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

Selection of VSH-derived “Pol-line” honey bees and evaluation of their Varroa-resistance characteristics

International audienceAbstractHoney bees with Varroa sensitive hygiene (VSH) have good resistance to Varroa destructor. We bred “Pol-line” bees by outcrossing VSH queens to US commercial stocks from 2008 to 2014 and then selecting colonies with low mite infestations. Beginning in 2011, field performance of colonies with outcrossed Pol-line queens was compared to colonies with outcrossed VSH queens. Mite infestations after one season were comparable in colonies of the two bee types. Queens from the most functional colonies of both bee types were added to the Pol-line breeding population each year. Mite resistance was investigated further by exposing mite-infested brood to colonies for 1 week in lab tests. The two bee types did not differ in the percentage of infested brood they removed or in the percentage of non-reproduction among remaining mites. Introgressing the VSH trait into commercial honey bee stock shows promise in creating bees that have useful mite resistance and desirable beekeeping characteristics

The Implementation of an Exercise by Prescription Program in Middle-aged Hypertensive African American Women

The purpose of this pilot study was to implement an 8 week exercise by prescription program in a rural community to decrease hypertension and change behaviors regarding physical activity in middle-aged African American women. Participants were asked to complete the International Physical Activity Questionnaire short form, the Exercise Stages of Change (short form) survey, and a manual blood pressure examination pre and post intervention. The sample size consisted of 10 middle-aged African American women with hypertension. Analysis of the descriptive statistics revealed that total time spent walking for at least 10 minutes increased from pre-intervention (M 111.90, SD 237.24) to post-intervention (M 132.10, SD 215.91) Data also indicated a decrease in pulse pressure from pre (M 47.80 SD 9.05) to post (M 47.10 SD 8.46) intervention. This study demonstrates that exercise prescriptions are an effective method of promoting physical activity in middle-aged African American women

The Ages of the Thin Disk, Thick Disk, and the Halo from Nearby White Dwarfs

We present a detailed analysis of the white dwarf luminosity functions derived from the local 40 pc sample and the deep proper motion catalog of Munn et al (2014, 2017). Many of the previous studies ignored the contribution of thick disk white dwarfs to the Galactic disk luminosity function, which results in an erronous age measurement. We demonstrate that the ratio of thick/thin disk white dwarfs is roughly 20\% in the local sample. Simultaneously fitting for both disk components, we derive ages of 6.8-7.0 Gyr for the thin disk and 8.7 $\pm$ 0.1 Gyr for the thick disk from the local 40 pc sample. Similarly, we derive ages of 7.4-8.2 Gyr for the thin disk and 9.5-9.9 Gyr for the thick disk from the deep proper motion catalog, which shows no evidence of a deviation from a constant star formation rate in the past 2.5 Gyr. We constrain the time difference between the onset of star formation in the thin disk and the thick disk to be $1.6^{+0.3}_{-0.4}$ Gyr. The faint end of the luminosity function for the halo white dwarfs is less constrained, resulting in an age estimate of $12.5^{+1.4}_{-3.4}$ Gyr for the Galactic inner halo. This is the first time ages for all three major components of the Galaxy are obtained from a sample of field white dwarfs that is large enough to contain significant numbers of disk and halo objects. The resultant ages agree reasonably well with the age estimates for the oldest open and globular clusters.Comment: ApJ, in pres

Fostering A Teaching And Learning Opportunity: Toward Equity In Student Feedback Of Teaching

Educators within post-secondary institutions receive input in the form of course evaluations from their students. The aim of receiving student input is to improve the teaching and learning experience for all. There are, however, inherent problems with the current methods of obtaining students' views through course evaluations. In this pilot study, the researchers focused on two problems: universally low response rates of 20% or less of student input in formal course evaluations and the problematic bias associated with anonymous course evaluations. Implementing practices that encourage students to provide course feedback, thus moving away from the term course evaluation was a first step to address these problems. A process was piloted in this study with 16 domestic undergraduate Bachelor of Science students whereby the researchers encouraged reflection, dialogue, and accountability in the new model and compared the differences against the problematic original model of receiving course evaluation input from students

A comparative study in the application of the natural justice principles in courts of law and student's tribunals in Malaysia / Ahmad Feisai Mohd Azmi … [et al.]

Lord Denning once said, "When a man's reputation or livelihood is at stake, he not only has a right to speak with his own mouth but also has a right to speak by counsel or solicitor. The principles of natural justice are very important to be observed in our legal system against the abuse of power by the authority. The main objective of this project paper is to make a comparative study in the application of natural justice principles in the Courts of Law and student's tribunals in Malaysia. During the course of this study, several relevant and reliable sources may be referred to. These sources including legal materials such as statutes, case law, law report and books. Interviews will be conducted with both, lecturers and students in UiTM. It is hoped that at the end of this study, a better understanding concerning natural justice principles in student's tribunals could be gained by everyone. Eventually, we would also like to put forward our proposition that the principles of natural justice should be properly observed in the student's tribunals as in the Courts of Law

Pro-inflammatory flagellin proteins of prevalent motile commensal bacteria are variably abundant in the intestinal microbiome of elderly humans

Peer reviewedPublisher PD