protein. The samples were placed in a spectrophotometer and the absorbance was recorded for each sample. The data was compared to the calibration curve made using the standard protein solutions and the absorbance reading. Our sample was unknown #3, which had a total concentration of 1.418 mg/mL. The concentrations for the original flow through, washing buffer flow through, and the eluting buffer flow through were 0.021 mg/mL, 0.0274 mg/mL, and 0.014 mg/mL, respectively, with a 98% confidence interval of  ± 0.0021 %. INTRODUCTION: In the previous lab experiment, the His-tag protein RNase H was purified by implementing a method called affinity chromatography. Affinity chromatography is utilized to isolate and purify proteins due to its high selectivity to the protein of interest (Biochemistry, 2015). The unused eluting buffer, original flow through, eluting buffer flow through, and the washing buffer flow through were all retained and stored for the latter experiment #7. In addition to the solutions mentioned, five standards protein solutions are prepared by diluting a 1.56 mg/mL of bovine gamma globulin solution (IgG) and unused eluting buffer. The final prepared solution is placed in a spectrophotometer and set at an absorbance of 596 nm. The unused eluting buffer is used as the control in the experiment to balance the spectrophotometer. A calibration curve is created using the absorbance measured from the five standards. In most cases, the calibration curve or standard curves are generated using a least two sets of data or replicates, which holds true in our case. However, the average of the two absorbance sets were used to create the standard curve. The blank/control consists of a buffer without addition of protein. The protein standards have a known concentration of protein, and the unknown sample is the solution to be assayed (Lab Manual). All of the 20 prepared solutions contain the Bradford protein assay. Bovine gamma globulin is a protein assay that is used as a protein concentration reference standard for use in the Bradford for total protein assay. It is used in Bradford and other protein assays. The Bradford protein assay, also referred to as Bradford reagent, is commonly used in laboratories to determine the concentration of the protein within the sample. The reagent binds to the proteins present. The amount of protein present is proportional the binding of the Bradford reagent. Meaning that the more protein present in the sample, the greater the dye will bind. The reagent is said to colorimetric, therefore, a color change can be observed, in reference to the protein concentration. The blue hue from the reagent becomes progressively darker as we increase the protein concentration. The opposite holds true for the lighter blue hue, which indicates less protein is present in the solution. With the aid of the Bradford Reagent, it is possible to determine the total amount of protein c oncentration present in the sample of interest. EXPERIMENTAL PROCEDURES: MATERIALS: Unused Eluting Buffer (Control)-from lab #6 Eluting Buffer flow through (EB)-from lab #6 Washing Buffer flow through (WB)-from lab #6 Original Flow through (OFT)-from lab #6 1 mL of a 1.56 mg/mL Solution of Bovine Gamma Globulin (IgG) 0.25, 0.50, 0.75, 1.0, and 1.5 mg/mL of IgG-Protein Concentration Standards Bradford Reagent 20 plastic test tubes Cuvets, disposable plastic Parafilm Spectrophotometer PROCEDURES: Prepare five standard protein solutions in a microcentrifuge tube by diluting the 1.56 mg/mL of IgG stock solution appropriately with unused eluting buffer from lab #6. Each solution should have a total volume of 250  µL and the concentrations should be as follows: 0.25, 0.5, 0.75, 1.0, and 1.5 of IgG. Set up 20 test tubes and divide into two sets. Label 5 test tubes per the concentrations mentioned above, and the remaining 5 tubes as follows; eluting buffer flow through, unused eluting buffer, original flow through, washing flow through, and the unknown sample # obtained from the TA. Repeat this procedure for set two. Add 50  µL of the appropriate solution to each tube. Add 1.5 mL of Bradford reagent to each of the 20 test tubes then cover with each tube with parafilm and mix using the vortex mixer for approx..3 seconds. Wait 10 minutes and then transfer all the solutions to cuvets. For set one and two, place the unused eluting buffer cuvet into the spectrophotometer a pparatus to balance and set to 596 nm. Read the absorbance for the other cuvets. Record each reading in lab notebook. Plot the average absorbance on the y-axis vs. concentration on the x-axis of the duplicate standard protein solutions. Determine the concentrations of the original flow through, washing flow through, eluting buffer flow through, and the unknown sample by using equation generated from the slope of the plot. RESULTS: DATA TABLES: Standard Protein Solutions: Protein Concentration (mg/mL) Volume of 1.56 mg/mL IgG Stock Solution Needed ( µL) Volume of Unused Eluting Buffer Used ( µL) Total Volume of Solution 0.25 40 210 250  µl 0.50 80 170 250  µl 0.75 120 130 250  µl 1.0 160 90 250  µl 1.5 240 10 250  µl Absorbance Data: Concentrations (mg/mL) Absorbance at 596 nm Set 1 Set 2 Average 1.50 0.608 0.633 0.621 1.00 0.455 0.423 0.439 0.75 0.441 0.246 0.344 0.50 0.162 0.307 0.235 0.25 0.043 0.056 0.050 Unused EB (Control) = 0 0.000 0.000 0.000 Original Flow through 0.004 -0.003 0.001 Washing Buffer 0.002 0.005 0.004 Eluting Buffer 0.001 -0.004 -0.002 Unknown Sample #3 0.608 0.606 0.607 Total Concentration: Protein Sample Concentration (mg/mL) Original Flow through 0.0205 Washing Buffer 0.0274 Eluting Buffer 0.0136 Unknown Sample #3 1.418 GRAPH: CALCULATIONS: The expression given by the best fit linear trend will be used to determine the concentrations for the original flow through, washing flow through, eluting buffer flow through, and unknown sample #3. Where y-represents the absorbance, and x-represents the concentration. The units corresponding to the slope are in mg/mL. Equation of the slope is: y = 0.4336x à ¢Ã‹â€ Ã¢â‚¬â„¢ 0.0079. Solving for x will give us the concentrations of the samples. Concentration of the Original Flow Through: Rearrange to solve for x: y = 0.4336x à ¢Ã‹â€ Ã¢â‚¬â„¢ 0.0079 à ¯Ã†â€™Ã‚ ¨ x = (y 0.0079)/(0.4336) (0.001) = 0.4336x à ¢Ã‹â€ Ã¢â‚¬â„¢ 0.0079 x = (0.001 + 0.0079)/(0.4336) x = 0.0205 mg/mLà ¢Ã¢â‚¬ °Ã‹â€  0.021 mg/mL CALCULATIONS: (continued) Concentration of Washing Buffer Flow Through: y = 0.4336x à ¢Ã‹â€ Ã¢â‚¬â„¢ 0.0079 (0.004) = 0.4336x à ¢Ã‹â€ Ã¢â‚¬â„¢ 0.0079 x = (0.004 + 0.0079)/(0.4336) x = 0.0274 mg/mLà ¢Ã¢â‚¬ °Ã‹â€  0.027 mg/mL Concentration of Eluting Buffer Flow Through: y = 0.4336x à ¢Ã‹â€ Ã¢â‚¬â„¢ 0.0079 (-0.002) = 0.4336x à ¢Ã‹â€ Ã¢â‚¬â„¢ 0.0079 x = (-0.002 + 0.0079)/(0.4336) x = 0.0136 mg/mLà ¢Ã¢â‚¬ °Ã‹â€  0.014 mg/mL Concentration of Unknown Solution #3: y = 0.4336x à ¢Ã‹â€ Ã¢â‚¬â„¢ 0.0079 (0.607) = 0.4336x à ¢Ã‹â€ Ã¢â‚¬â„¢ 0.0079 x = (0.607 + 0.0079)/(0.4336) x = 1.418 mg/mL DISCUSSION: The main goal for this experiment was to determine the protein concentration of the original flow through, washing buffer flow through, eluting buffer flow through, and an unknown sample which was given by the TA. These samples apart from the unknown were prepared in the previous lab experiment and was retained for further analyses for this experiment. In addition to the samples mentioned above, five standard protein solutions were prepared by diluting the 1.56 mg/mL of IgG solution with the unused eluting buffer obtained from lab #6. The concentrations of the standards were as follows: 0.25 mg/mL 0.50 mg/mL, 0.75 mg/mL, 1.0 mg/mL, and 1.5 mg/mL. The unused eluting buffer was also used as the control. It was apparent that upon adding the Bradford reagent to the samples there was visible a color change. A few of the solutions instantly turned to a darker blue hue while others remained a light blue color. The darker color indicated there was a greater concentration of proteins. A calibration curve was generated by plotting the concentrations of the five standards and their respective absorbance reading. It was determined that the best fit for the data was linear which yields an equation in the form of y = mx + b, where y represents the absorbance at 596 nm and x represents the protein concentration. The equation was rearranged as to solve for x and determine the protein concentration of the samples and the unknown #3, based on the data from the averages of the two sets of absorbance measured. However, two values from set two gave negative readings, which was indicative that the concentration of the protein was less than that of the control sample. As per my results, it was concluded that our unknown sample had a total protein concentration of 1.418 mg/mL. The concentrations for the flow through of the original solution, washing buffer, and eluting buffer had a total protein concentration of 0.0205 mg/mL, 0.0274 mg/mL, and 0.0136 mg/mL, respectively. The absorbance data was further analyzed using a 98% confidence interval and yielded a  ± 0.002% margin error. The R-value was relatively close to 1, which gives an equation that is more accurate. This also indicates that the calculated values for the protein concentration will reflect a value closer to the true concentration of the protein of interest. REFERENCES: J. M. Berg, J. L. Tymoczko, G. J. Gatto, Jr., L. Stryer, Biochemistry (8th ed., pp. 70-71). (2015). W.H. Freeman Company. Bradford, M. M. Analytical Biochemistry. Volume 72. A Rapid and Sensitive Method for the Quantitation of Microgram Quantities of Protein Utilizing the Principle of Protein-dye Binding. (pp. 248-254). (1976). Robyt, J. F. and White, B. J. Biochemical Techniques. Theory and Practice. Brooks/Cole, Monterey, CA. (1997) https://www.thermofisher.com/order/catalog/product/23212

Monday, August 19, 2019

Iagos Manipulative Nature in Shakespeares Othello Essay examples --

Iago's Manipulative Nature in Othello    Iago's manipulative nature has a profound effect on the decisions made by other characters in Shakespeare's ‘Othello’. Through his relations with those around him Shakespear characterizes him as a man full of malice, vengeance and dishonesty that is wholly inspired by jealousy. Furthermore it would appear that Iago has an exceptional ability to scheme, a talent which he uses to snake his way into the lives of others and exploit them through their weaknesses. Whether he does this for profit or for pleasure is a separate issue. Throughout the course of the play, Iago crosses the path of each major character we encounter. Though his effect varies according to characters, he is a presence in the life of each. Rodrigo, Othello and Desdemona who each allow Iago to demonstrate his capacity for manipulation. Using Rodrigo as a tool, Iago discovers that Othello’s passion for Desdemona to also be his weakness and eventual downfall. Latching on to this notion Iago’s uses it to his advantage. Rodrigo is a mere pawn in Iago's master plan with him being used as a back up, almost like an unknowing sidekick, winning him over by providing him with false confidence regarding Desdemona. "She must change for youth. Whe... ...: Penguin, 1991. Campbell, Lily B. Shakespeare’s Tragic Heroes. New York: Barnes and Noble, Inc., 1970. Kermode, Frank. â€Å"Othello, the Moor of Venice.† The Riverside Shakespeare. Ed. G. Blakemore Evans. Boston, MA: Houghton Mifflin Co., 1974. Mack, Maynard. Everybody’s Shakespeare: Reflections Chiefly on the Tragedies. Lincoln, NB: University of Nebraska Press, 1993. Shakespeare, William. Othello. Ed. Alfred Harbab. Middlesex, England: Penguin, 1970. Shakespeare, William. Othello. In The Electric Shakespeare. Princeton University. 1996. http://www.eiu.edu/~multilit/studyabroad/othello/othello_all.html No line nos.