Development Strategy of Dupont International Management Essay

Development Strategy of Dupont International Management - Essay Example Its various trademarks are found in many consumers as well as industrial products so that DuPont per se has become or has been related to household products: carpets, upholstery, containers, construction and other items used in the daily basis. Already, words like durability and quality are attached to the brand name or trademark. But it does not only take quality products to make a name such as DuPont. As acknowledged in their website, DuPont has employed innovation in most aspects of its global operations emphasizing several areas such as: competing globally; sharpening its business focus; increasing productivity; committing to safety, health, and environmental excellence; empowering people, capitalizing on its strong corporate and product brand franchises; and continuing to extend its significant science and technological achievement. Already, focus on core competencies was acknowledged where DuPont build competitive business advantage such as a 1993 transaction that disposed of D uPont’s acrylic business while acquiring ICI’s nylon business. Cost-reduction and improving productivity were also cited as DuPont’s strategic moves in the 1990s when most companies either are emerging or closing down, allowing flexibility for competitive pricing and growing market share and earning. The 90s also saw vigorous expansion overseas with new plants in Spain, Singapore, Taiwan and China coupled with a major technical server in Japan, a move that even critics could easily detect not only as competitive but innovative.

In-depth literature review Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

In-depth literature review - Essay Example (p. 17) One of the main strategies of the British fashion industry is the market differentiation. Here, companies that comprise the industry tend to specialize in a sector: menswear, ladieswear, children’s wear, knitwear, lingerie, street fashion, designerwear or accessories (scarves, ties, hats and gloves). At present, there is a governmental agency in the UK called the Standard Industrial Classification that provides a mechanism for gathering statistics and supplying information about an industrial grouping and in defining a market. Also, along with information from trade bodies such as the British Clothing Industry Association, data are utilized to make comparisons among competing countries comprising an industry. This is based on the idea that in the international market has become so saturated that the advantage of the ‘globalness’ itself has been essentially nullified. (Gamble, 2003, p. 346) Now more than ever, it is harder and harder to become a top-level fashion house in various global cities and so greater premium on specialization is evident. Paul de Gay (1997), in his book Production of Culture/Cultures of Production, explored this further as he argued that a comprehensive understanding of fashion in clothing can only be approached through an exploration of the mutually constitutive rhythms of production and consumption, hence mapping the multiple worlds where fashion is produced and consumed is definitely a must. (p. 8) Interestingly, Bruce, Moore and Birtwistle (2004) added that the majo rity of British fashion consumers prefer to buy the diffusion lines of clothing. (p. 160) In the book called, The National Fabric: Fashion, Britishness, Globalization, Alison Goodrum argued that British fashion is precariously poised amidst a clutch of conflicting narratives, representations and ideologies. For her, there is a

Website Attributes On Customer Satisfaction In E-Commerce

Website Attributes On Customer Satisfaction In E-Commerce Effects Of Website Attributes On Customer Satisfaction In E-Commerce Introduction The Internet is no longer a niche technology it is mass media and an utterly integral part of modern life. As our lives become more fractured and cluttered, it isnt surprising that consumers turn to the unrivalled convenience of the Internet when it comes to searching and buying product. Introduction To E-Commerce The rise of the WWW gives birth to new phenomena in our daily lives, one of which is e-commerce. The internet has played a fundamental and key part to promote selling products and services online which makes life convenient for the audience, which in an inter-connected world, is well, the whole world. E-Commerce is a subset of an overall e-business strategy consists of the buying and selling of products or services over electronic systems such as the Internet. E-commerce system seeks to add more revenue streams using the World Wide Web or the Internet to build and enhance relationships with partners and clients and to improve the systems efficiency. E-commerce has given rise to the concept of absolutely online shops selling products and services, proficiently catalogued and available for the convenience of customer. There are several websites that stockpile everything from books, electronic appliances lifestyle items, collectibles etc. The level of e-commerce use can be measured by using an e-commerce capability indicator. E-commerce capability indicator by Molla and Licker: No e-commerce indicates a company without e-mail or an Internet connection. Connected e-commerce represents a company that has an Internet connection and e-mail. Informational e-commerce indicates a company using a Web site to publish basic information about the company and its products/services in a static manner. Interactive e-commerce refers to the ability of users to search the companys product catalogue, make queries, and enter orders. Transactional e-commerce allows online selling and purchasing of products or services including online payment and customer service. E-business applications can be divided into three categories. First is an internal business system in which customer relationship management (CRM), Enterprise resource planning (ERP), and Human Resource management (HRM) type of systems are involved. Second is enterprise communication and collaboration such as content management system (CMS), business process management (BPM) and web conferencing etc. Third is e-commerce that includes Business-to-business (B2B) e-commerce and Business-to-customer (B2C) e-commerce. Online shopping comes under this category on which this study is conducted. Several e-commerce service providers are available on web that provides professional personalized web designing services that suit their clients needs. Some common applications related to electronic commerce are the following: Online Shopping (Web Shop) Online Banking Online Marketing CRM etc Online Shopping Online shopping is the process consumers go through to purchase products or services over the Internet. An online shop, e-shop, e-store, internet shop, web shop, web store, online store, or virtual store evokes the physical analogy of buying products or services over the web. Online shopping is a type of electronic commerce used for business-to-business (B2B) and business-to-consumer (B2C) transactions. The term web shop also refers to a place of business where web development, web hosting and other types of web related activities take place (Web refers to the World Wide Web and shop has a idiomatic meaning used to describe the place). Service Quality The level of service received on a website. Dependent on reliability, responsiveness and availability of staff and the web site service. Service quality is comprised of five dimensions. These are: Tangibles as the appearance of physical facilities, equipment, personnel, and written materials (Zeithaml, Bitner and Gremler, 2006). Reliability is the ability to perform the promised service dependably and accurately. Assurance describes as the employees knowledge and courtesy and their ability to inspire trust and confidence. Responsiveness termed as the willingness to help customers and provide prompt service. Empathy is defined as the individualized attention given to customers.   Service Quality Dimensions In E-Commerce Systems Lets examine how customers judge the five dimensions of service quality in perspective of e-commerce systems. Tangibles refer to the physical appearance of an e-commerce website, its structure, layout, theme etc and referred as â€Å"website structure†. Reliability represented as â€Å"website adequacy† which provides the relevant and needed information provided by an e-commerce system when customer clicked or requested for. Assurance termed as â€Å"website security† refers as the trustworthy service provider that could include a well reputable website, reliable payments methods etc. Responsiveness is the prompt and relevant response to the specific request of users described by â€Å"website response†. Empathy knows internal customers as individual; understanding individual needs and concerns such as by providing recommendations that matches the customers needs which is termed as â€Å"website customization† in world of web. Service Quality Framework (SERVQUAL) SERVQUAL was originally measured on 10 aspects of service quality which are reliability, responsiveness, competence, access, courtesy, communication, credibility, security, understanding or knowing the customer and tangibles. By the early nineties the authors had refined the model to the useful acronym RATER. Reliability Assurance Tangibles Empathy, and Responsiveness SERVQUAL has its disbeliever and is considered overly complex, subjective and statistically unreliable. The simplified RATER model however is a simple and useful model for qualitatively exploring and assessing customers service experiences and has been used widely by service delivery organizations. Customer Satisfaction Customer satisfaction refers to the extent to which customers are happy with the products and services provided by a business. Customer satisfaction levels can be measured using survey techniques and questionnaires. Gaining high levels of customer satisfaction is very important to a business because satisfied customers are most likely to be loyal and to make repeated orders and to use a wide range of services offered by a business. The basic definition of customer satisfaction says that Customer satisfaction is a business term, is a measure of how products and services supplied by a company meet or surpass customer expectation. Customer satisfaction is an abstract concept and the actual manifestation of the state of satisfaction will vary from person to person and product/service to product or service. The level of satisfaction can also vary depending on other options the customer may have and other products against which the customer can compare the organizations products or services. Customer Satisfaction Based On Perceived Service Quality Of E-Commerce Systems The overall satisfaction of e-commerce customers can be attained by providing the level of service quality that customers perceive in that system. The five dimensions of service quality are tangibility, reliability, responsiveness, assurance and empathy. The website structure of an e-commerce websites is all about the tangibility dimension. The reliability dimension in this study is measured by the attribute called website adequacy. The website response variable indicates the responsiveness dimension. Website security as another attribute of an e-commerce system refers to the assurance dimension and the empathy dimension described by the website customization The overall customer satisfaction is based on the five service quality dimensions representing various service attributes. These five dimensions are tangibility, reliability, assurance, responsiveness and empathy. The detailed model used in this study is presented in figure A. The website design elements are characterized into five different types which are supposed to influence the five service quality dimensions. This study hypothesizes that some website attributes that are based on service quality dimensions has an impact on an online customer satisfaction. In other words, customers satisfaction level will increase if the e-commerce system provides a higher level of service quality through different website attributes. Increased Trend Of Online Surfing And Shopping In Pakistan The trend of an online surfing is increasing rapidly due to the increased benefits by the use of e-commerce business environment. People visit e-commerce web sites not only for buying but for several other reasons and the smart retailer just should not only focus on boosting online browse-to-buy conversion rates, but should also try to grab the attention of an online visitors who came in for review so as they could become a customer later. Many people feel it comfortable to review the products through an extensive knowledge provided over the internet before actually buying a particular product. For this purpose, e-commerce website provides an interface to the buyers to write their reviews and share their after-purchase experiences. Thus, the e-commerce systems reduce the time and efforts required for the first step of information search in consumer decision making process. That is, by just few clicks a consumer can have a concise analysis for what matches his/her needs. There are some factors emerged as a results of the changes in lifestyle and habits of consumer which has promoted the trend of online searching and shopping in Pakistan. Some of these factors are lack of time, need of convenience and easy access to the desired object. Moreover, e-commerce websites facilitates the visitor in many ways to boost up online browse-to-buy conversion rate. Whenever a new customer lands on an e-commerce website, he/she must be having many questions in their minds regarding the products and services. A well-framed ecommerce site has an enquiry page for their customers. This gives the chance to the visitor to post an enquiry with the website. Main aim of this page is to gather all relevant and necessary information from the customers so that they can be given response in an apt manner. Within the past decade, e-commerce has matured and grown exponentially. The result shows that now there are many types of e-commerce payment methods available online. If a customers credit is bad and customer cannot afford a merchant account, there are alternative methods of payments on e-commerce websites which can help the customer. The e-commerce systems give customers controlled access to the data they need. In other words, through an e-commerce systems company is not only managing the relationship with its customers, but giving the customers the tools to manage their relationship with the company. Thesis Structure This thesis consists of five chapters. Chapter 1 discusses the problem about which the research was carried out and in general about the trends of online shopping in Pakistan. Chapter 2 is about the literature review and the theoretical background is developed. In Chapter 3, researcher describes the research method adopted including sources of information and data collection procedure is discussed. In chapter 4, the empirical data collected through questionnaire is analyzed and results are concluded on the basis of a survey. In Chapter 5, Conclusions are drawn and necessary recommendations are suggested. Statement Of The Problem â€Å"Effects of website attributes on customer satisfaction in e-commerce.† The main purpose of this research is to find out the different attributes which encourage consumers to visit, search and shop on a particular website. Objective The purposes of this study are as follows: To identify the most important website element of e-commerce with respect to the customer satisfaction. To examine what is important to the customer regarding website attributes in e-commerce with perspective of website builders. Possible Research Findings The research will also provide the following significances. Help the organization to better understand what customers expect in e-commerce and how those expectations impact customer attitude. The study will examine what the customer views as major attributes of website in e-commerce. Able to investigate the major customer attitudes associated with website structure in e-commerce. The study will indicate the link between the website attributes and the customer attitudes. Hypotheses H1 Website structure has a significant association with customer satisfaction. h3 Website adequacy has a significant association with customer satisfaction. h3 Website security has a significant association with customer satisfaction. H4 Website response has a significant association with customer satisfaction. H5 Website customization has a significant association with customer satisfaction. Introduction To E-Commerce The propagation of WWW has originated few facts in our daily lives, one of which is e-commerce. A transaction between two or more participants through an electronic medium is defines as e-commerce (Kalacota and Whinston 1997). As an e-commerce is rapidly raising field, therefore for accomplishing success in this market, a top quality information system is necessary (Margherio, Henry, Cooke and Montes 1998). An e-commerce system is designed by selectively integrating many technical (e.g. search system) or managerial (e.g. the level of information related to product) design elements (Lohse and Spiller 1998). It is still very difficult, if not impossible; to make use of all the design factors presently available for the e-commerce system although many design factors have been suggested to improve the overall quality of e-commerce system (Selz and Schubert 1997, Lohse et al. 1998). This is because of the recent arrival of new design factors resulted by an increase in the interest of Internet (Selz et al.) The main goal of this paper is to explore important design elements that have significant influence on the customer satisfaction regarding the performance of e-commerce systems. In this paper, the study presents a conceptual model of e-commerce websites that includes concrete design elements, perceived level of website quality and the customer satisfaction (Kim and Lee 2002). There is remarkable potential for e-commerce in developing countries. Online shopping makes it easy to find things, merchants and best offerings and thus economical in terms of time and effort offerings (Balasubramanian, 1997). According to the Malone, Yates and Benjamin (1989), communicating a same piece of information through communication networks results in decreased cost and improved speed. There is tremendous potential for e-commerce in developing countries because the use of an e-commerce can potentially reduce transaction costs. As per Malone et al. (1989) observation, the search costs such as cost of identifying a market (from where to buy a product) and /or a product or service are likely to reduce with the use of e-commerce systems and can be defined as potential e-commerce cost savings. From an organizations perspective, e-commerce systems provide the organization with the better market reach and an ability to provide their customer a customized service that suits their individual needs and preferences. For example the exchange between â€Å"richness† and â€Å"reach† can be minimized by e-commerce (Evans and Wurster 2000). Richness refers to the quality and quantity of information in terms of accuracy, relevance, customization, etc. and reach measures the number of people who can be got in touch with that information. Service Quality Dimensions The overall customer satisfaction can be measured by the level of service quality of an e-commerce system that customer perceives. Some researchers (Parasuraman, Zeithaml and Berry 1988) stated that consumer satisfaction or dissatisfaction is as an ancestor of service quality. Conversely, modern evidence recommends that it is an outcome of service quality (Woodside, Frey and Daly 1989; Cronin and Taylor 1992). Service quality attributes are the most important factors for the success of an e-commerce systems For example Liu and Arnett (2000) found that organizations that involve in e-commerce can only ensure the success of their system by keenly looking for the ways to improve their service quality. The customers decision whether to continue using a particular e-commerce system is based on the perceived quality of service (Bhattacherjee, 2001) as the service quality impacts the overall satisfaction of a customer. Tangibility, reliability, responsiveness, assurance and empathy are the five dimensions of service quality. (Parasurama, Zeithaml and Berry 1985, 1991; Pit, Watson and kavan 1995). The tool that is being used in this study to measure the dimensions of service quality is SERVQUAL. This instrument has been proved valid and reliable and hence used in various domains. (Brown Churchill and Peter 1993; Fisk, Brown and Bitner 1993; Parasuraman et al. 1993). On the basis of previous researches, service quality despite being a main interesting field in services marketing for the past two decades (Zeithaml, Parasuraman and Malhotra 2000); electronic service quality is still in its early stages in research area. Riel, Liljander and Jurriens (2001) concluded that there has been no theoretical conceptualization emerged for customer evaluation of electronic services that could have been accepted generally. Cox and Dale (2001) has supported this conception by the fact that most out of the dominant research on service quality cannot even be valid to e-business environment. By the year 2002, the existing studies on the determinants of electronic service quality were based on measuring B2C interactions (Gilbert, 2000; Barnes and Vidgens 2000, 2001 and 2002) and few exploratory researches on website quality and e-service quality by Zeithaml et al. (2000). In early stages of service quality research, researchers were required to find out what is service quality from customers perspective (Sasser, Olsen and Wyckoff 1979; Lehtinen and Lehtinen 1982; Gronroos, 1982). It was normally approved that the judgment of service quality came from comparisons between what customers feel a service provider should offer (expectations) and the actual service performance of the company (perceptions) (Zeithaml et al. 2000). This view was reinforced by Zeithaml et al.; Parasuraman et al. (1985) in their study of service quality in different service industries with which they discussed the concept of service quality as a function of expectations-perception gap. Parasuraman et al. (1985) identified the 10 dimensions that customer uses in their assessment of service quality. These 10 service quality dimensions then shaped the source for the development of a scale (SERVQUAL) to measure service quality in direct service interactions. Research extended in other context and as a result refined the scale and reduced it to 5 dimensions (reliability, responsiveness, assurance, empathy and tangibles) Since the SERVQUAL scale has been widely used to measure service quality in many studies across a range of settings (IS Departments; Airlines; Universities; Ocean Freight Shipping; Professional Services; Health Providers; International Markets; Purchasing; Advertising; Banking; E-commerce). (Burgess). Initially the concept of services were created to capture the nature of service encounters (Meuter, Ostrom, Roundtree and Bitner 2000) which may not be sufficient to capture the characteristics of customer interactions with self-service technologies such as e-services (Dabholkar, Thorpe and Rentz 1996). Later on, many approaches have been proposed to study online service. (Gilbert, 2000; Gronroos, Heinonen, Isoniemi and Lindholm 2000; Parasuraman and Grewel 2000; Kaynama and Black 2000; Zeithaml et al. 2000) proposed the use of existing service theory as a first type. The second type utilizes generated new categories for self-service technologies such as e-services (Szymanski and Hise 2000; Riel et al. 2001; Wang and Tang 2001; Ruyter, Wetzels and Kleijnen 2001). Third type develops information systems and web quality theory (Barnes et al. 2000, 2001 and 2002; Aladwani and Palvia 2001). These researches have centered on customer interactions with a variety of self-service technologies such as automated call centre technology, ATMs and Web sites and touch screen technologies. A redefined SERVQUAL instrument to measure the service expectations and perceptions of customers of Internet businesses was used by Gilbert (2000) in which he concluded that to measure online service quality, the altered SERVQUAL scale was a practical instrument. The features that are useful, accurate, relevant and comprehensive information reflect the reliability of quality information (Bailey and Pearson 1983). Bailey et al. also identified that website reliability depends on to what level the information provided on the website about the product or service is true, precise and also depend to what level a customer can rely on a particular website that it provides enough amount of information available regarding each product. (Luedi, 1997) stated that website personalization based on the ability of website to deliver individualized interface for a specific user which generated dynamically as per users needs. This may involve making purchase recommendations and /or providing the list of other relevant products that matchs the customer needs. This can be extracted through the previous data available regarding an individual user such as buying behavior, cart items and the current session contents. Providing customized services is the best way to create a loyal customer and make repeat visits on a website (Luedi, 1997). The concern over security continues to plague the online world. Variables like perceived security, reputation were included in this study to examine the customer attitude towards buying process (Lightner, 2003). Even though the understanding of credit card transactions perceived secure like a waiters and waitresses, still security is the top concern of people who shop online (Salisbury, Pearson, Pearson and Miller 2001; Luo, 2002; Wilson and Abel 2002). Likewise security is the reason why people do not shop online (Luo, 2002). The research variable of Security reflects trust in the online system and the variable reputation reflects trust in the specific vendor. Discovering whether vendors receive repeat business reflects the overall buying attitude of consumers. Overall customer satisfaction at online shopping measures which attributes helps the website meets expectations. Website Elements The first phase of consumer decision making process that is the information search starts the minute customers look at the interface of e-commerce website and ends until they decide whether to place the purchase order or not (Schmid, 1995). The role of website structure remains important during the phase of information search process such as site maps, navigation, content settings and layout of website etc. The content, structure and website elements should be portrayed explicitly on the e-commerce interface. Website structure that includes the presentation of design elements determines how the information is actually displayed on the screen to acquire the customer attention (Morris and Hinrich 1996). Convenient website structure defined as to what extent a customer feels that the e-commerce website is user friendly, simple and instinctive. (Chung and Shin 2008) Website adequacy describes the quality and quantity of the information provided in the e-commerce system. Content based on usefulness and comprehensiveness involves the type and scope of information to be included in the system (Morris et al. 1996; Kim 1997). After the collection of appropriate information regarding the identified products or services, the contents must be placed in a well organized manner so that the customer can understand the interface easily (Gronroos, 1982; Rosenfeld and Morville 1998). A well-defined and properly placed content is a feature of website which indicates the ability to made information easily available to visitors (Chung et al. 2008). When adequate and reliable information has been properly dispersed across different web pages within the structure of the e-commerce website, an efficient interaction system must be provided to enable the customer to switch between different pages easily (Kim and Yoo 2000, Park and Kim 2000). (Ballantine, 2005) has found the impact of interactivity and product related information on customer satisfaction in an online trade setting. He argued in his study that the amount of product-related information affected consumer satisfaction of online shopping. An important design element that relates to the interaction system includes the involvement of website response and website customization ability. Website Customization is referred as the extent to which an e-commerce website can identify a customer and then modify the choice of products and shopping experience for that customer (Srinivasan, Anderson and Ponnavolu 2002). (Coupey, 2001) in their research argued that the improved accessibility of information on internet is likely to result in informed customers. And educated customers are able to make better quality decisions and will then experience more satisfaction with the visits and purchases they make. The connection between all of the five individual variables describes the basic architecture of web pages (Steinmetz and Nahrsted 1995). The overall satisfaction of e-commerce customers can be attained by providing the level of service quality that customers perceive in that system. Satisfied customers have more potential to spread positive word-of-mouth (Gremler and Brown 1999), and they avail further services (Zeithaml, Berry and Parasuraman 1996). The five dimensions of service quality are tangibility, reliability, responsiveness, assurance and empathy (Parasuraman et al. 1985, 1991; Pit et al. 1995). Attributes related to the website structure such as physical appearance of e-commerce websites are represented by tangibility dimension. For example, the tangibility measures the appeal of the website design of e-commerce system presents to their customers. The ability of the website to provide the dependable, accurate service is represented by reliability dimension. (Pit et al.1995). For example, the reliability dimension measures how often an e-commerce system provides useful and comprehensive information regarding the relevant products or services. The responsiveness dimension indicates how prepared the website is to promptly response the customer with the clicked option. (Parasuraman et al. 1991). For example, the responsiveness dimension measures how often an ecommerce system voluntarily provides services that are important to its customers such as less loading time. Or it can be measured by how often a website provides accurate and rich information after a user clicked a particular product. The trust and confidence encouraged in the customer by the information provided on e-commerce system refers to the assurance dimension (Parasuraman et al. 1991). For example, the assurance dimension can be measured by extent to which a website is able to give a secure feeling to an online buyer. The empathy dimension described as the individual attention to the customer that is being provided by the dynamic e-commerce website (Pit et al. 1995). For example this dimension measures how often an ecommerce system voluntarily offers recommendations that match to its customers needs in order to provide the individual customers benefit. In summary, the overall quality of an e-commerce system can be measured by the service quality level perceived by its customers and ultimately leads to the customer satisfaction (Kim et al. 2002). (Parasuraman et al. 1988, 1991) in study on SERVQUAL found that the interactive elements of e-commerce systems are e-business features that help in building relationships with customer and are fall into five main sets that are tangibles, reliability, assurance, responsiveness and empathy. Due to the consistency of research findings stated in literature, it become easy to propose that the five main determinants of e-commerce include website structure, website adequacy, website security, website response and website customization (Horn, Feinberg and Salvendy 2005). In an e-business structure, the customer interaction with the business is through the e-commerce website. Therefore, several original SERVQUAL items were modified to focus on e-commerce website. The definition of an empathy dimension was extended to include personalization or customization, which is the concept of web gurus as they believe the emotional connection between customer and web business (Peppers et al. 1999). The overall appearance and structure of e-commerce website shows its tangibility. The performance of promised services and adequacy of information explains the reliability of an e-commerce website. Responsiveness is the ability of e-commerce system to help and provide prompt response to the website user. The individualized attention and customized service provided by the e-commerce system to an individual customer is described as empathy. Security is the trust on an e-commerce system in protecting personal and financial information (Horn et al. 2005). The major factors that impact the customer attitude are the five main attributes of e-commerce system. The model in Figure 1 describes how these attributes of e-commerce system work together to achieve customer satisfaction. The satisfaction or dissatisfaction of customer is defined as an emotional response to a specific consumption experience (Swan and Oliver 1989). It is determined by to what extent a consumer perceives that the service fulfills his/her needs, wants or desires. Satisfaction is a â€Å"state† inconsistent in that a consumer can be â€Å"very dissatisfied† or â€Å"very satisfied† (Tse, Nicosia and Wilton 1990). Survey Sources Of Data Collection: According to experts, the best approach and way of building an e-commerce site is by using services of website development providers. A professional team of web developers would take care and work for the e-commerce designing project and give regular feedback about the proceedings therefore for conducting this research, professionals from web development area was selected from five different firms. A survey was conducted by going to the software organizations that are involved in business of web development. Out of the five selected firms, few were chosen from the list of organizations registered on PASHA website and few were preferred on the authentic source of information about the adequate web development experience of these firms. The respondents were web developers, web architects and project managers. Questionnaire The instrument co

A Response to Nilofar Shidmehrs God Existed or Exists :: Nilofar Shidmehr God Existence Essays

A Response to Nilofar Shidmehr's God Existed or Exists Introduction In recent years, scientists have come to the amazing discovery that the existence of carbon-based life in our universe is dependent upon a set of extremely improbable initial conditions. In their article, â€Å"The Anthropic Teleological Argument,†[1] Betty and Cordell lay out some of these conditions in cosmology and biochemistry. Had various initial conditions of the universe been slightly altered, life would have been impossible. Betty and Cordell then argue that the existence of an intelligent designer is the best explanation for the universe. Needless to say, their conclusions have not gone unchallenged. Nilofar Shidmehr, in her article â€Å"God Existed or Exists!† has presented four objections to Betty and Cordell’s Anthropic Teleological Argument (ATA). First, she argues that at best, ATA only shows that God existed, but not that God exists. Secondly, she argues that the dictum that the greater cannot come from the lesser is false. Thirdly, she argues that â€Å"There is a huge difference between having an explanation and telling that there must be an explanation.†[2] Fourthly, Shidmehr presents three theories that increase the chances that the universe randomly evolved for the existence of carbon-based life. Thus, there is no need to invoke an intelligent designer. Given these four objections, it seems evident that Shidmehr believes that ATA fails. In this paper, I will defend ATA against only two of Shidmehr’s objections. I will argue against her first objection by showing that a sound analysis of ATA does give us reason to believe that God currently exists. Secondly, I will argue against her third objection by showing that the existence of God is a good explanation for the initial conditions of the universe. So without further ado: I. God Existed AND Exists! Shidmehr’s first objection is to argue that there is no reason to believe that even if ATA is sound, God would not have to currently exist. Shidmehr writes: If we look around ourselves, we can see several well-designed buildings and goods whose creator or designer had died†¦ the existence of a creation and the continuity of its existence, since it came to being, are not dependent upon the existence of its creator.[3] Secondly, Shidmehr goes on to say that there are several stories we can speculate to account for the demise of God. Suppose there was some sort of SuperGod that was unpleased with God’s creation of the universe causing SuperGod to destroy God.

Dubstep Case Essay

The name â€Å"dubstep† was first coined to apply to bass-driven electronic music in 2002 in a town called Croydon (South London), England. The actual roots of dubstep are a bit tough to pinpoint because it is a merge of dozens of types of electronic music, and even after it began to achieve popularity it has continued to evolve and grow. Still, here we bring you this article to offer a general history of events that went into the formation & growth of a new genre. EARLY FORMATIONS (PRE-1999) Dubstep is thought to have evolved out of â€Å"Jamaican dub music† and other soundsystem cultures. The Jamaican soundsystems emphasized disco-type sounds with reproduced bass frequencies underlying. This eventually gave rise to the dub variety of reggae music that had features like sub-bass (bass where the frequency is less than 90Hz, a.k.a. really really deep), 2-step drums and distortion effects. All of this development eventually churned out the more modern British sounds of â€Å"jungle,† â€Å"garage† and now â€Å"dubstep.† It is important to note that many of these features existed individually prior to dubstep, but were only brought together under one roof in the early 2000s. Here is a sample of sub-bass being used in 1992, â€Å"Some Justice† by Urban Shakedown: THE ORIGINS OF DUBSTEP (1999-2002) Ammunition Promotions, who run the club â€Å"Forward>>† are thought to be the first to use the term â€Å"dubstep† to describe this style of music. The club, located in Soho London, was instrumental in the formation of dubstep music because it was really the first venue that was dedicated to playing the genre. Additionally, Forward>> ran a radio show on â€Å"Rinse FM† that was hosted by Kode9 to premier new music. The electronic style gained traction as the term â€Å"dubstep† was used to refer to the genre in a 2002 XLR8R cover story. Finally, under the Tempa record label (managed by Ammunition Promotions) we saw â€Å"Dubstep Allstars Vol 1 CD† released by DJ Hatcha that solidified the movement and established the dubstep name. Ammunition Records was certainly one of the big reasons that dubstep was able to gain momentum, particularly because of the many dubstep record labels that they promoted, Club Forward>> and Kode9†²s radio show. One other piece of the puzzle that really allowed the music style to spring roots was Big Apple Records in Croydon, South London. A lot of influential artists, particularly Skream and DJ Hatcha actually worked in the shop†¦ and many more were frequent visitors. The store has since shut down, but the influence is undoubted. GROWTH AND DEVELOPMENT (2002+) In 2003, DJ Hatcha began to give a new direction for dubstep on Rinse FM†¦ using 10†³ dubplates (reggae-style) to form a dark, clipped & minimal sound that is largely used in dubstep today. An event in 2003 called â€Å"Filthy Dub† started happening regularly, and was where quite a few popular DJs like Skream, Benga, N Type and Cyrus made their debuts. It was around this time that Mala and Coki (together Digital Mystikz) started combining reggae to form yet another extension of dubstep that had orchestral and jungle sounds. Digital Mystikz, along with Loefah and Sgt. Pokes, began to manage the club DMZ in 2005 — along with it’s predecessor FWD>>, this is one of the most influential clubs. One of the landmark moments in dubstep history was the night of DMZ’s anniversary, where a line of over 600 people forced the club to move dubstep into the main room. The music has continued to accelerate, and after BBC Radio DJ Mary Anne Hobbs gave it attention on a national circuit across the U.K., we started to see regular dubstep night clubs popping up in New York, San Francisco, Tokyo and Barcelona. Still, it is worthwhile to note that THE PROGRESSIVE ERA OF DUBSTEP (2007+) More recently, the influence has spread to the commercial market with artists such as Britney Spears adopting the sound in newer tracks. In 2010, dubstep songs like â€Å"I Need Air† by Magnetic Man started hitting the pop charts in the UK. Undoubtedly, the 2010-2011 period was one of the most notably on the dubstep music scene, where progressive artists like Flux Pavilion, Noisia, Bassnectar and Zeds Dead began to redefine the traditional dub sound with increasing portions of mid-range bass and vocals. In a nod to more universally-accepted club music, these new artists have begun to bridge gaps between progressive house and traditional UK Bass to form more high-powered mixes that hinge on the increasingly-used â€Å"drop† of a track. With the ongoing â€Å"sound wars† in modern music making, traditionalists like Burial point to the sonic superiority of classic dubstep, with dynamic bass lines and complex arrangement patterns that focus on heart-stopping sub bass more than anything else. However, there is certainly room in the genre for artists like Grammy-award winning Skrillex, who choose to focus on progressive basslines, heavy distortion and gut-wrenching drop sections that maintain sub bass while covering more ends of the frequency spectrum. The age of social media has allowed almost anyone to have access to at-home production studios. More independent artists join the arena every single day, and so dubstep has never been as far reaching with many artists searching for their first big hit. We’re here to cover all the madness for you here at uDubstep.com! -JR Some people might think dubstep is a new phenomenon, but it actually grew out of garage and grime about a decade ago. In Croydon, south London, there was a shop called Big Apple Records that acted as a hub for people into all sorts of bass-led music (sadly, it closed five years ago). I had a recording studio above the shop and started the Big Apple record label with John Kennedy and DJ Hatcha. We were the first label to sign Skream and Benga when they were just 15 years old alongside Digital Mystikz (DMZ), Mala, Coki and Loefah. These artists made some of the first dubstep records. Around this time Hatcha, who also worked at Big Apple, was championing this sound at a London club night called FWD. We were all making records for Hatcha to spin and meeting in the record shop to discuss the sound we were making. It was a bit like a bass university. And through Benga, Skream, Oris Jay, Plastician, Chef, LB, Kode 9, N Type and Benny Ill, the dubstep sound was brought to life. We have just finished the festival season with Reading and Leeds. This is unbelievable for us, considering a few years ago you wouldn’t get to play those festivals unless you had a guitar in your hand or a set of drums in front of you. It shows how much this music has grown in the past few years that a non â€Å"rock’n’roll† band can be accepted at a major rock festival (although it should be pointed out that we continue some of the old rock’n’roll traditions after the shows). I was speaking to Skream this weekend about how dubstep has gone so far in the past three years – we were wondering if a new style of music has ever spread around the world so rapidly. If you think about drum’n’bass taking off in the 90s, a scene would blow up in one country in one year, then another a year or so later. The internet has changed all that and helped spread dubstep across the world almost instantly. At the same time, dubstep is constantly changing, incorporating different sounds and styles all the time. The Outlook festival was held in Coatia last weekend, a dubstep event hosting some of the biggest names in the genre from around the world. If you thought you would hear only straight-up dubstep you were in for a surprise. Loefah played Detroit techno, Skream played metal, and Joker mixed it up with some UK funky and house. I think the fact dubstep artists embrace other genres is a big part of why it’s so difficult to define the music. The borders are becoming increasingly blurred between dubstep, grime, drum’n’bass, techno, house, funky †¦ everything. However, there is one element that links all of these genres together and that is †¦ BASS. The music industry has been in the doldrums for a long time with few A&R people willing to take a risk. You get the feeling they are all being told by bosses to â€Å"sign us a hit or you’re out†. This is very short-sighted, and has done a lot of damage to the music on the majors. Luckily, we found a label (Columbia) that didn’t ask us to water down our sound. Hopefully, other majors will follow suit and let their A&R teams make choices based on the music they believe in. There are so many great acts out there, with fresh music deserving the same exposure we are getting at the moment (see below). With the support of more labels like ours, and Radio 1 willing to take risks as they have in supporting us, the remainder of 2010 and 2011 will hopefully be the start of another revolutionary and exciting time in UK music.

Aristotle Biography Essay

Philosopher (c. 384 BCE–c. 322 BCE) Synopsis Ancient Greek philosopher Aristotle was born circa 384 B.C. in Stagira, Greece. When he turned 17, he enrolled in Plato’s Academy. In 338, he began tutoring Alexander the Great. In 335, Aristotle founded his own school, the Lyceum, in Athens, where he spent most of the rest of his life studying, teaching and writing. Aristotle died in 322 B.C., after he left Athens and fled to Chalcis. Early Life Ancient Greek philosopher Aristotle was born circa 384 B.C. in Stagira, a small town on the northern coast of Greece that was once a seaport. Aristotle’s father, Nicomachus, was court physician to the Macedonian king Amyntas II. Although Nicomachus died when Aristotle was just a young boy, Aristotle remained closely affiliated with and influenced by the Macedonian court for the rest of his life. Little is known about his mother, Phaestis; she is also believed to have died when Aristotle was young.After Aristotle’s father died, Proxenus of Atarneus, who was married to Aristotle’s older sister, Arimneste, became Aristotle’s guardian until he came of age. When Aristotle turned 17, Proxenus sent him to Athens to pursue a higher education. At the time, Athens was considered the academic center of the universe. In Athens, Aristotle enrolled in Plato’s Academy, Greek’s premier learning institution, and proved an exemplary scholar. Aristotle maintained a relationship with Greek philosopher Plato, himself a student of Socrates, and his academy for two decades. Plato died in 347 B.C. Because Aristotle had disagreed with some of Plato’s philosophical treatises, Aristotle did not inherit the position of director of the academy, as many imagined hewould.After Plato died, Aristotle’s friend Hermias, king of Atarneus and Assos in Mysia, invited Aristotle to court. During his three-year stay in Mysia, Aristotle met and married his first wifePythias, Hermias’ niece. Together, the couple had a daughter, Pythias, named after her mother. Teaching In 338 B.C., Aristotle went home to Macedonia to start tutoring King Phillip II’s son, the then 13-year-old Alexander the Great. Phillip and Alexander both held Aristotle in high esteem and ensured that the Macedonia court generously compensated him for his work. In 335 B.C., after Alexander had succeeded his father as king and conquered Athens, Aristotle went back to the city. In Athens, Plato’s Academy, now run by Xenocrates, was still the leading influence on Greek thought. With Alexander’s permission, Aristotle started his own school in Athens, called the Lyceum. On and off, Aristotle spent most of the remainder of his life working as a teacher, researcher and writer at the Lyceum in Athens. Because Aristotle was known to walk around the school grounds while teaching, his students, forced to follow him, were nicknamed the â€Å"Peripatetics,† meaning â€Å"people who travel about.† Lyceum members researched subjects ranging from science and math to philosophy and politics, and nearly everything in between. Art was also a popular area of interest. Members of the Lyceum wrote up their findings in manuscripts. In so doing, they built the school’s massive collection of written materials, which by ancient accounts was credited as one of the first great libraries. In the same year that Aristotle opened the Lyceum, his wife Pythias died. Soon after, Aristotle embarked on a romance with a woman named Herpyllis, who hailed from his hometown of Stagira. According to some historians, Herpyllis may have been Aristotle’s slave, granted to him by the Macedonia court. They presume that he eventually freed and married her. Regardless, it is known that Herpyllis bore Aristotle children, including one son named Nicomachus, after Aristotle’s father. Aristotle is believed to have named his famed philosophical work Nicomachean Ethics in tribute to his son. When Aristotle’s former student Alexander the Great died suddenly in 323 B.C., the pro-Macedonian government was overthrown, and in light of anti-Macedonia sentiment , Aristotle was charge with impiety. To avoid being prosecuted, he left Athens and fled to Chalcis on the island of Euboea, where he would remain until his death.