Pls see the attachment Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Pls see the attachment - Essay Example Steve should have set up an agenda for his day and should have had a system to organize his paperwork. Before the meeting, Steve received a call on a rush job, which he had turned over to one of his production supervisors, Lucy Adams, and put out of his mind. He tried to reach her and discovered she was out of town and difficult to reach. He asked his secretary to leave her a message to call him. He should have told his secretary to ask Lucy about the job in case he was not in the office when she called. The rest of his day was one interruption after another—an appointment not listed, a priority job his boss had asked for that wasn’t done, being late for another meeting, missing calls from Lucy—and at 4:30, he decided to go home, wondering how he could ever get caught up. It is obvious Steve Arnold is a disaster waiting to happen. He is balancing on a tight rope, and any minute he’s apt to crash. He has several employees apparently capable of handling projects, but Steve has never created a preliminary schedule that would include early morning meetings with his staff to plan not only each day but also the time lines needed to complete projects by a reasonable deadline. It would also appear that his secretary, Ruth, either has not been given the option of helping Steve organize his own scheduled priorities and putting his papers in order or she is not dependable and probably should be replaced. Steve does not look ahead to determine how to prioritize his time. He also does not look at the overall picture to see how production schedules should interact. He needs to educate himself on these matters. Steve does not appear to have much personal interaction with any of his staff nor does he schedule his time properly. He will improve greatly as a leader if he sets a preliminary schedule for his day with connections to future projects and the reminders he needs to follow up. Once he does this, he will

Learning environment Essay Example for Free

Learning environment Essay â€Å"The environment we are in affects our moods, the ability to form relationships and the effectiveness in work or play, even our health. † (Bullard, 2006). In effectively educating children an educator must build a foundation that has a stimulating environment which includes the inside and outside areas, classroom design and decor size. The outdoor learning area must be one that is organised in a way that promotes exploration and investigation of the elements of nature which includes planting trees and flowers, as well as nature stations where children can observe the different insects. On the other hand is the classroom design which also endorses discovery along with cooperation among peers. The centres should be spacious that enables free movement where group gathering can take place, as well as the different materials and manipulative that are easily accessible to children in the different learning areas in facilitating their knowledge. But however not only that, but as well as decor size which pertains to using child size toys, tools and furniture in the classroom that eliminates children from asking for assistance from adults, as well as allowing them to feel empowered by not requesting of their help. In providing a stimulating environment like the one that was now described would allow children to actively participate in their learning. This is so because the surroundings therefore cater for â€Å"appropriate ways in developing the vital skills, the knowledge and a positive attitude to learning in the individual needs of each child. It is based on â€Å"guiding children to observe, question, discuss, listen, manipulate, feel, investigate and develop the ability to think creatively and independently. This is defined as Active Learning. In discussing the importance of the active learning environment above which includes the inside and outside areas, classroom design as well as decor size that promotes active learning, this paper would now focus on one such area that is assessed in the internal environment, meaning a learning centre that needs to be enhanced, as well as strategies used for improvement to reflect my curriculum goals. Description of the Learning Centre that needs to be Improved While children were in the indoor setting of the classroom I took time to sit and observe what exactly was happening at each of the different centres. While monitoring I noticed that most of them were at the diverse learning areas excluding the language centre which had only about two (2) children who took a short amount of time interacting within that area. The other centres were very attraction as they had many tangible objects that children can interact with, whereas the other had old objects that were very unattractive and discoloured. Most of the materials were posters that were stuck to the wall which were there for a very long time, in turn making it appear distasteful and unappealing. In the language centre it therefore created a barrier that enabled children to further promote their language development as there were an insufficient amount of materials that catered for it. In addition, that learning centre did not cater for the children as it did not promote active learning, because as stated earlier when a centre has materials and manipulatives that are easily accessible to children it therefore facilitates their learning as it guides them to observe, engage and grasp different concepts in a simpler way. But however, there were no materials that held the attention of the children that they can become involved with; hence it developed a barricade for the active learning process to take place. When comparing the centres I have found that this is a situation that needs to be put back into working order immediately, because â€Å"language is an important skill that allows a person to communicate. † (Brannagan, 2010). It is a significant skill that is crucial in a child’s life as they use it to adequately exchange information with others in a meaningful way, as well as understanding the uses of reading and writing and becoming successful early readers and writers as it determines a successful future for them. In contrast, if this particular skill has a delay it can create complications in communication with others. This therefore can build frustration within the child since it may lead to miscommunication about what he/she is trying to convey. This is why it is important for me as an educator to address this matter quickly, so in turn children can have the opportunity to interact within that said learning centre and not only in the others, as they would gain better knowledge by coming into contact with materials and experiences that are provided for  them by adults, hence making it easier to make sense of the world around them, as well as influencing their rate of growth. This process is referred to as The Constructivist Theory in which the philosopher Jean Piaget believed that children’s learning is an active process where there is interaction between the person and the environment. This improvement of the Language Centre would be effective as it will continually provide active learning within all the centres in the classroom without the segregation of one. My Curriculum Goals within the Language Centre As stated by the National Early Childhood Care and Education Curriculum Guide in the strand Effective Communication â€Å"language and literacy play a critical role in the development of children’s thinking, learning and communication. To develop into successful, contributing adults, children must learn to be effective communicators and masters of their official language. † (Ministry of Education , 2005) With this being said my curriculum goals within the Language Centre are taken from the National Early Childhood Care and Education Curriculum Guide. The goals are as follows: ? A growing awareness that speaking is an effective way to communicate thoughts, ideas and views. ?A growing awareness that print (common signs and symbols) conveys meaning. ?An increasing understanding of some symbols, language patterns, letter sound relationships to predict, confirm or make meanings from using their hundred languages, which includes multimodal texts. ?Develop ways to experiment with conventional letters, word signs and symbols to convey meaning. ?Understanding of the relationship between letters and sounds. Develop ways to explore how symbols and written and visual texts are used to communicate meaning. ?The ability to derive and convey the meaning of common signs and symbols (exit signs, area labels etc. ) in the various environments (school, home, community. ) ? A love for listening to and retelling familiar stories, as well as a desire to â€Å"read† on their own. Learn new vocabulary and extend language to communicate and negotiate ideas and plan for activities. Strategies used for Improvement in the Language Centre Letters are all around us! Therefore using environmental prints stuck to the wall in the language centre such as signs, labels and logos can be of great assistance in accomplishing some of my stated goals in developing children’s reading skills. This was stated by Colorin Colorado as an influential method in making the connection between letters and first efforts to read. It discusses how adults can make these techniques interesting to a child’s learning in talking about letters, words and print. The article suggest that in taking advantage of cereal boxes, as they are colourful to facilitate learning in which they can request for the child to find the first letter of his/her name on the box which assist in letter recognition as well as when going on a car trip. This results in children making the explicit link between letters and sounds. Another strategy the article further suggests that can be utilized, is about the use of technology in taking digital pictures of signs such as â€Å"exit† or â€Å"do not enter† to create a book for children to promote his/her reading skills. Environmental print provides lots of opportunities for kids to interact with letters, sounds, and words. † After reading â€Å"Colorin Colorado† 2010 it is concluded that not only can you facilitate children’s learning in the classroom but using the environment prints that surround us everyday can be of grand assistance. As stated by the U. S Department of Education 2011, Phonological Awareness and Training assist in the development of preschool language and literacy. The article defines Phonological Awareness as the ability to detect or manipulate the sounds in words independent of meaning whereas phonological awareness training is the means of involving various training activities that focus on teaching children to identify, detect, delete, segment, or blend segments of spoken words (i. e. , words, syllables, etc. ). In the language centre I can provide picture cards along with letter cards as well so that children can make the distinction between sounds and their letters as they are able to match the letter sound card to their pictures. Other materials may include ABC books, magnetic letters, alphabet blocks and puzzles as well as alphabet charts. It has a positive effect because it’s easier in learning alphabet letters as well as the letter sound knowledge that enables them to add letters together to form words and in turn add words together to form sentences; in addition it also provides the knowledge of print awareness and early reading abilities; Incorporating Interactive and Dialog Reading declared by the U. S Department of Education 2011 refers to the adult reading stories to the children. When teachers repeat the reading’s of favourite books it enables children to become familiarized with the books that will allow for independent reading as well as utilizing different techniques to engage children in the text, while dialog reading is the term used when the adult and child switches roles where the child now becomes the storyteller and the teacher the listener and assistance of the child. Dunst, Simkus and Hamby 2012 says â€Å"Engaging young children in retelling stories read to them by parents or teachers is a strategy that is often used to promote story-related comprehension and expressive vocabulary. This article similar to the one mentioned above suggest that in reading and repeating stories to the child or a small group of children and therefore engaging them to retell the story in their own words results in the expansion of ideas and their imagination. This becomes effective because Interactive and Dialog Reading assist in oral language and vocabulary development as the teacher may ask open ended questions in engaging the child in verbal elaborations which allow the child to gain knowledge about the meaning of spoken and written words and the development of comprehension skills which caters for early literacy and language development. To further endorse these skills in the language centre that is significant in improving and supporting literacy development the materials that would be provided are lots of good child friendly books that are attractive and prints that deals with class activities e. g. helper charts, toy shelf labels, as well as charts that display good habits etc. Apart from all those strategies mentioned above this one takes a different course. This article written by Howard Phillips Parette talks about the acquistion of Phonological Awareness and Alphabetic Principles through the use of Microsoft PowerPoint. It declares that through Microsoft PowerPoint it can facilitate a child’s phonological awareness because teachers can modify such features such as colour, pictures, sounds, animation, slide design and slide transition. This promotes the acquisition of reading skills and fluency. Whereas, alphabetic principles also known as phonemic orthography which refers to relationships between letters and their associated sounds help young children develop letter-sound correspondence. Using the techniques through technology enables the promotion of comprehension skills, the understanding of the concepts about print as well as the facilitation of vocabulary development. This article is critical as it shows how to assist children in identifying letters and sounds through the use of technology. In being educated about how to incorporate technology in teaching children the acquisition of these skills, I would therefore try my utmost best in providing a computer in the language centre that would be most available to the children, as well as undertaking that strategy of how to teach the children phonological awareness and alphabetical principles on that such computer. How does the Active Language Centre Created reflect my Curriculum Goals? When assessing the language centre before I did my creation it was evident that there were no signs of my curriculum goals, mainly because of the lack of attention I gave to that particular centre and the insufficient amount of materials that were provided to the children in classroom. But however, now when comparing the centre from how it was before to this very moment, I can observe that my curriculum goals are off course reflecting. The reason for this is because it is more attractive in the eyes of the future members of society, as well as the materials that are presented to them mirrors my goals. The materials that were mentioned and described earlier above and that would be offered to them facilitates the particular skills that would be met in the declared goals and that are of great importance to the children, as well as the teacher learning strategies that were undertaken in further endorsing and accomplishing them. Limitations and Innovations In implementing the strategies that were discussed earlier, there was off course one (1) obstacle that was preventing me from accomplishing my entire task. But luckily, there were more innovations than limitations presented. They are as follows:- Innovations – all this were possible with the help and the support of the parents ? I was able to provide lots of books in the language corner that were incredibly attractive to the children. ?The magnetic letters, some puzzles along with many beautiful charts. ?Labels ?Alphabet blocks Picture cards ?Letter sound cards ?Environmental Print e. g. (signs, logos etc. ) ?Together with the children we were able to create the book that includes the different environmental signs. Limitations ?The strategy that was very different from the others which was the incorporation of the computer into the classroom was unable to accomplish due to the expense that it would have implanted. It was hard to achieve, but however after sometime we would be able to achieve it to facilitate the children’s learning. Conclusion In discussing the strategies above that I have undertaken in enhancing the Language Centre in my classroom in reflecting my goals, it has enabled me to realize how unique this learning area is to the children in the environment and to there future. When adults create rich language and literacy environments with the appropriate materials, manipulatives and teacher learning strategies to further endorse the important skills, it boosts the child’s vocabulary along with the use of language, which in turn increases their likelihood of future success.

Eating Out: A Common Phenomenon Among Malaysians

Eating Out: A Common Phenomenon Among Malaysians Eating out is a common phenomenon among Malaysians. However, the selection of a restaurant is dependent on the restaurant variety, the consumer personality and the consumption context. With the increase in discretionary income and change in lifestyle, dining out has become a common experience among university students. People begin to have more experiences in dining that lead to customer expect more from the restaurants and are more difficult to satisfy. Restaurant consumption lifestyle is very related to food lifestyle. Kesic and Piri Rajh (1993) stated that food lifestyle can be desribed through behaviour of consumer as a function of individual characteristics and this can be create through the social interaction of psychological and also the past experience of consumer. Dine out is known as consumption of food and drink eaten outside the home which is not obtained from the households stocks. Dine out is easily accesible, as in expensive hawker centers, coffee shops, air-conditioned food courts and fast-food restaurants whereas consumers have the ability to choose types of food and price (Dittmer,2002) Restaurant consumption lifestyle among students depends on convenience of food and also restaurant itself, traditionality of food that they serve, concerning about health and nutrition, environment or atmosphere at the restaurant, the variety of menu that restaurants provided and also the price of food. Food-related lifestyle has five components fisrt is higher-order attributes of food products, second is consequences of using food product, third is shopping script, forth is meal preparation scripts and fifth is usage situations. The striking social, economic transformation, the increases in the types, the absolute number of retail venues and the greater variety of food products can influence the consumer purchasing behavior in restaurant consumption lifestyle. In the aspect of restaurant consumption lifestyle, the frequency that they dining outside of the home can give an idea what make them to dine out, with whom they usually go to dine out, where the location that they prefer and why they choose that place. Dine out is not an option for those who are only has a limited time, it is also has become the favorable choice for those who like to obtain new eating environmnet, changing of menu, and for people who want to spend time with friend, colleagues or family. In order to fulfill the needs, peoples will patronize foodservice establishment. People have certain evaluative foodservice establishment criteria in their mind, such as the quality of the food and service provided ambience and the price. 1.2 Problem Statement Restaurant consumption lifestyle is very general if we want to discuss among all types of consumers. However, in this research will try to understand about the restaurant consumption lifestyle between two major ethnic groups of university students. This research will come out what the motivation purchasing among two races in restaurant selection criteria. Besides that, this research will find out what type of trend nowadays consumers preferred to go to the restaurant, for example what the restaurant selection criteria of restaurant consumers more preferred, why they choose that restaurant, when usually they go there, what they expect when they go to the restaurant and with whom they usually go there. These studies have addressed issues such as the relationship between consumer behaviour, the demand pattern of restaurant consumption lifestyle and factors influencing consumer purchasing behavior. All of these issues are related with restaurant consumption lifestyle between two races of students because these issues are more to social science and behavior of consumers. 1.3 Objectives The objectives of this study are: To investigate the restaurant consumption lifestyle between two ethnic groups of university students. To examine the motivation purchasing in consuming their meal at restaurant. To determine the difference of restaurant selection criteria in normal and special dining out occasion. 1.4 Research Questions Specifically two basic research questions underline this study: Does the consumer behavior influence in the restaurant consumption lifestyle? Is it have differences between two ethnics group of university students in restaurant consumption lifestyle? What the motivation purchasing in restaurant consumption lifestyle between Malay and Chinese students? 1.5 Significance of the Study This paper consists of information on consumers consumption pattern and factors that influence consumers purchasing decision. Indirectly, can understand why university student select one restaurant over the other, the marketer can use marketing strategy effectively to gain market and profit. Besides that, managers also can understand the critical factors that influence customers behavior, loyalty and satisfaction in the food service industry and help them to improve in critical part or areas. All the factors that effect consumers eating out in food service establishment may also directly affect the profitability of the food service operations. Therefore, this study is important to investigate the factors contributing to overall customers satisfaction and repurchase behavior. A food service manager needs to understand this relationship in order to enhance their customers need and satisfaction. CHAPTER 2 LITERATURE REVIEW 2.1 Eating Out In this study, restaurant consumption lifestyle related with the contemporary patterns and the symbolic association of eating out and also related with patterns to social and demographic characteristics of households. Eating out has important implications for comprehensive understanding of nations diet. Eating out become famous trend in many peoples lives now (Koo et al, 1999). Eating out is familiar among single-parent household and also career woman (Elmont, 1995). According to Finkelstein (1989), eating out can give the leisure motive of what they seeing and being seen in public also it can give the entertained by others. Britain showed that consumers increasingly consume their food outside the home (Driver, 1983). As a proportion of food expanding, eating away from home has been increasing since 1950s. Food and its consumption can examine at several different levels and these will depend for ones purpose, whereas attention needs to focus of the following nutrients, ingredients, dishes, meals and cuisine. Eating out has both practical and symbolic significance. People eating out because sometimes out of their necessity and sometimes they eating out because of for pleasure. British Family Expenditure Survey had suggested that people eating out depends on their modes and could be expressed through food consumption (Warde Tomlinson, 1995). The recent official data in UK stated that difference in the social group will give the results difference in the frequency of eating out. The income, age, gender, region, class and household composition will influence consumer eating out. The major leisure motive of eating out can based on Mills belief which is relates to the psychological needs of human being (Mill, 2001). Eating out more than to preventing from suffering because of not enough food. In this research, results can support that people truly enjoy eating when psychologically as a part of leisure motive. In addition, the another aspect of motivation on what causes of behavior, Herzbergs two-factor theory such as hygiene factors and motivation can be apply in finding the results. Lack of concern about hygiene factors can cause of customer dissatisfaction. Eating out had its role in modern consumption (Warde and Martens (1998) and eating out also had its significant because eating out can increase the penetration of commodification and consumer culture in everyday life. Riley (1994) stated that in Britain there were no cultural and psychological factors because consumers tend to evaluate their meal experience at the restaurant they went to. Hygiene factor direct specialist to basic consumption on inexpensive food whereas, motivator give signal for self-identity will act to motivate the customer. People whos have different meal options for different motive will produce the relationship between different types of dining experiences. This is can emphasize that meal can influence the consumers choice of a restaurant meal (June and Smith, 1087). The frequency of eating out may vary, every age group, culture group, social class, and geographical community makes eating out an important from recreation. Eating out on a large scale is an interesting phenomenon of our changing society. Specifically, eating out is defined as patronize to any foodservice establishment by respondents of this study. In this modern society, people eating out for variety of reason, which included avoiding from boredom, to socialize, to have different type of food, taste and convenience ( Tom Powers. 2002). Lewis (1981) considered five factor for eating out which are food quality, menu variety, price, atmosphere and convenience factors. On the other hand, Jones (1996) identified six basic reasons as to why people eating out which are convenience, variety, labor, status, culture or tradition and impulse. Convenience This factor includes those people who are away from some reason, who are physically unable to return at home during normal time and out it conjunction with some other leisure activity. Variety Variety of food is an important factor to attract consumer to one food premise. People, who live in circumstances where the meal experiences are limited, such as in the hawkers stall, may choose to eat out for this reason. Labor The desire to have someone else to prepare food, cook, serve and wash up a meal most certainly influences some peoples decision to dine-out. Status Both for personal and business reasons people may choose to impress their guess by taking them out to a fashionable and expensive restaurant. Culture Eating can be described as a part of our culture heritage and a manifestation of kinship. For example, in Malaysia, celebration of special events such as anniversaries and birthday are often associated with eating out. Impulse This is rather like saying that sometimes people have to no particular reason for eating out, they do so on the spur of movement. However, impulse buying is very significant and that it contributes to sales in the food service industry. 2.2 A Theory of Motivation Consumption Values This theory will discuss about consumption values, explaining why consumer choose to buy or not to buy a specific product. Also discuss why consumers choose one product type over another and why consumers choose one brand over another. This theory consists of five consumption values that can influence consumer choice behavior. The five consumption values are functional value, social value, emotional value, epistemic value, and conditional value. In making a decision, any or all of the consumption values can influence of that. 2.2.1 Functional Value Functional value is defined as alternatives capacity for functional, profitable, or physical performance. An alternative receive the functional value through the utilitarian or profitable and also physical attitudes. Functional value can measured the profile of choice attributes. Generally, functional value is assumed to be the main driver of consumer choice. This assumption comes from Marshall (1890) and Stigler (1950), that strictly expressed in terms of rational economic man. Reliability, durability and price are characteristics that derived from alternatives functional value. For example, the decision to purchase food in the fine dining restaurant must based on their income and ability to buy it. 2.2.2 Social Value Social value is an alternatives association with one or more specific social groups and through positively and negatively stereotyped demographic, socioeconomic, and cultural- ethnic groups. The choice imagery can be measured in profile of social value. The choices involved tangible of highly products and also for goods or service need to be shared with others are often lead by social value. For example, consumer choose to eat at fine dining may be chosen more for social image than for their necessity. Hyman (1942) research about reference groups said that individual behavior is strongly can influence by their group membership. Rogers (1962) and Robertson (1967) also suggested that interpersonal communication and information dissemination can influence in consumer choice. 2.2.3 Emotional Value Emotional value is perceived from an alternatives capacity to arouse feelings or affective states. An alternatives get the emotional value when specific feelings continue those feelings. The feeling which associated with the alternative can be measured in profile of emotional value. Normally, goods and service are correlated with emotional responses and aesthetic alternatives. More tangible products have emotional value for example, some foods can rise the feeling of comfort through their correlated with childhood experiences. According to Dichter (1947) , carried out in motivation research that consumer choice may be lead by noncognitive and unconscious motives. A good and interesting of advertising and decoration of environment in marketing and promotion can enhance the emotional responses to marketed products (Martineau, 1958; Zajonc, 1968; Kotler, 1974; Holbrook, 1983; Park and Young, 1986). 2.2.4 Epistemic Value Epistemic value is an alternatives to enhance the curiosity, provide novelty, and satisfy a desire for knowledge. Epistemic value can get from questionnaire items referring to curiosity, novelty, and knowledge. Epistemic value usually provide the overall new experiences and the alternative can be chosen because consumer is already bored or satisfied with their current products or brand for example they want to try new type of coffee brand and they curious in visiting a new restaurant or they have desire to learn in experiencing another culture. According to (Katz and Lazarsfeld, 1955; Howard and Sheth, 1969; Hansen, 1972; Hirschman, 1980), concept of epistemic value has been influenced by theory of exploratory, novelty seeking, and variety of motives that suggested activating the product search, trial, and switching the behaviors. 2.2.5 Conditional Value Conditional value is a result by an alternative of the specific situation facing the choice maker. Conditional value presence of antecedent physical or social contingencies that can enhance its functional or social value. The choice contingencies are measuring profile of conditional value. The alternatives usually depend on the situation for example, some products of food only have when seasonal value or some of food only have once in a lifetime events. Many products of food have not more obvious conditional association. Hull (1963) and Howard (1969) recognized the importance of learning will take place a result of experience with a given situation. 2.3 Restaurant Attributes Customers have their own reason to want to return to any restaurant. They are constantly seeking quality, value and desirable environment away from the pressures of daily life. Offering good food and good service is not enough to attract and retain customers. To gain a competitive advantage, restaurants need to offer good value in a favorable ambience. According to Autys study (1992), there are ten factors influencing restaurant selection decision which are food type, food quality, and value for money, image and atmosphere, location, speed of service, recommend, new experience, operating hour and facilities for children. However, image and atmosphere were found to be the final choice between restaurants which were similar, and food quality and food type were the most important factor of restaurant selection. 2.3.1 Food Quality Quality of food which contain the fresh ingredients has already been rated as the most important reason why customers return to the restaurant (Brumback, 1998). Technology plays an important function to maintain the quality of food. It means computer chips in refrigerators or fryers or ice-makers need to always maintain the temperature to avoid from any waste of foods. 2.3.2 Price The price is to paid for a service is known as the level of quality to be demanded (Davis and Vollman,1990). Therefore, dining out becomes an integral part of consumers lifestyle, experienced consumers due to their expectations with regard to quality, while seeking a better value for their budget (Cullen,1994). 2.3.3 Environment Ambience may give restaurants competitive edge and restaurants need to update their dà ©cor and concepts if they want to attract more customers and compete with others successfully. Belman said that: Today, the most important thing is design and concept. The owner of restaurant need to invest money to create a good of decoration. It can be a good enjoyable and a fun dinner for social able people. 2.3.4 Location Location plays the main important factor in consumer decision making. It is a critical location aspect of marketing strategy. As Hughes (1996) said that: Good location allow ready access, can attract large numbers of consumers and significantly alter consumer purchasing patterns. As restaurant with very similar food offerings proliferate, even slight differences in location decision represent long-term financial commitments and changing poor locations can be difficult and costly. In a study by Bitner (1992) also found that convenience location and low prices are the top-ranked determinants of patronage. 2.3.5 Service Quality Nowadays, customers have also been concerned about the quality of service. Service quality is viewed as an antecedent to satisfaction. Since the customers interaction with the service provider and the service-producing process have a significant impact on the customers perception of service quality and subsequently influence customers satisfaction, marketing concept, such as customer satisfaction should be incorporated into the managements operational decision making process. 2.4 Factor Affect Restaurant Attributes Consideration The importance of the restaurant attributes according to three main factors which are restaurant types, dining out occasion and occupation, age and income. 2.4.1 Restaurant Types According to Lewis (1981), importance of restaurant attributes varied according to the four types of restaurant, which are categorized as fine dining, family, theme and convenience. Fine dining restaurant are friendliness of waiting staff, quality of food and environment. While family restaurant has top four choice variables are location, cleanliness, cost of food and speed of service. The theme restaurants are ambience factors, prestige, quality of food and location. 2.4.2 Dining Out Occasion Restaurant chosen according to dining out occasion which are categorized as a celebration for instance birthday, a special occasion and business meal. The top three determinants variables for celebration occasion are quality of food, type of food and menu item variety. Whereas for special occasion are cleanliness, service and type of food. On the other hand, for business meal are quality of food, prestige and ambience factors (Kivela, 1997). 2.4.3 Occupation, Age and Income Kivela (1997) has suggested that the determinant choice variables also changes according to occupation, age, and income segments. Financial people make their final restaurant choice on the basis of cost of food because of limited budget, location due to convenience, speed of service and quality of food. 2.4 Consumer Behavior in Food Service Industry Consumers have potentially to deals with all ways people that may act in their role according to study about the consumer behavior ( Schiffman and Kanuk, 1991). In practice of consumer behavior there are more tends to focus upon behavior that related to searching, buying, used the products and also services. Normally, consumer will be assumed as groups and they will be identified through geo-demographic noticeable quality and they also will take as true to have common attitudes. Food service literature consist example of segmentation surveys for example demand for different types of restaurant to different socio-economic segments. It shows that different of demographic and income will give the effect less of demand in consuming of food compared with population density of metropolitan areas. In this study the purchase behavior is related to the act of consumers towards restaurant consumption lifestyle and according to Blackwell (1998), consumer behavior in food service industry always related with how people buy, when they buy, what they buy and why they buy. He also stated that consumer behavior in food service is a subcategory of marketing that combines all the elements from psychology, sociology, socio-psychology, anthropology and economics. However, Gordon (1980) was used the behavioral sciences specifically for social psychology and sociology to understand more what customers wants and needs. He mentioned that through consumers psychological backgrounds can investigate the consumers in order to establish the extent to which factors like attitudes, motives and personality traits affect buying behavior. Whereas, social can influence such as class, status and also family. These were contributed to the understanding of consumer decision making. Mattila et al. (2002) had mentioned that the purchasing of food is a complex phenomenon. This is because the food must be available when consumer wants it, always at an affordable price and quality of food is in acceptable level. All of these will arrange consumer to select the right kinds of restaurant in order to eat their food for overall well being as well as to meet nutritional requirement. Food service industry has characteristics in an apart of the service sector which is in financial and professional services. However, Campbell-Smith (1967), it is much related with food choice and quality but at the same time food service offer meal experience to which many factors. Some of the restaurants characteristic in finding the consumers are choice and quality of food and drink, the price or value, service, atmosphere, location and convenience. (Auty, 1992; Gregoire et al (1995). However, Pettijohn et al. (1997) found the three most important for consumer in selecting the restaurant are quality, cleanliness and value. Whereas, the atmosphere in the restaurant and also the variety of menu which offered in the restaurant were not relatively important. Many studies showed that quality of food was very importance and consumers just see the service as several factors that influenced in quality of restaurant offered. According to Kara et al. (1995), demographic of consumer will give the different expectations of the type of food served, location of restaurants and also the cost of the food they spent. Not only the attribute values concerned with consumer satisfaction, but the wide value also can concerned in consumer satisfaction for instance, the choice making in the individual at the time they purchase is very significant point that can affect in restaurant consumers satisfaction. CHAPTER 3 METHODOLOGY 3.1 Introduction This research used the qualitative method which is individual interview. The information obtained from this research is beneficial to food service industry to understand what the consumers expect from them and can help food service industry to improve the satisfaction among consumers. In order to do so, methodology and procedure were designed to ensure high quality and standard of the study in obtaining reliable information. This study will include the location of the study, sampling procedure, data collection procedure, and research instrument and data analysis. 3.2 Location of the study This research need to compare the restaurant consumption lifestyle between student and working people, so the interview was conducted fully in Universiti Putra Malaysia. This place was used because there is a lot of Malay and Chinese students thus, reliable information can be obtained among the respondents. 3.3 Sampling Design The sampling method used in this study wwas convenience sampling. This sampling method is selected because it is convenience and relatively quick. The respondent will easy to get to do the interviewing. In this study, a total of respondents are 30. 3.4 Research Instrument In this study, the interview question was unstructured question and the answer will depends on the respondents. However, in this research there is still have question for the respondents. Respondents were asking about: Where and what kind of place or restaurant they eat most often. What type of food they eat often and why they choose that type. Respondents need to describe the food due to taste, colour and appearance. In what way the food is convenience for them. What the purpose or motivation factor they eating out? If they have special dish to eat, when they will go out, what they want to eat and why they want eat it. Did they will go only restaurant that sell of the food for example they will go Italian Restaurant or Pizza Hut if they want to eat Italy food. In one week, how many times they eating at the restaurant? What the criteria they will choose if they eating at the restaurant? Why? Price Quality Convenience Health 3.5 Data Analysis This research was analyzed through interview content. The data from interview need to transcribe carefully and then starting to analyze each of the respondent interview. The content analysis consists of reading and re-reading the transcripts looking for similarities and differences in order to find objective and to develop categories. DSLR or a Digital Camera? DSLR or a Digital Camera? The first mass use camera became available at the turn of the 20th century and can be traced back to the year 1900 and during the 20th century the pace of technology development in cameras and photography continued at an accelerated pace much like many other key technology developments, just like how a digital camera evolved into a DSLR. My question now is if you are willing to buy a camera, should you buy a DSLR or a Digital Camera? This is a question that you need to answer for yourself and this is why I am writing this essay, for you to decide. Let us now start with their picture quality, followed by their over-all performance, and finally their major differences. In DSLRs, one cannot always preview how a picture will be exposed; instead, metering and experience must be relied upon, unlike in digital cameras where in megapixel rating is the main thing to consider when determining a cameras quality. Digital cameras generally have small image sensors which mean that the quality that they produce is generally lower. This is slowly changing in some digital cameras but in comparison to DSLRs they still have a long way to go. Its worth saying however that if youre not planning on using your images for major enlargements or in professional applications that the quality of digital cameras can be more than enough for the average user, although based on the survey conducted a lot of people would rather prefer a DSLR than a digital camera regardless of their skills in photography. When it comes to over-all performance, a DSLR camera has a feature set that well suits both amateurs and more experienced photographers alike. Fast performance, incredibly detailed images, and a solid live view implementation making DSLRs an excellent choice for more experienced photographers. While DSLR cameras are perfect for professional photographers digital cameras on the other hand offers great ease of use for beginners for it packs long zooms, is compact and has a stylish body, and it is an excellent all around camera thats idea for travel and general purpose photography. Digital cameras are remarkably easy to use and produce great results when set to intelligent auto mode, but even though digital cameras seem to be easier, a majority of the people still prefers a DSLR. One of the major differences between a DSLR and a digital camera is what prevents people from buying a DSLR, its price. Even though DSLR prices have come down each and every year, they are still significantly more expensive than digital cameras considering that you might want to upgrade your lens or you may wish to add more lenses later and that this adds to the cost of a DSLR, but 19 out of 30 people still think that the DSLR is more cost efficient. Zoom is also one major difference, since all DSLR lenses can be removed from the camera body, the zoom mechanism are entirely manual. To change the view you have to twist a ring on the lens. This manual zoom actually results in a faster zoom. You dont have to wait for the motors to move the lens and out unlike that of the digital camera, you can just twist the zoom ring as fast or as slow as you like. You can clearly see the difference between a DSLR and a digital camera when it comes to size and weight because DSLRs are heavy and sizab le when you add a lens or two to your bag kit, you can end up with quite the load! Unlike in a digital camera, you are simply able to slip the camera in a pocket to the point of not even knowing youve got them with you! The strength of the conducted survey is that since a majority of the few people who answered the survey chose the DSLR as their best choice, it is possible that majority of the people will also choose DSLR as their choice since DSLRs are very popular to beginners and pros alike. The weakness of the survey on the other hand is that only a few people were able to answer it so we cannot fully investigate what the people really think about DSLRs and digital cameras. We cannot say that the DSLR is the best choice just because 30 people said so. Although the obvious choice for most is the DSLR but it is still best to ask individually rather than assuming that the DSLR is the best choice. If you want a portable camera that takes good enough pictures that youll mainly use for small prints, for uploading pictures on facebook, and one that youll mainly shoot in auto mode, Ill probably recommend a digital camera, but if youre after the image quality and youre desire is to use the manual settings, then I highly recommend a DSLR. I also recommend people to buy a digital camera first rather than jumping into a DSLR without even knowing the basic of taking pictures.

The Long Road to Graduate School :: Graduate Admissions Essays

The Long Road to Graduate School In his poem, The Road Not Taken, Robert Frost wrote, "Two roads diverge in the woods, and I took the one least traveled by/ And that has made all the difference." In this poem, the narrator had a choice of two roads. However, I've discovered that life is a little more complicated. Sometimes the path we embark on is not always the one we choose. Sometimes we are pushed or pulled in certain directions and we have to react to our environment. My path to a college education has been filled with bumps, potholes, detours and roadblocks. The signs often read "yield" and "do not enter." The path has not always been clear, but I've kept my eyes opened, focused on the road ahead, and the experience has made all the difference. During my freshman year in high school, my mother remarried and I had to move from Colorado to Kentucky. One year later, we relocated back to Colorado after they divorced. During my junior year in high school, my mother remarried again and I had to change schools again, although we remained in Colorado. Thus, I did not have a sense of continuity during high school and although I recognized that my path would lead me to college, I was not ready to commit myself to school full time. Instead I went to work full time as a grocery clerk and worked my way up to assistant manager. I then moved into customer service work and finally fell into an advertising manager position. I took several night courses during this period until I was ready to commit to school full time. Although I could have continued with work, I knew that it was not what I wanted to do and once I committed myself to attending school and realized that I wanted to study Sociology, I have proven myself to be an above ave rage student. This past year, I earned all "A"s in my courses.

Psychodynamic vs Behaviourist Theory

Psychology is not just philosophical speculation and reasoning over the years it has evolved and it is now also recognised as a science, to understand what psychology is all about it is necessary to know it’s origins and the theorist who brought it out of obscurity, Sigmund Freud. He developed the Psychodynamic or Psychoanalytical perspective to enable better understanding of human behaviour these concepts will be discussed further later in this study. After Freud opened the gateway other perspectives and approaches have been developed, now with five main areas of psychology – Cognitive, Behaviourist, Biopsychology and Humanist approaches. For a comparison with the Psychodynamic theory, Behaviourist Theory will be discussed. Psychodynamic theory is referred to in psychological literature more than any other. This is the stereotypical psychology – looking into your past, discovering hidden desires, rummaging through the unconscious. It is the most radical of the five theories, and by far the most criticised – accused of being sexist, seeing the human population as ill, and considering sex and hostility as the only motivation for human actions. However, this theory has proven to be one of the most influential forces in the twentieth century. Sigmund Freud believed that humans are driven from birth by two innate instincts Eros the life instinct – the self-preserving and erotic instinct and Thanatos the death instinct – the self destructive, aggression and cruelty instinct. These are controlled by a free floating sexual energy, the libido and is seen to be the single most important motivating force in adult life, driven from birth to enhance bodily pleasure. There is a lot more to the mind than meets the eye, much like an iceberg – only the very tip is showing. He is the one who came up with the concept of one's unconscious – the part of the mind where desires and memories are stored, unrecognised, only hinted at through dreams or slips of the tongue or the ‘Freudian slip’ as it is more widely known. Rallying between the conscious and unconscious are the id, ego, and superego – separate and conflicting forces, requiring a balance for mental health and normal behaviour. The id is a person's animal force, their need to satisfy basic psychological needs. The superego is the ‘ideal' force, the civilised, competent figure the person strives to be. The ego sort of regulates the two, keeping the id satisfied while staying within the guidelines of the superego. The strength of each individual force is a factor in personality – if a person's superego is too strong, they are seen as rigid and guilty. If a person's id is too strong, they are seen as delinquent and antisocial (Boeree, 2000). The psychodynamic theory also established the idea that what happens in a person's childhood is one of the most important factors in personality development, especially traumatic experiences. The theory states that children who go through such things repress their memories, and this is the cause of adulthood mental disease. In order to further understand how personalities are shaped during childhood, Freud thought up the psychosexual stages. This shows the development of the id and the establishment of pleasure-sensitive areas known as erogenous zones. This also brings about the idea of fixations. Such things are developed in the Oral stage of a child’s development from birth to eighteen months where the mouth is the source of nourishment and pleasure an example of this is seen in a nursing infant and if deprived of nourishment will fixate their pleasure seeking energies on this stage, the need to constantly stimulate the mouth through smoking, biting and chewing. The next is the Anal stage between eighteen and thirty-six months focus on bladder and bowl elimination and is seen as a source of pleasure when the child is able to control them, this is why toilet training usually happens around this age and if not mastered an adult would be seen to be anal expulsive or anal retentive. Phallic stage between age three and five years where sexual energy is focused on the genitals. Oedipus and Electra complex in which the child unconsciously wishes to posses the parent of the opposite sex and rid themselves of the parent of the same sex. The result of this desire in boys would experience castration anxiety which would drive them to identify with their fathers. If there is no male figure in this stage of a child’s development it is thought that the child will have problems with authority figures later in life as he has never had the chance to conclude this stage. Freud’s explanation for the female development claiming that they would experience penis envy (a realisation they do not have a penis) they would eventually overcome by achieving motherhood and having their own baby. Latency stage from six years through puberty here the child will develop their confidence and mastery of the world around them. He believed that during this stage their experiences and excitations of previous stages are repressed and children develop infantile amnesia being unable to remember much of their earlier years. The Genital stage from twelve years upwards to adulthood is the culmination of the psychosexual development and the fixing of sexual energy in the genitals. This eventually directs humans towards sexual intercourse and the beginnings of the next cycle of life (Breger, 2009). John Watson a theorist who rejected the idea of introspection and every part of the psychodynamic theory, suggested the Behaviourist view is an objective, experimental branch of natural science who are interested in prediction and control of behaviour, most of the early research was carried out on animals before moving onto humans. This is an approach that believes people are born ‘Tabula rasa’ literally meaning ‘blank slate’, that all human behaviour is infinitely plastic and therefore is ultimately explainable in terms of the experiences that an organism goes through rather than any genetic predisposition of characteristics that the organism possesses. The relationship between the environment and the organism is seen as a straight line, in that the organisms act on their environment, which in turn provides rewards and punishments to determine the future probability of a response occurring. Behaviours are acquired or learned in one of two main ways, these are classical conditioning and operant conditioning. Examples of classical conditioning applied to real life are things like, taste aversion, learned emotions, advertising and development of phobias. Use of operant conditioning is referred to as behaviour modification such as in a classroom or therapy settings (Wyman, 2005). Watson suggests that children have three basic emotions, fear, rage and love and attempted to prove that these emotions could be artificially conditioned. The experiment of Little Albert is his most famous and controversial experiment, Watson and a graduate assistant named Rosalie Rayner conditioned a small child to fear a white rat. They accomplished this by repeatedly pairing the white rat with a loud, frightening clanging noise. They were also able to demonstrate that this fear could be generalized to other white, furry objects. The ethics of the experiment are often criticized today, especially because the child's fear was never deconditioned. Another example of classical conditionning is Ian Pavlov ‘Dogs’, in this experiment he noted that dogs would salivate before the delivery of food. In a series of well-known experiments, he presented a variety of stimuli before the presentation of food, eventually finding that, after repeated association, a dog would salivate (response) to the presence of a stimulus (noise) other than food (Bitterman, 2006). The most influential of all behaviourists is B F Skinner he is famous for his research on operant conditioning and negative reinforcement. He developed a device called the ‘cumulative recorder’ which showed rates of responding as a sloped line. Using this device, he found that behaviour did not depend on the preceding stimulus as Watson and Pavlov maintained. Instead, Skinner found that behaviours were dependent upon what happens after the response, therefore, using positive and negative reinforcement responses can be conditioned to a stimulus, those that are rewarded will increase and those that are not will decrease (Rubin, 2003). Not unlike other perspectives Behaviourism has gone through many transformations in the years since is conception by John Watson, one of the recent extensions in this approach has been the development of Social Learning theory. This theory is most relevant to criminology. Bandura suggests that we learn through observation, imitation and modelling of a significant other, people learn through the outcome of those behaviours and later a person will form an idea which serves as a guide for action. A significant other could be someone one aspires to become, not necessarily family, it could be someone famous for instance. If a person sees another being rewarded or punished for a certain behaviour they may or may not copy that behaviour, what is seen as a punishment or reward for one person may not be for another. However, if it is a person they aspire to be children in particular tend to emulate this behaviour either good or bad. Part of this study was the ‘Bobo doll’ experiment, he demonstrated that children learn and imitate behaviours they have observed in other people. The children observed an adult acting violently toward a Bobo doll. When the children were later allowed to play in a room with the Bobo doll, they began to imitate the aggressive actions they had previously observed (Green, 2003). Psychology has changed its face over the many years since Freud first introduced the psychodynamic theory putting forward a different way of trying to understand why people behave the way they do, moving onto the Behaviourist approach which completely refutes Freud’s theory by refusing to accept that people are born with natural innate instincts and that consciousness is the subject matter of psychology, who believe that psychology is about behaviour and activities and that the consciousness is not definable. They leave a huge gaping whole in their theory relating to perception, sensations, memories and imagination. Whereas Freud simply focused on his masculinity and the inferiority of the female population, although he can be forgiven for this as his theory came about in the Victorian era and this theory was a major breakthrough in history and is still one of the biggest thinkers and without whom psychologists and the like would not know as much about ourselves as people do. References Breger, L. (2009). From Instinct to Identity: The Development of Personality. 1st ed. New Jersey: Transaction Publishers. 1-18. Grieve, K. (2006). A student's A-Z of Psychology. 1st ed. California: Juta Academic. Hayes, N. (1993). A first course in Psychology. 12th ed. Cheltenham: Thomas Nelson and Sons Ltd. Bitterman, M. (2006). Classical Conditioning since Pavlov. Review of General Psychology. 10 (4), 365-375. Wyman, R. (2005). Experimental anaylasis of nature-nurture interactions. JEZ. 03A (6), 415-421. Boeree, G. (2000). Freud and Psychoanalysis. Available: http://webspace. ship. edu/cgboer/psychoanalysis. html#Johann_Reil. Last accessed 10 November 2010 Geen, C. (2003). Transmission of aggression through immitation of aggressive models. Available: http://psychclassics. asu. edu/Bandura/bobo. htm. Last accessed 10 Nov 2010. Rubin, J. (2003). From Pavlov to Skinner Box. Available: http://www. juliantrubin. com/bigten/skinnerbox. html. Last accessed 10 November 2010

“On Dumpster Diving” by Lars Eighne Essay

In two particular essays I have read, On Dumpster Diving by Lars Eighner and, A Modest Proposal by Jonathan Swift, I noticed that the authors write about the concern they have for the unfortunate people in their countries. They also provide abnormal means of resolving the issue of poverty. The essay by Lars Eighner describes his experiences with Dumpsters and Dumpster diving. He then specifically informs the readers about how to look for food that is acceptable to eat. The author also tells of the different classifications of people that use Dumpster diving as means of providing food and material items. Next, the essay by Jonathan Swift states a proposal that would have small children and babies being cooked and served to the people of Ireland. The author goes into great detail on the cooking process, uses terms meant for cows (breed and cattle), and provides calculations for determining the number of children that would be expendable. Although the essay was satirical in meaning and aimed at the English government, it displayed a not so modest proposal for a reaction to Irelands problem. The one thing I found in both of the essays was that the reaction to the problem deviated from normality. Both of the essays displayed extreme ways of dealing with being poor and helped to provide a solution that was abstract. In the essay by Lars Eighner he explains that, Dumpster diving is outdoor work, often surprisingly pleasant. Yet in spite of the element of change, scavenging more than most pursuits tends to yield returns in some proportion to the effort and intelligence brought to bear. ThePuckett 2author further writes that he thinks of scavenging as a modern form of self-reliance and states that the work rewards initiative and effort refreshing. Although it was a way of survival for Lars Eighner and a solution to the poverty he was facing, it is definitely not a normal way of life for the general population. I speculate that most people would not find the method of Dumpster diving pleasant, rewarding, or refreshing (unless of course someone found something of actual decent value or use). As I have said, Lars Eighner gives three principles for eating safely from Dumpsters. The author writes, Eating safely from the Dumpsters involves three principles: using the senses and common sense to evaluate the condition of the found materials, knowing the Dumpsters of a given area and checking them regularly, and seeking always to answer the question Why was this discarded?. He writes this as giving instruction to those who might eventually need this skill or to those that feel so inclined to go Dumpster diving anyway. He gives in great detail the things you must look for on different kinds of food. For example the author writes, Canned goods are among the safest of foods to be found in Dumpsters, but are not utterly foolproof. All canned goods should contain a slight vacuum and suck air when punctured. Candy, especially hard candy, is usually safe if it has not drawn ants. Candying after all is one method of food preservation because pathogens do not like very sugary substances. By stating these guidelines, he provides the solution (Dumpster diving) for the problem of being poor and not having any sustenance. Indeed the most abnormal resolution to a countries poverty problem could be found in the essay, A Modest Proposal by Jonathan Swift. The author proposed in this essay that small children of at least a year old would be the earliest that they be cooked and eaten before theyPuckett 3become a burden to the rest of the country. Jonathan Swift writes, a child just dropped from its dam may be supported by her milk for a solar year, with little nourishment; at most not above the value of two shillings, which the mother may certainly get, or the value in scraps, by her lawful occupation of begging; and it is exactly at one year that I propose to provide for them in such a manner as instead of being a charge upon their parents or the parish, or wanting food and raiment for the rest of their lives, they shall on the contrary contribute to the feedingof thousands. The author goes on to say that this proposal would also prevent voluntary abortions due to the expense, rather than the shame. The a uthor further writes about calculating the number of children that are born and live, or die from accident and disease. Jonathan Swift also states how they can use the skin from the children for  gloves and boots and gives cooking instructions. The author wrote Those who are more thrifty (as I must confess the times require) may flay the carcass; the skin which artificially dressed will make admirable gloves for ladies, and summer boots for fine gentleman. The author then writes that it would be better to buy the children live and dress them from the knife as you would do roasting pigs. These statements, although cannibalistic, show how Jonathan Swift satirically proposed this essay toward the people of Ireland and the English government. Trying to understand how Jonathan Swift would view scavenging, without irony, is not that easy. Just from the essay I read it is hard to distinguish how he would actually feel about Dumpster diving. If I had to guess, I would say that he would think that it is a disgrace to the people of his country. I could hear him saying something like, To see our fellow people, digging through rubbish, tearing up our town with their filthy hands, is absurd; it should not have to come to messing up our streets and causing disorder to find sustenance. Although, if thePuckett 4author was talking about the United States in the same context he referred to the American in his essay, he might view scavenging a little differently. Jonathan Swift stated, I have been assured by a very knowing American of my acquaintance in London, that a young healthy child well nursed is at a year old a most delicious, nourishing, and wholesome food whether stewed, roasted, baked, or boiled; and I make no doubt that it will equally serve in a fricassee or a ragout. This statement hints at the cannibalistic and animal nature that he viewed Americans as. Using this statement and my assumption, I would say that he would view scavenging as a disgusting, animalistic way to find food. In conclusion, the two essays I have wrote about express concern for the poverty issues in their country and make a proposal for a solution to that problem. In the essay by Lars Eighner, he provides a realistic approach by Dumpster diving to finding sustenance when he was poor. On the other hand, Jonathan Swifts essay proposes an unrealistic approach to the problem of being poor cooking and eating small children which is not something that could even be considered back then or today. Considering both of these essays, the authors proposed a solution from the influence of the specific  time, country, and government making each reaction different. Sources: Life Studies: An Analytical Reader Seventh EditionAuthor: David Cavitch