Rogers Chocolates Essay Example for Free

Rogers Chocolates Essay What is competition like in the premium chocolate industry? Which of the five competitive forces is strongest? Which is weakest? What competitive forces seem to have the greatest effect on industry attractiveness and the potential profitability of new entrants? The premium chocolate industry is having an intensive competition in Canada with the strong growth potential. Industry growth opportunity imposes increasing competition from rivals and threats of new entrance that adds pressure on overall profitability. Even though Roger’s has been able to establish its place in the chocolate industry with its strong brand recognition and products’ quality, it still needs to be on top of ever- going market changes, by continuously monitoring, crafting and updating its marketing and packaging strategies. Only then it can sustain its competitiveness from the front line rivals. For that, intensity of rivalry among competitors and the threat of new entrants are considered the strongest competitive force, given the fact that the premium chocolate market was growing at 20 percent annually. Given that Rogers’ Chocolates has successfully targeted market niche by its strategy based on differentiation, and by concentrating on narrow consumers segment comprising of affluent customers looking for a luxury experience with a superior taste or an elegant, prestigious and uncommon product, it can be said that the weakest competitive force for Rogers’ is the bargaining power of buyers and the suppliers. Differentiation and niche market remedies the opportunity of price fixing. The threat of substitute products is also at the weakest point, given the fact that Rogers’ chocolates are fairly expensive relative to others in market. Their distinctive hand-packaging process and quality ingredients are not much appealing for others to copy and imitate. The rapid growth and profit prospects factors are attractive enough to induce additional entry to this industry. For that, every chocolate producer is challenged to craft a successful strategy that is strong enough to fight for its profit in competition battle. The competition of the premium chocolate industry is strong. There are some regional brand businesses and some large companies. The key market competitors that are Rogers’s direct rivals are summarized in the table: Company Name| Price| Quality| Packaging| Distribution| Advertising| Godiva| 15 % High than Rogers on standard products and double/triple price on premium chocolate| Not as high as Rogers| Strong; glitzy, sleek modern. Chocolates of various colors molding| Retailers of gift items| Strong| Bernard Callebaut| Similar to Godiva| Good , excelled in new flavour introductions| Superior could be customized at the store| 32 stores across the West, US and Ontario| Great seasonal displays| Lindt| 90% of Rogers| Mid-range| Mid-range| Broad : mass merchandisers, drug grocery retailers| Strong| Purdys| 35% lower than Rogers| Lower than Rogers| Good| 50 locations based in malls , strongest presence in BC| Good, offers discounts on volume purchase| Rogers| Premium price, however low than Godivas Bernard Callebauts| High| hand packaging, old fashioned, not appealing to young consumers| Company owned stores; online mail orders, wholesaling, Sams Deli| Limited to Victorias area| Question 2 How is the premium chocolate industry changing? What are the underlying drivers of change and how might those driving forces individually or collectively change competition in the industry? The premium chocolate industry is showing its shift towards healthy nutrition trend and consumers’ market that is more health conscious about their diet. Purchasers are also demanding more from chocolate than its taste. In line with a broad social trend for healthier diets, the demand for organic products, including organic chocolates, is growing. Consumers are looking for products with no trans-fats, as well. Demand for dark chocolate, traditionally less popular than milk chocolate in North America is growing in part because of its heart-healthy anti-oxidant properties. With the increasing trend in healthy diet preference, the underlying drivers of change of competition in premium chocolate industry at the strongest level are the buyers’ preferences for differentiated, refined products, instead of standardized ordinary products that are no longer demanded. In addition, baby boomers generation with their disposable income are spending a lot on high quality premium chocolates. Moreover, consumers and employees are also demanding chocolate companies to follow good corporate social responsibility practices in addressing the environmental concerns in terms of how to design its packaging, procurement and operational decisions. Human rights concerns are also high in terms of consumer expectations of chocolate companies with respect of forced child labour in West Africa. All of these driving forces societal concerns, attitudes and change in lifestyles, are strong enough to shape up the competition and impose the constraint on chocolate industry profitability and competitive survival. One important underlying driver of change in the chocolate industry is the large manufacturers lobbying to change the definition of the term chocolate under USFDA guidelines, if they are successful in doing this then this could potentially have a dramatic impact on the competitive environment, with lots of cheaper products flooding the market. If lots of cheaper brands of chocolates suddenly become available and prices start dropping this could creep into the premium brand segment of the market and force companies like Rogers to lower their prices. Question 3 What key factors determine success for producers of premium chocolates? Rogers’ customers are attracted to the company because of its superior quality. Customers who tasted Rogers’ chocolate are willing to pay its high price because of Rogers’ superior quality, â€Å"Ooooh , Rogers’ That is the best chocolate I’ve ever tested. † (pg. C-185) Key factors that determine success for producers of premium chocolates, looking only at the quality and the product characteristics prospective are: * Taste and quality * Quality ingredients * Price * Package * Advertising * Distribution. The key factors that determine success for producers at the functional levels are: * Marketing – The appeal and quality of the packaging has a big impact on the sales of chocolate and a good advertising campaign to make the brand name well known * Distribution – Having a good distribution network to get product to market in a timely manner and favourable display space * Technology – The use of new technology to reduce labour intensive production methods to reduce production costs * Manufacturing- The availability of labour, ability to produce quality product and achieving economies of scale * Skills Capability- Having talented employees with knowledge of chocolate to continue product innovation, required production management and supply chain management skills and software for accurate decision making * Other- Location of retail stores are also important. * Strong leader and management team who agree on the companies strategic vision and are able to communicate it successfully to all employees Question 4 What does a SWOT analysis of Rogers Chocolates reveal about the prospects for companys future success? What are its key resources strengths and competitive capabilities? its resource weaknesses and competitive liabilities? its external opportunities and threats? Roger’s Chocolates has a good base to succeed in the chocolate industry and increase their market share in Canada and internationally by revamping their brand image, improving their internal production process, increasing their online sales, building stronger management teams, investing in technology to improve their production schedule, forecasting and marketing. The SWOT analysis presented below highlights the company’s strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats: Strengths and Competitive Capabilities * One of the oldest chocolate companies in Canada with a wide range of the highest quality unique chocolate assortments including: an Ice cream line, specialty products, no-sugar added chocolates * Use of natural ingredients. * The company has an impressive loyal customers base around the world * Loyal employees that share company’s value for the higher quality of products * Superior quality of company’s products; in 2006 the company won prestigious Superior Taste award from the International Taste Quality Institute * Company provides excellent retail experience and in 2000 won the Innovative Retailer of the Year award Weaknesses and Competitive Deficiencies * Higher priced products * Labour intense and costly production process. * The company didn’t establish standards to measure its productivity or efficiency * Difficulties with the evaluation of seasonal customers demand, as a result the company carries large inventories * Seasonal problems with out-of stock items result in loss of sales, and production schedule chaos * Unreliable suppliers of art tins. * Unattractive packaging to younger consumers * Difficulty with the prediction of the required production volume of ice cream * Interruptions of the production process with the special orders commitments * Employees resistance to change * Lack of organic or fair trade capabilities Market Opportunities * Projected premium chocolate market’s growth at 20% annually, as baby boomers consume more premium chocolates. * Increased demand for organic and dark chocolates * Pre- Christmas sales demand is growing * Strong brand recognition in the Victoria area, and a â€Å"corporate gift of choice† * Possibilities of Increasing online orders * Cruise port travellers. * Become supplier to Butchart Garden’s gift shop and other tourist destinations on Vancouver Island * 2010 Olympics External Threats * Threat by Hershey’s and Cadbury companies which are growing their presence on the premium chocolate market by acquiring and taking over small companies. * Growing environmental concern * Growing customers concerns related to West Africa’s child labor rights * Some of the big corporate purchasers of Roger’s products such as Second Cup and the Bay switched to low cost providers and concentrate on developing their own line of products * Decline of the US dollars * Poor wholesale presentation of Rogers’ products * Poor Brand recognition outside of BC Question 5 How would you describe Rogers Chocolates competitive strategy? How is it positioned in the industry? What specific steps has management taken to implement this strategy? Do the companys functional strategies and tactics appear to be consistent with its competitive strategy? Rogers’ Chocolate functional strategies are consistent with their competitive strategy. Of the five generic competitive strategies (overall low-cost provider, broad differentiation, focused low-cost, focused differentiation and best-cost provider) the one that best aligns with Roger’s Chocolate competitive strategy is focused differentiation. A focused differentiation strategy means that the company concentrates on serving a narrow buyer segment or niche market. Roger’s Chocolates targets affluent customers with high disposable incomes specifically baby boomers, established families, middle-aged childless couples and empty nesters. Roger’s Chocolates is positioned in the industry as a manufacturer, distributor and retailer of premium chocolates, its main products being high quality, hand-wrapped chocolates. Specific steps Roger’s Chocolates’ management has taken to implement this focused differentiation strategy included * Setting a high price point for its products * Individually hand wrapping their products to give it an elegant, prestigious and uncommon look. * Targeting cruise ship visitors and tourists, as these people tend to have higher disposable income and fit the target demographic. * Advertising in guide magazines and Enroute magazine Air Canada flights to reach tourists as well as seasonal print, radio and TV advertising. The company’s functional strategies and tactics is consistent with its competitive strategy as demonstrated by the tight control it exerts over its brand image, it refuses to lower is prices to compete as this might cheapen its brand image, it also rejected the idea to franchise because it did not want to lose control over the brand and pricing, its manufacturing facility is labour intensive because the company places value on having hand wrapped chocolates. Question 6 How well is Rogers Chocolates strategy working in terms of the financial performance it is delivering? What is your assessment of its level of profitability, its degree of liquidity, and the extent of its leverage? | | | | 2006| 2005| Profitability Ratios| | | | | Growth Profit Margin| | 54. 56%| 55. 16%| Operating Margin| | | 9. 73%| 12. 68%| Net Profit Margin| | | 7. 52%| 8. 92%| Return on Total Assets| | 10. 62%| 12. 57%| Return on Equity| | | 15. 71%| 22. 36%| | | | | | | Liquidity Ratios| | | | | Current Ratio| | | 136. 66%| 124. 49%| Quick Ratio| | | 46. 12%| 57. 85%| Working Capital| | | 625,109| 569,876| | | | | | | Leverage Ratios| | | | | Debt-to-Assets Ratio| | 32. 43%| 43. 88%| Long-Term Debt-to-Capital Ratio| 15. 21%| 22. 79%| Debt-to-Equity Ratio| | 48. 00%| 78. 18%| Long-Term Debt-to-Equity Ratio| 17. 94%| 29. 51%| Times-Interest-Earned Ratio| | 12. 61| 17. 49| | | | | | | Activity Ratios| | | | | Days of Inventory| | | 104. 64| 105. 24| Inventory Turnover| | | 3. 49| 3. 47| Average Collection Period| | 11. 06| 22. 86| Although Rogers is profitable in 2006, their sales and profit are down slightly from 2005. Gross margin is consistent but all other profitability measures are down. ROE is reduced 6% from 2005. The company’s operating margin is reduced 3%, reducing profitability from operations. The company’s current ratio has increased from 1. 24 to 1. 37, but the quick ratio has decreased. The company increased their ability to pay the current debt. The working capital has also increased, giving the company more funds to purchase equipment and investment. The company is in a very good leverage position. The long-term debt –to capital ratio is 15% in 2006, giving them more capacity to borrow additional funds. All leverage ratios have improved from 2005 except times interest earned. In addition, due to Sam’s Deli $200k increase in salaries and benefits increase, the selling and administrative expense have increased, leaving cash at only $112,185 in 2006. The days of inventory are more than 100 days. Since the company spends a lot of cash on inventory and equipment, so there is a big concern that Rogers may not have enough cash and receivables to pay its payables and long term debt. Question 7 What specific actions should Steve Parkhill undertake to improve Rogers competitiveness in the Canadian Premium Chocolate Industry? How will the culture of the organization impact Parkhills decision? As a relatively new CEO, how would you suggest that Parkhill reconcile the competing growth suggestions championed by various members of the Board of Directors? Place Open a small location in Butchart Gardens to tap into the change in tourist travel patterns. Open franchising location outside of Victoria/Vancouver/BC area if they are profitable given ROI/NPV valuation, provided there is a good franchise agreement that can maintain the image of Rogers Chocolates. Boost efforts in capturing and creating a competitive advantage in the online store and corporate gift markets. Establish wholesale or reseller relationship with American companies, at least in the Seattle area due to its close proximity to BC/Vancouver, which will allow Rogers to better reach the affluent target market in the States. It should extend its wholesale distribution outside of British Columbia, especially to Ontario which is its second largest geographical market. Promotion Provide wholesalers/retailer with more incentives, such as sales promotions, especially in the important seasonal periods to improve the display of in-store Rogers products. Instead of obtaining more stores in the Vancouver or BC area, which is capital intensive, provide greater incentives, such as discounts or sales promotions, for more retail/wholesale channels to offer Rogers products, and to gain more prominent in-store displays to increase sales through the 2010 Olympics. Increase the advertising budget to include other provinces, and more mass marketing. Product Reduce the number of products offered to premium products that only have a history of selling well, and have good growth/profitability potential due to derived demand. Keep the brand identity/integrity, but update and standardize the packaging so that it is more modern, appealing and consistent. Operations Divest the ownership of Sams Deli, and concentrate on selling core products from a smaller retail space within Sams Deli. Rogers should improve production processes, lower labour costs, increase efficiency, lower lead-time and inventory on hand. Most of these can be achieved through computerization (ex. accounting, forecasting, scheduling), normalization of sales history, and better demand forecasts. If it can do this, then initially it does not need to increase capacity. If it cannot, then it should relocate off island where the production facilities are more modern, and transportation is cheaper. Improve the company’s management teams communication and change its silo mentality. The culture of Rogers is very good, and provides a strong resource that cannot be easily copied by competitors. Instead of changing it, the new CEO should communicate and educate the staff and board of directors that the changes implemented will improve the long-term outlook of the Rogers while maintaining its long roots, and keeping its core values and approach to business. Since the majority of the board of directors are owners of the business, and require the CEO to double or triple the business, they have vested interest in the long term outlook of Rogers Chocolates. As such, their concerns and varying strategies can be set aside if he effectively communicates that his chosen strategy, of refocusing on a niche differentiating strategy, will improve profitability and growth.

Web Application Design for School Organisation Optimization

Web Application Design for School Organisation Optimization Application and Knowledge Design At first, the ontology will be planned in accordance with the methodology of ontology building. Description of the Ontology The ontology domain is based upon the running of a school. The goal of the research is to provide users of the applications with the prospects to get information regarding the requirement that is required in the running of a school. The school will incorporate classes, departments, subjects, all staff etc. Queries In order to get all the required information, a number of queries have to be performed throughout the web. Coupled with the required information, it can be stated that the following queries need to be performed. What is taught Monday morning in room CWG/03 at 9am? How many girls are in year 10 take Science? How old is the head teacher? What teacher is head of the sports department? Who teachers Geography and also Sports? Please give all the names of teachers and their email addresses if known. How many of the admin team are under 40 years of age? Admin Staff members whose surname begin with W Retrieve all teachers and their qualifications Retrieve the name of all subjects taught by the teacher with ID 2341 Why the Domain is Interesting to an Audience? The shift of the paradigms in the field of education in the recent decades, as well as the spreading of education, proposes ways through which the education can be provided under one roof. Practitioners and researchers are making every attempt to find approximate methodologies for making education easily available to every human being. With the proposed ontology, the user can have a concept of the school and will be able to develop the school system in any part of the world with an ease of the information technology. The respective domain ontology will act as an instrument for the construction of the school system in an effective and efficient manner. Consider Salvaging Existing Ontologies In order to make an application that fulfils the needed requirements, the following ontologies have been deployed. Tools for Managing Ontologies In the context of definitions and typologies, there are also several available tools for defining and managing ontologies. Since the initials and more rudimentary (Ontolingua Server, Ontosaurus) to the most recent and advanced, the following typology has been proposed. Ontology Development Tools This group includes the tools that serve for the construction of new ontologies or for the reuse of existing tools (Tolk, 2013). Among its functionalities are the addition and the consultation, as well as the export and import of ontologies, visualization in various graphic formats, etc. Ontology Fusion and Integration Tools These tools try to solve the problem of the combination and integration of diverse ontologies of the same domain; that occurs when two distinct organizations are united, or when it is intended to obtain a quality ontology, from the existing ones (Jain, 2013). Ontology Evaluation Tools They appear as tools for support should ensure that both ontologies and related technologies have a minimum level of quality (Ferraram, 2013). In the coming years, this effort can lead to identical certifications. Annotation Tools These tools are premeditated to consent users to insert information and data (Jain, 2013). Most of these tools have seemed recently, along with the idea of à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬ ¹ the semantic web. Tools, Storage and Questions They are termed as the instruments that have been created to allow easy use ontologies (Maedche, 2012). The key is the intent that the web becomes a real platform to transmit knowledge. Learning Tools They are semi-automatically used to build ontologies from natural language. Along with the tools or editors, ontologies must mention the existence of different languages à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬ ¹Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬ ¹that allow the creation and / or development thereof. Most are built by XML syntax or RDF (S) and OIL (Ontology Inference Layer), DAML (DARPA Agent Mark-up Language), OIL and OWL (The Web Ontology Language) (Shvaiko, 2013). In any case, some of these ontology languages à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬ ¹Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬ ¹are still in development, although thanks to the work and support of the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) OWL seems that consolidates acquiring a clear and obvious progression. Significant Terms used within the School Ontology The significant terms that will be deployed throughout the research paper are mentioned below. Staff Students Teachers/Lecturers Admin staff Rooms Classrooms Staff room Timetable Description of the Classes and Hierarchy Classes The classes are explained in the below mentioned diagram. The Architecture of 3-Tier Content Management is illustrated in the below mentioned diagram. Description of the Classes and Hierarchy Classes Describing Classes Three primary classes will be defined i.e. Users, institutions, and learning resources. The institution class is further divided into colleges. The learning resource class incorporates a list of overall courses as its user class and subclasses consists of a list of every type of users i.e. Instructor, student, and administrator (Jain, 2013).   The overall classes are sub classed under one class that exemplifies overall classes root. Tools and Techniques Used in Prototype Development Owl and Protà ©gà © editor have been deployed to build domain ontologies for its popularity and simplicity. RDQL and Jena2 APIs have been deployed in order to interact with a semantic web reasoner to implement the designed prototype (Kholief, 2012). OWL has been used as the ontology language, reason being; it has been recommended due to its tool support, and functionality. SPARQL is the recommendation of the W3C recommendation as a query language within the framework of Jena for RDF. SPARQL has been deployed to extract the information from the graphs of RDF. This infers that the only information retrieved by the SPARQL is stored in a model that consists of a set of N-triple statements (Ferraram, 2013). Moreover, SPARQL can process the ontology in a wide range of languages, including SPARQL, OWL, similar to other languages of RDF based query ierSeRQL, RDQL, and SPARQL is tough to provide semantics with reference to DL, OWL. A typical SPARQL query possesses the below motioned forms SELECT ?x WHERE (?xshortPrefix : localName   value) USING short Prefix FOR ?x refers to the variables that will return to the applications. The WHERE clause stipulates the graph pattern in the form of the list of the triple patterns USING clause describes an alias for URIs prefix to simplify the URL   (Stevenson, 2015) SPARQL can query regarding the objects or predicates too. However, the limitation of SPARQL incorporates that there exists no query disjunction. The Repository tier stores both; the structure and content of the ontology. The Generic ontology researcher engine resides in the semantic tier amid the end user interface tier and repository tier (Icoza, 2015). The end-user interface tier cooperates with the content server via the reasoner by stipulating the criteria tier attribute-value pairs and the constraints. Then, the reasoner locates the pertinent contents (based upon those conditions), and deliver content to the software agents/ users within an arranged manner. Such a type of system decomposition allows those to develop large-scale software systems and reduces the overall time of development (Kholief, 2012). To illustrate the dependencies or relationships in the respective domain, 2 types of relationships have been used; the direct relationship amid content incorporating its inverse relationship. The other relationship is the transitive or indirect, tier prerequisite that refers to the inherited relationships. Sparql queries What is taught Monday morning in room CWG/03 at 9am? PREFIX rdf: PREFIX owl: PREFIX rdfs: PREFIX xsd: PREFIX sch: SELECT ?course ?weekday ?time ?room WHERE { ?course rdf:type sch:Course   . ?course sch:day ?weekday . ?course sch:time ?time . ?course sch:room ?room . FILTER regex(str(?weekday),Monday,i) FILTER regex(str(?time),9AM,i) } Science course is taught Monday at 9AM in room CWG/03. How many girls take science in year 10? PREFIX rdf: PREFIX owl: PREFIX rdfs: PREFIX xsd: PREFIX sch: SELECT (MAX(?course) as ?course_name)   (COUNT(?students) AS ?no_students) WHERE { ?course rdf:type sch:Course . FILTER regex(str(?course),Science_,i) . ?course sch:hascourse ?students . ?students a ?type   . FILTER( regex(STR(?type), Year10)) . ?students sch:gender ?gender . FILTER regex(str(?gender),F,i) . } The number of girls who take science in year 10 is 2. How old is the head teacher? PREFIX rdf: PREFIX owl: PREFIX rdfs: PREFIX xsd: PREFIX sch: SELECT ?task ?num WHERE { ?task rdf:type sch:Headteacher . OPTIONAL {?task sch:age ?num } } The headteacher is 45 years old. What teacher is head of the sports department? PREFIX rdf: PREFIX owl: PREFIX rdfs: PREFIX xsd: PREFIX sch: SELECT ?name WHERE { ?name rdf:type sch:Sports_head . } His name is Martin Richards Who teachers Geography and also Sports? PREFIX rdf: PREFIX owl: PREFIX rdfs: PREFIX xsd: PREFIX sch: SELECT ?teacher ?teaches WHERE { ?teacher rdf:type sch:Teachers . ?teacher sch:IsLecturerOf ?teaches . FILTER (regex(str(?teaches),Geography_,i) || regex(str(?teaches),Sports,i)) . } Bill Waite teaches both Geography and Sports. Please give all the names of teachers and their email addresses if known. (Optional patterns, week 6, lecture 5, slide 12) PREFIX rdf: PREFIX owl: PREFIX rdfs: PREFIX xsd: PREFIX sch: SELECT ?name ?email WHERE { ?name rdf:type sch:Teachers . OPTIONAL {?name sch:email ?email } . } How many of the admin team are under 40 years of age? PREFIX rdf: PREFIX owl: PREFIX rdfs: PREFIX xsd: PREFIX sch: SELECT (COUNT(?all)   AS ?total) WHERE { { ?all rdf:type sch:Receptionist } UNION { ?all rdf:type sch:Secretary } UNION { ?all rdf:type sch:Switchboard_Operator } . ?all sch:age ?yrs . FILTER (?yrs } There are 2 members of the admin team that have less than 40 years. What members of the admin staff surname begins with W PREFIX rdf: PREFIX owl: PREFIX rdfs: PREFIX xsd: PREFIX sch: SELECT  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚   ?all WHERE { { ?all rdf:type sch:Receptionist } UNION { ?all rdf:type sch:Secretary } UNION { ?all rdf:type sch:Switchboard_Operator } . FILTER regex(str(?all),_w,i) } Paula Wilson, Charlie Williams and Jane Wight are the admin members whose surname begins with W. Retrieve all teachers and their qualifications PREFIX rdf: PREFIX owl: PREFIX rdfs: PREFIX xsd: PREFIX sch: SELECT ?teacher ?teaches WHERE { ?teacher rdf:type sch:Teachers . ?teacher sch:IsLecturerOf ?teaches . } Retrieve the name of all subjects taught by the teacher with ID 2341 PREFIX rdf: PREFIX owl: PREFIX rdfs: PREFIX xsd: PREFIX sch: SELECT ?teacher ?id ?subjects WHERE { ?teacher rdf:type sch:Teachers . ?teacher sch:ID ?id FILTER (?id=2341)  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚   . ?teacher sch:IsLecturerOf ?subjects } Albert Tatlock, the teacher with ID 2341, teaches ICT. DBPedia A timetable query. Results in HTML Ontology-Oriented Inference-Based Learning Content Management System Application Semantic web technologies based upon ontology are considered as the promising solution in order to provide an explicit definition of the shared conceptualisation regarding certain domain as well as acknowledging assemblage of e-learning contents. Ontologies integrated with profiles of the learner integrate to provide enhanced results within an e-learning LMS system. It could be used in contrast with multi-agent technologies in order to derive personalised learning paths (Stevenson, 2015).   The domain of courses can be easily managed by ontology and provide explicit details of education establishment as well as adaptation of students learning paths. General Concepts of LCMS LMS is regarded as the software package, usually applied on the large scale that enables the delivery of learning resources and courses and management to students. Most of the LMS systems are web-based in order to facilitate anywhere, anytime access to administration and learning content. LMS is referred to as the reporting systems and do not include ways to develop new content or to deliver small learning packets (Icoza, 2015). LMS is fashioned for tracking test results, registration, class lists, grades, managing all learning events within the academics institute and class scheduling. In contrast, the LCMs focus upon the learning content. It provides authors, subject matter experts, and instructional designers to means to develop e-learning content in a more effective way. The core concern that is resolved by LCMs is to develop sufficient content just in time to meet the requirements of the learners group or individual learners (Kuhn, 2012). Instructional designers develop chunks of reusable content rather than entire courses and acclimatising to multiple audiences, and make them available to the course developers all through the academic institute. Sequence Diagram The sequence of steps is performed on the retrieve and query as mentioned in the figure below. The flow proceeds as follows: The user search for certain information after the registration to system Then, the semantic-based LMS check the validation of the query The system informs him about, if there is any error in request sending or if the query is invalid If the query is valid, then the system gets the query at repository data as well as user history repository, and sees there is any existing data (Kuhn, 2012). The system notifies him about the existence of data, if the data exists, then data is retrieved by the system makes an inference to that of fetching data by deploying the rules of validation It saves the result of inference to the repository and includes the outcomes to the original retrieved data and responses to the operator. Figure: Sequence Diagram Fundamental   Ontologies The system is based on the ontological framework to allow formal demonstration of learning content along with its principle building blocks such as; different types of learning activities, learning content, participants within the process of learning i.e. teaching assistants, teachers, learners, etc. (Ferraram, 2013). The ontology domains defined can be salvaged by other ontologies, therefore assimilating various contemporary technologies under single ontology illustrating a large domain. Describing Classes Three primary classes will be defined i.e. users, institutions, and learning resources. The institution class is further divided into colleges. The learning resource class incorporates a list of overall courses as its user class and subclasses consists of a list of every type of users i.e. instructor, student, and administrator (Jain, 2013).   The overall classes are sub classed under one class that exemplifies overall classes root. Outlining Properties Figure: Object Properties Figure: Datatype Properties The ontology of the learning resources is the core of this framework has been demonstrated in the graph illustrated below using the OntoGraft (Kholief, 2012). It consists of a number of properties and classes aimed at formally signifying learning content. The ontologies have been divided into two segments; information of learning course and learning content information. The class courses is the one that has been opted by more than one learner while interrelating with customers. The other class consists of the course content such as; lab experience, PowerPoint lectures, notes, and media. Moreover, the courses are also divided into the subclasses. Class course specifications incorporate the information regarding the field, term, and the course type. In addition, class course enrolment includes information regarding the enrolment of students on certain course (Icoza, 2015). The ontology signifies characteristics to the overall procures of E-learning i.e. Preferences and basic personal data along with the speciation of the features of leaner-specific, including multiple dimensions of learning styles and performance. Figure: Projected Learning Resource Ontology Class Diagram A class diagram is the UML structure diagram that illustrates the structure of designed system by exemplifying the classes in the system, constraints, relationships, their features, amongst the classes.  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚   Moreover, the active entities of the anticipated systems include; courses, students, course administrator, and course content. The entities of the business domain include; test, enrolment, course evaluation, and course specification (Kuhn, 2012). The class diagram of the projected system has been illustrated in the below mentioned figure. Figure: Class diagram of Learning Resources ontology Logical Rules The above mentioned rules demonstrate the semantic probing of course content upon the system. The explanation of the rules is mentioned below. rules 1; the privilege of the learner to course content ie enrollment rules 2; pre-request courses of various courses (Ferraram, 2013). rule 3; topic of certain contents such as; authentication lectures of course database is linked to security of topic too Related Work The research will incorporate the approaches of e-learning content management along with the semantic approach that is associated with the represented work. The review has enhanced the e-learning environments with that of the semantic-rich cognisance information. It has intended the educators to utilise this information when updating learning content for future courses. Therefore, heuristics have been developed that allow both; the convergence of LCMS log data and the intelligent analysis into the ontologies of the Semantic web. ILMSs (Intelligent LMSs) have linked the modern approach to the web-based education is dependent upon the LMSs, but under adaptive hypermedia and intelligent tutoring technologies (Kholief, 2012). As the generation of the new Web, the Semantic web has improved conditions for reusing and composing the learning materials. The research has been aimed to develop a simple, learner-oriented, and customised e-learning system as well as to create the material of particular course conforming SCORM. The research emphases upon the development of an ontology of student model that is appropriate with the needs of learning procedures in the faculty of computer science. The oncology has, moreover, incorporated the knowledge regarding student learning styles, student data, as well as the performance of the students (Jain, 2013). The research is based upon the approach, identifying such of those learning objects that amalgamate information technology and educational pedagogy via instructional design. Brief Phenomenon of Ontologies The term Ontology comes from the world of philosophy is the part of metaphysics that deals with being in general and of their transcendental properties, or properties that transcend the limits of the merely experimental (Wanner et al, 2015).   This concept has been adopted by computer science, specifically in the domain of artificial intelligence, adapting it to their needs, and using a metaphor according to which the experimental, physical, tangible, objective and recordable would be the data, and the metaphysical, inedible, subjective would be informative. More rigorously, this metaphorical adoption has given rise to a wide variety of definitions of this new concept, a product of the points of view of diverse authors and, fundamentally, of the different ways of constructing and using ontologies as computer systems (Brizzi et al, 2016). Among the most well-known and used definitions is that states that that an ontology constitutes an explicit and formal specification of menta l abstractions, which are shaped by an agreement of the expert community in a domain and in a design for a specific purpose this definition implies a multitude of aspects that contribute to clarify this concept. Therefore, when analysed in detail, it is ontology provides the structure for a vocabulary controlled in a way similar to a dictionary or a thesaurus. This vocabulary, agreed by the community, is expressed through concepts, thus conforming the abstractions (Johnson, 2016). On the other hand, in terms of the formal specification of a vocabulary, this could be in various forms, such as a flat list of words, a dictionary, a taxonomy, an entity-relationship diagram, a Unified Mark-up Language (UML) model, an XML schema and many other possible ones (Goodchild, 2013). However, the ontologies are much more than described so far and to give a small sample that its possibilities are not confined and trying to clarify and deepen especially, it has resorted to the definition of Neches and employees. It has been argued that ontology defines the vocabulary of an area through a set of basic terms and relations between these terms, as well as such, as rules that combine terms and relationships that extend given definitions in the vocabulary (Kuhn, 2012). This assumes that the ontologies are not formed only by mere concepts with a certain organisation, which would not be much more distant of a thesaurus, but also relations, rules, and axioms are given between concepts that enrich and contribute to expanding the vocabulary of the work domain. In order to clarify, with a concrete case, what is ontology is included below an example regarding possible travel ontology (Stocker et al, 2014). Within it would be all the relevant concepts related to the subject in question, among others: travel, flight, the client, lodging, road, departure, arrival, rate, etc. In this ontology, everything would start from the key concept, trip. Of the same, the different types of trips that a person can perform (flight, train, bus, by boat, etc.). Also, it is the fact that every trip has a single date, time and place of departure and a single date, time and place of arrival, a company and a tariff, concepts all that would be part of the ontology (Whitehead et al, 2013). Once all the basic concepts have been defined, the relations between them, for example, a trip of a certain type with a place of departure and another one of arrival corresponds a determined duration. Another possible relationship would be formed by the place of the concept of departure, place of arrival, and itinerary by road, and that a certain sequence of roads connects two different places. The complexity and variety of relationships can become as can imagine since the multiplicity of relationships can achieve a system much more powerful and effective. Thus, a city of origin may have as points of departure a particular bus station, a train station or an airport (Jain, 2013). Different points of departure that will be depending on the chosen destination or on other issues such as schedules or economic ailments, among others. With this complexity of criteria, intelligence implemented in the system this will be able to guide to the most suitable station or airport, at a certain time and with the relevant transhipments. In this way, the efficiency can be management process of any trip, greatly facilitating the whole process (Ferraram, 2013). Another important element that is part of the ontologies are the axioms (logical expressions), which serve to define meaningful constraints of the type such as, is not possible to travel from the USA to Europe by train or it is not poss ible to travel by boat between Madrid and Barcelona. In addition to it, this small ontology could be implemented on an Information System (GIS), helping to manage all this information in a more efficient and autonomous, because it will allow the user to know what type of transport takes you from one city to another, days and times of departure and arrival, fares, durations, accommodation, etc., all in a smart and automated way. Without forgetting that the information to be obtained can be as much or more complex as it goes bringing greater

Okonkwo Essay -- essays research papers

Okonkwo Tragic Hero Essay   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Slowly the men make their way up the hill with Obierika in the lead. Leaves crunch as feet uniformly step onto the ground. The commissioner and his soldiers are warily eyeing their surroundings. Each man snuggles close to Okonkwo’s compound wall, hoping not to be seen. They go past a small bush. It is next to a red hole in the wall where small animals enter and exit the compound. Finally, the men all stop. They spot the body dangling from a tree. They stand upright in shock. The carcass of Okonkwo steadily swings in the breeze. As each man looks upon it disbelievingly, Obierika says to the commissioner heatedly, â€Å"That man was one of the greatest men in Umuofia. You drove him to kill himself, and now he will be buried like a dog†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (page 207). In Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe, the main character of Okonkwo displays many different aspects of his personality that lead to this moment. Even though Okonkwo is in a society that forbids suicid e, for many reasons he chooses to end his life this way. Thus, Okonkwo becomes a tragic hero, and at the end of the book, he takes his own life to end his pain.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Two of the characteristics of a tragic hero are that the person is of high birth and his actions affect the nation. â€Å"Unoka, for that was his father’s name, had died ten years ago. In his day he was lazy and improvident and was quite incapable of thinking about tomorrow† (page 4). High birth can be a miracle or a curse, high birth comes with the ability to achieve the impossible and this is Okonkwo’s focus in life. Unoka to Okonkwo is a failure and he strives to be the exact opposite of his father and make a name for himself apart from his fathers. â€Å"Unoka loved it all, and he loved the first kites that returned with the dry season, and the children who sang songs of welcome to them† (page 5). The happiness that Unoka enjoys is not the result of high birth it is because of his love for the simple moments in life and the music that flows around it. Okonkwo does not enjoy life and all it has to offer and ultimately he will not obt ain victory. â€Å"As he broke the kola, Unoka prayed to their ancestors for life and health, and for protection against their enemies† (page 6). Prayer is ultimately the most important aspect of Unoka’s life, even though he is not of high birth, and as he bes... ... much. Overall, his error is in the way he treats his family and how he can not lean back on them in his time of need. â€Å"Take down the body† (page 208). Okonkwo commits many errors within his life and pays for it in the most sinful way, suicide. He dies as a result of the white man’s invasion as well as other affairs that are symbolic to his life. â€Å"His body is evil, and only strangers may touch it† (page 207). The body of a dead person in Umuofian culture is evil and it is unholy for a friend to touch it, for that reason a stranger must touch Okonkwo. Okonkwo’s body is not only evil from death but it is evil from his personality and soul.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Thus, Okonkwo becomes a tragic hero, and at the end of the book, he takes his own life to end his pain. Okonkwo a man in disguise is a victim of wrong choices in life and dies for it as a noble purpose. Okonkwo is a human being and with that comes the result in fatal flaws that result in his downfall. High birth is not of Okonkwo’s back ground, but ultimately his actions affect Umuofia in more ways than he could ever understand. Okonkwo not only is a tragic hero, he is also a victim of his own fate and destiny.

Ammaniti’s Novel, I’m Not Scared Essay -- I’m Not Scared by Ammaniti

This is a profoundly moral tale of lost innocence and adult cruelty. Do you agree? Ammaniti’s novel I’m Not Scared set in Acqua Traverse, Italy 1978 is a powerful text, which explores relevant social themes and issues. Besides being a tale of adult cruelty and lost innocence we cannot ignore the role in which loyalty and betrayal play in the novel. These central themes make this novel a compelling text. In the novel Michelle journeys from a joyful innocent child into a perceptive and wiser youth. Initially we view Michelle as a child who is very compassionate, willing to â€Å"do the forfeit† for Barbara to exempt her from Skull’s cruelty. As the story progresses qualities namely courage and loyalty surface in Michelle. These two qualities are most noticeable when he states, â€Å"I’m going to see Fillipo†¦ Who’s Fillipo? He’s a friend of mine†. Michelle’s actions show and justify a belief that he has in a sense â€Å"lost his innocence†. Michelle also shows maturity when he acknowledges that his father may not be a loving man, stating, †Papa was the bogeyman. By day he was good, by night he was bad†. He realises that the adults are cruel and is astounded when he notices his father stating â€Å"two ears we’ll cut off. Two!†. Michelle loses his innocence after witnessing the cruelty displayed by t he adults as well as being tested by the notions of loyalty and betrayal. The adults with the exception of Michelle’s mother can all be seen as having key roles in the kidnapping. The treatment ...

Symbolic Interactionism Essay -- Sociological Perspective Sociology Es

Symbolic Interactionism   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  On the surface, sociology is the study of society and human behavior; yet looking deeper, it is the study of humans in groups and how they interact with one another. Sociologists look at these groups by means of the sociological perspective. This involves looking at a certain behavior like it has never been looked at it before. When done right one can come to a deeper level of understanding about behavior.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Using your sociological imagination you are able conceptualize how a person’s macro level, which consists of the larger aspects of life such as family and government, and their micro level, (which is the individual itself) combine in order form the person they are. Using my sociological imagination I decided to observe the library through the use of symbolic interactionism, one of four sociological perspectives. The others included are the conflict theory, ethno methodology, feminism and structural functionalist.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Symbolic interactionism tends to observe things by paying full attention to the micro level of sociology. Instead of focusing on broader aspects you look at things depending upon the individual and their interactions in society. Through the use of symbols we are able to assign meaning to people and things and then develop our own interpretations of those symbols.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The library, like many symbols signifies silence, thought and work. You would not walk into a library expecting to be served drinks, and to see people dancing on bookshelves. The library evokes an image of peacefulness, in which people are diligently working; yet a closer examination reveals the not so serene value of a library visit. The Saint Michael’s Library is not a mystery; it is like every other library in which I have even been. There are lots of books, computers and places for people to do work. There are round tables, square tables, rectangular tables, titled tables and flat tables. There are cubicles and small individual rooms known as ‘ masturbation closets’. The layout of the library is pretty standard and doesn’t need much explaining. There are three floors. The basement had one small room of books and the rest is study areas. The first floor is a mix of computer labs, books, magazines and more study areas. The third floor is mostly books and of course more places to study.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Leah and I walked through the... ...ry, it is easy to notice how people need different things, and require alternate ways of studying. You notice people’s emotions and how they react to their surroundings. Some people need silence, some need music, some need space, some need distraction and some people just do it to look good.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  When a sociologist studies behavior their concentration is based upon the interaction the individual itself and how they interact within their surroundings. Through symbolic interactionalism you look at things and what they mean, and then determine the effects they have. There are many hand signs, both good and bad, that people exchange, as well as facial expressions in reaction to an event or statement that a symbolic interactionalist would look at. My observation period in the library allowed me to glimpse into the life of a sociologist. I realized that you could learn a lot about someone by just watching him or her. Their behavior is highly representative of the person they are; yet one cannot assume what specific reactions imply. Through the use of your sociological imagination you are able to gain a deeper understanding of behavior and how behavior is influenced by society.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  

Goodnight Mister Tom Essay

In Michelle Magorians cute and heart warming novel â€Å" Goodnight Mister Tom† the protagonist Willie experiences dramatic changes and exciting if not terrifying events throughout the course of the story. He discovers warmth and kindness unlike anything he has ever known. This love mainly comes from his adopted father Mister Tom and his friend Zach. Willie is overwhelmed at the diversity from his life in London. After being with them he becomes happier, healthier and learns to trust and feel secure in his new home, knowing that Mister Tom and his friends will always be there with him. Willie experiences warmth and kindness right from when he arrives at Mister Tom’s house in Little Weirwold. When he meets Mister Tom he appears thinly clad, underfed and covered with painful bruises. He seems a quiet and timid creature living in a chasm of fear, believing he is full of sin. When he is first at Mister Tom’s Willie is desperate to behave well, terrified of beatings and punishment he thinks he will receive because of his ‘wickedness’. â€Å"‘I must be good,’ he whispered urgently. ‘I must be good. ’ †. Having seen Willies bruises and realising he came from an abusive home Mister Tom puts in great effort to give him a happy, healthy life. He acquires warm comfortable clothing for Willie, unlike his current threadbare garments and gives him nourishing food, such as specially cooked breakfasts and tea. He provides Willie with books and reads to him each night much to Willie’s enjoyment. Willie is disappointed to not be in the same class as his friends because he cannot read and write, he is humiliated by this, but Mister Tom helps him to learn and he improves and progresses greatly. Someone else who introduces Willie to love and friendship is Zach. In â€Å"Goodnight Mister Tom† Zach is the outgoing, flamboyant character. Upon their meeting Zach declares himself to be Willie’s friend. The two start to spend more and more time together. Zach provides Willie with fun and support. He makes jokes which amuse Willie greatly and encourages him to do things like develop his artistic talent. Because of Mr Tom’s and Zach’s kindness Willie begins to trust Mister Tom, his friends and the world around him. One way this begins is when Mister Tom goes to the local doctor as he is concerned about Willies health- he is frequently vomiting and bedwetting, suffering from malnutrition. While he is overcoming this Willie is quite embarrassed, but Mister Tom is merely patient with him, changing his bedding without a complaint. Willie is quiet about all of this, but is very surprised at Mister Tom’s generosity. He begins to ask more questions, (something his mother would have disapproved of) such as â€Å"Will you help me? and to talk more to people especially Mister Tom. Willie becomes less scared and shy, and is warming towards Mister Tom. â€Å"Willie gave him an awkward smile. † Another example is when Willie encounters Zach. At first Willie is reluctant and afraid to speak to him. But when Zach is good to him Willie finds the courage to start to talk to him more and more and he begins to blend some of Zach’s traits into his own. Willie soon meets more children and is able to form a small circle of friendship with them. †¦ with the knowledge that he, Willie Beech had survived a whole day with four other people of his own age† Willies new life in Little Weirwold is diverse from his experiences in London. In London Willies life is miserable. He is a child who is physically and emotionally abused by his violent and religious mother. His behaviour at the start of the novel is a result of his upbringing by his mother who inflicts him with severe punishments using excuses such as â€Å"If you do such a thing you will go to hell†. Willie has never really known friends before and is astonished when Zach declares he wants to be Willie’s. â€Å"No one had ever said that they liked him. † At school he is overwhelmed by the fact that the teachers and children support and care for him. The teachers from his school in London showed no interest in helping or liking him. â€Å"No but my teacher didn’t like me much† Throughout the novel Willie develops a greater character because of the events he experiences and the people he meets.

Morality of Homosexuality According to Rachels

The ethics and morality of homosexuality and homosexual acts have been debated and questioned by many groups of people using several moral approaches to argue their point. It seems that the group of people who are most against homosexuality are religious groups, specifically Christians. Homosexuality however is not morally wrong and many arguments will be presented to refute the claims by those who do believe that homosexuality is unethical and morally wrong.The approaches that is used the most to argue that homosexuality and the acts that are involved are morally wrong which is used most by Christians is the Theory of Natural Law. Now there are three main points to this theory and the first point is that it is believed that â€Å"everything in nature has a purpose† (Rachels & Rachels, 2012). Aristotle, who is very well known and respected stated that if everyone believes that nature makes objects for a specific purpose, and that this believe is correct, then, nature makes thi ngs for the sake of man.Christians believe that God created things in nature for a specific plan and so if that specific plan can not be carried out, then it should not be done and therefore is morally wrong. To connect this part of the Theory of Natural Law to thoughts about homosexuality, one of the main arguments against homosexual acts is that it is â€Å"unnatural. † Christians believe the act of homosexual sex is immoral because it does not end in the production of life, which according to them are the main purposes of sex, to create life.This argument is easily refuted however. When using the evolutionary sense of the term â€Å"unnatural,† which is how most Christians use it in their arguments, they mean that homosexuality is morally wrong because it involves the unnatural use of body parts. It is believed by some, that because God had created genitals and the act of sex for procreation, and homosexual sex can not end in procreation, that those individuals enga ging in those acts are using their body parts for something it they were not intended for. Therefore, what they are doing is wrong.However, there are many couples that are sterile, who will never have the opportunity to procreate, and yet as long as the sex is heterosexual, Christians do not condemn them. The Roman Catholic church who does not agree with the use of birth control, still allows couples to have sex if they are infertile or during pregnancy (Mappes, Zembaty & DeGrazia, 2012). Therefore the Catholic church can claim that if the body parts are not being used for the purpose of procreation then it is unnatural and immoral otherwise they would be contradicting their own practices.Besides, as pointed out in the book by Mappes, Zembaty & DeGrazia (2012), we have multiple purposes for our organs and body parts. Just because we use our mouths to not only breath, consume nutrients and communicate, but also to chew gum and lick stamps, does not mean that those acts are immoral. E ven though our moths were not originally intended to chew gum or lick stamps, does not mean that those acts are unethical. Besides, it is also recognized by Christians that a second purpose of heterosexual sex is to bond and connect with your partner and to express love.Homosexuals use their genitals during sexual acts for those same reasons as well. So, it stands to show that Homosexuality and Homosexual sex are not immoral and unethical due to the â€Å"unnatural† use of their sex organs. A second part to the Theory of Natural Law is the belief that all things unnatural are bad and that what is and what ought to be should be the same or else it is morally wrong. The example that Rachels & Rachels (2012) gives is that Beneficence is morally right. That we should always act in the best interest of others because we care.If we do not care and therefore are not working in the best interest of others, then were are not being beneficent and that is morally wrong. Those who do not care and do not practice beneficence are often regarded as wrong. For example, these such individuals may be diagnoses with a mental illness called antisocial personality disorder because those who do not care, couldn't possibly be well. It is believed that these individuals ways of thinking are wrong and therefore should be fixed. So, because society believes that people ought to be beneficent and therefore if they are not, then their actions are morally wrong.Rachels & Rachels (2012) then points out that sex produces babies, that is fact. But does it then follow that sex ought to produces babies? Not necessarily. Those who have genetic mutations that could produce offspring with those same genetic mutations or diseases could be said ought not to have babies because it would perpetuate pain and suffering. Should it follow then those individuals ought not to have sex at all? It is not considered morally wrong for those with genetic illness to have sex, but it maybe thought to be mo rally wrong for them to produce a child.So, what is and what ought to be are different. In regards to Homosexuality, some believe that those individuals ought not to have sex because it is not an innate desire and therefore is unnatural. And as stated before that in which is unnatural ought not to occur according to the Theory of Natural Law. It is argued that References Rachels, J. , & Rachels, S. (2012). The elements of moral philosophy. New York, NY: McGraw-Hill. Mappes, T. A. , Zembaty, J. S. , & DeGrazia, D. (2012). Social Ethics: Morality and Social Policy. New York, NY: McGraw-Hill.