Marketing Service Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Marketing Service - Essay Example Aim and Objectives: To understand the influence of service experience and its effects on service purchase process. To understand the significance of customer experience in the creation of competitive advantage for the organizations. Theoretical Framework: The theoretical framework is very useful as it assists academics in formulating a precise research direction and focus, and for businesses in identification of the stages that require improvement, and hence necessitate more resources allocated to it. A theoretical framework is a compilation of interconnected concepts, similar to a theory but not essentially worked-out well. â€Å"Theoretical frameworks are obviously critical in deductive, theory-testing sorts of studies† (Bhojanna 2007). When the consumer services, they pass through three main stages, ie; pre-purchase stage, service encounter stage, and post-encounter stage. Three-Stage Model of Service Consumption: (Tsiotsou & Wirtz 2011). The stage of pre-purchase in the de cision-making process for services is more complex, when compared to that of goods. The decision-making process involves a lot of time, because of consumer participation in the service production process. In the pre-purchase stage, consumers are prompted into action, by the creation of a need to begin the search for information, and assess alternatives for a particular service, ahead of deciding whether to buy or not. â€Å"But learning about pre-purchase behavior is equally important† (Finn 2008). The answer for the reason behind the customer’s thought to buy a particular product will eradicate all presumptions and will help in succeeding a long term customer relationship. Consumers pass on to the next stage of service experience, subsequent to the decision to make a purchase. In the service encounter stage, the consumer intermingles straightly with the service firm, and it is the way by which consumers produce value, and evaluate their service experience. Consumer sa tisfaction, and their perception regarding the service quality, have great importance in the last stage of the service consumption process (ie; the post purchase behavior), because of their relationship with business performance. On the other hand, the satisfied consumers, and those who have high perceptions regarding service quality may not go again to the same service provider. Role and Importance of Customer Service Experience and Service Marketing Mix- An Overview: A customer’s service experience pertains the serious of the interactions with the service providers, when customers try to communicate with them.   All types of customers are emotional, and they are likely to rate experiences on the basis of their expectations. â€Å"In order to be successful with all the customers, companies require generating and sustaining uniformity of experience across every channel. A complete communication experience will do more favor than just paying attention to the customer. †Å"The companies require learning the ways to communicate with the customers using different channels and also require making sure that the customer’s experience delivers actual value to them in exchange for time, attention, actions, information, and anything else† (The Importance of Positive Customer Service Experiences 2011). One of the great borders for innovation is the customer experience. Better customer experienc

Japanese Art Essay Example for Free

Japanese Art Essay For the GOY* project, I chose to visit The Pavilion of Japanese Art in the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA) and look at Japanese artworks, especially from the Jomon to Heian period. There were no event focusing on Japanese Art on LACMA, so I opted to join a Sunday tour of the Japanese art collection instead. Knowing at once that it would only last for 50 minutes, I wondered at first how the guide would condense the lecture of thousands of years of Japanese history and Japanese art, especially that it entails a lot of explaining and translating to do. But the explanations as we went along the way were brief and concise and focused on the artworks, but were enough for us to take note of. What I intended to focus on were paintings from the Jomon to Heian period of Japanese Art, but instead I took note of different forms of Japanese artworks which I found interesting. There were several pieces that caught my attention, but those that I focused on were a ceramic vessel from the middle Jomon period, Jizo Bosatsu, which is carved wood sculpture from the late Heian period, and Seated Warrior, a sculpture from the Kofun period. Japanese art on the Jomon period are mostly earthenware vessels, mostly deep pots made of clay. Potteries made from the Jomon period are characterized by rope markings, incised lines and applied coils of clay (Kleiner 91). These vessels, however psychedelically figured, have a variety of uses. They serve different purposes, from storage to burial (Kleiner 91). The vessels on the Japanese Art Tour on the LACMA mostly have textured bases, the incised rope markings very apparent, and have castellated rims. Japanese art on the Kofun period is completely different. According to the Minneapolis Institute of Arts Website, the art on this period is characterized by tombs furnished haniwa, or cylinders which are used as adornment for tombs on the era. The forms of the haniwa later evolved to simple geometric forms of houses, animals, birds, and other figures. The sculpture on the LACMA, however, resembles a Seated Warior form, hence, its title. The Heian period is characterized with artworks representing or illustrating Esoteric Buddhism (Kleiner, 2010). Most of the artworks are Buddhist deities sculptures carved from wood, to which people worship. The sculpture of deities were characterized by a wardrobe of a monks, and all of them stood on top of a lotus, which symbolizes rebirth, according to the tour guide. I have expected Japanese art to be intricate, except maybe those from the Jomon period. But it turned out that even from the Neolithic period, the Japanese already had a sense of aesthetics that their vessels are adorned with rope markings. For me, the abstract form of Jomon period art is its strength. The Kofun period art was indeed very interesting for me because the artworks were used to decorate tombs, and the decorations symbolizes the person in that tomb. Meanwhile, as expected, Heian art is deeply rooted on Buddhism, and has Chinese influences. At the end of the day, I realized that the evolution of Japanese art relied on what happened in Japan at the time these artworks were constructed. The colorful events strongly influences the frame of mind of the artists. History is what shapes art.

Brian Duffy | Photographer Biography

Brian Duffy | Photographer Biography Brian Duffy was born in 1933 to Irish immigrant parents in London, England. His household was highly politicized because his father was a republican and had done time as an IRA man. His mother was from Dublin, Ireland which inevitably caused further friction in the household. Both of his parents were strict Catholics and Duffy was brought up in a typical working class family. As a child, he was a self- confessed rogue, particularly when his father left to fight in World War II. Free from parental control, Duffy and his friends roamed the streets of London, acting like little thugs and having a great time. He remembers the American soldiers everywhere, their swearing, and the exciting magazines that they read. He had little time for education. However, in the first of the many unlikely events that color Duffys life, at the age of twelve he was enrolled at an early version of a progressive school in South Kensington run by the London County Council. It was staffed by injured ex-service men and aimed to introduce problem children to the arts. Duffy was taken to art galleries, the opera, the ballet, museums, and was immediately admitted. A few years later in 1950, Duffy went for an interview at Central Saint Martins in the Fields to study painting. He got in easily. The surroundings into which he was thrown into was instantly appealing to him. His fellow students had long hair, anarchic tendencies, intense politics, and a passion for art. Although he did not know it at the time, it was a significant moment for British Art. Duffy mixed with Frank Auerbach, Leon Kossof, Joe Tilson, and Len Deighton. Deighton became a lifelong friend. During his foundation year he also learned a healthy appreciation for what was called artspeak. His new friends spoke an articulate language that in theory referenced art history, critical theory, and sought to legitimize what they did in their studios. While much of this was no doubt suspicious, it taught Duffy an important truth: sounding like an artist was half the battle in becoming one. This had a healthy impact on Duffys intellectual education as he sought to train himself as an intellectual. It took many years for Duffy to discover that photography was going to be the best outlet for his newly found creative urges. He spent the majority of his three years at Saint Martins studying fashion design which eventually gave him an edge as a fashion photographer. After college Duffy went in and out of several jobs in the fashion business, including working for Princess Margarets designer, Victor Steibel, and producing fashion drawings for Harpers Bazaar. He learned the business and the process by meeting the right people. He also began dabbling with photography. Duffy went through early photographic apprenticeships with a variety of commercial operations. He spent a short time with a photography company called Cosmopolitan Artists where he learned pretty much nothing from men there who didnt know what they were doing themselves. One of them was a young Ken Russell. Duffy enjoyed more success at Artist Partners, an illustration firm, where he worked with Adrian Flowers to photograph products and scenarios for the company and then copy and turn into advertisements. Unlike Terence Donovan and David Bailey, Duffy was turned down for a job by the fashion photographer John French whose studio had become the major training ground for young photographers in London at the time. With Duffys skill, ambition, and sheer nerve, by 1957 he had secured himself a contract with Vogue after engaging the interest of the magazines art director, John Parsons. Charged at first with photographing everything and anything, Duffy found himself in the creative environment of Vogue Studios where he encountered some of the great photographers of the age. He worked closely with models Jennifer Hocking, Pauline Stone, Joy Weston and Jean Shrimpton. At this time, Duffy also began mixing regularly with David Bailey and Terence Donovan who were following similar career paths. In fact, it was he who introduced Bailey to Shrimpton, and they went on to become one of most famous celebrity couples of the 1960s. Much has been written on the impact that the three young men had on Vogue. Also with photography and Londons growing creative scene, particularly the work and lifestyle of David Bailey. However, it was Duffy who in fact led the way. The three redefined the role of the photographer and became as well known as the actors, models, musicians, and members of royalty that they photographed. They also played a major part in developing the 1960s fashion aesthetic, sexualizing the human body, and capturing through photography the wider concerns of their generation. Duffy, Donovan, and Bailey were thought of as a unit of three renegade, working class photographers tearing up a corrupt industry with little regard for the rules of the old guard. Norman Parkinson referred to them as The Black Trinity, while Cecil Beaton, in his 1973 book The Magic Image, remembered them as the terrible three. Duffy himself said at the time, Before 1960 a fashion photographer was tall, thin and camp. But we three are different: short, fat and heterosexual (Brian Duffy). Duffy eventually left photography because the lifestyle was making him unhealthy, but also because he began to dislike the highly commercial, cut throat advertising world that he inhabited. His commercial work of the 1970s is of a high standard and is more distinctive than that of Donovan and Bailey, who found themselves following the fashion rather than dictating it. One can detect that the once exciting world of photography had become routine for Duffy. Perhaps as a result of this, Duffys personal work from that period stands out in particular, and forms one of the most important and interesting bodies of work in his archive. Rooted in the modernist aesthetics of Americans Paul Strand, Robert Frank and Walker Evans, Duffy experimented at length with finding the beauty in the intellectual process of photography. The pictures from this period are an investigation into the mysteries of photography, an attempt to shock the viewer into appreciating something that they would normally fin d boring. He was also trying to understand the impact of black and white, how taking color away from an everyday scene can add to it and give it additional resonance and power. Most of all though, they are the polar opposite of the glossy, color photographs that his clients demanded. By 1979, Duffy had had enough of photography altogether and made that fateful trip into his studio back yard. Moving on to my impressions and opinions about his work. I am not an expert in any way with photography and being able to see all of the intricate details associated with a photograph. I do not have much experience taking photographs myself. I will do my best as to give my best insights into his photographs. The first photo of Duffys that I found was a photo of a man and woman in a car. They appear to be a couple on a normal road anyone would be using. The car is stationary. The man is looking up in the air while the woman is holding what looks like a scarf over her head. I cannot tell what kind of car it is that they are in. When I first saw this photo I got the impression that the man is almost annoyed with her behavior. To me he has a look on his face that this is something she does a lot. The photo is in black and white which I think adds to the uniqueness of his photos. The next photo that I found of his that I like is a photo of a public area with a woman and man and a lot of pigeons. I like this photo because it brings me back to a time when I was younger and able to travel through Europe with family. I remember these public places in Europe having a lot of pigeons because people fed them. This photo brings out some childhood memories for me. It is another black and white photo. I think that the woman in the white dress was staged there and she is posing. I honestly think that the man in it was just a guy passing by and happened to be in the photo. He just has that look about him, compared to her. Following along, I especially like this next photo. I like the symmetry of it with the woman posing is lined up with the building behind her. In this photo I think that she is the only one posing for the photo. Everyone else in it are just regular people who happened to be in the scene. She seems to be expressing her openness to the situation and to life in general. Her arms are open saying to open yourself up to things. The next photo is finally a color picture by Duffy. I do not know who the man is in the picture. I like the effects done in this photo. You can see a time lapse effect in this photo where you can see three different hands as the man in the photo was throwing sand. This man seems to be in a desolate area. All you can see is the sand in the background. To me this photo is saying that you are not alone. Even in this desolate area you can still run into another person. The final photo of Duffys that I am going to discuss is a color photo with what appears to be an average woman. She is holding up a newspaper that is covering some of her face. She appears to be surprised by something in the newspaper. To me this photo is saying that surprises can be found in any place in life. To conclude, I was very interested in the life of Brian Duffy. As someone who lived in England for five years I wanted to do a photographer from that country. He lived an important life in the realm of photography. To be called the man who shot the sixties you had to have had a major impact. To be able to have that sort of impact for a whole decade is quite amazing. Bibliography Brian Duffy. The Telegraph. Telegraph Media Group, n.d. Web. 09 Dec. 2016. Brian Duffy The Man Who Shot The Sixties. C41. N.p., 17 Feb. 2013. Web. 09 Dec. 2016. Brian Duffy. Brian Duffy Photographer Bio. N.p., n.d. Web. 09 Dec. 2016. DUFFY: The Man Who Shot the Sixties. Dir. Linda Brusasco. Crackit Productions, 2010. DUFFY: The Man Who Shot the Sixties. YouTube, 13 Jan. 2010. Web. 9 Dec. 2016Â  

Characters of Dark City :: Dark City

Characters of Dark City  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚        I did my book report on Dark City by Frank Lauria.   The main characters in the book were John Murdoch, Mr. Hand, and Mr. Book.   Since Murdoch woke up in the icy bathtub in a strange room, he has been suspicious of everything. He is wanted for a series of brutal murders which he can’t remember committing.   He later finds out that he posses a power called tuning, which allows you to stop time and alter peoples perceptions.   Sort of like brain manipulation.   He soon finds out that he is being pursued by an alien race who call themselves the Strangers.   They want him because he is immune to their brain manipulation, so he is a threat to their bizarre world order.   John Murdoch is the protagonist in this book and he seeks to unravel the twisted puzzle of his past and identity.   Mr. Hand is a smart character who also possesses the method of tuning.   When he found out that Murdoch knew how to tune, Mr. Hand was injected with Murdoch’s memories so he could think like Murdoch, and defeat him. Mr. Hand is a Stranger himself, he takes orders from Mr. Book.   Mr. Book is the antagonist in the book. He is the leader of the Underworld ruled by the Strangers.   He is very wise and thinks up the procedures for taking over the city.   He assigns each one of the strangers to a sector in the city.   When he got news that a man named John Murdoch was immune to their tunning, he knew he has to think up something fast.   Mr. Book can also tune. Same with the other Strangers.      The secondary characters were Inspector Frank Bumstead, Dr. Daniel Poe Schreber, Emma Murdoch, Mr. Rain, Mr. Sleep, Mr. Quick, Mr. Wall, and all the rest of the Strangers that weren’t named.   Frank Bumstead plays the role of an inspector.   Dr. Schreber is Murdoch’s source. He helps him always stay one step ahead of the Strangers.   He also works for them but secretly provides information to Murdoch.   Emma is John Murdoch’s wife. She played a part of triggering Murdochs suspiciousness when she told him she was his wife, and he didn’t know.   The rest of the Strangers such as Mr. Wall and the ones that weren’t named work with Mr.

The Attic

My task had been set and so with trepidation, I gingerly climbed the ladder that led to the attic. I balanced on the top rung of the ladder and flung open the trap door. The door crashed against the diirt blackened floorboards loudly. The musty smell hit me, as a flurry of the dust cascaded onto my head. I carefully levered myself up onto the floor above me. I looked around the peculiar room to see beckoning shadows on the walls, as daylight tried to filter through a worn curtain, which graced the solitary window in the room. I stumbled forwards in the half-light, my outstretched hands grabbing a low beam to steady myself. The wood felt gritty and cold beneath my fingers and I looked at my hands, which were now blanketed in grime. I walked carefully to the end of the large attic room, and drew back the faded red velvet curtain, which stretched across the tiny window. The light violated the darkness, and dispelled the gloom. The room was now really quite entrancing, the task of cleaning the room, which I had initially perceived to be a horrible chore, had now turned into a beautiful privilege. I gazed at the room that was cluttered with memorabilia of a bygone era. Under the window stood an oval, walnut coffee table. On its dusty and worn surface stood several ornaments. I bent down and carefully picked up a grey figurine. I blew on it and the dust flew away. It was a white porcelain statuette that I now held; it was a delicate figurine of a ballet dancer. The ballerina was with her slender raised arms stood on points and her beauty contrasted with her shabby surroundings. I gently and with reluctance placed her back on the table I looked over the walls. They were painted yellow once, but now they were a dull cream. I walked over to the wall and ran my hand over the rough surface a thick layer of dust lay on my hand. Disgusted, I wiped my hand against my thighs of as I had worn my old jeans. The wall now had a small track of where I had removed the dust, a light yellow contrasted against the tedious cream. I looked up to see the spiders crawl over the beams, they were now the current tenants of this once beautiful place. The webs spread across from one corner of the room to the other. I lowered my eyes and my gaze met a picture that hung askew on the shabby wall. It was a painting of a horse, with a glossy deep brown coat that stared back at me. I looked at the surroundings in the picture, with its familiar red bricks and rose bushes, and I recognised it, as my back garden. I approached the painting to get a better look and screwed into the wooden frame was a brass plaque engraved with ‘High Princess- 1843'. I smiled and diverted my attention the double pushchair that seemed so out of place, as antiques surrounded it. I recalled the days of when I was once sat in the double pushchair with William, my brother. Memories flew back to me, memories of sitting there with ice cream trickling down my chin, as Will and I happily watching the world go by. Now it stood there, the navy blue material paler and worn, the once polished metal now rusted but the memories are as vivid as yesterday. I stood to exit, and the floorboards creaked beneath my feet, footprints left from where I had been inspecting the ornaments that lay in the room. I headed towards the trapdoor to go and inform my parents on what I had found in our now amazing attic. But something caught my eye, a small jewelry box. I was drawn to it; I walked towards it and picked it up. It was an ornately carved rosewood box from India. I opened the box carefully to reveal a green velvet lined interior. Inside laid unusual pieces of jewelry. I held an emerald necklace, the heavy strange jewel amazed me by its rich deep colour. I placed it carefully back down on its velvet cushioning to pick up another piece of jewelry. A ring. A ruby lay in its centre; I love rubies, as they are my birthstone and had to remind myself to ask Dad if I could have it. Once again, I replaced it. I looked out of the small window that lay behind me and saw that the sun was beginning to get low. I had to leave this room, which had intrigued me for hours. I knew I would return and I knew that at my next visit there would be even more revelations awaiting me.

The Pregnancy Life Stage Essays - Nutrition, Biomolecules, Midwifery

The Pregnancy Life Stage Essays - Nutrition, Biomolecules, Midwifery The Pregnancy Life Stage Running head: PREGNANCY LIFE STAGE Pregnancy Life Stage 1 Pregnancy Life Stage SCI/160 University of Phoenix July 25, 2000 Melissa Dolewa Pregnancy Life Stage Does nutrition status affect fertility? Good overall nutrition, rather than eating any specific food, greatly improves your chances of conceiving a child. For women, nutrient deficiencies and low-calorie diets at one extreme, and obesity at the other, can disrupt ovulation. Poor nutrition can also have an impact on male fertility. In order to get pregnant, doctors recommend that both women and men eat healthy, exercise and keep a positive mental attitude to increase chances of fertilization. Eating healthy, exercise and keeping a positive mental attitude are equally important during pregnancy and after pregnancy. According to www.familyinternet.com, carrying a baby for nine months and then providing it with breast milk afterward is a major nutritional stress on a womans body. Food intake increases only 15-20%, but requirements for specific nutrients such as folic acid, zinc, and certain B vitamins may increase by 30-100%. In addition, less than optimal nutrition can result in low-birth weight babies with increased risk of heart disease and non-insulin-dependent diabetes as adults. (www.childbirth-connections.com). Both over-eating and under-eating can adversely affect the qualities and quantities of breast milk, which is explained further under Dietary Requirements During Pregnancy. During pregnancy, nutrients are passed from mother to fetus through the placenta, and after birth, through breast-milk. The main vitamins and nutrients needed by mother and fetus is explained in the chart below: Nutrient/Vitamin Amount Needed Benefit Source Protein Need for pregnant women is increased by 10 to 15 grams daily (1 glass of milk contains 8 grams of protein). Forms structural basis for all new cells and tissues for both the mother and fetus www.tdh.tx.us (Texas Department of Health) Carbohydrates 50-100 g/daily Prevents ketosis, which, during pregnancy, can cause brain damage to the fetus. www.tdh.tx.us Pregnancy Life Stage Nutrient/Vitamin Amount Needed Benefit Source Folate 400-800 micrograms daily Prevents anemia during pregnancy, may prevent miscarriage, preserves the integrity of genetic material, and lowers risk of neural tube defects like spina-bifuda www.familyinternet.com Calcium 1000-1500 mg/daily Milk production and growing bones www.familyinternet.com Iron 30 mg beginning 12th week of pregnancy Binds oxygen to hemoglobin and prevent iron-deficiency anemia Nutrition During Pregnancy, National Academy of Sciences Vitamin D Adequate sun exposure, or 10 mg/daily for complete vegetarians and 5 mg/daily for woman who dont eat vitamin D-fortified foods (dairy products) Promotes fetal growth, bone formation, tooth enamel formation and the proper utilization of calcium www.familyinternet.com Vitamin B-6 2-5 mg/day during 1st higher doses may shut off milk production Manufacture of hormones, hemoglobin, neurotransmitters, many enzymes, and amino acids. www.familyinternet.com Vitamin E 200 IU Decreases risk of premature babies and low-birth weight infants and may lower the risk of miscarriage. www.familyinternet.com Vitamin A Follow the RDA of 2700 IU daily Provides baby with vitamin A reserves and sustains adequate breast-mil concentrations. www.familyinternet.com Zinc 10-30 mg daily is sufficient and considered safe; excessive intake of zinc can lower HDL-cholesterol. Reduces risk of miscarriage, labor complications, neural tube defects and low-birth babies www.familyinternet.com Food plays a major role in promoting a healthy life. However, during the pregnancy cycle, nutrition is of even greater importance because of the effects on both the mother and baby. Many people have said that a pregnant mother is eating for two, which in fact is correct. The mother needs a certain amount of protein, carbohydrates, fat, vitamins, water and fiber in the diet each day. Pregnancy Life Stage One suggested food plan, developed by FamilyWeb.com, suggests that during the first 2 to 3 months of pregnancy, a woman should try eating small amounts frequently throughout the day to keep the energy higher. If the mother only eats larger amounts of food less frequently, she may experience discomfort due to her energy levels reaching highs and lows. The food plan also recommends that the mother eat raw vegetables, fruits, juices, milk, breads and cereals in between meals as a way to keep the metabolic rate and energy steady. Each food group has recommended or suggested serving amounts for a pregnant woman. An outline of the serving amounts for each food group is as follows: The Five Food Groups Suggested Number of Servings Fruits and