Customer Insight at Apple UK

Executive Summary Apple is recognized to have a satisfactory customer service experience. Customers have described the customer service as quick and easy. Apple employees are polite and welcoming. They use instructions developed by the ‘Genius’ program. However, the technical customer service that is sent to home-based customers may sometimes lack the right skills or right replacement parts.Advertising We will write a custom report sample on Customer Insight at Apple UK specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Apple reduced reliance on expertise from dealers creating a gap in technical service. Dealers were required to hire engineers. Apple appears successful at segmenting customers at the individual level. On the other hand, its geographical segmentation in China has created negative publicity. Customers in China appear to be underprivileged compared to customers in other countries. Samsung customer support services appear m ore specialized to product models compared with Apple’s customer services. Introduction Apple offers customer services known as complementary support which addresses â€Å"basic setup, installation, assembly, and connectivity† (Complementary Support (United Kingdom)). The services are conducted through phone calls, face-to-face communication, and through the website. Customers are eligible for the complementary services within 90 days after purchase of an Apple product. The company also offers a one-year warranty service. Apple has trained its employees to recognize different categories of customers. The angry customer requires attentiveness. The indecisive customer requires an objective service person who has no intention to directly increase sales. The suspicious customer may require a service person who is well-informed about the products and the company (Government of South Australia 2006). Apple’s satisfactory customer service may rely partly on the accurac y of their technique to categorize customers. Their success on customer service depends on the ability to address an individual customer’s personality rather than generalizing customers (McGuinn 2009, p. 61).Advertising Looking for report on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More High tech products can be â€Å"divided into standardized and non-standardized products† (Viardot 2004, p. 195). Customer service of standardized products can be performed by dealers in a country because understanding the product does not require specialized training. Non-standardized products are designed to meet the requirements of a particular customer. They are sold at a higher price and require the company to deal directly with the customer. The company needs to have a personal contact with the customer (Viardot 2004, p. 196). Apple has adopted the personal contact requirement even for its standardized products. Throug h this technique, it has increased the speed of helping customers and dealing with complaints. Apple is able to contact customers through phone calls or emails in case of problems such as a repair or replacement program. High-tech companies are sometimes required to provide services at the customer’s home or workplace. The services should be carried out promptly and at a low cost (Oracle and high tech industry 2003). Customer service is a satisfactory experience when a â€Å"technician or engineer with the right skills, knowledge, and service parts arrives† (Oracle and high tech industry 2003, p. 4). Customers want their problems solved with less repetitive actions. Apple obtains its competitive edge through customer loyalty as a result of better customer service than competitors. It has increased the likelihood of sustained profitability. Loyal customers use multiple Apple products and are willing to purchase new products. Findings Apple uses a set of words that are u sed to express how an employee feels about a customer’s comment. Kinder (2012) reports that ‘crash’, ‘bug’ or ‘problem’ are some of words that are not supposed to be used by employees while dealing with customers.Advertising We will write a custom report sample on Customer Insight at Apple UK specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Employees are trained to use words with less negative expression such as â€Å"stops responding† instead of â€Å"has crashed†. Employees are also trained to use emotional expressions such as â€Å"I understand how you feel†. There are also background support systems that give feedback to the front desk employees on how they have handled the customers. The background managers give suggestions and solutions to improve customer service the following moment (Biddle 2012). It creates a constant review of customer service. Findings suggest that som e customers have no problem with the outcome of the controlled human words and feelings. However, some customers think that employees are just like robots with programmed feelings. Emotional expressions that are not authentic may soon turn ineffective to match customer sophistication (McGuinn 2009, p. 57). Apple should allow employees to use their creativity rather than restrict them. For a company to know its customers, Barlow Stewart argue that a company needs to â€Å"make a list of interactive touch points† (2010, p. 237). It can use video clips or recordings of crucial moments in customer service that can be used for elaborations. Apple through its ‘Geniuses’ program has reduced the common mistakes that happen through customer service by creating a list of appropriate action and words. Apple also trains employees to read the customer’s body language (Biddle 2012). Another way of understanding customers is to encourage them to post comments in the cus tomer feedback system (Collier 2011, p. 49). A company should review the criticism posted on social media networks to understand their customers better. Apple reduced the percentage of small dealers from 7% to 1% and increased the proportion of large dealers to provide customer service (Viadort 2004). Apple used large dealers who are trained to provide demonstrations, customized solutions, and after-sale support. Apple intended to reduce instances of poor customer service through large dealers. A company’s quality image may be ruined if it relies to provide customer service through dealers. Dealers may lack knowledge about the products they sell (Viardot 2004, p. 196). Solomon (2012, p. 49) discusses that customer loyalty is partly attributed to a satisfactory experience at the customer care. Satisfactory customer service results in sustainable sales revenues.Advertising Looking for report on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Apple is also considered to have failed to fill the gap left by servicemen after it downsized on contracts with dealers. Apple used to earn more than 50% of the income that service companies earned through paid customer service before 2004. The services cost about $50 an hour for a product whose warranty has expired. Customers made a direct payment to the person who came to repair their products (Engel 2007). Apple required that dealers send their service employees to Apple’s training programs annually. The new technical service employees lack high skills that the dealers were required to maintain. The Apple customer care department has invented the anticipatory customer service where a customer is able to set an appointment to visit an Apple Store. The customer is anticipated by Apple employees and is received warmly upon arrival (Solomon 2012, p. 51). It increases the quality of service because the employee knows your problem even before you arrive. Solomon argues that a cu stomer after an experience at Apple feels that he/she has been â€Å"heard, known and understood† (2012, p. 51). Through the anticipated customer service, the company benefits by allocating more employees to areas with more work. The customer benefits by getting an undivided attention. Less time is wasted while waiting to be served. Apple employees are also known to objectively help customers choose products that match their needs without necessarily selecting products with a higher price. Apple does not offer any sales commission and has no sales targets for employees. It intends to discourage employees from persuading customers to buy products that do not match their needs (Apple’s customer service secrets revealed, 2011). Apple is able to create an atmosphere of trust and long-lasting customer loyalty. Engel (2007, p. 44) argues that Apple iPod nano battery replacement program came after negative publicity. The company’s initial response was that customers sh ould buy new iPods. If it was the company’s fault, customers deserve a free replacement even without media advocacy. Engel (2007, p. 56) argues that Apple is unlikely to admit its fault and would rather blame the vendors. There were problems with some of their products such as eMac which were reported to fail a few weeks after the expiry of their warranty (Engel 2007, p. 45). Apple is supposed to consider the frequency of failure of their product. If the frequency is high, they should consider increasing the warranty period so that their products do not appear to have been designed only to last within the warranty period. Graham (2011) reports that Apple UK could be rated to have the best customer service in the industry. According to interviewees, customers are given quick, easy, and free service. Apple UK may have the leading customer service but it China Apple has faced criticism for discriminating against Chinese consumers. Unlike other countries, consumers in China do no t have the privilege of product replacement if it is defective. Customers are supposed to be given a new one-year warranty after repair of an iPhone but it does not apply in China (Mozur 2013). Mozur (2013) and Engel (2007) report a similar response from Apple where it only admits its fault after intensive media attacks. Mozur (2013) reports that Apple’s CEO, Tim Cook, admitted the differences in customer service in China from other countries after attacks by China Central Television and The People’s Daily. The company responded that it had plans to standardize customer services in China to global standards. Apple appears to be experiencing failure as a result of using the traditional customer segmentation where customers are categorized geographically (Bailey et al. 2009, p. 239). Samsung has a ‘live chat’ program for customer support. It may ease customer anxiety to visit Samsung Stores (Samsung: Contact Us 2013). It is also likely to increase customer o penness. Samsung offers scheduling for repairs. Service tracking is a system that allows customers to follow up on any pending services or product delivery. Samsung’s website appears more detailed than Apple’s. Samsung tries to have most of the support categories on one page. A customer needs to type the product’s model and name to be directed to the right webpage which matches his/her product’s description (Samsung: Support 2013). Samsung’s videos on user manuals are readily available through the home page. A customer on Apple’s website may require some navigation to obtain them. Samsung’s online support differs from Apple’s because of the clear categorization of products’ support services. Customers are likely to meet a service person who clearly understands the product because of extensive specialization. Samsung customer service to defective products includes recalls to defective top loader washing machines. The wash ing machines manufactured between February 2010 and February 2013 are reported to have caused several fire incidences in Australia (Chanthadavong 2013). Samsung has extended a warranty to the African market for the Galaxy S4. It covers accidental damages to the screen and liquid damages for a month (Dowuona 2013). The announcement was warmly received by customers. Conclusion Apple customer service in the UK is the best in the industry and among many industries. Its invention of the ‘Genius’ customer service program has come up with methods and procedures to improve customer satisfaction. The program has developed procedures that reduce mistakes that upset customers. Customer service at Apple Stores is considered simple and quick (Gallo 2012, p. 15). Samsung, the main competitor, uses online services that are specifically matched to each model. Samsung online system appears to be more detailed and more specific compared to Apple’s website. As a result of specializ ation of customer support programs to product models, Samsung customers may be served by employees who are more knowledgeable about their products. Recommendations Apple should increase support group specialization in a few products to improve customer service. Apple should improve technical customer service by ensuring that the large dealers maintain high standards by hiring skilled employees. The company should also carry assessment exercises to evaluate effectiveness of the annual training programs. To catch up with Samsungs 24-hour-chat program, Apple can also start an online program that uses a system such as that of Skype with a webcam to communicate online. Customers should be able to view the employee and elaborations may be conducted as if it were face-to-face. Reference List Apple’s customer service secrets revealed 2011, http://www.andyhanselman.com/2011/06/16/apples-customer-service-secrets-revealed/. Bailey, C, Baines, P, Wilson, H Clark, M 2009, ‘Segmen tation and customer insight in contemporary services marketing practice: why grouping customers is no longer enough’, Journal of Marketing Management, vol. 25, no.34, pp. 227-252, https://dspace.lib.cranfield.ac.uk/bitstream/1826/6435/1/Segmentation_and_customer_insight.pdf. Barlow, J Stewart, P 2010, Branded customer service: the new competitive edge, Berrett-Koehler Publishers, San Francisco. Biddle, S. 2012, How to be a genius: this is Apple’s secret employee training manual, media release, 28 August, http://gizmodo.com/5938323/how-to-be-a-genius-this-is-apples-secret-employee-training-manual. Chanthadavong, A 2013, Samsung recalls top loader washing machines, media release 2 May, http://www.ttmag.com.au/2013/05/02/samsung-recalls-top-loader-washing-machines/. Collier, M 2011, The ultimate customer service guide: how to connect with your customers to sell more, John Wiley Sons, Hoboken. Complementary Support (United Kingdom) 2013, http://www.apple.com/uk/support/c omplimentary/. Dowuona, N 2013, Samsung provides accidental damage warranty for Galaxy S4, media release 30 April, http://business.myjoyonline.com/pages/news/201304/105262.php. Engel, G 2007, The naked serviceman, Lulu Press, Hillsborough. Gallo, C 2012, Steve Jobs and the Apple Experience, McGraw-Hill Professional, New York. Government of South Australia 2006, Customer Service, PDF file, http://www.ofv.sa.gov.au/pdfs/mods_Customer%20Service_Introduction.pdf. Graham, F. 2011, Does Apple have the best customer service in Britain? Vote now, media release, 28 March, http://crave.cnet.co.uk/gadgets/does-apple-have-the-best-customer-service-in-britain-vote-now-50003313/. Kinder, L. 2012, Apple’s customer service revealed in leaked memo, media release, 29 August, http://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/apple/9505679/Apples-customer-service-secrets-revealed-in-leaked-memo.html. McGuinn, C 2009, ‘The future of customer service’, Irish Marketing Review, vol. 20, no. 1, pp. 57-66, http://www.mii.ie/attachments/wysiwyg/6051/IMRVol20_McGuinn.pdf. Mozur, P 2013, Tim Cook apologizes for China Customer Service, media release 2 April, http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424127887324020504578396491791478464.html. Oracle and high tech industry 2003, http://www.oracle.com/us/industries/high-tech/046252.pdf. Samsung: Contact Us 2013, http://www.samsung.com/us/support/contact. Samsung: Support 2013, http://www.samsung.com/us/support/. Solomon, M 2012, High-tech, high-touch customer service: inspire timeless loyalty in the demanding new world of social commerce, American Management Association, New York. Viardot, E 2004, Successful marketing strategy for high-tech firms, 3rd edn, Artech House Publications, Boston. This report on Customer Insight at Apple UK was written and submitted by user Ph1ll1p to help you with your own studies. You are free to use it for research and reference purposes in order to write your own paper; however, you must cite it accordingly. You can donate your paper here.

Setting Writing Targets

Setting Writing Targets Setting Writing Targets Setting Writing Targets By Ali Hale When you’re working on a big, long-term writing goal – perhaps becoming a published novelist, or making a living from your writing – it’s easy to get discouraged or distracted along the way. Sometimes the gulf between where you are with your writing and where you want to be can seem like an impassable chasm. This is where it helps to set smaller, specific writing targets: ones that you know you can meet, and which will take you step-by-step towards your eventual goals. 1. Work out your priority for the year In 2007, I was focusing on short stories: my target was to write at least two every month and submit them to competitions or publications. I ended the year with over twenty five finished short stories. It’s usually not a good idea to split your focus between several projects. If you write around a job or family life, pick your one priority for the year: whether it’s finally getting around to writing that novel you’ve been planning, building up a collection of poetry, posting regularly on your blog, or polishing up your business writing skills. 2. Set realistic targets for yourself In my case, I could manage two complete short stories per month whilst working full time – it was a bit of a stretch some months, but achievable. If I’d tried to write a short story every week, I’d have given up before January was over. Try not to give yourself a target that relies on outside forces: aiming to have something published every month is laudable, but it’s influenced as much by the whims of editors as by your own writing abilities. Some good targets could be: Writing 500 words of your novel every day. Writing a poem every Saturday. Posting a new entry on your blog three times a week. Reading two chapters of a book on writing every week, and trying out some exercises. 3. Keep track of how you’re doing When you have daily or weekly targets, keeping a visual record of progress can be very motivating! How about putting a tick or gold star on the calendar for every day that you meet your goal, or keeping a wall chart of word-count progress by your desk? If you prefer a more high-tech approach, Joe’s Goals is an easy way to keep track of how you’re getting on. You might also find scheduling writing sessions in task management software such as Remember the Milk helps – sometimes, our brains work well with a deadline. 4. Assess whether meeting your targets is getting you closer to your goals It’s great to be ticking off those four completed poems every month, or those three blog posts each week – but after a few months, take a good look at whether meeting your targets is actually taking you closer to your goals. If you’re trying to win writing competitions, are you getting short-listed yet? If you want more readers for your blog, have visitor numbers risen? If your aim is to improve your writing skills, are readers commenting more favourably on your work? Sometimes, you might need to revise your targets in order to make faster progress towards your goals: your target of four poems each month might be too ambitious if you’re rushing them and producing sub-standard work, and you might reach your goal of a competition win sooner if you instead just wrote one great poem each month. Do you have big, long-term goals or dreams for your writing? What smaller targets are you setting yourself on a daily, weekly or monthly basis to help you reach these? Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Writing Basics category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:75 Synonyms for â€Å"Angry†Homonyms, Homophones, Homographs and HeteronymsGrammar Review #1: Particles and Phrasal Verbs

Business Idea Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words - 1

Business Idea - Essay Example The umbrellas can be delivered at a client’s convenience upon request. The clients will be provided with our business cards so that they may refer their friends to our services and also ensure that they make request of our services. The average cost of an umbrella in UK is 20 pounds. We plan to allocate 300 pounds to purchase approximately 15 umbrellas for the start of the business. The remaining 200 pounds will be used to cater for the product of business cards and process the operational license of the business. The The unique selling point of this business is based on the fact that the umbrellas can be delivered upon request by the client. Therefore, a client does not have to under any challenge in case the rain begins falling and they do not have an umbrella. Additionally, the prices will also be relatively available. We expect to sell the umbrella at an affordable price that will favor our clients and the continuity of our business. Owing to the fact that the region experiences frequent rainfall, this business idea is strategic, targeting clients that may be faced by mobility challenges due to frequent rain. The umbrellas are also good quality; our clients will be assured of durability of their umbrellas: We intend to research and determine the most affordable and high quality umbrellas that we will take at wholesale prices to ensure that we reduce operational costs. The business targets International students in the college, specifically Russian and Chinese students, who are still not aware of the rainfall pattern of the area. In addition, it also targets local students and lecturers, who may be in need of umbrellas to improve their mobility during the rains. On the other hand, the business targets support staff within the college and other people such as visiting parents and others. These targets are believed to be lucrative for this business owing

Final examination assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

Final examination - Assignment Example During his time, there was the introduction of tea for drinking, invention of gunpowder and the introduction of money as means of exchange. All these innovations took place during the reign of the Song dynasty (Asia for Educators 1). Additionally, the Song dynasty was characterized by an enormous commercial growth, and most of the historians referred to this era as an era of pre-modern character. Because of industrialization, there was the production of non-agricultural good. Production of nonagricultural was of dominance. China has been distinguished as the only nation that had early developments. Furthermore, urbanization became abundant in the Chinese cities. Writers like Marco polo came from one of the most sophisticated cities in Europe during his time, but he was amazed on the organization of the Chinese cities, which he visited in the year 1200. There was also an enormous population growth that shifted its locus towards Southern China due to the rapid civilization of the Chinese in Song Dynasty. Moreover, during the Song dynasty Chinas population became more concentrated to the North of China where wheat was grown. After 1127, Song made Hangzhou the Capital in Southern China (Asia for Educators 1). This coincided with the concentration of population on the southern parts of China along River Yangtze. During Songs reign, Rice was the stable crop in Southern China and produced higher yields per acre (Asia for Educators 1). Additionally, the civilization of the Tang Dynasty became evident when Tang reestablished a unified government after the civil war of China. The influence of the Tang emperors then was extended to Vietnam, Korea, Southeast and Central Asia. There was the introduction of confusion scholars to run the government and Tang redistributed land peasants (Regents Prep 1). Additionally, the emperors established a law code that was used to govern the country. Tang also refurbished the channel system and

Robots Replaces Humans Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Robots Replaces Humans - Research Paper Example The technology in robots may be traced back in the Industrial Revolution when mathematics, engineering and science was in flower in England that provided the basic groundwork of robotics. Among the prominent scientist during that time who contributed to the development of robots was Charles Babbage who developed the foundation of computer science and his two uncompleted project, difference and analystical engine. Although these projects were not completed, they laid out the basic framework for mechanical calculations necessary for robots to function (Thomasnet 2013). Robots as we know them today however was not yet recognized nor had such name during this time. The concepts about robots however already proliferated during the Industrial Revolution but its realization has to come decades later because the technology were not yet available then. Until in 1920, Karel Capek published his play entitled Rossum’s Universal Robots where the word robot was first used. The word robot came from an old Slavic word that meant â€Å"servitude, monotonous or forced labor†. From the use of â€Å"robot† in Karel Capek’s play begun the usage of the word that refers to mechanical devices that replaces human functions. It was however in 1927 that the first actual robot was made in the United States called Televoc which operated through the telephone system. Japan followed suit in 1928 and created Japan’s first robot named Gakutensoku. Robot became a formal science in 1941 when  Isaac Asimov  formulated the  Three Laws of Robotics, which formally gave the name of robot creation as robotics (1950). The first few models of robots that used modern available technology begun in the 1950’s however which George Devol designed a robotic arm device named Unimate which was intended for industrial use. Unimate function then was to transport die castings in General Motors plant in New Jersey. Seeing the viability of robots particular in industrial manufacturing, a company

Discussing The Role Of Language And Reason In History Philosophy Essay

Discussing The Role Of Language And Reason In History Philosophy Essay Language like reason is one of the most important ways of knowing to mankind. Human beings have benefited greatly through language by means of communicating and understanding each other as we read history. Could language as a way of knowing bring us the most suitable type of language? What is language without reason? I treat these as my knowledge issues and will try to bring my aspect and conclusion on the situation. Distinguishing between a terrorist or a freedom fighter can be biased, that biasness is the type of reason that affected you there and then. Language in history Some might say History is the study of the past. The role of language in history is fairly abundant. Many linguists believe that language have a common ancestry, but we still do not know whether language has come from one source, but students of history know from the ancient Greek historian Herodotus that Phrygian is the first coherent language in the history of mankind. It is believed that early humans probably had a communication system similar to animals to contact each other and used body language and calls of various types, but speech did not develop until the human brain evolved enough to enable us to convey ideas to each other. History is not a record of everything that has happened in the past, history is merely catches the main gist of what supposedly happened in the past. So we can wonder, Could language bring out the most accurate form of history? We can deduce that, if suitable and open minded recorders were the ones that cement history for us, then why should we wonder. But without language as a way of knowing, problems arise and perception would play a dominant role, as being a multifarious way of knowing, many conclusion could deduce on a claim. But without language, reason would not erupt into a form that would proportionally justify perception in the given case above, debates, arguments, justifications, treaties, deals and agreements would not take place as the way we perceive it today. So it would be foolish to think that history would be relevant without language and reason, reasoning is always present and helps us understand in a coherent fashion. Though, problems are that language, alone, can be confusing and can easily be edited in our views, propaganda during the Russian revolution lead people to a perception, that perception manifested into reason and thought/expressions of the socio-economic classes during then were heard. History has may sources but as the past does not exist, it is difficult to accurately find out about history. For example, if we have evidence such as Stonehenge or the Rosetta stone are parts of our history and we can know to some extent about those periods in our history. But objectivity and accuracy in understanding history are to my mind the real questions which are to be looked at seriously. Historians distinguish primary and secondary sources of information. A primary source is written by a person who was there at the time, while the secondary source is a second hand account of the event. For example, what Socrates wrote and Plato were writing as primary sources, while others who developed on their ideas. Biases can be created by even eyewitness accounts as a person can exaggerate or use weak language to explain the incident, he may also have a social bias and describe history in a manner that he likes. In Greek times or when Aztec warriors ruled, we know little about how Greek slaves or peasants lived or how tribal societies carried out their daily lives, even though we have written history about those times. History can be deliberately changed when primary sources are manipulated by interest groups, this brings me to another knowledge issue, Can we trust History? The Russians and Chinese history has been changed by the state and the primary sources of changed. By changing they have used the new history created by them as propaganda to rule their people. I believe that history is just a monument. A monument of many things, the holocaust was a monument of the horrors that mustnt be repeated again. History is a secondary source (established data), it is not easy to say that all hundred percent of history is true, it is not my call. History also creates hindsight bias as events in our own life when seen later makes us question about the mistake we made. To a certain extent, this also distorts history. Bias and language can be a subject bias, confirmation bias or a national bias. Can language describe historical events in a language that is neutral? To better understand language, many theories have been developed like, the definition theory, denotation theory and Image theory. These theories segment our way of communicating into partitions, each representing a certain situation that is directly proportional to language. Briefly, the definition theory is based on finding the meaning of words from a dictionary. A problem to this type of language is that some words are very difficult to define properly and are highly multifarious. On the other hand, the Denotation theory tells us how to separate words that have meaning and words that have no meaning. Last but not least the image theory explains that any word is a mental image in our mind that stands in the mind. Language is complex. It shows us our social reality and no two languages can show the same social reality, that is what the Sapir-Whorf Hypothesis states. Languages create different trends in our social reality. In the age of technology and how it is rapidly growing, it becomes a bit overwhelming. Language creates barriers but also creates entries. When I read about news in magazines, in news paper or TV, the same issue can be shown in many different ways. Politics especially, I as a teenager and a member of the future generation of this world; reading politics of the Middle East, the Kashmir problem or the Afghan war can mean many things when read in English or Urdu. It all ends up to your social reality and your reason with a clear view on society itself. Language causes confusion and this confusion conveys specific thoughts, these thought s are planted on the different views in the world today. These views, even with so much knowledge and theories, leads to hatred and misunderstandings, thus leading to wars and bloodshed or could lead to a world that would represent something that would be found in The Beatles lyrics. Language provi des accuracy in life, definitions of words and phrases like war on terror, fanatics, collateral damage means differently to the different social reality (rule governed by language) and are contested in various forms and has been, previously in the future. To an extent history has affected me in some ways, views on society today and the changing trends of mentioned above I also agree that language and reason plays a big role in the history we know today. Reason and history as a way of knowing Reason is segmented into one of the four ways of knowing for a very good reason. We know that reason is a difficult word to define, because it is based on various premises, basis on which various conclusions are drawn. Reason is like a knife, which has two edges and both sides can cut equally well as both knife edges are sharp. We also know that reason cannot be used in every situation, especially in our private lives, where emotion also plays an important a role, which cannot be defined by reason alone. Sometimes reason can be balanced with emotion and sometimes it cannot be balanced. There are three kinds of reasoning: Deductive reasoning Inductive reasoning Informal reasoning deductive reasoning is based on syllogism which states two premises (logical arguments) and a conclusion is then drawn. But we know all truth is not valid, if the argument is true or false, the conclusion can be true or false and may not be valid. Therefore, this argument is built on incorrect logic and the syllogism is false. We can conclude that arriving at the right conclusion our argument is dependent on the truth or falsity of the premises (logic) it contains. Deductive logic must be handled with care to arrive at the correct conclusion. Inductive logic is the opposite of deductive logic and is based on from the particular to the general. Inductive reasoning can be explained by an example: I am born from my mother. We can conclude that human beings are born from females, because all statistical evidence leads us to this conclusion. This example can be called inductive inference (conclusion). All languages are based on inductive generalizations, for example, teacher, dog or table can be classified into general classes and then labeled. From languages we inherit history of human thought about how the world is organized. Most sciences use inductive reasoning to formulate laws and theories. For example, if carbon-dioxide causes green house effect, therefore carbon-dioxide emitted by any form will lead to ozone reduction in the atmosphere. Scientists use this type of logic to explain reasoning and reach conclusions. -Informal reasoning- Informal reasoning is based after this, therefore accounted of this, it means that because one thing B follows another thing A, then A must be a cause of B. For example, more murders are committed in hot weather; it means that weather is the only factor that affects increase in murder. Informal reasoning is based on co-relation in two things and can be correct or incorrect if the premise is valid. While the three types of reasoning cannot answer all questions relating to knowledge, they do provide us a basis on which we can understand our world and ourselves better but one way of reasoning is not sufficient to define all things in a logical manner. Our reasoning is also affected by circular reasoning, false analogy, loaded questions and many other biases. Bad reasoning is based on four main reasons: Reason gives man the greatest ability to understand and predicts things related to him with certainty. This gives that specific kind of coherency that exists in the world today. We see, thus we reason Timothy Rath. History is rooted with reason, it regards human nature and the human intellect that goes hand in hand. What really shapes History are the winners. The people in charge. They get to have their stories told, they get to decide what goes to the public and what doesnt. Imagine if Germany had won the second world war. Our view of the holocaust would be much different wouldnt it? Maybe the general populace may not have even been told of their existance. And if we take a look at Stalin and his attempts to remove people from history (altering photos, deleting records of existance), we can see that the people up there have the power to feed us whatever they want. And that was back then, when there was no photoshop. Just imagine the technology they have in their hands today. And that is why there are countries that are so suspicious of others learning of their past, that they do anything to keep them quiet, going as far as to kill them. As a more recent example, does anyone know of Andijon? I wouldnt be surprised if you didnt, partially because it is in Uzbekistan and to be honest i didnt know that was a country until i got off a plane one day and ended up living there. To be fair, i was about 11 and my knowledge of the geography was kind of limited. Anyways, the Andijon massacres (sometime in 2006) have been described by the UN to be possibly the greatest massacre since Tienanmen square. So why havent you heard of it? Because the government of Uzbekistan are brilliant at keeping people out and censoring things. Even killed a journalist that fled to another country after writing an article criticizing them. Im honestly kind of scared to write about this.

Confucianism :: Papers China Religion

Confucianism Confucianism is the major system of thought in China. It was developed from the teachings of Confucius and his disciples, and concerned with the principles of good conduct, practical wisdom, and proper social relationships. Confucianism has influenced the Chinese attitude toward life, set the patterns of living and standards of social value, and provided the background for Chinese political theories and institutions. It has spread from China to Korea, Japan, and Vietnam and has aroused interest among Western scholars. Although Confucianism became the official ideology of the Chinese state, it has never existed as an established religion with a church and priesthood. Chinese scholars honored Confucius as a great teacher and philosopher but did not worship him as a personal god. Nor did Confucius himself ever claim divinity. Unlike Christian churches, the temples built to Confucius were not places in which organized community groups gathered to worship, but public edifices designed for annual ceremonies, especially on the philosopher's birthday. Several attempts to deify Confucius and to convert Confucianism failed because of the essentially profane nature of the philosophy. The principles of Confucianism are contained in the nine ancient Chinese works handed down by Confucius and his followers, who lived in an age of great philosophic activity. These writings can be divided into two groups: the Five Classics and the Four Books. The Wu Ching (Five Classics), which originated before the time of Confucius, consist of the I Ching (Book of Changes), Shu Ching (Book of History), Shih Ching (Book of Poetry), Li Chi (Book of Rites), and Ch'un Ch'iu (Spring and Autumn Annals). The I Ching is a manual of divination probably compiled before the 11th century BC; its supplementary philosophical portion, contained in a series of appendixes, may have been written later by Confucius and his disciples. The Shu Ching is a collection of ancient historical documents, and the Shih Ching is an anthology of ancient poems. The Li Chi deals with the principles of conduct, including those for public and private ceremonies; it was destroyed in the 3rd century BC, but presumably much of its material was preserved in a later compilation, the Record of Rites. The Ch'un Ch'iu, the only work reputedly compiled by Confucius himself, is a chronicle of major historical events in feudal China from the 8th century BC to Confucius's death early in the 5th century BC. The Shih Shu (Four Books), compilations of the sayings of Confucius

Digital Marketing: Benefits Consumers or Advertisers?

The internet has revolutionized a lot of things in our lives, including one of our favorite hobbies, shopping. Shopping has gone to a new level in the new millennium. Online shopping has hit the market with consumers and advertisers trying to buy and sell products. Customers now have the opportunity to search for their required products online, with a price that they want and with a price that fits their wallets. On the other hand, advertisers can now easily market their products online without even renting a shop!So many websites like Buy. com, Amazon. com, NewEgg. com and many others have come with their websites to feature various advertisers and suppliers to market their products on their websites where online consumers from across the globe can purchase these products and services. So who has more control over digital products and services? In my opinion, advertisers have more control over consumers. First of all, advertisers have the opportunity to market their products to an i nternational market without even having a shop.All they have to do is to search a product that is wanted by the market, and take some pictures of this product and put in on websites like e-bay or even create an own site for free! Potential consumers from all over the world will be able to see this product, and if it is a wanted product, business will start booming. According to recent research, it was estimated that there was around 1 billion internet users in 2008 and this number is expected to grow annually (Bischof et.al 2000). It could be assumed that the internet market would keep growing and that would give internet advertisers a vast opportunity to advertise and market their products online. Therefore, this mainly benefits advertisers over consumers. Apart from that, advertisers will also have the opportunity to position themselves to cater to selected market segments due to the wide variety of consumers from different countries and expectations (Bischof et. al 2000).To do th is, an advertiser must first study the market segment so that the advertiser can then study the behavior of the consumer and understand the consumers’ expectations and therefore capture this market segment (Rodgers & Thorson 2000). The size of this market share may increase or decrease according to population growth and other social, economic and environmental factors. Even if advertisers get 1% out of the 1 billion internet market, they will be making a lot of money due to the volume of business online.Apart from that, if advertisers could find their ideal positioning in the market, the advertiser’s brand or business name would be easily spread thru the internet as there are many third party websites that allow consumers to share their views and opinions on certain products or services. As a matter of fact, from the above, advertisers are actually choosing who they want to sell their products or services too, again a benefit towards advertisers rather than consumers. There is also a competitive environment online which would keep the company growing and not stagnant like a brick and mortar store.Advertisers can now track the number of customers that are visiting their websites (Wind & Mahajan 2001). This will give them an indication as to the number of customers that they get every month and the number of purchases made. With this information, these advertisers could get an idea of how well or how poor their business is doing; and by using this information, companies can then decide on their next course of action. Consumers can compare price, product brand, quality and other features online while sharing notes with other fellow consumers.As mentioned above, there are also third party websites who function as an intermediary between sellers and consumers who provide full details of price and product quality rating that makes it easy for consumers to choose from. Competition is good for advertisers as it allows the company to grow and make more pr ofit and therefore once again, benefits advertisers over consumers. Keeping this in mind, advertisers also have the opportunity to check out competition online and provide competitive products to their customers.According to Wang et. al (2001), customers who are happy with their purchases are less likely to have complaints and are therefore more prone to become return customers. Return customers could mean loyal customers that allow advertisers to sell their products and services without the worry of finding new online customers. Apart from that, if the advertisers’ product or service is compatible or better than the competitors’ products, there will be free publicity of the product by third party reviews.Although most research actually argue that consumers have more benefits than advertisers, based on the argument above, advertisers manipulate consumers into thinking that they have more benefits when they actually do not. Websites who promote themselves as catering to customer needs are actually advertisers themselves, and therefore this creates an illusion to the customer that they are controlling what and how the shop online. As a conclusion, digital marketing benefits the advertisers more than the consumers.To summarize, one of the reasons for this is that advertisers have the opportunity to market their products to an international market without even having a shop. Furthermore, advertisers will also have the opportunity to position themselves to cater to selected market segments due to the wide variety of consumers from different countries and expectations. Apart from that, there is also a competitive environment online which would keep the company growing and not stagnant like a brick and mortar store. Advertisers also have the opportunity to check out competition online and provide competitive products to their customers.

Interesting Facts About Baryonyx

Interesting Facts About Baryonyx Baryonyx is a relatively recent addition to the dinosaur bestiary, and one that (despite its popularity) is still poorly understood. Here are 10 facts you may or may not have known about Baryonyx. Discovered in 1983 Considering how well-known it is, its remarkable that Baryonyx was excavated only a few decades ago, well after the golden age of dinosaur discovery. This theropods type fossil was discovered in England by the amateur fossil hunter William Walker; the first thing he noticed was a single claw, which pointed the way to a near-complete skeleton buried nearby. Greek for "Heavy Claw" Not surprisingly, Baryonyx (pronounced bah-RYE-oh-nicks) was named in reference to that prominent clawwhich, however, had nothing to do with the prominent claws of another family of carnivorous dinosaurs, the Raptors. Rather than a raptor, Baryonyx was a type of theropod closely related to Spinosaurus and Carcharodontosaurus. Spent Its Day Hunting for Fish The snout of Baryonyx was unlike that of most theropod dinosaurs: long and narrow, with rows of studded teeth. This has led paleontologists to conclude that Baryonyx prowled the edges of lakes and rivers, plucking fish out of the water. (Want more proof? Fossilized remnants of the prehistoric fish Lepidotes have been found in Baryonyxs stomach!) Oversized Claws on Its Thumbs The piscivorous (fish-eating) diet of Baryonyx points to the function of the oversized claws this dinosaur was named after: rather than using these scary-looking appendages to disembowel herbivorous dinosaurs (like its raptor cousins), Baryonyx dipped its longer-than-usual arms in the water and speared passing, wriggling fish. Close Relative of Spinosaurus As mentioned above, the western European Baryonyx was closely related to three African dinosaursSuchomimus, Carcharodontosaurus and the truly enormous Spinosaurusas well as the South American Irritator. All of these theropods were distinguished by their narrow, crocodile-like snouts, though only Spinosaurus sported a sail along its backbone. Remains Have Been Found All Over Europe As so often happens in paleontology, the identification of Baryonyx in 1983 laid the groundwork for future fossil discoveries. Additional specimens of Baryonyx were later unearthed in Spain and Portugal, and this dinosaurs debut prompted the re-examination of a forgotten trove of fossils from England, yielding yet another specimen. Almost Twice as Many Teeth as T. Rex Granted, the teeth of Baryonyx werent nearly as impressive as those of its fellow theropod, Tyrannosaurus Rex. As small as they were, though, Baryonyxs choppers were much more numerous, 64 relatively small teeth embedded in its lower jaw and 32 relatively bigger ones in its upper jaw (compared to about 60 total for T. Rex). Jaws Angled to Keep Prey From Wriggling Free As any fisherman will tell you, catching a trout is the easy part; keeping it from wriggling out of your hands is much harder. Like other fish-eating animals (including some birds and crocodiles), the jaws of Baryonyx were shaped so as to minimize the possibility that its hard-won meal could wriggle out of its mouth and flop back into the water. Lived During the Early Cretaceous Period Baryonyx and its spinosaur cousins shared one important characteristic: They all lived during the early to middle Cretaceous period, about 110 to 100 million years ago, rather than the late Cretaceous, like most other discovered theropod dinosaurs. Its anyones guess as to why these long-snouted dinosaurs didnt survive up until the K/T Extinction event 65 million years ago. May One Day Be Renamed "Suchosaurus" Remember the day when Brontosaurus was suddenly renamed Apatosaurus? That same fate may yet befall Baryonyx. It turns out that an obscure dinosaur named Suchosaurus (crocodile lizard), discovered in the middle 19th century, may actually have been a specimen of Baryonyx; if this is confirmed, the name Suchosaurus would take precedence in the dinosaur record books.

Authors vs. authors

Authors vs. authors Authors vs. authors? Hi. At Reedsy we live, sleep, and all but photosynthesise self-publishing news and discussion. Even if you were living under a rock, a massive rock, like a boulder, you wouldn’t have been able to avoid the suddenly very loudly proclaimed views of authors both traditionally published and self-published over the whole Amazon-Hachette blood war that’s been happening for over a month by now. So we had to say something. In fact, we said two things. Below you can find Ricardo’s take, and you can find Dave’s perspective over here.–Petition vs. petitionOne thought came to my mind when I read Barry Eisler’s article on last week’s two recent and infamous (in certain circles anyway) petitions: Have you guys forgotten that you’re all authors? Shouldn’t you all be on the same page?A little context for those totally unfamiliar with these things. You’re probably aware of the Amazon vs Hachette clash, right? But you probably don’t know why these two publishing giants are at each other’s throats (because, by the way, Barry is right: Hachette is part of the Lagardà ¨re group, which is also a giant). Well, don’t feel bad about it - it’s starting to seem like no one else is much more informed than you are.When trying to research what exactly Amazon and Hachette are fighting about about, it’s diff icult to get any details more specific than ‘pricing and distribution’ (who could have guessed, right?). Whatever’s going on, everyone is worried this could affect†¦ well, everyone (even self-published authors?†¦)On Wednesday Douglas Preston published an open letter to readers, asking them to email Jeff Bezos to tell him†¦ something. To be nicer to Hachette, maybe? Because when you don’t know what the problem is, it’s difficult to ask for solutions.Rather than emailing Amazon, Hugh Howey, Barry Eisler, and other self-published authors responded with with their own petition, including plenty of persuasive detail about everything Amazon has done for them (making self-publishing possible), and their bad experiences with traditional publishing. This makes Howey Bezos’s defender.Where does that leave us (meaning, still, readers)? Who should we be listening to? Speaking totally personally, I like what Howey said. More importantly, ev en there’s a lot of truth on both sides, I feel I can endorse Howey in a way I just can’t endorse Preston et al. Why? Because they speak with clarity. They say they side with Amazon and against Hachette, and say it plain and clear. Preston’s letter is eloquence without effect, reiterating a problem without resolving it: â€Å"we are not siding with anyone†. Come on†¦An author voice for the publishers?Well, I’m afraid we still don’t have an answer to this vital question. For now, it’s self-pub authors vs. â€Å"some trad† authors. And that’s bad enough. Were it to be truly trad. vs. pub, that would be worse.Until now, I’ve always seen mutual respect between self-publishing authors and mainstream ones. Hugh Howey’s battle was against publishers and bookshops, not against authors. As a reader, I don’t want that to change.

The future of natural medicine Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

The future of natural medicine - Essay Example The future of helth cre nd medicine cn not be predicted, but it will certinly be developing into n Informtion ge, evolving in itself. Prticulrly, the medicl services will be delivered through the Internet nd other innovtive mens of communiction providing qulity nd cre whenever nd wherever needed. E-medicine refers to the use of telecommuniction tht provides medicl informtion nd services. It my be s simple s two helth professionls discussing cse over the telephone, or s sophisticted s using stellite technology to brodcst consulttion between providers t two distnt loctions, using videoconferencing equipment." (Gustke et l., 20000) The simplest definition of E-Medicine is tht it uses multimedi technology (voice, video nd dt) to deliver medicl services. The lower cost of bnd- width nd improvement in video nd dt compression stndrds hve incresed the number nd types of medicl services tht cn be delivered from distnce to include virtully every specilty. E-Medicine is n ppliction nd not technology. It uses hybrid technology incorporting elements of television, telecommuniction, computers, engineering nd medicine. Services cn be delivered on combintion of technologies with vriety of equipment. The objective of E-medicine "is not n evolutionry concept but revolutionry concept nd t the hert of every revolution, there is the need for sudden mssive chnge, t the core of which is the humn mind." (Merrell, 2004). E-medicine in the future will bring mny benefits to helth cre system, will fcilitte the work of helth cre employees nd improve the response time for ptients. Prticulrly, the benefits of e-medicine include: higher qulity helthcre vilble to trditionlly under privileged popultion. For lrge rurl bsed popultion seprted by lrge distnces the ccess to regulr qulity medicl cre is needed nd cn be provided by e-medicine. E-medicine cn enhnce citizen's equlity in the vilbility of vrious medicl services nd clinicl helth cre, despite these economic nd geogrphic brriers. E-medicine will sve the time wsted by both providers nd ptients in trveling from one geogrphic loction to nother to vil services on time. The ptient who requires immedite specilist consultncy, nd there is no specilist vilble to cter to him, could be utilized for effective helthcre delivery. E-medicine will reduce costs of medicl cre since the rising cost of helthcre is becoming prime concern. The costs relted to ptient cre, i.e. the cost ssocited with fctors other thn the ctul medil cre such s trvel, ccommodtion for reltives, food etc lso contribute substntilly to the overll cost of tretment. In country where helth insurnce is yet to ctch up, ll these re borne by ptients, in mny cses by selling property nd livestock. If hospitls cn reduce these costs ssocited with tretment, it would go long wy in reducing the burden of cre on the ptient. E-medicine seems to be the nswer. dvntges of E-medicine Providing helthcre services vi Internet nd other telecommuniction services gives mny dvntges. It cn mke specilty cre more ccessible to underserved rurl nd urbn popultions. Video consulttions from rurl clinic to specilist cn llevite prohibitive trvel nd ssocited costs for

You choose a topic Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

You choose a topic - Essay Example But studies in the recent few years have associated the mobile phone with undesirable behavior especially among the youth and college students who are found to be on their phones for at least nine hours in a single day. This raises the question especially among behavioral scientists of whether mobile phone usage can become addictive. Even with the numerous advantages, mobile phone usage increasingly being associated with behaviors which are harmful to health and with the potential of being disturbing. Research for instance has associated the use of cell phones while driving with accidents. A wide of body of information is available to suggest the use of cell phones while on the wheel reduces ones capacity to be attentive even in cases there are hands-free devices. Many countries have even gone ahead to ban the use of phones while driving but many people still continue with the habit. In an ironic turn there is evidence of phones turning from their important role of supporting social exchanges to an object obstructing the same. Just many people have found themselves in instances where their mobile phone usage has disturbed their good social exchange. As such, just like smoking the use of mobile phones is increasingly receiving bans in public places e.g. in libraries. On the overall cell phone usage is increasingly becoming associated with antisocial and potentially dangerous behaviors as well as the uncontrollable usage and signs of dependence. it is for these reasons that researchers and clinical practitioners must be aware of the availability of instruments to measure problematic use, socio-demographic and psychological factors thought to play a significant role in mobile phone addiction. Phones were initially solely for communities purposes in terms of calls but the emergence of smart phones allows wider usage of the gadgets. People can now access the internet