Penn foster exam Essay

I want to inform you of a position here at INK. My boss, Daniel Smith, is looking for a personal assistant and I know that you would be perfect for the position. Your background in sales and cashiering lend some qualifications to the job, but it is your outgoing personality and attention to detail that are sure to win him over. The Job Requirements include: -Preparing coffee every morning -Creating speeches for Mr. Smith’s many public appearances -Joining Mr. Smith at weekly conferences -Keeping a detailed log of Mr. Smith’s contacts with business and community members including personal information about their families, likes, dislikes, and hobbies -Managing Mr. Smith’s business account and petty cash funds. With your background as a cashier, I have no doubt that you will excel at managing the books. I have always noticed your ability to organize any situation to run smoothly, so I am assured that you can also handle Mr. Smith’s many public appearances and conferences. Your success as a sales clerk is surely due to your bright and positive personality- in fact I have rarely seen you without a smile for everyone. Mr. Smith can be a bear in the mornings without his coffee, so your upbeat attitude and your ability to roll with the punches, so to speak, will be a huge asset in that regard. I also know that in our family, you are the one who remembers everyone’s birthday’s, so as far as making Mr. Smith’s guests and associates feeling welcome, you are the best person for the job.

Psychology Memory Test Notes

Short term memory: where small amounts of information can be stored for a small period of time. Long term memory: where limitless amounts of information can be stored for a very long period of time. Capacity: amount of information that can be held at any given time. Duration: the length of time that memories can be held. Encoding: the method in which information is expressed in a particular memory store. Displacement: a way of memory being erased from the short term memory before it an be transferred into the long term memory. Interference: when information which is stored in the long term memory is confused with similar information.Free recall: if a participant is asked to listen to 7 words and repeat them in FREE RECALL that means that the participant DOES NOT have to repeat the words in the order they were stated in. Serial recall: if a participant is asked to listen to 7 words and repeat them in that means that the participant HAS TO repeat the words in the order they were stated in. Digit span technique: a method of measuring the capacity of the short term memory by asking participants to repeat a string of items which gradually increases until recall is not possible.Information processing systems are called models. The manipulation and transformation of information is controlled by the process of: – encoding – retrieval strategies – rehearsal there are three separate sensory stores according to A&S: – iconic store – echoic store – haptic store sperling ( )- used a chart containing three rows ot letters tor a second. This was used to find evidence for the sensory memory. Items remain in the sensory memory for a very brief period of time. possibly less then two seconds) – information in the sensory memory is in a relatively unprocessed form. – information is passively registered in sensory memory. We cant control what enters. A&S believed the two different stores were different in terms of: – ho w long they last (duration) – how much information they can store (capacity) how they store information (encoding) – how information is lost (forgetting) The primacy and recency effect state that the words at the start and at the end of the list are recalled better.Asymptotes ( middle words ) are poorly recalled. Primacy effect: this is the tendency for the first items represented in a series to be remembered better or more easily. Recency effect: this is the principle that the most recently presented items or experiences will most likely be remembered the best.

Nursing Physical Assessment

Physical Assessment Lab 120-103 1. General Survey ! Level?! Awake & Alert a. Orientation to person, place, time? b. Ability to Communicate in full sentences with clear speech? c. Posture: upright and erect, shoulders level and symmetrical? d. Personal Hygiene: Clean & neat, no odor, dresses appropriately for the weather. 2. Integumentary System: a. Color: Uniform color – pink, tan, brown, olive. Slightly darker on exposed areas. There are normally no areas of bleeding, ecchymosis, or increased vascularity. No skin lesions should be present except for freckles, birthmarks, or moles, which may be flat or elevated. . Temperature: Warm and dry bilaterally. Hands and feet may be slightly cooler than the rest of the body. Skin surfaces should be non tender. (use back of both hands on patient’s forearms) c. Textures: Skin should feel soft/fine or coarse/thick. d. Turgor: When the skin is released, it should instantly recoil, no tenting. Best place to assess: Ant. ?Chest or abd omen. **Verbalize: I will integrate the integumentary system throughout the rest of the exam through checking and observing. 3. Head, Face, Neck a. Cranium: The head should be normocephalic, midline, and symmetrical.? . Scalp: The scalp should be white to light brown, shiny, intact, and without lesions or masses, flaking, or pidiculi (lice)? c. Hair: Pale blonde to black, thick or thin, curly or straight, coarse or fine, shiny or dull.? d. Frontal Maxillary Sinuses: Should be non palpable and non tender (must ask â€Å"did that hurt? †) e. Cervical Lymph Nodes: Should be non palpable and non tender, non visible or inflamed. (Preauricular, postauricular, occipital, submental, submandibular, tonsillar, anterior cervical chain, posterior cervical chain, supraclavicular. e. Best place to assess: Ant. Chest or abdomen. **Verbalize: I will integrate the integumentary system throughout the rest of the exam through checking and observing. Physical Assessment Lab 120-103 f. Carotid Ar tery: Has visible pulsation (should be in front of the sternocleidomastoid muscle), palpable bilaterally (not at the same time!!! ), no bruits (soft blowing or wooshing sound from constriction of plaque) g. Temporal Artery: Should be palpable and equal bilaterally h. TMJ: Glides smoothly, no clicking or crepitus. i. Trachea: Midline, Thyroid: non palpable, non tender (ask) j.Neck: ROM & Muscle Strength: Stand behind the patient, touch the chin to the chest, look up at the ? ceiling, move each ear to shoulder (without elevating the shoulder), turn head to each side to look at the shoulder. The Cervical spine’s alignment is straight, the head is held erect. Normal muscle strength allows for full, complete, voluntary joint ROM against both gravity and moderate to full resistance. Muscle strength is equal bilaterally. There is no observed involuntary muscle movement. Say: â€Å"full active ROM with no restrictions† k.Thyroid: Palpation: have the patient lower the chin slig htly in order to relax neck muscles. Place your thumbs on the back of the patient’s neck and bring the other fingers around the neck anteriorly to rest their tips over the trachea on the lower portion of the neck. Move the finger pads over the tracheal rings. Gently move trachea over to the side, then have patient swallow. Feel for any consistency, nodularity, or tenderness. 4. Eyes? a. Eyelids: Palpebral Fissure are symmetrical, no ptosis or lid lag.? b. Lacrimal Glands: Pale pink, patent, no excessive tearing, dryness, drainage, or edema.? . Eyelashes: Evenly distributed no ectropion no entropion.? d. Eyebrows: Even and equally bilateral? e. Conjunctiva: clear, pink, moist, without lesions? f. Sclera: white & intact? g. Cornea: Surface should be moist and shiny and without discharge, cloudiness, opacity, and irregularity.? h. Iris: round, symmetrical, and colored: green, blue, brown, hazel, violet, honey, etc.? i. Pupils: PERRLA (Pupils are Equal, Round, Reactive to Light a nd Accommodation) Check pupil reflexes. check twice each eye, direct/consensual, then bring penlight toward nose to assess for accommodation. . Ears? a. Pinna: Non tender, symmetrical bilaterally, without lesions or masses, (top of pinna should always be equal to outer canthus) – palpate simultaneously? b. Tragus: non tender, without lesions? c. Mastoid Process (piece of bone inferior posterior ear): non tender, no swelling, equal bilaterally (if one is different, ask for how long)? d. Tympanic Membrane: Pearly gray, shiny, intact (sometimes will see some white-cottage cheese looking bumps = scarring) MAKE SURE TO CHANGE SPECULUM BTWN EARS FOR PRACTICUM Adult: pull back and up, look anterior.Child pull down) **know how to use equiptment!! Instructors/proctors look for this!!! *** e. Umbo: (Part of the Stapes) Make sure this is present, Protruding = dehydrated, Not present = fluid behind eardrum. f. Cone of Light: Tiny triangle anterior inferior on tympanic membrane = healthy. 5:00 on the right ear, 7:00 on the left ear. Physical Assessment Lab 120-103 6. Nose? a. Nares: patent, have patient occlude one nostril and gently blow out air on back of hand to test patency. Mucosa: pink, moist, without lesions, edema, drainage? b. Septum: without deviation.Best was to assess is to push tip of nose up – shows if deviation is present. ! ***If nares are pink = allergies. If nares are bright red = cold. Saline shortens cold as it washes it ! down to stomach, where stomach kills the virus. 7. Mouth/Lips? a. Lips: pink, moist, intact, without lesions? b. Teeth: 32 including 4 wisdom. White with good repair, without caries? c. Tongue: pink, moist, papillae intact, midline, full mobility (ask pt to stick tongue out move left, right, up, down), without lesions? d. Oral Mucosa: pink, moist, without lesions (use tongue depressor & penlight) no red, no swelling? . Gingiva: pink, moist, intact, no bleeding? f. Uvula: Midline, rises symmetrically with soft palate when patient says â€Å"Ahhh† If absent patient will be sensitive to gagging. If long may be a sign of sleep apnea? g. Tonsils: Pink, symmetrical. They are graded from â€Å"absent – +4) +1 = peeking, +4 = kissing h. Hard/Soft Palate: pink, intact. Soft palate is pinker than hard Write: â€Å"What you would expect to see† If not, must state what you see. Are the eyelids covering the top of the iris? Always compare OD to OS. First begin assessment with visual acuity.?Corneal Light Reflex: Shine penlight 12-15† away toward eyes (at midline) Should get right reflex in same position in each eye. If asymmetric they have strabismus (weak eye muscle) Ears: Use tuning fork? Weber Test: Hit on palm Hold at tip head (hairline) Should be able to hear equally in each ear. Rinne Test: hearing acuity. Hit prongs on palmar, put it on mastoid process until can’t hear it any longer, then move it to holding it in front of the ear canal. ***Air conduction should be twice as long as bone conduction*** Semicircular Canals: control balance and equilibriumVertigo can be caused by a foreign body which has been dislodged and landed in semicircular canals. Native Americans and Asians can have â€Å"Torus Palantitis† looks like mountain ranges on palate this is a benign condition. 8. Sensory Neuro (answer to most cranial nerve testing is â€Å"intact†) *verbage: Physical Assessment Lab 120-103 a. Sensation – light touch, sharp/dull, intact? a. Upper Extremities – use cotton ball, & sharp & dull sides of broken tongue depressor use 3 spots: finger, back of hand, arm. * ! b. Abdominal Reflex * ! ! Positive or not present * ! . Lower Extremities – use cotton ball & sharp & dull sides of broken tongue depressor use 3 spots: toe, top of ! foot, and shin.? b. Deep Tendon Reflexes – (smack deep tendons using flat side of hammer) *These are graded 0-4 â€Å"What you would expect to find +2/4†) ? a. Biceps – p lace thumb at patient’s elbow (antecubital) to hold their arm. Hit own thumb with the hammer. ?b. Triceps – hold patient’s muscle so patient’s arm can swing freely. Hit hammer above funny bone. ?c. Brachial Radialis – Hold pt’s hand then hit hammer midway btwn wrist & antecubital. d.Patellar – Find tendon right above patellar bone, hit hammer on tendon? e. Achilles – About 2† above heel, support foot, relax leg. Will have plantar flexion.? f. Plantar or Babinski = severe brain damage â€Å"abduction†. So we say â€Å"Positive plantar ? flexion, no abduction† we only expect to find in babies. How to test: use metal side of hammer and trace the outer margin of the foot and across top, under toes. ?babinski or f. Best place to assess: Ant. ?Chest or abdomen. **Verbalize: I will integrate the integumentary system throughout the rest of the exam through checking and observing.

Camera Obscura Edinburgh Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Camera Obscura Edinburgh - Essay Example These aspects are (1) the visitors’ experience and (2) the visitors’ behavior. Key Words camera obscura, artistic Introduction The Camera Obscura in Edinburgh is one of the most popular tourist attractions in Scotland. The site is frequented by thousands of tourists every year who are eager to see and learn about this artistic marvel (Cooper 2005, p.37). It is a very important feature of Scotland’s tourism industry, and is loved and adored by so many people. Most people love visiting tourist attractions and sites; they love to explore and to take in the wonderful features on offer in not only their countries but other foreign nations as well. However, few people really appreciate these sites. This could be because a majority of them have little grasp of those attractions and therefore are not aware of how to conduct themselves when touring. It is worth noting that if one does not fully understand the history and nature of a particular tourist attraction, it is ve ry difficult to enjoy a visit to that site. At the same time, it is very easy for one to do things that might be considered wrong or inappropriate. Despite this, they cannot be wholly blamed, and this is why tour guides and operators are so important (Huang 2009, p.19). They help visitors to acclimatize themselves to whichever place they are visiting, and in the process improve their experience and allow them to express themselves without any reservations. The Camera Obscura in Edinburgh is an example of a tourist attraction that can do more in order to give its visitors the best possible experience. How to Improve Visitor Behavior Improving Communication (especially informal communication) Visitors always enjoy visits to museums and tourist attractions when they engage in interactive and hands-on exhibitions. These types of exhibitions are usually accompanied by fun, but they are not always accompanied by scientific, cultural or educational enrichment. Visitors often enjoy museum v isits, most visibly to observers, in hands-on and interactive exhibitions (Stine 2009, p.29). Hands-on exhibitions are not necessarily accompanied by educational, cultural or scientific enrichment, although they may be accompanied by having fun. Research carried out over the years has revealed that visitors often miss most of the attitudes and /or ideas that are normally the original objective of museums, exhibition organizers and curators. Museums and tourist sites generally understand and know how to develop the aesthetic, physical and scholarly aspects of spaces. Despite this, the attitudes, learning capabilities, motivations and preconceptions are not well understood. Edinburgh’s Camera Obscura should strive acquire an in-depth knowledge of how visitors learn and behave in leisure-oriented environments. This will allow it to â€Å"read† its visitors and as a result develop a very good understanding of their preferences, how they like to view those preferences and h ow much time they require to view the various attractions within the Camera Obscura (Hall 2009, p.10). It is therefore crucial that any

Introduction Speech Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Introduction Speech - Essay Example I. Main Point #1 – Basic Costa Rica Information A. Location: The Republic of Costa Rica is an interesting country located in the lower middle of Central America between Panama and Nicaragua. It is bordered to the east by the Caribbean Sea and to the west by the Pacific Ocean. It is the only Central American country without a military system. It is known as the â€Å"Switzerland† of Central America. B. The climate ranges widely from mild in the central highlands, to tropical and subtropical along the coastal areas. It has a variety of terrains with coastal plains on either side of a rugged central range. This range, located in the middle of the country, houses most of the farming area as well as a tropical rainforest. C. There are approximately 4.5 million people of various ethnic descents living there. The people are very friendly, laid back, and most speak either Spanish or a Caribbean patois blend of Spanish and Portuguese. II. Main Point #2 – Package Itinerary : The Caribbean Side A. After we arrive at San Jose, we will be picked up at the airport to begin our journey at Tortuguero (Tor-too-ger-o) National Park.

Critical investigation of frame relay traffic Essay

Critical investigation of frame relay traffic - Essay Example This is the reason why the Frame Relay interface does not include an underlying sublayer assigned with error and flow control tasks such as LAP-B in X.25. Subsequently, Frame Relay is suitable for existing private and public networks based on digital TDM transmission systems. This paper is divided into 4 chapters. This is an introductory chapter. Next chapter is dedicated to a review of the literature on the technology. Then comes the methodology part and finally the conclusion. ISDN represents another ideal carrier for frame relay traffic able to support a number of frame mode bearer services (FMBS). This plurality of frame mode bearer services was considered necessary by the CCITT because Frame Relay may have to be supported over segments of analog technology, at least during the early stages of ISDN. There are two types of Frame Relay connections: permanent virtual connections (PVCs) and switched virtual connections (SVCs). The establishment, maintenance, and release of PVCs are subject to local management operations. On the other hand, signalling is required to manage SVCs. Of course, dynamically allocated SVCs are much more attractive compared to PVCs which function much like dedicated private lines. At present, the Frame Relay implementations are only PVC-based. This is due to both the complexity of the required signalling [3] and it s unavailability on the local loop. However, PVCs provide a good immediate solution because LAN-to-LAN interconnectivity is the main Frame Relay application. But the need for products supporting SVCs is growing and a lot of work is being done in this area. Work on the definition of the Frame Relay interface has been carried out by several organizations during the past years. CCITT has produced a series of standards covering the support of Frame Relay over ISDN, the provision of several Frame Mode Bearer Services (FMBS) and the

Assessing Learning and Achievement Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2750 words

Assessing Learning and Achievement - Essay Example For college students I based mostly on observations, presentations and project work. The complete opposite is for work based learners where the most appropriate methods are witness testimonies, products of work and accreditation for prior learning. With regards to the issues I intend to address are as follow: The advantages and disadvantages of criterion-referenced assessment, the assessment of validity and reliability (where demand from the government to meet targets forces from the colleges, to employ assessors lacking in competence, making assessment value to be questioned). Also I would like to address the current issues in assessment policy bureaucracy, the measuring and recording of assessment results reduces time spent with the learner, 'bums on seats' model forces colleges to accumulate quantitative achievement rather than qualitative ones. As result this makes the value of qualifications and achievement questionable. In the initial assessment, computer tests are used to identify the literacy and numercacy level of potential applicants, At the diagnostic assessment, the applicants are again tested on the computer, yet compared to previous ones, the applicants are to diagnose; going into the details to diagnose which are the areas that need to be addressed and then identify the support. For formative assessment, it is on going throughout the year both whether it be in lessons or at visits for WBL. Finally for summative assessment was used at the end of the unit or the whole course. It is also at the end of the unit, learners have to complete the underpinning knowledge test to prove their knowledge competence, norm referenced, criterion reference or ipsative assessment; Identify and discuss range of concepts, definitions and principles covered in learning and assessment within your professional practice In the initial assessment, computer tests are used to identify the literacy and numercacy level of potential applicants, At the diagnostic assessment, the applicants are again tested on the computer, yet compared to previous ones, the applicants are to diagnose; going into the details to diagnose which are the areas that need to be addressed and then identify support . For formative assessment, it is on going throughout the year both whether it be in lessons or at visits for WBL. Finally for summative assessment was used at the end of the unit or the whole course. It is also at the end of the unit, learners have to complete the underpinning knowledge test to prove their knowledge competence,norm referenced, criterion reference or ipsative assessment; Formal and informal assessment. I encounter informal assessment throughout the course by means ofinformal discussions and feedback; Self assessment and peer assessment Peer assessment is used more in college environment, and self assessmentis used at the end of the lessons or in tutorials Analysis of your assessment

Remuneration and Employee Motivation in the Retail Industry Research Paper

Remuneration and Employee Motivation in the Retail Industry - Research Paper Example The current paper focuses on the examination of the relationship between remuneration and motivation in firms’ operating in the retail industry. It seems that employee motivation is strongly affected by the remuneration policies used within a specific organization. However, this relationship has many aspects; it is possible for the employees’ performance to be kept at high levels even if the amount of compensation (or other benefits) paid to employees is not increased. The skills of the managers involved in the relevant efforts are of critical importance for the achievement of the above target. The above assumptions have been also verified in practice through the survey conducted for this study. Most of the participants – employees in two large shopping centers in London, UK – have stated that the conditions in the workplace are quite important for their performance – even if the remuneration is lower than expected. However, in the long term, a fair remuneration strategy is required in order for the productivity of employees to be kept at high levels. The increase of employee motivation – as a factor influencing their performance – can be achieved only through appropriate HR policies. The conditions of the market, however, have also a crucial role; during periods of strong financial turbulence, the ability of managers to proceed to specific initiatives like increasing the remuneration of employees is limited.

The Beta Group Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

The Beta Group - Case Study Example Beta became a successful group in corporate world because it created and offered new technological solutions in certain business sectors such as medical, consumer products, and industrial technology. The group actually identified where the gaps exist in the market and how they could be matched through use of technology and research & development. The actual business model of The Beta Group is known as Business Engineering that refers to development of a concept and business strategy through comprehensive marker research followed by analysis of potential and scope of certain products and technologies. Indeed, the group first identifies an opportunity in the marketplace after which it initiates research and evaluates the competition, underlying issues and how the needs could be met. If research proves successful then the needs are matched through hunting and development of a proprietary technology or an innovative process. Nevertheless, it is justified to argue that Beta Group has tran slated innovation into value through creation of new technologies by using innovative ideas. As a result, the proprietary technologies have benefited in meeting consumer meets for which no solutions were previously available in market. In short, the aforementioned created value for patients and customers from every walk of life.

Computer Systems Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words - 2

Computer Systems - Essay Example working on conventional models like grid, support autonomic features and used on the basis of billing utilities, but the idea of a cloud is comparatively different and opposite to the features of grid, for example SaaS, Utility Computing etc. Cloud promises the availability of all the required architecture including application, hardware, platform, software and required amount of storages through an ownership of a suitable internet connection. Enables people to access the required information through any device that has an internet connection-instead of being attached to the desktop. It is also cost effective as it doesn’t require installing hardware or software. Powerful idea behind cloud computing is computing by service-oriented architectures (SOA) – transferring of an incorporated and organized collection of functions to users by mean of both freely and firmly coupled purposes, or services – most of which are network based. Virtualized infrastructure enables the development and deployment of applications dramatically easier, thus increasing the reliable scope of these applications achievable within allocated budget and organizational controls.. Virtual infrastructure also expands reliability, efficiency and quality by including similarities within application requirements and aids the organized sharing of services. Now a day, almost every business activity requires Information Technology and its services in any form available. Technology wants to develop end-user efficiency and decrease Technology-driven overhead Service Oriented Architectures is not a new concept, but in the recent years it has gained a considerable attention. Examples of some such early that were based on SOA are Object Request Brokers (ORBs), DCOM and Remote Procedure Calls (RPC). Most recent model of SOA is known as Grid Computing solution and infrastructures. In a Service Oriented Architecture environment organizations or customer request an Information Technology

Biodiesel Is Good For Our Country Essay Example for Free

Biodiesel Is Good For Our Country Essay While world population, technology and civilization continues to advance, the pressure on the Earth’s resources is rapidly advancing as well. Humankind has set his environmental footprint deeper and deeper into the planet’s renewable and non-renewable resource. But there’s not turning back to caveman days. Scientists and researchers have not ceased to continually find sources of fuel that will help mankind survive in an environmentally sustainable manner. Using renewable energy has been invented a long time ago. â€Å"Biomass in the form of firewood still represents the main fuel source for many of the world’s people and conventional large-scale hydroelectric generation is a major existing use of a renewable energy source. However, wood fuel is becoming increasingly scarce and given the high capital cost of large hydro projects and, in some cases, major environmental impacts of such schemes, there has been growing interest in smaller scale hydro plants around the world. † (Elliot, 1997. P. 103) Interest in developing biodiesel as an alternative source for engine power has increased. Biodiesel’s growing popularity stems from the fact that its source is available in many parts of the country. Its easy availability helps the country be less dependent on countries that supply oil. For biodiesel consumers, the National Biodiesel Board has a complete listing of registered biodiesel suppliers. â€Å"Biodiesel, which is made from agricultural products such as recycled cooking oil or soybeans, can be used in its pure form known as biodiesel B100 or mixed in any percentage with conventional diesel fuel. The most typical commercial blend involves 80 percent diesel oil to 20 percent biodiesel or biodiesel B20. † (Qualters, 2003) Quality biodiesel is nontoxic. Since most of the raw materials used in biodiesel is made from organic material, it is generally biodegradable as well. The bio fuel emits lesser carcinogens as compared to the regular diesel fuel. In the US alone, an estimated 10 million miles has been driven by biodiesel and biodiesel blends. Clean Cities programs have many success stories on using biodiesel. â€Å"In 2000, biodiesel became the only alternative fuel in the country to have successfully completed the EPA-required Tier I and Tier II health effects testing under the Clean Air Act. These independent tests conclusively demonstrated biodiesel’s significant reduction of virtually all regulated emissions, and showed biodiesel does not pose a threat to human health. † (Biodiesel Board, 2006) Some skeptics fear using biodiesel fuel and its blends because there is need of engine modifications. Studies and use of biodiesel has proven that the usual engine designs are fully compatible with biodiesel. Maintenance costs are just as comparable to conventional diesel vehicles. â€Å"In older vehicles, high-percentage blends of biodiesel (greater than 20%) can affect fuel hoses and pump seals made from certain elastomers. The effect is lessened with lower percentage blends. Elastomers (found in hoses and gaskets) that are biodiesel-compatible are required for use with B100 and high-percentage biodiesel blends. All diesel fuels require special measures for use in cold temperatures. Biodiesel has a higher cloud point than conventional diesel. † (EERE, 2006) Using biodiesel is good for the country because of its political, economic and social benefits. Since it is domestically produced, the country would not have to be forever negotiating with world crude oil prices. Each time the oil rich countries change their prices, domestic consumption is affected. An example of this effect is when the country had to maximize daylight to save fuel consumption. â€Å"Brawny diesel engines have helped drive the world economy for more than a century. From an economic and operational perspective, theres little reason to expect that will change anytime soon. Diesels big draws are power, durability, and an inherent advantage over gasoline: higher energy content and resulting fuel efficiency. † (Weinhold, 2002. P 1) Economic benefits may not be readily seen in the short term but in the long term, as more people use biodiesel, the cost of biodiesel will be more competititive due to the economies of scale. Advancing technology research on biodiesel blends will be able to further develop biodiesel blends that have even better chemical statistics such as: unburned hydrocarbons 20% reduction, carbon monoxide – 12 % reduction, and particulate matter – 12 % reduction. Even lubricity is made better with the use of biodiesel compared to the conventional fuel. Another benefit that can be derived from using this type of alternative fuel is the comparable performance that the consumer gets from it. â€Å"Horsepower, torque, acceleration, cruising speed, and fuel economy are similar to those for diesel fuel. The energy content of B100 is 10%-12% lower than conventional diesel. This leads to roughly 2% lower energy content in B20 blends. The cetane number for biodiesel is significantly higher than that of conventional diesel fuel. † (EERE, 2006) Where average consumers look into the bottomline of fuels as the amount of power they can deliver, studies has continued to support the quality power that biodiesel can deliver as proven in the table and explanation below. â€Å"The values below represent those of energy content of average No. 2 diesel fuel and average biodiesel in the US. 2 While BTU changes of 1-2% can be picked up in lab tests for horsepower, torque, and fuel economy, in practice it is difficult to detect any differences with a 1-2% change in fuel BTU content outside normal variability experienced from day to day operations, even in closely monitored fleets. † (USEP, 2002) Average Density and Heating Value of Biodiesel and Diesel Fuel Net Heating Value % Difference vs. Fuel Density, g/cm3 Avg. , Btu/gal. No. 2 Diesel Avg. No. 2 Diesel 0. 850 129,500 Biodiesel (B100) 0. 880 , 296 8. 65 % B20 Blend (B20) 0. 856* 127,259* 1. 73 %* B2 Blend (B2) 0. 851* 129,276* 0. 17 %* * Calculated Values from those of No. 2 Diesel and Biodiesel (B100) The discovery of biodiesel was driven by the need to source fuel that is more compatible with the environment. This need was realized as petroleum prices increased, population demand on energy advanced and environmental degradation on the Earth’s resource was felt on largescale observations such as global warming. There will come a time when man will be able to run their technology on more organic and renewable forms of energy. The benefits that consumers get from biodiesel are essential in helping the country invest on other organic and more renewable and more available forms of energy. At best, if the country adopts using biodiesel on a larger percent consumption, political disputes may lessen its impact on social relationships between nations of the world. The 911 catastrophe and wars historically recalled have been the consequence of conflict between nations due to need to control scarce resource such as oil. For all its worth, it is imperative that consumers and the country invest on biodiesel because it is good for the consumers health as much as the country’s well being in the short term and the long run. References EERE, 2006. Using Biodiesel in Vehicles. http://www. eere. energy. gov/afdc/afv/bio_vehicles. html Elliot, David. 1997. Energy, Society, and Environment: Technology for a Sustainable Future. Routledge Qualters, Sheri. 2003. Area firms start to take a shine to biodiesel as an alternative fuel. Boston Business Journal February 10, 2003 http://boston. bizjournals. com/boston/stories/2003/02/10/focus1. html USEP, 2002. â€Å"A Comprehensive Analysis of Biodiesel Impacts on Exhaust Emissions†, US Environmental Protection Agency, EPA420-P-02-001, October 2002. Weinhold, Bob. 2002. Fuel for the Long Haul? Diesel in America. Journal; Environmental Health Perspectives, Vol. 110, 2002

John Locke Essay Essay Example for Free

John Locke Essay Essay Our Earth has been the home to a multitude of great thinkers. These thinkers were scattered throughout the generations from the Romans all the way to the 20th century; however, the time period with the most philosophers was the Enlightenment Age. During this time there were many thinkers such as Voltaire and Thomas Hobbes. One thinker in particular who contributed a great deal to history was John Locke. His work is still influencing the lives of people across the world 300 years later. He rethought the moral role of government, created a new theory of knowledge, introduced the use of reason, and reminded people of their natural rights. The combination of these four things made him the single most influential philosopher during the Enlightenment Age, and even in history. During the 1600s-1700s, John Locke lived on this earth, observing how society functioned. He saw thinks very differently than the average person. Unlike many others, he used logic and reason in order to see the flaws of government. The government at the time was incredibly corrupt and unfair to the people. Taxes made the lives of 98% of the population miserable and insufferable. Locke could even be considered a humanist for his actions. He felt the people deserved a fair government that served them as appose to the people serving the government. According to Locke, â€Å"political power is the natural power of each man collectively given up into the hands of a designated body†1. In a more general sense, he created the social contract. Most people recognize this theory as the social contract because it is an agreement between government and its people. All people are born with their natural rights. The idea of the social contract is a community surrenders some degree of its natural rights in favor of government, which is better able to protect those rights than any man could alone. Protection is one of the greatest services any government can provide. People will enjoy living under a certain ruler if he or she can keep them safe. The quality of life is generally much higher when there is no constant fear of attack from a neighbor. The idea of the government providing protection had been around before, but Locke included the idea that government exists solely for the well being of the community. He stressed to the people that any government that breaks the contract can and should be replaced. Gradually, people began to process this idea and realized that Locke was right. They were the ones that should have the power, not the government. The people were unhappy with the way they were being treated, but they did not know what to do about it so they continued suffering. Locke gave them an instruction manual by saying, â€Å"the community has a moral obligation to revolt against or otherwise replace any government that forgets that it exists only for the people’s benefit†2. This struck true to many people because they were unhappy. It also gave reason for the government to be reasonable and not do anything outrageous. More power was given to the people and the days of absolute rule would no longer exist. One of Locke’s other contributions that was considered revolutionary was creating a new way theory of knowledge. Locke believed that knowledge was only gained through worldliness. He told people that experiences caused them to learn. One famous this he argued is that, â€Å"at birth the mind is a tabula rasa†3. Tabula rasa translates to â€Å"clean slate†. Essentially, everyone is born without knowledge and over time they become wiser and smarter. This was revolutionary because previously no one had every stopped to think about how knowledge was gained other than schooling. Locke was the first to think that people were born without any knowledge. He emphasized the five senses as well. Humans fill their clean slate with ideas and experience in the world through their five senses. There are many varying definitions of knowledge, but John Locke is the most accurate. Locke defines knowledge as â€Å"the connection and agreement, or disagreement and repugnancy, of the ideas humans form†4. Since our knowledge is derived from our experiences, it means our knowledge is limited. Not everyone can know everything since not one single person can experience everything this earth has to offer in one lifetime. This also means that everyone’s knowledge varies and no two people have the same exact knowledge since everyone’s experiences are different. Locke also notes that there is a great deal of unknown on this world and there always will be. This observation still is true today because there is a great deal of uncertainty in today’s society. He is also still influential because he taught us to question those uncertain areas. As a continuation, he agrees that there are certain things that we are certain of. One example that Locke uses is the certainty of our own existence and the existence of God even tough we may not fully comprehend who or what he was5. Another very complex theory that he had relating to the idea of knowledge was our ideas are related to reality. He said that, â€Å"our ideas correspond to external realities because the mind cannot invent such things without experience†6. The idea of knowledge was vague but Locke defined it in a very detailed and simple way for the average person to comprehend. This idea that our ideas are relates to reality because our mind cannot invent things without experience caused people a greater understanding of how their mind worked and encouraged them to experience more in their lives. John Locke is known for many contributions to society but one of his most influential was his inception of reason. He thought that every person had a purpose in life and that was to find truth. In believing this he encouraged people that God gave us our capacity for reason to aid us in the search for truth. Since Lock believed in a clean mind at birth, he also believed that people were born innocent. Innocence in his mind is eventually inevitably lost trough experience. That innocence disappears and creates knowledge. Locke wanted people to understand and think for themselves rather than follow their leaders blindly. He also considered truthful that, â€Å"each person has a duty to preserve other people as well as himself †¦ recognizing the responsibility to preserve the rights of all humankind naturally leads to tolerance†7. This idea directly leads to his idea of separation of church and state. To him, government had absolutely no right to impose itself people. The fact of the matter was that the government and state were one body. This gave them significant power to do anything they pleased. Locke was one of the very first to question governments over oppression. All men control their bodies and their minds so no other individual should try and control it. Also how â€Å"men naturally exist in a state of nature and so he needs to answer only to the laws of nature†8. The majority of leaders at the time were extremely unhappy with how Locke was influencing the general public. Ironically, now many leaders such as the president of the United States follow many of his beliefs. Locke also influenced the American Constitution when his ideas reached over seas. Early Americans saw the power of his theories such as the social contract and more importantly using reason. People wanted to be granted the same friends and eventually received them. Henry Ford once said, â€Å"thinking is the hardest work there is and that is why so few engage in it†. This quote is why John Locke is the greatest thinker and philosopher of all time. He devoted his life to changing not only the way people thought, but how they viewed life forever. No man has had a greater impact that him. Locke rethought the moral role of government, created a new way theory of knowledge, introduced the use of reason, and reminded people of their natural rights. The combination of these four things is simply what made him such an indelible man. Sources 1. Uzgalis, William, Uzgalis,. John Locke. Stanford University. Stanford University, 02 Sept. 2001. Web. 08 Jan. 2014. 2. Locke, John. The Second Treatise on Civil Government. Amherst, NY: Prometheus, 1986. Print. 3. Aaron, Richard I. John Locke. Oxford: Clarendon, 1971. Print. 4. Berlin, Isaiah. The Age of Enlightenment. Oxford: Oxford UP, 1979. Print. 5. Locke, John, and John Locke. The Second Treatise of Government; And, A Letter concerning Toleration. Mineola, NY: Dover Publications, 2002. Print.

The Passionate Shepherd to His Love Analysis

The Passionate Shepherd to His Love Analysis Love is not quick Is ones eager love and admiration enough to last forever? So Marlowes Passionate Shepherd To His Love would think so. On the other hand, Raleighs Nymph Reply To The Shepherd would confidently disagree, as she does not believes his hasty words. Marlowe writes a naive, rash, and rather bold poem which attempts to confess his feelings and paints a picture of what love could be. He fills the canvas with dream like scenery and promising words of materialistic items to win ones affection. Raleighs response in Nymph prompts the reader to see reasoning and a sense of reality that contrasts with Marlowes words of the Shepherd. In Passionate Shepherd To His Love, Marlowes style for the poem is pastoral. He seems to glorify the simplicity of life and idealize a perfect world by utilizing nature to create his utopian scene. In the lines And we will sit upon the rocks, Seeing the shepherds feed their flocks,(Marlowe 777) he portrays an innocent notion of affection by simply admiring other shepherds feeding sheep alongside his love. The authors soft-spoken line,By shallow rivers, to whose falls Melodious birds sing madrigals,(Marlowe 777) illustrates spending time by the river with waterfalls as birds sing melodies. These are one of many naive illusions the shepherd attempts to charm his love with. Marlowes shepherd is filled with nothing but eager promises that are not realistic. The shepherd seeks love, yet is first confined to proving his worth. In beginning, Marlow speaks of practical promises such as, A cap of flowers and kirtle Embroidered all with leave of myrtle; A gown made of the finest wool Which from our pretty lambs we pull (Marlowe 777). The pastoral style and the earthy feeling of nature are still visible when he speaks of flowers being made caps and skirts made of leaves. His practical promises quickly shift into unattainable ones as he begins to sound desperate as he states, A belt of straw and ivy buds, With Coral clasp and amber studs (Marlowe 777) The work of a shepherd cannot gather such raw items, as they are both too costly for him and also rare in the countryside. The poem is filled with open-ended promises where, in a perfect world, it would be enough to win the affection someones love. In the Nymphs Reply to the Shepherd, Raleigh is straightforward when addressing the shepherd. He uses the words and stanzas in a ruthless way, utilizing them in such a manner of deliberation and precision, that it sets the tone of a distinct response to Marlowe. The feminine persona of the nymph sets up hypothetical questions that disregard mans impulses of transitory promises. Raleigh begins by speaking of a naive world with a skeptical shepherd and his kind gestures that may win the affection of the nymph. Similar to Marlowe, who incorporates nature in his writing, Raleigh exploits the idea of the outdoors by expressing flawless responses. In the first example, Time drives the flocks from field to fold, When Rivers rage and Rocks grow cold(Raleigh 782). Raleigh puts an end to the simple gazing of flocking sheep, as its time for them to be put away, and the rocks growing cold insist a change in weather. In line 6, the stressed emphasis of R and its combined clashing sound supports the harsh distinction of Raleighs nature. Rather than Marlowes safe and consistent shallow stream, Raleigh illustrates a raging river that can be dangerous and destructive. The overall idea expressed in line 5 and 6 is that small moments dont last forever and making quick-hearted decisions will eventually lead to a negative outcome. As both authors integrate nature in their pieces, the differences in season describe a general feeling to each poem. Marlowe speaks of beautiful valleys, hills, groves, beds of roses, and alluring mountainsides, therefore the reader can assume the season as spring. Raleigh, however, expresses practicality, using winter to illustrate that, just as spring, love is not always everlasting.   He depicts this in Lines 9 and 10, The flowers do fade, and wanton fields, To wayward winter reckoning yields(Raliegh 782). The over all message that Raleigh is trying to convey can be expressed with in two lines, A honey tongue, a heart of gall, Is fancys spring, but sorrows fall,(782) he stating that if someones only chooses to see the short pleasure of love, over a long-term commitment, it will only lead in unhappiness. Marlowes theme suggests carpe diem, or to seize the day, as Raleigh exercises both carpe diem and tempus fugit, to seize the time. A better explanation of this is better expressed by Dr. Bruce Magee who explains that, Normally we should seize the day because time flies. Raleigh argues that because time flies, we should NOT seize the day.(Magee) This is a concurring statement because instead of making impulsive decisions in life, one should wait to evaluate possible outcomes before determining a significant choice. As Shakespeare once said, Wisely and slow. They stumble that run fast (Shakespeare 4). Work Cited Kirszner, Laurie G., and Stephen R. Mandell. Portable literature: reading, reacting, writing. Boston, MA: Cengage Learning, 2016. Print. Magee, Bruce. The Passionate Shepherd to His Love (and the Nymphs Reply). The Passionate Shepherd to His Love (and the Nymphs Reply). Louisiana Tech University, 08 Aug. 2014. Web. 27 Feb. 2017. Wiegle, Matt, and William Shakespeare. No fear Shakespeare. New York: Sparknotes, 2008. Print. The Passionate Shepherd To His Love Analysis The Passionate Shepherd To His Love Analysis The passionate shepherd to his love is a poem written by Christopher Marlowe of love promises from a shepherd to his potential lover set in a pastoral community. The shepherd is trying to convince a maiden to become his lover through romantic words that reveal their community as the best place to nurture their love. He is also ready to do everything in his power to please and make her happy if she heeds to his pleas. The shepherd is eager to cease the moment and have her love in the present situation (Payne John 714). The poem uses the word passionate to show the strong sexual urges that the shepherd has towards his object of desire. Throughout the poem, there are numerous promises and pleas by the shepherd but the maiden neither appears nor responds to his statements. The shepherd is convinced that all their pleasures will begin when she decides to live with him as his love. Summary of the stanzas In the first stanza, we are acquainted with an unidentified shepherd who appeals to a woman to join him by living together. He promises her ultimate pleasure if she agrees to live with him. There is no mention of marriage but just the will to accommodate her in his wife. The way he offers his promises show that the woman is a tough nut to crack, thus he has to make exaggerated and sometimes-impossible pledges. All their adventures are bound to happen in the pastoral settings in the ambience of nature. A common connotation for such an invitation would signify that the shepherd wanted to make love to the unidentified woman. He even suggests the private places such as the valleys, fields, woods, or hills where their love would consume them and they would derive pleasure. In the second stanza, the shepherd is keen to elaborate to the woman the perfect time for their love to bloom. The way he explains the environment at that time suggests that the season would either be spring or summer. This is because he mentions beautiful grounds where they could sit in comfort wile watching the flocks eating grass (Marlowe 67). The birds will be singing madrigals symbolize springtime as bird signals refer to a new season. The existence of grass also emphasizes on the season and the other shepherds will aid him by feeding his flock. He will seize the free time to spend the moments with his new lover as they savour the beauty of nature. All these activities in the second stanza will be done after they made love and were reminiscing of the moments they shared. The third stanza culminates into a scenario where the shepherd doubles his efforts of convincing the woman to be his lover. He does this by adding lucrative promises to the initial ones that will entice the woman to follow him to his house. He pledges to set up a variety of beds for her that has a thousand posies. The poem is full of hyperbole since the shepherd is consistent in making impossible and exaggerated promises just to gain the feedback from the woman. He even promises to dress her in magnificent kirtle adorned with other embellishments that will enhance her beauty. The kirtle seems to be a customary dress code but he promises to decorate it to show his appreciation of her acceptance for his love. In the fourth stanza, he is willing to share his riches with her by adorning her with a gown made of finest wool. He will turn the shearing procedure of obtaining the wool from the sheep into a graceful pulling session. This scenario represents his willingness to put effort into adorning his woman with all the things he can afford, thus the reason why he mentioned slippers made of nothing but pure gold. He continues alluring the woman in stanza five by taking care of all the tiny detains of her clothes. He talks of coral clasps will act as buttons and her costume will have a straw belt in addition to ivy-buds. He also takes the chance to remind the woman of how pleasurable their love will be if she accepts him. However, he does not go into detail of those pleasures he had aforementioned because in his heart he is convinced that she remembers them. The six and last stanza shows the shepherdà ¢Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¾Ã‚ ¢s last chance on convincing the woman to be his love. He promises her that if she agrees to love him his fellow shepherds referred to as swains will sing and dance in honour of them. He says that every day of their life will be filled with laughter and the shepherds will always sing and dance for them. In the last sentence, he simplifies the magnitude of her decision by simply asking him to come and live with her to enjoy those delights. In the poem, he uses couplets to emphasize his objectives because they use the same line in different stanzas such as the repetition of the words à ¢Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬Ãƒâ€¹Ã…“live with me and come be my love.à ¢Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¾Ã‚ ¢ Conclusion The poem generally shows that it is not easy to get love and sometimes people have to put effort. The shepherd doe not talk of the future or the past but hopes to get the woman in the present. His description about his motives is mainly geared towards satisfying his sexuality. He seems to have admired her so much to the extent of wanting her to give up her chastity. In the beginning, one would have thought that this is just a dream of an idle shepherd as he watched his flock but the mention of passion indeed shows there is a woman. The shepherd is not rich but he is willing to sacrifice whatever little he has to adorn his potential lover with the things he knows she deserves as his lover. He embarks on a journey to convince his lover with the same hard work he ploughs when he caters for his flock (Marlowe 67). He does not mention an aim of having a long time commitment but in the last stanza, he says that every day of their lives will be filled with happiness. This shows that he is w illing to nurture his love for the woman to last an eternity if she accepts him. The shepherd portrays a kind of love that innocent and pure yet filled with many erotic fantasies may be because she is the woman he has dreamt of having all his life. Throughout the poem, the shepherd is convinced that all their pleasures will begin when she decides to live with him as his love.

The Two-Tiered System of Allusions :: essays research papers

In Hollywood today, most films can be categorized according to the genre system. There are action films, horror flicks, Westerns, comedies and the likes. On a broader scope, films are often separated into two categories: Hollywood films, and independent or foreign ‘art house’ films. Yet, this outlook, albeit superficial, was how many viewed films. Celebrity-packed blockbusters filled with action and drama, with the use of seamless top-of-the-line digital editing and special effects were considered ‘Hollywood films’. Films where unconventional themes like existentialism or paranoia, often with excessive violence or sex or a combination of both, with obvious attempts to displace its audiences from the film were often attributed with the generic label of ‘foreign’ or ‘art house’ cinema. In recent times, such stereotyped categorizations of films are becoming inapplicable. ‘Blockbusters’ with celebrity-studded casts may have plots in which characters explore the depths of the human psyche, or avant-garde film techniques. Titles like ‘American Beauty’ (1999), ‘Fight Club’ (1999) and ‘Kill Bill 2’ (2004) come readily into mind. Hollywood perhaps could be gradually losing its stigma as a money-hungry machine churning out predictable, unintelligent flicks for mass consumption. While whether this image of Hollywood is justified remains open to debate, earlier films in the 60’s and 70’s like ‘Bonnie and Clyde’ (1967) and ‘Taxi Driver’ (1976) already revealed signs of depth and avant-garde film techniques. These films were successful as not only did they appeal to the mass audience, but they managed to communicate alternate messages to select groups who understood subtleties within th em. This was achieved via a two-tiered system, in which films could be viewed and interpreted on different levels. On one level, audiences could appreciate the film at face-value; the cohesive union the plot and acting of the characters to bring about a story which entertains and sometimes, carried messages or morals, such as Lumet’s ‘Dog Day Afternoon’ (1975), which had political implications. On another level, the other group of audience – those who have knowledge of film history or are learned in film culture – were able to admire artistic craftsmanship of film techniques the director employed, or appreciate the subtleties and allusions embedded within the film. As Carroll (1981: 56) explained, most movie-goers in the late seventies often felt as if they were watching two films simultaneously – the simple genre film, and the art film, coordinated with allusions in which the film-literate could pick out. He states that this system allowed Hollyw ood to remain faithful to the mass audience, yet popular among the rising film-literate generation.

When a Health Professional takes Advantage of a Patient Essay -- Explo

Picture yourself in this situation: A family member, extremely mentally troubled, has been seeing a psychologist for eight years. Over the course of this long therapy, you, as an interacting observer, see this relative’s mental and physical health deteriorate at an unsteady yet often exponentially quick rate. Between times of displayed complacency and calmness, you see climactic emotional outbursts that are always, though unbelievable to you at the time, outdone and outmatched by the next. You see this person controlled by not only anger but hate—hatred toward other family members; hatred that has burned like a wild fire for decades, always growing and with little hope of extinguishing; hatred that sometimes gets so out of hand that it will often attack even those most loved. You see this family member become increasingly fragile physically: not eating well or enough; not sleeping at all, and only a little after taking sleeping pills so strong they’d knock out a horse; skin so pale and weak against a bony skeleton that at times you find yourself looking directly into the face of a ghost. You hear implied threats of suicide often enough, but not too often, so that you don’t know what to make of them, whether they are true cries for help or a whole new method or angle of verbal manipulation. You see all this over time, all while this close relative of yours has been in therapy with the same psychologist for at least three hours per week, every week, for eight years. What you don’t see is improvement. Though you can only speculate what issues and goals are being addressed in this relative’s therapy, you don’t see resolution on any one issue. You don’t see a forward progression since the first issues addressed eight years ago... ...Dept. of Consumer Affairs. Everstine, Louis, and Diane Sullivan Everstine, eds. Psychotherapy and the Law. Orlando: Grune & Stratton, 1986. Filing a Complaint with the Board of Psychology. Pamphlet. Sacramento: Dept. of Consumer Affairs. Finkel, Norman J. Therapy and Ethics: The Courtship of Law and Psychology. New York: Grune & Stratton, 1980. Gorlin, Rena A., ed. Codes of Professional Responsibility. 3rd ed. Washington, DC: The Bureau of National Affairs, Inc., 1994. Keith-Spiegel, Patricia, and Gerald P. Koocher. Ethics in Psychology: Professional Standards and Cases. New York: Random House, 1985. Perschbacher, Debbie. Personal Interview. 4 Mar. 1999. Rodolfa, Emil. Personal Interview. 3 Mar. 1999. Schutz, Benjamin M. Legal Liability in Psychotherapy: A Practitioner’s Guide to Risk Management. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass Pub., 1982.

Reminiscencia de la infancia: el caso de un escritor de los siglos XX y :: Foreign Language Spanish Essays

Reminiscencia de la infancia: el caso de un escritor de los siglos XX y La primera primera ficcià ³n narrativa de Medardo Fraile, uno de los maestros de la Edad de Oro del cuento espaà ±ol contemporà ¡neo, surgià ³ a la edad de cinco aà ±os. La temprana edad de su escritura nos lleva a investigar sobre los hechos que acompaà ±aron su infancia y que pudieron despertar en à ©l esa necesidad de crear. La lectura de su obra narrativa, vinculada a su biografà ­a, asà ­ como alguno de sus numerosos artà ­culos, nos confirman el efecto que produjo en Medardo Fraile nià ±o la ausencia de su madre, fallecida meses antes del surgimiento de ese primer cuento. En el artà ­culo â€Å"Crà ³nica de mà ­ mismo y alrededores† el escritor nos dice: â€Å"Hasta los cinco aà ±os, mi vida estuvo condicionada por la enfermedad de mi madre, que murià ³ a los treinta y tres aà ±os de una cardiopatà ­a de tipo reumà ¡tico cuando yo tenà ­a cinco† (70). En su novela Autobiografà ­a encontramos este mismo hecho transformado en ficcià ³n: Al llegar al portal se soltà ³ y subià ³ la escalera a saltos. La puerta estaba entornada. La empujà ³ y se lanzà ³ a la alcoba a besar a su madre. Abrià ³ la puerta y vio el cuarto vacà ­o y el balcà ³n de par en par y, en un rincà ³n un montà ³n de lana. Alguien le llevà ³ al comedor, mientras el beso que le corrà ­a prisa dar, ahorrado tantos dà ­as, se le anudaba incrà ©dulo en el cuerpo, en el vacà ­o, en el aire. (236-37) Los sentimientos de ausencia y soledad producidos en el jovencà ­simo Medardo Fraile por la muerte de su madre, influyen decisivamente en el desarrollo de su oficio, primero en Espaà ±a, y posteriormente, a partir de 1964 en el Reino Unido, donde vive en la actualidad. En â€Å"El interà ©s del Psicoanà ¡lisis para la Està ©tica† (1913) Freud nos recuerda que hay conexià ³n entre las impresiones infantiles y los destinos del artista y sus obras, como reacciones a tales impulsos. La muerte de la madre de Medardo Fraile constituye un momento crucial aunque todavà ­a temprano del desarrollo de su escritura, en ese despertar de su mente creadora. En â€Å"Mà ¡s de cien cuentos en busca de su autor† el escritor nos describe ese momento inicial de ficcià ³n narrativa: El primer cuento que recuerdo –y si lo recuerdo serà ¡ por algo–, lo hilvanà © en Madrid, oralmente, a los cinco aà ±os, en un banco de la calle Princesa. Mi madre habà ­a muerto meses antes y yo vivà ­a en nuestra casa con mi padre, casi siempre ausente, y mi madrina. Aquel dà ­a salà ­ de mi colegio necesitando un paà ±uelo, no sà © por quà ©.

Nok Air

Furthermore, the main objective of the airline its self is to capture and gain a larger market share from a targeted market that comprises of both normal Low cost carrier travelers, whether from existing users of the airlines or from competitive airlines, and potential from alternative transportation modes such as trains, buses, and vans that are common mearns form commuting to other parts of Thailand. Sales and marketing strategies especially relating to price offers are key factors in capturing additional passengers. In addition, promotion and advertising are important factors in push strategies to motivate prospects to the airline.Nok Air’s campaigns involve mobile marketing, online marketing, billboards, print media advertising as well as Television Advertising. These multi-channels of media usage allow Nok Air to reach a large number of audiences in order to capture attention to its promotions on offer and leave an impression that salience to the mind. Creating loyalty to the Nok Air brand is based on the airline’s special service to the customers who frequently travel on the airline is a way to retain existing customers as well as attract new customers by word of mouth from existing and loyal customers.Usage rate is also another reason of purchase intention. For those individuals who are required to travel frequently on company’s business or government official business will need a reliable airline that can accommodate to their needs and offer a fare that will save them cost and time. This market survey has been also conducted by secondary data analysis, focus group interview, and questionnaire survey in order to find consumers insights regarding purchasing, consuming and attitude towards airlines. Main highlights of the survey iincluded : ? What are attitudes toward low-cost carriers and full-service carriers? What would be the important factors to increase customer satisfaction, customer loyalty, and customer engagement? ? What shou ld be brand positioning of Nok Air in customers’ minds? ? What are the value-added things that customers looking for when they fly domestically? ? Is the domestic flight service price sensitive? ? Which channels do customers usually go when shopping for domestic flight? ? How would you recommend promotional mix for Nok Air? ? What should be the communication message and marketing campaign for Nok Air to create customer engagement? ? What are the promotional tools to be used for generating more sales?SITUATION ANALYSIS The changing demographics of travel have greatly dictated the target customers for Low-cost air carrier industry. After almost a decade of its initiation, Nok Air has observed some dramatic changes in the perception of Loc-cost air carriers and the fierce competition that exist in becoming the market leader in this industry. This section will detail the potential Target Market Characteristics of Nok Air with the focus on the market size, segment, share, growth, and trend. MARKET ANALYSIS Market Size: Thai domestic air travel market reached 13. million passengers in 2010 and expects an annual growth of approximately 5% over the next six years. This equivocates to approximately 17. 4 million passengers by the year 2017. In 2011, Nok Air projected that it had served about 4 million passengers or approximately 26% from the estimated 13. 8 million annual domestic air travelers for the year1. Market Segment: In order to determine the best market segment to describe individuals who fits the profile of LCC (Low-cost carrier) passengers, a build-up approach would be a suitable method of classification. This approach seeks to identify ssimilarities or common customer needs2.Key factors in defining consumer criteria for Nok Air are Profile, Psychological, and Bbehavioral. Segmentation of Nok Air passengers are individuals of both sex with the age range divisible in the range of 15-24, 25-34, 35-44, 44-54, and 55+. Occupation and level of income chara cteristics are generally individuals who are professionals, government officials, businessmen, sstudents, and employees in low-to-medium income group. These would be individuals who are motivated by benefits from travelling on Nok Air or the perceived valued attained, whether it is based on ticketing prices or overall value for money.Touch points and media used would be internet users as well as travel agents and ticketing counters and centers. Market Share The phenomenon of Low-cost carrier industry has changed the dimensions of air travel. The ticket price war was the key marketing strategy for these carriers and focusing on the basic elements or â€Å"no frills† was the cost-cutting model to capture the segment whose primary objective was to commute from one destination to another safely. This swing in trend shifted the market share from the legacy carriers, as leisure passengers looked for cheaper alternatives.Despite the growing market of domestic air travel, FSC (full-s ervice carriers) are seeking ways to compete with its new rivals, by letting the free market economic model of price discrimination by demand and supply to dictate the ticket prices, along with sales promotion strategies that remind consumers of its brand and presence. Figure: 1 [pic] An analysis of The LCC Capacity Share (%) of total seats in Thailand indicates an increase year-on-year from 2010 – 2012, despite a decline from 2007-2009. These figures are encouraging indicators for those who seek to rofit by becoming a player in this market as there has been a rapid increase as well as the steady eating into the market shares of the FSCs. Currently, the two FSCs players are Thai Airways and Bangkok Airways, while Air Asia, Nok Air and Orient Thai are the three main LCCs in domestic travel. Figure: 2 – Thailand Domestic Air Market Share as of October 2011 [pic] Market Growth and Trends There has been a rapid expansion in the LCC and the trend shows no signs of a slow do wn as airlines are placing orders for new aircraft at an alarming rate.Within the Thai domestic airlines, two new players are emerging in the market. Thai Smile, a subsidiary of Thai Airways has launched services since July 2011 with four 174-seat A320 with an objective to operate a fleet of 11 A320 by end of 2015 3, and Thai Tiger Airways an alliance with Thai Airways and Tiger Airways, are expected to take a share of the lucrative Bangkok – Chieng Mai – Phuket routes will be announcing their launch soon. Current players such as Air Asia have nearly 300 aircraft on order and Bangkok Airways a fleet of 18 aircrafts that are renewed every five years.The key SES among Thai domestic tourists is the growing middle-class who has time, mearns and the inclination to travel. Domestic tourism has become an increasingly important component of the overall tourism mix and is an important role socially, economically, environmentally and culturally. The Tourism Authority of Thailand ’s ppolicy of encouraging and motivating domestic tourism by providing incentives has been a key factor in the market. The TAT has also designed strategies to maintain the brand image and take advantage of emerging opportunities.Thailand has recorded an increase of 31% in tourism receipts in 2011 over 2010 with a total earning of 776 billion baht. The country recorded 19. 23 million international visitors in 2011. Figure 4 indicates the various regions of tourist arrivals to Thailand. Figure 4: International Tourist Arrival to Thailand Jan-Dec 2010 [pic] International tourist arrival does not specifically dictates the mearns of transport to other domestic destinations are commuted by LCCs, but it does provide a prospective on the target population sampling frame that Nok Air can serve.Strategies can be designed on destinations that an inbound tourist would most likely visit by understanding cultural and ethnic diversities, socio-economic status and purpose of visit to Thailan d of these tourists. Market Needs The primary purpose of an airline is to serve transportation needs. However, airlines cater to travelers’ need by fling domestic routes, short-haul services with conneactivity and transfers to other carriers via a network of hubs. Nok Air being a LCC does not provide frills and therefore only basic needs are fulfilled. However, this does not mean that quality and efficiency are neglected.Environmental Analysis The nature of the market is where a product and service offer from a supplier is subjected to evaluation and price valuation from the consumer such that fluctuations in demand and supply are adjusted to a point of equilibrium. With the LCC market, the key issue is how the airlines can keep to a low operating margin while maintaining itself over equilibrium to strive and grow. Economically, this is generally measured in the ability to keep itself in the â€Å"black† while trying to become the market leader. Technology plays an imp ortant role in transforming this concept into a reality.Welfare maximization is the trend of this decade and the emergence of LCCs has had an impact on the socio-economic spending behavior. There are many factors in the macro-environment that Nok Air has to take into consideration when making decisions. A social and cultural, demographic, economic, technological, political, legal, regulatory, and ethical issue needs to be defined to understand the effect on the brand’s performance. Political factors: Earlier in 2011, the government had set up policies in developing the tourism industry. These involved development of infrastructure, safety, and hygiene.Restoration and development of natural, cultural, and historical sites while seeking to encourage investment by the private sector and local administration. The aim is to improve standards to make Thailand a world-class destination in the area of personnel standards and quality of service. Proactive marketing strategies in targe ting various groups both domestic and inbound with focus on quality tourist are pursued in the field of medical tourism, international meetings, and exhibitions. Waiving visa fees for visitors from Thailand’s FTA partners or those with trade and investment relations is one method of promoting this industry.Other government value adding policies are the promotion of tourism activities include nation’s bid to host international events and filming location support. Some laws and regulations have been revised to improve the effectiveness in safety and tourists’ exploitation counter-measures. In summary, the objective is to premote tourism including domestic by developing tourism and tourist destinations and ensuring travelers’ safety; support ecotourism, cultural tourism, medical tourism and spas with high quality and value addition.Economic factors: Although the Commercial Bank’s MLR interest rates have been steady between 7% – 7. 85% per annum , the foreign exchange rate has undermined the progress of tourism in Thailand. As compared to the USD to THB in the past five years, there has been an average gradual appreciation of the Thai currency than others in the region. Economically, it is difficult to raise prices fin terms of foreign currency, and therefore somewhat uncompetitive in some areas of the tourism industry, for example hotel rates. Figure 5: For-ex [pic] The recent increase in minimum labor wages has resulted in higher inflation.Many smaller firms have opted to lay-off some employees that they believed possessed lower qualifications than others. However, the recent flooding was a major cause of economic slowdown and the government has implemented low financing and corporate tax holidays for SMEs that were affected by the disaster Social factors: Changing social trends can have an effect on the tourism industry. This is however predominant in the aspirations and expectations of travelers to and within Thailand. Thai society shares the perception that domestic tourism development is steadily improving, but hampered by red-tape management and bureaucratic problems.They perceive culture as a tourism product and environmental impact as a problem in which tourism industry has a social responsibility to decrease pollution. Economically, tourism is viewed positively in terms of national revenues and job creation, and modernizing society, but viewed inversely as a mearns of fostering a materialistic society5. Technological factors: Technology plays a vital role in promoting tourism worldwide. It is an efficient and effective way to reduce cost and improve quality via internet and social media network for the purpose of promotion and recruitment of potential clients.Accurate information about tour destinations, resources, and image can be â€Å"pushed† into cyberspace and provide a channel for attractive marketing mix strategies. Customer can then gain experience and information of the trip through planning and virtual tour at their convenience. Environmental factors: Environmental factors play an important part of Thailand’s tourism industry. Change in weather pattern has a sthrong impact especially during the rainy seasons. The effect of this was clearly visible during October’s flooding disaster, which had one of the highest levels of tour cancellation in the nation’s history.Global warming has made it difficult to predict or forecast a peak-season for domestic tour and operators are well conscious and concerned about environmental issues. To enforce practices, the government has placed taxes on air travel and encourages the use of NGV/LPG as â€Å"clean† fuel alternative on buses. Environmentally friendly products and processes are affecting demand patterns and creating business opportunities in the industry. Legal factors: Thailand’s Department of Civil Aviation is the government agency that has the obligations to premote, develo p, and regulate the nation’s civil aviation.The aims are to comply with international aviation standards and fulfill demands resulting in tourism promotion and national economic growth while promoting Thailand as the aviation hub of Southeast Asia. The roles and responsibilities include 1. Implementing Air Navigation Act 2. Promoting and Developing National Civil Aviation 3. Executing orderly civil aviation 4. Making airports under jurisdiction available for public 5. Coordination and cooperating with domestic and international organization. COMPETITION ANALYSISThe key competitors of Nok Air in the Domestic air travel market are Thai Airways (FSC), Bangkok Airways (FSC), Air Asia (LCC), and Orient Thai (LCC). There are other airlines that fly domestically such as Happy Air, Solar Air, and Thai Regional Air, but they are at an infancy stage of the competitive market of this industry. It is too optimistic to say that these new airlines are not of an immediate threat to Nok air, but their presence dictates the growing need for travel to more unexplored and unfamiliar destinations prove to be a selling point for some airlines and pose a potential competitive threat in the future.Thai Airways International Public Company Limited (TG) – Address: 89 Vibhavadi Rangsit Road, Bangkok 10900, Thailand. Phone: 66-2-545-1000 Fax: 66-2-512-2182 Website: www. thaiairways. com. Established in 1960 Thai Airways International Public Company Limited is Thailand’s national airline with both domestic and international routes including Asia, Europe, North America, Africa and South West Pacific. The airline provides transport as well as freight and mail services on all its destined flights. The company is a state owned enterprise which is controlled by the government and partly owned by the public7.Its key competitors in the domestic airline market are ranked as follows: 1. Thai Air Asia 2. Nok Air 3. Bangkok Airways 4. Orient Thai Airways Competitive Advantages: Thai Airways ranked as the low cost leadership with a huge customer base uses resources to innovate design operation which enable it to control its cost. Online growth has allowed Thai Airways to cater to a separate class of clients. Its intensive fleet of aircraft gives it an option to find the best value-to-cost in operating aircraft with relations to airport configurations. A sthrong management team keeps the operations running smoothly.A well trained and managed Cabin Staff that caters to meet customer satisfaction is a key advantage of the airline. Being the national carrier, Thai Airways enjoys the largest market share and therefore a sthrong loyal customer base8. Bangkok Airways Company Limited (PG) – Address: 99 Mu 14, Vibhavadirangsit Rd. , Chom Phon, Chatuchak, Bangkok 10900, Thailand. Phone 66-2- 2655678 Fax: 66-2-265-5522. Website: www. bangkokair. com . Established in 1968 Bangkok Airways was Thailand’s first private aviation company operated under the na me â€Å"Sahakol Air†.Initially, the airline provided charter services using a two engine 9-seater plane catering only to multinational corporations in Thailand. With the rapid growth of tourism and business investment, air transportation became an important mearns of transport. Bangkok Airways realized the potential and in 1986 began its operations as the country’s first privately-owned domestic airlines to limited destinations such as Krabi, Korat, and Surin. Presently, it flies to 20 major routes covering nearly all major resort destinations in Thailand along with 8 international destinations.The airline has invested in building and maintaining its own privately-operated airports at Samui, Sukhothai, and Trat; providing Thailand with additional hubs and fulfilling the increasing demand of air traffic volume. 9 Its key competitors in the domestic airline market are ranked as follows: 1. Thai Airway 2. Thai Air Asia 3. Nok Air 4. Orient Thai Airways Competitive Advant ages: Bangkok Airways has great regional service including its own privately owned airports in various domestic destinations.Comparatively, it offers cheap fares on promotions with routes to popular vacation destinations in Thailand. Some routes of these routes are exclusive to Bangkok Airways, such as Samui. Bangkok Airways is also renowned for its unique boutique style in-flight service and have been awarded â€Å"Best Regional Airline† five consecutive years. This is a good brand image for the airline. Thai Air Asia Company Limited (FD) Address: 89/170, 19th Floor Juthamard Boulevard, Vibhawadee Road, Talad Bangkhen, Laksi, Bangkok, Thailand. Phone: 662 315 9800 Fax: 662 315 9801. Website: www. irasia. com. Established in 2004 Thai Air Asia is a joint venture between Malaysian LCC Air Asia and Thailand’s Asia Aviation. It is truly a Low-Cost Carrier airline with a network of domestic and regional service tthroughout Thailand and Asia. It is known to be one of the mo st aggressive airlines with its marketing strategies based on online promotions to target price conscious consumers. Air Asia places a lot of importance on branding and its association with various and popular footballs teams in both domestic and international arena has proven to be a successful campaign.Its key competitors in the domestic airline market are ranked as follows: 1. Thai Airways 2. Nok Air 3. Bangkok Airways 4. Orient Thai Airway Competitive Advantages: Thai Air Asia has been able to keep a low cost in its operations based on the same principles and model of the mother flagship Air Asia. The marketing strategies are targeted at mass customers with one of the lowest air fares to any of its numerous destinations within this region. The efficiency of its workforce and multi-skilled staff has been a benchmark for other airlines to follow.This ranges from aircrew and ground staff, to the maintenance, operations and administrative staff. The single type fleet to service the customer has made it easier for Air Asia to maintain its aircraft. Online promotions and website maintenance with secure and direct access are key factors in keeping customer satisfied and loyal to the airline. Orient Thai Airways (PG) Address: 18 Ratchadapisek Road, Klongtoey, Bangkok 10110, Thailand Phone: 66-2-229 4260 Fax: 662-229-4278-9. Website: www. flyorientthai. om. Established in 1993 Based in Bangkok, Orient Thai Airlines operates scheduled International and Domestic flights and specializes in International charter flight around the worlds. It operates domestic flights with a fleet of McDonnell Douglas and Boeing 737 aircraft type with its regular destination from Bangkok to Chiang Mai, Chiang Rai, Phuket and Had Yai. Its key competitors in the domestic airline market are ranked as follows: 1. Thai Airways 2. Thai Air Asia 3. Nok Air 4. Bangkok Airway 5.Competitive Advantages: Orient Thai has very few competitive advantages other than the fact that it is one of the cheape st airlines to fly with and the routes that it flies to are relevant. PRODUCT OFFERING Nok Air offers air travel to various destinations around Thailand with ground support transportation â€Å"Fly-and-ride† to bordering countries as well as â€Å"Fly-and-ferry† to many seaside resorts. Most flights to major city destinations are flown by its regular Boeing 737 jets and ATR 72 turboprop aircraft.Nok-mini is a commuter airline that is a Sub-brand of Nok Air, but is owned and operated by Siam General Aviation, independent from Nok Air. It is however, a partnership and code sharing that has been beneficial to both companies where Nok-mini acts as a feeder route to beautiful small towns and low traffic routes. The land transport coach Service operated by Udon Keaw Tour (Thailand) and Trans Express Co Ltd. (Laos). Hi-speed Catamaran services are operated by Lomprayah High Speed Ferries Co. , Ltd. n Nakhon Si Thammarat and Surat Thani, while Coach and Hi-Speed Ferry Service operated by Tigerline Travel Co. ,Ltd in Trang. Nok Air not only provides air transportation and commuter service, but also a travel experience. Its affiliations with various hotels, resorts, entertainment venues, and financial institutions give Nok Air its Brand Value. Memberships and Fan Clubs provide a touch-point for existing and potential customers to be in contact with promotions, offers, and activities. One of the most popular media used is its website that offers and informs all current and forthcoming campaigns.Members also receive information via mobile phone SMS and MMS messages as a more personal and direct sales push marketing strategy. What Nok Air can add to its product offering is that it can change its aircraft interior to make the seats more comfortable with new configurations for better leg space. In-flight entertainment can be introduced along with a sense of â€Å"Thailand† by using traditional aromatic scent to create a pleasant environment in the cabin. Natural aromatic freshening scent has been internationally proven to have a relaxing effect.In-flight amenities can also add intrinsic value to the product where a passenger can take along the earphone (which is rather inexpensive) that has Nok Air’s logo on it as a present for themselves or for their loved ones. Route Map Figure 6: Nok Air [pic] SWOT ANALYSIS – NOK AIR A SWOT analysis—is a review of strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats–is a core requirement of any organization and essential to understand any industry. The volatile airline industry is no exception especially in the highly competitive Low-cost carriers (LCC) industry.The objective of each airline is to maximize their strengths and opportunities while minimizing their weaknesses despite ssimilarities of the business. Strengths – Internal origin helping to achieve organizational objectives 1. Higher number of distribution channels 2. Sthrong backup on financial, capital, and human resources 3. High level of employee quality available to the organization 4. Increasing geographical coverage in both domestic and international routes 5. Improving operational capabilities (in terms of efficiency) 6. Improving service quality 7.Brand Awareness 8. Effective in-flight space management Weakness – Internal origin harmful to achieve organizational objectives 1. Price on product offering 2. Bad cash flow problem arising from cost management 3. Poor financial performance / profitability 4. Low customer loyalty 5. USP (Unique Selling Proposition) – ssimilar for all LCC airlines 6. High degree of competition 7. High cost of capital 8. Low experience of management team – company is 8 years old 9. Low level of advertising Opportunities – External origin helping to achieve organizational objectives 1.Growth rate increasing by traveler with high number of booking rate 2. Government support open sky ppolicy 3. Higher Demand 4. Convenience a nd faster 5. Joint promotion 6. Government supports on TAT (Tourism Authority of Thailand) Threats – External origin harmful to achieve organizational objectives 1. Other governments support low cost airline in the country 2. Large number of competitors in the Market 3. Price war with promotion war 4. Long time booking (behavior change) – Pre-booked tickets on pricing tiers 5. Payment Ppolicy 6. Confirmation Process 7. Fuel cost increasing . Time to time increase in airline taxes 9. New domestic hub with less convenient flight connections (International and Domestic) MARKETING STRATEGY Mission To be the number one low-fare, high-value budget airline in both Thailand and Asia by being perceived by all who travel in Southeast Asia as affordable, yet offering with the best of Thai hospitality. To provide travelers with a point-to-point regional air service that is safe, reliable, convenient and true value-for-money through cost-effective operations with highest possible r eturns to shareholders.Develop and motivate our people to have initiative and be highly productive. Marketing Objectives Seeing potential in the international market, Nok Air’s marketing objectives for first quarter of 2013 is based on a business plan to launch flights from Bangkok Don Mueang Airport to China, as well as several other routes that are within three to four hour range from Bangkok. Having a significantly lower cost structure than competing airlines, Nok Air has aimed to compete more effectively against Thai Air Asia and other LCCs.Being Thai Airway’s domestic LCC subsidiary, Nok Air has been able to fill the critical void in the Thai Airway’s portfolio for the fast growing budget end of Thailand’s international market. This move will enable Nok Air to capture a sizable market share within the region, especially with the high demand for travel from China. Route extensions along with increase flight frequencies will enable the company to grow in the market as well as create a level of brand awareness in both the domestic and international market. In anticipation of this growth, Nok Air has procured new aircraft to its already existing fleet.Hiring only â€Å"beautiful girls with nice personalities† in their early 20s, budget airline Nok Air seeks to â€Å"rejuvenate brand image† & â€Å"improve service efficiency. † With the current cabin crew age averaging only 26 years old, Nok Air is keeping with other airlines trend of recruiting fresh, young and good-looking faces to do the job. The objective is to cash in on the energy, enthusiasm and deducation that are normally associated with youth in order to drive service efficiency and project a better impression on passenger (Bangkok Post 8/9/2011).The impression is a dynamic lifestyle image that meets passenger’s expectations of being served by fresh, friendly, efficient staff. Financial Objectives Since its launch with an initial capital of THB5 00 million, Nok Air has not required any additional capital since its launch in 2004. Currently, it has approximately THB1. 5 billion in the bank. The airline has been profitable every year except for 2007 and 2008 massive fuel price hikes and falling domestic demand. However, the following year, it bounced back into surplus as conditions improved.In 2010, it turned a net profit of more than THB600 million and over the first three quarters of 2011 a profit of THB230 million despite continuing tribulations in the oil markets. The devastating floods that closed its home base at Don Mueang Airport in the last quarter of 2011 did have an impact on Nok Air, but it managed to reach a profit of THB400 million and projected revenue of THB6 billion, carrying about 4 million passengers by the year’s end. Target Market There are various variables that a market research can assist in defining the right market segment or more likely a possible target customer of Nok Air.A classification s ystem of Demographic, Geographic, Psychographic, and Bbehavioral will enable the airline to narrow the scope and focus its resources to its target market satisfying their needs. DEMOGRAPHIC SEGMENTATION Demographic defines the population into groups with common variables, and targeting each of these groups to enhance the airline’s performance. This can be further divided into: Gender- Nok Air has focused its marketing to both genders since it is difficult to segregate which one gender represent a larger share of the company’s target market and hence both should be considered equally.Income Level- In developing pricing strategies for fares, Nok Air has to keep to its strategy of being a LCC (Low-cost carrier). This would serve best for those in the SES of C1, C2 and D classification of Social class. A strategic move to improve and provide convenient flight timing and routes to SES B could result in an increase of market share from FSC in terms of value-for-money. The cl assifications are based on the occupation of the head of the household. Grade |Social Class |Chief Income Earner's Occupation | |A |Upper Middle |Higher Managerial, Administrative Or Professional | |B |Middle |Intermediate Managerial, Administrative Or Professional | |C1 |Lower Middle |Supervisory Or Clerical And Junior Managerial, Administrative Or Professional | |C2 |Skilled Working |Skilled Manual Workers | |D |Working |Semi And Unskilled Manual Workers | |E |Those At The Lowest Levels Of |Casual Or Lowest Grade Workers, Pensioners And Others Who Depend On The Welfare | | |Subsistence |State For Their Income | Age- Based on the terms and conditions indicated for the purchase of an air ticket, the permissible age for passengers travelling chaperoned on a domestic flight on Nok air must be 16 years of age. It can be assumed that the age range of 15-55 would be best target market to focus the airline’s promotional campaign on. Occupation- Nok Air’s passengers would gen erally be individuals who are professionals, government officials, businessmen, sstudents, and employees of a firm. However, the purpose of travel does not have a direct relationship with the occupation of these passengers.They may be travelling on a vacation, visiting relatives, making a pilgrimage, and other personal reasons rather than on a business or government reasons. Flight schedules and destinations would be the reason these passengers would seek importance in selecting the airline that they travel on. With Nok Air frequency and multi-destinations available, passengers have the options to select the Marital Status- The concept that Nok Air can market in this category is of the Honeymooning couples, or just married as well as for those who are married and do wish to enjoy a romantic getaway. As for those who are single, Nok Air can focus on adventure or functional aspects. The strategies would be to seek a market in eco-tourism, and sight-seeing.However, whether single or ma rried, the objective is to create a positive perception of Nok Air for all segments as this factor is linked to the psychological aspects and income status of an individual. GEOGRAPHIC SEGMENTATION Viewing from its extensive network of 20 destinations available on Nok Air’s routes, it has access to a population where other airlines in the same category do not. Availability and frequency to destinations allows Nok Air to hold a competitive advantage over other airlines. Since Nok Air is involved in the business of transporting passengers from one geographical location to another, this segmentation plays a vital role in its marketing strategies. Passenger’s dependency and demand for Nok Air’s service is critical to its development. Its success in strategically locating its hubs t various domestic destinations in Thailand has motivated Nok Air to expand to other areas in Asia. PSYCHOGRAPHIC SEGMENTATION Targeting a certain group within a population base on their li festyle, activities and interest is the focus of this segment. The importance is in understanding consumer buying behavior by referring to their AIO (Activities, interest, and opinion). Nok Air’s website is one of the medium use in gathering views and information to analyze consumer behaviors of its consumers. Some factors that help define the population on psychographic segmentation where Nok Air has emphasized their resources on are: Lifestyle –  The â€Å"Check-in of Your Choice† program allows passengers a check in process that best fits their lifestyle.The options available are: Airport Check-in: Passengers can check-in their baggage and get their boarding pass at the airport counters. Telephone Check-in: Passengers can call in on a hotline 1318 and collect their boarding pass at the counter. This allows them to arrive just 30 minutes before departure therefore suitable for those who are pressed on time. However, the drawback is that they cannot check-in their baggage. Web Check-in: A personalized method of allowing the passengers who are Nok Fan Club members to log in and select their choice of seats and options offered on the airline’s website. Boarding pass can be collected at the airline’s counter in the airportMobile Check-in: Ssimilar to the online format where the passenger can use an application on their mobile phone to select a preferred seat and check-in. Boarding pass can be collected at the airport. Check and Shop: Is a unique format only available at Chiang Mai. The process allows you to collect your boarding pass at Chiang Mai Central Airport Plaza, 1 hour (2 hours maximum) prior to the departure. Nok Air will provide transfer service between Chiang Mai Central Airport Plaza and Chiang Mai International Airport 30 minutes prior to the departure for boarding. Activities interests and opinions (AIO) –  A subset of lifestyle, activities interests and opinions also affect consumer buying behavior.Nok Air Fan Club Privilege is a holistic approach to understand the consumer’s AIO by offering a link to Nok Community through social networking sites such as Facebook and Twitter, as well as on mobile link via Apple Apps and Android. Here loyal customers can be involved in the activities and share common interest and opinions in the community. Values attitudes and lifestyle –  Another concept which is a subset of the lifestyle segment is values attitudes and lifestyles classifying individual into the VALS framework. Nok Air can understand individual passenger profile by determining what these individuals do with the resources they had at their disposal as well as the amount of primary innovation they could accept or create.Information collected by research on passengers can help the airline design and implement new strategies in the future. BEHAVIORAL SEGMENTATION Bbehavioral segmentation divides a population based on their behavior, the way the population respond to, use or know of a product. Consumers’ decision making are base on factors they take into consideration before purchasing a ticket, thus these decisions are affected by their behaviors. The reasons for purchasing a ticket can be buying for occasions such as travelling during Songkran, and New Year’s holidays. Another reason can be for benefit sought such as travelling for the purpose of commuting from one location to another.The selection may be based on the marketing mix being offered or a hedonic one. Loyalty to the Nok Air brand is based on the airline’s special service to the customers who frequently travel on the airline is a way to retain existing customers as well as attract new customers by word of mouth from existing and loyal customers. Usage rate is also another reason of purchase intention. For those individuals who are required to travel frequently on company’s business or government official business will need a reliable airline that can accom modate to their needs and offer a fare that will save them cost and time. This is more in line with wholesale purchasing and diverging efforts to meet customer’s demand.In line with this, Nok Air offers a Corporate customer service whereby the benefits includes fixed fares, change fee waived for change in name or date, no service fees, payment after booking is made, and a dedicated corporate hotline. The objective is to gain a larger market share from a targeted market that comprises of both normal LCC travelers, whether from existing users of the airlines or from competitive airlines, and potential from alternative transportation modes such as trains, buses, and vans that are common mearns form commuting to other parts of Thailand. Sales and marketing strategies especially relating to price offers are key factors in capturing additional passengers. POSITIONINGIn the term positioning for Nok Air, it refers to the customer’s perception of a service in relation to its co mpetitors in the domestic airline market. Current market position of Nok Air is that it is a no frills airline providing air transportation of passenger to various destinations within Thailand. In this respect the terms of â€Å"No-frills† is largely interpreted as an airline offers low fares but eliminate all non – essential services, such as complimentary drinks snacks, in – flight entertainment systems, and different class of seating. They operate by using limited or ssimilar types of aircrafts to keep maintenance low and fly out of remote airports to cut overheads.The interior of these aircrafts are fitted with minimum comfort and generally carry advertising inside the cabin to generate revenues. Additional fees are imposed for luggage and other amenities. In order to understand passenger’s perception of Nok Air in relation to its competitors, a perceptual mapping of perceive value analysis between service quality and price relationship is modeled. Th ere are three major competitors of Nok Air, namely Thai Airways, Thai Air Asia, and Orient Thai Airways. Thai Airways – Service quality is superior to that of Nok Air because of its status of being a national carrier of Thailand and is actually a FSC (Full service carrier) airline. However, they are non-competitive in terms of pricing.Thai Air Asia – There are some distinctive advantage in service offered to passengers by Thai Air Asia in terms of optimizing call centers, touch points, and efficient online websites. The influence from the Air Asia core brand adds on to value in terms of human resource management and operational management. However, the pricing strategies are unpredictable and ambiguous at times. Orient Thai – The airline’s safety and service records are inferior among all. Despite their efforts to improve their image, the airline struggles to maintain its operations and have access to limited routes. However, their commitment to improveme nt has been a key factor sustaining its presence in the market coupled with one of the lowest airfares on domestic routes offered to major destinations.Nok Air’s direct competitors are faced with the same elements in keeping cost low and generate enough profit by management and planning strategies. By analyzing its value chain, Nok Air can increase its margins on fares by managing its primary and support activities. [pic] Support Activities †¢ Firm Infrastructure: Focus on improving Accounting, Finance, Legal, and General Management within the firm. †¢ Human Resource Management: Recruitment, Pilot Training, and Cabin Crew Training. †¢ Technology Improvement: E-commerce ticketing sites having more international languages, In-flight system operating service with infomercials and music. An improvement at the airport ground base with touch points flight scheduling system to inform passengers of the flights departures and arrival. Procurement of Resources: Aircraft acquisition that would best serve the client’s needs while maintaining operational cost. Primary Activities Inbound logistics: This involves aircraft scheduling to depart and arrive at prime time where passengers can conveniently optimize their stay at a destination. Seats on any particular flight are perishable resource. Yield management allows the airline to sell its seats on flight to consumers optimizing it to a full load capacity on all flights. Route selection is another factor that will allow Nok Air to capitalize on a â€Å"first mover advantage† and become the market leader in that geographical area. Operations – The ground staff at various hubs are vital to Nok Air’s operations.Aircraft operations, ticketing, gate operations, and baggage handling efficiencies can give the airline a competitive advantage in turning the aircraft around on its next scheduled flight. One aspect observed is the disembarkation of passengers, most of who are generally in a hurry to get off the flight once the plane stops. Managing the plane’s exit doors to disembark passengers are some ways to gain valuable customer satisfaction. While onboard, the flight attendant’s positive attitude and behavior can add value to the brand as they are brand ambassadors of the airline. Outbound Logistics: Flight connection to destination via its network of alliances such as Nok Mini and other modes of transport such as land and sea, can add and impression in service value.Also an effective baggage system of loading and off-loading displays effectiveness in operations of the airline. Marketing and Sales: Promotion and advertising are key factors in push strategies to motivate prospects to the airline. Nok Air’s campaigns involve mobile marketing, online marketing, billboards, print media advertising as well as Television Advertising. These multi-channels of media usage allow Nok Air to reach a large number of audiences in order to capture atte ntion to its promotions on offer and leave an impression that salience to the mind. Service: Extended service beyond arrival at the airport hub of Nok Air such as affiliations with car rentals and hotel accommodations.The airline can work in conjunction with these firms on barter case basis, whereby car rental rates and hotel room rates discounts offered for passengers can be offset by airfares discounts for executives and staff of these affiliated firms. Credits can be accumulated on â€Å"points† system and exchange for transactions such as transportation and stay-over for air crew and airline staff. A perceptual mapping illustrates the position of Nok Air in comparison to its competitors. [pic] MARKETING MIX PRODUCT / SERVICE – Nok Air provides air transportation services to 20 domestic destinations in Thailand. The main airport hub is at Don Mueang Bangkok Airport. Its destinations are: Bangkok (Don Mueang) – Chiang Mai, Chiang Rai, Hat Yai, Loei *, Mae Sot *,Nakhon Phanom, Nakhon Si Thammarat, Nan *, Phitsanulok, Phrae *, Phuket, Roi Et *, Sakon Nakhon, Surat Thani, Trang, Ubon Ratchathani, and Udon Thani Chiang Mai – Phitsanulok, Mae Hong Son, Udon Thani**, and Mae Sot* * Operated with aircraft chartered from Siam General Aviation (Nok Mini) ** Code shared flights operated by Siam General Aviation (Nok Mini) Tangible Clues – since service is intangible and difficult to sell, marketers can at best convey reassurance and quality to its customers. For Nok Air, transportation is its core product. The service it provides that serves as tangible clues are the airline’s physical facilities and the demeanor of its staff.To distinguish itself from its competitors, the airline can provided several tangible clues such as food/beverage, magazines, staff uniforms, logos, color and design of the aircraft, and flight bookings. Service – there are two types of services involved in Nok Air’s operations being ground services and in-flight services. Convenient airport with car parking facilities, transport to the airport, efficient baggage checking, and efficient service at reservation counters are some of the factors that defines on-the-ground services. These attributes are primary touch points where passenger’s initial perception of the airlines are conceived and relates back to the brand equity of Nok Air. Once inside the aircraft, the airhostesses are the brand ambassadors of the airline.Nok Air’s well trained flight attendants have the responsibility of providing polite, warm and courteous service to its passengers. This momentum is transitioned to the representatives at the baggage counter, and Nok Air’s passenger assistance counters as an augmented product/service to develop customer loyalty towards the brand. PRICING – Based on the SES of the passengers, pricing plays a vital role of Nok Air’s marketing strategy, since the airline bases its image by cla ssification of being a â€Å"Low-cost carrier† and is judged whether the product/service offered is fairly priced. Thai Airways band image alone is sufficient to justify its premium pricing base on seating â€Å"class† on the air fares.Whereas, other airlines like Thai Air Asia, Orient Thai, and Nok Air all identify themselves as Cheap-value pricing or even Low-cost pricing, but rather project themselves as Value-for-money pricing airlines. The intention of value for money pricing is to charge an average price for the fare and emphasize excellent value for money on the fare. This establishes a reputation and enables the airline to achieve good levels of profit margin. However, during a certain period, the intrinsic concept is to undercut the competition and prices are used as a tool to attract passengers to purchase based on seasons. The current world economic crisis and the recent flooding in 2011 have had an impact on the local economy.All airlines are competing to s et prices at competitively low levels to attract customers. Nok Air’s strategies are in line with the basic pricing models of LCC. These cost cutting measures comprises of: High aircraft utilization – Keep aircraft flying commercially as much as possible and at the fastest turnaround time as possible. Airline makes money when its aircraft is flying and not parked on the ground. No frills – Any and all luxury items and services are considered frills and that the airlines by rendering a fee to the airline, the passenger will only then have access to these items. They range from food and beverage, seating, paperless ticketing, non-refundable ppolicy, and no loyalty program.Streamline operations – includes limited types of aircraft used so that there is specialization in the pilot, crew, and ground operations. Single class seating on all flights and Standard operating procedures are ensured to create homogeneity of service. Most of the prices offered by Nok A ir are based on the pricing tiers structure. This structure is a time value relationship for seats. The first few tiers are target to value conscious passengers looking for extremely cheap tickets by booking early. The mid-tier passengers are those who book moderately early but pay a higher price and the top tiers are the passengers who pay the most because they purchase the ticket at the last minute.PLACE – There are four method of distributing airline tickets: Consolidation – sales of ticket at airline counters Tour Operators/Travel Agents – customers approach their travel agents to book tickets for them. The tour operators take a commission from the airline. Affiliated with companies – Airlines gets affiliated with companies on corporate fares and provides a discount on the bulk buying Direct Sales – through home lease systems which are telephone, fax, emails and online booking. LCC Airlines keep their distribution system simple as possible and this is possible with the use of internet technology which can be remotely operated even at the most deprived of locations.PROMOTIONAL MIX – Since consumers have become aware of the competition among LCCs, they anticipate and appreciate the vvariety of marketing efforts that are in place to entice them to use the specific airline’s service. In the times of credit crunches, the airlines seek ways to be most efficient in saving cost while eliciting the most from the IMC programs they have to optimize outcomes. There are numerous ways that Nok Air can reach these consumers, and some of the most common ways are: Advertising – Creative advertising campaigns are the most common way to get the message and promotions out to a large audience. Telecast and print media are important channels for promoting the air business.Since advertising is expensive, the marketer needs to be mindful of the timing and opportunities when it arrives. Adverting during peak seasons can attra ct potential client to switch to Nok Air, and the airline have to select appropriate theme for the advertisement; for example beach getaway destinations for the summer season. Publicity – This process of persuasive communication where the public relations officer provide the media people with information of the airline’s promotion and set up a press conference, dinners, meetings, and get together, to gain wide spread telecasting through news and promotional channels. The objective is to get favorable news of the airline.Sales promotion – By proving additional incentives to travel agents and tour operators who are the front line of Nok Air’s sales promotional effort, the airline’s campaigns are focused and on target with the right segment. This direct communication allows the consumer to interact with the premoters and get valuable information about the offers to these individuals to persuade in decision making process. The air ticketing counter is another channel where the airline’s own personal can motivate the consumer to pick up on the offer before purchase. The value added promotion can be in the form of alliance with Nok Mini, Hotels, Banks, Credit Card Firms, and Car Rentals. Word of Mouth – Satisfied customers are the best premoters of the brand. They act as opinion leaders and inform the merits of the airlines to their peers and associates.Nok Air’s best and most reliable promotional strategy would be to keep customers loyal to the airline and should design ways to reward them for their referrals. PEOPLE – In this industry, the airline staff comes in contact with the customers in the course of production and consumption of service. The duties of the Human Resource department of Nok Air to select, provide training, and motivate its employees since these employees are ambassadors of the airline. Their initiative, competence, responsiveness, problem solving ability, caring attitude, and goodwi ll are the impressions that create customer satisfaction to the airline. The air stewards are the people who are in contact with the customers.Their physical presence reflects the airline image to the customers although it varies in degrees and the nature of service. The passengers expect a pleasant and polite service from these individuals who are in high contact with them and therefore their appearance plays a tangible dimension of quality. The air-crew such as the pilots possesses technical attributes in operating the aircraft and safe journey. Another ancillary service are the travel agents, tour operators, and sales counter personnel who help create the service of exchange but not in direct part of the service. There are without a doubt other employees and staff of the airline that makes the operation and management efficient and effective. It is essential to have the right people on the right job.Inspiration and motivation for these employees are critical for the organization to operate in this highly competitive environment and they their loyalty to Nok Air is an asset to the airline. PROCESS – Is the flow of service from the decision makers to the ultimate buyers. This is the involvement of channels, front line staff, travel agency offices, and tour operators. The process begins from the reservation of seats by mearns available to consumers such as telephone, internet, or personal booking till the minute they depart the airport. In some instance, the post-purchase service is involved. The process starts with information in the reservation system and managed via a large network of computers that allows the reservation to be instantaneously monitored and confirmed as required in the system.The terms of the booking is also indicated so that the passengers are aware of the limitations and conditions of the ticket as well as options and benefits iincluded in the purchase such as exemptions of cancellation fee and changes in seat reserved. Facilities at the airport such as check-in counters, flight information, and baggage handling helps to contribute perceived value in quality serviced that transfers to customer satisfaction. While in the aircraft, satisfying meals and entertainment along with amenities distributed are part of the total process in delivering quality service and increasing brand equity. PHYSICAL EVIDENCE – Is the point where service is delivered and interactions occur.The aircraft itself as well as the in-flight food are physical evidence of the airline service. This is experienced in the ways the airline configures the seats so that passengers can experience a comfortable flight although the category of the airline is that of LCC. While on the ground, booking office, ticketing counters and even the aircraft when parked, can create a good impression as a physical evidence of Nok Air. The overall designing of the booking office, the check-in counter, the domestic lounge, and the aircraft exterior appearanc e is used to trigger the customer’s experience of Nok Air. If the experience is a favorable one, the brand benefits by association to these physical environment.Don Mueang Airport is the base airport of Nok Air despite the fact that its Bangkok’s secondary airport. However, Don Mueang airport is cheaper than the main airport at Suwarnabhumi and are generally less congested therefore making the turnaround time lots shorter. Flight transfer service is not offered at Don Mueang and Nok Air can only offer advice to passengers seeking to board a connecting flight to board a shuttle bus, catch a taxi, or have someone pick them and drop off at Suwarnabhumi International Airport. Nok Air also has acquired an area in Don Mueang Airport for a playground for â€Å"Kids† as a place to entertain them before boarding the aircraft.