Visual Merchandising Displays Effect On Consumers: A Valuable Asset Or An Unnecessary Burden For Apparel Retailers

Several consumers think they only purchase products when they go shopping, however time and time again they purchase the experience of shopping as well. The experience of shopping is highly influenced by the visual merchandising displays (also known as feature areas where merchandise is presented) used in store. Much has been said about visual merchandising displays and the effect it has on consumer behaviour. The way products are displayed and promoted in apparel retail stores can have a vast impact on consumer responses and how much merchandise the retailer sells. The main research question explored the effect visual merchandising displays have on consumer behaviour. Explorative research was deemed to be the most appropriate for this study and qualitative data was collected. Focus groups were used to collect the first round of data, where after nae sketches were used to support the findings. The focus groups and nae sketches were analysed by means of thematic analysis. The findings indicated that the visual merchandising displays guide consumers in the direction of the products they are seeking and that it also guides their decisions. The participants agreed that their buying behaviour is influenced on a subconscious level, based on the eminence of the visual merchandising displays, as well as their personal preferences and gender

Measuring Service Quality: The Student As Primary Consumer

Competition in the educational market is increasing at a rapid rate. With e-education and the increasing globalisation taking place, universities are competing more and more for student numbers. Service quality has become one of those factors that differentiate institutions from one another.  As a result, higher education institutions can use service quality as a competitive advantage to ensure that they stay the first choice in the minds of potential students. It is a known fact that many consumers and students will support a product or university based on the level of service they receive. It is for this reason that universities will benefit from research into service quality and the importance that students attach to this. In this study, student satisfaction towards the quality of the service received was measured in terms of appearance of the higher education’s physical facilities, equipment, staff and communication materials by using the SERVQUAL model. The results may assist higher education institutions to focus on the unknown, yet important elements of the tangibility element in order to improve the students’ overall satisfaction. The results indicated that students’ perception about the tangibility of the service, as well as the overall level of satisfaction of the service received, is slightly above average

Visual Merchandising Displays: Wasted Effort Or Strategic Move? The Dilemma Faced By Apparel Retail Stores

Retailing per se has been with us since the beginning of time. Over the years retailing methods and techniques have been adapted and changed in order to meet the demands of the market. In the same way the in store activities aimed at the consumer has been evolving and changing. At first the focus was on merchandising per se, but even merchandising has become more focussed and professional and specialised. This has led to this study focussing on visual merchandising and its effect – or not - on consumer spending. Much has been said about visual merchandising displays and the effect it has on consumer perceptions. Consumers’ perceptions towards visual merchandising displays are investigated and evaluated in this study. The primary research question that was posed in this study was to determine the effect of visual merchandising displays on consumer perceptions. Explorative research was performed and qualitative data were collected by means of focus groups and naïve sketches. The data was analysed by means of a thematic analysis process. The main conclusions that can be drawn from this research is that the perceptions of visual merchandising displays are subliminal in creating an interest and desire to further peruse the merchandise and aesthetically to beautify the store

Starting Ones Own Business What Motivates Entrepreneurs?

The purpose of this study was to determine the factors that motivate and challenge people when starting up their own small business. This paper includes the challenges that entrepreneurs encounter, advantages and disadvantages of owning ones own business, as well as highlighting the factors that are important to succeed in owning ones own business. The study was quantitative in nature and made use of an online survey questionnaire to collect data from entrepreneurs and potential entrepreneurs in KwaZulu Natal, South Africa. The results indicated that the most motivational factors include the desire to pursue a business idea and that they want to be their own boss. The results further highlighted that the main challenges for small business owners are financial in nature as well as support from the government

The wool proteome and fibre characteristics of three distinct genetic ovine breeds from Portugal

Wool properties and commodity value vary considerably between breeds. In Portugal, three major ovine groups exist: Churros, Bordaleiros and Merinos. This work studies the effect of the ovine genotype on the wool proteome of such groups. Wool was collected from 15 ewes/breed and genetic groups: Churra da Terra Quente (CTQ) or Churro, Serra da Estrela (SE) or Bordaleiro and Merino Branco (MB) or Merino. Proteins were extracted and subjected to label-free proteomics analysis. A total of 50 keratinous protein groups were identified in all the samples, divided into type I and II keratins and the keratin associated proteins: high-glycine-tyrosine proteins, ultra-high sulphur proteins and high-sulphur proteins. Major differences were found between MB and CTQ with respect to K75 and K38, both medullar proteins and to a lesser extent between SE and CTQ suggesting that these might be good markers for this trait in wool. Partial least squares discriminatory analysis proved MB to be readily distinguishable from the other two breeds. Further differences were noted in keratin associated protein levels between the three breeds, normally an indicator of higher levels of orthocortex and also their relationship to high curvature, high crimp fibres like Merinoinfo:eu-repo/semantics/acceptedVersio

Lysis cassette-mediated exoprotein release in Yersinia entomophaga is controlled by a PhoB-like regulator

Secretion of exoproteins is a key component of bacterial virulence, and is tightly regulated in response to environmental stimuli and host-dependent signals. The entomopathogenic bacterium Yersinia entomophaga MH96 produces a wide range of exoproteins including its main virulence factor, the 2.46 MDa insecticidal Yen-Tc toxin complex. Previously, a high-throughput transposon-based screening assay identified the region of exoprotein release (YeRER) as essential to exoprotein release in MH96. This study defines the role of the YeRER associated ambiguous holin/endolysin-based lysis cluster (ALC) and the novel RoeA regulator in the regulation and release of exoproteins in MH96. A mutation in the ambiguous lysis cassette (ALC) region abolished exoprotein release and caused cell elongation, a phenotype able to be restored through trans-complementation with an intact ALC region. Endogenous ALC did not impact cell growth of the wild type, while artificial expression of an optimized ALC caused cell lysis. Using HolA-sfGFP and Rz1-sfGFP reporters, Rz1 expression was observed in all cells while HolA expression was limited to a small proportion of cells, which increased over time. Transcriptomic assessments found expression of the genes encoding the prominent exoproteins, including the Yen-Tc, was reduced in the roeA mutant and identified a 220 ncRNA of the YeRER intergenic region that, when trans complemented in the wildtype, abolished exoprotein release. A model for Y. entomophaga mediated exoprotein regulation and release is proposed. IMPORTANCE While theoretical models exist, there is not yet any empirical data that links ALC phage-like lysis cassettes with the release of large macro-molecular toxin complexes, such as Yen-Tc in Gram-negative bacteria. In this study, we demonstrate that the novel Y. entomophaga RoeA activates the production of exoproteins (including Yen-Tc) and the ALC at the transcriptional level. The translation of the ALC holin is confined to a subpopulation of cells that then lyse over time, indicative of a complex hierarchical regulatory network. The presence of an orthologous RoeA and a HolA like holin 59 of an eCIS Afp element in Pseudomonas chlororaphis, combined with the presented data, suggests a shared mechanism is required for the release of some large macromolecular protein assemblies, such as the Yen-Tc, and further supports classification of phage-like lysis clusters as type 10 secretion systems

A review of the use of blood and blood products in HIV-infected patients

Despite numerous publications on the appropriate use of blood and blood products, few specifically consider the role of transfusion in the management of HIV. This review is a synthesis of conditions encountered in the management of HIV-infected patients where the transfusion of blood or blood products may be indicated. A consistent message emerging from the review is that the principles of transfusion medicine do not differ between HIV-negative and -positive patients. The aim of the review is to provide clinicians witha practical and succinct overview of the haematological abnormalities and clinical circumstances most commonly encountered in the HIV setting, while focusing on the rational and appropriate use of blood and blood products forHIV patients. Important ethical considerations in dealing with both the collection and transfusion blood and blood products in the HIV era have also been addressed

Bin mapping of tomato diversity array (DArT) markers to genomic regions of Solanum lycopersicum × Solanum pennellii introgression lines

Marker-trait association studies in tomato have progressed rapidly due to the availability of several populations developed between wild species and domesticated tomato. However, in the absence of whole genome sequences for each wild species, molecular marker methods for whole genome comparisons and fine mapping are required. We describe the development and validation of a diversity arrays technology (DArT) platform for tomato using an introgression line (IL) population consisting of wild Solanumpennellii introgressed into Solanumlycopersicum (cv. M82). A tomato diversity array consisting of 6,912 clones from domesticated tomato and twelve wild tomato/Solanaceous species was constructed. We successfully bin-mapped 990 polymorphic DArT markers together with 108 RFLP markers across the IL population, increasing the number of markers available for each S.pennellii introgression by tenfold on average. A subset of DArT markers from ILs previously associated with increased levels of lycopene and carotene were sequenced, and 44% matched protein coding genes. The bin-map position and order of sequenced DArT markers correlated well with their physical position on scaffolds of the draft tomato genome sequence (SL2.40). The utility of sequenced DArT markers was illustrated by converting several markers in both the S.pennellii and S.lycopersicum phases to cleaved amplified polymorphic sequence (CAPS) markers. Genotype scores from the CAPS markers confirmed the genotype scores from the DArT hybridizations used to construct the bin map. The tomato diversity array provides additional “sequence-characterized” markers for fine mapping of QTLs in S.pennellii ILs and wild tomato species