Migration Similarities of Island People Essay -- Immigration Immigrant

Migration Similarities of Island People Works Cited Not Included I will compare the migration experiences of the Tongan island people as illustrated in Voyages: From Tongan Villages to American Suburbs with the migrants of the Dominican Republic that Peggy Levitt discussed in The Transnational Villagers. I will further describe how many of their encounters mirrored the life of "Dan," an island native that shared his transnational knowledge by describing the social remittances, international connections and migration he experienced. Dan is a native of Ireland. He is a legal alien living in Arizona. He grew up surrounded by the influences of a transnational family. Migration was viewed as an acceptable and natural step in a motivated Irish person’s rite of passage. This is also the clear message of Small (1997), she noted that migration became an essential part of what it meant to be Tongan and the excitement of living overseas might be the best way to fulfill a Tongan life. (p. 43) Dan's migration influence seemed to stem from his grandfather, who worked in a post-office when letter writing was the major form of communication. He would narrate and respond to letters from overseas, as requested by his neighbors. Many of these letters were from the Irish-Americans that had emigrated in large numbers to the United States over the decades. In 1911 for instance, the number of Irish-born persons living abroad was equivalent to 50% of the population that lived in Ireland at the time (Courtney, 2000). The international correspondence Dan’s grandfather processed, he often shared with his family. This may have sparked the desire in his daughters, one of which was Dan's mother to travel to the United States many years later. ... ...ain, Canada, Australia and the United States, during this time the population in the Republic of Ireland was only 3.53 million (Courtney, 2000). In1995, more than one-quarter of the entire population of Tonga, both Tongan born and American born were living in the U.S. (Small, 1997). Levitt (2001) pointed out that eight and a half percent of the Dominican Republic’s population lived in the United States, but they do not necessarily intend to stay in the U.S. (p. 22) Americans tend to have a belief that their country is superior, consequently we believe that everyone, if they could, would be a U.S. citizen (Small, 1997). As Dan proved, this is not the case, although he felt that it was his destiny to come to the United States, after 13 years of residing in America, he has no doubt that his identity remains that of an Irish man in America and not an Irish-American.

Store Layout and Design

Chapter 13 – Store Layout and Design I. Introduction to Store Layout Management. Retailers can use the retail store itself to initiate and continue their relationship with customers. A. The store itself (e. g. , its layout) has the potential to overcome many of the negative attitudes/emotions customers may carry as they enter a retailer’s store. 1. 2. In fact, no other variable in the retailing mix influences the consumer's initial perception as much as the retailer's store itself. The two primary objectives around which all activities, functions, and goals in the store revolve are store image and sales productivity.Store image is the overall perception the consumer has of the store’s environment. b. Space productivity represents how effectively the retailer utilizes its space and is usually measured by sales per square foot of selling space or gross margin dollars per square foot of selling space. In cyberspace, retailers must be concerned with the format of the entire website. In order to drive repeat visits and encourage consumer purchasing on one’s web site, the e-tailer should: a. b. Keep content current. Make the site easy and enjoyable to use. c.Structure an online community where consumers can interact with one another or contribute to the site’s content. B. Elements of the Store Environment – The successful retailer will place a heavy emphasis on designing their physical facilities so as to enhance the retailer’s overall image and increase its productivity. The elements that should be considered are: a. POS signage. b. c. Visual Communications – Retail identity, graphics, and Store Planning – Space allocation, layout, and circulation. Store Design – Exterior design, ambiance, and lighting. election, merchandise a. 3. d. Merchandising – Fixture presentation, and visual merchandising. C. The two primary objectives of creating the desired store image and increasing space producti vity correspond to the general mission of all retailers, which is to get consumers into the store (traffic) and influence them to buy merchandise once inside (conversion rate) while operating in the most efficient manner possible (operating efficiency). The store planner must constantly balance these objectives, as they are sometimes at odds. 1.Developing a Store Image – the ability to create and change image through the store environment becomes more important every day as consumers’ time poverty increases. 2. Increasing Space Productivity – a goal summarized in a simple but powerful truism of retailing: â€Å"The more merchandise customers are exposed to, the more they tend to buy. † To enhance space productivity, retailers must incorporate planning, merchandising, and design strategies that minimize shrinkage (the loss of merchandise through theft, loss, and damage). II. Store Planning.Store planning is the development of floor plans, which indicate wh ere merchandise and customer service departments are located, how customers circulate through the store, and how much space is dedicated to each department. A. Allocating Space – the starting point of store planning is determining how the available store space will be allocated to various departments, based on mathematical calculations of the returns generated by different types of merchandise. 1. Types of Space Needed – there are five basic types of space in a store: a. . The back room includes the receiving area to process arriving inventories and the stockroom to store surplus merchandise. Offices and other functional spaces include a break room for associates, a training room, offices for the store manager and assistant managers, a cash office, bathroom facilities for both customers and employees, and perhaps other areas. The amount of space dedicated to aisles, service areas, and other nonselling areas can be significant, perhaps 15 percent or more of the entire s pace.While the store planner always attempts to minimize the amount of nonselling space, customer service is an equally important part of a store and should not be short-changed. The floor merchandise space holds many types of fixtures used to display merchandise. The walls are one of the most important elements of a retail store. They serve as fixtures holding tremendous amounts of merchandise, as well as serving as a visual backdrop for the merchandise on the floor. c. d. e. 2.Space Allocation Planning – to determine the most productive allocation of space, the store planner must analyze the productivity and profitability of various categories of merchandise. There are two situations where this is evident: planning a new store and revising the space allocation of an existing store. a. Improving Space Productivity in Existing Stores – When a retailer has been in business for some time, it can develop a sales history on which to evaluate merchandise performance, refine space allocations, and enhance space productivity.Various quantitative measures, such as the space productivity index, can be used to develop a more productive space allocation. Space Allocation for a New Store – When a retailer is creating a new store format, it bases space allocation on industry standards, previous experience b. with similar formats, or more frequently, the space required to carry the number of items specified by the buyers. B. Circulation – there are four basic types of circulation patterns in use today. Shoppers have been trained to associate certain circulation patterns with different types of stores. . 2. 3. Free Flow, the simplest type of store layout, is a type of store layout in which fixtures and merchandise are grouped into free-flowing patterns on the sales floor. Grid Layout is another type of store layout in which counters and fixtures are placed in long rows or â€Å"runs,† usually at right angles, throughout the store. Loop Layo ut is a type of store layout in which a major customer aisle begins at the entrance, loops through the store – usually in the shape of a circle, square, or rectangle – and then returns the customer to the front of the store.Spine Layout is a type of store layout in which a single main aisle runs from the front to the back of the store, transporting customers in both directions, and where on either side of this spine, merchandise departments using either a free-flow or grid pattern branch off toward the back and side walls. 4. C. Shrinkage Prevention. When planning stores, the prevention of shrinkage due to theft, damage, and loss must be considered. Some layouts will minimize vulnerability to shoplifters by increasing the visibility of the merchandise. III. Planning Fixtures and Merchandise Presentation.In the â€Å"theater† of retailing, there are two basic types of merchandise presentation: visual merchandising displays which are analogous to the props which s et scenes and serve as backdrops; and on-shelf merchandising which represents â€Å"the stars of the performance†. A. Fixture Types fall into three basic categories: 1. Hardline Fixtures. The workhorse fixture in most hardline departments is the gondola. The gondola can hold a wide variety of merchandise — in fact, virtually all hardlines — by means of hardware hung from the vertical spine.Tables, large bins, and flat-base decks are used to display bulk quantities of merchandise when the retailer wants to make a high-value statement. Softline Fixtures. A large array of fixtures have been developed to accommodate the special needs of softlines, which often are hung on hangers. The four-way feature rack and the round rack are two of the fixtures most heavily used today. The round rack is known as a bulk or capacity fixture, and the four-way rack is considered a feature fixture, because it presents merchandise in a manner, which features certain characteristics of the merchandise (such as color, shape, or style).Wall Fixtures. The last type of fixture are those designed to be hung on the wall. To make a plain wall merchandisable, it is usually covered with a vertical skin that is fitted with vertical columns of notches similar to that on the gondola, into which a variety of hardware can be inserted. Shelves, peghooks, bins, baskets, and even hanger bars can be fitted into wall systems. 2. 3. B. Merchandise Presentation Planning – With all the various types of fixtures available, there is an endless variety of ways to merchandise product. . The methods of merchandise presentation include the following: a. Shelving – The majority of merchandise is placed on shelves that are inserted into gondolas or wall systems. Shelving is a flexible, easy-to-maintain merchandising method. Hanging – Apparel on hangers can be hung from softlines fixtures such as round racks and four-way racks, or from bars installed on gondolas or wall sys tems. Pegging – Small merchandise can be hung from peghooks, which are small rods inserted into gondolas or wall systems.Used in both softlines and hardlines, pegging gives a neat, orderly appearance, but can be labor intensive to display and maintain. Folding – Higher-margin or large, unwieldy softlines merchandise can be folded and then stacked onto shelves or placed on tables. This can create a high-fashion image, such as when bath towels are taken off peghooks and neatly folded and stacked high up the wall. Stacking – Large hardline merchandise can be stacked on shelves, the base decks of gondolas, or â€Å"flats,† which are platforms placed directly on the floor.Stacking is easily maintained and gives an image of high volume and low price. Dumping – Large quantities of small merchandise can be dumped in bins or baskets inserted into gondolas or wall systems. This method can be used in softlines (socks, wash cloths) or hardlines (batteries, can dy), and creates a high-volume, low-cost image. b. c. d. e. f. 2. Different merchandising methods can strongly influence our buying habits and cause us to purchase more. There is a certain psychology of merchandise presentation. . Value/Fashion Image – One of merchandising's most important psychological effects is its ability to foster an image in the customer's mind of how trendy, exclusive, pricey, or value oriented the merchandise is. Angles and Sightlines – Research has shown that as customers move through a retail store, they view the store at approximately 45 degree angles from the path of travel, so merchandise placed at 45 degree angles to the aisle has better visibility.Vertical Color Blocking – To be most effective, merchandise should be displayed in vertical bands of color wherever possible, so that customers are exposed to a greater number of SKUs. b. c. C. Selecting the Proper Fixture and Merchandise Presentation Methods – In selecting which fixtures and merchandising methods to use, a good guideline is to match the fixture to the merchandise, not the merchandise to the fixture. This means you should only use fixtures hat are sensitive to the nature of the merchandise, but all too often, retailers are forced to put merchandise on the wrong fixture. D. Visual Merchandising is the artistic display of merchandise and theatrical props used as scene-setting decoration in the store. Visuals don't always include merchandise – they may just be interesting displays of items somehow related to the merchandise offering or to a mood the retailer wishes to create. IV. Store Design – encompasses both the exterior and the interior of the store.There are literally hundreds of details in a store's design, and all must work together to create the desired store ambiance, which is the overall feeling or mood projected by a store through its aesthetic appeal to the human senses. A. Storefront Design. If the retail store can be compared to a book, then the storefront or store exterior is like the book cover. It must be noticeable, easily identified by passing motorists or mall shoppers, memorable, clearly identify the name and general market positioning of the store, and give some hint as to the merchandise inside.Interior Design can be broken into architectural elements and design finishes, and encompasses floorcoverings, walls, and ceilings. Lighting is one of the most important, though often overlooked, elements in a successful store design. Retailers learned that different types and levels of lighting can have a significant impact on sales. Sounds and Smells: Total Sensory Marketing. Research has shown that senses other than sight can be very important. Many retailers are beginning to engineer the sounds and smells in their stores.B. C. D. V. Visual Communications. Visual communications includes in-store signage and graphics. When carefully balanced with personal service, visual communications, with i ts reliability and low cost, can create an effective selling environment and is therefore an important tool in the store designer's toolbox. A. Name, Logo, and Retail Identity. The first and most visible element in a comprehensive visual communications program is the retailer's identity, composed of the store name, logo mark, and supporting visual elements.The name and logo must be catchy, memorable, and most of all, reflective of the retailer's merchandising mission. Institutional Signage. Once inside the store, the first level of visual communications is known as institutional signage, or signage that describes the merchandising mission, customer service policies, and other messages on behalf of the retail institution. Directional, Departmental, and Category Signage serve as the next level of organizational signage. These signs help guide the shopper through the shopping trip and assist in locating specific departments of interest.B. C. D. Point-of-Sale (POS) Signage. The next lev el of signage is even smaller, placed closer to the merchandise, and known as point-of-sale signage, or POS signage. POS signage is intended to give details about specific merchandise items and is usually affixed directly to fixtures. E. Lifestyle Graphics. Many stores incorporate large graphic panels showing so-called lifestyle images in important departments. These photo images portray either the merchandise, often as it is being used, or images of related items or models that convey an image conducive to buying the product.

Where to Find Specific Types of Rocks and Minerals

Rocks and minerals are all around us. You can pretty much find interesting specimens in almost any natural environment but you have to know where to look and what to look for. If youre new to geology, there is no substitute for examining as many different rocks as possible to familiarize yourself with whats out there. This guide will give you a good idea of some of the best places to get started. Hunting Rocks: Beaches and Riverbeds Whether youre a kid or a grownup, one of the best hunting grounds for rocks is a beach. Ocean beaches boast a wide variety of specimens and since theyre spread out across large areas and renewed with every tide, youre pretty much assured of finding something interesting. Beaches are beginner-friendly. Just bring along some sunscreen, water, something to put your finds in, and youre basically good to go. Beach rocks tend to be of the harder rock varieties (igneous and metamorphic). They get a good grinding in the surf zone, so they tend to be fairly clean and smooth. However, since its not always possible to pinpoint their source of origin, beach rocks are known by geology fanciers as stones without context. A stone on the beach may have fallen from cliffs along the shore or have broken off of a submerged underwater outcrop; it may have even traveled downstream in a river from a great distance inland. River rocks are much more likely to originate near the riverbed and banks. River rocks tend to include more of the softer rock types, and the farther upstream you can go, the truer this is. If you plan to hunt river rocks, be sure to wear sturdy footwear and make sure youre not trespassing. Bedrock: Exposures and Outcrops While beaches and rivers are good places for beginners to launch their education in rock collecting, for a  more serious study of rocks, youll need to find exposed bedrock. Bedrock—or living rock—is an  intact formation that has not been broken away from its original body. A place of any kind where bedrock is lying out in the open ready for your hammer is called an exposure; a naturally occurring exposure is called an outcrop. Outcrops may be found at the beach or along a river bank. In fact, in many geographic regions, these are the only places to find them. For more, youll need to visit the hills or the mountains. If you take manmade sites into account, exposures are quite common. Building sites with their excavations are plentiful all over the country. Mines and quarries offer excellent exposures as well, and they have the advantage of being more permanent than excavation sites. The best bedrock exposures are generally found in road cuts, and amateurs and professionals alike rely on them heavily for their best finds. In civil engineering jargon, a cut or cutting  is the area from which soil and rock are removed to facilitate the building of a road. Road cuts have many good features: Theyre clean, especially when newTheyre easy to visit, alone or in a groupIf theyre on public property, hammering is generally not forbiddenThey expose rocks well, even soft rocksThey expose rocks in their context, including features and structures not visible in a hand specimen Hunting Minerals Minerals can generally be found wherever rocks are found. Thats a good starting point, but a mineral hunter needs to know more geology than the rock hunter. For instance, the mineral grains in rocks such as shale or basalt are too small to be viewed with a magnifier but even these rocks offer possibilities to those who know where to look and what to look for. Minerals grow in several main settings: Primary minerals form during the solidification of a melt.Evaporitic minerals form by precipitation out of concentrated solutions.Diagenetic minerals form at low and moderate temperatures during the consolidation of rock from sediment.Vein minerals form during injection of deep hot fluids.Metamorphic minerals form in solid rocks under prolonged heat and pressure. If you can recognize the signs of these settings, you can expect to find the typical minerals they give rise to. Even a plain-looking mudstone may have zones of alteration or contain veins or partings that reveal mineral nodules that formed during diagenesis. Rock Hunting Etiquette Unfortunately, many of the best places for rock and mineral hunting are on private property or in protected parks. Although many beaches are public parks, where collecting is prohibited, no one is likely to prosecute you for discreetly picking up a few pebbles—but use discretion. Road cuts are off limits wherever parking is not permitted, such as along a freeway. Railways are private property and should be avoided. Likewise, when visiting road cuts in a park—whether national or local—you should generally leave your hammer in the car. Most federal public lands, such as national forests, can be explored freely by amateurs, however, its forbidden for anyone to deface or remove any natural features—this includes rocks, and this includes you. For all other areas, the best rule of thumb is to leave the rocks looking no worse than you found them. Most excavation sites and rock quarries are on private property so youll need to get the owners permission before you start your collecting expedition. Due to liabilities, fear of property damage, and other concerns, the person who owns your hunting ground may have more reasons to say no than yes. Experienced, organized groups generally have the best shot at gaining admittance to private property, so if youre really serious, you might want to think about joining a club.