Male Control the Social World Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Recurrent Airway Obstruction in Horse: Case Study Report

Intermittent Airway Obstruction in Horse: Case Study Report A 12-year-old Thoroughbred gelding was analyzed for a hack while being penned over the winter. There was restricted accessible turnout so the pony remained corralled on shavings in a steady stable. The pony was taken care of dry feed. There was no past history of hacking. The clinical assessment was unremarkable. The proprietor depicted a discontinuous dry hack happening very still and exercise. Right now the proprietor was encouraged to acquaint ecological changes with lessen dust presentation. The pony was moved to a stable away from the feed store and began on splashed roughage. A provocative blood profile was taken which uncovered no variations from the norm. In spite of execution of natural changes the hack endured. The pony was reconsidered two months after the fact at the facility. On this event the pony gave a two-sided mucopurulent nasal release and steady hack. The pony was tachypneic (25 breaths for every moment) with expanded stomach exertion; the rest of the clinical assessment was unremarkable. A re-breathing assessment was performed to help auscultation of strange lung sounds; there were no extrinsic sounds and the trachea was ordinary on auscultation. Issue list Discontinuous hack at practice and very still Mucopurulent nasal release Intermittent scenes Tachypneic Differential Diagnosis List Intermittent aviation route hindrance (RAO) Fiery aviation route infection Viral disease Bronchopneumonia Aspiratory neoplasia Lungworm The signalment and history close by the clinical indications of hacking, nasal release, worked respiratory exertion and exercise prejudice without pyrexia, proposed RAO. An endoscopic assessment of the upper and lower aviation routes to evaluate tracheal discharges and to get a liquid example for a tracheal wash was performed. Endoscopy uncovered irritation of the pharyngeal break, mellow lymphoid hyperplasia, erythema of the trachea and a thickened carina. The tracheal wash (TW) test was mucoid. The cytology report from the TW showed constant aggravation and irritation anyway the cell populaces couldn't demonstrate a particular fundamental etiology. Neutrophillic aggravation was not a solid component; anyway low-moderate degrees of macrophages and Curschman spirals were available, the two of which can be related with RAO. Bacterial culture yielded an inadequate development of Enterobacter spp and Pasteurella spp touchy to trimethoprim sulphonamides; treatment for a potential bacterial tracheitis was started close by a mucolytic for the bodily fluid present in the aviation route. Dembrexine hydrochloride (Sputolosin, Boerhinger Ingleheim) (0.3mg/kg q12h PO) and trimethoprim sulfadiazine (Trimediazine Plain, Vetquinol) (30mg/kg q12h PO) were managed for 10days followed by reconsideration. A Broncho alveolar lavage (BAL) was exhorted so as to decide the nearness of lower aviation route aggravation explicitly; anyway the pony was improving and the customer declined as of now. Improvement was seen at first anyway after 5months after beginning introduction the hack and nasal release continued. The clinical assessment was again unremarkable. A thick muco-purulent TW test was gotten which uncovered stamped neutrophilic irritation >95% of the nucleated cells and a negative bacterial culture. These outcomes were reliable with RAO and thus treatment for RAO was started. Breathed in salbutamol (400ug q12h) followed 5minutes later by beclomethasone (3000ug q12h) for 6weeks. This was regulated utilizing a MDI and an AeroHippus, Equine Aerosol Chamber (Trundell Medical). A choice was made to play out a BAL 6weeks later to survey reaction to treatment. On reevaluation the nasal release had stopped with a remaining hack just at work out. The BAL test as of now uncovered A lingering hack endured regardless of being on constant treatment. Subsequently a Flexineb nebuliser was trialed. Dexamethasone was utilized as the breathed in operator; 0.5ml sterile water with 0.5ml dexamethasone (Dexadresson, Intervet) when day by day for about fourteen days and afterward every other day for about fourteen days. Conversation RAO is a typical sickness of more seasoned as a rule corralled ponies. Hotchkiss et al, 2007 detailed an expected illness commonness of 14% in the UK (Hotchkiss et al, 2007). The history, signalment and clinical signs introduced for this situation upheld a determination of RAO (Leclere et al, 2011). The clinical signs in all probability speak to extreme touchiness/misrepresented reaction to breathed in master provocative operators, for example, roughage dust, molds, spores, scavenge bugs, endotoxins and inorganic parts which cause critical distal aviation route irritation in helpless ponies (Robinson and Chairperson, 2001). The general significance of these allergens in the aetiopathogenesis of RAO is hard to decide; it’s likely all contribute through an added substance and additionally synergistic component (Pirie et al, 2003). Endoscopic assessment uncovered overabundance bodily fluid because of neutrophilic irritation and a blunted carina because of oedema and rebuilding (Koblinger et al, 2011). Changes inside the aviation route result from bodily fluid metaplasia, smooth muscle hypertrophy and fibrosis. Bronchospasm of the aviation route nearby bodily fluid and neutrophil aggregation prompts hindrance (Robinson et al, 2000). The underlying treatment with a mucolytic, dembrexine hydrochloride (Sputolosin, Boerhinger Ingleheim) at first gave improvement in clinical signs by dividing the sputum fiber organize so decreasing bodily fluid viscoelasticity (Matthews, Hackett and Lawton, 1988). The proprietor was hesitant to play out a BAL at first because of the expanded worry to the pony. The underlying TW cytology couldn’t affirm a determination regardless of the nearness of Curschmann’s spirals which can demonstrate RAO (Reed and Bayly, 1998). In spite of the fact that it’s essential to decipher culture brings about light of cytology and clinical signs, giving less consideration to inadequate blended developments of microbes, the way of life results were utilized to coordinate introductory treatment for a potential bacterial tracheitis (McGorum, 2007). For this situation where the clinical signs and signalment upheld RAO a BAL nearby the TW would have given an increasingly dependable conclusion. A BAL is progressively illustrative of the lower aviation routes as it permits explanation of the cell reaction to lung injury (Derksen et al, 1989). Macrophages and lymphocytes are the transcendent cell populaces in BAL in typical ponies while RAO is portra yed by a non-septic incendiary response, >25% neutrophils of the all out nucleated cell check (Robinson, 2001). The executives of this sickness includes three standards; ecological control to decrease allergens, corticosteroids to lessen aggravation and bronchodilators to mitigate respiratory misery (Durham, 2001). It very well may be hard to convince proprietors that natural changes are as significant as clinical treatment. By and large clinical abatement can be accomplished by moving ponies to either field or an indoor low-airborne residue condition (Vandenput et al, 1998). Green field is the best choice to lessen clinical signs and ponies ought to remain outside consistently with an advantageous pelleted diet; this was not practicable for this situation (Jackson et al, 2000). The restricted accessible turnout during winter made administration hazardous. Bedding on elastic tangling related to cardboard and destroyed paper gives the most reduced residue levels to a penned horse (Tanner et al, 1998). In many ponies with RAO the principle wellspring of residue is from feed and bedding; for this situation the pony had initially been penned adjoining the roughage animal dwellingplace. Dousing roughage lessens the residue challenge anyway not adequately to determine indications of RAO (Clements and Pirie, 2007). Treatment is based around a mix of bronchodilators and corticosteroids. Bronchodilators mean to mitigate respiratory pain related with bronchospasm. Clenbuterol a B2 adrenergic agonist is most normally controlled orally to impact (Erichsen et al, 1994). Notwithstanding its bronchodilator impact, clenbuterol has likewise been appeared to have a calming impact (Lann et al, 2006). The viability of breathed in B2 adrenergic agonists has likewise been perceived, instigating a fast, critical bronchodilation in ponies showing RAO (Bertin et al, 2011). Because of the viability found with breathed in operators in human patients, this course was explored in ponies. By utilizing bronchodilators preceding organization of corticosteroids a more profound infiltration of breathed in medication can be accomplished (Rush et al, 1998). The horse’s manner for this situation made him appropriate for breathed in drugs and he endured treatment well. The benefit of breathed in corticosteroids is that a higher convergence of medication can be directed locally to the aviation routes prompting a fast beginning of activity, lessening the portion required and the ensuing symptoms related with corticosteroids (Duvvier et al, 1997). In serious cases foundational steroids are utilized at first to improve lung work as breathed in steroids require great pneumonic circulation to be compelling (Ammann et al, 2008). MDI are not authorized for ponies and along these lines they were utilized with due thought of the course and the proprietors educated assent for the utilization regarding off-name drugs as indicated by Section 4.17 of the Supporting Guidance to the RCVS Code of Professional Conduct (RCVS, 2014). They are generally productive and compelling when utilized with a ‘spacer’ which coordinates stream of the medication through a single direction valve which opens on motivation. The AeroHippus EAC, (Trundell Medical) is intended to be utilized with a MDI. The nearness of the Flow-Vuâ ® pointer empowers proprietors to tally the quantity of breaths the pony has taken through the chamber and guarantees a palatable seal, the two of which help the right and ideal conveyance of the medication to the lungs (Trundell Medical International, 2015). Nebulisers can likewise be utilized to disseminate vaporized prescription. Nebulis

The Most Innovative FinTech Business Models

The Most Innovative FinTech Business Models © Shutterstock.com | Rawpixel.comThis article contains information on FinTech models that help businesses innovate and improve. It includes the 1) introduction, 2) most innovative FinTech models, and the 3) role of major financial institutions in the evolution of FinTech business models.INTRODUCTIONThe term FinTech is the combination of two words; finance and technology. FinTech refers to the application of technology in the world of finance. Since the advent of FinTech, the finance industry has undergone a radical change. FinTech has affected almost all aspects of financial industry including retail banking, investment banking, hedge funds etc.The application of technology is no more limited to the daily operations of the finance industry. Rather, technology has been readily used by the finance industry to reach out to their customers more effectively. It has enabled them to operate round the clock. FinTech is a very vast model and has unlimited potential of innovation. It is due t o the arrival of FinTech that mobile banking took hold in the contemporary world. Customers can easily perform their financial transactions through their mobile phones. The access that the common man has to the finance industry has been greatly facilitated by FinTech.The FinTech industry has an immense potential for innovation. There are unlimited ways through which technology can intermingle with finance in order to offer a completely novel service. Although there are numerous business models of FinTech, some of the most innovative ones are discussed in detail below.MOST INNOVATIVE FINTECH BUSINESS MODELSBitcoinVarious attempts have been made to make virtual currency. However, they often face crucial impediments and consequently have to be abandoned. Bitcoin turned out to be one of the most innovative and secure crypto currency or virtual currency. Due to its highly secured network, Bitcoins are widely accepted as virtual currency and can even be bought in exchange for real currenc y.Bitcoin is a software that enables an online payment system. Bitcoins serve as the currency in these online transactions. The owner of Bitcoins has a private key, which indicates the ownership of Bitcoins. Moreover, Bitcoin has no central authority that possesses or regulates all the currency, and that is what makes it unique and secure. The transactions are conducted through peer-to-peer technology. Anyone can join Bitcoin and can indulge in online transactions. In addition, the payment of fees is voluntary; it is paid when the processing of the transaction has to be expedited.Although Bitcoin got massive recognition, governments of various countries are skeptical in declaring it as a complete substitute for their real currencies. China, for example, does not openly encourage the exchange of bitcoin for its Yuan and has a heavily regulated process. United States of America, on the other hand, is a lot friendlier towards Bitcoin. Despite all the concerns related to Bitcoin, it has enormous potential to become a major part of the online payment system. Many renowned companies like Microsoft are contemplating the possibility of investing in virtual currencies. Apple has already come up with a few applications in this regard, such as, Apple Pay. Google’s Google Wallet is another hallmark in this field. Tag CashTag Cash has a very innovative FinTech business model. Tag Cash has greatly reduced the hassles of paying and receiving money online. In order to transfer money through a typical banking channel, SWIFT codes and IBAN are used to process the transaction. SWIFT codes and IBAN are the banking identities of individuals. Without these numbers, the transfer of money between banking accounts cannot take place.Tag Cash developed a unique business model through which the financial transactions can take place via email, Facebook or phone within the social circle of a person. By using phone contacts, Facebook contacts or email addresses, Tag Cash connects the bank accounts of senders and recipients and processes the transactions accordingly. A person can conveniently transfer money to friends by Tag Cash without exchanging exhaustive numerical details about the bank accounts. In simple terms, transfer takes place by names not by numbers. Because of the sensitive nature of the business of Tag Cash, it provides bank level security to online transactions and all the financial information is closely guarded.OradianOradian is a software provider that is catering to the needs of microfinance institutions. Microfinance institutions provide financial services to local individuals or businesses that find difficulty in finding financial services through traditional banking channels. The clients of microfinance institutions belong to low income groups and therefore, microfinance institutions provide specialized services. Oradian develops core systems pertaining to microfinance. Their system helps the microfinance institutions to manage their clients mo re efficiently. Furthermore, Oradian provides softwares that facilitate the day-to-day operations of the microfinance institutions. The areas in which the Oradian system can help a microfinance institution are:Deposit trackingSecurityLoan Portfolio ManagementAdministrationAccountingFinTech’s Oradian business model relies primarily on creating a niche in the microfinance industry. As the income inequality in the world is rising to exceptional levels, the world needs to encourage small businesses. The development of microfinance institutions plays a crucial role in this regard. The developing countries are strongly encouraging microfinance institutions. By dispersing credit to small businesses, the economy revives incredibly. With this unique FinTech business model, Oradian is targeting a market that has huge potential for growth. Oradian is making the microfinance institutions high tech, which will greatly enhance their productivity. SatagoSatago completely automates the accounts r eceivables department of an organization. By being registered, Satago connects to the accounting system of the business and manages the accounts receivables accordingly. Satago keeps track of accounts receivables and enables to place reminders on debtors from whom payment is due. Furthermore, it can also track down the inventory. Satago is able to address every aspect of accounts receivables and that is what makes it a smart choice.By connecting to the accounting software, Satago gets the access to the sales ledger. From there it is able to track payments, place reminders and even post the payment demand letters to clients from whom payment is due. Satago goes an extra mile by analyzing the payment frequency of clients. It then classifies the clients accordingly in order to update the business owners about the payment habits of their customers. Due to Satago, businesses do not have to invest hefty resources in managing their accounts receivables; Satago does the whole work incredibl y. Simple TaxSimple Tax is software that makes the tax filing process easier. The software is currently serving the Canadian market. It automatically updates to the most recent regulations in the tax system. Furthermore, online support for new rules and regulations concerning taxation is also readily available. In addition, the interface of simple tax is very user friendly, which makes the tax filing process efficient.People always find tax filing systems cumbersome. They often do not have access to the most up to date information regarding tax filings and are also scared that they will end up in filing wrong tax records. Simple tax is an innovative product. By identifying the problems that people face in filing taxes, the software addresses these concerns and that is what makes it extremely practical.TransferwiseTransferwise is a very innovative yet very simple FinTech business model. Transferwise enables people to transfer money internationally at substantially lower costs. Throug h normal credit card, people transfer their money to Transferwise in their respective local currencies. Transferwise converts it into the foreign currency of where the money has to be transferred. It transfers the money and informs the people through email. The most innovative part of the business model of Transferwise is that it does not actually transfer the money through international borders. Rather, it has clients all over the world, and it matches their transfers with other people transferring money in the opposite direction. By matching these opposite transfers, Trasferwise does international money transfers through mere local transfers. Therefore, it costs around 90% less than the local banking channels. HolviHolvi is yet another innovative FinTech business model. The company belongs to Finland; however it is licensed to work in all the European countries. Holvi is providing all the important finance related services to a business at one stop. It allows people to sell their products as well. The people can perform the entire transaction of buying and selling products at Holvi, without the need of an intermediary. It further facilitates its users to manage all their finances. It has high security. Holvi is a great place for small business owners like bloggers, personal trainers, part-time gardeners, consultants etc. For entrepreneurs in Europe, Holvi is a one-stop shop where they can sell their products as well as manage their finances. TRDATAAccess to financial information is very crucial for the investors. TRDATA provides timely data related to market. It enables investors to carry out the investments online. TRDATA has tools in that help to facilitate negotiations and to strike deals among investors. Moreover, it is very secure. TRDATA is generating revenue primarily through providing access to most up to date financial information. It entails information related to bonds, foreign exchange rates, commodities etc. It is ideal for use by the managers r elated to portfolio, risk, traders and strategic management.ROLE OF MAJOR FINANCIAL INSTITUTIONS IN THE EVOLUTION OF FINTECH BUSINESS MODELSFinTech industry is very dynamic in nature and has been subject to constant innovation. FinTech industry was able to take the world by storm because it gives the opportunity to small-scale tech savvy entrepreneurs to provide innovative financial services to the masses. The advent of information technology and globalization has greatly facilitated the growth of FinTech. Innovative FinTech business models were able to become a success because they could reach out to a humungous global market. However, the growth in FinTech industry has not spurred up only because of small-scale entrepreneurs; the role of major financial industries cannot be neglected in this regard.Innovation always comes up with a risk of failure. The entrepreneurs work at small-scale in the FinTech industry. They have the capacity to bear the risk of failure in a better way as c ompared to the major financial institutions. Financial institutions work entirely on public trust. They are highly regulated by the financial authorities in order to add up to their reliability. These financial institutions are answerable to the public for all their operations and therefore, they have to closely guard their investment choices. Moreover, since the global financial crisis of 2007-2008, each move of the financial institutions is subject to high scrutiny. Probably, that is the reason why financial institutions are very particular about their investments in the FinTech industry. They cannot afford the luxury of frequently failing on FinTech ventures. While, on the other hand, entrepreneurs in the FinTech industry have the benefit of venturing into diverse fields because they can afford to take the risks involved in innovation. There are primarily two reasons for it:FinTech entrepreneurs do not have a huge reputation to protect. In case of a failing investment venture, Fi nTech entrepreneurs can always come back with some other project. Like major financial institutions, they are not put to strict scrutinyThe investment in FinTech projects is considerably lower at the initial stages of the project. Therefore, if the project failed, they will be answerable only to the financers of the project and not to the entire public.Owing to these reasons, the FinTech entrepreneurs can go wild in their FinTech projects, which often results in innovative FinTech services.Despite all these benefits to the entrepreneurs of the FinTech industry, they cannot work in isolation for long. As the entrepreneurs are serving the same market, which other financial institutions serve, they will not be able to bear the cutthroat competition for long. Furthermore, the financial institutions have been in the finance industry for a long time. They are simply not ready to lose their customers. In order to stay in the market, they have the sufficient resources to go extra lengths to beat the competitions. When the financial institutions see online payment systems taking toll on their customers, they take the lead and introduce online banking. In order to stay abreast in the competition, financial institutions are collaborating with FinTech projects that have a promising future. The entrepreneurs find this partnership advantageous because it provides access to huge resources of financial institutions in terms of their finance and their customers. Due to access to these resources, FinTech entrepreneurs find it profitable to team up with other financial institutions. Thus, large financial institutions play a crucial role in the success of innovative FinTech business models. The potential of innovation is immense in the FinTech industry. There are innumerable ways through which technology can innovatively blend with the financial sector. The business models of FinTech industry are helping tremendously towards technological inclusion. Through innovative FinTech bus iness models like that of Holvi and Transferwise, financial services are able to serve the masses at considerably lower costs. FinTech is constantly challenging old systems of the financial industry and is even enabling the traditional financial institutions to become a part of FinTech. The innovation in FinTech is not only facilitating large businesses, but are also tremendously helping small businesses as well. It is true that innovations brought by the FinTech industry can hardly go unnoticed.

Reality Television A Psychological Case Study Of Social...

Survivor, created in 1992, is British television producer Charlie Parsons’ contribution to a reality television show that feeds the voyeuristic hunger of viewers. Reality television offers a psychological case study in social and human behaviour in their most vulnerable state. The genre exploits the privacy of contestants and often showcase human traits of deception, manipulation, trickery, betrayal and justification. In fact, reality television allows ordinary individuals to gaze at others much like Big Brother. The supposedly reality television program is one of the greatest social experiments. Survivor is a combination of many different strategies and theories. The structure of the game closely resembles a prisoners’ dilemma with opportunities to cooperate or defect with alliances. Contestants are isolated and through a process of progressive elimination, tribe members vote members of until one final contestant remains and wins the title of â€Å"Sole Survivor†. It is a complex game of trust, deception and skill with the ultimate goal to be the last person standing. Survivor is not an unrealistic reality television show that manipulates the values of a true hero and oversteps the social boundaries of privacy. It is clear that George Orwell’s novel, Nineteen eighty-four has a disturbing link of sadism and lust for power, like Survivor, and therefore must be banned immediately. Firstly, can shows like Survivor justifiably be called reality television? Survivor isShow MoreRelatedViolence in The Media: Societys Regression to a Barbaric State1221 Words   |  5 PagesViolence in The Media: Societies Regression to a Barbaric State Violent behavior is something that is innate to the human brain. It has been an instinct of humans since the beginning of our creation or our evolution from a primal state in order to primarily survive and maintain our supremacy atop the hierarchy of all living organisms. We are naturally violent creatures, and this natural tendency for us to exhibit violent behavior isn’t helped by the extreme lack of shelter from and glorification ofRead MoreMass Media And Its Effect On Children1668 Words   |  7 Pages One of the biggest change in social environments today is the advance and increase usage of mass media. The mass media parent the children of today. Consequently, radio, video games, television, movies, videos, phones, and social networks play a significant role in their upbringing. For, they assist in influencing a child’s values, beliefs, and behaviors. Children rather unconsciously heed and imitate the images exhibited, for example, in television, they learn the appropriate way to comport andRead MoreThe Realities of Reality Television: A Media Psychological Approach4609 Words   |  18 Pagesï » ¿ The Realities of Reality Television: A Media Psychological Approach Abstract Though the scope of this particular research paper limits itself to media psychology and reality-based programming, the scope of the field of research in general is vast. Media psychology becomes increasingly practical and necessary to effectively and precisely navigate the 21st century information age. 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The first billion internet users were reached in 2005, the second in 2010 and the third just recently in 2014Read MoreExposure Of Pornographic Material And An Increase Male Aggression1967 Words   |  8 Pagesand the affect it has on male aggression and sexual violence towards women. This paper excludes child pornography and snuff (recorded murder) pornography. It may not be overtly apparent to society what pornography can teach people about gender behavior and attitude towards women but the risks are significant. Though some actions are based in nature, the development of aggression in males who watch pornography is a trait born from experience. In order to understand the effects of pornography on

Accounting - 671 Words

Landline Should Go For Net Revenue The accounting issue at hand in this case is revenue. Landline is offering call routing services for PRU and the former entity has to make some receipts from the services rendered. To put the issue at hand in context, revenue is generally the income received by any company from selling goods or services. In abroad sense, revenue is the income received by any commercial institution for the goods sold or services rendered. It is basically the incoming receipts generated from the services offered or goods sold. It is the core parameter of consideration in the event of evaluating the company’s health. There are two classifications of revenue and the situation in which Landline is requires serious†¦show more content†¦Landline is essentially being outsourced by PRU for routing the calls of the latter yet PRU does not mention it in its marketing campaigns or any other strategic communications of the business. This leaves Landline as a fully-fledged contractor of the outsour ced variety. From the relationship between the two companies where Landline submits 80% of revenue to PRU, it is clear that landline gives out commissions to PRU yet it does all the logistics of the daily running of the phone routing service. This puts Landline in a critical situation where the taxman comes calling and the customers who use primarily Landline’s infrastructure are not even aware o0f the existence of such a company. It would be wise for Landline to consider net revenues in the relationship it has with PRU. This way, landline will be able to determine the feasibility of the engagement in terms of profitability and viability much faster than if it went for gross revenue. Gross revenue would be false indictor of the financial position of Landline because 80% of the gross revenue belongs to PRU yet Landline does all the logistics of hiring and paying statutory bills. The journal entries that re important here are the number of seconds per call, the applicable statu ary tax per on each call, the hardware and software resource requirements necessary to facilitate the call every second or minute, and the human resource cost applicable to makingShow MoreRelatedAccounting1024 Words   |  5 PagesQuestion 1:   * Proficient-level:   * There are several important functions performed in an organization, among which accounting is one of them. Define the accounting function and discuss how it differs from double-entry bookkeeping. 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Activity-based management utilizes information developed u sing activity-based costing (ABC) to accurately determine product costs.Read MoreAccounting Practices And The Field Of Accounting1393 Words   |  6 PagesIntroduction to the authoritative resources in the field of Accounting In the era of technological advances, access to information of any subject is abundant. With this vast array of information to tap into, the credibility of the material presented becomes questionable. But throughout history, there are sources of material that have been highly regarded. These sources include Scholarly peer reviewed journals, Trade publications, and information presented by respected institutions or organizations

Coca Cola and Innocent an Innocent Partnership Free Essays

This paper, alma to discuss and discover what brought Peeps- Co organization Interest upon a company that In appearance Is at their antipode. Coca-Cola and Innocent: what interest? It is public knowledge that the beverage giant Pepsi- co had their shares of scandals and marketing mishaps as already discussed during our week 2 assignment. A market segment whew re the organization is lacking presence and weight is the healthy segment and the image of â€Å"Innocence† is absent from the corporation brand. We will write a custom essay sample on Coca Cola and Innocent: an Innocent Partnership? or any similar topic only for you Order Now The Innocent company Brand image Is strong, co marred to competitor In salary market segments, due to the name strength which Implies In m y opinion, strong ethics, transparency and stakeholders respect. Coca cola, In perennial competition with Pepsi- co. Tries to gain market advantage, further eroded after the Pepsi â€Å"agreement to distribute Tamping Plus fruit- flavored beverage† (Beverage Industry, 2010). The acquisition of Interests in a Company such as Innocent (The Guardian, 200 Beverage Industry, 2010) could prove an interesting market entry for the soft drinks giant as we shall not forget Coca- Cola failed attempt to enter the European healthy drinks market. Since then the â€Å"company has tried to Improve its UK Image. How to cite Coca Cola and Innocent: an Innocent Partnership?, Papers

Military and Food Service free essay sample

Being a member of the United States Army is a job that must be done correctly by the men and woman who chose to answer the call of duty. These regulations must be followed by all personnel enlisted or officer. These regulations also must be followed by all branches of the army whether you are national guard, reserve, or active. These regulations are also very important even when you are still in training. If they are not followed it can greatly affect your life. It can also affect your privileges while in training. It can also have an effect on gaining rank and getting awards. Also if you are in the army you have sworn to live by the army values. If you do not follow army regulations you are also going against the army values. All army regulations must be followed or there will be consequences. Not following army regulations while in the army can have a great effect on your life. We will write a custom essay sample on Military and Food Service or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page It can get you in trouble not only with civilian law, but it can also get you in trouble with military law. For example if you are in the military and Why it is important to Obey Military Rules and Regulation Military discipline and effectiveness is built on the foundation of obedience to orders. Recruits are taught to obey, immediately and without question, orders from their superiors, right from day-one of boot camp. Which is why we work so well by following orders from the more experienced leaders who have been doing this for years. We have plenty of obedience in Charlie company and I feel it is one of the best units I have been in. It has made me want to persue a carreer in the military and I no rules and regulations is what is going to make me move up the ranks and make me a all around better soldier. I no I need to work on discapile sometimes and am doing corrective training right now to make me become a better sodier. So in my essay I have listed many chararistics which in the history and present day made what the army is today. I feel the army values have a big role in rules and regulations because if you follow the values you will not stray off in being disobedient. Its very important to follow directions, or else the world would be in chaos. When some tells you that you must follow directions so that everything can go in an orderly fashion, its important do because they know whats going to happen if you dont. Its important to follow directions because if you. Enlisted soldiers in CMF 92 who hold food service MOSs wear the food service utility uniform on duty, when prescribed by the commander. The food service utility uniforms are not authorized for travel or for wear off military installations, except in transit between an individuals quarters and duty station. The commander may authorize food service personnel to wear these uniforms off post when providing support for activities in the civilian community, such as parades or ceremonies. See para 2-6c  for other exceptions to this policy. ) These uniforms are worn only in garrison and are not authorized for wear in the field. The male food service utility uniform comprises the following items: Smock, mens, medical assistants (see para 8-2b(1)). Trousers, mens, medical assistants (see para 8-2b(3)). The garrison food service supervisor uniform comprises the following items. Shirt, white dress. Commercial, short-sleeved shirt with a left c hest pocket and a front button closure (local procurement according to CTA 50-900). Trousers, mens, food service, black. Commercial straight-legged trousers with two front slash pockets, two back patch pockets, and a front zipper closure with belt loops (local procurement according to CTA 50-900). Accessories. The following accessories are normally worn with the food service utility uniforms. Belt, web, with open-faced black buckle (food service uniform), and belt, web, with brass buckle (food service supervisor) (para 27-2) The food service uniform is worn with the smock tucked into the trousers. The commander may authorize exceptions to the prescribed wear of the smock for health and safety reasons. The black belt with black open-faced buckle is worn with this uniform. The food handlers apron and food handlers caps are worn only within the immediate vicinity of the dining facility. No insignia is worn on the food handlers cap. The food service supervisor may wear the white shirt, black trousers, black oxford shoes, and the beret, when authorized by the commander.

Designer Babies essays

Designer Babies essays The term Designer Baby is not a scientific term, it is a term created by the media to describe conception techniques other than traditional. The techniques used give parents more control over what their babies will be like. These techniques have been available due to advances in these three fields: Advanced Reproductive Technology: Since the first test tube baby was created more than twenty years ago, there have been hundreds of thousands of babies created using in vitro fertilization (IVF). Other advanced reproductive technologies include egg and sperm banks, frozen embryos and surrogate motherhood. Cell and Chromosome Manipulation: During the previous ten years there have been huge advances in our knowledge of our cell structure. Our ability to transplant DNA has led to major developments in cloning. Our research into stem cells has made cures to life threatening disease within arms reach. If we can learn more about early cell development, then we can gain more control over a babys development. Genetics and Genomics: We are just beginning to understand how DNA affects humans during development. Being able to find one small genetic defect in a genome has been liked to trying to find a certain person whilst looking at a map of the universe. However, even if we make one small change in our genetic structure, it could have huge consequences. Research is heading towards the ability to disregard some parts of our DNA or replace certain sections of it. Kantian View With Kantian ethics, an action has to be performed out of a sense of duty, not for personal gain or pleasure. According to Kantian people, this is the only motive for a moral action. This means emotion (not even feeling sorry for someone) plays a part in deciding what a moral action is. Kantians would not agree with IVF technology or the designer baby idea because there is no dut ...

Translating English -ing Words to Spanish

Translating English -ing Words to Spanish If youre translating an English -ing word into Spanish, youll find it helpful to first figure out which part of speech it is. You may think of -ing words as verbs. But they can also  be a noun, adjectives, or adverbs. If you can tell which part of speech an -ing word is, youre well on your way to translating it to Spanish. With that principle in mind, here are some of the most common ways of translating -ing words: -Ing Words as Verbs If an -ing word is functioning as a verb, it is probably being used in a progressive tense. Sentences such as I am studying and She was working are examples of using a progressive tense. In Spanish, progressive tenses are formed in much the same way as in English, by using a form of estar (to be) followed a gerund (the verb form ending in -ando or -endo). Keep in mind, however, that the progressive tenses are used more in English than in Spanish, so it may be more appropriate to use a simple tense instead. See how the following English sentences can be translated using either progressive or simple tenses: She is studying today. Est estudiando hoy. Estudia hoy.I wasnt driving a car downtown yesterday. Yo no estaba manejando un carro en el centro ayer. Yo no manejaba un carro en el centro ayer.We will be dining in your honor. Estaremos comiendo en su honor. Vamos a comer en su honor. Comeremos en su honor. -Ing Words as Nouns It is very common to translate -ing sentence subjects using the Spanish infinitive (the verb form ending in -ar, -er or -ir). However, sometimes there is a separate noun, not a word that is also a verb form, that can be used as well or instead. Sometimes, especially when the -ing word is the object of a verb, the sentence may need to be recast for translation. Seeing is believing. Ver es creer.Buying on the Internet is a simple process. Es un proceso simple el comprar por Internet.Crying doesnt do any good. Llorar no sirve de nada.Swimming is the most complete sport. La natacià ³n es el deporte ms completo. El nadar es el deporte mas completo.The meeting in London ended without an agreement. La reunià ³n acaba sin acuerdos.Theyre fatter because of eating cheap food. Son ms gordos por comer alimentos baratos.I am thinking about attending a university in the United States. Pienso asistir a una universidad en Estados Unidos.I prefer your living here. Prefiero que vivas aquà ­. -Ing Words as Adjectives When an English -ing word functions as an adjective, it can sometimes be translated as an adjectival present participle, a form ending in -ante or -ente. But where none exists, which is usually the case, some other adjective or clause must be used. It may be necessary to recast the sentence for direct translation. Soul is another way of saying person or living being. Alma es otra manera de decir persona o ser viviente.I cant hear the snoring man. No puedo oà ­r el hombre que ronca.The drink can have a calming influence. La bebida puede proporcionar una influencia calmante.I dont have her forwarding address. No tengo su nueva direccià ³n para reenvà ­o de correo.She is a very loving person. Es una persona muy carià ±osa. Es una persona que ama mucho.There are many people wanting to earn more money. Hay mucha gente que quiera ganar ms dinero. -Ing Words As Adverbs The Spanish gerund can be used as an adverb much the same way it can be in English. The princess went away singing because she felt happy. La princesa se fue cantando porque se sentà ­a feliz.He studied, thinking about her. Él estudiaba pensando en ella. Imported Terms Although their practice is criticized by purists, many Spanish speakers have adopted a few English s include jogging, marketing and camping. Note, however, that these words often change in meaning once they are adopted into the language. Camping, for example, can be synonymous with the English noun, but it also can mean a campground or campsite. Marketing is an economic activity that pursues strategies for optimizing sales. El marketing es una actividad econà ³mica que busca estrategias para optimizar las ventas.Jogging can be done anywhere. El footing se puede realizar en cualquier lugar.

Corporate Leadership Strategy Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Corporate Leadership Strategy - Assignment Example Corporate strategy refers to the general scope and direction that a corporation takes as well as the manner in which a number of its business operations work together in order to achieve set goals. The commonest perception regarding the essence of corporate strategy is that it involves the improvement of the operating unit’s competitive strategies. Achieving corporate strategy requires an effective leader as well as efficient leadership skills. This is since; long-term business performance originates from leadership culture along with continuous and careful leadership development at all the levels. This paper looks at Google Company in terms of its CEO, his achievements, the leadership model that he uses along with his delivery innovation skills. In addition, it will also document the lessons that other leaders can learn from Google’s CEO before carrying out concluding remarks.The current CEO of Google Inc is Sunder Pichai, who is also a computer engineer. Born in Chenn ai India 1972, he attained an MBA from University of Pennsylvania in 2002. Prior to joining Google in 2004 as a product manager, Pichai worked as a consultant at McKinsey. While at Google, he assisted in the development of Chrome operating system for laptops which has been a huge success with a 45% reported worldwide market. In addition, Pichai managed some of Google’s essential aspects such as Google Drive, Gmail and Google Map. In 2008, he became the product development’s Vice President and by 2012; he had become Chrome and Apps’ senior vice president.

How is Cannery Row like a tidepool Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words - 3

How is Cannery Row like a tidepool - Essay Example The waves dislodge mussels and drive them to the ocean. The starfish prey on mussels whereas gulls break open the sea urchins and feed on the starfish. The black bears also sometimes feed on the intertidal creatures when the tides are low. However, as much as the organisms must avoid the strong currents, wave, sun and predators to survive, they also rely on the constant changes in the pools for food. The creatures that thrive in the tide pool cannot survive on their own. There is some kind of interdependence among the various organisms, where each relies on the other for survival according to Halpern (23). This way of life in the tide pools have attracted special attention of philosophical writers such as John Steinbeck, marine biologists and naturalists. In his novel Cannery Row, John Steinbeck relates life culture, values and class of the people in the town of Cannery to the structures of the tidal pools. Cannery Row is a story about a group of poor friends (Mack and his friends) who try to raise money to buy beer and throw their friend (Doc) a second party after the first one went out of control and ruined his lab. The story is set in the later hours of the day when the Cannery had closed and all the workers had gone and only the inhabitants of the street were left. Just as within the tidal pools, when the tides and the waves move back, the tidal pools are filled with life and the remnants are left behind. The life structures in the tide pools directly relate to the social structures of the Cannery Row. The mussels and limpets occupy the lowest status at the bottom of the pool whereas the starfish that prey on them and the eels that hide in crevices occupy a status above them. Hermit crabs who are always on the look out for empty shells that might be bigger than the ones they have also occupy the bottom of the sea. However, this structure is often silenced when the tides come back in but begin all over again when the tides

Ex †Basketball Player Essay -- Literary Analysis, John Updike

In the poem, â€Å"Ex – Basketball Player† by john Updike, (which is a narrative poem) illustrates the nature of life on how life is potentially is seen has a mirror to other people’s life, especially people who play sports. Life is the physical and mental experience of an individual. An in the poem the main character Flick, supply the poem with a good example of how life is potentially a mirror for other people. This poem is formally organized, even though it locks some qualities, it still haves the qualifications of a good poem. The â€Å"Ex Basket Player† is an interested poem because it has a good theme, tone and lots of figurative languages. The theme of this poem is about a high school basketball star that has become less successful in the future. The theme focuses on the point that if one doesn’t work hard on their goals, they will never reach their dreams. Also, if you do not reach your goals you can end up living a disappointing life. In the poem, the theme evidently shows that Flick is not necessarily despondent, but out-of-place which carries throughout the poem. The poem stated that, â€Å"the ball loved Flick (16)† and â€Å"he was the best (14),† and this allows everyone to see that it is not just Flick who looks upon his past with a sort of admiration and pride. It is everyone in the city, and he is the local hero. The boy who didn’t exactly make it big, but he made it big enough that he’s remembered. In the poem the main character Flick is a mirror or allusion for people who was successful in sports, in the past and become a loser in the future. For example Flick was once a high-school basketball star, but now his glorious past is behind him. The ideal image of his character presents a vivid image of most people in that plat sports ... ...rpose. The tone of this poem was very neutral by not saying that the life Flick was living is good or bad. With the author not putting his opinion into the poem, it can be interpreted in many ways. The tone also brings life in to the poem and helps to understand Flick’s personality more. But even though the tone was neutral by not stating whether or not the life Flick was living is good or bad, it still Bissasor 4 enable us to understand the moral of the poem. Which is work hard and you will receive you goals and never give up. To conclude, the poem â€Å"Ex-Basketball play,† is a poem that shows the reality of life. It reflects the nature of life in the real world and it helps people who have a dream and want to pursue their goals to go for it. The poem was formally organized and provides a number of figurative languages that helps to bring out tone of the poem.

Applying Servqual to Web Sites: an Exploratory Study

International Journal of Quality & Reliability Management Emerald Article: Applying SERVQUAL to Web sites: an exploratory study Jos van Iwaarden, Ton van der Wiele, Leslie Ball, Robert Millen Article information: To cite this document: Jos van Iwaarden, Ton van der Wiele, Leslie Ball, Robert Millen, (2003),†Applying SERVQUAL to Web sites: an exploratory study†, International Journal of Quality & Reliability Management, Vol. 20 Iss: 8 pp. 919 – 935 Permanent link to this document: http://dx. doi. org/10. 1108/02656710310493634 Downloaded on: 27-01-2013References: This document contains references to 26 other documents Citations: This document has been cited by 25 other documents To copy this document: [email  protected] com This document has been downloaded 2679 times since 2005. * Users who downloaded this Article also downloaded: * Jos van Iwaarden, Ton van der Wiele, Leslie Ball, Robert Millen, (2003),†Applying SERVQUAL to Web sites: an exploratory studyà ¢â‚¬ , International Journal of Quality & Reliability Management, Vol. 20 Iss: 8 pp. 919 – 935 http://dx. doi. org/10. 108/02656710310493634 Jos van Iwaarden, Ton van der Wiele, Leslie Ball, Robert Millen, (2003),†Applying SERVQUAL to Web sites: an exploratory study†, International Journal of Quality & Reliability Management, Vol. 20 Iss: 8 pp. 919 – 935 http://dx. doi. org/10. 1108/02656710310493634 Jos van Iwaarden, Ton van der Wiele, Leslie Ball, Robert Millen, (2003),†Applying SERVQUAL to Web sites: an exploratory study†, International Journal of Quality & Reliability Management, Vol. 20 Iss: 8 pp. 919 – 935 http://dx. doi. org/10. 1108/02656710310493634Access to this document was granted through an Emerald subscription provided by UCSI EDUCATION SDN BHD For Authors: If you would like to write for this, or any other Emerald publication, then please use our Emerald for Authors service. Information about how to choose which publication to write for and submission guidelines are available for all. Please visit www. emeraldinsight. com/authors for more information. About Emerald www. emeraldinsight. com With over forty years' experience, Emerald Group Publishing is a leading independent publisher of global research with impact in business, society, public policy and education.In total, Emerald publishes over 275 journals and more than 130 book series, as well as an extensive range of online products and services. Emerald is both COUNTER 3 and TRANSFER compliant. The organization is a partner of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) and also works with Portico and the LOCKSS initiative for digital archive preservation. *Related content and download information correct at time of download. The Emerald Research Register for this journal is available at http://www. emeraldinsight. com/researchregister The current issue and full text archive of this journal is available at http://www. emeraldinsight. om/0265-671X. htm NEW RESEARCH Applying SERVQUAL to Web sites: an exploratory study Applying SERVQUAL 919 Jos van Iwaarden and Ton van der Wiele Erasmus University Rotterdam, Rotterdam, The Netherlands, and Leslie Ball and Robert Millen Received August 2002 Revised December 2002 Accepted December 2002 Northeastern University, Boston, Massachusetts, USA Keywords Worldwide Web, SERVQUAL, Electronic commerce Abstract In an effort to identify the quality factors perceived to be most important in relation to the use of Web sites, a survey was undertaken. The questionnaire utilized was based on the SERVQUAL instrument that identi? s ? ve quality dimensions in service environments. The results indicate that the quality dimensions found applicable in the service sector are also applicable to Web sites. The items that have been identi? ed as most important in relation to the quality of Web sites are tangibles (the appearance of the Web site, navigation, search options, and structure), reliability (the abi lity to judge the trustworthiness of the offered service and the organization performing the service), responsiveness (the willingness to help customers and provide prompt service), assurance (the ability of the Web site to convey trust and con? ence in the organisation behind it with respect to security and privacy), and empathy (the provision of caring, individualized attention to customers, including user recognition and customization). Introduction In the early 1990s three technologies (communications speed, memory capacity, and computer speed) were rapidly growing in terms of capabilities they had for over 20 years. However, their combined S-curve growths suddenly enabled one of the greatest technology revolutions ever seen – the explosion of the Internet.Originally designed as an information conduit, entrepreneurs soon saw the great power of a selling channel that enabled browsing, selecting, and buying without leaving the comfort of the home. Businesses realized that t hey could interact directly with other businesses over the Internet, as well. Additionally, government agencies caught on and began delivering services online, collecting payments for licenses and taxes, providing information, etc. The history of this explosion is well documented as both computer and Internet use have increased substantially in the past few years (US Department of Commerce, 2002).Since 1997 computer use has grown at a rate of 5. 3 percent on an annualized basis. Internet use has grown at a rate of 20 percent per year since 1998, and in the 13 months prior to the September 2001 survey by the US Department of Commerce, over 26 million more Americans went online. The authors are thankful to all anonymous referees for their valuable comments. International Journal of Quality & Reliability Management Vol. 20 No. 8, 2003 pp. 919-935 q MCB UP Limited 0265-671X DOI 10. 1108/02656710310493634 IJQRM 20,8 920While there is a great talk about the â€Å"digital divide†, t he US Department of Commerce reported that 54 percent (or 143 million Americans) have access to the Internet in their homes and that nearly 100 percent of the US population has access through schools and libraries. Thousands of companies were formed to sell goods and services over the Internet during this period creating the â€Å"New Economy†. Subsequently, many of those companies are now gone as witnessed by the huge number of bankruptcies (Baldwin, 2002). Different experts might de? e e-commerce differently, but most agree on one thing: the sector represents a growing piece of the overall commerce pie, and its share is expected to increase steadily – though gradually – over the next ? ve years. Various parties have forecast different results. For example, Forrester reports that online sales in the USA accounted for $51. 3 billion in revenue during 2001, and revenue for 2002 is expected to a total of $72. 1 billion, a 41 percent increase over the previous year (Hirsh, 2002). However, this accounts for only 2 percent of the overall retail spending.It has been predicted that this share will grow by about three-tenths of a percentage point each year through at least 2005, marking a slow but steady climb. As for e-commerce sales, another projection estimates that online revenue will total about $90 billion in 2002, $160-$170 billion in 2004, and $287. 9 billion by 2006 (Hirsh, 2002). The value of the Internet goes beyond adding another selling channel. Researchers at McKinsey and Company report that the retention of customers online is easier than in traditional â€Å"bricks and mortar† companies where the online company spends three to ? ve times less to retain them.Companies that retained customers exhibited traits of reliable basic operational execution. Their sites downloaded quickly; they responded to customer queries quickly; they delivered more than 95 percent of their orders on time; and they made it easy for customers to retu rn or exchange purchases. One company raised its on-time delivery rates from 60 to 90 percent, and cut customer churn in half (Agrawal et al. , 2001). The Internet also can play a pivotal role in enhancing brand relationships and corporate reputations. Nike, Disney, Coke, and Toyota are all well-established brands that drive us to search for and ? d their products. Branding is a critical component of the design of Web sites. It is about building a brand or corporate reputation to create relationships with customers (Chiagouris and Wansley, 2001). â€Å"Branding is rede? ned online,† says Caroline Riby, vice president-media director at Saatchi & Saatchi Rowland. â€Å"We are moving beyond representing a brand to experiencing it† (Chiagouris and Wansley, 2001). The Web site must capture the attention of those people who know nothing or very little about the company, but are interested in its category.It must also build awareness of what the company does within the contex t of the industry in which it is competing. Earlier Web sites were developed by large corporations, which required that they adhere to the corporate logo and color scheme, attach to the corporate databases, and comply with several other corporate requirements. This translated to high cost and signi? cant development time. Others (those created for â€Å"Mom and Pop† operations and early entrepreneurial operations), built over the weekend, did not connect to large databases, and had no standards. While the company was in operation fast, the sites were often unattractive and dif? ult to use. Is it not surprising that the companies that are most successful selling over the Internet are the former and not the later? Certainly, we can ? nd examples of the up-starts that have succeeded, but they have usually adapted to the model of the corporation that requires high standards. Just as in the bricks and mortar world, companies have to offer excellent service on the Web. Web sites wi ll become very important to companies as more products and services will be bought either over the Internet or by making use of the Internet before purchasing in a bricks and mortar store.Therefore, companies need to have Web sites that live up to customers’ expectations. The purpose of our research is to provide empirical evidence on the factors that contribute to the quality of Web sites. Our most important research questions are: . How do customers distinguish a good Web site from a bad one? . What factors determine the quality of a Web site? Customer satisfaction Companies offer quality to satisfy their customers (Dale, 1999). Because a Web site is part of the connection between a company and its customers, it is evident that it should re? ct the quality efforts that are in place throughout the company. Besides this reason there is another reason why a company should provide high quality Web sites to its customers: there is no human contact through Web sites. The interact ion via the Internet between a company and a customer is always through technology. This means the â€Å"moment of truth† between a company and a customer is the Web site. Although companies may try to emulate human behavior with technology, the interaction remains different because some aspects of human interaction cannot be replaced with technology, e. g. ourtesy, friendliness, helpfulness, care, commitment, ?exibility and cleanliness (Cox and Dale, 2001, 2002). The absence of these aspects of human interaction through which quality can be delivered to customers will have to be compensated by better performance on other quality factors or by excellent performance on â€Å"new† speci? c Web quality factors. A key aspect in customer satisfaction is the way a customer can attain satisfaction or dissatisfaction with a company’s service. If a company wants to satisfy its customers the ? rst question it needs to answer is what is it that Applying SERVQUAL 921 IJQRM 20,8 22 satis? es customers and, equally important, what is it that makes customers dissatis? ed with the company and its products and services. Satisfying customers depends on the balance between customers’ expectations and customers’ experiences with the products and services (Zeithaml et al. , 1990). When a company is able to lift a customer’s experience to a level that exceeds that customer’s expectations, then that customer will be satis? ed. Because customers have ever increasing expectations it is necessary for companies continuously to improve their quality and hence customers’ experiences with the company.The issue is what should be improved to keep the customers satis? ed. What customers experience is not just one simple aspect of a company, but a whole range of aspects. Some of these aspects are concerned with the way customers experience the company itself, some are concerned with the way customers experience the physical product and, ? nally, some are concerned with the way customers experience the service the company offers. Comparing customers’ expectations and their perceptions of actual performance can be done by making use of the SERVQUAL scale of Berry, Parasuraman and Zeithaml (Zeithaml et al. 1990). This scale has been developed for the service sector. It has ? ve generic dimensions or factors and are stated as follows: (1) Tangibles. Physical facilities, equipment and appearance of personnel. (2) Reliability. Ability to perform the promised service dependably and accurately. (3) Responsiveness. Willingness to help customers and provide prompt service. (4) Assurance (including competence, courtesy, credibility and security). Knowledge and courtesy of employees and their ability to inspire trust and con? dence. (5) Empathy (including access, communication, understanding the customer).Caring and individualized attention that the ? rm provides its customers. In the SERVQUAL instrument, 22 statements m easure the performance across these ? ve dimensions. For each statement, the expectation and the experience of a customer is determined. There is some criticism on the long-term stability of the results of the SERVQUAL scale (Lam and Woo, 1997) and on the general applicability of the ? ve dimensions (Buttle, 1996; Crosby and LeMay, 1998). Although alternative models have been proposed for the measurement of service quality, e. . SERVPERF (Cronin and Taylor, 1992), the SERVQUAL scale has been widely used by academics and practitioners to measure service quality. Therefore, this model has been used as a point of reference in this paper. SERVQUAL dimensions in relation to e-business Tangibles Examples of the tangibles factor are â€Å"has up-to-date equipment†, â€Å"physical facilities are visually appealing† and â€Å"materials are visually appealing†. These aspects might be even more important in e-business as there is no face-to-face contact between the custome r and an employee.The visual aspects of the equipment (i. e. the Web site) are the only visual contact between a customer and an organization. Therefore, the need to have well functioning and good-looking Web sites is paramount. There are a great number of customers who abandon their shopping carts on the Internet because they get frustrated with the technology, or the design and lay out of the Web site interface (Hager and Elliot, 2001). The visual aspects of Web sites are also judged differently by the people of different age. While young people may be attracted by ? shy graphics, sounds and a high-speed interface, older people do not want blinking texts that are hard to read or animations that distract from the use of the Web site (Houtman, 2002). Although a number of Web sites offer users the opportunity to customise the Web site to their needs, this customization process is mostly aimed at the content of the Web site and not at the graphics, animations and sounds. Reliability S ome of the aspects in the reliability factor have to do with â€Å"doing what is promised† and â€Å"doing it at the promised time†.Although many organizations seem to think that the major reason why customers shop via the Internet is because of the low prices, this does not always need to be the case. Some organizations found out the hard way that there are also a lot of customers shopping via the Internet because of convenience considerations (Riseley and Schehr, 2000). If customers cannot trust an organization to do what they ask, those customers will be dissatis? ed. Priceline, for example, ran into big problems by the end of 2000 because of its focus on the lowest prices. People could buy a plane ticket at a very low price, but because of possible inconvenient ? ing times there was a big risk for customers. This resulted in dissatis? ed customers who were happy to trade off Priceline’s discounts for the convenience of a competitor (Riseley and Schehr, 2000) . Responsiveness One of the aspects in the responsiveness factor is â€Å"gives prompt service†. The amount of time it takes to download a Web page appears to be of great importance to the users of the Internet. Research in 1999 found that fewer than 10 percent of users leave a Web site if page response time is kept below 7 s. However, when it rises above 8 s, 30 percent of users leave.When delays exceed 12 s, a staggering 70 percent of users leave a Web site (Cox and Dale, 2001, 2002). It can be assumed that people expect Web sites to be even more quicker than in 1999 because of the technological advances. Thus, it is very important Applying SERVQUAL 923 IJQRM 20,8 924 for organizations to have a Web site that is quick, but on the other hand users expect Web sites to be visually appealing. As the number and size of animations, pictures and sounds increase to make a Web page more visually appealing, the time it takes to download that Web page will also increase, which is judg ed negatively by users.Hence, there is a trade-off between the looks of a Web site and the speed of that site. Organizations will have to try to ? nd the right balance between good looks and speed. The trade-off between looks and speed is complicated by companies’ demand that their Web sites convey the corporate image (Manning et al. , 1998). The design department of a company wants Web pages to be easily recognisable as belonging to that company. In their view, Web pages have to display company and product logos as well as other graphics that underscore the corporate identity.These graphics add to the overall size of Web pages and thereby increase the download time for Internet users. It is questionable whether users are willing to accept slower pages in return for more logos and graphics that do not improve the functionality of the Web site (although they might improve the visual appeal). Assurance One of the aspects in the assurance factor is â€Å"knowledge to answer que stions†. Customers expect to ? nd everything they want on a Web site. In a bricks and mortar store, people feel comfortable with a limited inventory. On the Internet, people are not satis? ed if they cannot ? nd everything they want.Web shops need to have great depth of inventory and rich and relevant product information (Dayal et al. , 2002). Two other aspects in the assurance factor are â€Å"employees can be trusted† and â€Å"feel safe in your transactions with employees†. First, there is the risk for users to share personal information with an organization they do not know. Research on this topic (Statistical Research Inc. , 2001) shows that at least 50 percent of users are very concerned about: misuse of credit card information given over the Internet; selling or sharing of personal information by Web site owners; and cookies that track customers’ Internet activity.Second, the same research shows that two-thirds of active Web users typically abandon a site that requests personal information and one in ? ve has entered false information to gain access to a Web site. Aspects in the assurance factor that could be very important in e-business are (Daughtrey, 2001): . availability of a formal privacy and con? dentiality policy on a Web site; . secured access to a Web site (that customers are prompted to acknowledge); . general reputation of supplier; . certi? cations or guarantees of assurance; and . reports of experiences of other customers.The ? rst aspect in this list is also acknowledged by the International Organization for Standardisation in Geneva. The Code of Practice for Information Security Management (ISO/IEC 17799:2000) provides a basis for establishing and maintaining the means of handling sensitive data (Daughtrey, 2001). Certi? cations and guarantees of assurance are also important in e-business. More and more organizations are trying to obtain certi? cation by an objective, consensus-based standard, just as they did earlier with quality management standards (Daughtrey, 2001).These organizations are becoming aware of the advantages of such certi? cation in relation to customers’ trust in these organizations. Empathy In the dimension of empathy there are several aspects that are usually not found on a Web site. Because of the fact that there is no human interaction, Web sites normally do not offer personal attention. To achieve this, a number of Web sites have a design that can be personalized by the users of these sites, so people can have their own version of the Web site. This kind of Web site design is aimed at giving users the experience of getting personal attention.The idea is that the more a Web site is tailored to a particular customer’s needs, the more likely that customer will return again and again (The Economist, 2001). The most advanced technologies in this area aim to create a face-to-virtual-face interaction. A friendly looking face of a virtual assistant on your scr een is supposed to make customers feel more comfortable. With the use of arti? cial intelligence, the virtual assistant can suggest products or services that might be of interest to a customer based on previous purchases and on reactions to the questions of the virtual assistant.The latter possibility of asking users of a Web site questions via a virtual assistant will enable companies to tailor their offerings to the wishes of the user to prevent customer dissatisfaction. The only purpose of all these technological gadgets is to add one of the Web’s key missing ingredients: warmth (The Economist, 2001). Other aspects It seems that most of the dimensions and aspects that have been de? ned for general service environments are also important in e-business. Besides the ? ve dimensions as de? ned by Zeithaml et al. (1990), empirical evidence might come up with more speci? c dimensions related to e-business.Some preliminary research has been done in this area (Cox and Dale, 2001, 2002; Fink and Laupase, 2000; Schubert and Dettling, 2001; Wan, 2000), but no de? nitive results have been attained. Hence, more research is needed (Zeithaml, 2002). Research methodology The research was conducted by means of a questionnaire survey. Employment of this approach provides a relatively easy means to study the perceptions and Applying SERVQUAL 925 IJQRM 20,8 926 opinions of a large group of people in a limited time frame and at low costs. The survey was undertaken with the student population at Northeastern University (NEU), Boston, USA.Students were expected to be familiar with e-business and the Internet. Students received an e-mail with a hyperlink to the Web site containing the questionnaire allowing them to respond to the questionnaire electronically and to submit by clicking a button. The purpose of the questionnaire survey was to develop empirical evidence on the quality factors of Web sites that are important to people who are familiar with the Internet and frequ ent Internet users. The survey comprised the following questions: . personal information (gender, age, academic discipline); . respondents’ use of Internet (equipment, frequency of use); . peci? c Web sites that are visited by respondents (a prede? ned list of 20 categories of Web sites); and . aspects of Web quality (a prede? ned list of 50 aspects). The core of the questionnaire consists of the list of aspects of Web quality. For every aspect we ask the respondent to indicate the importance of that aspect and at the same time we ask for their satisfaction with that aspect. The structure of the questions is based on the SERVQUAL scale (Zeithaml et al. , 1990). The aspects have been de? ned according to the categories of the model developed by Cox and Dale (2001, 2002) and are as follows: clarity of purpose; . design; . communication; . reliability; . service and frequently asked questions; . accessibility and speed; . product or service choice; . order con? rmation; . produc t purchase; . user recognition; . extra service; and . frequent buyer incentives. For each of these categories a number of aspects have been de? ned in the questionnaire. The questionnaire has been discussed with experts in the ? eld of quality management and a pilot study has been conducted amongst a small number of students. This lead to an improved questionnaire which has been used for the esearch presented in this paper. Survey results Sample and response rate All students who obtained a university e-mail account at NEU (approximately 6,000) received an e-mail about the study and the questionnaire. Responses were received from 293 students. The response rate for the direct mailings to students was rather low (approximately 5 percent of the number of e-mails sent out), although acceptable for this type of mailing. Applying SERVQUAL 927 Descriptive statistics In Tables I and II, the response sample is described in terms of gender and age, respectively.A comparison of the response sample with the total population at NEU leads to the conclusion that the response group is representative for the total population. The respondents were enrolled across many academic disciplines, and judged by the age of the respondents, most students were at the undergraduate level. Table III shows the respondents’ use of the Internet in terms of the quality of their own equipment. Overall the students are rather satis? ed with their equipment and do not seem to have problems with speed and download time. Table IV summarizes the frequencies of respondents’ Internet visits.They visit the Internet on an average 18 times per week, for about an hour per visit. So, it is clear that students make frequent use of the Internet. Male Female Total 104 188 292 Table I. Number of respondents by gender , 21 years 21-25 years 26-30 years 31-35 years . 35 years Total 192 71 19 4 7 293 Table II. Number of respondents by age PC Connection speed Printing from the Web Downloading from t he Web Notes: On a ? ve-point scale from very dissatis? ed to very satis? ed 3. 83 3. 59 3. 53 3. 57 Table III. Satisfaction of respondents with the equipment they use IJQRM 20,8 928 Table IV. The use of the WebIt is interesting to note the types of Web sites that are used most often by our respondents (Table V). The types of Web sites that are used most often are: search engines, university sites, daily news and entertainment sites. Web sites that are used less frequently are: e-shops and chat rooms. Sites with stock exchange information are not visited very often either. In Table VI (top ten) and Table VII (bottom ten) the importance (expectations) and the satisfaction (experiences) are summarized on prede? ned aspects related to the quality of Web sites. The top ten aspects seem to relate to reliability issues in pure e-commerce.Customers who buy a product on the Internet want Web sites and the organizations behind them to be trustworthy. E-commerce Web sites need to be fast, sim ple and always available. Customers want a clear overview and con? rmation of what they bought and what they have to pay for. Easy to ? nd desired Web site 3. 80 Easy to use Web page links 3. 92 Easy to ? nd relevant information 3. 38 Time spent on one site , 12 min Time on the Web per Internet visit , 60 min Number of Internet visits per week , 19 visits Note: If not indicated otherwise, on a ? ve-point scale from very dif? cult to very easy Mean Table V. Web sites ranked by requency of visits Search engines Daily newspapers Entertainment Universities Electronic libraries Personal Web sites Information portals Games Travel Sports Banking Company information E-shops Book stores Music stores Movie stores Second-hand products Stock exchange information Who is where Chat rooms Note: On a ? ve-point scale from never to once a day or more 4. 64 3. 63 3. 47 3. 38 3. 02 2. 99 2. 92 2. 82 2. 72 2. 62 2. 60 2. 58 2. 57 2. 41 2. 39 2. 27 2. 16 2. 02 1. 84 1. 76 Top ten with highest scores on importance Finding your way on the Web site is easya Access is fasta A complete overview of the order is presented before ? al purchase decisiona Tax and/or other charges are clearly detaileda The registration process is simplea Access to anticipated delivery times is available at all timesa All relevant order con? rmation details sent by e-maila Order cancellation and returns details are con? rmed within three daysa Order-tracking details are available until deliverya There are well programmed search optionsa Importance Satisfaction mean mean Delta S-I 4. 61 4. 60 3. 44 3. 31 2 1. 17 2 1. 29 4. 55 4. 50 4. 50 4. 46 4. 46 3. 75 3. 47 3. 36 3. 18 3. 84 2 0. 80 2 1. 03 2 1. 14 2 1. 28 2 0. 62 4. 43 4. 40 4. 39 3. 24 3. 30 3. 08 1. 19 2 1. 10 2 1. 31 Notes: a Mean values on ? ve-point scales; difference between importance and satisfaction signi? cant at 0. 01 level based on a t-test (two-tailed) Bottom ten with lowest scores on importance Applying SERVQUAL Importance Satisfaction mean mean Searches on related sites are provideda 3. 81 The privacy policy is accessiblea 3. 79 The security policy is accessiblea 3. 76 The Web site contains company detailsa 3. 70 3. 68 Scrolling through pages and text is kept to a minimuma Links are provided to pages on related products and servicesa 3. 67 Web site animations are meaningfula 3. 52A customer platform is provided for exchange of ideas 3. 36 The user is invited into a frequent buyer programa 3. 31 Brand image is important 3. 22 Notes: a Mean values on ? ve-point scales; Difference between importance signi? cant at 0. 01 level based on a t-test (two-tailed) 3. 40 3. 52 3. 51 3. 32 3. 29 929 Table VI. Importance of and satisfaction with aspects of Web quality Delta S-I 2 0. 41 2 0. 27 2 0. 25 2 0. 38 2 0. 39 3. 40 2 0. 27 3. 21 2 0. 31 3. 29 2 0. 07 3. 08 2 0. 23 3. 29 0. 07 and satisfaction The bottom ten aspects seem to relate to extra service (e. g. customization of Web sites) and information (e. g. ecurity policy and c ompany details) that is provided to the customer. Apparently respondents do not ? nd these extras very important in their use of the Internet. Tables VI and VII also show the gaps between experiences and expectations (satisfaction minus importance). It can be concluded that the gap is widest for the aspects that respondents perceive as most important. The aspect with the largest gap is â€Å"access is fast† (satisfaction score 3. 31 and importance score 4. 60). In the top ten aspects there are no aspects with a positive delta, meaning Table VII. Importance of and satisfaction with aspects of Web qualityIJQRM 20,8 930 that for every aspect the experience is less than expected. In the bottom ten aspects there is just one aspect with a (very small) positive delta â€Å"brand image†. Factor analyses (varimax, principal components) on the importance data (KMO value ? 0. 91) and satisfaction data (KMO value ? 0. 93) based on Eigenvalues greater than one indicated 12 factor s olutions. These factors cluster the aspects more or less according to the structure of the questionnaire. Most of these factors also become too speci? c and do not disclose the underlying structure of customers’ perceptions of the quality of Web sites.The Scree plots indicated solutions with fewer factors, possibly around ? ve factors. A comparison of the results of factor analyses with varying numbers of factors led to the conclusion that ? ve-factor solutions ? t the data best. These ? ve-factor solutions were used to ? nd evidence for the existence of the ? ve dimensions according to the SERVQUAL scale (Zeithaml et al. , 1990). The results of these ? ve-factor solutions are summarized in Table VIII. In Table VIII we only include the aspects with factor loadings greater than 0. 5. The aspects are ranked under each factor according to their factor loadings.It can be seen from the table that the two ? ve-factor solutions (importance and satisfaction) come to the same conclusi ons regarding the clustering of the aspects. There are some minor differences in the clustering of the aspects between the two factor solutions; however, these differences are related to the aspects with low factor loadings. It can be concluded that the factor analyses on both the importance of the Web quality aspects and the satisfaction with the Web quality aspects are compatible with the ? ve factors of the SERVQUAL scale. Correlation between Web sites and Web quality factors The importance of any of the ? e factors of the SERVQUAL scale might differ per type of Web site, just like it differs per service sector in the bricks and mortar world. Therefore, a correlation between the ? ve SERVQUAL factors and the different types of Web sites is useful to determine these differences. In order to categorize the fairly large number of different types of Web sites, a factor analysis (varimax, principal components, KMO value ? 0. 83) on the data on the use of Web sites (Table V) is conduct ed. The results of this factor analysis indicate that there are clearly ? ve groups of sites that form the underlying usage pattern.These are: (1) e-shops for books, music, movies, etc. (Cronbach’s alpha ? 0. 75); (2) university and study information (Cronbach’s alpha ? 0. 64); (3) games, entertainment, and sport (Cronbach’s alpha ? 0. 66); (4) company information, stock information, and banks (Cronbach’s alpha ? 0. 69); and (5) general information on daily news, travel, libraries, and search engines (Cronbach’s alpha ? 0. 58). Importance Satisfaction Factor 1 (Reliability) A complete overview of the order is presented before ? nal purchase decision Tax and/or other charges are clearly detailed Different payment options are stated clearlyAll relevant order con? rmation details are sent by e-mail within 24 hours Access to anticipated delivery times is available at all times Terms and conditions of sales are accessible Order-tracking details are avai lable until delivery Order cancellation and returns details are con? rmed within three days Full details of product or service pricing are available The registration process is simple Full product or service characteristics are available Registration process details are retained The Web site offers free shipping and handling within a set of rules Access is fast The user can make a purchase without Web ite registration Factor 1 (Reliability) All relevant order con? rmation details are sent by e-mail within 24 hours A complete overview of the order is presented before ? nal purchase decision Terms and conditions of sales are accessible Order-tracking details are available until delivery Different payment options are stated clearly Tax and/or other charges are clearly detailed Access to anticipated delivery times is available at all times Order cancellation and returns details are con? rmed within three days The home page features options for new and registered users Registration proce ss details are retainedFactor 2 (Tangibles) Finding your way on the Web site is easy Information is found with a minimum of clicks Navigation is consistent and standardized There are well programmed search options Instructions are directly available Opening of new screens is kept to a minimum Applying SERVQUAL Factor 2 (Tangibles) Finding your way on the Web site is easy Information is found with a minimum of clicks Navigation is consistent and standardized The number and type of links are meaningful The purpose is clear Scrolling through pages and text is kept to a minimum Instructions are directly available It is easy to print from the WebFactor 3 (Empathy) Factor 3 (Empathy) Links are provided to pages on related products Links are provided to pages on related products and services and services A customer platform is provided for the On travel sites a ? ight/hotel search is provided exchange of ideas A standard navigation bar, home button and On travel sites the user can customiz e seat and back/forward button are available on every meal preferences and the information is page retained (continued ) 931 Table VIII. Con? rmative factor analysis (? ve-factor solution) IJQRM 20,8 Importance Satisfaction It is easy to print from the WebOn travel sites a ? ight/hotel search is provided Web sites that focus on brand awareness have a store locator The user is invited into a frequent buyer program Factor 4 (Assurance) The security policy is accessible The privacy policy is accessible External validation of trustworthiness is important The Web site contains company details Brand image is important Page availability information is given on entry The user is invited into a frequent buyer program A customer platform is provided for exchange of ideas Factor 4 (Assurance) The privacy policy is accessible The security policy is accessibleThe Web site contains company details External validation of trustworthiness is important 932 Factor 5 (Responsiveness) The frequently ask ed questions and answers contain links that take the user to the relevant page(s) Information is provided to frequently asked questions and answers Queries or complaints are resolved within 24 hours User feedback is sought to measure customer satisfaction An e-mail address for queries and complaints is provided Table VIII. Factor 5 (Responsiveness) User feedback is sought to measure customer satisfaction Queries or complaints are resolved within 24 hoursThe frequently asked questions and answers contain links that take the user to the relevant page(s) Access is fast Opening of new screens is kept to a minimum Graphics and animation do not detract from use Full details of product or service pricing are available Notes: Principal component analysis. Varimax with Kaiser normalization. Rotation converged in nine iterations (importance) and ten iterations (satisfaction). Factor loadings . 0. 5, ranking based on factor loadings from high to low Table IX shows the correlation matrix betwee n the frequency of use of types of Web sites and the importance of the Web quality factors.Some results are as follows: . All ? ve quality dimensions are most strongly correlated with e-shops, indicating that frequent users of e-shops tend to have higher quality expectations. . An increase in the frequency of use of the types of Web sites is in all cases most strongly correlated with either empathy (E-shops), assurance (company sites and search engines) or responsiveness (study related sites, Reliability Coef. Sign E-shops (books, music, movies etc. ) Study-related sites Games and sports sites Company and banking sites Search engines, daily news, travel Tangibles Coef. Sign EmpathyCoef. Sign Assurance Coef. Sign Responsiveness Coef. Sign 0. 220 ** 0. 174 ** 0. 239 ** 0. 232 ** 0. 233 ** 0. 171 ** 0. 167 ** 0. 183 ** 0. 156 ** 0. 202 ** 0. 114 * 0. 124 * 0. 168 ** 0. 112 n. s. 0. 171 ** 0. 144 ** 0. 136 * 0. 151 ** 0. 166 ** 0. 144 ** 0. 122 * 0. 115 * 0. 115 * 0. 123 * 0. 115 * Note s: * Correlation is signi? cant at the 0. 05 level (two-tailed); ** Correlation is signi? cant at the 0. 01 level (two-tailed); n. s. ? no signi? cant correlation . Applying SERVQUAL and games and sports). More frequent users of the Internet tend to ? nd reliability and tangibles less important.All correlation coef? cients are positive, indicating that for all types of Web sites more usage leads to higher importance of all quality dimensions. The experienced user seems to have higher expectations of the quality of Web sites. Conclusion The results of this research can be summarised in the following way. Of a prede? ned list of Web quality aspects these aspects are considered to be the most important: access is fast; ? nding your way on the Web site is easy; a complete overview of the order is presented before ? nal purchase decision; and the registration process is simple. Of the ? e factors that can be found by means of factor analyses (reliability, tangibles, empathy, assurance an d responsiveness) various aspects related to the factors reliability and tangibles are included in the top ten important aspects. Various aspects related to the factors empathy and assurance are included in the bottom ten aspects ranked according to their perceived importance. Both the importance of the Web quality aspects and the satisfaction with the Web quality aspects are compatible with ? ve-factor analyses that support the existence of the ? ve factors of the SERVQUAL scale of Zeithaml et al. (1990).The importance of any of the ? ve factors of the SERVQUAL scale differs per type of Web site, just like it differs per service industry in the bricks and mortar world. So far, it can be concluded that the quality dimensions developed by Zeithaml et al. (1990) for service environments are equally useful in e-business. 933 Table IX. Correlation between the frequency of use of types of Web sites and the importance of the Web quality factors IJQRM 20,8 934 Further analysis of the data is needed. While this research project yields a number of very interesting results, we believe that there are a number of things that should be done to con? m our results as well as to expand our hypotheses. First, with the number of Internet users now over one billion, our sample is relatively small. Therefore, research with larger samples that pose the same or similar questions would be appropriate. Second, Internet users come from all over the globe. One has to suspect that there are differences between a sample taken from students of the USA and what might be found among students elsewhere. Possible, language, culture, religion, and a host of other factors may be important to a user’s impression of the quality of a Web site.Finally, quality is an area of critical importance for commercial companies. Businesses need to understand what attracts people to their Web sites, what keeps them there, and what keeps them coming back. They need to understand the differences between the casual buyer versus the user who visits their Web sites on a daily basis. Web sites for companies like Dell, Cisco, Orbitz, and Covisint do millions of dollars of business each day. They need to understand the factors that keep these businesses growing better by understanding what encourages buying and what brings them back to the Web sites.Likewise, their competitors need to understand these factors even more to compete in this highly competitive marketplace. Due to the signi? cance of this to business, we expect that this type of research will be ongoing for many years to come. The results of that research will be easier to use Web sites that are more customer focused and evolving as the user evolves. A Chinese proverb says, â€Å"May you live in interesting times†. We are certainly living in interesting times. References Agrawal, V. , Arjona, L. and Lemmens, R. 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(2002), â€Å"How big is e-commerce? †, E-commerce Times, avai lable at: www. ecommercetimes. om/perl/story/18403. html (accessed 27 June). Houtman, J. (2002), â€Å"Webpagina’s instelbaar voor oudere surfers†, Emerce, 25 March. Lam, S. S. K. and Woo, K. S. (1997), â€Å"Measuring service quality: a test-retest reliability investigation of SERVQUAL†, Journal of the Market Research Society, Vol. 39 No. 2, pp. 381-96. Manning, H. , McCarthy, J. C. and Souza, R. K. (1998), Forrester Report: Why Most Web Sites Fail, Forrester, Washington, DC. Riseley, M. and Schehr, D. (2000), â€Å"Priceline’s problems result from poor execution in a niche market†, Gartner First Take, 8 November. Schubert, P. nd Dettling, W. (2001), â€Å"Web site evaluation: do Web applications meet user expectations? Music, consumer goods and e-banking on the test bed†, Proceedings of the 14th Bled Electronic Commerce Conference, Bled, pp. 383-403. Statistical Research Inc. (2001), â€Å"Even veteran Web users remain skittish about site s that get personal†, 7 June, available at: www. statisticalresearch. com/press/pr060701. htm (accessed 15 March 2002). US Department of Commerce (2002), A Nation Online: How Americans Are Expanding Their Use of the Internet, US Department of Commerce, Washington, DC, February.Wan, H. A. (2000), â€Å"Opportunities to enhance a commercial Web site†, Information and Management, Vol. 38 No. 1, pp. 15-21. Zeithaml, V. A. (2002), â€Å"Guru view†, Managing Service Quality, special issue on service excellence, Vol. 12 No. 3, pp. 135-8. Zeithaml, V. A. , Parasuraman, A. and Berry, L. L. (1990), Delivering Quality Service; Balancing Customer Perceptions and Expectations, The Free Press, New York, NY. Further reading Cutler, M. and Strene, J. (2000), E-metric: Business Metric for the New Economy, NetGenesis Corp. Applying SERVQUAL 935