Internet Marketing Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Internet Marketing - Case Study Example With the series of eCommerce, which is the buying and selling of products and services via the internet, e-business has broken off into quite a few components, two of which are Business-to-Consumer (B2C) in addition to Business-to-Business (B2B). Furthermore, Business-to-Consumer or B2C commerce refers to the buying and selling of products and services online from the seller to the purchaser. It engages the "consumers shopping for and buying individual and household products. It also needs businesses to use online marketing and products techniques to draw and retain customers as well as to endorse products and services to them (eCommerce Program, 2005)." An instance of a victorious Business-to-Consumer website would be Target.com. Just like the usual brick and mortar store, customers can log onto the site and shop for personal and family items. There are no mediators to go during, the shopper just adds items to his or her shopping cart and when ended, checks out with a credit card or online check. In a Business-to-Consumer environment, mainly functions of the company are handling or are obtainable to the consumer via the internet from sales to purchaser support. One of the advantages to online B2C method is the unlimited ava ilability of the site; as long as you can log in, you are free to browse and purchase. Background of Organization Established in 1982, Futureshop had turn into today Canada's main electronics retailer. Throughout these 20 years, Future Shop has full-grown from a "one store operation" situated in Burnaby, British Columbia, to Canada's main, fastest-growing nationwide retailer of customer electronic products for the digital age with more than 100 stores from coast to shore and still rising. (Their annual sales in year 2001 had surpassed 2 $ billion) Future Shop stores are now a separation of Burnaby-based Best Buy Canada Ltd., which is a wholly-owned supplementary of Best Buy Co. In order to achieve our objective the consulting team first looked at the company background and analyzed Futureshop's current value chain activities and the revenue model being used. An examination of the various methods they use in order to market and promote their website was conducted. This was achieved by looking into aspects of market segmentation, web presence, and specific advertising used at Futureshop's webpage. Our team also studied the legal, ethical and cultural issues pertaining to Futureshop. Now for each of these sections of analysis we performed a SWOT analysis in order to characterize our most important findings. By using our SWOT analysis we were able to propose recommendations which are suggested to improve the business. Service/Product Offering This project investigates the web based business of a well known Canadian based retailer, Futureshop.com. The main objective of the Futureshop e-commerce website is to be at an international level of business and to enhance its marketing capabilities. Our team analyzed the website of Futureshop. This company's presence on the web was established in 1995 and represents a reflection of all goods and services delivered by Futureshop to its customers. Futureshop. By the end of the project we have given our conclusions

Casino gambling in Hong Kong Essay Example for Free

Casino gambling in Hong Kong Essay Recently, there is a storm of controversy over the latest scheme regarding the legalization of casino gambling. Advocates of the proposal reckon that such policy is a hope for the unemployed whereas contenders fear the growth of gambling business will have negative influence to our next generation’s values. Before we have our decision made, let us make an in-depth analysis into both advantages and disadvantages of the issue. As presumed, the rise of gambling industry is bound to produce job opportunities. To maintain the operation of a casino, it requires any amount of human resources such as a manager to take care of the administration, a security guard to ensure the situation of casino is under control. Most importantly, casinos provide the jobless with a wide variety of low-skilled work. Unlike college graduates, it is not that easy for lowly-educated job seekers to find a permanent job in such a knowledgeable society. Those who lack education is always the majority of unemployment and thus, if these people receive a stable job from the development of casino, a drop of the unemployment rate is about to emerge. As a result, the quality of life within the unemployed is likely to have improvement. Secondly, with more and more casinos set up in Hong Kong, our tourist industry will be benefited either. People regardless of their age, are fond of diverse lucky games, ranging from poker games to Mark Six and that’s why local people or travelers from the globe would respond to our gambling industry if created. Just like Macau, we can all see how Macau’s economy benefits from the well-developed gambling industry. Furthermore, there are not many cities constructed with casino, therefore if Hong Kong has this rare entertainment, we will stay ahead of our neighboring cities and the competitive edge will be preserved. After analyzing the possible good of the proposal, we should now move on to the opposite side discussing the hazard. Having been nagged about the harm of gambling, we are all clear of what excessive gambling could basically lead to. Just as some official advertisements claimed, once people begin to gamble, there is a big chance that they would get addicted unconsciously. As teenagers at such impressionable age are believed not self-disciplined enough, it is most feared compulsive gambling would be severest among vulnerable youngsters. In fact, not only will teens be involved, but also adults who tend to bet on their luck. As soon as casinos are readily available, people will treat gambling as a daily hobby and participate in gambling every now and then. What matters most is that such addiction of gamble could lead to an increase of crime rate. If gamblers had exhausted all their assets to gamble, they would probably resort to crimes like robbery, blackmail so as to gain more money to pay debts and pursue in gambling again. With these problems’ occurrence, the status quo of Hong Kong will be adversely affected. In addition to the impulse on the stability of Hong Kong, the competitiveness will deteriorate as well. Given that obsession of gambling can turns people into corruptible gamblers, the labor force of Hong Kong will be weakening due to a numerous of new gamblers used to have decent pursuit instead of gambling all the day. Consequently, with these lazybones draining our resources everyday and doing nothing to make contribution to our society, Hong Kong will no longer be a prosperous city. After reviewing both sides of views towards the issue, which one do you find more convincing? Personally, I reckon that the idea to legalize casino gambling should be abandoned. Even though it may contributes to our economy, it is as insensible to implement the suggestion as to promote gambling and put our prosperity at risk. In other words, it’s not worthwhile to trade our citizens’ mind for financial reward. Besides, there is no emergency to rush our economy development and that’s why, it’s not necessary to allow such hazardous business to get into our city. Hence, the proposal should not be approved, at least not for now.

Phosphonium Vermiculites Dispertion: Polymethylmethacrylate

Phosphonium Vermiculites Dispertion: Polymethylmethacrylate Ultraphonic in situ polymerization improves the dispersion of phosphonium vermiculites in polymethylmethacrylate with excellent mechanical property Bin Zhang1, Dingfeng Xu1, Shaozao Tan1,*, Langhuan Huang1, Xiang Cai2, Ting Wu2,*Abstract In order to improve the dispersion of phosphonium vermiculites (OVMT) in polymethylmethacrylate (PMMA), the ultraphonic in situ polymerization method was introduced, and a series of OVMT-PMMA (PBTP) nanocomposites were successfully prepared. The results indicated that the assistance of ultraphonic could increase the interfacial interactions between OVMT and PMMA, thus the particles of OVMT dispersed better in the PMMA matrix with a highly exfoliated structure. In addition, the obtained PBTP nanocomposites showed better mechanical properties than those prepared without ultraphonic, suggesting the great potential of ultraphonic in situ polymerization in the synthesis of polymer/clay nanocomposites. Keywords: phosphonium vermiculite; polymethylmethacrylate; ultraphonic; in situ polymerization; dispersion 1. Introduction In the past decades, polymer/clay nanocomposites have attracted much attention of chemists [1-3], because the additions of these layered silicates exhibited significant improvements in mechanical and thermal properties of polymers with very low amount of loading [4,5]. Until now, three main methods have been considered for the synthesis of polymer/clay composites: melt blending, solvent exfoliation and in situ polymerization [6]. Compared with other methods,in situ polymerization is more efà ¯Ã‚ ¬Ã‚ cient and environmentally friendly [7]. Nevertheless, the dispersed efficiency of clay in polymer matrix is unsatisfactory, leading to limited improvements in the properties of polymers. Thus, it is necessary to modify the surfaces of pristine clays and introduce other synthesis methods, which can overcome the shortcomings [8]. In this paper, we reported a highly effective synthesis method of phosphonium vermiculites/polymethylmethacrylate (PBTP) nanocomposites by ultraphonic in situ po lymerization. Then, the excellent dispersion of the phosphonium vermiculites (OVMT) in polymethylmethacrylate (PMMA) was displayed, and the resulting effects on the properties of PBPT nanocomposites were also demonstrated. 2. Experimental sections 2.1 Materials Benzyltriphenylphosphonium (BTP) of C.R. grade was supplied by Qingte Chemical Industry Co., Ltd. Vermiculite (VMT) with cation-exchanger capacity of 135 mmol/100 g was purchased from Hebei Lingshou Micro-mineral Co. Ltc. Polymethylmethacrylate (PMMA) and 2,2-azobis isobutyronitrile (AIBN) were supplied from Sinopharm Chemical Reagent Co. Ltd. 2.2 Preparation of OVMT 60 g VMT was dispersed in 300 ml deionized water, to which 120 mmol BTP was slowly added. Then the mixture was stirred vigorously at 80  ºC for 10 h. The resulting product was washed with deionized water for three times. After dried at 80  ºC under vacuum and gathered with 300 mesh sieve, the OVMT were obtained. 2.3 Synthesis of PBTP nanocomposites 1 wt.%, 3 wt.% and 5 wt.% OVMT were respectively dispersed in methyl methacrylate with 0.2 wt.% of AIBN. After stirred at 25  °C for 0.5 h, the suspension was polymerized in a water bath at 80  °C for 2 h with the help of ultraphonic. Then, the suspension was followed with post polymerization at 35  °C for 20 h and at 105  °C for at least 2 h orderly to get PBTP nanocomposites. The resulting PBTP nanocomposites were designated as PBTP-S1, PBTP-S2 and PBTP-S3, respectively. For comparison, the PBTP nanocomposites prepared without ultraphonic were designated as PBTP-1, PBTP-2 and PBTP-3, respectively. 2.4. Characterizations Fourier transform infrared spectra (FTIR) were measured with the Perkin-Elmer-Spectrum GX-Spectrophotometer. X-Ray Diffraction (XRD) patterns were recorded on a Rigaku D/Max 1200 X-ray Diffractometer (40 kV, 40 mA, Cu KÃŽ ±,) with a scan speed of 2 º /min. The microstructures were investigated by transmission electron microscope (TEM, Philips Tecnai 10, Nederland). Mechanical properties were conducted following ASTM D638M-91a with a Universal Testing Machine (LLOYD LR100K). 3. Results and discussion In the FTIR spectrum of VMT (Figure 1a), the broad band near 3620 cm-1 was due to -OH stretching mode of interlayer water, while the absorption peak in the region of 1662 cm-1 was attributed to -OH bending mode of adsorbed water. The bands at 1030 and 460 cm-1 were attributed to stretching vibration and bending vibration of Si-O, respectively. In the FTIR spectrsum of OVMT (Figure 1b), compared with that of VMT (Figure 1a), two new peaks at 2925 and 2854 cm-1 appeared, which were ascribed to the asymmetric and symmetric vibration of methylene groups (CH2)n in the aliphatic chain [9]. Therefore, the existence of BTP in OVMT was proved, and the OVMT was successfully prepared. Figure 1. FTIR spectra of (a) VMT and (b) OVMT. In Figure 2a and 2b, the (001) planes of VMT and OVMT were observed at 2ÃŽ ¸ = 7.44 º and 2ÃŽ ¸ = 5.87 º, corresponding to the d-spacings of 1.19 nm and 1.50 nm, respectively, which indicated that the galleries of the silicate layers in VMT had been expanded for about 0.31 nm by the intercalation of BTP. Thus, successful preparation of OVMT was proved again [10]. XRD patterns of PBTPs were shown in Figure 2c-h. It was found that the diffraction peak intensities of PBTPs prepared with ultraphonic in situ polymerization were less than those of PBTPs prepared without ultraphonic in situ polymerization, indicating lower degree of crystallinity. To our surprise, the PBTP-S1 even did not exhibit any diffraction peak, indicating the extensive layer separation associated with the altitudinal delamination of OVMT silicate layers in the PMMA matrix, which resulted in the total exfoliation of the clays [3,5]. So, these results showed the PBTPs prepared with ultraphonic in situ polymerizatio n had better dispersion of OVMT in PMMA than those prepared without ultraphonic in situ polymerization. In addition, the 2ÃŽ ¸ value increased in the PBTPs matrix with the increase of OVMT content, indicating the increase of OVMT content would lead to a bad compatibility of OVMT with the PMMA matrix. Figure 2. X-Ray diffraction patterns of (a) VMT, (b) OVMT, (c) PBTP-S1, (d) PBTP-1, (e) PBTP-S2, (f) PBTP-2, (g) PBTP-S3 and (h) PBTP-3. To further understand the layer structures of OVMT in the nanocomposites, TEM was performed. In Figure 3, the PBTPs prepared with ultraphonic in situ polymerization were homogeneously and randomly dispersed in the PMMA matrix, and it was observed from time to time that some small intercalated stacks with a thickness of a few tenths of nanometers were remained, which was ascribed to the largely expanded d-spacing of OVMT caused by the chains of the exchanged ions and the presences of the methacrylic groups, improving the compatibility between OVMT and PMMA matrix [1,2]. However, the PBTPs prepared without ultraphonic in situ polymerization appeared to be more aggregated in the PMMA matrix. These results also demonstrated PBTPs prepared with ultraphonic in situ polymerization had better dispersion of OVMT in PMMA than those prepared without ultraphonic in situ polymerization. Figure 3. TEM images of (a) PBTP-S1, (b) PBTP-S2, (c) PBTP-S3, (d) PBTP-1, (e) PBTP-2 and (f) PBTP-3. Table 1. Mechanical properties of PMMA and PBTPs. Then, the mechanical properties of samples were tested (Table 1). Compared with those of the pure PMMA, the modulus and the elongation of the PBTPs were increased with the increasing of the clays, whatever they were prepared with or without ultraphonic in situ polymerization. The tensile strengths of PBTPs prepared with ultraphonic in situ polymerization showed obvious improvement, and when the additions of OVMT were 1 wt% and 3 wt%, they increased about 10.7 % and 16.1 %, respectively. The enhancements were mainly attributed to the homogeneous dispersion and strong interfacial interactions of OVMT in the polymer matrix, and high exfoliation of the silicate layers in the PMMA matrix, which provided high resistance against the plastic deformation. However, the tensile strengths were decreased with the increasing of the clays when PBTPs were prepared without ultraphonic in situ polymerization, which indicated clays gathered and had poor dispersion in polymer matrix. 4. Conclusion In summary, the OVMT was prepared and characterized by the FTIR spectra and XRD patterns, and the results showed that the BTP were intercalated into VMT, and the OVMT was successfully prepared. The XRD patterns and TEM images indicated that the PBTPs prepared with ultraphonic in situ polymerization had an extensive layer separation associated with the altitudinal delamination of OVMT silicate layers in the PMMA matrix, resulting in the high level of exfoliation of the clays. So, the PBTPs prepared with ultraphonic in situ polymerization had better dispersion of OVMT in PMMA than those prepared without ultraphonic in situ polymerization, leading to better mechanical properties. Acknowledgements The authors acknowledge financial support from the National Natural Science Foundation of China (51172099, 51203134, 21476052 and 21271087), the Foundation of Enterprise-University- Research Institute Cooperation from Guangdong Province and the Ministry of Education of China (2013B090600148), and The Science and Technology Innovation Platform Project of Foshan City (2014AG100171). References [1] Liqiang, C. Naresh, H. T. and Seong, I. W., â€Å"Effects of Modified Clay on the Morphology and Properties of PMMA/Clay Nanocomposites Synthesized byin SituPolymerization†, Macromolecules, 41/12 (2008), 4268-4274. [2] Yoon, K. K. Yeong, S. C. Ki, H. W. and In, J. C., â€Å"Synthesis of Exfoliated PS/Na−MMT Nanocomposites via Emulsion Polymerization†, Chem. Mater, 14/12 (2002), 4990-4995. [3] Hazarika, A. Devi, R. R. and Maji, T. K., â€Å"Removal of methylene blue from aqueous solutions by poly(2-acrylamido-2-methylpropane sulfonic acid-co-itaconic acid) hydrogels†, Polym. Bull, 68/7 (2012), 1889-1903. [4] Xaoan, F. and Syed, Q., â€Å"Synthesis of polystyrene–clay nanocomposites†, Mater. Letters, 42/1 (2000), 12-15. [5] Wang, W. S. Liang, C. K. Chen, Y. C. Su, Y. L and Chen, Y. Y. W., â€Å"Transparent and flame retardant PMMA/clay nanocomposites prepared with dual modified organoclay†, Polym. Adv. Technol, 23/3 (2012), 625-631. [6] Tong, Z. H. and Deng, Y. L., â€Å"Synthesis of Water-Based Polystyrene-Nanoclay Composite Suspension via Miniemulsion PolymerizationInd†, Eng. Chem. Res, 45/8 (2006), 2641-2645. [7] Zhao, Q. and Edward, T. S., â€Å"In Situ Polymerization of Poly(methyl methacrylate)/Clay Nano -composites in Supercritical Carbon Dioxide†, Macromolecules, 38/19 (2005), 7967-7971. [8] Yoshito, A. Jeong, J. M. and Takeshi, E., â€Å"Design of Nanocomposites by Vapor-Phase Assisted Surface Polymerization†, Macromolecules, 42/3 (2009), 768-772. [9] Cai, X. Tan, S. Z. Lin, M. S. and Liu, Y. L., â€Å"ynergistic antibacterial brilliant blue/reduced graphene oxide/quaternary phosphonium salt composite with excellent water-solubility and specific-targeting capability†, Langmuir, 27/12 (2011), 7828-7835. [10] Zeng, X. S. Cai, D. M. Lin, Z. D. Tan, S. Z. and Xu, Y. B., â€Å"Morphology, Thermal and Mechanical Properties of Phosphonium Vermiculite Filled Poly(ethylene terephthalate) Composites†, J. Appl. Polym. Sci, 126/2 (2012), 601-607. 1/9

William Wordsworth and Robert Frost - Views on nature. Essay -- Englis

William Wordsworth and Robert Frost - Views on nature. To many people Nature is something of little thought, but when we take time to "stand back" and acknowledge it we can actually see its beauty. Until now a meadow or a tree in a forest to me, was little more than something of everyday life. Now having come to realise the power and force it has upon mans emotions and actions, I realised the thoughts of other people when studying the work of William Wordsworth and Robert Frost. Both poets see Nature in different ways although there are some aspects of the subject which are clearly the same. This view is such a vast subject which is an always changing thing. From the changing seasons to the day- to- day weather Nature never ceases to amaze. For both poets Nature brings the same thing, yet in very different ways. For Robert Frost, the simple scene of a wood (forest) filling slowly up with snow. As for Wordsworth the scene is very much a more vibrant picture as he describes the daffodils in their 'sprightly dance'. To you or me, to see these things is just something that happens and we don't notice it. In today's society such events are not even acknowledged, and there fore people don't normally take the time to experience the occasion. We realise that both Wordsworth and Frost where alone as Wordsworth states 'I wandered lonely' and Frost states-: 'Whose woods these are I think I know. His house is in the village though;' Both quotes indicate a sense of loneliness and isolation. Frost looks very deep into Nature as does Wordsworth. Frost sees an escape from life, and Wordsworth sees an escape from feeling down and 'pensive'. For Wordsworth his encounter with Nature gives him a constant thought ... ...nd company' we see a sense of communion here. The use of onomatopoeia makes both poems more homely. 'Fluttering' the delicate movement of the flower. 'Gazed' long sound to emphasise his movement. 'Glance' a swift sound to indicate a quick look. 'Sprightly' energetic and lively sounding. 'Bliss' relaxing sounding. In 'stopping by woods' Frost uses the word 'sweep' to give the soft feeling of how the snow drifts through the trees. 'Downy' indicates again how the flakes slowly drifted down. The word 'down' could refer to the movement of duck down as it falls to the ground. The phrase 'sounds the sweep' make me think of how the wind whispered through the trees carrying the snow. 'sounds the sweep' is also a perfect example of assonance and soft alliteration. There are a few more points I would like to add to this essay after the first draft has been marked.

Attitudes about Witchcraft

Demonic glares, cackling laughs, pointy hats, curling claw-like fingernails, warts perched on their noses, pale sickly skin that contrasts to their black or deep purple clothing: this is the typical description of what most witches are perceived as today. Witchcraft officially began in England In the mid sass's. Christianity was the dominant religion at this time In England. To be a witch, one had to sign a pact with the devil, often to worship him, which was heresy and meant damnation.As society came more literate, increasing numbers of books and tracts fueled the witch fears. The Mallets Molecular, written by Kramer and Springer, was one of the most Influential books used by secular witch-hunting courts. Thousands of people (primarily women) were Judicially murdered as a result of the procedures described In this book, for no reason than a strange birthmark, cultivation of medicinal herbs, or simply because they were falsely accused (often for financial gain by the accuser).The Mal lets Maleficent serves as a horrible warning about what happens when intolerance takes over a society. During the Reformation, from 1500 to 1660, Europe saw between 50,000 and 80,000 suspected witches executed, 80% of those killed were women. One of these women was Isabel Goodie, who admitted to transmuting herself into a hare and confessed involvement with the Devil for 15 years. In the sass's, witch-hunting, after a major outbreak in France, began to decrease.England executed its last witch in 1682 and the world was changing along with new ideals brought about by the Enlightenment. It wasn't until the 19th century that people Egan to see witches as healers. In Year of Wonders, the outbreak of deaths is blamed on a widow, Me Goodie, and her niece, Nays Goodie, who are the village's herbalists and midwives. To test Me Goodie for being a witch, they throw her into a flooded mine shaft.Once she drowns, they immediately begin to repent and call themselves murderers. Her niece is summon ed from the village, and being more practical and skilled in medicine understands the situation, and immediately tries to revive her. After three breaths, Me awakens, and Nays, having raised the dead, is ragged away and asked to confess to her consort with the devil, and in attempting to distract the mob, she confesses and accuses the questioners of having themselves cuckolded by the devil.Her ploy causes great confusion and furthers their hysteria, but does not work ? she is lynched moments before Rector Employing appears. Today, witches are viewed as both good and bad, one prime example being the Wizard of Oz (the wicked witch of the west and the good witch of the north), but they have left a significant mark on history and this period will be remembered wrought the ages. Attitudes about Witchcraft By federally Witchcraft officially began in England in the mid sass's.Christianity was the dominant religion at this time in England. To be a witch, one had to sign a pact with The Mall ets Maleficent, written by Kramer and Springer, was one of the most influential books used by secular witch-hunting courts. Thousands of people in this book, for no reason than a strange birthmark, cultivation of medicinal herbs, or but does not work ? she is lynched moments before Rector Implosion appears.

Persuasive Essays Are Pointless

Persuasive Essays Are Pointless The definition of "persuade" in Webster's New College Dictionary is: To induce one to believe or do something; to argue into an opinion or procedure; to plead with, urge. I have always thought that someone who let his own opinion be changed by someone else is a person who lacks a strong will. I understand that some people have a certain talent for convincing other people, but I personally would not change my mind about a subject unless I was unsure about that subject in the first place.I became aware of one personal trait when writing this paper that is I do not really care about much. I have no intention of letting other people know about the few things that I do care about either. I found it pointless to try to write a persuasive essay about a subject for which I do not care. The only thing I could think to try to convince people to do was to refuse to write a persuasive essay ever again.Deutsch: Titelblatt des dritten Bandes der Essais ...I faced a kind of moral paradox with this , though. If I wrote a persuasive essay telling people not to write persuasive essays, what kind of example would I be? I was convinced that I was not going to do this paper, but in a showing of my own lack of will, I was bribed into writing this essay. (I find myself getting bribed into doing a lot of schoolwork these days.) I realize that teachers would be angry about this somewhat counterproductive essay, but nevertheless students should refuse to write persuasive essays unless their own will convinces them to do so.People of my age do not really have many reasons to complain. Most persuasive essays written by adolescents are fluff in the eyes of...