The consumer experience, a study of Southampton

In Saxon times Southampton was a small trading port, today it is a regional shopping centre. It has seen many changes over the years for example, the opening of West Quay which has enhanced the shopping experience, the Blitz that destroyed much of the city centre. The viability of the city has been dependent on a number of factors, its merit as a port, war, its popularity as a tourist destination, and the council’s willingness to change. This paper tracks the major changes in Southampton and considers how these have impinged on the Southampton shopper’s experience. It examines the growth of the retail offer from Saxon times. The information in earlier times is patchy, but the Regency period is rich in descriptive data due to the city’s popularity with the London Set. From c1850 data in the form of census, directories and newspapers have been consulted. It is not however just the retail outlets that make a city a destination of choice, it is the other features, cultural aspects, facilities, and transport links. These aspects are also explored in order to determine the compete offer that was available to the consumer throughout the time period. From offering unique craft products and rare items from abroad it has turned into a clone town. Southampton is due to see the opening of IKEA in spring 2009, and although this may increase visitors to the edge of the city the problem still remains, how does Southampton offer the customer a unique experience that gave its past success

Price endings and consumer segmentation

Purpose – To investigate the area of price endings to determine which groups of consumers are more likely to use odd-endings as opposed to round-endings. Design/methodology/approach – A questionnaire was developed that tested respondents' use of odd-endings as opposed to round-endings dependent on classification by gender and age. Respondents were required to estimate the price they would be expected to pay in stores for six products. This methodology enabled the researchers to generate a large sample size and to encourage accuracy of response. Findings – The main finding was that there was a difference between gender groups; women were more likely to respond with odd-endings than men and hence segmenting the market is the way forward when investigating price endings. Research limitations/implications – The research only considers segmentation by gender and age. Further research needs to be undertaken to fully understand the consumer responses. Practical implications – Although the difference between 99 cents and a $1.00 is small, for high volume items this can have a significant impact on gross profit and margins, particularly for low value items. If retailers understand which groups of consumers were more likely to be attracted to the round-endings they could use this knowledge to determine the most effective prices. Originality/value – This research follows on from a price trial conducted into price endings and is the second phase of an investigation into whether odd-endings are effective. It proposes a theory that has been empirically tested and points the way forward for future research in this area

Sea otter, Enhydra lutris, containment management: field studies and feasibility assessment

Limiting sea otter geographic distribution in California (containment management) has long been recognized as being necessary to preserve human recreational and commercial uses of shellfish resources. However, passage of federal legislation that focused preferentially on marine mammal protection and the 1977 listing of the California sea otter population as "threatened" effectively precluded any range-limiting management program. Research, however, that evaluated various non-lethal means of influencing sea otter movements and distribution was encouraged. Our research suggests that herding and acoustical devices may not have any real potential use in this context. Based on research-related capture success rates, capture and relocation techniques may be useful in influencing sea otter geographical distribution. The translocation of sea otters to San Nicolas Island provided the first opportunity to test the technical feasibility of maintaining a large area free of sea otters. Capture success rates were appreciably poorer than those achieved during research-related efforts. We identify several logistical and behavioral influences that contributed to the relatively poor success rate. Based on this evaluation, we discuss the factors likely to limit application of these techniques in the future. We feel that capture techniques can be useful in a long-term management program, if used in conjunction with efforts to limit the sea otter population growth rate. Consequently, we feel future research should focus on assessing individual health effects from using chemical contraceptives and assessing the feasibility of their use to safely control population growth. (12pp.

A Constellation to Guide Us: An Interview with Lisa Janicke Hinchliffe about the Framework for Information Literacy for Higher Education

Lisa Janicke Hinchliffe, Professor/Coordinator for Information Literacy Services and Instruction in the University Library at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, shares her views about the Framework for Information Literacy for Higher Education. She believes that that the Framework is one among many documents adopted by the Association of College and Research Libraries that academic librarians can and should use to promote information literacy. This interview was conducted in May 2016

Sea Otter, Enhydra lutris, mortalities in California, 1968 through 1993

Sea otter, Enhydra lutris, mortality in California and the relative contribution from specific causes was assessed for the 26 years from 1968 through 1993. There were 2,082 dead sea otters recorded from Tomales Bay (Marin County) south to Bluff Cove (Los Angeles County) during that period. The average number of carcasses recorded was 80 per year and seven per month. Sex was identified in 87% (n=1,819) of the cases and was composed of 47% female and 53% male. A relative age was assigned to 97% (n=2,017) of the cases and was composed of 28% pup, 18% subadult and 54% adult. Specific causes of death were determined for 26% (n=55 1) of the cases. The majority of these (n=381) were considered to be due to natural causes and included the following specific causes: shark bitten (n=78), probably shark bitten (n=106), other natural causes (n=140), and mating wounds (n=57). The remaining (n=170) were considered to be due to human-related causes and included the following specific causes: shot (n=72), probably shot (n=8), net drowned (n=76), and other human causes (n=14). The large proportion of carcasses without an identified specific cause of death prompted a more detailed necropsy effort in 1992 and 1993. During that period, 78 of the 232 recovered carcasses were examined by veterinary pathologists and a specific cause of death was determined in 76% (n=59) of the cases. This effort identified a wide range of specific causes of death that otherwise may have been categorized as "unknown without trauma". Considering the variety of diseases diagnosed in this expanded necropsy program, it would be prudent to continue this level of examination to refine our knowledge of sea otter pathology. (48pp.

Literary, Historical, and Socio-Economic Dimensions of Race and Identity in the Dominican Republic: A National Delusion?

The article discusses race, racism, and self-concept in the Dominican Republic. It explains the reasons behind the present view of race, identifies links between race and Dominican economic and political issues, and explores how the unique situation of the Dominican Republic in terms of cultural history and geography has contributed to racism toward Haitians. The article also deals with the negative self-image many Dominicans have as a result of the color of their skin and their ancestry. In conclusion, it offers suggestions on revaluating race that could be applicable to not only the Dominican Republic, but also racially-segregated groups of individuals elsewhere

Liminality in gender, race, and nation in Les Quarteronnes de la Nouvelle-Orléans by Sidonie de la Houssaye

This project examines themes of race, gender, and nation in a series of four novels by nineteenth-century Louisiana author Sidonie de la Houssaye. The series, called Les Quarteronnes de la Nouvelle-Orléans (The Quadroons of New Orleans), is based on the system of plaçage. Plaçage, a system of concubinage in which white men took women of mixed racial heritage (such as “quadroons”) as mistresses, becomes a source of conflict and contradiction in the series. The author sees plaçage as a tragic necessity for some educated and morally “upright” quarteronnes. For others, those quarteronnes depicted as libidinous and avaricious, it is a means of benefiting from the destruction of families from the upper echelons of white society. Between these binaristic visions of plaçage, I found that de la Houssaye also offers a more nuanced vision of life in New Orleans for women and women of color in particular. I refer to these nuances as “liminal” spaces; spaces of in-betweenness. In the first two chapters, I explore the liminal racial status of the heroines and how that liminality becomes the basis for a performative model of race. In the third and fourth chapters, I explore the connections between peformativity in gender and its connections to performative race. In the final chapters, I explore how the author envisions Louisiana as a place that lacks a unified sense of nationality and how that lack affects the lives of the characters and the author herself. Although it has long been ignored, the liminal space that is Louisiana has produced a significant body of literature in French as well as in English. These novels are a fascinating sample of the francophone Louisiana oeuvre. They also, as I argue, address issues that are currently of great interest to literary scholars working in the fields of gender, race, and postcolonial studies. It is my hope that readers of this dissertation will agree that these novels, and Louisiana literature in general, merit a great deal of further study