Haagen-Dazs Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Haagen-Dazs - Essay Example In effect, this expose elucidates on the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats that the brand can focus on to ensure growth and success in the market. First, the philosophy of Haagen-Dazs is to ensure that it used the purest and finest recipes the world had to offer and created super premium ice cream, frozen yoghurt, and sorbet (Haagen-Dazs, â€Å"The Philosophy†). In effect, the company’s brand has come to be associated with upscale products. Therefore, the company has been able to create a brand that was strongly popular, innovative, and excellent image, which are strengths associated with Haagen-Dazs. Hence, the brand is internationally recognized, and a focus on this  strength  will ensure success and growth in the market. One weakness that the brand should address is the association of its products with luxury. In this case, the brand’s â€Å"way of doing business that is as demanding as it is uncommon† in creating products that were fine results to super-pricing of the products (Haagen-Dazs, â€Å"The Philosophy†). In effect, the products produced target a small population that was narrow due to the exclusive pricing. Therefore, the brand should reposition itself and acquire a marketing strategy that aimed at making the products accessible to people in the middle and lower classes of society. In effect, the brand will increase its market base, which effectively means that there will be growth in revenues and profits. When improving its marketing strategy, Haagen-Dazs should focus on the opportunity offered by the increase of demand in healthy products. Luckily, the company prides itself for creating products that did not have additives since they were in their natural form. In effect, the brand can reposition its marketing strategy to utilize its ability to create products that did not have additives, which made the products healthy since they were in their

Unemployment in Europe Essay Example for Free

Unemployment in Europe Essay Unemployment is the state of being jobless or else being without an occupation and you have looked for a job without success. You should also be willing and ready to work if given a chance. Lack of occupation is a severe problem not only in Europe but in all corners of the world. People who are unemployed are seen as a liability to the society. This is because people with no jobs or other sources of income are always seen as dependent on their colleagues employed with financial stability. The unemployed find it difficult to live up to their basic needs. Unemployment in Europe and measures put in place Technological change and expansion in international trade has sternly affected employment adversely. As technology advances more people are n being left unemployed while others who were formerly employed being laid off. This is due to the fact that modern technology aims at reducing the cost of manpower by availing machines that are more productive than a group of people. The unskilled personnel are replaced with more skilled employees in a bid to compete effectively in international trade. High levels of unemployment may result in social problem like crimes, prostitution among others. The unemployed will seek other sources of income as the disposable income they used to get before reduces or is completely not available. During the unemployment period the workers also lose their skills and have the fear of their jobs being taken up by people from foreign countries. The problem of unemployment is being curbed by putting in place policies and measure that protect employees. Such measures include extending employee benefits during recession to cover a longer time frame. It is also illegal in some countries to fire more than twenty employees without following some legal processes. The governments in Europe and USA help the unemployed through the social welfare program where they get benefits such as insurance and subsidies. Most of the people who lose jobs are either unskilled or low performing. Once they lose their jobs it is normally hard to get back their jobs as their positions are taken over by more skilled and much productive workers than them. Saudi Arabia is a prime market for foreign business and investors due to the following reasons. First of all it is an oil producing country with vast deposits of petroleum products among other natural resources and minerals. Saudi is well known for its effort in fighting stabilization of petroleum products. Foreign investors are attracted by the huge deposits of minerals which they go to exploit. Mineral exploitation has always been known to be a highly profitable business in which everyone is interested in. The oil products also provide a cheap and reliable source of energy and fuel for the industrial machinery. Saudi Arabia also has a sound economy with a fast growing young population. The population provides cheap labor for industries in the region they by lowering the labor costs for investors. The banking system is well managed and transparent. This gives the investors assurance that their money is in good custodian. It also provides incentives to investors especially targeting to put up new manufacturing zones in the area. Financial advices are also offered to ensure that investors’ funds are properly used and managed to avoid investing in unworthy businesses. Conclusion High levels of unemployment will always have adverse effects to the unemployed, general public, employer and even the government. The unemployed suffer psychologically while the society is faced with crimes and the government faces economic hard times as the unemployed depend on them. To conclude all stake holders should ensure that they minimize the number of people unemployed in the country.

Brand Loyalty in purchase of Sports Apparels

Brand Loyalty in purchase of Sports Apparels Purpose The following paper tries to determine whether brand loyalty is a mediator between brand name, product loyalty, price, store environment, promotion, service quality and the intention of a customer to purchase sports apparels. The study presented uses Brand Loyalty to investigate the relationship between brand name, product loyalty, price, store environment, promotion and service quality and consumers intention to purchase. Design/Methodology/Approach A questionnaire was distributed to students of B-schools India in the age group of 18 30 years of age asking about their preferences when purchasing sports apparels. The results of the questionnaire were analyzed using the four step method for mediation analysis Findings Brand Loyalty partially mediates brand name, product loyalty, price, store environment, promotion, service quality and the consumers intention to purchase. Research limitations/Implications The biggest limitation was that the study was confined to the age group of 18-30 years of age. Also it doesnt explore the factors which constitute the independent variables. Future study needs to widen the scope of study by including consumers in the age group of 30 plus. Also it needs to incorporate the factors which influence consumer to recommend the product to others. Practical Implications The managerial implications of the research are immense. It guides mangers to choose the most important factors while opening up a new store as the study establishes that service quality is the most important factor which influences the consumers decision to buy sports apparels Originality/Value This paper is one of the first studies which examines how brand name, product loyalty, price, store environment, promotion and service quality translate into intention to purchase. Paper Type Research Paper Introduction Indians nowadays have developed a fetish for sportswear. This impact can be seen across all age groups; Be it youngsters in the nascent stages of skill-development in the area of interest in the sports domain, athletic adolescents, young men and women with their addiction to gymnasiums or mid-aged and old people who try and look trendy when they go for their daily walks or perform light exercises. This has resulted in a huge demand for sports apparels and it can be seen in the huge variety of sport apparels developed by major brands like Nike, Adidas, Puma etc. A positive trend was observed in Italy in purchase of sportswear in summer/spring. (Dusi, 1999). Though there are very few retailers of sportswear in the market but the competition is very fierce among them. A paper by Wernerfelt in 1991 shows that customers are willing to buy more if the brand name is considered to be superior. (Wenerfelt, 1991) Managers realize that brand retention is a very important factor that decides consumer behavior. They also consider customer retention as a very important factor that actually decides performance of a particular brand (Sasser, 1990). Hence knowledge of brand loyalty is a must for managers. Factors of Brand Loyalty: The independent variables Brand Name ( (Aaker, 1996); (B.D., 2000); (R.W., 1978): Brand name plays a pivotal role in customer retention of advertisements in comparison to a product which is not endorsed by any brand, A brand name may influence a persons buying behavior since hard core followers of a brand purchase all products of a particular brand irrespective of the intrinsic factors. Such dedication to a particular brand is decided by both emotional and physical attributes of the brand name. The complete importance of a brand comes into picture when a choice is to be made between 2 similar products. In such cases the product with a better brand name would be preferred. Product Quality (G.S., 2005), (D.A., 1988), (C., 2000) Consumer may return to a brand repeatedly if it scores high on product quality. The factors which decide the quality can be fitting, size measurement, color, function and performance of merchandise. Fitting is of paramount importance in apparels since they actually define the comfort level of an individual using them. Material once again is important since it defines the durability of the product. Some customers also relate to a particular color. Also how long it takes for the color to fade also determines its quality. Functional attributes like breathable, water-resistance, easy to wash are other parameters which decide the quality of the product. The performance of the merchandise also effect customer psyche since a merchandise having huge sales would make the customer think that the quality of the product must be good to generate such sales. Price ( (B.D., 2000): (Rayner, 1999); (Krishnamurthi, 1991)): Price is another important factor in consumer behavior. If a customer is a hard-core loyalist then he would be willing to pay a premium for the brand in consideration and would be relatively less sensitive to prices. A customer has a perceived value of a product in his mind and a favored brand name enhances this value by leaps and bounds. Hence here the customer is willing to pay more than the expected price if the brand name is preferred. A loyal customer is less price sensitive. Store environment A stores environment, its location and the number of outlets it has also influence the consumers shopping pattern ( (Evans, 1996); (Milliman, 1982); (Grewal, 2002)). If a consumer is satisfied with the variety of products available in a store and the services provided to him then e becomes loyal. Also characteristics of other shoppers, the behavior of salespersons, the displays, the store design, and the advertisements displayed, signs, colors etc. are other factors that affect consumers. Also if the store is attractive from the inside, the shopper would be encouraged to spend more time inside the store and may purchase more which ultimately would affect his loyalty to the brand which owns the store. Perceived store image also has a direct impact on the intention to purchase. Promotion ( (Czernawski, 1999); (Evans, 1996); (Komal)): Promotion forms one of the most important components of the 4 Ps of marketing. It includes advertising, sales promotion and personal selling. Advertising includes print media, electronic media and billboards. The paper by Evans shows that how advertising shapes a key role in determining whether a person becomes loyal to a brand or not. A lot of times advertisements are the first point of contact between a person and the product and hence the image and perception of the product is formed in the mind of the customer through this mode only. Thus good advertisements in any form are a way to attract brand switchers and generate loyalty among them. A research paper by Komal Nagar lays emphasis on the fact that consumer promotions have a positive impact on brand switchers but not on brand loyalists. Service Quality ( (Yonggui)Service quality is a form of personal selling only since it includes direct contact between a salesperson and the customer. A lot of time impulse buying is motivated by salespersons only. If the salespersons are friendly enough then such kind of stores is generally preferred others. If a bonding develops between the salesperson and the customer then it gradually spreads over to customer and the brand/store. Also personalization in the form of personal attention the customers gets at a store significantly influences loyalty. In banks and other financial institutions service quality is the most important factor that determines reputation. Research Background and Hypothesis Price and Brand Loyalty Wakefield and Inman (2003) define price sensitivity as the extent to which individuals perceive and respond to changes or differences in prices for products or services. Further, Jin and Suh, (2005) define Price consciousness or price sensitivity as the degree to which the consumer focuses exclusively on paying low prices. Customers are generally seen to be price sensitive, and sales promotions have a significant effect on their choice behavior (Gazquez-Abad, 2009) characterizing the deal-proneness of consumers by analysis of price sensitivity and brand loyalty: an analysis in the retail environment. Brand loyalty towards clothes in a leading market, sometimes called Generation Y is also significantly influenced by price consciousness It was one of the three variables recognized as having a positive influence on brand loyalty. According to Cadogan and Foster (2000), price is probably the most important consideration for the average consumer. But Consumers with high brand loyalty are willing to pay a premium price for their favored brand, so, their purchase intention is not easily affected by price. Other studies also suggest that Brand loyal customers tend to be less sensitive to price. Further, research suggests that price shows a positive relationship with brand loyalty Price has also increasingly become a major point in consumers judgments of offer value as well as their overall assessment of the retailer In addition, customers have a strong belief in the price and value of their favorite brands and they compare and evaluate prices with alternative brands (Evans, 1996); Consumers satisfaction can also be built by comparing price with perceived costs and values. If the perceived values of the product are greater than cost, it is observed that consumers will purchase that product. Ho: There is no significant and positive relationship between price and brand loyalty on consumer sportswear. Ha: There is a significant and positive relationship between price and brand loyalty on consumer sportswear. Product Quality and Brand Loyalty Quality is relatively tough to define. If Japanese philosophy is to be kept in mind, then quality is zero defects. According to another definition, quality is conformance to requirements (Parasuraman, Zeithaml and Berry 1985). Here a difference needs to be made between perceived and objective quality. Perceived quality has been defined as the consumers judgment about a products overall excellence or superiority. Perceived product quality is a global assessment characterized by a high abstraction level and refers to a specific consumption setting Objective quality refers to the actual technical excellence of the product that can be verified and measured (Monroe and Krishman, 1985). Romano and Vinelli (2001) state that quality must be guaranteed in apparel sector for customers to remain brand loyal. Consumers today are becoming more and more quality conscious. Quality Consciousness is defined as the tendency of consumers to intentionally search and get the highest possible quality products in their purchases (Sporles and Kendall 1986). Brand loyalty towards clothes among a leading market called Generation Y is significantly influenced by quality consciousness. (Ertekin.) Functional attributes in sportswear include quick-dry, breathable, waterproof, odor-resistant, lightweight, and antimicrobial and finally, durability which is the use life of garments. For instance, some consumers wear their sportswear for heavy work and some for leisure and sports, as they need a lot of movement, while durability is an important consideration in purchasing sportswear (D.A., 1988) Perfectionist or quality consciousness is defined as an awareness of and desire for high quality products, and the need to make the best or perfect choice versus buying the first product or brand available. (Sproles, 1986) This indicates that quality characteristics are also related to performance. Also notable is the fact that consumers may repeat purchase a single brand, or switch between different brands depending on the product quality offered. Ho: There is no significant and positive relationship between product quality and brand loyalty on consumer sportswear. Ha: There is a significant and positive relationship between product quality and brand loyalty on consumer sportswear. Store environment Brand Loyalty Retail store perceptions such as store image and familiarity are extensively studied for apparel brands. (Forney, Park and Brandon 2005) Brand reputations and evaluations are built up over time evoke sales as consumers tend to be brand loyal and brand driven under the influence of store attributes such as staff, layout, location atmosphere. Fulberg (2003) adds that using merely music in a store to create attitudinal loyalty for the brands can be possible. Further Omar (1999) emphasized that the store environment was the single most important factor in retail marketing success and store longevity. If consumers find the store to be highly accessible during their shopping trip and are satisfied with the stores assortment and services, these consumers may become loyal afterwards (Evans et al., 1996). The stimuli in the store, such as the characteristic of other shoppers and salespeople, store layout, noises, smells, temperature, shelf space and displays, sign, colors, and merchandise, affect consumers and serve as elements of apparel attributes. (Abraham, 1995) Also background music played in the stores affects attitudes and behavior. The slow-beat musical selection leads to higher sales volume as consumers spend more time and money in a conducive environment. Research also suggests a positive and significant relationship between store environment and sportswear brand loyalty. Ho: There is no significant and positive relationship between store environment and brand loyalty on consumer sportswear. Ha: There is a significant and positive relationship between store environment and brand loyalty on consumer sportswear Brand name Brand Loyalty Famous brand names can disseminate product benefits and lead to higher recall of advertised benefits than non-famous brand names. (Evans, 1996) In case there are a lot of brand names in the market, many of which are unfamiliar, consumers may prefer and trust the major brand names. Also brand personality provides links to the brands emotional and self-expressive benefits for differentiation. This is important for brands which have only minor physical differences and are consumed in a social setting where the brand can create a visible image about the consumer itself. This is an especially valid point for sports apparels industry. Brand name is the creation of an image or the development of a brand identity and is an expensive and time consuming process. Consumers generally tend to perceive the products from an overall perspective, associating with the brand name all the attributes and satisfaction experienced by the purchase and use of the product. Ho: There is no significant and positive relationship between brand name and brand loyalty on consumer sportswear. Ha: There is a significant and positive relationship between brand name and brand loyalty on consumer sportswear. Promotion Brand Loyalty Promotion is a marketing mix component which is a kind of communication with consumers. Promotion includes the use of advertising, sales promotions, personal selling and publicity. Research suggests that if one brand is sufficiently stronger than the other and if advertising is cost effective, then the stronger brand loyalty requires less advertising than weaker brand loyalty, but a larger loyal segment requires more advertising than a smaller loyal segment. Moreover, stronger brand loyalty requires more trade promotion spending under these conditions. (Aggarwal, 1996) According to Rowley (1998), promotion is an important element of a firms marketing strategy. Promotion is used to communicate with customers with respect to product offerings, and it is also a way to encourage purchase or sales of a product or service. Sales promotion tools are used by most organizations in support of advertising and public relations activities, and they are targeted toward consumers as final users. Advertising is known to be a non-personal presentation of information in mass media about a product, brand, company or store. It greatly affects consumers images, beliefs and attitudes towards products and brands, and in turn, influences their brand loyalty (Evans et al., 1996). Ho: There is no significant and positive relationship between promotion and brand loyalty on consumer sportswear. Ha: There is a significant and positive relationship between promotion and brand loyalty on consumer sportswear. Service quality Brand Loyalty Service quality is commonly defined as the service which should correspond to the customers expectations and satisfy their needs and requirements (Gronroos, 1990). Service quality is a kind of personal selling, and involves direct interactions between the salespeople and potential buyers. Consumers shop at specific stores because they like the services being rendered and are assured of certain service privileges. The impact of salespeople-consumer relationships more often than not result in long term orientation of consumers towards the store or brand. Trust in salespeople appears to relate to overall perceptions of the stores service quality, and results in the consumer being totally satisfied with the stores in the end. Additionally, personalization (i.e. reliability, responsiveness, personalization and tangibles) significantly influence consumers experience and evaluation of service, and in turn, affects the brand loyalty of consumers (Mittal, B. and Lassar, W.M., 1996). Gronroos (1990) notes that the quality of a service as perceived by customers has three dimensions attached to it: functional (or process) dimension, technical (or outcome) dimension, and image. Ho: There is no significant and positive relationship between service quality and brand loyalty on consumer sportswear. H1: There is a significant and positive relationship between service quality and brand loyalty on consumer sportswear. Brand Loyalty as a mediator and Intention to purchase Brand loyalty is defined largely as a consumers strong commitment towards a particular brand to the extent where the consumer will be motivated to obtain that brand exclusively on every purchase transaction and is constantly looking out for any marketing activities related to the brand (Baldinger, 1996). Loyalty is one factor that many studies have shown to have a strong influence on purchase decision (Alvarez et al., 2000). Research suggests that brand loyalty is the main variable which influences the purchase decision process of both national and store brands. Loyalty does not only influence the decision of store choice, but also the brand choice and the quantity of products purchased. Studying purchase intentions is very important in the retail segment, including sports apparels. Several studies have reported a positive correlation between purchase intentions and purchase behavior. (David, 1996) Impulse purchase is also very important for a segment such as sportswear. (Armstrong, 2006)revealed that approximately 30% of the total purchase of university athletic teams licensed merchandise was impulsively purchased by the universitys students. Ho: There is no significant and positive relationship between brand loyalty and intention to purchase on consumer sportswear. H1: There is no significant and positive relationship between brand loyalty and intention to purchase on consumer sportswear. The model illustrating the constructs is given below: Methods Measures The constructs were measured with the help of Likert scales. They responses ranged from 1(strongly disagree) to 5(strongly agree), except in the case of intention to purchase scale which ranged from 1(strongly disagree) to 7(strongly agree). Sample The sample was collected using an online questionnaire. A total of 146 people responded to the questionnaire. No personal information of the respondents was collected, apart from their age, as the study focuses on the age group of 18-30. Intention to purchase: Intention to purchase was measured with a three-item scale found in a paper by Baker, Michael J. and Gilbert A. Churchill, Jr. (1977). A sample item is If you needed a sport apparel would you prefer this brand if you saw it in a store longer? Brand name: Brand name was measured with a four-item scale found in a paper by Cadogan, J. W. and Foster, B. D. (2000). A sample item is the prestigious brand name and image attract me to purchase this brand Product Quality: Product quality was measured with a five-item scale found in a paper by Sproles, G.B. and Kendall, E. L. (1986). A sample item is the materials used by the brand of the sportswear are comfortable Price: Price was measured with a two-item scale found in a paper by Cadogan, J. W. and Foster, B. D. (2000). A sample item is the increased price would not hinder my purchase decision Promotion: Promotion was measured with a three-item scale found in a paper by Wong Foong Yee and Yahyah Sidek (2008) A sample item is advertisements of the brands attract me to purchase more frequently. Service quality: Service quality was measured with a four-item scale found in a paper by Mittal, B. and Lassar, W.M. (1996). A sample item is the salespersons of the stores are well trained and knowledgeable Store environment: Store environment was measured with a four-item scale found in a paper by Dhruv Grewal, R. Krishnan, Julie Baker, Norm Borin. A sample item is the brand has good store locations and easy to access Brand loyalty: Brand loyalty was measured with a four-item scale found in a paper by Odin, Yorick, Nathalie N. Odin, and Pierre Valette-Florence (2001). A sample item is the brand name is the first thing I look for when I purchase sports apparels Step 1: It summarizes the results of a regression analysis using intention to purchase as the criterion variable and the six independent variables as predictor. It is clear that the independent variables are significantly related to intention to purchase of sports apparels. The values achieved are R2 = 0.374, F = 13.846, p Service quality and Store environment were most significantly related to intention to purchase. Step 2: It summarizes the results of a regression analysis using brand loyalty as the criterion variable and the six independent variables as predictor. Results signify that independent variables are also significantly related to brand loyalty. The values out of regression are R2 = 0.358, F = 12.913 and p Service quality again was most significantly related to brand loyalty. Step 3: It summarizes the results of a regression analysis using intention to purchase as the criterion variable and brand loyalty and six independent variables as predictor. From the results obtained we can see that all the independent variables and brand loyalty are significantly related to intention to purchase. The values out of regression are R2 = 0.391, F = 12.650 and p Brand loyalty and store environment were more significantly related to intention to purchase than other variables. The values of beta for all the independent variables in step 1 were greater than their values in step 3. This signifies that the relationship, although still significant, is reduced in magnitude. Hence there is a partial mediation effect. Service quality was most significantly related to intention to purchase out of all the six independent variables. Price and promotion, on the other hand, were least significantly related. Discussion and Implications The current study explored the intention to purchase vis a vis Brand Loyalty. Brand name, Product quality, Price, Service Quality, Store environment and promotion as independent variables. The mediator here was Brand Loyalty. The study was unique in the sense that it explored the intention to purchase while considering the factors of brand loyalty. This study provides an effective tool to apparel makers while opening up a new store in the sense that it enables them to exploit the major factors to leverage upon the buyers intention to purchase by focusing more on the factors which affect the Brand Loyalty the most. Among the factors of Brand Loyalty service quality emerged as the single biggest factor which partially mediated by Brand Loyalty influences the customers intention to purchase. The results entail that sales person consumer relation will more often than not result in long term association of the consumer with the brand. Also it is clear from the results obtained that users dont consider promotion as a factor while deciding upon the apparel to purchase as it has the lowest correlation with the consumers intention to purchase. Also price considered as an important factor in previous researches emerged as another factor which is insignificant compared to other variables except for store environment. This can be explained on the basis that the consumers already have an image of the brands. This is enforced by factors like service quality, product quality etc. and the price factor is not given any weightage. There is also a second reason for this. This is that all the brands we included i n the consideration set of the people filling up the survey are priced similar. This is a very important result in the sense that it guides the apparel stores to provide better service. Another important result which emerged was the insignificance of promotion. Promotion here comprises both advertisements plus the discounts given in the form of clearance sales, sweep stakes, coupons etc. This doesnt contribute to consumers long term brand loyalty. Although it can lead to sudden interest in consumers mind regarding the particular brand offering the discount but it certainly doesnt translate into long term brand loyalty. Brand name is another factor which emerges as a strong variable which important influences the consumers intention to purchase. Consumers tend to perceive the products from an overall perspective, associating with the brand name all the attributes and satisfaction experienced by the purchase and use of the product. But it is clear from the research that it cannot be attributed as the single biggest factor which influences the consumers brand loyalty or intention to purchase. Limitations The biggest limitation of the study which stems from the design of the research is the focus on the age group 18 to 30 years of age. We controlled this variable consciously to study the behavior in this age group. But the age group 30+ is a very big chunk of consumers who buy sports apparels. Taking into account their preference is bound to change certain findings in the study presented above. Another important limitation of the study is that the study doesnt explore the factors which make up the independent variables i.e. factors like promotion entail a multitude of factors like advertisements, personal selling, discounts, clearance sales and sweepstakes. All these factors in promotion and many more in factors like store environment, service quality could not be explored. This stemmed from the fact that if we had decided to explore all these factors then the questionnaire would have been very long. Another thing where the study lacks is that it doesnt explore how to retain customers . Although brand loyalty is very important factor in retention of consumers but this is not the only factor. Scope for Future Research There is a lot of scope for improvements and enhancing the results obtained in the research presented. The biggest perhaps is to include the consumers in the age group above 30 years and above. This is because that they form a big chunk as consumers in the sports apparels. The inclusion of consumers in this age group will provide a holistic study of their preferences. Another way forward is to incorporate in the study the factors which influence the consumers to recommend the product to other. Word to word mouth is very important factor especially in the peer group in the age group of 18 30 years of age. Also as stated in the limitations study we could not include the factors which make up the independent variables e.g. exploring which factors influence the most in service quality so that the store owner can concentrate on those factors more in order to provide customer an enriching experience so that long term relationship between consumers and the brand.

A Surreal Land :: Mathematics Papers

A Surreal Land "To infinity and beyond!" These were the inspired words of Buzz Lightyear in the Disney movie Toy Story. Granted, one would not expect to find much mathematical content in an animated film directed toward children, but these words raise an interesting issue that mathematicians and the general public struggled with for many years. Can one go beyond infinity? How can such a concept be possible or even imaginable? These questions led to the development of many new theories and even a new system of numbers. Disney's Buzz Lightyear A study of infinity must begin with an introduction to set theory. A set is merely a collection of objects. Georg Cantor was the sole creator of set theory; he published an article in 1874 that marks the beginning of set theory and has come to change the course of mathematics. Cantor's theory was met with a great deal of opposition due to its assertion of infinite numbers. The famous mathematician Leopold Kronecker was especially opposed to Cantor's revolutionary new way of looking at numbers. Kronecker believed only in constructive mathematics, those objects that can be constructed from a finite set of natural numbers. Despite this opposition from influential thinkers, set theory laid the foundation for twentieth century mathematics. Although there were some flaws in Cantor's theory, sets became an essential part of new mathematics and therefore set theory was adapted to eliminate its original paradoxes [2]. Georg Cantor Cantor's set theory incorporated infinity in the form of infinite cardinal numbers. Cardinal numbers are those which measure the number of objects in a set, as opposed to ordinal numbers, which are numbers with a fixed predecessor and successor. If two sets have equal cardinality, then they contain an equal number of objects. One way to determine this is through "one-to-one correspondence." Two sets are said to be in one-to-one correspondence if each object, or element, of the first set can be paired with exactly one element of the second set, and vice versa [1]. Cantor compared the cardinality of the set of all positive even integers to the set of all positive integers and found them to be equal. Thus the infinite cardinal number of these two sets is the same and is defined to be aleph-naught. This is the first transfinite number. The set of rational numbers also has a cardinality of aleph-naught, and thus is the same size as the set of integers.

Improving Track Safety Design With Passive External Airbags Engineering Essay

Re design/ rating and recommendations for design and building alterations by bettering the path safety utilizing inactive external airbags. The grass path bikes can be raced with progressively safe since there is a batch more room for development and betterments, both in the instance of bikes every bit good as barriers in the race paths. Sing the current methods and developments applied around a modern grass path race, it is clear that monolithic and a batch more betterments can be made to avoid hurts to the riders, witnesss every bit good as fatal clangs of bikes. Along with this, the overflow countries of the current grass path rushing circuits are surrounded by wooden pole fencing with linking ropes as clang barriers which is non at all safe during the race. Taking a closer expression at the present clang barrier constituents it is obvious that a rope n wooden barrier is the worst comparison to all other barriers as it provides no safety and protection to the riders and witnesss during the high velocity clang. Basically if any stiff and inelastic stuff barrier is installed and if it does non travel off to some extent during a clang, it is non advisable to put in it since the energy absorbing power is really low. And if such an inelastic barrier is installed it may ensue in terrible hurts to the rider and rider and entire devastation of bikes. Other alternate barriers which used more normally are the light froth clang barriers with the wired thin metal mesh of considerable snap and resembles divider fencing and are installed environing the path giving infinite to run off country. Although these barriers are effectual against low impact hits, a current bike has excessively much velocity and torsion for those fencings to defy a hit and high impact. Finally, the most frequently used barrier fencings are wooden barriers which are impermanent and are less soaking up of impact energy. Exploitation of inactive airbag system as a 3rd barrier. In an impulse to better overall grass path safety and to happen a solution for above mentioned track safety jobs, a new development can be used as an alternate barriers for the path safety intents which can be used on the curves where there is a maximal chance of bikes traveling off the path or around the path as a safety barrier. The new coevals airbag system consists of normal airbags which are of inactive and can be used exterior to the path. Each airbag merely a inactive bag, which are pre hyperbolic bag of air and are of peculiar lengths, so that any combination of bags can be used every bit long as the path length, and can be easy transported or shifted from one path to another as all the paths are impermanent, and can be used with add-on to the current wooden barrier or if installed decently can replace the wooden barrier wholly. Therefore doing easy to put in and take after the race when and where of all time required with different path forms. The advantage of the barrier air bag is, it can non merely hyperbolic with normal but it can besides be inflated with any other alternate gases available and sometimes it is flexible more even to make full an equal normal liquid and a type of froth as good. Since the alternate types of rising prices increases the cost of installing and operation normal or dry air from the ambiance is much preferred as compared to any other surrogate. The air bags should be really exactly designed so that it wholly absorbs the bike impulse when it strikes them at really high velocity on the rushing circuits. The alone characteristic of the barrier air bag is when the bike hits the barrier with a really high impact, the inactive external barrier airbag evacuates a certain measure of air which is perfectly equal to the strength of the bike impact on the air bag wall. The bag which is partly deflated during the impact can once more inflated by a suited pump which regains and maintains the force per unit area and volume of the bag back to normal as before the hit. And those bags can be used for full completion of the circuit every bit good as other many races and if badly non damaged it can be used for several old ages till the bag stuff loses its snap due to age or serious wreckage due to crisp and pointed parts of the bikes during the clang. The normal air bag design constellation of the fence of path can be well compared to a drape of much large size, which is composed of many little inflatable shock absorber like which is attached one after the other like a concatenation of all around outside path. The barrier bags can be connected or fixed to each other one behind the other and every bit good to the gimmick fencing which is present behind them or even can be fixed on the land, and provided the air bag should hold adequate perpendicular rigidness so that it should non travel away skiding when the bike crashes the bag at really high impact. The air bags can be rapidly installed behind the 3rd gimmick fencing merely to supply safety to riders and every bit good as the witnesss. Fabrication of the barrier air bags The effectual airbags can be manufactured by run uping or can be thermoformed like plastics from derived functions of assorted tissues in such an interface that the barrier air bag is really extremely immune to high velocity bike hit impacts, parts invasions and resistant to fire in some instances and besides sing all the conditions conditions during the race is on. All the stuffs selected to the airbag industry must be tested and validatingly verified, and a combination of man-made fibers may be besides a really good pick for industry. Materials such as C fibers or Kevlar which has high strength and relatively less weight, which are already widely used in motor athleticss until now, can besides be used for the fabrication of air bags. Flexibility in air bag to accommodate different state of affairss in the race Different force per unit areas can be applied to the airbags depending upon the applications, when blow uping the air bags. Air bag can be filled with more volume of air which in return has more possible energy absorbing capacity, but the job is when the air displaces from the bag when crashed by bike, and therefore the air issues will hold to be sized for assorted velocity impacts. The air issues of the bag should be made sensitive plenty such that when the bike impacts with different velocities several sum of air should be discharged from the bag and the issue force per unit area should be pre determined. Hence every bag must be equipped with sufficient sum of air mercantile establishments which are to be a hermetic waterproofing in the signifier of opening to blow up every bit good at the same clip which enables go forthing the air measure from the bag at the fleeting hits. These air issues are plus points and advantageous cardinal solutions to the airbags as these allow the bike striking the airbags to be absorbed as a whole alternatively of resiling back the riders and bike when they ram the bag. Further customization of the airbags can be done to accommodate different applications. And airbags can besides be constructed for many uninterrupted metres in the signifier of wall, if the paths are to be made lasting, irrespective of length and breadth for effectual protection in a racing path boundary lines. Another betterment can besides be done in the air bags by adding one or more constituents in assembles bags like including pockets to catch the rider individually on the surface as the bike hits the front surface and Michigans, and rider every bit good as rider may wing in the air after crashing to the barrier, can be caught if the pockets are provided on the above or top surface of air bags. And such a constellation can be made possible in air bags by a resistive plastic model. The state of affairs of the path decides whether a combination of little attachable bags or big bags must be used in the race as some of race paths may non hold equal infinite to keep the race path, run offs and every bit good as witnesss. Proper, thorough full graduated table trials and surveies must be carried out before put ining or implementing the air bags on the existent path. It is non mandatory for the form of the airbag and stuff and any form can be manufactured harmonizing to the demand of path safety. The air bags which are put on the race circuits to absorb energy of the bike impact traveling off the paths particularly on the curves and go forthing the curves can be fixed, fastened, welded, glued and can be used incasing them in any arrested development structures or systems in conformity to protect the needed as stated before. The tissue used for the bag surface stuff may perchance be a mixture of glass fiber based, C fiber, man-made fiber based or Kevlar fiber since it is really strong. But it is non good to increase the thickness of the airbags utilizing stacking up of C to one or more beds inside with a orderly harmonic of man-made fibers or with any other combinations of two or more types of hempen texture. Air bag should hold chief characteristic characteristic of resistant to violent and difficult impacts, and to some extent opposition to rupture, fire and an in effectible to the conditions conditions. Airbags can be used in lasting path and every bit good, apart from stiff lasting systems, the airbags can besides be used as nomadic barriers, where of all time required. It can be dismantled, moved and replaced of fixed easy wheresoever needed in different locations where the race takes topographic point and can physically supported on a movable constructions that can back up potentially violent impact clangs. This interesting belongings of the air bag makes it good feasible solution for the impermanent circuits like grass paths and such as those which are used in the universe mass meeting titles. Amongst the advantages of the barrier air bags implemented on the grass path rushing circuits, is the shifting of circuits from a unsafe topographic point onto a more secured topographic points. This system can widely be used alternatively of current path safety systems and can replace the inferior barriers which do non supply any safety to the riders and the witnesss. The belongings of absorbing energy expeditiously through the controlled deflation of the airbags through the air exits. These airbags may go a hope for safety protections that wholly absorbs the impact energies and will non convey back to the bike striking it. Another good advantage of this air bag is the show surface on inside the path every bit good as outside the path harmonizing to the form along the grass path circuits can be efficaciously used by the advertizers. Last but non least at the terminal, there will be existent demand for these sorts of barriers if manufactured consequently with low operation costs and purchasing costs to the path circuits all over the universe. It is really easy to still develop the air bag engineering and executions to supply in the market as all sorts of engineering is available already for bettering the safety and guaranting 100 % safety in the grass paths and other similar paths circuits for witnesss, riders and from their machines during the clang.

Mask of Command essays

Mask of Command essays A) What is the subject of the book' John Keegan's Mask of Command examines the unique status of the war general as he is perceived in a variety of historical and cultural settings. As war is a hallmark of all cultures, Keegan points to the universality of the general's persona. However, the author does not treat generalship solely from a psychological perspective. Rather, he sets out to place war generals in context of their times and societies. By analyzing four major historical figures that shaped not only their own cultures but that of neighboring societies and future generations, Keegan backs up his thesis with historical fact. The four war generals Keegan focuses on: Alexander the Great, Wellington, Ulysses S. Grant, and Hitler, each made a unique impact on history but was also a unique product of their particular epoch and culture. Therefore, Keegan shows that each of these major war generals deserves a different historical perspective. For instance, Alexander the Great is described by Keegan as being the quintessential hero. Especially in context of ancient Greek civilization in which heroism brings specific guidelines, Alexander embodied what it means to be a true war hero. His character seamlessly fit into his role as a war hero. In contrast, Wellington proved to be what Keegan calls an anti-hero, as he was reserved and relatively not ambitious, especially when compared with Alexander the Great. Many such generals were simply thrust into their roles as leaders because of their military know-how, intelligence, and prowess, not because they exhibited special character traits that enabled them to obtain glory for their nation. Likewise, Ulysses S. Grant is characterized by Keegan as being un-heroic: small in stature, Grant was notably modest and not prone to theatrics. His distaste for the bloodiness of war also bore testimony to the differences between him and other hist...