DNA Barcoding Lab Report Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

DNA Barcoding - Lab Report Example The protocol utilizes short sequences of organisms to characterize them. These oligonucleotides fall in positions in the genome which are agreed upon and its standard for a particular genome of interest. The DNA barcode sequences are also rather short in comparison to the entire genome and can be extracted with relative ease utilizing cheap methods. For instance, the cytochrome C oxidase subunit 1 mitochondria region (COI) has in the recent times being the standard barcode region for higher animals. One define characteristic of the DNA barcode is its commonality within a species (within species) and variations among species (without species). ie for a selected DNA barcode of a particular species there exists ranging differences and these differences are minor in individuals of the same species to gurantee the sequence segment to be used as a barcode. In obtaining the DNA for branding, the mayfly should be killed in a ‘DNA friendly fashion’ by avoiding the use of preservation agents such formalin which may degrade DNA. Genomic DNA is isolated via the fast DNA extraction method from fresh or frozen specimens. Combination of Chelex protocol with Proteinase K may rule out the need for tissue disruption while guaranteeing the release of DNA leaving chitinous material left intact. PCR amplification is done with an optimal primer specific for the barcode region. The barcode products obtained from the PCR are in most instances sequences bidirectional and later deposited in the barcode reference library.  

The Similarities Between Marx and Aurelius Essay

The Similarities Between Marx and Aurelius - Essay Example It will be shown how they agreed and the differences they shared. Karl Marx's Estranged Labour confirms that man is defined by the work he produces. His whole identity is intertwined with the right to work. Man is a product of his environment. He identifies himself with the "fruit of the efforts". Aurelius's environment is the Universe, Nature and Divine Providence. He considers it more important the work one does upon his intelligence and his existence in the present. To explain Marx's economic principle, if the man is a product of his material wealth in which his work is for someone else, the more he works, the poorer he becomes. "The alienation of labor occurs because labor is not essential to his being. He does not affirm himself but denies himself, does not feel content but unhappy, does not develop freely his physical and mental energy but mortifies his body and ruins his mind" (74) If he is poor, he becomes alienated to what he is doing and his self-identity is destroyed. If h e has a low concept of himself. He will become estranged to others and his society. Marx says as we work for others, we become slaves to the material wealth we produce. Material wealth will determine our level of happiness. How can one think highly of himself if he is poor and hates what he is doing? An earlier philosopher, John Locke said that "work was one of the unalienable rights of man". Aurelius said that work should have a purpose. Aurelius defines the man by his introspection and lack of material wealth. Aurelius shows man what needs to be done in order to be happy. Marx's implicitly says that our happiness is defined by the projection of our self-identity. Aurelius says we only can find freedom when we no longer depend on material wealth. Karl Marx "work is essential so that an individual does not become estranged or alienated from himself and other workers." Self-conception is defined by the fruits of one's efforts. Work or labor on physical matter enables an individual to meet his basic needs and see himself in terms of society. If we agree that self-conception is defined by the effort one puts into the work, both Marx and Aurelius agree to the meaning of happiness. Aurelius would say that Necessity is the need to work. The ability to create from the soul forms one's personal identity and thus enables personal survival and the desire to survive. These three concepts are the basis of humanity. Aurelius would agree at his level, as change keeps the universe going. "The transformation of nature into objects is one of the fundamental aspects of human condition. Two different philosophers agree that the universe has to have constant creation and change otherwise there is decay and death. Aurelius used different language to say that we are all from one universe and must work together to find a common ground. It is not natural to stand in each other's way. He would have agreed with Marx that it would not have been natural to have an unhappy worker. Aureliu s didn't want the man to become distracted by the material aspects of life. He did not really explain if the necessities of life were part of the material aspects. One would have to assume that he meant material wealth. The basic daily needs of man were met. Once again Aurelius and Marx mentioned that people should not have to suffer from others, whether they were good or bad if they did not work harmoniously together.

Analysis of a single element paper either the Open Boat or the bride Essay

Analysis of a single element paper either the Open Boat or the bride comes to yellow sky - Essay Example Indeed, the society of Yellow Sky is not patriarchal in a rigid sense; rather women or brides do not fit perfectly in the wilderness of that society where there is no guarantee of life and natural death. Therefore, men do not want to leave their wives as widows with several children. In this rough and tough society, Potter marries a woman in order to avoid conflicts and rivalries with Wilson and ultimately he becomes successful. But at the end, changes occur in his life as well as in the society of ‘Yellow Sky’. This paper will argue that though the bride is a minor character, she is the symbol of changes in the crude male culture of ‘Yellow Sky’. Indeed, Crane has successfully used different literary elements such as characterization, and ‘conflicts and contrasts’ in order to highlight the bride as a symbol of change. In the story, the anonymous bride is in contrast to the crude, male culture of the city, Yellow Sky. This crude male culture of the city is vividly evident in the story. Potter’s marriage is in a clear conflict with the people’s expectation of Yellow Sky. Here, people marries â€Å"as it please[s] them, in accordance with a general custom† (Crane 1). In this macho culture, taking a bride is a wonder. If the bridegroom is a famous marshal, the amazement of the city-dwellers can â€Å"only be exceeded by the burning of the new hotel† (Crane 1). Indeed, taking a bride is considered as a severe injury to one’s manliness. After marrying, Jack Potter is heavily perplexed with the prospect of the amazement of people. Prior to reaching the city, he is afraid of telling his friends, by telegraph, about his marriage. He is more afraid of meeting his townspeople as a married than to face his competitor, Scratchy Wilson. He plans to reach his house from the st ation quickly by any means in order to avoid meeting the people, as the narrator says: â€Å"He

Cash Flow and Profit Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Cash Flow and Profit - Essay Example In most cases, cash flow is much important for small scale business than profits. Because of cash flow, a business may run properly. It is that money that is essential in running and managing a business without it,  a firm may be sent out of business. Additionally, cash flow is that money that a firm needs to continue paying its bills at the end of each month (Rosemary, 2015). Also, it is necessary to have cash flow as opposed to profits. Without cash flow, you may make profits but that would not be good for a company with long term goals. Profits may be good for a company, but cash flow is something that is a must for every business as it puts the company in a position to stand on its own even in times that are hard. A good example of a company that had much cash flow was Amazon (Stever Robbins Inc 2015). Despite making losses for some time, the cash flow available made it possible for the company to run for long enough to start realizing profits. Despite the differences between cash flow and profits, these two items are important to any business. Cash flow ensures that a business can stand on its own and profits put a business in a better position to expand its

Evaluate The Circumstances In Which Pluralism Will Develop Essay Example for Free

Evaluate The Circumstances In Which Pluralism Will Develop Essay Pluralism is a system of government that allows and encourages public participation so the state can satisfy the needs of the people. This is achieved through a multitude of organisations, such as pressure groups, trade unions, environmentalists and civil rights activists, seeking to influence the making of laws and policies. It ensures that power is dispersed rather than concentrated within a select few and enables minority groups to voice their opinion. If Pluralism is to develop, it cant be possible for a single group to dominate. Political force exerted by one group will be counteracted by equal and opposite political force exerted by other groups. For that reason, there are multiple centres of power and authority, as opposed to one where the state controls peoples actions. This encourages political participation as everyone can exercise influence over decision makers. An example of this would be Medieval Europe where the Monarchy and Church were co-equal rulers in their different spheres. In democracies, people vote for representatives and in the UK, MPs have this role. If the majority dont like what their representatives are doing, they can vote them out of office at elections. This means representatives have to act in a way which satisfies the majority. But our electoral system often produces representatives who are unrepresentative because only those voters who voted for the winner are represented by their member of parliament. Another problem is that this system doesn’t allow voters to influence specific issues. Therefore people then join interest groups such as pressure groups. These are a vital for the growth of a pluralist political system. Robert Dahl saw that pluralism responded to a high degree of industrialization. Therefore it’s highly unlikely that a pluralistic democracy would be seen in developing nations, where people are undernourished, uneducated and illiterate and as a result unable to participate. The aim of pluralism is to set limits on the power of the rulers over the community. This is achieved by agreeing certain rights and liberties which the rulers can’t infringe. Therefore there is a requirement for checks and balances to occur on the relationship between the state and the individual to allow pluralism to develop. Freedom of association is a necessary condition of political pluralism so that opposition is able to occur within the public domain of the media. This is usually prohibited in totalitarian states, as seen under Hitlers regime when he banned trade unions and suspended the right to assemble. When individuals are given that freedom though, they tend to form into groups. These are needed to assert individual interests and in turn acquire political power. This could be used to change a governmental policy in a way that advances the interests of the groups members. Therefore, while a single individual is basically powerless when it comes to changing state policy, the coming together of several individuals presents a more challenging contender. The pluralistic political model is one in which groups are used as a means to vindicate the interests of its members rather than dominate other groups as the latter encourages tyranny. Citizens are therefore organised into a variety of interest groups that must bargain with each other for the influence over government. This competition between groups is precisely what ensures that the key characteristic is maintained no group dominates as power is openly competed for. In order for Pluralism to grow, the state must act as a mediator in the political process when responding to the demands of all segments of society and distributing policies in such a way that all of the groups have some influence on government strategy. Ideally the government should intervene to help the weaker groups and that they consider alternatives in order to meet national interests. This means that the people within society need to be open-minded and show tolerance towards the ideas of others. In conclusion, there are many basic conditions necessary for pluralism to develop, including fundamental freedoms such as free speech, a free media and fair elections. Yet the key requirements appear to be a genuine toleration of other people’s beliefs and interests, as well as the ability to form into groups such as trade unions and pressure groups which stand for all the different interests of the population. The collective power of these associations representing different interests provides a counter to the tyranny of the state and that of the majority.

Different Translation Theories

Different Translation Theories Translation is to render the meaning of a text into another language in the way that the author intended the text. The translation cannot simply reproduce, or be, the original. The first business of the translator is to translate. There is a body of knowledge about translation which, if applied to solving translation problems, can contribute to a translators training. Everything without exception is translatable. There is no such a thing as a perfect, ideal or correct translation. In a narrow sense, translation theory is concerned with the translation method appropriately used for a certain type of text. In a wide sense, translation theory is the body of knowledge that we have about translation. Translation theory is concerned with minute as well as generalities, and both may be equally important in the context. à £Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ KEYWORDSà £Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬ËœTranslation, Theory, Application, Literature Contents Contents II 1 Introduction 1 1.2 The function of translation 1 2 Different Types of Translation Theories 2 3 The Application in Literature Translation 7 4 Implication and Conclusion 11 4.1 Implication 11 4.2Conclusion 12 References 12 Introduction 1.1What the translation is Translation is the communication of the meaning of a source-language text by means of an equivalent target-language text. Whereas interpreting undoubtedly antedates writing, translation began only after the appearance of written literature; there exist partial translations of the Sumerian Epic of Gilgamesh (ca. 2000 BCE) into Southwest Asian languages of the second millennium BCE. Translators always risk inappropriate spill-over of source-language idiom and usage into the target-language translation. On the other hand, spill-overs have imported useful source-language calques and loanwords that have enriched the target languages. Indeed, translators have helped substantially to shape the languages into which they have translated. Due to the demands of business documentation consequent to the Industrial Revolution that began in the mid-18th century, some translation specialties have become formalized, with dedicated schools and professional associations. Because of the laboriousness of translation, since the 1940s engineers have sought to automate translation (machine translation) or to mechanically aid the human translator (computer-assisted translation). The rise of the Internet has fostered a world-wide market for translation services and has facilitated language localization. 1.2 The function of translation (1) Translation is a means of communication; (2) Translation is instrumental in transmitting culture; (3) Translation is also a transmitter of the truth; (4) Translation is a technique for learning foreign languages. 1.3 What a translation theory does is (1) to identify and define a translation problem (2) to indicate all the factors that have to be taken into account in solving the problem (3) to list all the possible translation procedures (4) to recommend the most suitable translation procedure, plus the appropriate translation. 1.4 Translation Methods The central problem of translating has always been whether to translate literally or freely. The argument was theoretical. Now the context has changed, but the basic problem remains. The Methods are as follows: Word-for-word translation Literal translation Faithful translation Semantic translation Adaptation Free translation Idiomatic translation Communicative translation In all those above, only semantic and communicative translation fulfill the two main aims of translation: accuracy and economy. In general, a semantic translation is written at the authors linguistic level, a communicative at the readerships. Semantic translation is used for expressive texts, communicative for informative and vocative texts. So, next we talk about the equivalent effect. Equivalent effect (produce the same effect) is the desirable result, rather than the aim of any translation. In the communicative translation of vocative texts, equivalent effect is not only desirable, it is essential. In informative texts, equivalent effect is desirable only in respect of their insignificant emotional impact. The more cultural a text, the less is equivalent effect even conceivable. Different Types of Translation Theories 2.1 Literal Translation According to the linguistic theory of discourse analysis, any deviation from literal translation van be justified in any place appealing to the text as an overriding authority. In fact, literal translation is correct and must not be avoided, if it secures referential and pragmatic equivalence to the original. Literal translation is different from word-to-word and one-to-one translation. Literal translation ranges from one word to one word, group to group, collocation to collocation, clause to clause, sentence to sentence. It is to be the basic translation procedure, both in communicative and semantic translations, I that translation starts from there. The translation of poetry is the field where most emphasis is normally put on the creation of a new independent poem, and where literal translation is usually condemned. However, a translation van be inaccurate, it can never be too literal. We must not be afraid of literal translation. For a TL word which looks the same or nearly the same as the SL word, there are more faithful friends than faux aims (false friends).Everything is translatable up to a point, but there are often enormous difficulties. We do translate words, because there is nothing else to translate. We do not translate isolated words, we translate words all more or less bound by their syntactic, collocational, situational cultural and individual idiolect contexts. Elegant variations on literal or one-to-one translation are common, but they may not be justified in semantic or even communicative translation. The validity of literal translation can sometimes be established by the back-translation test. The back-translation test is not valid in the case of SL or TL lexical gaps. Some institutional terms are translated literally even though the TL cultural equivalents have widely different functions. Some concept-words are translated literally and often misleading, as their local connotations are often different. There are all kinds of insidious resistances to literal translation. It is sometimes advisable to retreat from literal translation when faced with SL general words for which there are no satisfactory one-to-one TL equivalents even though one is over-translating. That is the so called Natural Translation. Literal translation is the first step in translation. Re-creative translation is possible, but interpret the sense, not the words is the translators last resort. The modern literary translator continually pursue what is to them more natural, more colloquial than the original. But Their idiomatic English may be in flagrant contrast with a neutral original. 2.2 Traditional Chinese Translation Theory Chinese translation theory was born out of contact with vassal states during the Zhou Dynasty. It developed through translations of Buddhist scripture into Chinese. It is a response to the universals of the experience of translation and to the specifics of the experience of translating from specific source languages into Chinese. It also developed in the context of Chinese literary and intellectual tradition. In those five regions, the languages of the people were not mutually intelligible, and their likings and desires were different. To make what was in their minds apprehended, and to communicate their likings and desires, (there were officers), in the east, called transmitters; in the south, representationists; in the west, Tà ®-tà ®s; and in the north, interpreters. (à §Ã… ½Ã¢â‚¬ ¹Ãƒ ¥Ã‹â€ Ã‚ ¶ The Royal Regulations, tr. James Legge 1885 vol. 27, pp. 229-230) A Western Han work attributes a dialogue about translation to Confucius. Confucius advises a ruler who wishes to learn foreign languages not to bother. Confucius tells the ruler to focus on governance and let the translators handle translation. The earliest bit of translation theory may be the phrase names should follow their bearers, while things should follow China. In other words, names should be transliterated, while things should be translated by meaning. In the late Qing Dynasty and the Republican Period, reformers such as Liang Qichao, Hu Shi and Zhou Zuoren began looking at translation practice and theory of the great translators in Chinese history. 2.3 Asian Translation Theory There is a separate tradition of translation in South Asia and East Asia (primarily modern India and China), especially connected with the rendering of religious texts particularly Buddhist texts and with the governance of the Chinese empire. Classical Indian translation is characterized by loose adaptation, rather than the closer translation more commonly found in Europe, and Chinese translation theory identifies various criteria and limitations in translation. In the East Asia Sinosphere (sphere of Chinese cultural influence), more important than translation per se has been the use and reading of Chinese texts, which also had substantial influence on the Japanese, Korean and Vietnamese languages, with substantial borrowings of vocabulary and writing system. Notable is Japanese Kanbun, which is a system of glossing Chinese texts for Japanese speakers. 2.4 Western Translation Theory Discussions of the theory and practice of translation reach back into antiquity and show remarkable continuities. The ancient Greeks distinguished between metaphrase (literal translation) and paraphrase. This distinction was adopted by English poet and translator John Dryden (1631-1700), who described translation as the judicious blending of these two modes of phrasing when selecting, in the target language, counterparts, or equivalents, for the expressions used in the source language. When words appear literally graceful, it were an injury to the author that they should be changed. But since what is beautiful in one language is often barbarous, nay sometimes nonsense, in another, it would be unreasonable to limit a translator to the narrow compass of his authors words: tis enough if he choose out some expression which does not vitiate the sense. This general formulation of the central concept of translation equivalence is as adequate as any that has been proposed since Cicero and Horace, who, in 1st-century-BCE Rome, famously and literally cautioned against translating word for word (verbum pro verbo). Despite occasional theoretical diversity, the actual practice of translation has hardly changed since antiquity. Except for some extreme metaphrasers in the early Christian period and the Middle Ages, and adapters in various periods (especially pre-Classical Rome, and the 18th century), translators have generally shown prudent flexibility in seeking equivalents literal where possible, paraphrastic where necessary for the original meaning and other crucial values (e.g., style, verse form, concordance with musical accompaniment or, in films, with speech articulatory movements) as determined from context. In general, translators have sought to preserve the context itself by reproducing the original order of sememes, and hence word order when necessary, reinterpreting the actual grammatical structure. The grammatical differences between fixed-word-order languages (e.g. English, French, German) and free-word-order languages (e.g., Greek, Latin, Polish, Russian) have been no impediment in this regard. When a target language has lacked terms that are found in a source language, translators have borrowed those terms, thereby enriching the target language. Thanks in great measure to the exchange of calques and loanwords between languages, and to their importation from other languages, there are few concepts that are untranslatable among the modern European languages. Generally, the greater the contact and exchange that have existed between two languages, or between those languages and a third one, the greater is the ratio of metaphrase to paraphrase that may be used in translating among them. However, due to shifts in ecological niches of words, a common etymology is sometimes misleading as a guide to current meaning in one or the other language. For example, the English actual should not be confused with the cognate French actual (present, current), the Polish aktualny (present, current), or the Russian à Ã‚ °Ãƒ Ã‚ ºÃƒâ€˜Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ãƒâ€˜Ã†â€™Ãƒ Ã‚ °Ãƒ Ã‚ »Ãƒâ€˜Ã…’à Ã‚ ½Ãƒâ€˜Ã¢â‚¬ ¹Ãƒ Ã‚ ¹ (urgent, topical). The translators role as a bridge for carrying across values between cultures has been discussed at least since Terence, the 2nd-century-BCE Roman adapter of Greek comedies. The translators role is, however, by no means a passive, mechanical one, and so has also been compared to that of an artist. The main ground seems to be the concept of parallel creation found in critics such as Cicero. Dryden observed that Translation is a type of drawing after life Comparison of the translator with a musician or actor goes back at least to Samuel Johnsons remark about Alexander Pope playing Homer on a flageolet, while Homer himself used a bassoon. If translation be an art, it is no easy one. In the 13th century, Roger Bacon wrote that if a translation is to be true, the translator must know both languages, as well as the science that he is to translate; and finding that few translators did, he wanted to do away with translation and translators altogether. The translator of the Bible into German, Martin Luther, is credited with being the first European to posit that one translates satisfactorily only toward his own language. L.G. Kelly states that since Johann Gottfried Herder in the 18th century, it has been axiomatic that one translates only toward his own language. Compounding the demands on the translator is the fact that no dictionary or thesaurus can ever be a fully adequate guide in translating. The British historian Alexander Tytler, in his Essay on the Principles of Translation (1790), emphasized that assiduous reading is a more comprehensive guide to a language than are dictionaries. The same point, but also including listening to the spoken language, had earlier, in 1783, been made by the Polish poet and grammarian Onufry Andrzej KopczyÅ„ski. The translators special role in society is described in a posthumous 1803 essay by Polands La Fontaine, the Roman Catholic Primate of Poland, poet, encyclopedist, author of the first Polish novel, and translator from French and Greek, Ignacy Krasicki: Translation is in fact an art both estimable and very difficult, and therefore is not the labor and portion of common minds; it should be [practiced] by those who are themselves capable of being actors, when they see greater use in translating the works of others than in their own works, and hold higher than their own glory the service that they render their country. Serious Literature Translation Poetry is the most personal and concentrated of the four forms, no redundancy, no phatic language, where, as a unit, the word has greater importance. And if the word is the first unit of meaning, the second is not the sentence or the proposition, but usually the line, thereby demonstrating a unique double concentration of units. The translator can boldly transfer the image of any metaphor where it is known in the TL language. Original metaphors have to be translated accurately, even if in the target language culture the image is strange and the sense it conveys may only be guessed. Sound-effects are bound to come last for the translator. The translation of Short Story/Novel: From a translators point of view, the short story is, of literary forms, the second most difficult, but he is released from the obvious constraints of poetry meter and rhyme. Further, since the line is no longer a unit of meaning, he can spread himself a little his version is likely to be somewhat longer than the original though, always, the shorter the better. The translation of the Drama: A translator of drama inevitably has to bear the potential spectator in mind. A translation of a play must be concise it must not be an over-translation. He must word the sentence in such a way that the sub-text is equally clear. He must translate into the modern target language. When a play is transferred from the SL to the TL culture it is usually no longer a translation, but an adaptation. Some kind of accuracy must be the only criterion of a good translation in the future what kind of accuracy depending first on the type and then the particular text that has been translated. The Application in Literature Translation 3.1The Definition of Literature Translation Translation of literary works (novels, short stories, plays, poems, etc.) is considered a literary pursuit in its own right. For example, notable in Canadian literature specifically as translators are figures such as Sheila Fischman, Robert Dickson and Linda Gaboriau, and the Governor Generals Awards annually present prizes for the best English-to-French and French-to-English literary translations. Other writers, among many who have made a name for themselves as literary translators, include Vasily Zhukovsky, Tadeusz Boy-Ã…Â »eleÅ„ski, Vladimir Nabokov, Jorge Luis Borges, Robert Stiller and Haruki Murakami. 3.2 Brief Comparison of the Application of Western and Eastern Theories The first important translation in the West was that of the Septuagint, a collection of Jewish Scriptures translated into Koine Greek in Alexandria between the 3rd and 1st centuries BCE. The dispersed Jews had forgotten their ancestral language and needed Greek versions (translations) of their Scriptures. Throughout the Middle Ages, Latin was the lingua franca of the western learned world. The 9th-century Alfred the Great, king of Wessex in England, was far ahead of his time in commissioning vernacular Anglo-Saxon translations of Bedes Ecclesiastical History and Boethius Consolation of Philosophy. Meanwhile the Christian Church frowned on even partial adaptations of St. Jeromes Vulgate of ca. 384 CE,the standard Latin Bible. In Asia, the spread of Buddhism led to large-scale ongoing translation efforts spanning well over a thousand years. The Tangut Empire was especially efficient in such efforts; exploiting the then newly invented block printing, and with the full support of the government (contemporary sources describe the Emperor and his mother personally contributing to the translation effort, alongside sages of various nationalities), the Tanguts took mere decades to translate volumes that had taken the Chinese centuries to render. Large-scale efforts at translation were undertaken by the Arabs. Having conquered the Greek world, they made Arabic versions of its philosophical and scientific works. During the Middle Ages, some translations of these Arabic versions were made into Latin, chiefly at Cà ³rdoba in Spain. Such Latin translations of Greek and original Arab works of scholarship and science helped advance the development of European Scholasticism. The broad historic trends in Western translation practice may be illustrated on the example of translation into the English language. 3.3 The Application of Asian and European Translation Theories The first fine translations into English were made in the 14th century by Geoffrey Chaucer, who adapted from the Italian of Giovanni Boccaccio in his own Knights Tale and Troilus and Criseyde; began a translation of the French-language Roman de la Rose; and completed a translation of Boethius from the Latin. Chaucer founded an English poetic tradition on adaptations and translations from those earlier-established literary languages. The first great English translation was the Wycliffe Bible (ca. 1382), which showed the weaknesses of an underdeveloped English prose. Only at the end of the 15th century did the great age of English prose translation begin with Thomas Malorys Le Morte Darthur-an adaptation of Arthurian romances so free that it can, in fact, hardly be called a true translation. The first great Tudor translations are, accordingly, the Tyndale New Testament (1525), which influenced the Authorized Version (1611), and Lord Berners version of Jean Froissarts Chronicles (1523-25). Meanwhile, in Renaissance Italy, a new period in the history of translation had opened in Florence with the arrival, at the court of Cosimo de Medici, of the Byzantine scholar Georgius Gemistus Pletho shortly before the fall of Constantinople to the Turks (1453). A Latin translation of Platos works was undertaken by Marsilio Ficino. This and Erasmus Latin edition of the New Testament led to a new attitude to translation. For the first time, readers demanded rigor of rendering, as philosophical and religious beliefs depended on the exact words of Plato, Aristotle and Jesus. Non-scholarly literature, however, continued to rely on adaptation. Frances Plà ©iade, Englands Tudor poets, and the Elizabethan translators adapted themes by Horace, Ovid, Petrarch and modern Latin writers, forming a new poetic style on those models. The English poets and translators sought to supply a new public, created by the rise of a middle class and the development of printing, with works such as the original authors would have written, had they been writing in England in that day. 3.4 Recent Development and Application of Western Translation Theory The Elizabethan period of translation saw considerable progress beyond mere paraphrase toward an ideal of stylistic equivalence, but even to the end of this period, which actually reached to the middle of the 17th century, there was no concern for verbal accuracy. In the second half of the 17th century, the poet John Dryden sought to make Virgil speak in words such as he would probably have written if he were living and an Englishman. Dryden, however, discerned no need to emulate the Roman poets subtlety and concision. Similarly, Homer suffered from Alexander Popes endeavor to reduce the Greek poets wild paradise to order. Throughout the 18th century, the watchword of translators was ease of reading. Whatever they did not understand in a text, or thought might bore readers, they omitted. They cheerfully assumed that their own style of expression was the best, and that texts should be made to conform to it in translation. For scholarship they cared no more than had their predecessors, and they did not shrink from making translations from translations in third languages, or from languages that they hardly knew, or-as in the case of James Macphersons translations of Ossian-from texts that were actually of the translators own composition. The 19th century brought new standards of accuracy and style. In regard to accuracy, observes J.M. Cohen, the policy became the text, the whole text, and nothing but the text, except for any bawdy passages and the addition of copious explanatory footnotes. In regard to style, the Victorians aim, achieved through far-reaching metaphrase (literality) or pseudo-metaphrase, was to constantly remind readers that they were reading a foreign classic. An exception was the outstanding translation in this period, Edward FitzGeralds Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam (1859), which achieved its Oriental flavor largely by using Persian names and discreet Biblical echoes and actually drew little of its material from the Persian original. In advance of the 20th century, a new pattern was set in 1871 by Benjamin Jowett, who translated Plato into simple, straightforward language. Jowetts example was not followed, however, until well into the new century, when accuracy rather than style became the principal criterion. 3.5 The Application of Serious Literature Translation Poetry presents special challenges to translators, given the importance of a texts formal aspects, in addition to its content. In his influential 1959 paper On Linguistic Aspects of Translation, the Russian-born linguist and semiotician Roman Jakobson went so far as to declare that poetry by definition is untranslatable. In 1974 the American poet James Merrill wrote a poem, Lost in Translation, which in part explores this idea. The question was also discussed in Douglas Hofstadters 1997 book, Le Ton beau de Marot; he argues that a good translation of a poem must convey as much as possible of not only its literal meaning but also its form and structure (meter, rhyme or alliteration scheme, etc.). In 2008, Taiwanese linguist Grace Hui Chin Lin suggests communication strategies can be applied by oral translators to translate poetry. Translators with cultural backgrounds can oral translate poetry of their nations. For example, poetry of Tung dynasty can be introduced to people outside of Chinese communities by oral translation strategies. Also, several communication strategies for facilitating communicative limitations are applicable as oral translation strategies for interpreting poetries. Translation of a text that is sung in vocal music for the purpose of singing in another language sometimes called singing translation is closely linked to translation of poetry because most vocal music, at least in the Western tradition, is set to verse, especially verse in regular patterns with rhyme. (Since the late 19th century, musical setting of prose and free verse has also been practiced in some art music, though popular music tends to remain conservative in its retention of stannic forms with or without refrains.) A rudimentary example of translating poetry for singing is church hymns, such as the German chorales translated into English by Catherine Wink worth. Translation of sung texts is generally much more restrictive than translation of poetry, because in the former there is little or no freedom to choose between a versified translation and a translation that dispenses with verse structure. One might modify or omit rhyme in a singing translation, but the assignment of syllables to specific notes in the original musical setting places great challenges on the translator. There is the option in prose sung texts, less so in verse, of adding or deleting a syllable here and there by subdividing or combining notes, respectively, but even with prose the process is almost like strict verse translation because of the need to stick as closely as possible to the original prosody of the sung melodic line. Other considerations in writing a singing translation include repetition of words and phrases, the placement of rests and/or punctuation, the quality of vowels sung on high notes, and rhythmic features of the vocal line that may be more natural to the original language than to the target language. A sung translation may be considerably or completely different from the original, thus resulting in a contrafactum. Translations of sung texts whether of the above type meant to be sung or of a more or less literal type meant to be read are also used as aids to audiences, singers and conductors, when a work is being sung in a language not known to them. The most familiar types are translations presented as subtitles or surtitles projected during opera performances, those inserted into concert programs, and those that accompany commercial audio CDs of vocal music. In addition, professional and amateur singers often sing works in languages they do not know (or do not know well), and translations are then used to enable them to understand the meaning of the words they are singing. Implication and Conclusion Implication n the 1970s a literary approach to translation theory began to emerge, partly as a response to the prescriptive linguistic theories that had monopolized thinking for the previous two decades. Key elements of this new literary approach are the writings of the Manipulation School; systems theories; and Gideon Tourys descriptive translation studies (DTS), which tries to identify laws in translation, of which Itamar Even-Zohars Polysystem Theory (PS) forms a vital part (Nam Fung Chang). At the Leuven Conference in 1976, Even-Zohar presented a paper entitled The Position of Translated Literature in the Literary Polysystem where he considers the position of translated literature within the literary, cultural and historical contexts of the target culture. He does not advocate the study of individual translations, but rather views the body of translated works as a system working within and reacting to a literary system, which, in turn, is working within and reacting to the historical, social and cultural systems of the particular target audience. Therefore, there is a system within a system within a system i.e. the polysystem. The notion of system does, perhaps, need some clarification at this point. Literature viewed as a system can be traced back to Russian Formalist thinking of the 1920s when Yury Tynjanov is credited with being the first person to describe literature in these terms (Hermans, 1999, 104). Translated literature itself is also considered to operate as a system in at least two ways firstly in the way that the TL chooses works for translation, and secondly in the way translation methodology varies according to the influence of other systems (Munday, 2001 109). Even-Zohar himself emphasizes the fact that translated literature functions systemically: I conceive of translated literature not only as an integral system within any literary polysystem but as an active system within it. (1976, 200). Translation theory shares a number of concerns with what is commonly called communication theory. Perhaps the most important observation which the communication theorists have produced for translators is the recognition that every act of communication has three dimensions: Speaker (or author), Message, and Audience. The more we can know about the original author, the actual message produced by that author, and the original audience, the better acquainted we will be with that particular act of communication. An awareness of this tri-partite character of communication can be very useful for interpreters. Assuming that an act of communication is right now taking place, as you read what I wrote, there are three dimensions to this particular act of communication: myself, and what I am intending to communicate; the actual words which are on this page; and what you understand me to be saying. When the three dimensions converge, the communication has been efficient. 4.2Conclusion Different theories show different meanings. While not everyone who drives an automobile needs to understand the theory behind the internal combustion engine, someone does need to know this theory. I may be able to drive my Pontiac without any knowledge of internal combustion engines, until the Pontiac breaks down. Then, I must find someone (presumably a mechanic) who does in fact know enough theory to get the Pontiac running again. The same is true of translation theory. It is not necessary for everyone to know translation theory, nor is it even necessary for pastors and teachers to know everything about translation theory. It is necessary for pastors and teachers in the American church at the end of the twentieth century to know something about translation theory, for two reasons. First, it will affect the way we interpret the Bible for our people. If we are completely unaware of translation theory, we may unwittingly mislead our brothers and sisters in our interpretation. Second, there are so many English translations available, that

Consumer Behavior: Multi Level Marketing

Consumer Behavior: Multi Level Marketing Consumer is considered as the core element which decides the exiting of a business firm. They are the ones who buy and use products and services (Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English). Understanding consumer behaviors, consumer buying process and factors affect consumer buying behavior which may bring number of benefits is one of the most important tasks confronting every competing business. That is why companies spend such a lot of money in understanding behaviors of their consumers. This study aims to identify perceptions and key factors affecting to consumer behavior towards multi-level marketing companies and their products so that marketers can adapt and improve their marketing campaigns and marketing strategies to more effectively reach the consumer. PROBLEM STATEMENT Direct selling business has a history of dozens of years in the world and nearly ten years of operation in Vietnam market and more than four years from the issuance of Law on Competition (2004) and Decree 110 on Multi-level Marketing Management, it is still very difficult for distributors of multi-level marketing companies to sell products or to invite people to collaborate with them as an independent business owner of the company because of negative perceptions of consumers on direct selling companies and their products. This makes things to be very difficult for doing this kind of business in Vietnam. In addition, together with the entrance of many new comers into Vietnam market in recent years, the competition in the industry becomes not as harsh as ever before. Being recognized as born in the late 1800s when traveling salesmen created trained sales organizations with hundred of salesmen to sell various products in America, direct selling is considered as a dynamic and vibrant industry offering employment to more than 62 million independent sales representatives. According to data from World Foundation of Direct Selling Association (WFDSA), worldwide retail sales by its members accounted for more than US$114 billion in 2007. Although direct selling industry has a long history and obtained very good results with a great potential of growth, as consideration of many experts, it is not easy for direct selling companies to enter a new market and gain the good perception of local consumers. In Vietnam, direct selling appeared ten years ago (in 2000) but there still are very negative perceptions of consumers on this kind of business and its products. This makes things seem to be very difficult for doing this kind of business in Vietnam. RESEARCH OBJECTIVES: Primarily, this study aims to take a general picture of perceptions of consumer towards multi-level marketing companies and their products in relation to the factors that effect consumers buying decision. The main problem is to find out what the most important factors consumers have in mind when buying or not buying products and/or agreeing or refusing to become a distributor of a multi-level marketing company. Specifically, the research objectives include the followings: To define the current situation of multi-level marketing business in Vietnam; To identify factors that have influence on the consumer behavior towards multi-level marketing business in Vietnam; To describe the behaviors of consumers in HCMC and Mekong Delta toward multi-level marketing; To recommend solutions for increasing good perceptions of consumer for marketer working in multi-level marketing enterprises. THE SCOPE AND LIMITATION OF RESEARCH STUDY: The research just focuses on studying the literature of the consumer behavior, and the survey is conducted only in Ho Chi Minh City the economic hub of the South, and some rural areas in Mekong Delta region such as: Tien Giang, Can Tho and Ca Mau provinces which represent rural areas in the South of the country. Consumer behaviors of such regions may not represent the general behaviors of consumers nationwide. Due to the lack of official data of multi-level marketing industry and difficulty of getting the confidential internal business data from multi-level marketing companies, the data used in this research may not be sufficient enough. Besides, due of the limitation of time and money, the survey shall be carried out only with small sample size. THE POSITION OF THE RESEARCH COMPARED TO THE AVAILABLE KNOWLEDGE AND FORMER WORKS Multi-level marketing or direct selling is till a very young industry in Vietnam. There is no former research or survey on this business so far. There are so many vague understandings about the industry in the perceptions of Vietnamese consumers. Hence, it is expected that this research will contribute a very first premise for further study for a general picture of multi-level marketing industry in Vietnam market. THE RELEVANCE OF THE RESEARCH: The author of this report is now working as Mekong Delta Regional Sales Supervisor in Amway Vietnam Company Limited, a worlds leading multi-level marketing company. Therefore, it is feasible for me to carry the survey, collect data and have enough information for making analysis. THE RESEARCH METHODOLOGY: This is a combination of quantitative and qualitative research approaches, the research will access all potential sources and means to collect data and information such as: collection and synthesis of secondary data, questionnaire design and pilot survey to ensure the maximum clarity and effectiveness of the questions, face-to-face interviews using questionnaire, online survey using questionnaire and meeting with some experts or stakeholders of multi-level marketing companies. CHAPTER I: LITERATURE REVIEW 1.1 Definition of consumer behavior: Consumer behavior is The study of individuals, groups, or organizations and the processes they use to select, secure, use, and dispose of products, services, experiences, or ideas to satisfy needs and the impacts that these processes have on the consumer and society. The action a person takes in purchasing and using products and services, including the mental and social processes that precede and follow these actions. The behavioral sciences help answer questions such as: why people choose one product or brand over another; how they make these choices, and how companies use this knowledge to provide value to consumers. Belch and Belch define consumer behavior as the process and activities people engage in when searching for, selecting, purchasing, using, evaluating, and disposing of products and services so as to satisfy their needs and desires. 1.2 Consumer behavior and marketing mix: 1.3 Types of consumer decisions: 1.3.1 Habitual decision making: Habitual decision making involves no decision as such. Habitual decisions occur when there is very low involvement with the purchase and result in repeat purchasing behavior. A completely habitual decision does not even include consideration of the do-not-purchase alternative. Noticing that the product or service is needed will cause the consumer to purchase some of the same one in the next visit to such product or service supplier. The consumer will not even consider the possibilities of not replacing the product or service or purchasing another brand. 1.3.2 Limited decision making: Limited decision making covers the middle ground between habitual decision making and extended decision making. In its simplest form, limited decision making is very similar to habitual decision making. No other alternative may be considered, except, possibly, a very limited examination of a do-not-buy option. Limited decision making also occurs in response to some emotional or environmental needs. Consumers may also evaluate a purchase in terms of the actual or anticipated behavior of others. 1.3.3 Extended decision making: Extended decision making is the response to a very high level of purchase involvement. An extensive internal and external information search is followed by a complex evaluation of multiple alternatives. After the purchase, uncertainty about its correctness is likely and a thorough evaluation of the purchase will take place. Relatively few consumer decisions reach this extreme level of complexity. However, products such as cars, houses and personal computers are frequently purchased as a result of extended decision making. 1.4 Consumer purchase decision process: The purchase decision process is the stages a buyer passes through in making choices about which products and services to buy which includes five stages which are: problem recognition, information search, alternative evaluation, purchase decision and post-purchase behavior. Post-purchase behavior: Value in consumption or use Purchase decision: Buying value Evaluation of alternatives: Assessing value Information search: Seeking value Problem recognition: Perceiving a need 1.4.1 Problem recognition: The consumer decision process begins with the recognition that a problem exits. The recognition of a problem is the result of a discrepancy between a desired state and an actual state which is sufficient to arouse and activate the decision process. Without recognition of a problem, there is no need for a consumer decision. If the consumer resolves the problem by recalling one satisfactory solution and purchasing that product or service without an evaluation, this is termed habitual decision making. Many consumer purchases, particularly of frequently purchased items, such as detergents, soft drink and petrol, are of this nature. Other problems may be resolved by recalling several potential solutions and choosing from among them, perhaps using some additional information, such as current prices. A great many consumer purchases are the results of such limited decision making. Problems that require thorough information searches, both internal and external, the evaluation of several alternatives along several dimensions, and considerable post-purchase evaluation, result in extended decision making. 1.4.2 Information search: Once the problem has been recognized, an information search is undertaken to isolate an effective solution. The information search may be extensive, very brief or somewhere between. 1.4.3 Evaluation of alternatives: After the information has been gathered, which allows the consumer to determine and compare the relevant and feasible alternatives, the decision can be made. 1.4.4 Purchase decision : 1.4.5 Post-purchase behavior: Post-purchase behavior is a process occurs after purchase or acquisition: use, evaluation, disposal and repurchase behavior. These reflect the satisfaction of the consumers relating to the usage of such product and/or service. Consumer satisfaction is influenced by product performance, the purchasing process and consumer expectations. 1.5 Major factors influencing buying behavior: 1.5.1 Internal influences: Perception: Perception is critical to the decision process and is also an internal phenomenon that is highly influenced by the internal influences. Perception is also influenced by external factors such as variety of groups, situations and marketing efforts. Learning and memory: The result of learning is memory and memory also has an influence on the learning process. There are two kinds of memory which are short-term and long-term ones which relate memory to brand image and product positioning. Motives, personality and emotion: Motives are the forces that initiate and direct consumer behavior. Motives may be either physiologically or psychologically based. In developed countries, most consumer behavior is guided by psychological motives. While motives direct behavior towards objectives, personality relates to characteristic patterns of behavior: personality is generally considered to reflect a consistent pattern of responses to a variety of situations, although the role played by the situation itself must also be recognized. Emotions are the feelings or affective responses to situations, products, advertisements and so forth. They affect information processing and preferences, and are becoming of increasing interest to marketers. Attitudes: Attitudes are formed out of the interrelationship between personal experience and lifestyle and the factors that help shape lifestyles. Attitudes are composed of three components which are cognitive, affective and behavioral. 1.5.2 External influences: Demographics and lifestyles The household Reference group Social status Culture Values 1.6 Attitude: 1.6.1 The three components of attitude: Beliefs: cognitive component of consumer attitude Affect: emotive component of consumer attitude Intention: behavioral intention component of consumer attitude Beliefs: Cognitive component of Consumer Attitude A consumer belief is a psychological association between a product, brand, outlet, action, etc. and an attribute or feature (and associated benefits) of such: Beliefs are cognitive (based on knowledge, experience, perception, etc.) The stronger the association of features or attributes (and association benefits) with the products, brand, outlet, action, etc., the stronger the consumers belief Brand equity is a measure of the strength of the association in the marketplace. Strategies to change consumer beliefs: Positioning by: product attributes, consumer benefits, intangible attributes, price, application, brand user, celebrity recognition, brand personality, product category, association with competitors country or geographic area, etc. 1.6.2 The Fishbein models: Affective responses to a brand consist of: The strength or weakness of a consumers beliefs about the brand and its attributes; The consumers evaluation of or feelings toward those attributes. Where: A = Attitude towards a brand Bi = Belief that the brand possesses attribute i Ei = Evaluation or desirability of attribute i I = Attribute 1,2, à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦, m The Fishbein Model Belief-important Model Theory of Reasoned Action Theory of Trying Theory of Planned Behavior CHAPTER II: RESEARCH METHODOLOGY 2.1 Methods of studying consumer behavior: Qualitative research is a method of inquiry appropriated in many different academic disciplines, traditionally in the social sciences, but also in market research and further contexts. Qualitative researchers aim to gather an in-depth understanding of human behavior and the reasons that govern such behavior. The qualitative method investigates the why and how of decision making, not just what, when, where. Hence, smaller but focused samples are more often needed, rather than large samples. 2.2 Sources of information: 2.2.1 Internal information: 2.2.2 External information: Two problems the commonly arise with secondary data are they do not completely fit the problem and they are not totally accurate. 2.3 Data collection: 2.2.1 Primary data: 2.2.2 Secondary data: 2.4 Data analysis: CHAPTER III: INTRODUCTION OF DIRECT SELLING BUSINESS Definition of direct selling: The concept of direct selling is based upon person-to-person relationships. The seller goes to the consumer rather than the consumer go to a shop. In todays fast changing society, where more people work and shopping patterns have altered, this type of shopping not only provides consumers with accessibility to a wide range of products but is also convenient. 2.2 Benefits of direct selling: 2.2.1 Benefits from distributor edge: Direct selling offers opportunity for individuals who want to earn an income and build a business of their own. It offers an alternative to traditional employment for those who desire a flexible income earning opportunity to supplement their household income, or whose responsibilities or circumstances do not allow for regular part-time or full time employment. The cost for an individual to start an independent direct selling business is typically very low. This means it provides benefits for investors to avoid a significant risk of loss. This also means anyone can do it. Opportunities are offered to any ones who desire, particularly to those cannot or harshly compete for a job opportunity. There are no required levels of education, experience, financial resources or physical condition in direct selling. People of all ages and from all backgrounds have succeeded in direct selling. Usually, a modestly priced sales kit is all that is required for one to get started, and there is little or no required inventory or other cash commitments to begin. Direct selling can provide to distributors a good way to meet and socialize with people. For those who want to achieve a success based on the level of their efforts, direct selling is a good way. Set your own goals and determine yourself how to reach them since earning is in proportion to your own efforts. The level of success you can achieve is limited only by your willingness to work hard. Moreover, distributors can receive training and support from other distributors who works with them, and from the company they counter. 2.2.2 Benefits from consumer edge: Consumers benefit from direct selling because of the convenience and service it provides, including personal demonstration and explanation of products, home delivery, and generous satisfaction guarantees and serves consumers with a convenient source of quality products. 2.2.3 Benefits from enterprise edge: Direct selling provides a channel of distribution for companies with innovative or distinctive products not readily available in traditional retail stores, or who cannot afford to compete with the enormous advertising and promotion costs associated with gaining space on retail shelves. Direct selling enhances the retail distribution infrastructure of the economy. 2.3 Types of direct sellings compensation plan: 2.3.1 Single-level compensation plan: Single level compensation plan means a representative/distributor is compensated based solely on ones own product sales. 2.3.2 Multi-level compensation plan: In a multilevel compensation plan, distributors are compensated based not only on ones own product sales, but on the product sales of ones down-line. Multilevel marketing is an important component of the Direct Selling industry. It is also referred to as network marketing, structure marketing or multilevel direct selling, and has proven over many years to be a highly successful and effective method of compensating direct sellers for the marketing and distribution of products and services directly to consumers. Differences between multilevel marketing and pyramid scheme: 2.4.1 Multilevel Marketing model: Multilevel marketing is a popular way of retailing in which consumer products are sold, not in stores by sales clerks, but by independent businessmen and women (called distributors), usually in customers homes. As a distributor you can set your own hours and earn money by selling consumer products supplied by an established company. In a multilevel structure you can also build and manage your own sales-force by recruiting, motivating, supplying and training others to sell those products. Your compensation then includes a percentage of the sales of your entire sales group as well as earnings on your own sales to retail customers. This opportunity has made multilevel marketing an attractive way of starting a business with comparatively little money. And the most important statement should be emphasized is that multilevel marketing is a legitimate income opportunity for everybody. Anyone can do it. 2.4.2 Pyramid scheme: Pyramid schemes are illegal scams in which large numbers of people at the bottom of the pyramid pay money to a few people at the top. Each new participant pays for the chance to advance to the top and profit from payments of others who might join later. For example, to join, you might have to pay anywhere from a small investment to thousands of dollars. In this example, $1,000 buys a position in one of the boxes on the bottom level. $500 of your money goes to the person in the box directly above you, and the other $500 goes to the person at the top of the pyramid, the promoter. If all the boxes on the chart fill up with participants, the promoter will collect $16,000, and you and the others on the bottom level will each be $1,000 poorer. When the promoter has been paid off, his box is removed and the second level becomes the top or payoff level. Only then do the two people on the second level begin to profit. To pay off these two, 32 empty boxes are added at the bottom, and the search for new participants continues. Each time a level rises to the top, a new level must be added to the bottom, each one twice as large as the one before. If enough new participants join, you and the other 15 players in your level may make it to the top. However, in order for you to collect your payoffs, 512 people would have to be recruited, half of them losing $1,000 each. Of course, the pyramid may collapse long before you reach the top. In order for everyone in a pyramid scheme to profit, there would have to be a never-ending supply of new participants. In reality, however, the supply of participants is limited, and each new level of participants has less chance of recruiting others and a greater chance of losing money. A closer inspection of a pyramid schemes so called products typically reveals that they have no real market value. This is because the products are often gimmicks such as certificates, spurious training programs or magazine subscriptions, illusory discounts, or over-priced and under-performing miracle treatments and the like. Recruits are often obliged to invest in large quantities of these products with no realistic prospect of marketing them to actual consumers (or returning them for credit). Their investments, however, generate substantial income for the promoter who enticed them into the scheme. 2.4.2 Differences between lawful multi-level marketing model and illegal pyramid schemes: The following factors differentiate illegal pyramids from lawful direct selling businesses: Legitimate direct selling companies offer a genuine business opportunity based on the sale of quality products to consumers. They routinely offer consumers satisfaction guarantees or cancellation rights so that the consumer may return the product for replacement or refund if the consumer is dissatisfied. Pyramids schemes have no such commercially viable product sales base. Legitimate direct selling companies strongly discourage overstocking of inventory and provide participants leaving the plan with an opportunity to return any unused, salable merchandise to the company for a refund of not less than 90% of the salespersons net cost. In contrast, pyramid schemes often encourage or require large stocks of non-refundable inventory and disappointed scheme participants are then left with stock which they can neither sell nor return. Legitimate direct selling opportunities may be taken up with minimal start-up costs and little or no inventory investment. Even modest entry fees may be refundable if the new direct seller decides not to pursue the opportunity. Conversely, pyramid selling schemes often require high entry fees and/or substantial investment in inventory, and neither are refundable. This is because pyramid operators make their money from new recruits to their schemes. The sales and marketing plans of credible direct selling companies are based on the progressive recognition and reward of direct sellers for the development of a customer base for consumption of the companys products. The development and stability of a direct sellers business is dependent on satisfied consumers and fairly remunerated direct selling network members. Pyramid schemes, on the other hand, offer get-rich-quick schemes to induce participants to buy ground-floor or leadership positions. In pyramid selling schemes there is no viable, long-term business opportunity. Unfortunately, some potentially fraudulent schemes will claim to offer a multilevel marketing opportunity, but in fact are simply recruiting schemes in which people must make substantial investments in order to participate. CHAPTER IV: OVERVIEW OF DIRECT SELLING INDUSTRY IN VIETNAM 4.1 Overview of Vietnam direct selling market: 4.1.1 History: 4.2.2 Market size: 4.1.2 Market growth: 4.1.3 SWOT analysis: 4.2 Players of direct selling: 4.3 Distribution channel of direct selling: 4.4 Legal framework for direct selling: 4.5 Leading enterprises: 4.6 What managers thought about perspectives of direct selling in Vietnam? In 2008 the retail industry in Vietnam saw very strong expansion in terms of outlets in both grocery and on-grocery channels. Huge investment by local retailers was poured into the market in order to capitalise on available good locations before Vietnam fully opens its retail industry to foreign investors in 2009. Penetration from foreign retailers was also more fierce compared with 2007. International investors such as Wellcome Supermarket, Best Denki and Lotte Mart, among others, all obtained the requisite license. Local retailers prepared for the foreign invasion by providing better service, improving product quality and implementing more marketing activities and cooperation between local brands. Non-store retailing remained a niche of the overall retail industry. The main product category remained cosmetics and toiletries. Non-store retailing was not yet strong enough to influence manufacturers or other retail formatsà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦. Non-store retailing still needs to educate consumers and increase consumer awareness. (Euromonitor Retailing Vietnam 2009) CHAPTER V: SURVEY RESULTS CONSUMER BEHAVIOR OF CONSUMERS IN HO CHI MINH CITY AND MEKONG DELTA 5.1 Overview of respondents: 5.2 Descriptive analysis: CHAPTER VI: KEY FINDINGS AND RECOMMENDATIONS Key findings and recommendations: CONCLUSIONS: