7,359 research outputs found

    Asia-Pacific zoos in the 21st century : stakeholder perceptions of the roles and functions of zoos : a thesis submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Environmental Management at Massey University, New Zealand

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    The advent of the anthropocene accentuates the transformation of ecosystems on a global scale. This study responds to these concerns by assessing the role and function of 21st century zoos in general and the Asia-Pacific zoos in particular. The lack of information on key zoo stakeholders (visitors, staff members, corporate sponsors and zoo associates) is significant in the Asia-Pacific region, particularly in Asia, where there are complexities that may stem from cultural and societal differences. Furthermore, current literature is predominantly based upon Western research and case studies, which rarely take into account the complexities and differences of Asia. This research considers the diversity of the Asia-Pacific region by examining the perceptions and attitudes of the four groups of key stakeholders. Zoos in six countries across the Asia-Pacific were visited over a period of six months to March 2013 in order to assess the diversity of the study region. A literature survey and meta-analysis of 138 zoo-based publications was employed to create a matrix table of themes, stakeholders, and research outcomes. These results were used to design survey instruments directed at stakeholder groups as well as provide a framework against which the results of this study can be compared and contrasted. Quantitative analysis such as Principal Component Analysis, Spearman’s Rho and Kruskal-Wallis H test were used to analyse the results. The face-to-face and computer-based instruments were augmented with the use of a reflective diary and personal work experience to triangulate and validate the research results. The results show that individual zoos across the world are facing similar challenges. Differences in educational backgrounds and socio-cultural norms within the Asia- Pacific region are reflected in stakeholders’ experiences, perceptions, and evaluations of zoos. The results show that there are many differences amongst Asia-Pacific zoo practices, visitor satisfaction, and stakeholder participation and these differences would make it extremely difficult to coordinate activities at a regional level to give them a single voice with a single agenda

    Thematicity and Informational Focus in English to Mandarin Translation: Maintaining Textual Equivalence

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    CourseworkThis item is only available electronically.This study is concerned with what Systemic Functional Linguistics (e.g. Halliday 1994) terms the systems of Theme/Rheme and Given/New. It provides a small scale exploration of the degree to which equivalence i n these two systems is maintained under English to Mandarin translation. As well, it pays close attention to the two English structures known as Theme Predication and T heme Identification due to their associat ion with the expression of exclusiveness . This expression attributes the conflation of Theme with New rather than with Given, th e usual state of affairs. As a consequence, they pose certain challenges for Mandarin to English translation. T his paper offers the following key findings. F irstly, thematic a nd informational equivalence is usually, but not universally maintained under English to Mandarin translation. S ome discussion is provided of why such breakdowns occasionally occur. S econdly, while Theme Predication and Theme Identification do pose some problems for translation, t he mechanisms employed by the translators to achieve the textual equivalence will be described, with discussion how they are both similar to and different from English original. S pecial attention paid to the expression of exclusi veness demonstrates t hat, while in English this expression is conveyed via particular word orderings, in Mandarin it is conveyed via the use of certain adverbs. Despite its necessity only of a limited nature, this study is expected to serve as the commence ment of researches on exploring the significance of textual meaning in translation, as well as on exploring other possible elements in Mandarin related to text structuring meaning.Thesis (M.A.) -- University of Adelaide, School of Humanities, 200

    Customer Retention in Service Industry

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    Customer retention is previously considered as the last resort of a company in traditional marketing approach rather than a way to improve long term profit (Krishnan & Govindarajan, 2013). This is because traditional way of marketing strategy tends to focus more on attracting new customers than satisfying the existing customers. However, as globalization continue to precede, low growth and highly competitive marketplace shows that retaining customers is the more effective way to sustain a company against inroad competition. It is found by some studies showing that companies which emphasize on attracting new customers are actually earning to cover up the regular loss of existing customers without them noticing. Thus, winning new customers are considered a risky way to be profitable (Rosenberg & Czepiel, 1984). Many previous literature reviews also showed the importance of customer retention in increasing company revenue. More companies are now changing their marketing and management strategies to reach out to their existing customers in order to prevent them for opting for service provided by competitive company. A number of researches posit that customer retention increase profitability by lowering the cost used to attract new customers. It is supported by studies showing that there is increase in profit to as high as 95% if customer retention of the company increases by 5% (Sharmeela-Banu et al., 2012). Many researchers came into agreement that repeated customers are the more valuable asset compared to new customers in today’s market (Climis, 2016). Meanwhile, it can be seen in today’s world economy, service industry has emerged to be one of the fastest growing sectors among the others. Customers are considered the real asset to service industry due to the nature of this industry which prioritizes relationship between customers with the service (Alshurideh, 2016). This makes it even more crucial for this industry to practice customer retention strategies in order to survive and grow in the very competitive marketplace. As such, this study intends to explore literatures pertaining to definitions, measures, importance and factors that influence customer retention in service industry as well as to discuss on possible strategies to be applied based on the studies

    Unifying ultrafast demagnetization and intrinsic Gilbert damping in Co/Ni bilayers with electronic relaxation near the Fermi surface

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    The ability to controllably manipulate the laser-induced ultrafast magnetic dynamics is a prerequisite for future high speed spintronic devices. The optimization of devices requires the controllability of the ultrafast demagnetization time, , and intrinsic Gilbert damping, . In previous attempts to establish the relationship between and , the rare-earth doping of a permalloy film with two different demagnetization mechanism is not a suitable candidate. Here, we choose Co/Ni bilayers to investigate the relations between and by means of time-resolved magneto-optical Kerr effect (TRMOKE) via adjusting the thickness of the Ni layers, and obtain an approximately proportional relation between these two parameters. The remarkable agreement between TRMOKE experiment and the prediction of breathing Fermi-surface model confirms that a large Elliott-Yafet spin-mixing parameter is relevant to the strong spin-orbital coupling at the Co/Ni interface. More importantly, a proportional relation between and in such metallic films or heterostructures with electronic relaxation near Fermi surface suggests the local spin-flip scattering domains the mechanism of ultrafast demagnetization, otherwise the spin-current mechanism domains. It is an effective method to distinguish the dominant contributions to ultrafast magnetic quenching in metallic heterostructures by investigating both the ultrafast demagnetization time and Gilbert damping simultaneously. Our work can open a novel avenue to manipulate the magnitude and efficiency of Terahertz emission in metallic heterostructures such as the perpendicular magnetic anisotropic Ta/Pt/Co/Ni/Pt/Ta multilayers, and then it has an immediate implication of the design of high frequency spintronic devices
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