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South African Journal of Economic and Management Sciences
versão On-line ISSN 2222-3436
versão impressa ISSN 1015-8812
S. Afr. j. econ. manag. sci. vol.17 no.4 Pretoria Abr. 2014
The relationship between marketing intelligence and strategic marketing
Peet Venter; Mari Jansen van Rensburg
UNISA Graduate School of Business Leadership
Despite the importance attached to MI and other marketing information functions, surprisingly few studies have explicitly examined the relationship between MI and strategic marketing decision-making. This article reports on a study conducted with the aim of determining the relationship between marketing intelligence (MI) and strategic marketing in South African organisations. A quantitative survey was conducted among 166 South African marketing decision-makers. The findings suggest a substantial gap between the importance and availability of key types of MI. Marketing decision-makers found the traditional MI and marketing tools of great value in supporting marketing decision-making, but the value of several of the newer MI tools and technologies was less clear. An analysis of MI practices suggested that MI quality and particularly information and communication technology (ICT) support for MI are areas requiring further attention.
Key words: marketing intelligence, strategic marketing, marketing decision-makers
1 Introduction
The marketing concept states that organisations will be successful if they consistently address the needs of their customers better than their competitors (Walker, Mullins & Larréché, 2008). Many organisations accordingly expend a great many resources on efforts to better understand their customers' needs and the nature of the markets they serve.
Given this dependence on external information, it is not surprising that the marketing function has played a leading role over many years in shaping the organisational processes for providing decision-makers with decision-support information. Marketing research originated as early as the 1930s (Taylor, 1936), followed by marketing intelligence (MI) (Kelley, 1965) and marketing information systems (MkIS) (Brien & Stafford, 1969). The importance of information that supports marketing decisions has seemingly endured, with the Marketing Science Institute (2010) suggesting that, in its view, the most important research priority in marketing is "using market information to identify opportunities for profitable growth".
While marketing research, MI and MkIS have all enjoyed some measure of research attention over the years, their relationship with marketing decision-making has been notably absent from leading journals. In particular, the relationship between marketing information and strategic marketing decision-making is an aspect that has not been adequately studied. The literature review undertaken as part of the research reported here uncovered only two such studies. Lackman, Saban and Lanasa (2000) conducted descriptive research on the relationship between MI and strategic marketing. However, this study did not address the relative complexity of MI, and focused on it as one broad concept instead of a complex and interrelating set of subsystems and activities. Another study of interest was conducted by Wee (2001). This latter study considered how large companies in Asia use MI as input into their strategic management system and decision-making. The focus of Wee's study was specifically on the use of the web for MI purposes and the use of web-generated MI in strategic planning. Both studies confirmed the important contribution of MI to strategic marketing, suggesting that further research on the nature of the relationship between MI and strategic marketing could be beneficial to understanding how MI could better serve strategic marketing decision-makers.
The need for strategic MI systems has seemingly never been doubted, and over many years several authors have contributed to the discussion. Guidelines on how MI systems should be developed have been formulated (Goretsky, 1983), and possible designs for such systems have been proposed (King & Cleland, 1974; Rothschild, 1979; Montgomery & Weinberg, 1998; Mockler, 1992; Trim, 2004). Other authors have suggested that information specialists could participate more in the strategic decision-making process and have outlined conceptual processes for doing so (Trim & Lee, 2008). Yet, despite the importance attached to MI and other marketing information functions, surprisingly few studies have explicitly examined the relationship between MI and strategic marketing decision-making, a gap in the extant literature this article addresses. In addition, a focus on marketing decision-makers in South Africa brings an African perspective to a field dominated by perspectives from other regions. The purpose of the research on which this article is based was thus to explore the relationship between marketing information and strategic marketing from the perspective of South African marketing decision-makers.
In the following sections, the theoretical background to MI and strategic marketing are explored. This is followed by a review of the chosen research methodology and the research findings and conclusions.
2 Marketing intelligence: an overview
For purposes of this article the definition of MI by Tan and Ahmed (1999:298) was used, namely that MI is "a continuing and interacting structure of people, equipment and procedures that, in combination, gather, sort, analyse and distribute pertinent, timely and accurate information for use by marketing decision-makers to improve their marketing planning, implementation and control". Wee (2001) cautions that MI differs from market research, as the emphasis of MI is on the regular and systematic collection of data. On the other hand, typical market research projects examine specific problems, and are non-routine in nature. A framework depicting the MI process was subsequently developed to reflect the theoretical foundation of this study (see Figure 1). This framework emphasises the important role of information technology (IT) in the MI process.
Data collection
The first step in the MI process entails the gathering of internal and external data. A continuous flow of useful information is the lifeblood of a good MI system, including information about new technologies, markets, customers, the economy, the regulatory environment and so on (Wee, 2001). Huster (2005) suggests that firms need information about those internal and external environments associated with customers, competitors, markets and industry.
External data, according to Venter and Tustin (2009), is typically obtained by processes that generate mostly unstructured information about macro-environmental forces, competitors and customers from primary and secondary sources. Primary sources of information about the external environment include customers, manufacturers, dealers, distributors, research, the sales force and other staff members, physical evidence, trade associations, exhibitions, conferences and journalists (Venter & Tustin, 2009; Wee, 2001). Secondary sources include sources of information in the public domain, including annual reports, government publications and information posted on the internet. The internet, according to Wee (2001), has the greatest potential for sourcing secondary sources of information. This potential is situated in the massive volume and easy availability of databases and information. Internal data, on the other hand, can also produce a wealth of knowledge and is found in company databases, file servers and on employees' desktops (Wee, 2001). Examples of source systems include legacy systems, enterprise resource planning systems, customer relationship management systems, online transaction processing and online clickstream data (Venter & Tustin, 2009).
Data storage
The second step in the process is to store data and information obtained internally and externally in a format from which it can be easily extracted. Supporting technology to store data includes intranets, data warehouses or data marts (Venter & Tustin, 2009).
Data extraction
In order to extract data, the third step entails various management information and analysis tools. Online analytical processing, data mining, executive information systems, geographical information systems and data query software can be used (Louw & Venter, 2010; Venter & Tustin, 2009; Wee, 2001).
Data integration
Although some companies generate considerable MI and invest significantly in supporting technology, the success of MI initiatives is ultimately determined by the dissemination and integration of intelligence to support decision-making. In the fourth step, data integration takes place. Data integration and access software are frequently cited as the greatest and most expensive challenge that organisations face (Bernstein & Haas, 2008). There is a wide range of technological tools to support marketing decision-making (see, for example, Daniel, Wilson & McDonald (2003) for a comprehensive review of IT tools and their use in marketing). However, Touw and Venter (2010) caution that technology alone is not always sufficient to support strategic decision-making, and that meaningful integration for purposes of strategic decision-making requires a combination of people, processes and technology. Scenario planning is an example of a process that could use people (for example, scenario planning teams, consultants and participating managers) and technology (for example, simulation technology) to integrate MI from various disparate sources into shared meaning and a basis for strategic decisionmaking.
Managerial decision-making
The final step of the MI process refers to managerial decisions is based on MI. It is important to ensure the perception among marketing decision-makers that the quality of MI is acceptable.
3 Marketing intelligence quality
While the previous section considered the content and tools (processes and technologies) associated with MI, it does not address the important issue of MI quality. Conradie and Kruger (2006) suggest that there is a distinction between the inherent quality of the data, such as accuracy and reliability, and its pragmatic quality, such as timeliness and format. These make it more useful to end-users.
In this article the relationship between marketing intelligence and strategic marketing is of particular interest.
4 Marketing intelligence and strategic marketing
While it is commonly accepted that MI is beneficial to the organisation, it is not absolutely clear how it contributes to improved strategic decision-making and organisational performance. In this article, we examine the relationship of MI with strategic marketing as one of the possibilities for contributing to improved strategic decision-making.
Strategic marketing is commonly accepted to be the process of defining the market clearly (Forlani & Parthasarathy, 2003), segmenting the market, targeting attractive market segments, and positioning the organisation in the targeted segments (cf. Cravens & Piercy, 2006; Sarvary & Elberse, 2006; Best, 2009; Venter & Jansen van Rensburg, 2009; Dibb, Simkin, Pride & Ferrell, 2012).
In most markets, the extent of customer requirements is too diverse to allow an organisation to satisfy all the needs of customers all of the time, and market segmentation is an effort to divide a market into several sub-markets with relatively homogeneous requirements. Target market selection is the next logical step to follow segmentation. This process involves the evaluation of the relative attractiveness of market segments based on the opportunities they present to the organisation, and selecting one or more attractive segments to target (Sarvary & Elberse, 2006). Strategically, segmentation and targeting allow organisations to position and tailor their offerings for one or a number of the identified segments based on market fit (Taghian & Shaw, 2010; Tonks, 2009). Marketing objectives and strategies should thus be specific per target market, and information systems should be geared to provide marketing decision-makers with the required information per segment, as well as with MI to identify marketing opportunities (McDonald & Dunbar, 2004; Taghian & Shaw, 2010).
Despite the obvious dependence of strategic marketing decision-making on the availability of MI, little research has been done on how MI supports strategic marketing decision-making. Lackman, Saban and Lanasa (2000) examined the value of MI to tactical and strategic planning, and found it to be generally useful to planning processes in the organisation. Their research also indicated that customers, manufacturers and R & D departments are the most important internal sources of information, while client meetings are by far the most important sources of external information. Wee (2001) examined the use of the internet in strategic planning and found it to be a useful tool in supplementing MI. A considerable body of research has considered the role of market orientation in organisational success. The marketing concept manifests in organisations as market orientation, which Shoham, Rose and Kropp (2005) describe as the firm's ability to anticipate, react to and capitalise on environmental changes, leading to superior performance. In practice, this could be described as the gathering, dissemination and use of information in decision-making (Jaworski & Kohli, 1993). Market orientation has been linked positively to superior organisational performance in several studies (for example, Aldas-Manzano, Küster & Vila, 2005; Kara, Spillan & DeShields, 2005). Market orientation has also been linked positively to various aspects of marketing, such as marketing capabilities (Morgan, Vorhies & Mason, 2009) and marketing practice (Ellis, 2005), but its relationship with strategic marketing has also not been comprehensively explored in the extant research. This ostensible gap in the literature led to the framing of the research questions for this study, as outlined in the next section.
5 Research questions
The literature uncovered four broad constructs that will be investigated in the context of this study. In the first instance, the content of MI is important, and the availability of various types of internal and external MI can have an effect on its perceived efficacy. Secondly, the tools (the technology and processes) of MI can also play a role in the support that MI offers to strategic marketing in the organisation. Thirdly, the perceived quality of MI is an important consideration. The fourth construct, and also the dependent variable in the context of the study, is strategic marketing.
Since extant research has only indirectly or partly examined the relationship between MI and strategic marketing decision-making, this study will investigate in more detail how MI contributes to strategic marketing insight and decision-making. In this regard, three specific research questions are addressed in this article:
- What is the relationship between the availability of MI and strategic marketing?
- What is the relationship between the use of MI-related tools and technologies and strategic marketing?
- What is the relationship between MI quality and strategic marketing?
A survey among marketing decision-makers formed the basis of our exploration of these questions.
6 Research methodology
As the purpose of the research was to determine the relationship between MI and strategic marketing, a quantitative survey was selected as the research method. The research targeted marketing decision-makers in formal South African business organisations with more than 100 employees and more than R500 000 per annum in marketing advertising expenditure, as these organisations were most likely to have formalised MI and strategic marketing processes and systems.
In the absence of a universally recognised and representative sampling frame of South African marketing decision-makers, a variety of sources (e.g. electronic databases obtained from industry associations and marketing publications like The Red Book) were used to compile a sampling frame of about 700 potential respondents across South Africa. The survey targeted one key marketing decision-maker in each organisation, so that each usable response represented a unique organisation and an individual involved in strategic marketing.
In order to elicit a higher response rate, structured telephone interviews were conducted with the selected respondents using a survey approach. This process allowed interviewers to confirm the participants' suitability as key decision-makers with the required credentials. Data were collected by means of computer-assisted telephone interviewing (CATI) using questionnaires with a predetermined set of questions. Respondents were also given the choice to complete the survey online in their own time. This method reduced costs, increased timeliness and improved data quality (Couper, 2005:487). The interviews were conducted by a research fieldwork company familiar with the sample frame, and the average interview lasted between 10 and 15 minutes. Quota sampling was used owing to budgetary constraints. The research company was instructed to obtain at least 50 responses in each of the three broad sectors, namely manufacturing, trade (wholesale and retail) and service. The quota set was in line with the requirements for further statistical analysis and allowed for comparison across industries. In total, 167 usable responses were obtained.
The questionnaire was subjected to a pilot-testing phase, during which it was completed by a group of four MI experts. In addition, four senior marketing academics and a statistician reviewed the questionnaire, particularly the representativeness and suitability of the questions from the perspective of content and data. All the scales used a five-point Likert scale as measurement. The MI section of the questionnaire was adapted from Venter and Tustin (2009) and contained the following sections:
- A section measuring the perceived importance and availability of 13 categories of information, as well as the overall perceived quality of MI;
- A MI scale with 13 items covering MI quality (8 items) and the relationship between ICT and MI (5 items);
- A section measuring the usage of 18 MI tools and technologies, whether the tools and technologies were managed by the marketing function, and the perceived value of these tools and technologies to the marketing decision-making process. This scale was designed using processes and technologies as defined by the MI process described in Figure 1, and commonly used by marketing decision-makers.
The strategic marketing scale consisting of 10 items was developed, with reference to McDonald and Dunbar (2004).
The data was analysed using IBM SPSS software. Data analysis included descriptive measures (such as frequency analysis and cross-tabulations), but to explore the dimensionality of data and the relationships between constructs, exploratory factor analysis and correlation analysis were used. Factor analysis was used to identify representative variables. Varimax rotation was employed to derive a simpler factor structure, and factors with Eigenvalues less than 1 were screened out (Hair, Black, Babin, Anderson & Tatham, 2005:90). To confirm the suitability of variables in the correlation matrix and the significance of correlations, the Kaiser-Meyer-Olkin (KMO) measure of sampling adequacy and Bartlett's test of sphericity were calculated. In line with norms according with factor structures used in social sciences, items with a communality of higher than 0.80 or less than 0.40 were removed from the data; minimum factor loadings of 0.32 were considered and cross-loading items were dropped from the analysis if there were several adequate to strong loaders (factor loading of 0.50 or higher) on each factor (Velicer & Fava, 1998). Cronbach's alpha values were used as a measure of internal reliability for the identified factors. Factors with Cronbach's alpha coefficients that exceeded the suggested lower limit of 0.50 for the social sciences (Kent, 2001) were retained. Finally, correlation analyses, considering Spearman's rank correlation coefficients (Spearman's Rho or rs), were carried out to assess the strengths of relationships between the identified factors and strategic marketing, and to calculate the level of significance of these relationships. The resulting rs coefficients were assessed according to their effect size, using the guidelines of 0.1 to 0.23 as a small effect size, 0.24 to 0.36 as a medium effect size, and 0.37 or larger as a large effect size (Cohen, 1988).
In the section below the results of these analyses are discussed.
7 Results
In the sections that follow, the research questions are addressed by examining the respondent profiles, the strategic marketing construct, the relationship between the availability of MI and strategic marketing, the relationship between MI tools and technologies and strategic marketing and the relationship between MI quality and strategic marketing.
7.1 Respondent profiles
The survey yielded 166 usable responses. Respondents were concentrated in the economically dominant Gauteng province (74 per cent of respondents), and represented a range of industries (see Table 1), the primary sector being the most strongly represented. Respondents were mostly at the level of senior management (48 per cent) or middle management (43 per cent), with the remainder (9 per cent ) at director level.
7.2 The strategic marketing scale and index
This question (the strategic marketing scale) comprised a list of items measuring the perceptions of respondents regarding strategic marketing in their organisations. . Figure 2 is a summary of the scale items and the top box scores for each of the items ("strongly agree"). Figure 2 suggests that most respondents agree that their organisations are defining markets and segments, and targeting specific segments. There was, however, less agreement about their organisations' execution and monitoring of segment-based strategies. In particular, respondents are not very confident that their information systems are supporting marketing decision-makers with the required information on market segments, or that they have formal processes for identifying market opportunities.
The overall strategic marketing scale has a Cronbach's alpha coefficient of 0.85, suggesting a relatively high level of reliability. To facilitate easier analysis, the strategic marketing scale was combined into one strategic marketing index measurement, comprising the mean for all 10 scale items. The calculation of the index provided a basis for determining the relationship between MI requirements and availability.
7.3 MI requirements and availability
The questionnaire examined the relative importance and availability of 13 types of MI. In order to simplify this analysis, exploratory factor analysis was used to examine the underlying dimensionality of the "availability" scale. No individual item had a negative effect on the acceptable Cronbach's alpha coefficient of 0.75, and the KMO measure of sampling adequacy of 0.79 and the highly significant outcome of Bartlett's test of sphericity (significance of 0.00) indicated the scale's suitability for factor analysis. Two items (availability of "operational performance data" and "customer demographics") were removed owing to high inter-item communalities and excluded from further analysis. Varimax rotation was employed to derive a simpler, clearer structure. The factor analysis yielded four factors, explaining about 66 per cent of variance in the scale.
The results of the rotated component matrix are depicted in Table 2. All factors exceeding the Cronbach's alpha coefficient cut-off point of 0.50 were included in further analysis. Although two factors, namely "Political and regulatory intelligence" and "Business intelligence", had only two items each. These factors were retained owing to the relatively high factor loadings of their items and the reliability of the scale, which exceeded the threshold. In order to examine the relationship with other variables, an index was created for each factor, consisting of the mean of means of the factor items. This section of the questionnaire also contained a question on the overall perception of the quality of MI, which was included in the correlation analysis.
The four factors represented in Table 2 are briefly explained below:
- Market intelligence contains intelligence related to the market environment, including customers, competitors and suppliers.
- Political and regulatory intelligence refers to intelligence that focuses mainly on regulatory bodies and the political climate. Although these elements are generally regarded as part of the institutional environment in the macro environment, they were identified in this study as a separate factor.
- Business intelligence covers the elements related to structured internal data, mostly financial in nature.
- Macro-environmental intelligence includes those elements related to the macro environment, particularly the economic and technological environments.
The correlation of these four factors with "overall quality of MI" and the strategic marketing index is summarised in Table 3.
The results depicted in Table 3 suggest that the overall quality of MI has a relatively large effect on the strategic marketing index, while the other factors have either a small effect (MI, political and regulatory intelligence and business intelligence factors) or no significant effect (macro intelligence). However, all four factors, have a medium (macro intelligence, political and regulatory intelligence and business intelligence) to large (market intelligence) effect on the overall perceived quality of MI. These findings suggest that the perceived overall quality of MI has a moderating role between the types of MI and strategic marketing. On their own, the different categories of MI have a limited effect on strategic marketing, but in combination they have a much larger effect on the perceived quality of MI, which in turn has a large effect on the strategic marketing index. The findings also emphasise the relative importance of customer and competitor intelligence (market intelligence), which has the largest direct and indirect effects on the strategic marketing index.
Paradoxically, it is also customer and competitor information that displays the largest gap between the importance of the intelligence category and its availability, suggesting that, while this information may be the most important when it comes to strategic marketing, it is also the most difficult to obtain. The gap was calculated by comparing the frequencies for the top two boxes for the importance of the intelligence category ("very important" and "critical") to the top two boxes for its availability ("very good" and "excellent").
The existence of such large gaps with regard to MI can perhaps be explained by the capabilities, effort and cost associated with targeted MI gathering. Comparatively, business intelligence such as internal financial information is produced as a standard operating procedure for the business, while macro intelligence such as economic or technological trends is often widely available as commercial reports or in the public domain.
The findings in this section support the notion that MI is generally valuable to the strategic marketing process and that by improving the availability and quality of MI, the strategic marketing effort can be improved. Of the different information categories, market intelligence has the largest direct and indirect effects on strategic marketing, and this area is accordingly an important focus area for organisations doing strategic marketing.
7.4 Use of MI tools and technologies
This question measured the use (see Table 5) and perceived value (see Figure 3) of MI tools and technologies in the organisation. The question measured whether the respondent's organisation formally used the information tools specified, and whether the functional responsibility for the tools resided within ("reported to") the marketing function. The results are summarised in Table 5.
MI, market segmentation, CRM, competitive intelligence and marketing research feature prominently as the tools most widely used for marketing decision-making, and marketing also plays a key role as the organisational custodian of these tools. In fact, perhaps owing to the traditional external information focus of marketing, this function seemingly acts as the organisational custodian of many MI-related tools and technologies with an external focus on, for example, competitors and customers.
Respondents were also asked about the marketing decision-support value of each of the tools that they use (including their own internet searches). The results (top two boxes of "very valuable" and "extremely valuable") are summarised in Figure 3. It appears that marketing decision-makers attach high value to the tools they use the most and exert most control over, such as marketing intelligence, competitive intelligence, CRM, market segmentation and marketing research surveys. Outside of this primarily functional information, scenario planning, knowledge management, their own internet searches and Executive Information Systems (EIS) are seen as the most valuable tools by those who use them. Despite the purported analytical power of Geographic Information Systems (GIS), marketing decision-makers do not appear to find it exceptionally valuable at this point, perhaps owing to the cost and complexity of implementing GIS for marketing decision-support purposes.
Despite the general support for the value of MI tools and technologies to marketing decision support, the number of tools used has only a medium effect on the strategic marketing index (rs = 0.268, p < 0.000). The findings reported in this section support the notion that organisations use MI tools and technologies relatively widely, and marketing decision-makers perceive such tools (especially those controlled by the marketing function) as useful in supporting marketing decision-making. However, the statistical evidence that the use of MI tools and technologies leads to better strategic marketing practice is not particularly convincing.
7.5 The relationship between MI and strategic marketing
The MI item scale consisted of 11 items, which were reduced to 10 items after the original reliability analysis. The remaining 10 items displayed a Cronbach's alpha of 0.83, suggesting an acceptable level of reliability. In order to explore the underlying dimensionality of the MI scale, exploratory factor analysis was used. The KMO measure of sampling adequacy of 0.86 and the highly significant outcome of Bartlett's test of sphericity (significance of 0.00) suggested that the scale is suitable for factor analysis. Varimax rotation was employed to derive a simpler, clearer structure. The factor analysis yielded two factors explaining 54 per cent of variance in the scale.
The result of the rotated component matrix is depicted in Table 6. Both factors exceeded the suggested Cronbach's alpha coefficient cut-off point of 0.50 and were included in further analysis.
The two factors represented in Table 6 are explained above.
- MI effectiveness contains elements of pragmatic quality (format and timeliness of MI) and inherent quality (accuracy), but also contains elements that relate to the relationship between IT and marketing, and the ease of access to MI.
- ICT support for MI reflects the extent to which IT serves the marketing strategy, and the extent to which IT supports better marketing decision-making.
The relationship between these two factors and the strategic marketing index is indicated in Table 7. The findings suggest that the two factors have a large effect on each other, while only Factor 1 (MI quality) has a large effect on the strategic marketing index. Factor 2 (ICT support for MI) has a small effect on the strategic marketing index. This finding suggests that the MI quality construct may have a moderating role between ICT support for MI and strategic marketing.
This aspect was explored further by examining the relationship between the usage of MI tools and technologies and the MI factors, as well as the relationship with overall MI quality (see Table 8). Surprisingly, the use of MI tools and technologies has a large effect on MI quality, but a small effect on ICT support for MI. The MI effectiveness construct has a large effect on the perceived overall quality of MI (rs = 0.442, p< 0.000), reinforcing the moderating role of MI quality.
Further analysis of the top two box scores ("agree" and "strongly agree") for the MI item scale (Figure 4) reveals that respondents were generally more positive about MI effectiveness than they were about ICT support for MI. Respondents were particularly positive about the accuracy of MI and the potential for creating competitive advantage with MI. However, the format that MI was presented in seemed problematic and respondents were not very positive about IT understanding the information needs of marketing. In fact, the results generally suggest that the relationship between MI and ICT is a potential problem area.
The next section concludes the article and contains recommendations to practitioners and academics.
8 Conclusion
The study set out to answer three research questions (1) What is the relationship between the availability of MI and strategic marketing? (2) What is the relationship between the use of MI-related tools and technologies and strategic marketing? and (3) What is the relationship between MI quality and strategic marketing?
The data suggested that the availability of various categories of MI has an indirect effect on strategic marketing, as depicted in Figure 5. While none of the categories of MI should be neglected, the findings suggest that the availability of market intelligence (intelligence on customers, competitors and suppliers) has the greatest direct effect on the perception of the overall quality of MI and perhaps plays a mediating role, given its strong relationships with other categories of MI. This category of MI is also where the greatest gap between importance and availability occurs, perhaps due to the complexity, effort and cost associated with obtaining primary market intelligence. It is accordingly recommended that organisations invest in improving their investment in the availability and quality of market intelligence.
When it comes to the MI tools (technologies and processes) used by marketing decisionmakers, it would seem that there is a relatively weak relationship between the number of tools and techniques used and strategic marketing, and only a moderately strong relationship with the ICT Support construct. However, there is a fairly strong positive relationship with the MI Effectiveness construct. This finding would seem to suggest that organisations invest carefully in tools and techniques with a view to creating value for marketing decision-makers, rather than just investing to broaden the portfolio of tools and techniques being used. It is further evident that the most valuable tools are those providing a deeper understanding of the market environment (e.g. market intelligence, competitor intelligence, CRM and market segmentation), which makes one wonder why the gap between the importance and availability of such types of MI is so wide, yet it is evidently not addressed by organisations.
Figure 6 depicts a conceptual framework to illustrate the relationship between the MI effectiveness construct and strategic marketing, which was the focus of the third research question.
The study found that the MI Effectiveness construct has a strong relationship with the overall perception of quality of MI. ICT Support, in turn, had a strong relationship with the MI Effectiveness construct, suggesting a moderating role for MI Effectiveness as a variable. However, further analysis of the results suggest that the relationship between ICT and MI is a weak area for many organisations, and it is recommended that organisations should invest in better alignment of ICT systems and marketing decision-maker needs.
In summary the findings suggest a strong relationship between the perception of overall quality of MI and the strategic marketing index. The perception of MI quality is, in turn, influenced by MI Effectiveness and the availability of market intelligence. The key drivers of MI Effectiveness are ICT Support and the use of MI tools and technologies, while the availability of market intelligence is strongly related to the availability of other categories of MI. The conceptual framework is depicted in Figure 7.
The study suggests a number of areas for future research. First, the conceptual model will benefit from future research and modelling (for example structured equation modelling) to confirm and expand the findings of this study beyond correlational research. Second, the relationship between MI and strategic marketing is an area that remains relatively unexplored and would benefit from more research in different contexts, such as specific industries and other geographical areas. Third, the relationship between ICT and MI, while it is recognised as important, is relatively unexplored and would benefit from further research to understand how ICT could better support MI and ultimately strategic marketing. Fourth, the relationship between MI and specific elements of strategic marketing (such as market segmentation) would add depth to our understanding of the relationship between MI and strategic marketing. Finally, while quantitative research is useful in better understanding the generalities of MI and its relationship with strategic marketing, more qualitative research is required to expand our understanding of how the relationship between MI and strategic marketing unfolds in practice.
The authors thank two anonymous reviewers for their extensive and useful comments.
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McDONALD, M. & DUNBAR, I. 2004. Market segmentation: how to do it, how to profit from it. Burlington: Elsevier Butterworth-Heinemann. [ Links ]
MOCKLER, R.J. 1992. Strategic intelligence systems: Competitive intelligence systems to support strategic management decision-making. S.A.M. Advanced Management Journal, 57(1):4-10. [ Links ]
MONTGOMERY, D.B. & WEINBERG, C.B. 1998. Towards strategic intelligence systems. Marketing Management, 6(4):44-52. [ Links ]
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Accepted: February 2014


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No. 78,504
1. Under the facts of this case, it was not reversible error to give an Allen-type instruction to a jury which said, among other things, "A juror is an officer of the court and it is the duty of the jury to work out justice for the parties within the law and the evidence." This is so even though the instruction might be, in some small way, erroneous.
2. It is reversible error to instruct the jury that it may presume one of the elements of the crime has been proven in the absence of evidence offered by the State to prove that element.
3. In this case, one of the elements of the crime required to be proven by the State was that the maker of the check was fictitious. It was reversible error to instruct the jury that it could presume that the maker of the check was a fictitious person, as this relieved the State of its burden of proof as to an element of the crime charged.
4. In this case, there is a reasonable likelihood that the jury applied the presumptive fact instruction in a way that violates the Constitution.
Appeal from Sedgwick District Court; PAUL W. CLARK, Judge. Opinion filed May 28, 1999. Reversed and remanded with directions.
Jenifer Roth and Lisa Nathanson, assistant appellate defenders, and Jessica R. Kunen, chief appellate defender, for the appellant.
David Lowden, assistant district attorney, Nola Foulston, district attorney, and Carla J. Stovall, attorney general, for the appellee.
Before LEWIS, P.J., GREEN and KNUDSON, JJ.
LEWIS, J.: Defendant was convicted of forgery and sentenced to a term of 16 months' imprisonment. He appeals from his conviction and sentence.
The record shows that defendant went to a Dillons store, where he attempted to cash a check for $395.96. This check was payable to defendant and signed by David T. Mangione.
Apparently, the Dillons employees believed something was strange about defendant's request because they called the originating bank for the checking account. Bank personnel advised them that the check which defendant was seeking to cash had been stolen and that no one by the name of David T. Mangione had the authority to sign or issue checks on that account. Upon being so advised, store security took defendant into custody and held him for the police.
Defendant made an inventive effort at explaining how he came into possession of the check. He claimed that his cousin had given it to him for doing work at a certain house for which he gave the address and described for the police. However, no one could locate his cousin, and the house he claimed to have worked on was securely boarded up.
Defendant raises several issues on appeal.
Defendant argues that instruction No. 2 was an improper Allen-type instruction which lowered the burden of proof and coerced the jury. See Allen v. United States, 164 U.S. 492, 501-02, 41 L. Ed. 528, 17 S. Ct. 154 (1896). For a discussion of an Allen-type instruction, see State v. Whitaker, 255 Kan. 118, 126, 872 P.2d 278 (1994). Defendant did not object to this instruction at trial. Under our standard of review, defendant must show us that the failure to give the instruction was clearly erroneous. An instruction is clearly erroneous only if we are firmly convinced that there is a real possibility the jury would have rendered a different verdict if the trial error had not occurred. See State v. Henry, 263 Kan. 118, 131, 947 P.2d 1020 (1997).
Defendant objects to that portion of instruction No. 2, which advised the jury that "[a] juror is an officer of the Court and it is the duty of the jury to work out justice for the parties within the law and the evidence." (Emphasis added.) It is the defendant's argument that the phrase "to work out justice for the parties" implied a preponderance of the evidence for a lesser standard of proof for the State. We do not agree.
An instruction identical to the one involved in this case was considered by the Supreme Court in State v. Dias, 263 Kan. 331, 334-36, 949 P.2d 1093 (1997). The court, in that case, found that the instruction fairly stated the law. In an issue not raised in Dias, defendant argues that the instruction enabled the jury to ignore the requirement that the State prove the facts beyond a reasonable doubt.
We do not agree. Our task is to take the jury instructions as a whole and to determine whether they accurately state the law to the jury. See State v. Aikins, 261 Kan. 346, Syl. ¶ 25, 932 P.2d 408 (1997).
When we consider the instructions as a whole, we conclude that there was no error in the Allen-type instruction given in this case. Jury instruction No. 3 accurately set out the presumption of innocence and the requirement that the State prove the allegations beyond a reasonable doubt. The "to work out justice for the parties" phrase is qualified by "within the law and the evidence." The jury was given an accurate instruction concerning the burden of proof, and there is no reason to assume that instruction No. 2 in any way diminished the requirement of the State to prove its case beyond a reasonable doubt.
Defendant's argument is without merit in this regard.
Defendant next argues that instruction No. 7 violated his due process rights. We agree.
Jury instruction No. 6 set out the elements of forgery and followed PIK Crim. 3d 59.11. It instructed the jury, among other things, as follows:
"To establish this charge, each of the following claims must be proved:
"1. That the defendant issued or delivered a bank check which he knew had been made, altered or endorsed so that it appeared to have been made by David T. Mangione, a fictitious person;
"2. That the defendant did this act with the intent to defraud; . . ." (Emphasis added.)
Instruction No. 7 advised the jury: "As to the allegation that David T. Mangione is a fictitious person, you may presume that David T. Mangione is a fictitious person. This presumption may be overcome by evidence to the contrary." (Emphasis added.)
Defendant's argument is that the presumption contained in instruction No. 7 shifted the burden of proof and relieved the State of its obligation to prove each and every element of the crime of forgery.
We agree. According to instruction No. 6, the fact that David T. Mangione is a fictitious person is an element of the crime of forgery. The presumption set forth in instruction No. 7 relieves the State of its burden of proving the elements of forgery and shifts the burden of proof to defendant.
We are not unaware of the provisions of K.S.A. 21-3710(c), which provides: "In any prosecution under this section, it may be alleged in the complaint or information that it is not known whether a purported person is real or fictitious, and in such case there shall be a rebuttable presumption that such purported person is fictitious." (Emphasis added.) We do not consider the statute relevant in this case. First of all, neither party has relied on the statute in pursuing the trial of this case or the appeal thereof. The information filed in this case is not drawn in such a manner as to involve the statute. The information simply alleges that David T. Mangione is "either a real or fictitious person, and if real, without the authority of said David T. Mangione." The information does not state that the State is unaware of whether David T. Mangione is real or fictitious.
It is a cornerstone of our judicial system that anyone charged with a crime is presumed to be innocent. The State is required to overcome that presumption by proving each and every element of the crime beyond a reasonable doubt. See State v. Harkness, 252 Kan. 510, 526, 847 P.2d 1191 (1993). In this case, pursuant to instruction No. 6, the State had the burden to show that "defendant issued or delivered a bank check which he knew had been made, altered or endorsed so that it appeared to have been made by David T. Mangione, a fictitious person." There is no question that one of the elements of the crime was the fact that David T. Mangione was a fictitious person.
The State in oral argument candidly admitted that it had no evidence to show that David T. Mangione was a fictitious person and that none was offered at the trial. The proof of this particular fact was the burden of the State, and it failed to carry that burden by its own admission. Indeed, absent the presumption, defendant might very well have been entitled to a directed verdict of innocent by reason of the failure of the State's burden of proof.
The issue we must resolve is whether instruction No. 7 allowing the jury to presume that David T. Mangione was a fictitious person is a valid statement of the law.
We conclude the instruction was erroneous, and it requires that we reverse defendant's conviction.
There are two kinds of presumptions to consider in this context. One is a mandatory presumption which requires a jury to infer an element once the State has proven the predicate facts giving rise to the presumption. Harkness, 252 Kan. at 526.
There is also a permissive presumption or permissive inference. The language of the instruction in this case provided that the jury "may" presume David T. Mangione was a fictitious person, but it did not require that finding. In Francis v. Franklin, 471 U.S. 307, 314, 85 L. Ed. 2d 344, 105 S. Ct. 1965 (1985), the Supreme Court, contrasting a mandatory and a permissive presumption, said that a permissive inference "suggests to the jury a possible conclusion to be drawn if the State proves predicate facts, but does not require the jury to draw that conclusion."
Instruction No. 7 appears to be more permissive than mandatory. However, the instruction did not require the State to prove any predicate facts in order to raise the presumption. It also failed to advise the jury that the burden of proof remained on the State. The instruction in front of the Supreme Court in Harkness was approved because it required the State to prove predicate facts and because it specifically advised the jury that the burden of proof remained on the State. See Harkness, 252 Kan. at 524-27. In addition, we do not believe the facts at issue in Harkness are dispositive of the facts in the instant matter.
We also conclude that instruction No. 7 was ambiguous. It leaves the very clear inference that a jury may, without any evidence whatsoever, presume one of the elements of the crime. This inference is strengthened by the fact that the instruction immediately given before No. 7 was instruction No. 6, the issues instruction which set out the elements the State was required to prove. In reviewing an instruction such as this, we must determine whether "'there is a reasonable likelihood that the jury has applied the challenged instruction in a way' that violates the Constitution." Estelle v. McGuire, 502 U.S. 62, 72, 116 L. Ed. 2d 385, 112 S. Ct. 475 (1991) (quoting Boyde v. California, 494 U.S. 370, 380, 108 L. Ed. 2d 316, 110 S. Ct. 1190 [1990]).
We have concluded there was a reasonable likelihood that the jury applied the presumption in this case in a way that violated defendant's due process rights.
An evidentiary presumption in a jury instruction deprives a defendant of due process when it effectively relieves the State of its burden of proof. Harkness, 252 Kan. at 526. We conclude that instruction No. 7 did relieve the State of its burden of proving that David T. Mangione was a fictitious person and also deprived defendant of his due process rights. As we pointed out earlier, the State admitted no evidence of any kind to show whether David T. Mangione was real or fictitious. That element of the crime was proven by a presumption. Defendant's conviction cannot stand in the face of this violation of due process. Defendant's conviction is reversed and the matter is remanded for a new trial.
The balance of the issues in this case are rendered moot by our decision to reverse defendant's conviction. However, we take note of the fact that in sentencing defendant, the trial court departed from the presumptive sentence without giving notice to either party. We wish to be certain this error is not duplicated if defendant is retried and convicted on remand. The statutes clearly require the court to notify all parties of its intent to depart and to allow reasonable time for either party to respond. See K.S.A. 21-4718(b). That statute was violated in this case, and had we considered this issue on the merits, we would have been required to vacate defendant's sentence.
Reversed and remanded with directions.

subset: commoncrawl


text:
Today I finally got around to cleaning out the closet in the boy's room. It was about a year ago when I first painted and switched their room with the guest room. It has seriously taken me the entire year to get all my junk out of their closet. Today I got up, drank an entire pot of coffee, and tackled the closet. After it was all cleaned out I decided that it needed a fresh coat so I took out my roller and painted it a nice dusty tan. It feels good to finally be finishing the boys room, and I can't wait to share some pics with all of you...soon!
In the meantime I thought I'd share my favorite salad with you. I made a big bowl of this yesterday to take to the BBQ we went to and it was a hit. The combination of Feta, dried cranberries and pecans has to be one of my favorite flavors ever! All the greens in the salad are straight out of our garden and aside from a few strawberries this is the first harvest we had so far...Homegrown organic spring mix? Yes please!
Usually I just lightly toast the chopped pecans in a pan but this time I thought it would be fun to mix it up a bit so while the pecans were toasting I tossed in a few extra ingredients and came up with a simple and delicious recipe for spice glazed pecans. They are not completely candied but do have a lot of extra flavor!
Spice Glazed Pecans
1 1/2 -2 C. Chopped Pecans
1 tbsp butter
1 heaping Tbsp. brown sugar
1/4 tsp. Pumpkin pie spice
1-2 dashes Cayenne pepper
pinch salt
Add chopped pecans to heavy bottomed pan over medium heat. Add butter, brown sugar and pumpkin pie spice and cook until nuts are toasted and the sugar is bubbly and melted. Spread pecans out on a sheet of parchment and lightly sprinkle with salt and cayenne pepper, toss to coat evenly and allow to cool. Store in air tight container and enjoy on salads, in popcorn, or just by the handful.
This recipe seems pretty adaptable so if you want more sugar or less pepper feel free to play around with it. I think it would also be good if you added curry instead of pumpkin pie spice. Enjoy!
I like to enjoy this salad with a white balsamic vinaigrette but it is delicious with any dressing!
Peace pass the salad!


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On Tuesday, June 12, 2012, I am shaving my head completely -Mr. Clean- bald.
I've been blessed to have a lot of hair. I've had it all of my life & I realize that I take it for granted. There are people with hair that they adore that lose it to cancer treatments, skin conditions & various diseases… & with it goes their self-cofidence & often their self-esteem as well.
And then there is me… head full of long, thick hair that I hardly comb & always complain about. I realized that I have taken for granted what God has given me. I figured if I am not going to appreciate it then I should give it to someone that will. On my 30th birthday, June 12, 2012, I will shave my head. BALD. Like with a razor. I'm donating it to Locks of Love.
I'm sure I'm going to look like a freshly boiled albino egg.


text:
#10114, Style II Seed Jar from Saige-McFarland
Part of the Mimbres Pottery Images Digital Database (MimPIDD) (DRAFT) project
Year: 2012
This Seed Jar is an example of Style II from the Saige-McFarland site, a Mimbres village along the Upper Gila river in southwestern New Mexico. The site was occupied during the Late Pithouse and Classic Mimbres periods (ca. AD 550-1130). It has three or four Classic roomblocks, a Three Circle phase (ca. 750-1000) great kiva and numerous pithouse depressions. Saige-McFarland was excavated by the Upper Gila Project as part of a field school of Case Western University. Years later, Lekson worked with the notes and records to compile a comprehensive report published in 1990 http://library.lib.asu.edu/record=b2457254~S3. Most of the Saige-McFarland material is in the Museum of New Mexico, Laboratory of Anthropology.
Cite this Record
#10114, Style II Seed Jar from Saige-McFarland. 2012 ( tDAR id: 384703) ; doi:10.6067/XCV8B56JV2
This Resource is Part of the Following Collections
Site Name
Investigation Types
Collections Research
Temporal Coverage
Calendar Date: 550 to 1150
Spatial Coverage
min long: -108.617; min lat: 32.956 ; max long: -108.582; max lat: 32.989 ;
Individual & Institutional Roles
Contact(s): Michelle Hegmon; Steven A. Leblanc
Sponsor(s): Arizona State University (ASU)
General Note: A large number of the MimPIDD images are public. However, some information and some images are private and are accessible only to researchers who are approved by the MimPIDD board. To request access to the professional version of MimPIDD, please read the PDF "Ethics and Permission to Access MimPIDD," found in tDAR (http://core.tdar.org/document/381421). Email questions to email@example.com.
File Information
|Creation Date
|Date Uploaded
|Mar 2, 2013 10:24:47 AM


text:
Contact Us via Telephone, E-mail or Mail
To contact an individual or department in the City of Trenton by telephone, please view our Online Department Directory displayed below. Click here for a "Quick List" of key department telephone numbers is also available online.
You can contact an individual or department in the City of Trenton by e-mail using an appropriate e-mail address listed below.
Written correspondence may be sent to City Hall at:
Name of Individual
City of Trenton
319 East State Street
Trenton, New Jersey 08608
If you don't already have Adobe Reader installed on your PC to open & view a PDF document, you can obtain a free download of Adobe Reader directly from Adobe by clicking the link displayed below.
Copyright © 1999, 2010 City of Trenton, NJ. All Rights Reserved.
Questions or Problems? Please contact the webmaster.


text:
Hi there!
I've just released a new album and all the money raised from it will be going to mental health / suicide prevention charities. It's available on Bandcamp for free / donation price ( https://sirjonnyboon.bandcamp.com/album ... daytime-tv ) and you might enjoy it - especially if you're a fan of AJJ, Los Campesinos!, The Front Bottoms and Frank Turner (of course!). Anyway, I hope you like it!
Free / donation price album raising money for mental health / suicide prevention charities
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text:
Product info
- Length from nape to hem
- 125cm
- Fabric composition
- 100% Polyester
- Lining
- 100% Polyester
- Washing instructions
- Dry Clean
- Style code
- 5675
Editor's Notes
RSVP 'yes' - you've just found your dress. Perfect for summertime soirees, the Carly comes in a delicate georgette fabric featuring a floral print in full bloom. A grosgrain ribbon trims the waist, creating a wonderfully flattering silhouette, while the softly flared skirt falls to the midi length of the moment. Style with heeled sandals for your summer events. Fully lined. Model is 175cm/5'9 and is wearing a size UK 8.


text:
Muhlenberg Receives Bronze Rating for Sustainability Efforts from STARSMuhlenberg College has received a STARS bronze rating for its achievements in sustainability from the Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education.
Wednesday, August 28, 2013 04:17 PM
STARS – the Sustainability Tracking, Assessment & Rating System – is a reporting tool that provides a comprehensive set of metrics that track and encourage sustainability in all aspects of higher education.
Muhlenberg College has long been committed to sustainability, and in 2003 created a Greening Committee, comprised of faculty, staff and student representatives, examines, proposes, and monitors sustainability efforts, reduces resource use and promotes dialogue on and off campus.
The College also runs an Office of Campus Sustainability that facilitates the linkage between academic and facilities-based sustainability efforts to create student internship opportunities in the area of campus sustainability, support the Campus Greening Committee and student environmental groups and seek external funding and maintain resources to further the integration of sustainability into the curriculum and across campus.
The Office for Community Service & Civic Engagement cultivates partnerships with organizations in the Lehigh Valley and supports environmental and social sustainability through volunteerism, service-learning and civic engagement.
The College offers a novel academic program in sustainability studies that brings together students and faculty from a variety of disciplines to explore ways to maintain ecological and environmental health in conjunction with economic development and social justice. The program offers students hands-on problem solving experiences on campus, in the local community, and abroad in Costa Rica, Bangladesh and China.
There is a vibrant student community that focuses on sustainability, as well. The Muhlenberg Environmental Action Team (EnAcT) is a student organization that educates the campus on sustainability and environmental issues and develops projects and programs to lessen the ecological impact of individuals. There is also a Sustainable Living house, a student run community garden, and numerous student initiatives including a competition for reduced electric consumption in the dorms and an annual Earth Day Celebration.
The College's STARS score card may be found online.


text:
2005 Awards
ASBPE National Award, Silver, Best Technical Article, "Compact Fluorescents Light the Way" (March 2004)
ASBPE National Award, Silver, Best Information Graphics (November 2004)
ASBPE West Award, Gold, Best Feature Article, "Locked Out" (January 2004)
ASBPE West Award, Bronze, Best How-To Article, "Ten Steps to a Better Safety Program" (June 2004)
ASBPE West Award, Silver, Best Signed Editorial, "Where Have All the Specialists Gone?" (May 2004)
ASBPE West Award, Silver, Best Original Research, "Surviving the Stagnant Economy" (September 2004)
ASBPE West Award, Gold, Best Regular Department (Forensics Casebook)
ASBPE West Award, Gold, Best Front Cover – Buyer's Guide (July 2004)
Maggie Award, Finalist, Best Regularly Featured Department (Forensics Casebook)
Jesse H. Neal Award, Finalist/Runner-up, Best Regular Department (Forensics Casebook)
About the Awards
For more than 30 years, the American Society of Business Publication Editors' (ASBPE) Annual Competition has honored work and commitment to excellence by business-to-business editors and graphic designers. The organization was founded in 1964.
The Jesse H. Neal Awards were instituted by the American Business Media in 1955 to recognize and reward editorial excellence in independent business publications. They are considered the "Pulitzer Prize of the business press."
The Maggie Awards, presented by the Western Publications Association since 1952, honor editorial, design and promotion excellence in magazine, tabloid, newsletter and online publishing published or exclusively distributed west of the Mississippi river.


text:
If you are in need of used car parts, you've come to the right place. Auto Parts Inc. has access to vast selection of used auto parts, accessible all at your finger tips. Auto Parts Inc. also has access to 100's of used and reconditioned, low mileage engines and transmissions waiting for delivery
Find your Used Auto Parts, Engines and Transmissions here
Used Auto Parts & Used Car Parts
All car owners face a conundrum when their car needs a new part. Dealers and garages both charge top dollar to replace parts, often leaving owners feeling ripped off or taken advantage of. Maintaining a car, especially an older model, is an expensive endeavor. Before paying thousands of dollars for a new engine or transmission, all car owners should consider investing in quality used car parts. Significantly cheaper than new car parts, used auto parts offer effective solutions to keeping cars in proper working order.
Unfortunately, to most peoples' surprise, used car parts also come at an expensive price. The auto industry is gigantic because cars are a necessary expense. Dealerships, manufacturers, wreckers, and garages capitalize off of peoples need for working vehicles, charging drivers sizeable fees for used auto parts, body work, and labor. While purchasing used car parts from a wrecker may save people well over $500.00, they will still be paying thousands of dollars to fix and maintain their cars. When caught between having to pay considerable fees for used auto parts and loosing their cars, most people will cave into the costs out of necessity.
"I needed a front end differential for my half ton truck. The dealer quoted me $2000 and my best price I could find from a wrecker was $1500. Auto Parts Inc. found the part for $500 delivered to my door !! I am so thankful I found them."
- Kelly and Warren
"Never has looking for car parts been so easy for us, using AutoPartsInc.com unique method of locating parts has saved us both time and money !!"
- J & K Auto Wholesalers
But what if there was a more affordable option?
AutoPartsInc.com is a unique online service that connects car owners and mechanics with their used car parts of choice. Most people are limited when it comes to finding used auto parts, choosing to go with their local dealer or wrecker. While this is the convenient choice, it is not always the most cost effective. AutoPartsInc.com is making it easier for people to shop around for the best deals on used car parts. On their website, people can submit a request for specific used auto parts, which AutoPartsInc.com sends to wreckers across the country. Within 48 hours, all mechanics and car owners will receive quotes from salvage yards, enabling them to choose the best overall price for their used car parts. Whether looking for used auto parts for a Hyundai, Ford, Mazda, Volvo, BMW, or Porsche, AutoPartsInc.com connects people with quality wreckers who can supply them with the items they need at budget friendly prices. No one should be a slave to their local dealership, garage, or salvage yard; AutoPartsInc.com gives people the option to look elsewhere, making it possible to purchase used car parts without breaking the bank. With access to over 45 car makes, AutoPartsInc.com can help everyone find their used auto parts.
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Used Cars
Used Cars Ottawa
When a persons car breaks down, the first thing they do is panic. Substantial used auto part and mechanic fees can end up costing drivers thousands upon thousands of dollars. AutoPartsInc.com makes it easy for people to save. Connecting all desperate car owners to wreckers and salvage yards across the country, they provide people with access to cheap used auto parts, helping them save hundreds to thousands of dollars. To find out more about auto parts and their services, visit www.autopartsinc.com


text:
quote:Originally posted by mar52Wonderful pictures and wonderful descriptions. Almost as if I was there.I love your description of how fast Ellen talks. I called it wound up!
quote:Originally posted by MiamiDonSorry to hear that you missed your flight, Gregg. My GPS corrected the time itself, but my car did not.
quote:Originally posted by Baah BenThat little Pastrami Queen is a piece of work. Constant energy, which you need to devour all the different foods she's tried throughout the country. The trick is she does not finish everything she's served.
quote:Originally posted by buffetbusterMiamiDon-Nice report. You really do take excellent photos! That Mike's Galley looks like a real find. I wonder if enough people know about them to do a reasonable amount of business. The food sure does look good, though. Great logo for Stinky Dogs diner, too. I just don't know if I could ask for a stinkade and keep a straight face.
sk bob bad news, Stinky Dogs has closed down


text:
Article Published by Huntsman Professors is Widely Circulated, Translated Into French
March 2013
News Warehouse
Article Published by Huntsman Professors is Widely Circulated, Translated Into French
When Cathy Hartman and Edwin Stafford submitted a story in summer of 2012 called, "Making Green More Macho," they had no idea it would end up being translated into French.
The story that was published in the cross-disciplinary, sustainability journal Solutions, has been picked up by the Veblen Institute, a not-for-profit think tank, in Paris, and translated into French.
Huntsman professors Hartman and Stafford, who have been studying environmental marketing since 1995, were inspired to write the article after an OgilvyEarth study stated in April 2011 that being environmentally aware had a feminine stigma.
In the story, the Huntsman professors drew from their message-framing research to share ways marketers could better reach male audiences with green messages.
"Effectively framing messages to appeal to your audience's values can make all the difference," Dr. Hartman said.
The article was picked up by other publications and it bounced around online making the social media rounds after it was published.
"This was the first time we ever had an academic article circulate on Facebook and Twitter!" Dr. Stafford said.
Read the French transcription.


text:
Eastern Europe has proved to be the gift that keeps on giving over the past couple of days. First, images of the Volvo V40 leaked via a Polish Facebook page, Latvian loonies Dartz announced their Prombron Black Dragon, and now a Russian Web site has spilled a plethora of images of the A3 to be unveiled at the Geneva motor show next month.
The car is both unmistakably A3 and utterly Audi-nouveau, with the more trapezoidal grille from the latest larger exemplars of the line and taillights reminiscent of those on the A6.
The Russians note that this FWD three-door will be available with either a 1.6-liter diesel or your choice of turbocharged direct-injection gasoline engines making either 122 hp or 180 hp. Transmission choices include a dual-clutch, seven-speed S-Tronic or a six-speed manual. Four-door sedan and five-door hatch models will follow.
Other future developments in store for the A3, according to Google's translation of the Russian article? Besides the obvious addition of a quattro system, Audi is at work on a hybrid model, as well as on one that burns compressed natural gas.
Naturally, don't expect every upcoming iteration of the premium C-segment machine to reach our shores, no matter how much certain Audiphiles might beg.


text:
The 2011 STL Bike Polo Lock-In will set the bar impossibly high for the 2011 Bike Polo year. Days..Weeks..Months after the Lock-In concludes, you will still find yourself searching for a polo event that tops that cold January weekend in St. Louis, Missouri. Sadly, nothing will surpass the fun you have at the 2011 STL Bike Polo Lock-In...until we do it again in 2012.
You may be wondering what to expect from the 2011 STL Bike Polo Lock-In, and we would be happy to give you a taste of what you will experience when you enter our 24-hour shitshow.
- Expect a party where some polo will be played. We are hosting a party where polo will be possible most of the night. But be warned: If you are showing up expecting to play 30 games of polo, you are going to be disappointed. Be open and flexible and leave your serious polo attitude at home.
- If you attended the last Lock-In, expect to see fewer people. This year, we have kept the numbers down. Last year, we let over 100 people through the doors. This year, you won't see more than 65 polo players. Say "bye bye" to next game piles running 14 games deep.
- Expect a random hour of roller-skating. Bring your skates if you have them. Shoot the duck if you can.
- Expect to be surrounded by fun people. Instead of a first-come-first-serve, open door policy, we have made this year's Lock-In more select and intimate. This simple fact should make this Lock-In more pleasant for everyone involved. Just remember, the way you handle yourself at this Lock-In could influence whether or not you are invited to the next Lock-In.
- Expect to enjoy some quality, free beer. Our friends at O'Fallon Brewery have generously donated a large amount of beer to our party. But feel free to backpack in whatever beer/liquor/moonshine/snacks you would like to enjoy on your own throughout the night. Bring whatever you like, just try to avoid waving it around the rink staff like a moron.
- Expect to be put on notice. The number one rule of the STL Bike Polo Lock-In is "Have fun." The second rule is "Don't be a dick." Everyone will be put on notice. It will be like a neighborhood watch. If you see someone being a dick, say something to that person or a member of STL Bike Polo. The main thing we are looking out for is mallet stacking (ie. Putting more than one mallet in the line of next game piles). No one is special. No one at the Lock-In is a unique snowflake. You are all equal. Anyone trying to get his or her unfair share of polo will be punished (your bike may be u-locked, your mallets may be stolen, or we may just throw you out onto the cold St. Louis streets ((good luck surviving the most dangerous city in the US))). We will be dicks about enforcing this rule.
- We expect to have fun, and we expect you to have fun. Anyone ruining our fun will be excommunicated from the party.
Andrew W.K - we want fun
Plead Insanity | Myspace Video
- We expect to have a party, and we expect you to party. If we play a little polo too, great.
- We expect you to respect the building and the people around you. Failure to do so will have consequences.
Does all of that sound good? Good.
More info will be posted soon.


text:
I thought I would drop you a line following a beautiful experience I had on last Saturday.
I gave the gorgeous Mont Blanc Mozart Pen to my niece for her 18th Birthday present. To say that she was moved would be an understatement.
You had wrapped it so carefully too, and the seal on the envelope containing the pen's document was a brilliant touch.
Not only was it a stunning gift but the pen was in gorgeous condition. You are the first port of call for the next Mont Blanc I purchase.
The pen was a joy to behold, and it was great meeting you too on the phone.
I look forward to chatting with you and purchasing again from you soon.
Thank you for fulfilling your promises. It's heartening to know that purchasing goods on the Internet can can be a positive experience.
Thank you also for explaining the merits of different pens on the phone on Monday and for safely packaging and ensuring that it was delivered on time!
I know that my son Nathan will be thrilled with it when I give it to him next week on his visit from China.
Kind regards
I wanted to say a big thank you for sending my Pelikan 140 fountain pen - I love it and it truly lives up to the photos posted on your website.
I also wanted to express my appreciation of our telephone conversation with the advice you gave me about the purchase, and especially the reassuring 'old fashioned' lovely way my pen arrived, securely wrapped, with the receipt wax sealed - very British !!
Your attention to detail is most reassuring.
Many thanks for the most excellent service.
Best regards
Thank you also for the information you sent and for the bottle of ink! You mentioned that you would put in a sample but the inclusion of a bottle of the recommend ink was a fantastic surprise and I am most grateful.
know I appreciate very much what you did, from the concern in wrapping the package to the adjusting of the pen.
I almost cant believe it is form the 50's !
Cant wait for my next order
Thank you so much, for us an ink pen is a joy to use and a privilege to own.
All the best,
Best regards,
Kind regards,
Thank you for your nib information. It is so good for me. And I became more and more like this my 100N. I am glad to have met a very good shop and you.
Best Regards, have a nice week.
Hi Michael, I hope everything is OK in England.
My 1954-1956 Pelikan 400 Tortoiseshell pen arrived this morning---it looks great as your pens always do. It is really
hard to believe that a 65 year old pen could look this good.
I also have the 2016 Pelikan M400 Tortoiseshell pen. After seeing my vintage Pelikan 400 I have to say that I much
prefer the looks of the pen you just sent to me, over the newer model.
Thanks again for your great work. Take Care.
James (USA


text: Poppy Champlin is a veteran comic who is crackerjack at improvising with her audience. A Graduate of the University of Rhode Island with a BFA in Theatre – Poppy hit the ground running. She hit Chicago and trained at Second City Training Center while performing and honing her craft of standup at comedy clubs such as Catch a Rising Star, The Improv, The Funny Firm and Zanies. Her Television credits include: The Oprah Winfrey Show, The Joan Rivers Show, Rosie O'Donnell's VH-1 – Comedy Central, Showtime and LOGO to name a few. Poppy is also a producer of her own all lesbian touring comedy show called The Queer Queens of Qomedy. A regular performer in P-Town, and on Olivia cruises Poppy now resides in Rhode Island.


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Even with an estimated 2 million fewer people taking to the skies this summer because of the economic downturn and higher fares, airline officials are still expecting it to be a "challenging season."
Planes will still be packed, schedules interrupted by the usual thunderstorms, and airlines operating with bare-bones staffs.
So, in an effort to avoid a repeat of last summer's aviation debacle – which saw record delays, tons of lost baggage, and increased complaints – the carriers are rallying forces now in hopes of smoother flying between Memorial and Labor Days.
Top on their list is pressuring the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to do even more to ease the air-traffic bottleneck in New York, which is responsible for half of all delays.
"This year delays will cost the airlines in the range of $10 billion," says James May, president and CEO of the Air Traffic Association, which represents major US airlines. "To give you an example, a 747 sitting on the tarmac at JFK [John F. Kennedy International] costs about $60 a minute."
The FAA and the airlines have been working to improve the efficiency of the New York airspace to reduce delays for almost 10 years. But thanks to last summer's chaos, the effort got a jump start. This past year a task force recommended 77 initiatives to make it possible for more planes to take off and land from the region's major airports at one time. Of those, only 12 have been implemented so far and another two dozen are in the works. The FAA has projected it will take five years to implement every recommendation.
That's not good enough for analysts who say the aviation system is already in crisis and damaging the economy as a whole.
"The FAA has to get a mentality where five-year projects become two-year projects and two-year projects become one-year projects," says Kevin Mitchell, chairman of the Business Travel Coalition in Radnor, Pa. "There's this lolly-dolly attitude – things go on forever at the FAA."
Airlines, too, are pointing the finger at the FAA for not moving fast enough. But many aviation analysts say the airlines themselves are primarily responsible for many delays. The reason: the way they schedule their flights. During the past decade, the major carriers significantly increased their fleets of smaller, 50-seat regional jets, arguing that their customers wanted more frequent flights to the same destination. That added more congestion to America's archaic and overburdened air-traffic-control system and led the number of delays to spike.
"The airlines give you half the bargain: They say their customers tell us they want more frequent service," says aviation analyst Robert Mann of R.W. Mann & Co. in Port Washington, N.Y. "The airlines really need to offer the whole bargain, which is: Do you want more frequent service that's completely unreliable because of the delays and cancellations it drives, or would you like slightly fewer flights that are much more likely to be on time?"
To deal with the rising number of flights in and out of airports in the New York area, the FAA this year put a cap on the number of flights that can leave per hour at JFK Airport, located in Queens. Such limits were already in place at LaGuardia, also in Queens, and Newark International in nearby New Jersey. The goal is to keep the air-traffic-control system from being overburdened, especially during peak travel times.
But that may have created an inadvertent problem, analysts say. Here's why: Under the old system, airlines tended to schedule more flights during the preferred travel times, leaving slower periods in the midmorning and early afternoon.
"What happened was delays occurred during the peaks and actually recovered during the valley periods," says Mr. Mann. "With the caps, you have a situation where almost the whole day is scheduled to [the limit], so there's no off-peak period to recover in. In the worst case, the delays will just propagate throughout the day."
Delays have become so routine that the airlines have set up new systems to alert passengers individually to problems with their flights. They've installed better software to help reroute flights when the system is thrown into chaos, and they've worked with airports to make passenger inconvenience more bearable. Many airports now are stocked with cots, pillows, and blankets in case planeloads of passengers are stranded overnight. Some plan to keep concession stands open all night and to do more to help travelers stranded in a plane on the tarmac.
"If a plane is out there for an hour or two, the airport will be in touch with the airline to see what kind of services we can provide. Sometimes in the past that kind of proactive interaction didn't happen," says Greg Principato of Airports Council International-North America.
But even with airlines' good intentions, analysts expect to see a summer filled with delayed and stranded passengers. Their best advice: "Travel only, only when necessary," says Mr. Mitchell. "Build a lot of time in and be armed before you go with alternative airports to get back, phone numbers, everything you'll need for when things go south. And they will."


text:
Personal Protective Equipment market size will grow from USD XXX Billion in 2017 to USD XXX Billion by 2023, at an estimated CAGR of xx%. Global Personal Protective Equipment market 2018 report has been compiled by industry experts, analyzing the Personal Protective Equipment market in each of its geographical segments and applications.
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text:
Internet Room
From Midwinter2008
Internet Room
The Internet Room will be open to ALA members beginning at 5:30 pm on Friday. The room, which is located in Exhibit Hall B, at the back of Aisle 2000, will be open during exhibition hours only. The Room is managed by ALA's Internet Room Steering Committee and staffed with volunteers during regular exhibit hours.
Internet Cafe
The Internet Café, sponsored by Elsevier, features a comfortable place for delegates to relax, grab a bite to eat, surf the Internet and check e-mail. Located in the convention center in Grand Hall East, the Café will be open from 6:00 am – 10:00 pm Friday through Monday. (Please note: Due to heightened security restrictions in the convention center, the Internet Café will only be open during the hours listed above.)


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A new study by IUCN (International Union for Conservation of Nature) finds that by financing the restoration or protection of natural areas, companies can offset the negative impacts of their operations and generate significant economic benefits, but the needs of local communities must be properly addressed.
"Companies are increasingly interested in how to minimize and compensate for the negative impacts of their development projects," says Nathalie Olsen of IUCN's Economics Programme and lead author of the report. "Information about distribution of costs and benefits of conservation action, such as who gains and who loses, is essential to know who should be compensated, by whom, and by how much."
Rio Tinto recently commissioned IUCN to estimate the monetary value of the biodiversity benefits of conserving the Tsitongambarika forest in Madagascar and examine the costs of such conservation.
The company, in collaboration with some of its biodiversity partners, is exploring conservation opportunities to compensate for the unavoidable residual impacts of its mining operations in the region. It supports local non-governmental organizations and communities in conserving parts of the Tsitongambarika forest, to produce the conservation gains needed to achieve a net positive impact on biodiversity for this operation.
"There are many types of values associated with biodiversity and the services provided by tropical forests, such as food, wildlife habitat and carbon storage," says Dennis Hosack of IUCN's Business and Biodiversity Programme. "Some of these values can be quantified and expressed in monetary terms, which allows them to be better integrated into decision-making by both companies and governments."
"For example, we have found that global economic benefits of conserving the Tsitongambarika forest are worth at least US$17.3 million over 30 years, mainly due to climate regulating functions", says Olsen. "When deciding whether to restore or protect land, demonstrating the positive economic values of nature and the benefits to people, makes conservation a more competitive option."
The Tsitongambarika forest is the largest expanse of lowland humid forest in southern Madagascar and contains high levels of biodiversity, with more than 80% of species found nowhere else on earth. It is while also an important source of local livelihoods. The forest is being lost at a rate of 1-2 % per year, mainly due to slash and burn cultivation by local communities.
To assess the benefits of conserving the forest, IUCN took into account the value of wildlife habitat, hydrological regulation and carbon storage. It also examined the costs of conservation, such as up-front investment, the maintenance of protected areas, as well as the opportunity costs that local people bear if they lose access to natural resources that have traditionally provided them with food and income.
The study found that while substantial economic benefits associated with the conservation of tropical forests accrue to global populations, it is often local people who bear most of the costs of conservation action and need to be compensated for the losses they incur. This can be achieved through Payments for Ecosystem Services, which provide incentives for local communities to protect or sustainably manage land. Another opportunity to recognize this value is through the UN programme Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation (REDD+), considering local needs and the objectives of national strategies.
"Although the study focuses on southern Madagascar, its findings can be applied to conservation actions globally and are relevant for many companies as they increasingly aim to compensate for their negative impacts on biodiversity," adds Hosack.
Report "Exploring ecosystem valuation to move towards net positive impacts on biodiversity in the mining sector" can be downloaded at: https://www.iucn.org/dbtw-wpd/edocs/2011-062.pdf
For more information, or to set up interviews, please contact:
Ewa Magiera, Communications Officer, m +41 79 856 76 26, e [email protected]
Brian Thomson, IUCN Media Relations, m SA +27 (0)74 186 8665, m CH +41 (0)79 721 8326, e [email protected]