The Role Of Brand Extension

The Role Of Brand Extension In over two decades, the business strategy of introducing new products as extensions has become popular (Maoz and Tybout, 2002; Hou, 2003). Similarly, brand extension is considered as a key to develop brand. In details, it is widely used as eight out of ten new products are introduced as a brand extension in the market (Keller 2003; Simms, 2005; Volckner and Sattler, 2006). Brand extension strategies are broadly applied in order to reduce marketing expense in launching new product, enhance well-known and quality of core brand, and lessen risk for companies (Keller and Aaker, 1992; Taylor and Bearden, 2002). On the other hand, exploiting valuable core brand to built up for the brand extensions are an obvious strategy for growth (Keller and Aaker, 1992) but it is not without risks for firms (Swaminathan, Fox, and Reddy, 2001; Hem, Chernatory and Iversen, 2003) in the new economic environment. Prior studies on brand extension have indicated that a successful brand extension depends a lot on firm characteristics (Hou, 2003), core brand characteristics (Keller and Aaker, 1992; Park and Kim, 2001; Hou, 2003), customer characteristics (Keller, 1993; Swaminathan, et al., 2001), extended brand characteristics (Hou, 2003), and marketing strategies (Desai and Keller, 2002; K.L Washburn, Till and Priluck, 2000; Park and Kim, 2001; Hou, 2003). Brand extensions offer many potential benefits but also can pose many problems (Keller, 2003, p.623). As a result, understanding brand extension evaluation in terms of its core brand, its characteristics and customer behaviors are very important for marketers and firms in order to expand and increase sales revenue. Thus, this paper is designed to additionally examine the relationship between parent and extended brand and its influence on customer. Furthermore, this paper will study the impact of brand extension characteristic on customer purchase intention. 2. The role of brand extension 2.1. Definition and types of brand extension As an interesting research topic, brand extension can be defined and classified into many types as well as many researchers have done about this topic. The need to differ clearly brand substitutions and changes in brand design had led to define brand name extension as the replacement of at least one of the verbal denominations of a product by another, accompanied by the disappearance of the former denomination (Collange, 2008). Brand extension is also defined as a product whose nature and function differ from those of products currently commercialized under the brand name (Cegarra and Merunka, 1993 cited in Collange, 2008). In other words, brand extension is defined as using an established brand name so-called parent brand or core brand (Volckner and Sattler, 2006) to introduce a new product (Keller, 2003). As one of the most frequently tool branding development (Volckner and Sattler, 2006) brand extension is classified into two categories: depth and width of parent brand (Keller, 2003). Keller (2003, p.581) claimed that brand extensions can come in all forms. A core brand is replaced by sub-brand (Collange, 2008) or using new feature added to the host product (Densai and Keller, 2002). In another research, Edward classified brand extension into some categories, what he calls a franchise-extension based on the brand extension characteristics and its correlation to the parent brand. Those are introduction new product as a different form with the core product, or as a component of parent product, or as a compassion product, or as a relevant product for the brand (Tauber, 2004). 2.2. The advantages of brand extension strategy As the efficient strategy, brand extension have become a usually occurrence over the last fifteen years. There are a lot of firm like Apple, which has succeeded with the extension of Apple iPod digital music player. It is concerned as a tool for firm to improve brand image when consumers inferences to the performance of new product based on what they really know about the brand itself. These inferences are noted by Keller (2003) that can improve the strength and uniqueness of the core brand. Sony is the great example for this point, when a new personal computer for multimedia application is introduced consumers may have been more likely to feel comfortable with its anticipated performance because of their experience of other Sony products than if the product had been branded by Sony as something totally new. This extension is one of factors that are seen to create and enhance the competitive advantages of Company in order to develop their product line. As competitive economic environment, extending brand is often seen as a popular (Maoz and Tybout, 2002) and beneficial strategy to introduce different product into market in order to reduce costs, risks of failure and to increase successful opportunity (Taylor and Bearden, 2002). In addition, a lot of firms are using this way expected to generate quicker positive reciprocal effects and heavier purchase by consumers (Swaminathan, et al., 2001). Moreover, another potential benefit is to facilitate the acceptance of extended brand (Keller and Aaker, 1992). Extending brands both within and beyond the original product category is deemed to be profitable. In over fifteen years, these extensions are usually motivated by the need to decrease a portfolio of brands due to the increasingly in advertising expenditure (Cegarra, 1994; Villemus, 1996 cited in Colange, 2008) or price promotions (Volckner and Sattler, 2006). For example, McDonalds has expanded broadly around the world especially in A sia, Europe and Middle-Earth with extended brands. They were successful with McNuggets in England, Maharaja Mac in India even with new product categories such as McCafe, McTreat, or non-food brand extension Golden Arch Hotel in Switzerland (Studer and Ordonez, 2000). 2.3. The risk of brand extension As the cost of opportunity, the success of brand extensions is uncertain (Nkwocha, Bao, Johnson, and Brotspies, 2005). As an innovation can be very risk (Kotler and Amstrong, 2001, pp.337), a brand extension can create negative reciprocal consequences that enhance or diminish the equity of the parent brand (Swaminathan, et al., 2001). In some specific circumstances, it is an extremely risk for firms or would be doubted (Collange, 2008). As a result, these extensions may not be successful (Martin and Stewart, 2001) and it could lead to a tangible drop in sales and market share. Extending brand in marketplace today seems to be more challenging (Hansen and Hem, 2004) and needs to select and manage very carefully (Park, Kim K., and Kim J., 2002). Besides, it requires companies to have knowledge and understanding how customer evaluate brand extensions (Bottomley and Holden, 2001) and research further how customer react upon brand extensions in order to maximize profit. In some cases, extended brand cause consumer feel unappreciated, this confusion may lead consumer to question the integrity and competence of the brand. It is noted as one of the most popular reason for the failure of brand extension (Park, Milberg and Lawson, 1991). Besides, the worst possible consequence with an extension brand is that not only does it fail, but it also diminishes the parent brand. Audi is classic example, its sales declined from USD $ 74,000 in 1985 to 21,000 in 1989 as the result of failure of Audi 5000 had launched in 1986. Each of brands created its own image and associations and introduced into the markets absolutely different from those that currently placed in the market by the Company. As the research, Keller (2003) claimed that introduction a new brand as brand extension always have significant and potentially hidden costs, it requires a new brand should be introduced and updated in the most competitively advantageous way possible. Similarly, brand name ex tended is extremely risk for firms because consumer may no longer recognize it on the shelf or doubt its quality. As the result, this could lead to a drop in sales and market share of core brand (Kapferer, 2007). Moreover, understanding unsuccessful brand extensions may harm the parent brands is very important. It also leads to research and address in this topic, when the role of brand extension and its evaluation have been finding for a long time. Therefore, before extend brand image, company must find out and measure the potential impact on brand evaluation and purchase intention (Changeur, 2004). 3. Components of the literature 3.1. Parent brand and brand extension evaluation Core brand equity According to previous researchers, the parent brand characteristics have influenced on brand extension evaluation (Hou, 2003) and play an important role in successful brand extension (Keller and Aaker, 1992). Specially, the relationship between core and extended brand is linked to the dominant and nature of the core brand (Bridges, Keller and Sood, 2000). As most of new products are extended brands from the core brand (Keller 2003; Simms, 2005; Volckner and Sattler, 2006), previous researchers have shown the positive effect of parent brand on brand extension evaluation. One of these reveals that extended brands from the high equity core brands will be shaped more favorable attitudes (Washburn, Till and Priluck, 2000). On the other hand, the core brand image is not affected negatively by brand extension failure (Keller and Aaker, 2000) and has a low risk relation with brand extension (Maoz and Tybout, 2002). The literatures on brand extension have shown the essential role of brand equity in shaping consumer attitudes about an extension (Collange, 2008). Later researches have revealed that stronger parent brand equity is, whether formed by the brands quality (Keller and Aaker, 2000) or its awareness (Reddy, Holak and Bhat, 1994) the more brand extension is appreciated and to be successful. The core brand equity has not disappeared, and it remains engraved in customers mind even though it is replaced by the extended brand. This is demonstrated by the fact that many companies continue to refer a new product by its former name (Collange, 2008) as the warranty of success. Quality of parent brand Moreover, brand extensions are perceived by customers perceive about the quality of the core brands (Densai and Keller, 2002; Taylor and Bearden, 2002). An existing brand name provides an assurance of quality, thereby reducing the risks involved in purchasing a new product (Swamanithan, et al., 2001). Extension brands from high quality parent brands are perceived as substitutes tend to be less favorably received than those from lower quality brands (Bottomley and Holden, 2001). As the importance of quality, brand extensions which are from strong quality brand are benefited more than those from the weak brands (Park, et al., 2002). Also, in the later research, those effects should depend on the level of perceived quality of the core brand and a high level of both perceived core brand quality between the original and extension product categories was necessary for favorable extension evaluations (Keller and Aaker, 1992). Customer-brand relationship The customer-brand relationship quality interacts significantly and positively with brand extension evaluation (Park, et al., 2002). In the context of introduction new brand extensions, this strong relationship helps to obtain customers acceptance on the new extensions (Park, et al., 2002) and extended brand will be formed better in customers mind (Densai and Keller, 2002). Besides, the greater customers beliefs about the core brand, the better brand extension will be evaluated (Swamanithan, et al., 2001). In addition, customer with greater perception of core brand will accept the proposed extension more favorable (Keller and Aaker, 1992). 3.2. Brand extension characteristics are most concerned in evaluating brand extension There are some brand extension characteristics which are considered by customer in evaluating brand extension (Hou, 2003). Brand attachment Due to the limitation of knowledge about new offering (Taylor and Bearden, 2002), customer may evaluate extended brand by their experience about the core brand (Swamanithan, et al., 2001). As a definition above, firstly, brand extension is integrated the variable of attachment to the initial brand (Collange, 2008). Furthermore, brand attachment is defined as an emotional relationship of consumer with the parent brand (Lacoeuilhe, 2001 cited in Collange, 2008). It means consumer who is emotionally attached to the core brand will be unhappy if it disappears, regardless of the qualities of the substitution brand. It was claimed that the stronger the consumers attachment of extended brand to the initial the more purchase intention will deteriorate. Indeed, the third condition for extended brand to be a success is that consumers must not be too attached to the brand that will eventually disappear (Collange, 2008). On the other hand, the evaluation of brand extension seems to be difficult because consumers have an established relationship to the parent brand in the extension category (Hansen and Hem, 2004). Perceived fit Another characteristic of brand extension, which is recognized as one of the key success of brand extension is perceived fit of the extended brand to the core brand (Hou, 2003). According to previous researches, perceived fit can impact brand extension evaluations in some ways. First, it affects the extension to which consumers transfer their core brand awareness to an extension (Densai and Keller, 2002). Second, consumer may fit as a cue to make their inferences about an extension (Hou, 2003). Besides, perceived fit of brand extension is an important component of extension evaluations (Bridges, et al., 2000). In other words, brand extension must fit with the core brand is considered as the first condition (Collange, 2008). It leads to evaluate brand extension more positive (Michel and Cegarra, 2002; Collange, 2008). Otherwise, lack of category fit can cause the failure of brand extension (Park, et al., 2002; Yeo and Park, 2006). An earlier research has shown that perceived fit betwe en a brand and an extension is high; consumers are more likely to base their evaluations of the new product on their attitudes toward the parent brand (Bridges, et al., 2000). Therefore, as one of the key success factor of brand extension, it is needed to manage and emphasize carefully the transfer of the brand in terms of customer perspective (Collange, 2008). In prior researches, transfer has been examined as the greatest impact on extension evaluations among these dimensions (Hou, 2003), which are complement, substitute and transfer (Keller, 2003). Moreover, these types of features involved in fit judgments (Keller, 2002) have suited. Perceived fit is not only the extensions functional similarity to the brand category but also its relevance to abstract brand benefits (Broniarczyk and Alba, 1994). Furthermore, consumers may evaluate brand extension perceived fit on deep features or surface features (Zhang and Sood, 2002). It might be the main reason leaded to the mixed results above. Perceived similarity Furthermore, perceived similarity is characterized as a factor which influence consumers acceptance of extensions (Hem and Iversen, 2008). An important reason, also, is that similarity has been found to be a major determinant of brand extension evaluations (Hansen and Hem, 2004). It is defined in terms of the features shared by the core product and extension product (Keller and Aaker, 2000). Historically, similarity is understood in terms of internal operating synergies that arise when a new product can leverage on existing market (Hem, Gronhaug, and Lines, 2002). Perceived similarity is found to be the most relevant variable that can influence on the successful result of extensions (Volckner and Sattler, 2006; Hem and Iversen, 2008). The similarity between parent and extended brand might influence on perceptions of customer to brand extension and a similar extension of a brand is evaluated more favorably than a dissimilar one (Yeo and Park, 2006). Besides, a customer perception of new brand extensions is related to similarity (Taylor and Bearden, 2002). In addition, the extension information must be deemed relevant in the parent category and the similarity between the extension and parent brand is necessary for the extension information to be considered relevant (Swaminathan, et al., 2001). In the last ten years, researchers have concerned about brand extensions. The higher similarity between the extension and the core brand, the more favorable brand extensions are assessed (Taylor and Bearden, 2002; Park, et al., 2002), the higher purchase intension will be (Collange, 2008). This result was also found in the research of Sony and Nike about extension and new brands, when perceived similarity is a positive effect on brand extension evaluation (McCarthy, Health and Milberg, 2001). Otherwise, when the extension is seen as unrelated to the core brand, extension will not be evaluated favorably this association will not be seen as relevant to judging the extension (Boush and Loken, 2003). In contrast, a number of successful extensions that lack an overall perceived similarity with the parent brand have been launched into the market (Maoz Tybout, 2002). For example, the Virgin brand has been extended to a huge range of products, such as magazines, a music retailing chain, music label, airlines, trains, holidays, personal computers, wine, cola, financial services, radio stations, bridal services, movie theatres, perfume and cellular phones (Keller, 2003). The role of similarity is to influence both positive and negative reciprocal effects (Swaminathan, et al., 2001). As these researches, thus, perceived similarity should be focused deeper on further research in order to evaluate it important role in terms of customer purchase intention (Volckner and Sattler, 2006). 3.3. Customer attitudes towards brand extension Attitudes and purchase intention Customer attitudes towards brand extension may be affected and varied in terms of age, mood and culture (Hou, 2003). As consumer is heterogeneous, they may evaluate differently brand extension (Fu, Ding and Qu, 2009). This difference is the main reason caused to the mixed results in the prior studies. For example, Zhang and Sood (2002) measure the brand extension in terms of customers age groups and they found that teens evaluate brand extensions by relying more on surface cues and less on deep cues. Similarly, the difference in culture can lead customers to uncommon response to brand extensions. Customers from Eastern culture, characterized by holistic thinking, perceive higher brand extension fit and evaluate brand extension more favorably than those in Western culture, characterized by analytic attitudes (Monga and John, 2007). Customer purchase products to obtain benefits and products deliver benefits to customers (Osselaer and Alba, 2003). In terms of customer intent to purchase extended brand, there are some opinions about the dependent on customer relationship and satisfaction in the core brand (Park, et al., 2002). An important factor that leads to customer purchase intention is a lower affective commitment to parent brand (Hansen and Hem, 2004). This means the parent brand experience has no impact on repeat purchase of the brand extension (Swaminathan, et al., 2001). In the same way, the evolution of product purchase intention corresponds to the difference in the degree of purchase intention between the product with the substitution brand and the one with the initial brand (Michel and Cegarra, 2002; Collange, 2008).On the other hand, consumers willingness to buy is influenced by perceived value of the core brand (Taylor and Bearden, 2002). Similarly, purchase decision to buy extended brand is depended on consumer level of involvement in core brand (Hansen and Hem, 2004). Customer knowledge Besides, consumer knowledge is considered as the most important factors that might influence on their attitudes towards brand extension (Hou, 2003). In a research, Brucks (1985) had described three categories of consumer knowledge: subjective knowledge, objective knowledge and prior experiences with the product category. And in the further research, subject knowledge that is what consumer think they know is considered as the strongest motivation of purchase intention for extended product (Hem, et al., 2002). Also, when consumers encounter a new product in the marketplace, they are unlikely to engage in extension cognitive deliberation. This means they might base their evaluations of an extended brand on their subjective to the core brand without considering any specific or different features that the extended brand might have (Yeung and Wyer, 2005). However, in the past research of brand extension show the mixed results for the effects of consumer knowledge on extension brand. For in stant, perceived subjective knowledge about the extension category was found that it has negative effect on brand extension evaluation, it means the evaluation of brand extensions are more positive when perceived subjective knowledge of consumer is low than when it is high (Park and Smith, 1992). In the other hand, the positive effect was found in further research (Dacin and Smith, 1994) or there is no effect on extension evaluations (Keller and Aaker, 1992). As mentioned in the research, this conflicting finding could be explained by the limited number of items used to evaluate consumer knowledge (Hem and Iversen, 2008). Therefore, the effect of subjective knowledge on evaluation brand extension is required to research further (Czellar, 2003). Customer attitudes and the characteristics of brand extension Also, as the strong relationship between the extended brand and the core brand, customer attitudes brand extension might transfer from parent brand (Keller and Aaker, 1992; Volckner and Sattler, 2006). However, customer awareness of brand extension may cause a negative effect on customer attitudes towards the core brand except the high quality of core brand and perceived fit between the core and extension brand (Hou, 2003). Besides, brand extension characteristics have the most weight in the evolution of purchase intention for the brand that has changed name (Collange, 2008). Purchase intention toward the extension is directly influenced by the perceived similarity (Swaminathan, et al., 2001). However, this influence of perceived similarity will be mediated by a categorization construct, called brand meaning (Martin and Stewart, 2001). This minor conflict is needed to research further and provided more evidence to understand customer purchase intension in relationship (Collange, 2008 ) with core brand characteristics and brand extension characteristics as well. Along with the importance of perceived similarly in the studies of brand extension, researchers have suggested that explain how and why similarly is important for successful brand extension is necessary as well. Consumers first consider there is a match between what they know and experience about the parent brand and what they believe to be true about the parent brand in a new product category (Hem, et al., 2002). If the match is perceived good, consumers might expect to transfer their attitudes to the extended brand. Hem and his co-authors (2002) have noted that consumers may also evaluate the extended brand in a more piecemeal fashion. 4. Brand extension evaluation in the fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) industry Brand extension is used widely in many industries (Hou, 2003) and in order to evaluate brand extension effectiveness, this research scope will be narrowed down to one of the most popular and typical area industry of brand extension, FMCG. In FMCG industry, brands are viewed as the key assets of the company, and all investments will be made to create brands. The focus of the organization is on brands and all departments work together towards the brand development. Using new brand name and cooperating brand names are two of three basic brand development strategies for FMCG industry (Schuiling and Moss, 2004). The success and high rank of Procter Gamble (PG) or Nestle in this industry are the great examples for the importance of brand extension in brand development strategies. Moreover, due to very high cost needed to launch a new product and difficult marketing approaches, the use of brand extension approaches in FMCG companies is increasing for the last few years (Juda, 2007) and as the result of globalization, FMCG companies tend to take an existing brand name and then extending it to other product categories has been applied increasingly (Schuiling, 2001). Therefore, FMCG is seen as the most typical industry where required study further and deeper about brand extension. 5. Conclusion In the competitive environment, the use of brand extension is the efficient tool for many firms in order to place higher position in the market. To achieve this goal, brand extensions have been evaluated for a long time. These studies have provided the understanding of the importance of brand extension and the need to address brand extension evaluation in this paper. Also, the relationship between the core brand and the extended brand is shown clearly, especially in terms of brand extension characteristics and customer attitudes towards brand extensions. However, to date, the conflicts in the literatures have existed and deeper understanding brand extension evaluation and its relation to customer purchase intention require researching further (Collange, 2008). Moreover, the limitation in number of items used to measure is reason that cause to the irrelevant results in the past researches. There are still some mixed results about the impact of perceived similarity and perceived fit on customer purchase intension, the lack of information about the correlation between the parent brand and the extended brand. These confusions need to re-solve in further research. As mentioned in the background and literature review, the extended brand is strongly affected by the parent brand. When an extended brand is being created, it would be necessary for marketers to understand how customers look at the brand extension and how it will impact on their purchase intention. In order to have further understanding this issue in the FMCG industry in Vietnam, the below questions and hypotheses have been developed: Q1: What are the factors of parent brand affect on brand extension evaluation? H1: High equity of parent brand will provide more favorable effects on extended brand. H2: Perceived quality of parent brand correlates to extended brand perceived quality. H3: Customers relationship of the parent brand positively correlates to the acceptance of extended brand. H4: Customer attitude toward parent brand will relatively affects on the extended brand. Q2: How brand extension characteristics influence on customer purchase intention? H5: The more similarity to the parent brand, the higher level of customer purchase intention of extended brand. H6: The higher of perceived fit of extended brand to the parent brand will positively impact on the customer purchase intention of extended brand. H7: Customers attachment to the parent brand is correlated to the customer purchase intention of extended brand. H8: Customer awareness of the extended brand is correlated to the level of their purchase intention of extended brand.

Language Development multi-disciplinary

Language development is a multi-disciplinary field containing inputs from psychology, academics, behavioral science, neurology and speech development. It’s marked by the culmination of a series of processes, which begin early in human life where an infant goes through imbibing primary language skills from the environment surrounding him, starts remembering words and phrases without the need for understanding their meaning, slowly build connections and visual imagery to understand patterns in language, and finally, as the child grows older, new meanings and new associations are created and his vocabulary increases as more words are learned.Language development as a term, should not be confused with â€Å"language acquisition† of which it is only a subset. The latter also deals with second language learning ability. Linguists and researchers like Noam Chomsky, Elizabeth Bates and Catherine Snow have developed hypotheses, that recognize and measure the specific learning re sults from general cognitive abilities and the interactions between learners, and their surrounding language environments.Language development contains several discussion points. In this paper, we shall look into the following points, based on past research done in relevant area. The main objective of our research is to infer the importance of each and every building block, in facilitating the language learning ability of children. Understanding these concepts have special significance to the case studies of dyslexics (slow learners), auditory and visually challenged kids, children with a stammering problem and kids of immigrant parents for whom English is not a spoken language at home. The articles selected for this purpose have one theme in common: they offer tips and suggestions, and also the roadmap for applications within a children learning environment.Transduction: Having worked in the field of cognitive development among children, Jean Piaget, a famous Swiss development psyc hologist, has described â€Å"transduction† as the first logic of reference in the primary form of reasoning used by children during the preoperational stages of development (2-7 years). The logic here is: if A causes B today, then A always causes B.The basic definition of transduction is â€Å"reasoning† without the reversible nestings of a hierarchy of classes and relations (Mathcs.edu, p.12). Accordingly, the first verbal reasoning is identified as practical and somewhat, based on perception or imagination. It is one step advancement of something known as â€Å"preconcepts†, identified by early language specialists wherein a child merely learns to associate certain â€Å"semi-concepts† which fit into the notion of what the child observes from surroundings (p.10). An example might be, â€Å"Is worm an animal?† It basically means that at the preconceptual level, the child identifies words with â€Å"shapes† and â€Å"patterns† (p.11) , rather than actual denominators of valid reasoning.In contrast, Piaget identified transduction as an advanced stage of cognitive learning, because the child’s thinking pattern carries less of an egocentric point-of-view, and it is more oriented toward finding the meaning to a desired end (p.12). However, even at this stage, the child doesn’t think of representation based on logic at most times, and can distort reality to suit his own â€Å"perception† about the world (p.12). Transduction, has been identified as the â€Å"discovery of lying†, and also the â€Å"dawn of reasoning† (p.12). The essential prerequisites of a study on transduction in language development for children, would consist of   in the preconceptual stage: 1)a symbolic thought, 2)representations derived from motivation, individual perception, daydreaming, and logical reasoning. In the transduction stage, it matures into a vivid construction of the image, and this constitutes t he child’s first grasp with reasoning, and intellect (p.12).Concept   formation:   There is a close relationship between language and concept forming ability   (Xu, p.2). Fei Xu, at the University of British Columbia contends in her research on cross-linguistic behavior patterns, that concept forming abilities reflect certain correlations between aspects of language, and the guiding blocks of reasoning that present a state-of-the-fact reality for the child, slowly whetting his appetite for gaining knowledge on words, based on situations (p.3).The first feature of this concept forming ability starting with infants began, in â€Å"count nouns† and categorization. Quoting from relevant research, Xu points out that children first learn to differentiate between countable and uncountable nouns, as the object is displayed before them. A familiarization tone might be: â€Å"a rabbit†, â€Å"a pig†, and also â€Å"wheat†, â€Å"sugar† (p.5). Th ere is a natural propensity to learn â€Å"novel nouns† (p.6), which are basically words, that are amusing and pleasant to hear. Studies have shown kids can be unusually brilliant in their intuitive ability to grasp new words, to attach their meaning with words they already know. E.g. â€Å"engineer†, â€Å"medicine† and â€Å"President† (p.7).Once the foundation for nouns are clear, Xu offers examples in which children learned differences between adjectives and nouns, which come â€Å"immediately† after learning nouns. E.g. â€Å"good† boy, â€Å"red† apple (p.7). For infants, conceptual ability at an early stage is not a complete process by itself, as they lack understanding of other signposts of intelligence (p.11). In an experiment suggested in the article, small children faced trouble in counting objects of similar shape. To them, articles of different shapes and sizes offers more intrigue and curiosity into counting. Also, many couldn’t tell if a toy train moving in a circular path was indeed â€Å"one† train (p.12). However, the start of concept-forming ability is the dawn of wisdom for infants.Imagery: Imagery refers to any word that creates a â€Å"picture† in the head of children. For older kids (3-4 years and above), imagery using similes, metaphors, personifications (mainly) and other audio-visual tools are a crucial ingredient in learning language (Savich, 1984). Not only do these methods facilitate an increase in handy vocabulary, but they also develop spatial learning abilities in children. Imagery is recommended for older children, because by then their brain cells in the cerebral hemisphere, are divided enough to allow such functions (Savich, 1984).Some of the methods used are: â€Å"the Big, Black barn†, â€Å"Snow White with pink feathers and velvet hands†. For children, the intuitive ability to render strong associations with these image vocabulary, is so po werful that many of them are able to visualize elements that many adults might ignore; e.g. the differences in colors in mosaic tiles; any object (and that includes human beings) readily start getting associated with the child’s cultivated imagination. Also, unlike the early concept-forming stage, this time children have lesser tendency to   face problems in identifying different words and expressions for similar shapes.Patricia Savich, at the University of Los Angeles, in her research on language-disabled children, has contended that they are facing problems in retaining a strong anticipatory imagery ability (Savich, 1984), compared to other children. In an experiment described, she assigned five spatial tasks to two groups of children based on age, sex, native language and background. In all assignments specified, language-disabled children lagged behind their counterparts in identifying words, from the assortment of visual imagery at their disposition (Savich, 1984).Memo ry: Memory has several study areas in the field of language development: recall memory, visual recognition memory (VRM), social communication, and the emergence of language skills. According to Heimann et al (2006), recall memory involves the technique called â€Å"deferred imitation† or DI as the most scientific method of enabling words, to stick in the memory of children. A lot of research in this field, has successfully established the cosmopolitan reach of the method to enable children to learn new words, sentence structures and also intonations of language. DI basically involves showing a picture to the child, make him repeat the word after the instructor, pursue a delay for 10 to 24 minutes, and come back with the picture again, to retain the word in the child’s sphere of imagination, â€Å"permanently†. There is plenty of flexibility, in how and why DI must be conditioned, for specific child-learning initiatives.VRM is applied to children, 3 years and abo ve, and deals with providing close attention for familiar pools of information. VRM is a close indicator of receptive language skills, and along with imagery, helps the child associate connections between different visual stimulus to form an idea of the world where he’s living in. Social communications consist of two aspects: 1)Joint Attention (JA) where the child learns words by studying the gaze patterns of other children in the creche or play group, and 2)Turn-taking skills (TT), which is the beginning of the first steady â€Å"conversation† between the child and the instructor/parent. The parent familiarizes the child with a situation, and it is his responsibility to come back with an answer. Heimann et al (2006), have contended that the onset of a steady conversation, even though in incorrect grammar, is the fist milestone for children’s language development program.Environmental influence: Finally, apart from the four techniques discussed in our framework, the most pivotal influence kids could derive for learning language programs, lies in the influence laid out by the environment in which they live. According to a cognitive behavior study, by Janellen Huttenlocher, a William S Gray Professor in psychology at the University of Chicago, the language environment in which children live, influences considerably their command over individual differences in syntax acquisition (Harms, 2002). There are dramatic differences between 3- and 4- year olds speech and comprehension, depending upon the â€Å"way† teachers and parents spoke to them.The study was based on 305 children across 40 classrooms in 17 preschool areas comprising people of all income-levels. Sentences used for testing were very descriptive, livid and tested all aspects of grammar retention ability: â€Å"the boy is looking for the girl behind a chair, but she is sitting under the table†, and â€Å"the baby is holding the big block and a small ball†. Natura lly, in classrooms that were extremely exposed to complicated sentences, children were more easily capable of using the correct â€Å"syntax† in language tests, compared to under-privileged downtown Chicago neighborhood schools, that are often under-staffed and children come from much less-privileged backgrounds. Even for lower-income background children, those who came to classrooms with qualified language instructors, the curiosity to learn the proper syntax of conversations, was much higher (Harms, 2002).According to Huttenlocher, the foundations of speech due to environment in childhood sticks for life. Children who grow up listening to â€Å"full† sentence syntaxes, are much more likely to use them comfortably when they grow up, compared to many American adults who really enjoy â€Å"skipping† words and have limited vocabulary for use, even though they might know the meaning of several words (Harms, 2002).SourcesHarms, W. (Nov 21, 2002). Researchers discove r environment influences children’s ability toform, comprehend complex sentences. The University of Chicago Chronicle. Vol.22,No.5Heimann, M., Strid, K., Smith, L., Tjus, T., Ulvund, S.E., Meltzoff, A.N. (Aug 1, 2006).Exploring the relation between memory, gestural communication and the emergence oflanguage in Infancy: a longitudinal study. Public Medical Central. 15(3): 233-249.Mathcs.edu. (Date unknown). Cognitive precursors to language. Accessed :www.mathcs.duq.edu/~packer/Courses/Psy598/Precursors,%20Cognitive.pdf [Dec 16, 2006]Savich, P.A. (December 1984). Anticipatory imagery ability in Normal and Language-disabledchildren. Journal of Speech and Hearing Research. Vol. 27: 494-501.Xu, F. (in press). Concept formation and language development: count nouns and object kinds.University of British Columbia, Oxford handbook of psycholinguists. Oxford UniversityPress (OUP). 2-12.

Family marriage Essay

On the night of Feb 28th, the last day of classes, Nilesh proposed to Geeta, his MBA classmate of nearly a year and a half. Geeta agreed immediately and wondered if all her classmates will be able to attend their wedding as once they all go back to their homes it would be really very difficult for everyone to get together again. Suddenly, Nilesh came up with the idea: what if they got married on March 22nd? â€Å"But how could it be? Our convocation is on March 21st Geeta said. â€Å"Exactly! All our classmates will definitely come here for convocation and they would not mind staying an extra day for the wedding. In fact, we will get the blessings of even their parents as many are planning to come for the convocation. † Geeta: Right. But so many things have to be done. That is also when the wedding season starts and all the reception halls become unavailable. For our send-off party, juniors were saying that hotels were insisting on 17 days notice. Of course, for Rs 5000/- extra the notice period can be reduced to 10 days. Nilesh: I want my brother and sister-in-law to come for the wedding. Geeta: But, they are in US and working. They will require at least 10 days before they can be here. Also my parents will have to buy your sister-in-law a sari-set (sari with matching blouse and petticoat) as per the tradition. She will have to be here well in time so that they can be fitted well. Nilesh: And catering! It takes two days to choose the menu and Pandal decorations. Hotel Sayaji wants at least 10 days notice period before the formal engagement ceremony (one night before the wedding). Geeta: And what about our dresses? These days, it is better to get it made after choosing the pattern and buying the material yourself. It would take three days to choose the pattern and eight days to order and receive the material after Nilesh: Yes. But the material supplier can deliver in five days if we pay an extra of Rs 1000/- for expediting it. Geeta: I want Joyti of Asha Boutique to work on our dresses. Nilesh: But she charges Rs 500/- for one day of work. Geeta: If I got my mother to do all the services, we could finish the dresses in 11 days. If Joyti helped, we could cut that down to six days, at a cost of Rs 500/- for each day less than 11 days. Nilesh: It would take another two days to do the final fitting. Then dry-cleaner will take two days to clean and press the dresses unless we pay Ps 1000/- for the express service of single day delivery. Geeta: That’s right. By the way, have you thought about invitations? Nobody will come unless we invite them formally. Nilesh: Anand Printing Press will take 12 days to print the invitation cards. Of course, they do have an express service and can deliver in five days if we pay them extra Rs 1500/Geeta: It will take three days to prepare the matter which will be printed and select the styles. Nilesh: Given the postal delays, the invitations have to go out at least 10 days before the wedding. Geeta: Mailing them will take a day and that cannot be done until we write addresses on them. Addressing will take four days unless we hire some help. We can finish addresses in two days if we hire a part-time help for Ps 200/-. Geeta: We also have to buy some jewellery items to be given as gift to my brother-in-law. It will take a day to do that Nilesh: But before we start writing address, we will have to prepare a guest list. We can’t afford to miss out on anyone important, as that will have an impact on the relationship with them forever. We will have to be really thorough on that. I think it will take four days to prepare an exhaustive guest list. Geeta: That does sound like a lot. Now it certainly looks much easier to earn an MBA degree than get married!!! QUESTIONS:1. Given the activities and precedence relationships described in the (A) case, develop a network diagram for the wedding plans. 2. Identify the paths. Which are critical? 3. What is the maximum cost plan that meets the March 22nd deadline? Case -2 {Continuation of Case 2} Marks-15 Several complications arose during the course of trying to meet the deadline of March 21, for the Nilesh— Geeta engagement. Since it was important for Nilesh and Geeta to get married on March 22nd, the implications of each of these complications had to be assessed. 1. All hotels informed that the express booking had to be withdrawn that year as there was a mad-rush for getting married, and therefore Nilesh and Geeta would have to give 17 days’ notice. 2. A call to the US revealed that brother and sister-in-law couldn’t leave till March 1st as they had urgent deadlines at work. 3. Nilesh came down with four day flu just as he started to work on the guest list. 4. The dress material was lost in transit. Notice of loss was delivered to Geeta on March 10th. 5. There was an unplanned repair work at Sayaji on March 8. They informed that they would be closed for two to three days. QUESTIONS :1. Given your answers to the (A) case, describe the effects on the wedding plans of each incident noted in the (B) case. SECTION B Attempt any 5 questions:- Marks-50 1) What is the linkage between product choices and process choices in an organization? 2) How can the internet affect the practice of operations management? Does it have any implications for operations strategy? 3) Does the organization structure influence the product development process and way? Explain. 4) Distinguish between assignable and common causes of variations. Why is this distinction important quality control? 5) How does the choice of the layout affect of the operational performance of an organization? 6) Explain how forecasting helps an organization handle uncertainties.

Essay about Milton’s Justification of God - 1163 Words

Milton’s Justification of God In the epic poem Paradise Lost, the author John Milton tells his story of Man’s fall from paradise and God’s punishment on mankind. Milton, in his opening statement, says that he will â€Å"justify the ways of God to men† (Milton 1.26). Milton achieves this purpose by addressing the issues of the paradox of man’s free will and God’s introduction of evil to mankind, and giving a logical explanation as to why each was rightfully intended as part of God’s plan. The argument against God states that if God is the creator of everything and that everything starts in him, and he knows everything that is and will be, then we cannot justify his ways because that implies that he created man knowing man would fall. This†¦show more content†¦With free will comes God’s punishment for disobedience and the introduction of evil by God. The argument saying that God is the origin of evil because everything or iginates from him is a controversial and difficult statement. It is not possible to completely refute this statement as it holds some truth because God is the author of everything in the Christian doctrine, unless one chooses to be blind about the Christian religion. To say that God is evil because of this is also an inaccurate statement. One could refer to Jacques Derrida to justify this action of God. Derrida states that one can not truly know one thing unless one knows what that thing is not; meaning that an object or idea is nothing special if there is nothing to compare it to. Thus man cannot truly know good without knowing evil. So God introducing evil would be necessary for man’s true happiness. This idea is supported by Adam himself after being punished, â€Å"That all this good of evil shall produce, and evil turn to good† (Milton 12.470). Adam is relieved after hearing from the archangel Michael that goodness will come out of their temporary punishment. This shows that God’s actions were necessary for the prolonged happiness of humanity. God in Paradise Lost intended not for a permanent stay in Eden. He had intended for man to prove himself to God, just as the angels did before him. God’s actions towards man are also justifiable in a sense of manShow MoreRelatedMiltons Paradise Lost and His Justification of the Ways of God to Man.1418 Words   |  6 PagesParadise Lost is just that. It is Miltons own take on the biblical story of Satans fall from grace as well as mans fall. Milton was not only armed with an extensive knowledge on the Bible, but in everything a man of his time could learn. With his wisdom he emersed himself into his work, making Paradise Lost not only a tale of epic perportions, but one that would Justify the ways of God to Man. (I 26) Even before reading Paradise Lost, I had always wondered why God allowed evil, and why he allowedRead MoreInnocence or Freewill? A critique of Milton’s Theodicy Using Paradise Lost)1000 Words   |  4 Pagesall. In Paradise Lost, by John Milton, he attempts to present the reasoning behind all the actions on Earth, positive and negative. To fully understand though, you must learn Milton’s theodicy, or the defense of Gods goodness and omnipotence in view of the existence of evil. (â€Å"Theodicy† Merriam-Webster) Part One Milton’s theodicy is his attempt to justify God’s ways to man. Not only does he reference the traditional teachings from the bible, but he elaborates on certain points to better createRead More Predestination in Book III of John Miltons Paradise Lost Essay1643 Words   |  7 Pagesin Book III of Paradise Lost    Miltons purpose in Paradise Lost is nothing less than to assert eternal providence and justify the ways of God to men - a most daunting task.   For Milton to succeed in his endeavour, he has to unravel a number of theologiccal thorns that have troubled christian philosophers for centuries.   Since his epic poem is, essentially, a twelve book argument building to a logical conclusion - the justification of the ways of God to men - he will necessarily have toRead MoreTaking a Look at John Milton1988 Words   |  8 Pageswith Mary Shelly and William Blake but Milton’s career took place during the Late Renaissance and the Restoration Age. Paradise Lost and On His Blindness are two of Milton’s finest works; Milton incorporated the sacred telling’s of the Bible into these two poems by analyzing and elaborating on the teachings of Christianity to a depth that had not previously been reached. The reoccurring theme found in his work are disobedience, eternal provi dence and justification. Milton was not only a poet butRead MoreMilton s Paradise Lost By Milton1203 Words   |  5 PagesIn Milton’s â€Å"Paradise Lost†, Milton undertakes a major feat by justifying the way of God to man, through his re-telling of the Bible in an epic poem. His work has been criticized to be â€Å"of the Devil’s party without knowing it†; however, to take such a binary interpretation of his work undermines its complexity. It is both true and false that he wrote in â€Å"fetters† for god and â€Å"liberty† for the devil, as well justified the way he wrote however the primary question arises w as he conscious or unconsciousRead MoreA Discussion of Milton’s Theodicy in Paradise Lost745 Words   |  3 PagesWhat is free will? Milton explains in Paradise Lost that free will is the answer to the justification of Gods ways to man. There are three parts, or triangle, of theodicy, they are that God is all powerful, all good, yet there are still b ad things that happen. Milton wrote to explain and justify why there are still bad things even though God is all good, and all powerful. Milton’s answer to this is that there is all good and all power, but the bad is not God’s fault. Milton has three key ideas toRead MoreJohn Milton s Paradise Lost1371 Words   |  6 PagesJohn Milton’s Hell John Milton’s Paradise Lost is most known for being one of the last epics ever to be written in literature. Milton’s epic was also extremely known for having one of the most detailed descriptions of Hell since Dante’s Inferno, written in the 14th century. Milton’s 17th century work was centered on the fallen angels of heaven, especially Satan, who were sent to Hell by God. Originally chained to the lake of fire in Hell, the devils are released by God. Milton’s epic then describesRead MoreMary Shelley s Frankenstein 1646 Words   |  7 Pagesmirror, reflecting Milton’s Paradise Lost explicitly throughout the text. Milton’s purpose in writing Paradise Lost was to â€Å"justify the way of God to man†, this was successful in the Restoration period but during the Romantic period people were not convinced. Romantics reinterpreted Paradise Lost as the Creator being the cause of all suffering and evil, William Blake put it as â€Å" Milton was secretly of the devil’s party without knowing it.† Shelley’s novel mirrors this idea of justification, in that VictorRead MoreJohn Milton Opens Paradise Lost Essay2170 Words   |  9 Pagesgoal, claiming that his book would be sufficient means by which â€Å"[He might] assert Eternal Providence, / And justify the ways of God to men† (Paradise Lost 1.25-26). So the reader should treat his epic poem as the attempted justification that it is, and ask themselves this: does this argument successfully justify God’s ways? A key—perhaps even the key—part of Milton’s book, and therefore of his argument, is God’s behavior with regards to the fall, whether that be action or lack of action. Thus toRead MoreJohn Milton s Paradise Lost1047 Words   |  5 PagesJohn Milton’s epic poem Paradise Lost explores themes of divine power to justify the ways of God. His portrayal of Satan as the protagonist rather than the vi llain allows reader’s to see that God doesn’t control people’s actions, and that instead we all have free will even though He does have the power to manipulate it. By including Satan’s side to the story as well as his fall, Milton is able to inform readers about the reason for the happy fall as well as include themes of pride, deceit, and communication