Marketing images and consumers' experiences in selling environments

In a well-functioning market, consumers exert choices not just in purchases of products but also in selections of locations to enjoy shopping. Scholarly research has demonstrated that retail atmospheres impact on shoppers’ pleasurable shopping experiences. Demonstrating the marketing concept in action, shoppers consistently respond to this empowerment by for example, spending more time shopping and spending more money in retail facilities that are perceived to offer a pleasanter atmosphere and experience. This research pivots round an in-depth qualitative study that evaluated the impact of a plasma screens and specific informational content on shopping centre user behaviour. A phenomenological study of the effects of the medium, and the way in which these systems influence behaviour, permitted a far deeper investigation of our sample group vis-àvis increased browsing time and the propensity to spend. A series of eight focus discussions were conducted with local user groups of varying age and gender. Key themes drawn from the group discussions using axial coding indicated that the influence created by the images varied with subjects and settings. The general consensus was that such ‘screens’ created a certain ambience that influenced the way our subjects felt about the selling environment under study. Moreover, for our sample groups, there was clearly a link between the screened images and modern expectations of a selling environment. The plasma screens provided added enjoyment to shoppers’ experiences, providing them with more information enabling more informed shopping choices. The research concludes with implications for strategic marketing, theory and practice

Effect of Wedge-Shaped Deflectors on Flow Fields of Dual-Stream Jets

The effect of wedge-shaped fan flow deflectors on the mean and turbulent flow-fields of dual-stream jets is investigated. Several wedge-shaped deflector concepts were used to create asymmetry in the plume of a dual-stream jet issuing from a scaled down version of the NASA Glenn ‘5BB’ bypass-ratio 8 turbofan nozzle. The deflector configurations comprised internal and external wedges with and without a pylon. Some external wedges incorporated local extensions of the fan nacelle. All the deflectors reduced radial velocity gradients, magnitudes of peak Reynolds stresses, and peak turbulent kinetic energy beneath the jet centerplane, with an increase above the jet centerplane. A correlation was obtained between the maximum radial velocity gradient and the peak turbulent kinetic energy in the dominant noise source region

MODLEACH: A Variant of LEACH for WSNs

Wireless sensor networks are appearing as an emerging need for mankind. Though, Such networks are still in research phase however, they have high potential to be applied in almost every field of life. Lots of research is done and a lot more is awaiting to be standardized. In this work, cluster based routing in wireless sensor networks is studied precisely. Further, we modify one of the most prominent wireless sensor network's routing protocol "LEACH" as modified LEACH (MODLEACH) by introducing \emph{efficient cluster head replacement scheme} and \emph{dual transmitting power levels}. Our modified LEACH, in comparison with LEACH out performs it using metrics of cluster head formation, through put and network life. Afterwards, hard and soft thresholds are implemented on modified LEACH (MODLEACH) that boast the performance even more. Finally a brief performance analysis of LEACH, Modified LEACH (MODLEACH), MODLEACH with hard threshold (MODLEACHHT) and MODLEACH with soft threshold (MODLEACHST) is undertaken considering metrics of throughput, network life and cluster head replacements.Comment: IEEE 8th International Conference on Broadband and Wireless Computing, Communication and Applications (BWCCA'13), Compiegne, Franc

The roots of 21st century Malay anger: When young men and women come to the fore

This article seeks to explain briefly to the reader about far right nationalist movements in Malaysia. While this is not a recent occurrence, it spiked during the time of Pakatan Harapan, the Opposition bloc that won the 13th Malaysia General Elections. Seeing non Malay/Muslim faces in the new government frightened many, even those who were against the former Barisan Nasional government. The paper is based on my current research on Malay youth identity of both genders, who are pushing the Malay narrative to the fore, as they demand their rights as Malays; Covid 19 has shown that economic opportunities are getting more scarce. The people I am studying and have spoken to feel that they have low social capital, and their uneasiness at seeing minority communities ‘thrive’ in Malaysia. What is causing this fear? This article posits economic reasons

Molecular mechanism for the regulation of zinc transport by protein kinase CK2

Breast and prostate cancers are the most common cancers in Australian women and men, respectively. The dysregulation of zinc (Zn2+) homeostasis is an intriguing hallmark for both cancers, e.g., hyper-accumulation of Zn2+ in breast cancer compared to normal breast tissue and low level of cellular Zn2+ in prostate cancer in comparison to normal prostate tissue. Such opposite profiles of zinc in breast and prostate cancer cells point to the potential involvement of zinc in cancer development. This study takes advantage of such characteristic feature between breast and prostate cancer cells to explore their molecular details in zinc homeostasis. In this study, protein kinase CK2 (CK2) was firstly analysed in breast and prostate cancer cells, by dissecting the distinct roles of CK2 subunits (CK2α, CK2α’ and CK2β) in zinc homeostasis. Using CK2 inhibitors 4,5,6,7-tetrabromobenzotriazole (TBB) and CX-4945, siRNA-mediated knockdown and zinc ion specific fluorophores (FluoZin-3 AM), this study demonstrated that zinc accumulation was elevated in PC3 and DU145 prostate cancer cells due to knockdown of the gene expression for CK2α’, while the opposite was observed in MCF-7 and MDA-MB-231 breast cancer cells. Furthermore, siRNA knockdown of individual CK2 subunits showed that individual subunits of CK2 have distinct roles in zinc homeostasis in breast and prostate cancer cells. These findings demonstrated that CK2 is indeed involved in zinc homeostasis in breast and prostate cancer cells, as well as that of individual CK2 subunits play distinct roles. The results of this study demonstrated the involvement of CK2 in zinc homeostasis in breast and prostate cancer cells. The RNA-seq dataset confers a holistic view at the molecular level on how the cancer cell responds to the extracellular zinc exposure. The findings of this study provide molecular insights into zinc homeostasis of breast and prostate cancer cells. As zinc is critical for the structure and function of ~3000 human proteins, the molecular details described in this thesis should open multitudes of avenues for cancer research and anti-cancer drug development

Prognostic value of troponins in acute coronary syndrome depends upon patient age

Peer reviewedPostprin

The Rise of Mono-Ethnic Religious Nationalism in Myanmar and Its Impacts on the Security Situation of the South Asian Region

In spite of the technological advancement and progress of liberalism, religion has remained an essential aspect of individual and national life in many countries. In many societies, religion has manifested elements of extremism, which ultimately perpetuates violence and destruction. This radical religious phenomenon is much predominant in the Southeast and South Asian region, including the country known as Myanmar. Myanmar has become a classic example of the religious fusion of politics and social life. The hybrid form of emerging democratic tenets, albeit under military sponsorship in Myanmar, provides a breeding ground for religious nationalism, with dire consequences for religious minorities. Buddhist nationalism in Myanmar has adopted a virulent anti-Muslim narrative in particular and intolerance and hate towards the Muslim minority Rohingyas living in Rakhine state in particular. From August 2017, communal violence to date approximately 600,000 Rohingya fled Myanmar and became refugees in neighboring Bangladesh. The catastrophic humanitarian disaster that emanates through the Rohingya crisis poses a threat to regional security and therefore requires the immediate attention of the global community to stop further loss of lives and destruction. The impacts of the Rohingya conflict are not confined within the boundaries of Myanmar, but the conflict also impacts its neighboring Southeast Asian countries. This thesis emphasizes on the dangers of religious xenophobia as well as the use and explanation of faith for political and nationalistic causes. The paper also evaluates the role of Myanmar military in the socio-political and economic context to determine their involvement in setting the platform for the rise of Buddhist nationalism. The thesis argues that the culture of minority oppression and systemic discrimination against religious minority groups such as the Rohingya not only jeopardizes the county\u27s democratic credentials and vision but also carries grave implications for Southeast Asia, one of the most volatile regions in the world