Biochemistry Atom and Covalent Bond

Biochemistry Atom and Covalent Bond Biochemistry: Atom and Covalent Bond- ­Ã¢â‚¬  Atoms Essay BIOCHEMISTRY NOTES - ­Ã¢â‚¬ UNIT 2- ­Ã¢â‚¬  ATOMS ________________- ­Ã¢â‚¬  the basic unit of matter. Contains subatomic particles o _____________________ (+ charge) o _____________________ (no charge/neutral) o _____________________ (- ­Ã¢â‚¬  charge) ELEMENTS AND ISOTOPES ___________________- ­Ã¢â‚¬  a pure substance that consists of only one type of atom. Elements are represented by a 1 or 2 letter symbol. (ie: C = carbon) The number of ___________________ in an element is that element’s _______________________. o The atomic number of carbon is 6, therefore carbon has 6 protons and consequently 6 neutrons. ISOTOPES _________________- ­Ã¢â‚¬  atoms of the same element that have different numbers of neutrons. o Isotopes are identified by their _________________________________________________ (ie: carbon- ­Ã¢â‚¬ 12, carbon- ­Ã¢â‚¬ 13, carbon- ­Ã¢â‚¬ 14) The _____________________________________________ of the masses of an element’s isotopes is called its _____________________________. Isotopes have the same number of _______________________, so all isotopes of an element have the same ______________________________________. Mass Number- ­Ã¢â‚¬  the sum of the number of ________________________ plus the number of ________________________. Protons and neutrons have about the same mass. Electrons are much ________________. Atoms have equal numbers of __________________________ and ___________________________. o Because these particles are opposite charges, the whole atom is _______________. RADIOACTIVE ISOTOPES Some isotopes are _____________________________. This means that their nuclei are unstable and break down at a continuous rate over time. IONS _______________- ­Ã¢â‚¬  an atom that has gained or lost an electron, giving it a positive or negative charge. o ___________________- ­Ã¢â‚¬  a positively charged ion o ___________________- ­Ã¢â‚¬  a negatively charged ion CHEMICAL COMPOUNDS _______________________- ­Ã¢â‚¬  formed by the chemical combination of two or more elements in definite proportions. o Compounds are typically written as a __________________________________________ (ie: NaCl, CO2, etc.) This gives you the ratio elements in the compound. o The physical and chemical properties of a compound are usually very different from those of the elements form which it is formed. CHEMICAL BONDS ___________________________________- ­Ã¢ €  formed when one or more electrons are transferred from one atom to another. o Form between a _____________________ and a

The Trojan War Essay Example

The Trojan War Essay Example The Trojan War Paper The Trojan War Paper Approximately thirty centuries ago, on a distant land known as Troy, a colossal war raged between Grecians and Trojans on behalf of three discrete reasons. As a result of this war, many lives were lost but the relentless Grecians eventually triumphed after ten tumultuous years. This grave war was fought because of the capture of Helen, the most beautiful and benevolent woman in all of Greece. It is said that the apprehension of Helen was a result of the tragic curse on the House of Atreuis. However, others believe the Trojan War occurred on account of Heracles mercy. Some still think the second collapse of Troy happened because of Paris’s gluttonous ruling. There could be an ample amount of reasons that can determine why exactly the Trojan War started, but the three primary reasons were, the First of all Troy, the Judgement of Paris, and the solemn curse on the House of Atreuis. As the common idea of most societies even today, this is the world of men. Women are born in order to serve for their men. It was not much different in the times of ancient Greece. Women didn’t have any right to vote, serve on juries or own property. Women in ancient Greece couldn’t manage even their own property because they didn’t have right to spend money for the expenses of their household. They always forced to have a guardian beyond themselves. The guardian of a woman before marriage was his father, and after the marriage, her husband took over her father’s job. If she was a widow, a male relative or her son took over this job. Thus in fact, women’s citizenship in Ancient Greek was under mystery. So, what are the main roles of women in Ancient Greek? The Trojan War was the greatest conflict in the Greek mythology, a war that was to influences people in literature and arts for centuries The war was fought between the Greeks and Trojans with their allies, upon a Phrygian city of Troy (Ilium), on Asia Minor (modern Turkey). The war lasted for ten years and it has been traditionally dated from 1194 to 1184 BC. The Trojan War was one of the greatest wars in the history of Ancient Greece. It probably happened between the Trojans and the Achaeans. It is mostly known through the Iliad an epic poem written by the Ancient Greek poet Homer. After the War After the war, Polyxena, daughter of Priam, was sacrificed at the tomb of Achilles and Astyanax, son of Hector, was also sacrificed, signifying the end of the war. Aeneas, a Trojan prince, managed to escape the destruction of Troy, and Virgils Aeneid tells of his flight from Troy. Many sources say that Aeneas was the only Trojan prince to survive, but this statement contradicts the common story that Andromache was married to Helenus, twin of Cassandra, after the war. Menelaus, who had been determined to kill his faithless wife, was soon taken by Helens beauty and seductiveness that he allowed her to live. The surviving Trojan women were divided among the Greek men along with the other plunder. The Greeks then set sail for home, which, for some, proved as difficult and took as much time as the Trojan War itself (e. g. , Odysseus and Menelaus). This is a difficult question to answer for several reasons. First, it is difficult to know when the Trojan war took place. So, there will be considerable debate here. Second, there was a period called the dark ages in Greek history where there was limited writing on Greek civilization. Third, the Greek world was broad. So, it is difficult to make broad statements. For these reasons, it will be difficult to know anything about the role of women for certain. In light of these three points what we have are primarily the works of Homer and what we know of classical Greek culture. Based on this little information we have we can say that women did not have too many rights from a social point of view. They were expected to keep in home and be faithful to the household and family. Penelope, the wife of Odysseus, might be the image of a perfect Greek wife. She was working on the loom and stayed faithful to Odysseus, even though Odysseus was not faithful to her. We see a very similar picture in Athens in the speeches of Lysias. His speeches are important, because there are many incidental details of social life. For example, in his speech on the murder of Eratosthenes, we can see the very domestic life of women. Some scholars even question whether women were allowed at the theater. In short, the life of women before, during, and after the Trojan was was very oppressive compared to modern day. To be sure there are counter examples of strong women, but they were the exception.

Financial services in uk Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Financial services in uk - Essay Example ooming financial sector due to the emphasis the government has placed on showcasing the strengths of this industry which has powerful entities with worldwide recognition such as the London Stock Exchange (LSE) and the an affluent population of 60,609,153 which has one of the highest real gross domestic product per capita in the world at $30,821 (CultureGrams, 2008). Preventing customer complaints and resolving them in a civilized manner is a critical success factor for companies in this industry in the UK. This essay studies customer service, customer complaints and the application of contract laws related to disputes between customer and firms in the United Kingdom. The financial services industry is a business whose worldwide market value is worth trillion of euros (Plunkett Research, 2008). This industry is composed of different segments which generate sales most of which are service oriented. The different sectors within the industry include commercial banking, private marking, equity market, consulting, financial planning, brokerage, real estate, and insurance among other financial services. In the United Kingdom the capital hub for financial activity is London, followed by Scotland a region in which 108,000 people or 10% of the working population are employed in the financial service industry that generated in 2007 nearly 7 billion euros in economic activity (Sfe, 2008). The people working in the financial services industry depend on customer retention in order for firms to build a portfolio of clients that bring recurrent business to firms. Just like in other industry a customer comes back and recommends the services of a store or company only if they are satisfied with the product they receive. It is essential to provide service to customer and to build a customer total quality program based on a strategic view that the customer is the most important stakeholder of the company. All business process must be geared to satisfy the needs of the customer and

Marketing plan Starbucks Coffee company Term Paper

Marketing plan Starbucks Coffee company - Term Paper Example Their TV and radio marketing mix is unobtrusive: Instead, in-store advertisements will keep people aware of new specials since most people come into Starbucks or have a friend who do. Ansoff's Matrix Current Products New Products Current Market Virtually everywhere: Control almost all US markets and regions, provide coffee Constant innovation for new types of coffee to keep people interested New Market Trying to expand among ethnic populations such as Latina/os, Asians, African-Americans Marketing Warfare Starbucks has an entrenched, defensive position. Although they certainly remain nimble in many ways, keeping ahead of market trends, they are the established power. They can be viewed as a power of light forts. Starbucks losing one, two or even a hundred shops is not a serious threat to its long-term viability. It has low entry and low exit costs since there is no substantial overhead: Office space, baristas and supplies do it. This is an incredibly daunting position for opponents, as Starbucks has both the advantage of mobility and wealth. They can sweep in and stymie opponents by shutting them out of an area and forcing them to compete against multiple Starbucks in the same region. When a competitor does gain an edge, Starbucks can just move its position. Porter's Generic Strategies Starbucks has chosen an overall cost leadership approach. ... , they are using a differentiation strategy: Go to Starbucks and get a simple smoothie alongside your friends who are getting a coffee, or go to Jamba Juice on your own. Their coffees are more expensive than, say, a gas station black, but Starbucks discovered that people are willing to spend about three to five dollars a day on coffee as long as the coffee is markedly better than a ninety nine cent cup of joe, more convenient, more pleasant and with more amenities. It is meaningless to call them â€Å"higher cost† than gas stations because the difference in most consumers' minds between a dollar coffee and a five dollar coffee is minimal: Coffee is a staple, one just gets it. Target Markets Almost everyone above the age of eighteen drinks coffee. Starbucks has market saturation such that they offer their services everywhere from poor inner-city urban areas to poor rural areas to middle-class and rich suburbs. Most food marts, mega-marts and grocery stores have some connection to Starbucks as well. However, Starbucks targets particular demographics clearly in terms of their design. Children. Children don't tend to like coffee, but Starbucks offers hot chocolate and highly syrupy coffee drinks that serve to get children interested in coffee. (This becomes important under both SWOT and PESTLE analysis below). Young urban and suburban professionals. With Wi-Fi offerings, music choices that tend to be of the alternative rock and modern rock varieties, and so forth, they offer good choices to this group. Older professionals. Starbucks offers a lot in terms of quality. An older professional is far more willing than an older blue collar worker to spend three dollars on a cup of coffee provided the cup is better. Starbucks would undoubtedly like to expand among ethnic

Project management Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 4000 words

Project management - Assignment Example It was observed that at the late hours just before inauguration of the Games, the company declared that they could not provide the promised number of security personnel. This breach of contract penalised the company severely as it had to pay huge fine. However, the situation was controlled by government when they military force was arranged at the last moment for managing the situation. Thus, the project undertaken by G4S was a complete failure and it lead to collapse of the company image before the public and investors. G4S, the largest international security solutions group, aims at providing security solutions to the countries, where the risk of security and safety is a serious threat. The company has successfully provided security solutions to many countries. It is a British multinational security provider, which is headquartered in Crawley, United Kingdom. It is regarded as one of the largest security provider in world with respect to revenue and operations. The company operates in 150 countries and have numerous plans of expansion to untouched territories worldwide. The company has also been declared as the third largest employer globally. It employs around 620,000 employees across different countries. The company is registered under London Stock Exchange  and is a recognised element in FTSE 100 Index (BBC, 2012; Pattison, 2014). The company has successfully operated globally without any disturbance in operation. However in 2010, after the death of Jimmy Mubenga (a security person), the company started to encounter the gloomiest days in its operational history. Additionally, the company encountered severe blows in business operation when it was unable to provide security services to Olympic Games in 2012. The contract between Olympic Games Authority and G4S had failed to become effective and the latter had to pay a huge amount as penalty (Secretary of State for

The Effects Of Different Ugc On Users Marketing Essay

The Effects Of Different Ugc On Users Marketing Essay Since the advent of Web 2.0, social media, such as social networking sites and user-generated services, have emerged into mass use Boyd and Ellison, 2008. Academic research is starting to explore related concepts, such as social networking sites (Boyd and Ellison, 2008; Utz, 2010), user-generated content (Shao, 2009), and social media (Walker Rettberg, 2009). Basically, what characterizes user-generated content (UGC) is the fact that consumers are the ones producing, designing, publishing, or editing the content in the media (Krishnamurthy and Dou, 2008), i.e. the service is user-created. Social media in turn enable people to share and interact with each other and the content becomes more democratized (Drury, 2008). User generated content (UGC) is fast becoming one of the most valuable and influential sources of information in the on-line world, supporting millions of consumers who have come to rely on product and service reviews to support the purchase process. There is considerable interest in the value of UGC and its antecedents. Research shows that product reviews, for instance, influence consumer search and product choice, enhance sales forecast quality, affect product sales, and drive viewership (Chevalier and Mayzlin, 2006; Godes and Mayzlin, 2004; Li and Hitt, 2008). Current research on UGC has focused mainly on the motivations of consumers to produce UGC. Studies on brand-related UGC and its causality to brand perceptions is still in its infancy. It has been mentioned as part of future research to study consumers of UGC who are individuals exposed to brand-related UGC to investigate whether simply viewing rather than creating UGC may effect a change in consumer perception of brands. (Ch ristodoulides, et. al., 2012). Future research has also been suggested to distinguish between incentive- and non-incentive driven UGC and examine differences in terms of drivers and brand perceptions (Christodoulides, et. al., 2012). As consumers are increasingly performing activities previously controlled by companies, the entire marketing landscape is changing. Therefore, companies need to better understand the changing behaviour of consumers, in order to create mutual benefits from the use of social media (Heinonen, 2011). This research is an extension of current work to examine the effects of the different types of UGC on users perceptions of brands. This research is an exploratory study to address this subject by first discussing current literature on UGC and its relation to brand equity. Then, the design of the study and its results are presented and discussed. The research hopes to bring new knowledge about the positive and negative influences of UGC on brands, and highlights managerial implications for brand-related activities on online platforms containing UGC. 2 Literature Review: User Generated Content (UGC) and its growing influence in brand marketing The term social media here refers to user-created services, such as blogs, online review/rating sites, social networking sites, and online communities. The term consumer is used to describe the individual user that is active in the social media, however, not necessarily only consuming the media but also performing other activities, such as participating in, using, or producing activities.(Heinonen, 2011). Consumption means reading the content that is posted by other users; participation occurs when people comment on others creations, and production means posting ones own content on the site (Shao, 2009). In brief, information technology is empowering consumers, and their role is shifting from being passive recipients of information to becoming active generators of information (Stewart and Pavlou, 2002). Research has suggested that the classic notion of individuals as mere consumers is outdated and that consumers should also be seen as active producers of business value (Heinonen, 201 1). Marketers think that brand-related UGC is a more effective and targeted way of reaching disparate audiences than standard paid media (Lovett, 2011). The recent boom in social media provides opportunities for more targeted distribution of branded content (Lovett, 2011). Social networks are not just targeting tools but rather egalitarian and inexpensive platforms for broadcast and distribution (Lovett, 2011). Many websites such as YouTube, MySpace, Facebook, Twitter and weblogs enable consumers to easily create UGC (Dwyer, 2012). With the enormous interest in social media and user-generated content on these sites, consumers are seen to be actively contributing to the marketing content. A significant amount of UGC concerns brand-related material (Burmann and Arnhold, 2008). For example, recent evidence shows that about 70 percent of brand-related searches on social-networking sites such as YouTube, Facebook, and Twitter relate to UGC (360i, 2009). This active consumer behaviour is changing the media and marketing landscape as consumers are invading companies marketing sphere (Berthon, et al.2008). Some of the online activities performed by consumers may influence the company image and brand positively whereas other consumer activities are perhaps not favourable (Heinonen, 2011). This is explained by a finding that consumers of UGC often consider it more credible than professional content (Cheong and Morrison, 2008). Hence, negative UGC can have harmful implications for building and sustaining a brands market presence. It is, therefore, important for managers to understand the impact of UGC on brands (Berthon, et. al., 2008; Christodoulides, 2009). One of the motivation for social media activity is information processing. A key activity in information processing is sharing information and experiences, and accessing shared knowledge online. Contrary to factual information that has lower trustworthiness, opinions were considered to be reliable and value adding. It was felt that UGC is a reliable way to get opinions of products. As they do not benefit anything from advertising a certain product, producers who create product reviews are seen to be more motivated to tell the truth. When the truth is unfavourable, this may negatively impact consumers perception of a brand and their subsequent decision to use it (Heinonen, 2011). Information processing is also concerned with applying knowledge from UGC for utilitarian purposes. This activity often results in monetary benefits and economic gain. Higher levels of brand awareness and associations may prompt perceptions of choice and progress cues (Hoyer and Brown, 1990). When applying su ch knowledge appropriately, UGC may inform consumers selection of brands. Thus, we hypothesise: H1: The platform type of incentive-driven UGC has an effect on the users awareness of the sponsoring brand. H2a: The platform type of incentive-driven UGC has an effect on the users related purchasing decisions of the sponsoring brand. H2b: The users general opinion on the bias-ness of incentive-driven UCC has an effect on the difference between the effects of the platform type of incentive-driven UGC in the users related purchasing decisions of the sponsoring brand H3a: The platform type of positive incentive-driven UGC has an effect on the users evaluation of the sponsoring brand. H3b: The users general opinion on the bias-ness of incentive-driven UCC has an effect on the difference between the effects of the platform type of incentive-driven UGC in the users evaluation of the sponsoring brand. 3 Research Design and Measures This study used the uses and gratifications approach as the theoretical fundament. This method is commonly used in internet studies, see for example (Sangwan, 2005), (Papacharissi and Rubin, 2000) or (Kaye and Johnson, 2002). The approach assumes people using media actively and goal orientated and according to their needs (Katz and Blumler, 1974). This implicitly means that people know their needs and can articulate them. The uses and gratifications approach is seen to be appropriate for studying the motivations of people using media (Lin, 1996). To complement the perspective given through the uses and gratifications approach, the study used concepts common in economic theory, namely the consideration of monetary rewards and signalling incentives (Lerner and Tirole 2002). This means of data gathering has been found useful in a number of studies concerning user motivation (Lakhani and Wolf, 2005; Hars and Ou, 2002; Hippel and Lakhani, 2003). The authors develop a questionnaire to capture quantitative data administered via survey of a small sample of NTU graduate students. The chosen procedure for recruitment has the disadvantage not to be statistically representative (Ruggiero, 2000). It is therefore an exploratory study. The survey questionnaire was sent out to about 100 people, of which the return rate was 68% with 68 users. The questionnaire was in the form of an online survey, which was emailed to the randomly selected participants in the form of an embedded link. The survey was open for 2 days. Of the 68 responses, all of them were useable with no incomplete responses. The brand awareness construct was measured through one item, while the users purchasing decision of the brand construct was measured through three items. Finally, the users evaluation of the brand construct was measured through eight items. In all of the items, survey participants are asked to rank their responses based upon a 5-unit Likert scale of 1 to 5 (1- Strongly Agree; 2 Agree; 3 Neutral; 4 Disagree; 5 Strongly Disagree). For each of the dependent constructs relating to the users perceptions of brands, we calculate the sum of all the results of the survey items relating to that construct respective to each platform type (namely Facebook-related UGC or product review). Then, we begin by first conducting reliability analysis for each of the construct. A paired t-test was performed to test if there is any significant difference between the effects of the platform types of incentive-driven UGC on each of the constructs to test the postulated hypotheses. For the dependent constructs of the users related purchasing decision of the sponsoring brand, and the users evaluation of the sponsoring brand, a further linear regression analysis was performed to test if the users general opinion of the biasness of incentive-driven UGC has an effect on the difference between each platform types sum of all the results of the survey items relating to each of those dependent constructs (i.e., difference =[sum of Facebook-related survey items for construct A] [sum of product reviews-related survey items for construct A] ) 4 Results In the testing of the hypothesis H1, it is found that the difference between incentive-driven UGC on Facebook and in the form of product reviews is not statistically significant (p = 0.816, ÃŽÂ ±=0.05). Therefore, H1 is rejected. However, there is a moderate correlation between the users awareness of the sponsoring brand as a result of incentive-driven UGC on Facebook and the users awareness of the sponsoring brand as a result of incentive-driven UGC in the form of product reviews, and the Pearsons coefficient of 0.543 is significant at ÃŽÂ ± =0.05 (p In the test for the next hypothesis H2a, two analogous sets of 3 items are used; one set for measuring the construct of users related purchasing decisions with respect to incentive-driven UGC on Facebook and the other for incentive-driven UGC in the form of product reviews. In the initial reliability analysis, Cronbachs alpha for each of the Facebook and product reviews-related set of items was 0.802 and 0.891 respectively. The mean of the users related purchasing decisions as a result of incentive-driven Facebook-related UGC is 8.82, which suggests an almost neutral opinion on the average for each of the three survey items (3 = neutral). Similarly, the mean of the users related purchasing decisions as a result of incentive-driven Facebook-related UGC is 9.05, which suggests a neutral opinion on the average for each of the 3 survey items (3 = neutral). The mean of the users related purchasing decisions as a result of incentive-driven Facebook-related UGC was not significantly different from that of the users related purchasing decisions as a result of incentive-driven UGC in the form of product reviews (p =0.539, ÃŽÂ ±= 0.05). Thus, H2a is rejected. However, there is fairly moderate correlation between the two variables, and the Pearsons coefficient of 0.338 is significant (p =0.005, ÃŽÂ ±= 0.05). In the testing of the hypothesis H2b, the R2 value is 0.158, and there is a statistically significant negative linear relationship (standardised coefficient ÃŽÂ ² = -0.398) between the users opinion of the bias-ness of incentive-driven UGC and the difference in the platform types effect on the users related purchasing decisions (p = 0.001, ÃŽÂ ± = 0.05). In other words, the more the user agrees that the incentive-driven UGC are biased, the greater the positive effect that product reviews will on the users purchasing decisions than the same by Facebook-related UGC. Thus, hypothesis H2b is accepted. In the test of the hypothesis H3a, two analogous sets of 8 items are used. One set is for measuring the construct of users evaluation of brands with respect to positive incentive driven UGC on Facebook, and the other for incentive-driven UGC in the form of product reviews. Cronbachs alpha for each of the Facebook and product reviews-related set of items was 0.891 and 0.926 respectively in the reliability analysis. The mean rating of the users evaluation of the sponsoring brand as a result of Facebook-related UGC or product reviews are 22.35 and 22.94 respectively, both of which denote that the average opinion is between that of agree and neutral for each of the 8 survey items in each set. The mean of the users evaluation of brands as a result of positive incentive-driven UGC on Facebook was not significantly different from the same as a result of positive incentive-driven UGC in the form of product reviews ( p = 0.510, ÃŽÂ ± = 0.05). Thus, H3a is rejected. However, there is moderate correlation between the two variables, and the Pearsons coefficient of 0.385 is significant (p = 0.001, ÃŽÂ ± = 0.05). In the testing of the hypothesis H3b, the R2 value is 0.231, and there is a statistically significant negative linear relationship (standardised coefficient ÃŽÂ ² = -0.480) between the users opinion of the bias-ness of incentive-driven UGC and the difference in the platform types effect on the users related purchasing decisions (p 5 Analysis and Discussion In summary, there is no significant difference between the platform type of online incentive-driven UGC (whether Facebook-related UGC or UGC in the form of online product reviews) in their effects on all of i) the awareness of the sponsoring brand; ii) the users related purchasing decisions of the sponsoring brand, and; iii) the users evaluation of the sponsoring brand. However, there is a significant difference between the platform type of online incentive-driven UGC on the constructs of purchasing decisions and evaluation of the brand when the users general opinion of the bias-ness of incentive-driven UGC is taken into consideration. 5.1 When users general opinion of the biasness of incentive-driven UGC is not considered The results seem to suggest that there is no difference between the efficacy of both incentive-driven Facebook-related UGC and incentive-driven customer product reviews in furthering brand awareness. This may also hint of an overall fairly even amount of exposure that users currently have of both Facebook and websites/blogs. The lack of difference between the efficacy of both Facebook-related UGC and product reviews also seems to extend to the users related purchasing decisions of the sponsoring brand. This also seems to support the view that in fact that the users related purchasing decisions (whether their own or when advising a friend or relatives purchasing decision) had less to do with any type of UGC then the factors that they are directly exposed to when they are in a store or at the point of purchase (Edelman, 2010). Those information such as product placement, stock availability, packaging, pricing and sales interactions, are more crucial in influencing the users related purchasing decisions. Despite that, a user may still put off the purchase if they realise that the actual product is different from what is represented in other promotional materials online or offline (Edelman, 2010). The results also suggest that neither type of incentive-driven UGC, whether on Facebook or in product reviews, has a greater effect than the other in boosting the users opinion of the brand. It seems to reflect that the users acquisition of information in their evaluation of the product is multi-faceted, and does not rest solely on a single platform. 5.2 When users general opinion of the biasness of incentive-driven UGC is considered Of the 68 participants, 45.6% of them agree (36.8%) or strongly agree (8.8%) that online incentive-driven UGC are generally more biased than balanced, while a substantial 30.9 % of them are neutral on this. 41.2% of the surveyed participants also agreed or strongly agreed that extremely biased online UGC has a greater impact on their impression of the brand than moderately biased online UGC, while a significant 35.3% of the group remained neutral. The results suggest that when the user feels more strongly about the biasness of incentive-driven UGC, he has a tendency to trust the product information encapsulated within product reviews more than those reflected on Facebook contributed by other users. This might be possibly due to the more detailed textual information that the typical product review has than the average Facebook post, which tend to be more sporadic in nature. The results also support the findings in a study by McKinsey, that most consumers in the study are observed to have headed directly to Amazon.com, a major online shopping website hosted in multiple countries. There is a wealth of customer reviews on related products on the website, where customers can obtain more detailed product information and conduct their own product comparisons (Edelman, 2010). It is thus not surprising that Amazon.com is found to be one of the top influencers in brand equity, as it is where customers are influenced in both their evaluation of the product and purchasing decisions (Edelman, 2010). 5.3 Limitations and Suggestions for Future Research There are several limitations in this study. One limitation of this study is the small sample group size. Although the Cronbachs alpha in the reliability analysis was more than 0.7 for the data used in testing the hypothesis, a larger number of survey participants would allow for a more representative sample. In addition, the current study only focuses on two main platforms, namely Facebook and product reviews in blogs and websites for the studying of incentive-driven UGC. The inclusion of other platforms, such as the micro-blogging platform Twitter, and LinkedIn, a business networking platform that is gaining prominence for use in marketing companies and brands, might also have possibly shed more light on their respective effects on brand perceptions. Further, there is no specific brand that is used as a case study for this research. Sentiments may be highly mixed when responding to the survey questions as the participants are likely to have in mind different brands as their subjects for analysis. Hence, possible future work as an extension of this study could include a longitudinal study that is focused on representative brands across several product categories to analyse the efficacies of UGC on different product categories. It is also found that differences in culture and language can affect the users actions and behaviours when writing reviews, and in turn, such differences influences the disparity in product ratings creating their own online UGC related to products and brands, which in turn can influence others user perceptions of the brands in concern (Decker Trusov, 2010). Therefore, it would be useful to also study if differences in culture and language of UGC also have an effect on the users perception of brands. 6 Managerial implications The results of the current study have several implications for the marketing manager. Firstly, the lack of a difference in efficacy between Facebook-related UGC and product reviews and an average opinion that is almost neutral that either platform has influenced the user in his awareness of the sponsoring brand, showed that neither platform should be neglected by the manager in the online marketing plan when promoting a product or brand, nor should the manager put an over-emphasis of the marketing budget on these two platforms versus other online marketing mediums. Secondly, the manager may also consider allowing customer reviews on the companys own retail website for its products, if there is one. Such a feature will allow the growth of a virtual community of customers, and will also increase the time that a user spends on the website, thus boosting product sales (Mudambi Schuff, 2010). The social functions available on the retail website provide added value to the customer, and will exert a positive effect on brand equity through a more enhanced customer experience (Kumar Benbasat, 2006). 7 Conclusion

A Rose for Emily :: A Rose For Emily, William Faulkner

â€Å"She would not listen to them (795),† but they listened to her. They listened and watched throughout all of Miss Emily’s life – scowling, sympathizing, and, sometimes, they even smiled for her. These ever-watchful beings, the curious citizens of Jefferson, share and provide a backbone to this twisted tale in William Faulkner’s gothic short story, A Rose For Emily; though the views cast about Miss Emily differ significantly by generation and gender, their opinion conveyed as a whole expresses that they view Miss Emily as a shocking, unacceptable and â€Å"fallen (792)† being. Faulkner’s emphasis on narration drives the mystery farther. Along with the disturbing secret Emily hides, Faulkner conceals the identity of the narrator or narrators. The townsfolk, as a whole, are the narrator, yet throughout the piece it is suggested that the spokesperson for the town changes. For example, in part I, the narration appears to be from a member of the older generation as he or she observes the â€Å"next generation, with its more modern ideas (788)† come to a dissatisfactory conclusion about a resolution for the odor coming from Miss Emily’s estate. However, in part IV it is suggested that the narrator for the townspeople is a woman worrying keening about Emily’s relationship, her material purchases, and the details of her decaying looks. The pronoun â€Å"we† is used instead of â€Å"I† proposing that the opinions stated are the general consensus of the entire town – such as â€Å"we believed that she was fallenâ⠂¬  – the entire town sees her as a failure of what she could have been. When the pronoun â€Å"I† is utilized, this typically expresses that the speaker using â€Å"I† is against the wants of the townsperson speaking or possibly the entirety of the town. â€Å"I† is primarily used by Miss Emily, proving her to be an outcast in the eyes of her society. Judge Stevens also speaks in the first person singular when he fight to defend Miss Emily’s respect – feeling the actions suggested are not â€Å"necessary (790).† The different citizens mold the reader’s thoughts and emotions towards Emily - being as the townsfolk are the reason the story exists. They are an essential part of Emily’s story and thusly their views, whether fully believable or not, must be taken into account on the mystery case that is Miss Emily’s life. The people of Jefferson have always held a certain curiosity for the events in Emily’s life and despite the years the curiosity continued.