Luxury fashion brands: factors influencing young female consumers' luxury fashion purchasing in Taiwan

Purpose - Against the background of increasing consumption of luxury fashion brands by young female consumers in Asian countries, this paper offers insights into the consumption motives and purchasing behaviour of that market segment in Taiwan. Design/methodology/approach - Analysis of data collected using face-to-face semi-structured interviews with twenty-three 18-32 year-old fashion-conscious females was completed and new empirical insights are offered. Findings - The study found a high level of involvement in the world of luxury fashion retailing. Asian consumers devoured media commentary, drew inspiration from female celebrities, and treated information-seeking and discussion of luxury fashion brands with friends as a serious and enjoyable pursuit. The social status conferred by expensive fashion wear motivated them to spend on luxury brands even if their discretionary income was limited. Potential guilt in so doing was assuaged by rationalising that the quality was good and the purchase would be long lasting. Marketers targeting this valuable segment should communicate appeals to an aspirational lifestyle in traditional and social media, effective at reaching young women. Originality/value - The study reported in this article contributes to the limited published research into the luxury marketing sector in Asia by examining the buying behaviour of female Strawberry Generation consumers in Taiwan. It is the first to research and investigate the meanings attached to luxury by these individuals in the collectivist culture of Taiwan, as well as their motivations, and the factors influencing their purchase of luxury fashions. The study thus contributes with new knowledge to the buying of luxury fashion products by young female Taiwanese consumers, which may be extended to other collectivist cultures in Asia

Ethernet Performance: Design and Implementation Study

General concepts concerning local area network designs, functions and topologies will be presented. Ethernet as a multipoint bus topology local area network will be presented in detail. The Carrier Sense Multiple Access/Collision Detect (CSMA/CD) method of fairly regulating access to the shared network bus is studied. The Ethernet Network in relation to the Open Systems Interconnect (OSI) is reviewed, but only the layers pertaining to Ethernet are discussed throughout the majority of the paper. The specifications as described by Xerox, Digital and Intel are presented to help the designer understand the network\u27s physical limitations. Analytical models are used to predict performance and actual measured performance studies will be used to make performance assumptions. The performance is studied under varying load conditions. The data gathered concerns both limits imposed on the number of users by the finite bandwidth of the channel and efficient utilization of that channel. In conclusion, design specifications and performance data will be used together to formulate a design methodology for building the most efficient Ethernet network

The learning experiences of health and social care paraprofessionals on a foundation degree

Foundation degrees have been developed in the UK as a means of meeting the learning needs of paraprofessionals in health and social care and the services within which they work in a cost-effective fashion. Workplace learning is an intrinsic component to these degrees. Taking a socio-cultural perspective, this paper examines how the students' workplaces, life circumstances and sense of career trajectory shaped their learning experience and motivation. A small-scale evaluation study, using semi-structured interviews, focused on the learning experiences of a group of paraprofessionals enrolled in a foundation degree in health and social care. Data revealed fragmented employment patterns, underpinned by consistent vocational drives. While the study resonated with vocation, participants were ambivalent or lacked information about career progression. Workplace conditions, relationships and limited time shaped learning and coping strategies. A strategic and focused approach to student learning is required and includes attention to career pathways, workforce development strategy, the requirements of a range of stakeholders, workplace supervision and support for learning

Characterization of the JWST Pathfinder Mirror Dynamics Using the Center of Curvature Optical Assembly (CoCOA)

The JWST (James Webb Space Telescope) Optical Telescope Element (OTE) consists of a 6.6 meter clear aperture, 18-segment primary mirror, all-reflective, three-mirror anastigmat operating at cryogenic temperatures. To verify performance of the primary mirror, a full aperture center of curvature optical null test is performed under cryogenic conditions in Chamber A at NASA Johnson Space Center using an instantaneous phase measuring interferometer. After phasing the mirrors during the JWST Pathfinder testing, the interferometer is utilized to characterize the mirror relative piston and tilt dynamics under different facility configurations. The correlation between the motions seen on detectors at the focal plane and the interferometer validates the use of the interferometer for dynamic investigations. The success of planned test hardware improvements will be characterized by the multi-wavelength interferometer (MWIF) at the Center of Curvature Optical Assembly (CoCOA)

Discussions and Replies Session 3

ABSTRAK   Efendi, Syaiful. 2016. Perbedaan Kompetensi Produktif antara Siswa Kelas Industri dengan Kelas Reguler Paket Keahlian Teknik Kendaraan Ringan di SMKN 10 Malang. Skripsi, Jurusan Teknik Mesin, Fakultas Teknik, Universitas Negeri Malang. Pembimbing: (I) Dr. Syarif Suhartadi, M.Pd., (II) Drs. H. Agus Sholah, M.Pd. Kata Kunci: kompetensi produktif, kelas industri, kelas reguler   Tujuan SMK adalah menyiapkan siswa untuk memasuki lapangan kerja dan  mengembangkan sikap profesionalis. Hal ini dapat diwujudkan melalui kerjasama internal dengan membuka kelas kerjasama atau kelas industri pada SMK. SMKN 10 Malang adalah salah satu sekolah yang menerapkan kelas kerjasama dengan pihak Honda di jurusan teknik kendaraan ringan. Kelas tersebut bernama kelas HTEC (Honda Technician Education Class) yang dirilis sejak tanggal 10 Desember 2014. Tujuan dengan adanya kelas HTEC ini mampu meningkatkan kompetensi produktif siswa pada kelas XII agar  mempunyai kompetensi yang baik. Penelitian ini bertujuan untuk mengetahui perbedaan kompetensi produktif antara siswa kelas industri dengan kelas reguler. Desain penelitian ini termasuk dalam desain eksperimen dengan post-test only control design. Variabel dalam penelitian ini terdiri dari variabel bebas dan variabel terikat. Variabel bebas dalam penelitian ini adalah pengelompokkan kelas yang terdiri dari kelas industri dan kelas reguler sedangkan kompetensi produktif merupakan variabel terikat. Subyek penelitian ini adalah siswa kelas XII Teknik Kendaraan Ringan pada kelas industri dan kelas reguler menggunakancluster sampling dan proportional sample sebagai teknik pengambilan sampel penelitian. Teknik analisis data yang digunakan adalah teknik uji t (Independent Sample t-Test). Rata-rata nilai post-test kompetensi produktif siswa kelas industri adalah 83.8 dan rata-rata nilai post-test kompetensi produktif siswa kelas reguler adalah 76.94. Hasil uji t diperoleh nilai sig. (2 tailed

Cadmium accumulation and interactions with zinc, copper, and manganese, analysed by ICP-MS in a long-term Caco-2 TC7 cell model

The influence of long-term exposure to cadmium (Cd) on essential minerals was investigated using a Caco-2 TC7 cells and a multi-analytical tool: microwave digestion and inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry. Intracellular levels, effects on cadmium accumulation, distribution, and reference concentration ranges of the following elements were determined: Na, Mg, Ca, Cr, Fe, Mn, Co, Ni, Cu, Zn, Mo, and Cd. Results showed that Caco-2 TC7 cells incubated long-term with cadmium concentrations ranging from 0 to 10 lmol Cd/l for 5 weeks exhibited a significant increase in cadmium accumulation. Furthermore, this accumulation was more marked in cells exposed long-term to cadmium compared with controls, and that this exposure resulted in a significant accumulation of copper and zinc but not of the other elements measured. Interactions of Cd with three elements: zinc, copper, and manganese were particularly studied. Exposed to 30 lmol/l of the element, manganese showed the highest inhibition and copper the lowest on cadmium intracellular accumulation but Zn, Cu, and Mn behave differently in terms of their mutual competition with Cd. Indeed, increasing cadmium in the culture medium resulted in a gradual and significant increase in the accumulation of zinc. There was a significant decrease in manganese from 5 lmol Cd/l exposure, and no variation was observed with copper. Abbreviation: AAS – Atomic absorption spectrometry; CRM– Certified reference material; PBS – Phosphate buffered saline without calcium and magnesium; DMEM – Dubelcco’s modified Eagle’s medium

Surveillance of RNase P, PMMoV, and CrAssphage in wastewater as indicators of human fecal concentration across urban sewer neighborhoods, Louisville, Kentucky

Wastewater surveillance has been widely used as a supplemental method to track the community infection levels of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2. A gap exists in standardized reporting for fecal indicator concentrations, which can be used to calibrate the primary outcome concentrations from wastewater monitoring for use in epidemiological models. To address this, measurements of fecal indicator concentration among wastewater samples collected from sewers and treatment centers in four counties of Kentucky (N = 650) were examined. Results from the untransformed wastewater data over 4 months of sampling indicated that the fecal indicator concentration of human ribonuclease P (RNase P) ranged from 5.1 × 101 to 1.15 × 106 copies/ml, pepper mild mottle virus (PMMoV) ranged from 7.23 × 103 to 3.53 × 107 copies/ml, and cross-assembly phage (CrAssphage) ranged from 9.69×103 to 1.85×108 copies/ml. The results showed both regional and temporal variability. If fecal indicators are used as normalization factors, knowing the daily sewer system flow of the sample location may matter more than rainfall. RNase P, while it may be suitable as an internal amplification and sample adequacy control, has less utility than PMMoV and CrAssphage as a fecal indicator in wastewater samples when working at different sizes of catchment area. The choice of fecal indicator will impact the results of surveillance studies using this indicator to represent fecal load. Our results contribute broadly to an applicable standard normalization factor and assist in interpreting wastewater data in epidemiological modeling and monitoring

Benchmark Evaluation of True Single Molecular Sequencing to Determine Cystic Fibrosis Airway Microbiome Diversity

Cystic fibrosis (CF) is an autosomal recessive disease associated with recurrent lung infections that can lead to morbidity and mortality. The impact of antibiotics for treatment of acute pulmonary exacerbations on the CF airway microbiome remains unclear with prior studies giving conflicting results and being limited by their use of 16S ribosomal RNA sequencing. Our primary objective was to validate the use of true single molecular sequencing (tSMS) and PathoScope in the analysis of the CF airway microbiome. Three control samples were created with differing amounts of Burkholderia cepacia, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, and Prevotella melaninogenica, three common bacteria found in cystic fibrosis lungs. Paired sputa were also obtained from three study participants with CF before and \u3e6 days after initiation of antibiotics. Antibiotic resistant B. cepacia and P. aeruginosa were identified in concurrently obtained respiratory cultures. Direct sequencing was performed using tSMS, and filtered reads were aligned to reference genomes from NCBI using PathoScope and Kraken and unique clade-specific marker genes using MetaPhlAn. A total of 180-518K of 6-12 million filtered reads were aligned for each sample. Detection of known pathogens in control samples was most successful using PathoScope. In the CF sputa, alpha diversity measures varied based on the alignment method used, but similar trends were found between pre- and post-antibiotic samples. PathoScope outperformed Kraken and MetaPhlAn in our validation study of artificial bacterial community controls and also has advantages over Kraken and MetaPhlAn of being able to determine bacterial strains and the presence of fungal organisms. PathoScope can be confidently used when evaluating metagenomic data to determine CF airway microbiome diversity