TIP! Use paint to decorate your home on a budget. Even if your budget has no room for a large-scale improvement project, paint can work wonders.
Not many projects are as fulfilling as home improvement projects. You can really feel pride of ownership when you dedicate time to making your home the best it can be. How do you begin? This guide will give you great tips on how to get your home to look even better.
TIP! Before you go to the home improvement center, be sure to make a complete list of necessary items. When you make a list, it will be easier for you to ensure that you don?t forget anything and have to go back to the store.
If you are renovating tile floors, consider radiant heat tiles. Radiant heat tiles use electricity to heat the tiles and keep your feet warm. Fortunately for you, these are also really easy to put in if you are able to precisely follow the instructions. This is a project that you can do yourself without any help. You will be happy you did when you go into your bathroom on that first day of winter.
TIP! Think about the amount your home?s value will increase before doing a home improvement project. You want to consider those projects that will net the greatest return on your time and money.
To make a dreary or dated looking home feel vibrant and new, repaint the walls. A fresh coat of paint can completely change the look of a room. It does not cost much to paint, and it will significantly add value to your home. Use light colors that work with your decor.
TIP! If you want to change a room and not spend a lot of money, you can paint the room utilizing a unique paint technique. It?s cheap to do such a project, while the rewards are plentiful.
Prior to starting a home improvement job, be sure to list all the actions you believe will occur from the time you start to the time you finish. When you have finished your list, show it to friends and relations who have DIY home improvement experience to make sure you haven?t left anything out. Make sure you put aside enough time to work on this project, because you never really know how long it will take to finish everything.
TIP! Before you agree to have an alarm system installed, carefully consider its advantages and disadvantages. If you spend a lot of time away from home or reside in an unsafe neighborhood, a security system is a good idea.
View things can match your home in importance to your daily life. It is also important that it looks the best it can. The tips shared here with you are excellent for keeping in mind for your projects. Consider which ones you like and create some time for you to work on them.
GENEVA (AP) ? Tina Turner is on her way to becoming a Swiss citizen.
The American rock diva has lived in the Zurich suburb of Kuesnacht since the mid-1990s. The local Zuerichsee-Zeitung newspaper said on its website the local council announced its decision to grant the 73-year-old Turner citizenship in an official notice published in Friday's edition.
The decision still requires formal approval from cantonal (state) and federal authorities.
Lindsey Vonn, of the United States, celebrates at finish line after winning an alpine ski, women's World Cup giant slalom, in Maribor, Slovenia, Saturday, Jan. 26, 2013. (AP Photo/PierMarco Tacca)
Lindsey Vonn, of the United States, celebrates at finish line after winning an alpine ski, women's World Cup giant slalom, in Maribor, Slovenia, Saturday, Jan. 26, 2013. (AP Photo/PierMarco Tacca)
Lindsey Vonn, of the United States, celebrates at finish line after winning an alpine ski, women's World Cup giant slalom, in Maribor, Slovenia, Saturday, Jan. 26, 2013. (AP Photo/PierMarco Tacca)
From left, Slovenia Tina Maze, second placed, Lindsey Vonn, the winner, of the United States, and third placed Austria's Anna Fenninger celebrate on podium after winning an alpine ski, women's World Cup giant slalom, in Maribor, Slovenia, Saturday, Jan. 26, 2013. (AP Photo/PierMarco Tacca)
Lindsey Vonn, of the United States, speeds past a gate on her way to clock the third fastest time in an alpine ski, women's World Cup giant slalom, in Maribor, Slovenia, Saturday, Jan. 26, 2013. (AP Photo/Marco Trovati)
Lindsey Vonn, of the United States, celebrates at finish line after winning an alpine ski, women's World Cup giant slalom, in Maribor, Slovenia, Saturday, Jan. 26, 2013. (AP Photo/PierMarco Tacca)
MARIBOR, Slovenia (AP) ? Lindsey Vonn beat rival Tina Maze on the Slovenian's home snow and in her best discipline Saturday, earning a surprising victory in a giant slalom.
Maze had a chance to secure her third giant slalom discipline title with a victory and led after a near-perfect first run, but a poor start to the second cost her valuable time and she finished 0.08 seconds behind Vonn.
Vonn proved again that she is back to her best after an illness by putting down two good runs in what is traditionally her weakest event to win in 2 minutes, 22.2 seconds.
Vonn was third after the first run but overcame several errors to have the fastest time in the second and create a margin that Maze couldn't bridge.
"In the second run I decided, OK, it's all or nothing, I had to go for it," Vonn said. "It's been a rough year for me in GS, so it's just perfect."
Vonn earned her first GS victory since March of last year, and her second win in a week after taking the downhill at Cortina D'Ampezzo.
With her 59th World Cup win overall, she's just three away from equaling Annemarie Moser Proell's record on the women's side.
Austria's Anna Fenninger was third, 0.57 seconds behind Vonn.
Maze extended her lead in the overall standing to 748 points against her closest challenger, Germany's Maria Hoefl-Riesch, who finished fourth. Vonn stands another 66 points back in third, having missed several races while recovering from an intestinal illness that landed her in hospital in November.
The 29-year-old Maze was expected to clinch the GS title in front of a passionate home crowd and was 0.48 seconds ahead of Vonn after dominating the first run.
However, she ran wide at the start of the second, leaving her 0.13 seconds behind her rival at the first checkpoint. Despite the cheers of the fans urging her on, Maze couldn't make up the time and finished with tears in her eyes.
Baltimore Ravens coach John Harbaugh calls to his team during football practice Saturday, Jan. 26, 2013 in Owings Mills, Md. (AP Photo/Gail Burton).
Baltimore Ravens coach John Harbaugh calls to his team during football practice Saturday, Jan. 26, 2013 in Owings Mills, Md. (AP Photo/Gail Burton).
Baltimore Ravens Matt Birk, and Gino Gradkowski talk during football practice Saturday, Jan. 26, 2013 in Owings Mills, Md. (AP Photo/Gail Burton).
Baltimore Ravens wide receiver Anquan Boldin warms up during football practice Saturday, Jan. 26, 2013 in Owings Mills, Md. (AP Photo/Gail Burton).
Baltimore Ravens quarterback Joe Flacco smiles at back up quarterback Tyrod Taylor during practice Saturday, Jan. 26, 2013 in Owings Mills, Md. (AP Photo/Gail Burton).
OWINGS MILLS, Md. (AP) ? The music blared in the Baltimore Ravens locker room Saturday as the players threw their football gear into black duffel bags lying in front of their cubicles.
Next stop, New Orleans.
After one final practice at their own training facility, the Super Bowl-bound Ravens will take Sunday off before heading for the Big Easy on Monday afternoon in anticipation of their matchup on Feb. 3 against the San Francisco 49ers.
"We're right where we want to be," wide receiver Torrey Smith said. "Now we have an opportunity to play in the big one. But at the end of the day, we're still getting ready for a football game."
Coach John Harbaugh conducted practice from Thursday through Saturday as if it was a normal work week. They went hard on Thursday and Friday and eased up Saturday.
"We've had a great week. We had an excellent practice," Harbaugh said after the closed two-hour session. "The guys are very sharp and they're excited. We'll have to go down there and do just as well (or) do better."
The next time the Ravens hit the practice field, it will be in New Orleans. This week, at least, there were no distractions.
"I think it's always important to have a good practice no matter what," Harbaugh said. "You've got to practice well to play well. You pretty much play the way you practice. That's something that we learned when we were kids and that's not going to change."
It was final practice at the team's training complex for Ray Lewis, who intends to retire after the Super Bowl. Center Matt Birk has made no such announcement, but there is a possibility the 36-year-old is also preparing for his last game.
"I don't think like that," Birk said. "I just try to live in the moment. That's just kind of my mindset. I don't think about the future or if this could be it. It drives my wife nuts, but that's just not how I operate."
Now in his 15th NFL season ? the fourth with Baltimore ? Birk's knees are scarred from several operations and he had surgery during the offseason to repair varicose veins in his legs. But he played in all 16 games during the regular season and remained solid in the middle of the offensive line during the postseason.
"I'm not sure about Matt's plans," Harbaugh said. "If he decides to come back next year that would be awesome. He's smart, he's tough. To my eye, he's playing the best football that he's played since he's been here, right now. To have that be true at the end of a (long) season is very impressive. We would not be where we are without Matt Birk."
Looking ahead to the challenge next Sunday, Harbaugh called the 49ers "a very well-coached football team." He said it with a grin, because San Francisco is coached by his little brother, Jim.
Over the Christmas holiday I decided to do something a bit different, and as a family we backpacked round the world on a cheap ticket. Japan, Australia, New Zealand and America. As you can imagine, it was a feast of images and experiences, and I didn?t want to forget a moment of it.
So I suggested to my son Ethan that he keep a ticket stub diary of the journey. Over the four weeks we duly stuck in tickets, maps, sweet wrappers, even a slither of eucalyptus soap, and gradually built up a multi layered recollection of events. It was colourful, sometimes irreverant but always interesting and a genuine cultural snapshot of the places we visited.
The best scrapbooks are mostly visual, complemented by succinct and insightful comment. The best scrapbooks use a beautiful journal or photo album to take you on the journey and make you think.
?
My top tips for a great scrapbook:
* the layout should be 60 per cent visual and 40 per cent text.
* change the layout of each page and don?t make the arrangement too ordered ? a sense of spontaneity is a good thing.
* inject humour amongst the serious stuff ? include sweetie wrappers or drinks labels.
* don?t cram too much on a page ? let it breathe.
* think of texture as well ? people will be fingering the page ? cloth, string, foil, they all help communicate the message.
* collage your cover and protect it with sticky backed plastic for a hardwearing finish.
Editor?s Note:Brian Bowman is founder and CEO of LikeIt.com, a fun way to discover people, places, and things. The responsibility of dating sites should be to facilitate great first dates. Unfortunately, the dating industry has chosen to protect its charge-to-communicate?business model instead of give consumers access to information to make an educated decision about a potential date: Is my date a real person? Who do we know in common and what mutual interests do we share?
Oris' new Aquis Depth Gauge might not be the first watch to let a diver track the depth of their underwater excursions, but it takes a unique approach to that functionality. More »
Wonderful Montavilla 1-level on a quiet bike boulevard. Great layout with open kitchen/dining room, large living room and lots of light. Tons of storage potential in the oversized attached garage. The private, covered backyard patio is great for entertainers. This neighborhood is hopping with access to parks, shops, cafes, theater, Mt Tabor & freeway commutes. Get in quick!
Last week in Little Rock, Ark., a woman?died after she and her young son were trapped in a car that became submerged in a pond. According to the Associated Press, she dialed 911, but rescuers were delayed in reaching the vehicle by more than 30 minutes, because the call-taker allegedly failed to enter the call into the center?s computer aided-dispatch system.
Today, I spoke with Sgt. Cassandra Davis, public-affairs director for the Little Rock police department. The incident is under investigation, so there wasn?t a lot she could share. The good news is that the little boy is off of life-support systems, but he?s still in the intensive-care unit of a local hospital.
Davis told me that the public-safety answering point (PSAP) at the center of this tragedy is a multi-position center, though she wasn?t sure how many. She also told me that the incident occurred during the morning rush, but she wasn?t sure how busy that particular morning was in the 911 center. The emergency call placed by the victim first went to a county PSAP and then was handed off to the city?s center. That?s when things began to unravel, Davis said, adding that they?re still not sure what happened. The city?s IT department is recreating the keystrokes from that morning, and officials are reviewing video surveillance footage captured by cameras inside the center.
Davis was able to say that the call-taker had trouble inputting the location of the incident into the system, although the center has procedures for that, she said. In such situations, call-takers are trained to get a supervisor involved to override the system. Davis added that the system is designed to provide a ?Do you really want to do that?? warning when someone attempts to delete data from the system; similarly, telecommunicators receive a visual confirmation on their screens when data has been introduced successfully. Investigators are trying to figure out why these safeguards weren?t enough to prevent this event. Meanwhile, the call-taker?hired about 10 months ago, completing her probationary period last September?has been placed on administrative leave.
I ran all of this by Steve Rauter, executive director of the Western Will County Communications Center (WESCOM) and a member of the Urgent Communications editorial advisory board. He described this incident as a ?doozy? and told me that it is more proof that every state needs a certification program for 911 dispatchers and call-takers.
?You need a license to cut hair or put fingernail polish on somebody in Illinois, but you don?t need any qualifications to handle a 911 call,? Rauter said. ?We need to be comfortable with the level of training that a person gets, and performance standards need to be set.? In other words, just because someone has been trained, that doesn?t necessarily mean that they actually can handle the rigors of a very demanding job in which lives are on the line every day.
Rauter added that a strong effort is underway in the state?led by Sherrill Ornberg and Brian Tegtmeyer, who respectively are the executive directors of the North Suburban Emergency Communications Center in Des Plaines and DU-COMM, a large consolidated 911 center that serves DuPage County?to establish a licensing/certification/testing program in Illinois.
The flip side of that coin is that such a program would greatly aid the hiring process, according to Rauter.
?You have to wind the clock back a little bit and ask whether we?re hiring the right folks, and that goes right back to having standards in place,? he said. ?It?s very tough to tailor an interview process when you really don?t know what you?re aiming at.?
Rauter?s refrain is one that I?ve heard numerous times in the past, and it continues to ring true. I asked Little Rock?s Davis whether the state of Arkansas has a certification program in place. She wasn?t sure, but didn?t think so.
Maybe this tragedy would have occurred even if one had been in place. Sometimes mistakes get made and systems fail, even when you?ve done everything in your power to avert them. But, if Arkansas doesn?t have a certification program, it needs to get one?every state does. When lives are on the line, it is imperative that steps be taken to ensure that first responders?and 911 telecommunicators are part of that group?are trained to the highest possible standards.
One life is gone and two others have been shattered by this incident?a child has lost his mother and a 911 call-taker will have to work through a lot of guilt. Again, maybe it would have happened anyway. But it?s hard to argue against the notion that having a certification program in place would decrease the odds, perhaps dramatically.
?Our productivity has increased 10 fold since we started with?Smart Service! Not only in the field but, in the office as well!?Leaving us time to address other areas that need improvement.??Brian Nicely, Service Manager, Bower Heating and Air Conditioning.
COMPANY PROFILE
?
Bower Heating and Air Conditioning Inc., is a growing heating and air conditioning contracting company located in Roanoke, VA with approximately 25 employees.? Five Bower employees are service technicians, while the remaining employees include administrative office staff, sales team or ?comfort?advisers? and installation technicians.
?
Bower?s business mix includes heating and air conditioning servicing, part and unit replacement, alongside new construction projects.
?
BUSINESS CHALLENGES
?
Need to manage real time information to increase productivity and customer service.
Better method needed for tracking replacement part inventory.
More efficient method needed for billing and payment collection per service call.
?
Prior to selecting Smart Service and later adding iFleet, Bower did scheduling, dispatching, and routing by hand.
?
OUTCOMES WITH SMART SERVICE
?
In late 2011, Bower implemented Smart Service to address their needs for ?real time? data, inventory control, and billing.? Bower felt confident selecting Smart Service said Service Manager, Brian Nicely ?because of the ease of use with QuickBooks.?
?
With Smart Service, Bower now easily manages service call billing on a customer-by-customer basis. For calls where immediate billing at the time of service is not an option, with Smart Service, Nicely said we make use of the QuickBooks integration and ?our invoices go out the same day that service is provided.?
?
Since installing Smart Service, ?nothing slips through the cracks,? said Nicely.
?
IN THE FIELD WITH IFLEET
?
Like many service based companies, tablets and smartphones are no longer a luxury, but a necessity to do business more efficiently from both the field and office.
?
We knew, indicated Nicely, that ?providing iPads for the service techs would really change how we do business? and iFleet for Smart Service has made that transition an easier one to manage.
?
For Bower, this means faster and better troubleshooting for service technicians and overall improved customer service.
?
Smart Service and iFleet features improving Bower Heating and Air Conditioning:
The ability to move service calls from tech-to-tech to maximize a technician?s time within a specific geographic area.
Having all equipment and part models and serial numbers available for review both in-office and in the field.
The ability to close sales the same day leads come in.
Because this year's NBA All-Star Game is in Houston and because Houston is home to the Mission Control Center (and because Nike loves to have an excuse to make special edition sneakers), Nike is designing shoes that look like they're from outer space. They'd look great on aliens. More »
For the latest episode of my Foundation series, I headed over to the Path office to sit down with founder Dave Morin. Dave talks about getting his start in student marketing at Apple, and reflects that focus is one of the most important things he learned there. He goes on to describe his time at Facebook, where an intense focus on product utility set the product up for long-term growth. Dave also dives into the moments that inspired Path, and the different ways their team thinks about the social graph.
McDonald's says it will be the first national restaurant chain to carry a label from a group that certifies sustainable fishing practices.?
The blue "ecolabel" from the Marine Stewardship Council certifies that the Alaskan Pollack used in McDonald's Filet-O-Fish sandwiches come from suppliers with sustainable fishing practices.?
Major retail chains including Wal-Mart and Whole Foods already use the council's label. The nonprofit group is paid a royalty fee from companies that use its label. For McDonald's, that means the fee would be based on sales of its fish offerings, such as the Filet-O-Fish and the Fish McBites that will be launched as a limited-time offer next month.?
The Marine Stewardship Council, based in Seattle, isn't the only group that offers consumer labeling for seafood. Last year, for example, Whole Foods also stopped carrying wild-caught seafood that's "red-rated," which indicates it's either overfished or caught in a way that harms other species.?
The move reflects the growing concerns among consumers about the sources of their seafood. Major supermarket chains, including BJ's Wholesale Club, have also moved recently to try to make their seafood selections more sustainable.?
The Marine Stewardship Council has about 300 fisheries in its program, representing between 12 to 14 percent of the world's fisheries, said Kerry Coughlin, the group's regional director for the Americas. Fisheries can go through a confidential pre-assessment phase to get guidance on whether they're ready for certification. Coughlin said about 30 to 40 percent of fisheries aren't ready when they start the pre-assessment phase, but that more than 90 percent obtain certification after beginning the full, official assessment process.?
McDonald's gets all its fish in the U.S. from a single Alaskan Pollack fishery, Coughlin said. The chain's restaurants in Europe already use the council's label.?
A spokeswoman for McDonald's, Christina Tyler, said the all U.S. stores should have the labeling by early February. McDonald's will promote the certification on packaging for other products, including Happy Meals and drinks.?
The company, based in Oak Brook, Ill., stopped using Eastern Baltic Cod in 2007 because of sustainability concerns. Since then, Tyler said the company has sourced Alaskan Pollock and New Zealand Hoki exclusively from fisheries with the Marine Stewardship Council's label. Now the chain uses only Alaskan Pollock for its fish items in the U.S.?
Jan. 23, 2013 ? As the gun control debate continues, Kevin D. Bradford, an associate professional specialist in marketing at the University of Notre Dame's Mendoza College of Business, says the focus should be on those who distribute guns, not solely on those who buy them.
Bradford and a team of researchers conducted a first-of-its-kind study on the ways guns move from legal channels into the hands of criminals. In "Counter-marketing in the Courts: The Case of Marketing Channels and Firearms Diversion," published in the Journal of Public Policy and Marketing, they examined 28,000 pages of court documents, looking at what kinds of guns were used in violent crimes and what kinds of safeguards specific gun manufacturers had in place for distribution.
"The gun industry is cloaked in secrecy," Bradford says. "We found that 1 percent of gun dealers are responsible for 45 to 60 percent of guns involved in crimes. These dealers divert new guns intended for responsible owners to those that gun restrictions are meant to keep away from the weapons."
Safeguards are reasonable and popular policies, such as background checks, for shipping dangerous things. Bradford says, shockingly, there are numerous gun manufacturers that do not require their collaborators to safeguard. His research found a negative relationship between implementing safeguards and guns being used in crimes.
"That's pretty significant," Bradford says. "The problem lies in where new guns are sent by manufacturers. We looked at the top manufacturers, which accounted for 97 percent of all gun sales in the United States. A lot of them are not safeguarding their distribution channels. They're not making sure the dealers are doing the things necessary so that their guns stay out of criminals' hands."
Bradford says more vigilance over gun distribution could help curb gun violence.
"When manufacturers implement safeguards in their distribution channels, their guns are not used as often in crime," he says. "If those marketing principles were put in place, dealers would be more discouraged from selling guns to the wrong people. This isn't about keeping law-abiding citizens from having guns, (but) simply ensuring that the right process is being followed from the very beginning.
"If we can hold Hasbro accountable for choking hazards for children, it seems reasonable that we should be able to hold gun manufacturers accountable for their intermediaries who distribute to criminals," Bradford says. "Nobody seems to want the government involved in gun control, and the government doesn't have enough feet on the ground for the job anyway, so why not get manufacturers involved? They should be held accountable."
Bradford teaches and does research on significant issues within the marketing system and its relationship to society.
Share this story on Facebook, Twitter, and Google:
Other social bookmarking and sharing tools:
Story Source:
The above story is reprinted from materials provided by University of Notre Dame. The original article was written by Shannon Chapla.
Note: Materials may be edited for content and length. For further information, please contact the source cited above.
Note: If no author is given, the source is cited instead.
Disclaimer: Views expressed in this article do not necessarily reflect those of ScienceDaily or its staff.
Study: Store layout an important variable for retailersPublic release date: 24-Jan-2013 [ | E-mail | Share ]
Contact: Phil Ciciora pciciora@illinois.edu 217-333-2177 University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. A retailer's optimal store layout is the result of balancing the interests of two different types of markets consumers and suppliers, says new research co-written by a University of Illinois business professor.
According to Yunchuan "Frank" Liu, a retailer's strategic manipulation of store layout is driven by an incentive to balance the shopping process of "fit-uncertain consumers" and the pricing behavior of upstream suppliers.
"Retailers face two different kinds of markets the consumers who buy goods, and the manufacturers that supply goods," he said. "It's a very important variable for local retailers and marketing managers to play with in this era of increased competition with online retailers, and it has important implications for companies and consumers."
The study, which will appear in the journal Marketing Science, is the first paper to formally study the significance of store layouts, said Liu, who co-wrote the study with Zheyin (Jane) Gu, a professor of marketing at the State University of New York, Albany.
"If we look at the current retailing environment, local retailers are in intense competition with online retailers, which means real-world retailers really need to think about how they're going to differentiate themselves," Liu said.
Although consumers live in an information-rich environment, where they know just about everything reviews, price and quality about a product before they handle it, they know virtually nothing about the unique "fit" of the product until they walk into a store and handle the product, Liu says.
"For many products, consumers typically remain uncertain about a product's fit until physically inspecting it," he said. "That could mean how a shirt feels when you try it on, or what a certain size tablet feels like in the consumers' hands. And since the consumer has to travel to the store and compare the products, that is to the local retailer's advantage, because that's something that online retailers can't do."
Another way retailers can compete with online merchants is by making the physical act of shopping as convenient as possible for consumers. In a market characterized by what the researchers call "consumer-fit uncertainty," a retailer may design the layout of a store to facilitate the simultaneous inspection of products, Liu says.
"For basic goods like toothbrushes, the fit probability is really high, because to most consumers, a toothbrush is a toothbrush," he said. "In that case, the retailer should group all toothbrushes together in the same location, forcing the manufacturers to compete on price."
But making the consumer shopping experience as easy as possible may not be the best retail strategy for certain products, Liu says.
According to the research, sometimes retailers might want manufacturers to compete on location in the store, even if it's inconvenient for consumers, which may sound counterintuitive to marketing managers.
"Sometimes it's not in retailers' interests to make certain things convenient to consumers, because they have to consider the balance between the consumer market and the manufacturer market," Liu said. "By affecting consumers' fit inspection processes, the retailer's store layout design also influences pricing behaviors of upstream manufacturers."
Not only do marketing managers have to decide whether to group competing firms' products together or separately, they also must balance that strategy with consumers' perception of the store.
"Think about Bloomingdale's versus Sears high-end luxury items versus basic items," Liu said. "Sears puts all of a manufacturers' products together. If you're looking for a table at Sears, they're all stocked together. If you go to Bloomingdale's, you'll notice that they sell furniture by brands. If you go to this room, it has everything from one manufacturer. If you want to look at another set of table and chairs, you have to go to another room."
That's because for basic products, such as the table from Sears, the product's fit probability is very high, Liu says.
"But if you go to Bloomindale's, they have the high-end furniture and for
high-end products, people have different tastes," he said. "So Sears wants manufacturers to compete on price, while Bloomingdale's wants manufacturers to compete for the best location in the store."
It also depends on the product itself, Liu says.
"Even within high-end stores, individual product strategies will be different," he said. "For some product categories, such as kitchenware, which is quite standard, even a high-end retailer will sell everything together."
Name-brand clothes, however, are usually sold by the brand.
"Macy's puts some goods from competing manufacturers together, but if you look at clothing jeans, shirts, sweaters they usually sell them by brand," he said. "Calvin Klein is here, but Ralph Lauren is way over there."
But for low-fit probability products such as shirts, where each shirt is different, "even if retailers put them all together, like toothbrushes, the price competition is not that intense, because consumers have different preferences for shirts than they do for toothbrushes," Liu says.
"Even if one shirt manufacturer is running a promotion with a lower price than the competition if that shirt doesn't fit me; if its material irritates my skin; if it doesn't have the color I like, it doesn't matter how low the price is, because I won't buy it," he said.
"In this case, if the retailer sells all of the products together, it doesn't intensify the competition from the manufacturers. So the retailer should put the products in different locations so the manufacturers have to compete on the locations rather than on prices."
Although many retailers also offer the price-matching policy with online retailers like Amazon.com, that's really not the smartest strategy, according to Liu.
"Retailers probably do not want to play the pricing game with online retailers," he said. "They have certain inherent advantages in their store, in that the consumer has to find the right 'fit' for certain products. That's the frontier on which they have the advantage. So they should not give ground by playing the pricing game."
AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.
Study: Store layout an important variable for retailersPublic release date: 24-Jan-2013 [ | E-mail | Share ]
Contact: Phil Ciciora pciciora@illinois.edu 217-333-2177 University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. A retailer's optimal store layout is the result of balancing the interests of two different types of markets consumers and suppliers, says new research co-written by a University of Illinois business professor.
According to Yunchuan "Frank" Liu, a retailer's strategic manipulation of store layout is driven by an incentive to balance the shopping process of "fit-uncertain consumers" and the pricing behavior of upstream suppliers.
"Retailers face two different kinds of markets the consumers who buy goods, and the manufacturers that supply goods," he said. "It's a very important variable for local retailers and marketing managers to play with in this era of increased competition with online retailers, and it has important implications for companies and consumers."
The study, which will appear in the journal Marketing Science, is the first paper to formally study the significance of store layouts, said Liu, who co-wrote the study with Zheyin (Jane) Gu, a professor of marketing at the State University of New York, Albany.
"If we look at the current retailing environment, local retailers are in intense competition with online retailers, which means real-world retailers really need to think about how they're going to differentiate themselves," Liu said.
Although consumers live in an information-rich environment, where they know just about everything reviews, price and quality about a product before they handle it, they know virtually nothing about the unique "fit" of the product until they walk into a store and handle the product, Liu says.
"For many products, consumers typically remain uncertain about a product's fit until physically inspecting it," he said. "That could mean how a shirt feels when you try it on, or what a certain size tablet feels like in the consumers' hands. And since the consumer has to travel to the store and compare the products, that is to the local retailer's advantage, because that's something that online retailers can't do."
Another way retailers can compete with online merchants is by making the physical act of shopping as convenient as possible for consumers. In a market characterized by what the researchers call "consumer-fit uncertainty," a retailer may design the layout of a store to facilitate the simultaneous inspection of products, Liu says.
"For basic goods like toothbrushes, the fit probability is really high, because to most consumers, a toothbrush is a toothbrush," he said. "In that case, the retailer should group all toothbrushes together in the same location, forcing the manufacturers to compete on price."
But making the consumer shopping experience as easy as possible may not be the best retail strategy for certain products, Liu says.
According to the research, sometimes retailers might want manufacturers to compete on location in the store, even if it's inconvenient for consumers, which may sound counterintuitive to marketing managers.
"Sometimes it's not in retailers' interests to make certain things convenient to consumers, because they have to consider the balance between the consumer market and the manufacturer market," Liu said. "By affecting consumers' fit inspection processes, the retailer's store layout design also influences pricing behaviors of upstream manufacturers."
Not only do marketing managers have to decide whether to group competing firms' products together or separately, they also must balance that strategy with consumers' perception of the store.
"Think about Bloomingdale's versus Sears high-end luxury items versus basic items," Liu said. "Sears puts all of a manufacturers' products together. If you're looking for a table at Sears, they're all stocked together. If you go to Bloomingdale's, you'll notice that they sell furniture by brands. If you go to this room, it has everything from one manufacturer. If you want to look at another set of table and chairs, you have to go to another room."
That's because for basic products, such as the table from Sears, the product's fit probability is very high, Liu says.
"But if you go to Bloomindale's, they have the high-end furniture and for
high-end products, people have different tastes," he said. "So Sears wants manufacturers to compete on price, while Bloomingdale's wants manufacturers to compete for the best location in the store."
It also depends on the product itself, Liu says.
"Even within high-end stores, individual product strategies will be different," he said. "For some product categories, such as kitchenware, which is quite standard, even a high-end retailer will sell everything together."
Name-brand clothes, however, are usually sold by the brand.
"Macy's puts some goods from competing manufacturers together, but if you look at clothing jeans, shirts, sweaters they usually sell them by brand," he said. "Calvin Klein is here, but Ralph Lauren is way over there."
But for low-fit probability products such as shirts, where each shirt is different, "even if retailers put them all together, like toothbrushes, the price competition is not that intense, because consumers have different preferences for shirts than they do for toothbrushes," Liu says.
"Even if one shirt manufacturer is running a promotion with a lower price than the competition if that shirt doesn't fit me; if its material irritates my skin; if it doesn't have the color I like, it doesn't matter how low the price is, because I won't buy it," he said.
"In this case, if the retailer sells all of the products together, it doesn't intensify the competition from the manufacturers. So the retailer should put the products in different locations so the manufacturers have to compete on the locations rather than on prices."
Although many retailers also offer the price-matching policy with online retailers like Amazon.com, that's really not the smartest strategy, according to Liu.
"Retailers probably do not want to play the pricing game with online retailers," he said. "They have certain inherent advantages in their store, in that the consumer has to find the right 'fit' for certain products. That's the frontier on which they have the advantage. So they should not give ground by playing the pricing game."
AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.
LONDON (Reuters) - Britain's pro-EU former Labour Prime Minister Tony Blair said on Wednesday he felt a "huge stab of anxiety" about the prospect of an in/out referendum on the European Union.
His Conservative successor David Cameron has pledged to give Britons a referendum choice on whether to stay in the EU if he wins an election in 2015.
Speaking from the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, Blair told Sky TV that Britain's eventual exit from the EU was now on the agenda.
"The thing that sends a huge stab of anxiety through any of us that believe that Britain's place in the 21st Century has got to be as a key player in the largest political union, the biggest business market in the world, is that we're now putting on the table the prospect of Britain leaving Europe in a referendum in four or five years' time," he said.
"Why would we do that now? We don't know what the rest of Europe is going to propose by way of changes resulting from this euro crisis, we don't know yet the detail of what we're going to argue in Europe," he added.
"Surely what is better is to have that debate, try and shape the process in Europe and then decide where we are."
Blair said he agreed with Cameron when he said in a landmark speech earlier on Wednesday that reform was needed in Europe.
"Ninety percent of that speech is ... the British Prime Minister addressing the British national interest," he said.
"It's the climax to the speech (the referendum pledge) that I'm afraid is really about the internal European problem in the Conservative party and how they placate this UKIP party."
The Conservatives have long argued amongst themselves about whether Britain should be an EU member, a division eagerly exploited by the small but vociferous anti-EU UK Independence Party (UKIP) which is rising in opinion polls.
Blair added: "There's got to be a compelling reason to put that (referendum) question on the agenda. I don't see that compelling reason now."
(Reporting by Stephen Addison Editing by Maria Golovnina)
WASHINGTON -- A key U.S. Senate committee will hold a hearing in coming weeks to examine U.S. aviation safety oversight and the Federal Aviation Administration's decision to allow Boeing Co. to use highly flammable lithium-ion batteries on board its new 787 Dreamliner, a congressional aide said on Tuesday.
U.S., Japanese and French authorities are investigating two separate cases in which lithium-ion batteries on board the new airliner failed. One of the batteries sparked a fire in a parked plane in Boston, while the other forced an emergency landing in Japan.
As a result, authorities around the world last week grounded all 50 Boeing 787s.
The Dreamliner, with a list price of $207 million, is the world's newest airliner, a lightweight, advanced carbon-composite design that has more electrical power than any other aircraft and uses 20 percent less fuel.
"Certainly the issues of FAA certification will be a key component of the aviation safety oversight hearing we're planning," an aide to the Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee told Reuters in an email.
The aide, who was not authorized to speak publicly, said committee chairman Senator John Rockefeller was "following the situation surrounding the Dreamliner and FAA's task force closely and he thinks the FAA and (Department of Transportation)are examining the issue carefully."
The House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee is also keeping a close eye on the 787 investigations and the issue of FAA oversight, congressional aides said, although no formal hearings were planned at this point.
Boeing officials have briefed both oversight committees and other key lawmakers about the matter, a Boeing spokesman said.
The Senate committee had already been planning to conduct "substantial and aggressive oversight" of aviation safety during the first quarter, but would now look closely at the 787 incidents and FAA oversight as part of that process, the committee aide said.
Problems with the 787's lithium-ion battery have sparked questions about why the FAA in 2007 granted Boeing a "special condition" to allow use of the batteries on the plane, despite the fact that they are highly flammable and hard to extinguish if they catch fire.
Boeing designed a special system that was supposed to contain any such fire and vent toxic gasses outside the plane, but the two recent incidents have raised questions about whether that was a good decision.
It remains unclear what caused the batteries to fail, but when it announced plans to ground U.S.-based 787s, the FAA said both battery failures released flammable chemicals, heat damage and smoke - all of which could affect critical systems on the plane and spark a fire in the electrical compartment.
The FAA has said it will keep the 787s grounded until airlines demonstrate that the battery system is safe and complies with safety regulations.?
Jan. 21, 2013 ? A nearby short duration gamma-ray burst may be the cause of an intense blast of high-energy radiation that hit the Earth in the 8th century, according to new research led by astronomers Valeri Hambaryan and Ralph Neuh?user.
The two scientists, based at the Astrophysics Institute of the University of Jena in Germany, publish their results in the journal Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society.
In 2012 scientist Fusa Miyake announced the detection of high levels of the isotope Carbon-14 and Beryllium-10 in tree rings formed in 775 CE, suggesting that a burst of radiation struck the Earth in the year 774 or 775. Carbon-14 and Beryllium-10 form when radiation from space collides with nitrogen atoms, which then decay to these heavier forms of carbon and beryllium. The earlier research ruled out the nearby explosion of a massive star (a supernova) as nothing was recorded in observations at the time and no remnant has been found.
Prof. Miyake also considered whether a solar flare could have been responsible, but these are not powerful enough to cause the observed excess of carbon-14. Large flares are likely to be accompanied by ejections of material from the Sun?s corona, leading to vivid displays of the northern and southern lights (aurorae), but again no historical records suggest these took place.
Following this announcement, researchers pointed to an entry in the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle that describes a ?red crucifix? seen after sunset and suggested this might be a supernova. But this dates from 776, too late to account for the carbon-14 data and still does not explain why no remnant has been detected.
Drs. Hambaryan and Neuh?user have another explanation, consistent with both the carbon-14 measurements and the absence of any recorded events in the sky. They suggest that two compact stellar remnants, i.e. black holes, neutron stars or white dwarfs, collided and merged together. When this happens, some energy is released in the form of gamma rays, the most energetic part of the electromagnetic spectrum that includes visible light.
In these mergers, the burst of gamma rays is intense but short, typically lasting less than two seconds. These events are seen in other galaxies many times each year but, in contrast to long duration bursts, without any corresponding visible light. If this is the explanation for the 774 / 775 radiation burst, then the merging stars could not be closer than about 3000 light years, or it would have led to the extinction of some terrestrial life. Based on the carbon-14 measurements, Hambaryan and Neuh?user believe the gamma ray burst originated in a system between 3000 and 12000 light years from the Sun.
If they are right, then this would explain why no records exist of a supernova or auroral display. Other work suggests that some visible light is emitted during short gamma-ray bursts that could be seen in a relatively nearby event. This might only be seen for a few days and be easily missed, but nonetheless it may be worthwhile for historians to look again through contemporary texts.
Astronomers could also look for the merged object, a 1200 year old black hole or neutron star 3000-12000 light years from the Sun but without the characteristic gas and dust of a supernova remnant.
Dr Neuh?user comments: ?If the gamma ray burst had been much closer to the Earth it would have caused significant harm to the biosphere. But even thousands of light years away, a similar event today could cause havoc with the sensitive electronic systems that advanced societies have come to depend on. The challenge now is to establish how rare such Carbon-14 spikes are i.e. how often such radiation bursts hit the Earth. In the last 3000 years, the maximum age of trees alive today, only one such event appears to have taken place."
Share this story on Facebook, Twitter, and Google:
Other social bookmarking and sharing tools:
Story Source:
The above story is reprinted from materials provided by Royal Astronomical Society (RAS).
Note: Materials may be edited for content and length. For further information, please contact the source cited above.
Journal Reference:
V. V. Hambaryan, R. Neuhaeuser. A Galactic short gamma-ray burst as cause for the 14C peak in AD 774/5. Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, 2013 [link]
Note: If no author is given, the source is cited instead.
Disclaimer: Views expressed in this article do not necessarily reflect those of ScienceDaily or its staff.
During these chilly winter months, many Canadians plan a getaway to a sunny destination. When they book their vacations, most people also purchase travel medical insurance. Travel medical insurance is usually designed to reimburse travellers for emergency hospital and other medical expenses incurred abroad.
Unfortunately, travel insurance companies can sometimes be difficult to deal with when emergencies arise, especially if the injured or ill traveller does not understand the ?fine print? of the policy they purchased.
Some common problems or complaints include:
? The insurance company?s refusal to provide funding for medical care until they have fully investigated the traveller?s previous medical history;
? The insurance company?s refusal to pay for medical services which were not pre-approved by the company;
? Travellers being unaware of deductible or co-payment clauses in their policy;
? Travellers being unaware that certain ?risky? activities are excluded from coverage, such as hang-gliding or mountain climbing; and
? Disputes over whether medical treatment was urgently required.
When purchasing travel medical insurance, the safest course is to understand exactly what you are buying, and to shop around for the policy that best meets your needs. The nature of these policies varies greatly from company to company. The cheapest insurance is not necessarily the best to fit your needs.
This entry was posted in Insurance, The Law. Bookmark the permalink.
The master bedroom is generally known as the personal space, an individual?s private place that exhibits his favourite selection, colour and emotions. Sometimes, it requires for a few simple suggestions to get your creativeness flowing and getting your girl?s bedrooms done in an excellent manner. Teenage girls are really attached to their bedrooms.
They have sentimental value with their room and every thing that is placed in the room. Hence, their rooms should represent them and every thing in their room should be placed perfectly and with caution as to not go against them or their personalities. If you wish to make your teenage girl?s bedroom look attractive, these are some of the effective ideas that you may implement in order to make them happy with their bedroom decor.
Many passionate and young individuals want to discover bedroom decorating ideas in such a way that they totally represent them. Some main recommendations to remember whilst decorating the bed room for teenage girls are as follows:
Bedroom Decor Ideas For Teenage Girls
Choose Delicate Color
Rather selecting main colors to bedroom decor for teenage girls, select calming color shades along with a peaceful palate of monochromatic shades. Keep in mind color schemes such as the green, light blue or even lavender are regarded calm. Rich tones play an essential role in environment your mode as well as providing you ease, comfort and relaxation.
These types of often include tan, toasty browns tones etc. Try utilizing a much toned lower shade of preferred color. Anyone can use any color, but people wish to have cool colors in their bedroom. These cool colors are able to make peace in people?s mind, because they have positive energy.
Maintain an Easy Bedroom
No matter, which style of design you choose to bedroom decor for teenage girls, your bedroom should look sophisticated, stylish, cozy and easy. Leave at minimum a space of one meter between your side walls or even big furnishings and also the bed, thereby you can make sure of ease of work.
Also, leave a minimal of two feet space between the furniture?s tables and your bed. Try to furnish your own bedroom only using what you require. Something additional tends to provide a bad appear. And you are able to place some pictures of artwork such as candle lights, family photos.
Select the Proper Size Furniture
Another essential bedroom idea for designing includes choosing the proper size of furnishings. When you?re ready to store for bedroom accessories, think about the ground plan and also the dimension of the area. Furniture picked upward should fit within the bedroom.
Avoid choosing heavy and big dressers and mattresses for a small bed room. On the additional components that are really small often get lost inside a large master bedroom. The furniture should be used in proper way, so it can?t be in way of walk.
Also Read
Decorating Girl?s Bedrooms Easy And Affordable Girl?s Bedroom Decorations Ideas The teenage girl?s bedroom decor Tips to Decorate your Little Girl?s Room Simlpe Ways To Add Zing To Your Bedroom
Produce a Personal Space
Make a personal reading or relaxing space by utilizing comfortable chairs, foot stool as well as get them at the close of the bed. A personal place in bedroom is necessary for several work types. Some of the people like to read books in night and some of the people like to work of their own profession in late nights.
So every person wishes to make their personal area in their bedroom for different works. Every people wish to make their bedroom with personal requirements and needs. One likes to have small bedroom and other like to have large bedroom with all furnishings.
Purchase Luxurious Linens
The foremost thing to be kept in mind when it comes to interior decorating is to make appropriate use of attractive fabrics for bedroom decor for teenage girls as they can help to make their bed room look attractive. Linens include comfort to the bed room. Purchase sheets, which are produced by cotton, and having a good shade of color and amazing designs.
This would add to the charm of the d?cor as a whole. Always send linens to the actual dry cleaner. They provide services like expert washing at a sensible rate which would help your linen to maintain their original look and add to the beauty of the room of your teen gals. Thus the actual linen becomes sharp and smooth once again.
Bed linens and window linens are available in various colors, some of the people like dark colors and some of the people like light colors. Usually people choose contrast or matching colors in comparing to walls of their bedroom.
Introduce Various Illumination Options
It is extremely suggested to coat your lighting inside your bedroom. Background illumination often completes the area. Small lights are to concentrate for various activities such as studying etc. Highlight light aids within washing the 4 walls in below soft illumination. Put the reading light in the bedside; within achieve these lights must have adjustable dimmer.
As well as on one final essential note, it?s necessary to discipline yourself, therefore please try maintaining gym equipment, pc tools, huge TV and many other things out of the master bedroom. It creates a well-liked spot for you in which you are able to relax. Make your own bedroom an actual private place.
Lights are great way to explain and people also use them in their bedroom with different ways. The people always use various kinds of lights in their bedroom just for various kinds of works. Such as some of the people likes to work with heavy lights, some of the people puts dim lights for sleeping.
The above mentioned tips are really handy when you wish to find tips to implement for the bedroom d?cor of your teenage girls. Teenage girls of all kinds, no matter where you are staying, would love these tips and their bedroom d?cor as per these tips, as well.
These tips are so exquisite that your teenage girls would in no way dislike them or be displeased with them. These tips would help you in exploring various options that you did not think of and helps you in decorating the bedroom of your teenage girls in a really effective and beautiful manner.
Top Ideas For Bedroom Decor For Teenage Girls, 5.0 out of 5 based on 1 rating
Everybody has a diverse investment portfolio placed in different industries. Several will have more dangerous financial portfolios than others. Nonetheless, they?ll normally be able to enjoy more revenue using their investments. More income would normally be linked to a greater risk in investing. Many retirement plans could be rolled over into the gold IRA. A financial advisor should be able to work out the details.
Moving assets from an individual?s retirement plan to a gold 401k could be fairly easy. Usually, a financial advisor can help to make the necessary adjustments and handle the paperwork. Those who are interested in making investments in a gold retirement program should think about the different amounts that they need to roll over into gold. With the different alternatives available online, numerous individuals can sign up for a 401k transferring by themselves.
A gold 401k rollover is pretty simple, and individuals looking for these kinds of investments should make necessary adjustments with a financial advisor. Dependent on the kind of relationship that an individual has with a financial institution and the kind of solutions which the banking institution is able to provide, several costs will be charged for making an appointment when it comes to the gold 401k account. The gold rollover should be submitted to the gold IRA custodian.
Generally speaking, a lot of finance companies that guide their own members will want to discuss all of the options which are available to ensure that the members will be secure. The monetary consultants generally will not charge additional costs for these solutions. A lot of them are able to provide detailed information about the procedure associated with rolling over a person?s 401k into a gold 401k.
Acquiring a gold Individual Retirement Account is a wise decision for your retirement. In case you are serious, you could find more information that are dedicated to it. For additional information, kindly visit Click Here
This entry was posted in Family. Bookmark the permalink.
Over the Christmas holiday I decided to do something a bit different, and as a family we backpacked round the world on a cheap ticket. Japan, Australia, New Zealand and America. As you can imagine, it was a feast of images and experiences, and I didn?t want to forget a moment of it.
Editor?s Note: Brian Bowman is founder and CEO of 
For the latest episode of my Foundation series, I headed over to the Path office to sit down with founder 
![[ Back to EurekAlert! ]](http://www.eurekalert.org/images/back2e.gif){kind=small}
Public release date: 24-Jan-2013
Share ] 
