Study of Customer Journey Map in Electronic Bookshops

Purpose: The purpose of this research was to identify the touchpoints in the customer journey map of electronic bookshops. Methodology: This study was an “applied research” and was conducted by analytical-survey method, the statistical population of this research were those who had the experience of purchasing a few books from online bookstores and was included 670 people. The documentary research method (library research method) and a survey questionnaire based was used to collect the data. Finally, using the SPSS software, data were analyzed. Calculation of descriptive statistics indices and reliability were performed by the SPSS software, and also Kolmogorov-Smirnov test, binomial distribution test and Kruskal-Wallis test, and Mann-Whitney test were conducted by the SPSS software. Findings: The extracted touchpoints were evaluated in three dimensions. Finally, 41 touchpoints were divided into three stages: pre-purchase, purchase, and post-purchase. According to the research results, only 10 of these 41 touchpoints were more important from the customers' point of view, which include the following items: 1. touchpoints in the pre-purchase stage include: virtual advertising, high ranking in search engines, reading of comments and ratings of previous customers of the store, popularity and commercial reputation of the store, design of the store website and instructions for using the store website; 2. touchpoints in the purchase stage include: interaction with the support unit of the store, and cash on delivery; and 3. touchpoints in post-purchase stage include: store notification for new products and after-sales service

Alternative Strategies for Family History Projects: Rethinking Practice in Light of Indigenous Perspectives

Genealogy and family history projects can be an excellent way to foster students\u27 sense of identity and connectedness to their heritage and relatives. Such activities can help students develop pride and knowledge in their identities and personal histories. Because knowledge of family histories is often valued within Indigenous communities, and central to many Indigenous social, cultural, and diplomatic traditions, such projects have the potential to be a meaningful form of culturally sustaining and revitalizing pedagogical practice. This article begins with a brief literature review on the value and practice of using family history projects in social studies/history classrooms. Following this review, the authors offer a more detailed discussion of Indigeneity and the ways in which Indigenous identities are entangled with family history projects. To demonstrate the importance of rethinking family history projects, they offer three vignettes that illustrate how normative discourses and practices can live in tension with students\u27 lived experiences. This provides context for their subsequent outline of a variety of considerations for social studies educators that they assert can challenge and complement the approaches described. In so doing, the authors\u27 hope is to foster spaces and practices that support Indigenous students, as well as challenge normative notions of family that constrict the diverse range of cultural and familial expressions that already exist--and should be supported--in classrooms

Variation in bioactive contents and anatomical characteristics of different fennel (<i>Foeniculum vulgare</i> Mill.) populations as affected by self-pollination

The production of self pollinated plant genotypes could be critical for improving medicinal plants. Pollination in Apiaceae family can also affect secondary metabolites. In this study, 23 fennel populations were used to assess the effect of self pollination on essential oil yield, antioxidant activity (based on three model system), total phenolic (TPC) and flavonoid content (TFC). First, some plant inflorescences were divided in two parts. Then the half was bagged and the second half was permitted for out crossing. The self and outcross pollinated seeds were sown in a randomized complete block design (RCBD) in three replicates. Results revealed that inbreeding led to increase in the secretary ducts number (9.36%) as well as essential oil yield (25.61%) in all fennel populations. Essential oil yield ranged from 2.4% to 6.4% in seeds produced via out crossing, while it varied from 3.5% to 6.5% in self pollinated ones. Furthermore, self pollination increased TPC (21.66%), TFC (49.40%) and antioxidant activity (6.23%). Among the populations derived from self pollinated seeds Tabriz showed the highest TFC (8.4 mgQUEg-1DW) and antioxidant activity (IC50=83.1μg/ml), whereas Semirom possessed the highest TPC (150 mgTAEg-1DW), respectively. In overall, self pollination can produce lead to the populations with higher amount of secondary metabolites

Sustainable Agriculture Reviews

 The Epichloë fungal endophytes that inhabit grasses have potentially large-scale consequences for macro- and micro-organisms and food chains in agriculture. Over 40 years of study on the benefits of symbiotic Epichloë fungal endophytes for host grasses, investigations have focused on the major agricultural species, tall fescue and perennial ryegrass. However, many other grass species remain to be evaluated for the effects of Epichloë endophytes. Animal toxicity due to accumulation of nitrogenous compounds, e.g. endophyte-dervived alkaloids, particularly in areas and periods under abiotic stress, still prevent widespread application of endophyte-infected grasses in agroecosystems. Here we review Epichloë endophyte-ecosystem relationships. The major points are: (1) Epichloë endophytes protect their host plants from vertebrate and invertebrate herbivory and allow plants to persist under water shortage, salinity, low light, mineral deficiencies and metal toxicity. Data suggests that the concentration of endophyte-derived anti-herbviore compounds increases with rising temperatures. This trend thus suggests that the strength of mutualistic interactions may increase in future climates with possible consequences for animal toxicity. (2) The benefits of endophyte infection for the host grass are context-dependent, varying with  environmental conditions, grass species and cultivar, and are also highly influenced by interactions between both host and endophyte genetic combinations. (3) The benefits of fungal endophytes extend to neighboring grass species with respect to their protection from diseases and herbivores. (4) Novel grass-endophyte associations that produce alkaloids reducing herbivory insects, but do not produce alkaloids that are toxic to grazing vertebrates have been found. Such associations are therefore useful to control plant pests and diseases.</p

Genetic Variation in Safflower (Carthamus tinctorious L.) for Seed Quality-Related Traits and Inter-Simple Sequence Repeat (ISSR) Markers

Safflower (Carthamus tinctorious L.) is an oilseed crop that is valued as a source of high quality vegetable oil. The genetic diversity of 16 safflower genotypes originated from different geographical regions of Iran and some with exotic origin were evaluated. Eight different seed quality-related traits including fatty acid composition of seed oil (stearic acid, palmitic acid, oleic acid and linoleic acid), the contents of, oil, protein, fiber and ash in its seeds, as well as 20 inter-simple sequence repeat (ISSR) polymorphic primers were used in this study. Analysis of variance showed significant variation in genotypes for the seed quality-related traits. Based on ISSR markers, a total of 204 bands were amplified and 149 bands (about 70%) of these were polymorphic. Cluster analysis based on either biochemical or molecular markers classified the genotypes into four groups, showing some similarities between molecular and biochemical markers for evaluated genotypes. A logical similarity between the genotype clusters based on molecular data with their geographical origins was observed

Jasmonic acid regulation of the anti-herbivory mechanism conferred by fungal endophytes in grasses

The most studied mechanism of protection against herbivores in grasses associated with Epichloë fungal endophytes has been the fungal production of alkaloids. However, the contribution of the plant immune response on the level of resistance to herbivores in symbiotic grasses has been poorly explored. We studied the relationship between the plant hormone, jasmonic acid (JA) and Epichloë fungal endophytes on herbivore defences in symbiotic grasses. We hypothesized that an exogenous application of methyl jasmonate (MeJA), an activator of the plant JA defence response, would increase the level of resistance of endophyte-symbiotic and non-symbiotic plants to a chewing insect. As Epichloë endophytes produce alkaloids, an enhancement of the JA defence would complement the resistance given by these alkaloids. Lolium multiflorum plants symbiotic and non-symbiotic with the endophyte Epichloë occultans were subjected to an exogenous application of MeJA followed by a challenge with the generalist chewing insect Spodoptera frugiperda. We measured the level of plant resistance to chewing insects, and the defences conferred by host plants and fungal endophytes. Symbiotic plants were more resistant to S. frugiperda than their non-symbiotic counterparts. However, despite the fact that the concentration of JA significantly increased in all plants exposure to MeJA, neither endophyte-symbiotic nor non-symbiotic plants showed an enhanced resistance to insects. Unexpectedly, the exposure of endophyte-symbiotic plants to MeJA led to a reduction in the concentration of loline alkaloids (i.e. N-formyllolines and N-acetylnorlolines), consequently decreasing the level of plant resistance to the herbivore. Synthesis. Our results suggest that, rather than complementing the alkaloid-based defence, the jasmonic acid hormone weakens the anti-herbivore mechanism conferred by Epichloë endophytes. The present study highlights that the interaction between the jasmonic acid hormone and the presence of leaf fungal endophytes can be of importance for the effectiveness of the anti-herbivore defences of symbiotic plants.Fil: Bastias Campos, Daniel. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Parque Centenario. Instituto de Investigaciones Fisiológicas y Ecológicas Vinculadas a la Agricultura. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Agronomía. Instituto de Investigaciones Fisiológicas y Ecológicas Vinculadas a la Agricultura; ArgentinaFil: Martinez-Ghersa, Maria Alejandra. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Parque Centenario. Instituto de Investigaciones Fisiológicas y Ecológicas Vinculadas a la Agricultura. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Agronomía. Instituto de Investigaciones Fisiológicas y Ecológicas Vinculadas a la Agricultura; ArgentinaFil: Newman, Jonathan A.. University of Guelph; CanadáFil: Card, Stuart D.. AgResearch; Nueva ZelandaFil: Mace, Wade J.. AgResearch; Nueva ZelandaFil: Gundel, Pedro Emilio. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Parque Centenario. Instituto de Investigaciones Fisiológicas y Ecológicas Vinculadas a la Agricultura. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Agronomía. Instituto de Investigaciones Fisiológicas y Ecológicas Vinculadas a la Agricultura; Argentin

Beyond "Business as Usual": Using Counterstorytelling to Engage the Complexity of Urban Indigenous Education

This dissertation examines the discursive and material terrain of urban Indigenous education in a public school district and Title VII/Indian Education program. Based in tenets of Tribal Critical Race Theory and utilizing counterstorytelling techniques from Critical Race Theory informed by contemporary Indigenous philosophy and methodological theory, this research takes as its focus the often-unacknowledged ways settler colonial discourses continue to operate in public schools. Drawing on two years of fieldwork in a public school district, this dissertation documents and makes explicit racial and colonial dynamics that manifest in educational policy and practice through a series of counterstories. The counterstories survey a range of educational issues, including the implementation of Native-themed curriculum, teachers’ attempts to support Native students in their classrooms, challenges to an administrator’s “no adornment” policies for graduation, Native families’ negotiations of erasures embedded in practice and policy, and a Title VII program’s efforts to claim physical and cultural space in the district, among other issues. As a collective, these stories highlight the ways that colonization and settler society discourses continue to shape Native students’ experiences in schools. Further, by documenting the nuanced intelligence, courage, artfulness, and what Gerald Vizenor has termed the “survivance” of Native students, families, and educators as they attempt to access education, the research provides a corrective to deficit framings of Indigenous students. Beyond building empathy and compassion for Native students and communities, the purpose is to identify both the content and nature of the competencies teachers, administrators, and policy makers might need in order to provide educational services that promote Indigenous students’ success and well-being in school and foster educational self-determination. This research challenges educators to critically interrogate taken-for-granted assumptions about Native identity, culture, and education and invites educators to examine their own contexts for knowledge, insights, and resources to better support Native students in urban public schools and intervene into discourses that constrain their educational experiences

Cross-linking and hydrophobization of chemically modified cellulose fibers

Owing to its unique structure, along with the inexhaustible renewability, cellulose has been a subject of scientific and commercial interest for over 150 years. However, given attractive structural properties, such as stiffness, hydrophilicity, stereoregularity, potential for chemical modifications and ability to form superstructures, utilization of this biopolymer is far below its potential. Over the past few years the number of research projects to modify cellulose fibers to make them more suitable for numerous applications has increased. Transforming hydrophilic cellulose fibers into hydrophobic, non-hygroscopic fibers could potentially lead to a variety of new products, such as flexible packaging, self-cleaning films and strength-enhancing agents in polymer composites. To achieve this, we choose two different routes to chemically modify the cellulose fibers. In first method, cellulose fibers were oxidized with peridoate oxidation to different extent to prepare reactive dialdehyde cellulose (DAC) derivatives. Because introducing too many charge groups leads to fiber disintegration, we decided to cross-link the fibers to prevent this. These DAC fibers were in turn successfully cross-linked with 1,12-diaminododecane using methanol as solvent. Next, the cross-linked fibers were amidated in another Schiff-base reaction with n-butylamine to introduce the hydrophobic non-polar aliphatic chains. The cross-linked fibers exhibited stronger structural stability and the fibers did not disintegrate upon further alkylation with butylamine. The fibers were characterized with FTIR, 13 C-NMR, SEM, TGA, X-ray, contact angle and water sorption measurements. This procedure yielded very hydrophobic fibers with contact angles as high as 145o. Moreover, they had very low moisture uptake and high thermal strength, which makes them suitable for many potential products specially to be used in composites. The second method was based on intermediate carboxymethylation of cellulose with monochloroacetic acid, followed by subsequent substitution with an amine. The carboxylmethylated cellulose fibers (CCF) were cross-linked in an EDC assisted bioconjugation reaction with adipic acid anhydride (ADH). In order to alkylate the fibers and introduce aliphatic amine chains to the cross-linked fibers, a second carboxymethylation reaction was performed to introduce more charge groups to the cross-linked fibers to act as reactive sites for further alkylation reaction with butylamine. The resulting carboxymethylated cross-linked fibers were then reacted with n-butylamine to introduce non-polar aliphatic amine chains. The modified fibers were characterized by a variety of techniques, such as conductometric titration, infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), mechanical properties such as tensile strength and Young's modulus, water contact angle and water vapor transition rate (WVTR) measurements.Grace à sa structure unique et son renouvellement quasi-inépuisable, la cellulose a été un sujet d'intérêt scientifique et commercial depuis plus de 150 ans. Toutefois, avec ses propriétés structurelles fascinantes, telles la rigidité, l'hydrophilie, la stéréorégularité, le potentiel de modifications chimiques et la capacité à former des superstructures, l'utilisation de ce biopolymère est bien en deçà de son potentiel. Au cours des dernières années, la recherche visant à modifier les fibres de cellulose pour les adapter à de nombreuses applications a augmenté. La transformation de fibres cellulosiques hydrophiles en fibres hydrophobes et non-hygroscopiques pourrait potentiellement mener à une variété de nouveaux produits, tels que des emballages flexibles, des films autonettoyants et des agents qui augmentent la résistance des composites polymériques. Pour atteindre ce but, nous avons choisi deux voies différentes pour modifier chimiquement les fibres de cellulose.Dans la première méthode, les fibres de cellulose sont oxydées à divers degrés par du periodate pour obtenir un dérivé réactif, le dialdéhyde de cellulose (DAC). Parce que l'introduction de beaucoup de groupements chargés mène à la désintégration des fibres, nous avons décidé, pour éviter cela, de réticuler les fibres. Les fibres de DAC ont donc été réticulées avec succès avec du 1,12-diaminododécane en utilisant du méthanol comme solvant. Ensuite, ces fibres réticulées ont été transformées en amides par une autre réaction de base de Schiff avec du n-butylamine qui a pour effet de greffer des chaînes hydrophobes aliphatiques non polaires. Les fibres réticulées se sont avérées avoir une stabilité structurel accrue et ne se sont pas désintégrées lors d'une alkylation plus poussée avec du butylamine. Les fibres ont été caractérisées par FTIR, 13 C-RMN, MEB, TGA, diffractométrie par rayons X, mesures de l'angle de contact et de sorption d'eau. Cette procédure a donné des fibres très hydrophobes avec des angles de contact plus élevés que 145o. De plus, elles ont une absorption d'humidité très faible et une résistance thermique élevée, ce qui les rend potentiellement adaptables à des usages dans de nombreux produits et tout spécialement dans les produits composites.La seconde méthode est basée sur la carboxyméthylation intermédiaire de la cellulose avec de l'acide chloroacétique, suivie d'une substitution ultérieure avec une amine. Les fibres de cellulose carboxyméthylées (CCF) ont été réticulées par une réaction de bioconjugaison classique utilisant l'EDC et l'anhydride d'acide adipique (ADH). Une seconde réaction de carboxyméthylation est alors effectuée sur les fibres réticulées pour y introduire plus de groupements chargés qui pourrons ensuite servir de sites réactifs pour une réaction d'alkylation. Cette réaction est accomplie avec du n-butylamine et a pour résultat la greffe de chaînes non polaires aliphatiques. Les fibres modifiées ont été caractérisées par une variété de techniques, telles le titrage conductimétrique, la spectroscopie infrarouge (FTIR), la microscopie électronique à balayage (MEB), les mesures de propriétés mécaniques telles la résistance à la traction et le module de Young, la mesure de l'angle de contact avec l'eau et la mesure du taux de transmission de la vapeur d'eau

The Urgent Need for Anticolonial Media Literacy

In this article, we advocate for anticolonial media literacy as an important complement to critical race media literacy. Given the pervasive misrepresentation of Indigenous peoples in media, teachers must explicitly learn to challenge colonizing and dehumanizing representations of Indigenous life and help their students to do the same. By outlining several Native studies theories, we forward anticolonial media literacy to help teachers detect and interrupt colonial logics. After modeling anticolonial medial literacy in practice, we draw from Nambé Pueblo scholar Debbie Reese’s framework of “critical Indigenous literacies” to support teachers in including and creating respectful alternatives