Beowulf: Heroism :: Epic of Beowulf Essays

Beowulf’s author is unknown, as are his motives and inspiration for the creation of the poem. Written some four hundred years before the Norman conquests, it is comprised of three thousand, one hundred and eighty-two lines, dramatically reproducing the timeless struggle between good and evil, along with all the variations that accompany such a story. By far one of the most admirable qualities presented to the reader is the notion of heroism, and the importance of honor. The quality of character was a major element of the heroic man in the world of which the story is set. In relation the personality, James V. McConnell wrote; "Let us define personality as the way in which a person thinks, behaves and adjusts to his or her environment. Such a definition would include the persons traits, values, motives, attitudes, emotional reactions, abilities, self-image and intelligence as well as the persons overt behavior patterns." (McConnell, page 610). He then went on further to say, "A complete theory of personality would not only describe the individual’s present style of adjustment but give some notion of how the person got that way and where he or she was going." Throughout the poem, the author allows the reader to see, in action, the true workings of heroes. Men and women who cast aside their own personal needs and desires for the better of others. During this time society sustained a strong honor code. The actions that an individual amassed over their lifetime was the title by which they were known to the rest of the land, both good and bad. A lot was asked of rulers concerning the protection and expansion of the empire, Kings and Queens were known by their conquests and control of the subjects around them. In the prologue we are introduced to a loved and heroic King by the name of Shild. " How Shild made slaves of soldiers from every land, crowds of captives he’d beaten into terror†¦lived to be rich and much honored. He ruled lands on all sides: wherever the sea would take them his soldiers sailed, returned with tribute and obedience." (Raffel, line 4). This section of the prologue clearly defines the times, in that i t immediately sets up the reader for the level of nobility in the tone of the author, in the expression of dignity that accompanies King Shild’s conquests. His life was associated with greatness and at his death his tribute was great.

Transition in Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been Essay -- Where

Transition in Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been      Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Each of us experiences transitions in our lives. Some of these changes are small, like moving from one school semester to the next. Other times these changes are major, like the transition between youth and adulthood. In Joyce Carol Oates' "Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?", the author dramatizes a real life crime story to examine the decisive moment people face when at the crossroads between the illusions and innocence of youth and the uncertain future.      Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Joyce Carol Oates' message of life and transitions is best understood when the reader brings his or her interpretation to meet with the author's intention at a middle ground. This type of literary analysis is known as Reader Response. In Reader-Response, the emphasis is placed on "the idea that various readers respond in various ways, and therefore [the] readers as well as authors 'create' meaning" (Barnet, et. al. 1997). In this story of life passages and crucial events, it is imperative that the reader has a solid response to Oates' efforts in order to fully comprehend the message. Literature is a combined meeting between the intentions of the author and the reaction of the reader.      Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The author begins her message with the title of her work, which conveys the idea of passages of time in life. The phrase "where are you going" suggests a time in the future, and the phrase "where have you been" evokes the past. Oates' message continues through the plot and characters. The basic elements of "Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?" are rooted in a true story of a 1965 crime. Occurring just a year before Oates' 1966 story was published, the "parallels between [th... ...et al. New York: Longman 1997. * * Reaske, Christopher R. and John Knott, Jr. "Interview With Joyce Carol Oates." Mirrors: An Introduction to Literature. 2nd ed. Eds. John Knott, Jr. and Christopher Reaske. San Francisco: Canfield Press 1975. * * Tierce, Mike and John Michael Crafton. "Connie's Tambourine Man: A New Reading of Arnold Friend. Literature: Thinking, Reading, and Writing Critically. 2nd ed. Eds. Sylvan Barnet, et al. New York: Longman 1997. * * Wegs, Joyce M. "'Don't You Know Who I Am?' The Grotesque in Oates' 'Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?'" Critical Essays on Joyce Carol Oates. Ed. Linda W. Wagner. Boston: G. K. Hall 1979. * * Winslow, Joan D. "The Stranger Within: Two Stories by Oates and Hawthorne." Ed. Thomas Votteler. Vol. 6 of Short Story Criticism. New York: Gale Research 1990.         

Police Officers Should Not Carry Guns Essay

There are a lot of arguments all around the world in this subject. Politicians, teachers, sociologists and psychologists declare their ideas and also they write some essays about if the polià §e officers should carry a gun or not. Many people suppose that police officers should carry their guns. Nowadays more and more crimes are being committed and police officers protect us from criminal behaviour. I will discuss whether police officers should be allowed to carry guns in this essay. I strongly insist that they should not be allowed to carry guns. There are some reasons to support my opinion. First of all, police officers actually are carrying a gun to protect the people. However, I have never been told that police officers saved people with their gun. Secondly, mostly, police officers can not their guns in a controlled way. We know from the news, some of police officers kill somebody with their guns.In the human rights, ‘the right to life’is the most important one that we have. When police officers kill somebody with their guns, the society starts to believe human life is not valued. In addition, police officers kill off 40 people with their guns between the years 2008 and 2009 in Turkey.Reasons of the killing them was ‘they did not Show their ideninty cards to police officer’. In the USA, the problem also not so different. Also, I sometimes hear the crime committed by the police officer. Even though the police officers are trained to usetheir gun in emergency, a tiny percentage of them committed murder with a gun when they were an excited state. They are actually the person before the police officer. Normaly, we need police officers not only for our security. Ther functions also about social aid and health, as it is written on the laws. Social aid and health about human rights but guns are completely the opposite of these good feelings and ideas. I do not think, somebody wants from help to pollice officer who has gun with him. That is a big fear, guns awe us. I read an article about search police officers did at a school to find in some kinds of drugs; however, they did not find any drugs. In addition, they threatened the students to kneel down with their guns. All students were frightened because they were pointign a gun at them. In spite of, they having to protect the people with their gun. Next, police officers use their guns againist criminals. But youngsters and children are  exposed to their guns almost everyday. So, they will tend to violonce. They can be new criminals of the future. Maybe they will elaborate on police officers’ guns, because guns are so common in the world today. They thought like that, ‘if it is not good or necessary, why police officers carry them?’. These kind of thought, so normal for a young person or a teenager. Other reason is, the state pay much Money to guns every year. If the money is used for education and social facilities, surely, the crime rate w ill drop year by year. So, that is better to money us efor these kind of activities. We must think about this question, ‘do we want to drop of crime rate or do want to punish someone who crimes?’. If the answer first I said, we have to pay money for education and the other social facilities. It is important to outline that the work of police was always in the centre of attention. There is a very serious deliberation about it, which is connected with factors, such as the rate of criminality and a psychological factor of carrying a weapon. The situation with the growth in the number of committed crimes is very notorious and dangerous. As a result, in society was formed a particular opinion about the work of police. Many people suppose that police officers should carry their guns because it can influence criminals, and the number of crimes will decrease. However, it is not a secret that in countries where police officers are obligated to carry guns the index of crimes is higher than in the UK. At the same time, there is a reasonable opinion that not carrying guns by police officers reduces the amount of violence. Last, it is a very widespread opinion among people that a gun is the tool, which can be a serious psychological weapon in the fight with criminality. It is believed that criminals can be afraid of armed police officers. However, many facts contradict this position because in the world there were many examples when crimes were committed by very brutish offenders, and these criminals were not stopped with guns. However, not carrying guns provide society with a positive example when police demonstrate that they are able to resolve any problem without using weapons. In conclusion, the author of the present essay wants to clarify the key points of the discussion. There is a widespread opinion in society that weapons are a remedy, which resolves many problems with criminality. At the same time, much data suggests that, in many cases, weapon is not able to stop a criminal. In addition, it is vital to emphasise that not carrying  guns is a good example for all people to be less violent. As you can see, there are many reasons not to be armed police officers.

Development Plan Reflection Essay

Whilst reading various sources on the importance of reflecting after an experience I came across some wise words, that of Aitchison and Graham cited in Stoobants et al (2007:30) that say, â€Å"We do not learn from experience. Experience has to be arrested, examined, analysed, considered and negotiated in order to shift it to knowledge†. With these words in mind I began to see why it is important to reflect on my first MBA assignment. I see the MBA course as a learning journey, it is through reflecting on my past experiences that I will easily identify my strengths and weaknesses and thus easily identify areas that I should concentrate on developing during my MBA journey. In this assignment you will read about an experience that happened during the early stages of my career as a manager. I will analyse and discuss how this experience has led to where I am today and how it has affected my plans going forward in both my personal and working life. This was in year 2010. I was asked to act in the role of Management Accountant as my manager at that time resigned. I was then already hungry for more challenges and so I gladly accepted without hesitation as I was determined to prove that I am ready for it. Later that day it suddenly dawned on me that it was going to be challenging with the many vacancies in the team (Refer to Appendix 1 for the team structure). With this challenge in mind, I rearranged the team in order for it to work better. We embarked n the annual budget process later that year which did not go well as we did not complete the budget presentation within the stipulated timelines, did not get to analyse the critic all the numbers thoroughly and as a result the region was not ready for presenting the annual budget on time to Head Office. Post the experience below are the key things that I took out of that experience that I thought would enable me to manage teams better going forward: * Ensure that adequate training on the system is provided and requesting the business to provide more IT support people even outside of business hours during the budget process. Learn to lead and delegate and know that I cannot juggle my role and others as I can only achieve so such myself as I was doing most of the work that needed to be done by the Financial Planner: Benrose. * Seek advice from manager and not be afraid to ask for coaching. * Plan better around the timelines to take into account inexperience of some of my team members e. g. Plan a trial run presentation * Be more assertive as I realised that as a manager I could have negotiating additional resources since our headcount was lean so as not to compromise our deliverables. After having been through my first workshop at Henley, I liked Belbin (1981)’s team role model that was presented and in his book where he goes on to look at why management teams succeed or fail which I ironically discovered lying in my parents study and till now never bothered to even look at. He identifies 9 team roles in 3 categories. The action orientated people (Shapers, Implementers and Complete finishers). The thought orientated people (Co-ordinators, Teamworkers and Resource investigators). The last group are the people orientated (Specialists, Monitor evaluators (MEs) and plants). Had I applied his model to understand my team dynamics prior to starting the budget process, I would have seen that I had gaps in key roles that prevented us from completing the task on time. Please note the below roles assigned to my team members are just based on my own perception based on how I know them not based on the questionnaire that is normally completed. AFP – Implementer and Resource Investigator (She was the organiser for the team and was good at providing new knowledge or something new discovered whilst working on the new system and she would share it with the rest of the team) * FP Midrand – Plant and Resource Investigator (He was creative and generally looked at issues, he was cheerful and enthusiastic individual but was easily distracted and would want to start looking at new things without completing a task) * Me – Specialist and Monitor Evaluator. These were my top 2 roles from the results of the questionnaire I completed for my first workshop at Henley. I was a specialist in the team because I had more knowledge of the business and finance than my team. In retrospect, I would have been able to easily match the correct people with the rights tasks. I also could have put plans in place to ensure the following: * I had no shaper in the team. Belbin describes a shaper as generally someone able to drive a team and give direction – not having this I think contributed to us missing the deadline. So in requesting additional resources (e. . a temp person the business would have allowed) I could have ensured that I selected someone who is a shaper or developed more of shaper qualities in myself. * As we did not get to critically analyse the numbers prior our submission, if we had someone strong on being a completer finisher in the group chances of us submitting quality information would have been high as this role is effectively used at the end of a task, to â€Å"polish† and scrutinise the work for errors. I would definitely use this to my advantage going forward in my team tasks going forward.

Jessica Victim or Villian

Within the content of this essay I will be discussing about two main characters in this novel. Jessica and Shylock. Jessica being the daughter of Shylock with both following the Jewish religion. However Jessica passionately falls in love with a Christian man Lorenzo, she is very determined and enthusiastic to be with this man. To such an extent that she would leave her religion and her father to become a Christian and follow her desires. Your probably be wanting to know a bit more about these characters well let me briefly explain in regards to both of Shylock and Jessica’s characters. Firstly Jessica, she has a very enthusiastic and opinionated character and like I previously mentioned she is very determined so if she wants something she will strive until she gains what she wants. You can also perceive Jessica to be a shy self- conscious character who cares what others think about her. Shylock from what we have gathered from the book so far is a greedy, self-obsessed man who cares a bit too much about his money and gains more than the things which matter more. The things which more attention should be paid to. In Shakespeare’s book and this particular one (The merchant of Venice) you will see that there are different ways of interpreting things different sections which can mean different things. In this evaluation I will be doing that. I will be equally evaluating Jessica’s character and I will be interpreting the book in 2 different ways a victim and a villain. And it will be up to you to decide how you perceive it. The first way which the audience can interpret Jessica’s character is as a victim. This is shown in the book in many ways some of which are; when it is said by Jessica ‘I may be a daughter to his blood, but I am not related to his lifestyles’. This quote shows how Jessica is showing how she is totally distinctive to her father and although she is his daughter this does not mean that they both hold the same qualities and characteristics. Jessica does not want to be related to his lifestyles as the quote mentions. This could be because she resents the way he treats others and the way he is malicious and evil towards other people. But the audience would probably think he’s only evil to them because of the way he is treated by others. Yes I would agree but it is not only others he treats badly, it is also his daughter. Furthermore throughout the amount we have read so far there has been a number of times when Shylock has slandered his daughter and he has said ‘I would my daughter be dead at my foot’. This is the quote that stood out to me because no father would ever wish or say that they would want their daughter dead at their foot. That clearly indicates how much love Shylock has for Jessica. (Not a lot). And when you think that this is something Jessica’s father has said behind his daughters back I dread to think what has been said face to face between them. So his self-centred character makes Jessica the victim, the self -centred man who cares so much about his wealth and silver forgets the fact his daughter has gone and abandoned him. In Act 3 Scene 3 when Shylock first discovers that his daughter has gone away with his wealth his first acknowledgment in fact the first sentence he says is ‘Oh,oh,oh! One of the stolen diamonds cost me two thousand ducats in Frankfurt! This is what kind of man I have been explaining in the above two paragraphs one that is having a big frenzy over his wealth and about all the stolen diamonds and its high value. This sums up his unloving selfish character. Also the stress of his voice in this can be imagined. There are two exclamation marks so you can imagine him talking in a very intense antagonized fearsome voice with firing rage and at the same time very astounded that his daughter has taken his possessions. Moreover the same interpretation of Jessica being shown as a victim. However this time I will not be referring to the way Jessica has been poorly treated by Shylock I will be referring to a different point that being; that the money the jewels everything which her father possess would be inherited to his daughter after his death. So really all which Jessica did steal is all that is hers. So I don’t understand why Shylock was as furious. As he knew it would be hers someday but it was just sooner then he had expected. And because of this reason I feel that it was out of order to say what he said about Jessica when she was entitled to what she has stolen. And at this point in the story we don’t know whether the jewels had been stolen. It could be perceived that she had borrowed from her to then return but we don’t know! So because the audience do not know and Shylock did not know I felt that it was very biased for us to Judge Jessica on that like Shylock did. Now I am moving on to the second interpretation, which is regarding Jessica to be the villain which is another way which the audience can perceive Jessica to be. Jessica can be portrayed as a egotistical, inconsiderate character especially towards her father as she ran away with his money and Jewels which he worked hard to gain. It was already hard enough for Shylock being a Jew and not being able to attain money as freely as others and Jessica totally disregarded this factor and went off with his money. And yes Shylock may have had his faults but let’s be honest Jessica was quite disloyal breaking her father’s trust in the worst possible way. In the novel Shylock says ‘Listen to me Jessica lock my doors up’ here Shylock clearly states to lock the doors and not to open them again she broke this trust and as well as opening the doors to engage with a Christian she then went and stole all his money. This was a total betrayal of trust, and considering all she had done her father was quite reasonable. In addition to show Jessica’s evil villain like character. I would like to point out how I feel Jessica forgot the fact the Shylock was bringing her up on her own without a mother without anyone else he was bringing her up on his own. He clothe her fed her sheltered her gave her everything she possibly needed and for what? For Jessica to change religion, steal run away with a Christian man. Also she was very blind to the understanding of how the Christians loathed him because of their prejudice towards his religion. They spat on him, kicked him, called him a dog. And regardless of this ill-mannered treatment she left her father to be disgraced on his own with no other defender by his side. This was very egocentric of her and she should be very ashamed of what she has done to her father. After he has done so much for her alone. In conclusion, I would like to address what I feel about Jessica’s character. I feel that Jessica was a villain she was totally perfidious to her father. She was blinded from reality and to notice that he had been badly treated. If it is that she did notice and decided not to do anything then she was being totally selfish and heartless. But that is my opinion different people have different opinions. In addition the audience could view Jessica to be either a villain or a victim. There are equally as many points for each showing she is and is not a villain. So it is totally up to the reader to decide whether Shylocks greedy character made Jessica the victim, or if Jessica’s betrayal to her father made her a villain. It’s up to you to decide, but you may find that as you get into the novel these opinions may change.

Aqua Silencer Essay

This project is an attempt to reduce the toxic content of diesel exhaust, before it is emitted to the atmosphere. This system can be safely used for diesel power packs which could be used in inflammable atmospheres, such as refineries, chemicals processing industries, open cost mines and other confined areas, which demands the need for diesel power packs. WORKING PRINCIPLE The aqua silencer is more effective in the reduction of emission gases from the engine exhaust gas using perforated tube. By using perforated tube the back Pressure. Will remain constant and the sound level is reduced. Using the perforated tube the fuel consumption remains same as conventional system. By using water as a medium the sound can be lowered and also by using activated charcoal in water. We can control the exhaust emission to a grater level. The water contamination is found to be negligible in aqua silencer, because the amount of acidity level in aqua silencer is expected to be below the dangerous acidity. It is smokeless and pollution free emission and also very cheap. The aqua silencer’s performance is almost equivalent to the conventional silencer. ADVANTAGES Diesel engines are playing a vital role in Road and sea transport, Agriculture, mining and many other industries. Considering the available fuel resources and the present technological development, Diesel fuel is evidently indispensable In general, the consumption of fuel is an index for finding out the economic strength of any country.

Business proposal for Papadeaux

Pudenda is a successful upscale casual restaurant concept with a loyal following. But no restaurant is immune to the highly competitive climate of the industry. Recent studies have shown the upscale casual segment losing market share to both fast and traditional casual restaurants. They also show that consumers find value in upscale casual dining by weighing the food quality and the overall experience against the relatively higher price (Techno, Inc. 2013). We analyzed customer reviews to discern what Pederasty's guests are responding to In terms of value. Based on this analysis, customers respond overwhelmingly positively to food quality, and food quality Is the most critical factor In their value calculation. Price Is still an issue, even those delighted by food quality comment on high prices. Customer comments also suggest that portion sizes may be overly large, and that the investment in large portions is out of step with its importance to the guests.Pudenda may benefit from feat uring new menu items with reduced portion and price. Such offerings at other restaurants have led to increased traffic, revenue, and per person average (APP) (Jennings 2008). . Industry background Casual dining has grown over the last thirty years along with tremendous growth in American's restaurant spending. Half of every food dollar In this country is spent in restaurants, which Is double the spending level In the ass's (Pocket Fastback, 2013). The recession has made a competitive Industry even more competitive.A recent Techno survey on casual dining revealed a three tiered system divided Into fast casual, traditional casual, and upscale casual, with consumers trading up and down between these levels based on their needs and perceptions of value. 5% of those surveyed reported visiting a fast casual restaurant in the past month, 80% had visited a traditional casual restaurant, and 40% reported eating at an upscale casual restaurant. 41% of those surveyed reported finding value in upscale casual when weighing food quality and overall experience against the relatively higher price (Techno, Inc. 2013). The issue for operators in upscale casual is getting consumers to trade up, and to trade up more frequently. 3. Pudenda Seafood Kitchen Pappas Restaurants began In 1 966, when brothers Chris and Harris Pappas opened Dot's Coffee Shop In Houston. Today they operate over eighty restaurants across an array of concepts Including BBC, Tex-Meg, and fine dining. All Pappas restaurants are guided by the Standards of Excellence: Providing superior quality food, providing Kitchen, founded in 1986, is an upscale casual dining restaurant featuring gulf coast seafood and Cajun dishes.It has become the company's largest concept, and is set to absorb Pappas Seafood House, the company's first upscale casual seafood concept, growing its size in the Houston area by five stores. 4. Review Analysis 4. 1 . Methodology One of the most influential ways information is transmitted is wor d-of-mouth (Manikin & Goods, 2002). Word-of-month has an effect on not only potential customers, but also the satisfaction level of current guests. One of the most powerful methods to generate word-of-mouth is online customer review (Dollars, 2003). A total of 441 postings from Yelp. Mom made between September 2012 and September 2013 for all Pudenda locations, were reviewed for this analysis. Chin et al. (2004) found that recommendations have a positive relationship with sales, while consumer ratings were shown to be unrelated. Therefore our analysis focused on content rather than ratings. Content was divided into four main categories: food, service, value and environment/atmosphere. Each of these was further divided into subcategories, which were then coded positive or negative based on comment content. 4. 2. Food Food was the most commented on of the major categories.As displayed in Figure 2, the response to food quality was overwhelmingly positive. Comments such as, â€Å"the co cktail shrimp is well seasoned and super fresh,† â€Å"Just about everything on the menu is delicious,† and â€Å"the crayfish fondue is amazing as well as everything on the menu,† indicate that the customers are not only satisfied but also highly delighted. There were more positive comments on food than comments in any of the other categories. 4. 3. Service Restaurants always receive both positive and negative comments and Pudenda is not an exception.A calculation of the number of positive and negative comments on service, however, shows customers are mostly satisfied by the service. Over 75 percent of comments are positive (see Figure 3). Based on the graph and actual comments, we concluded that the gap between expectation and service delivery is mall in Pudenda case. 4. 4. Environment When commenting on environment and atmosphere, guests tended to be less specific when they were positive. Negative comments focused on noise level, crowding complaints, and wait time.The number of these complaints is relatively high compared with the number of positive comments (see Figure 4). This suggests that the atmosphere of Pudenda is more crowded and noisy than guests expect. 4. 5. Value determined by factors such as price and food quality. As seen in Figure 5, roughly half of all comments in this category stated that Pudenda is expensive. Only 37% recent of comments relate that the price is worth the overall experience, however, the percentage of comments stating that the experience is â€Å"not worth it† is much lower.While the latter two categories are mutually exclusive, significant overlap exists between both and the former category. This suggests that while guests' subjective view of value is affected by the service delivery, their objective view of price is left unaltered. 5. SOOT Analysis 5. 1 . Strengths Pederasty's greatest strength is consistently providing high quality food and service. Doing so is a stated goal of the company, and guest reviews confirm that Pudenda succeeds in following through on that goal. This achievement has garnered the concept a strong reputation.Many reviewers mentioned being repeat customers, or called the experience, â€Å"excellent as always. † This again speaks for the consistency many strive for in this industry, but few are able to attain. 5. 2. Weaknesses Pederasty's main competitive weakness is it's comparatively high prices. Providing high quality food requires an investment in quality products and labor. Seafood is often associated with high costs, because freshness is key to its quality. Additionally, he review analysis found complaints about the atmosphere.Its prices are more similar to lower end fine dining restaurants than its casual dining peers. Pudenda' more family friendly atmosphere may be at odds with what some expect from the environment when they look at the menu prices. 5. 3. Opportunities Despite high prices, Pudenda receives higher average ratings than its competitors. Its greatest opportunity lies in leveraging its high quality against competitors. Strategies that focus on attracting new customers to trade up from lower priced competitors so that they can experience the difference in quality may rove successful.Based on the high rating and positive comments from the Albuquerque and Phoenix locations, further expansion in the Southwest may be worthwhile. 5. 4. Threats Pederasty's faces threats from lower priced competitors. High price is a major component leading consumers to dine at upscale casual restaurants less frequently. Large competitors in this group, like Red Lobster, use nationwide promotions offering greater value to increase traffic at their stores. More similarly priced restaurants tend to have a different market focus, and provide a more elegant and less family oriented atmosphere. Guest Perception of Value Figure 6 GAP Analysis A GAP analysis revealed that there was little mismatch between guest expectations and per ceptions. The only area for concern was the atmosphere. As stated, complaints in this category were relatively high in proportion to positive comments, suggested the atmosphere is louder and more crowded than many guests expect. Relation to value based comments than any type of complaint about atmosphere. Further, price is important factor driving consumers to trade down in the casual dining spectrum. As recommendations are related to sales, comments about price would be taken seriously.While reviews indicate that guests are satisfied, these may not be enough. Oh (2000) found that customers' perceived value has a greater effect on their intention to return, and, more importantly has a greater effect on their long term patronage. In order to further analyze guests' perception of value, we returned to online customer reviews. This time, we focused our research on the Houston area locations. Houston was selected because it has more locations than any other area, and, as the place of it s founding, the area has the greatest familiarity with both Pudenda and the Pappas brand.We analyzed reviews from both Yelp. Com and Trip Advisor from the same time period, September 2012 through September 2013, a total of 490. Two methods were employed. First, the same coding method as before was used to compare against the early data in order to check for differences. Second, quotes relating to value were pulled from the reviews in order to better understand the range of guest attitudes and determine possible trends. The data from the content analysis was similar to what we saw previously. Roughly half of all value related comments referenced high prices.No new issues turned up in any of the other disagrees, so we proceeded to review quotes pulled from the article. 6. 1 . General Perceptions Guests tended to have a favorable impression of value while also acknowledging the high price, for example, â€Å"Pudenda is a little pricey but very good,† â€Å"The price is not low but it is worth the price for good food and service,† and â€Å"The prices are high but the food is excellent. † These responses are in line with the results from the Techno survey (2013) discussed earlier.It is important to note that over 70% of these quotes specifically mentioned food quality and linked it with a positive impression of value. 6. 2. Price and Negative Behavioral Intention Guests with a negative impression of value tended to express their view in terms of price. Quotes such as, â€Å"Overpriced but okay I guess†¦ â€Å", â€Å"†¦ Over priced mediocre food†, and â€Å"†¦ A little overpriced for what you get,† were typical of this group. In addition, negative comments about price were frequently linked with a negative behavioral intention to return.Most interesting was a subgroup of almost 30%, who specifically expressed that while satisfied, they would return less frequently due to price. Typical quotes in this range includ ed, â€Å"I'll be back but Rajah Cajun is definitely more affordable and so will be a more frequent stop for me! † and â€Å"The prices have increased steadily and I don't go as often†¦ â€Å". These quotes are representative of consumers who find value in the quality of the experience, and do trade up to upscale casual, but do so less frequently based solely on price. . 3. Food Quality as the Most Critical Factor Whether guests express a positive or negative perception of value they most frequently link value with their perception of food quality. 70% of positive value impression quotes mentioned food quality, as did 44% of the negative value laity (â€Å"WITH happened to good quality food†¦ â€Å") to those underwhelming with the quality based on price (â€Å"Decent seafood but overpriced†, â€Å"Food was fine, but the prices are nuts†), the latter being the most common.Guest comments also suggest that food quality may trump other aspects of the experience in terms of value: â€Å"Great service! Food was okay†¦ Wasn't worth the $30†, and â€Å"The waiter was nice though†¦ But that still doesn't make up for the lack in quality. † Combined with the results from the content analysis, it appears that food quality is the most critical factor for these viewers, and by extension Pederasty's guests. 6. 4. Identifying an Aspect for Improvement As mentioned previously, recommendations matter more than ratings, and recommendations are based on perceptions of value.Positive recommendations tend to be based on positive perception of food quality, however, these recommendations also tend to mention high prices. High prices are why many consumers report visiting upscale casual restaurants less frequently (Techno, Inc. , 2013), and our observations from online reviews confirm price can impact guests' stated behavioral intention. Based on this, it seems reasonable to assume that lowering prices while maintaining food quality, should lead to improved behavioral intentions and more positive recommendations.But before we explore the validity of that idea, we need to determine if there is any factor that can be changed to allow such a strategy to be entertained. Once again, we turned to the customer reviews, this time examining portion size. 6. 5. Portion Size Pappas Restaurants are known for large portions. Like food quality, it is factor into which money is invested in order to â€Å"wow† the guest. As we saw in the customer views, being â€Å"wowed† is often the line between finding value in the experience and feeling that it is overpriced.Portion size logically contributes to price; therefore we pulled quotes and analyzed them as we did with value-based quotes above. We aimed to determine if the investment in portion size was having the desired effect on guests. Not surprisingly, the reviewers found the portion size to be large: â€Å"the portions were generous†¦ â€Å", â €Å"Huge portions†, and â€Å"†¦ The baked potato is HUGE†¦ â€Å". 30% of the quotes expressed delight. These referred to portions as â€Å"ample† and â€Å"filling†, or mentioned aging a to-go box home (â€Å"l was very happy to have leftovers from this meal! ). 22% were factual statements such as, â€Å"The portion sizes are big like most restaurants in the states†¦ â€Å", or â€Å"l forgot how big the portions are†¦ â€Å". 48%, while not explicitly negative, did express that portion sizes may be overly large. Quotes like, â€Å"†¦ It was Just too big for me to finish! † suggest that portions are too large for guests to finish. One guest felt that they had â€Å"made the mistake of ordering a side salad†, because he was too full to finish his entree.In addition, guests may be lining like they are wasting food they wished to enjoy, a feeling that may be exacerbated by price (â€Å"l felt bad leaving half my lobs ter on my plate because I was full and it was a bit pricey'). Most of the quotes that fell in this category, and 39% of the overall portion size quotes, dealt with guest behaviors based on large portion have developed ordering behaviors to limit portion size, for example, â€Å"The portions are large, so I always split†, â€Å"l usually have to order a lunch size†, and â€Å"My son and I split a salad and catfish/shrimp plate. Perhaps the most important quote in this roof comes from a review posted on Yelp. Com on January fifteenth, 2013. The guest begins the review by giving background on their relationship with Pudenda: â€Å"As a Native Historian, I've enjoyed one of my family's great traditions of dining at Pudenda to celebrate most any occasion – birthdays, graduations, or Just- because-it's-the-weekends. Over the years, we've gathered at various locations throughout the greater Houston area, but as of lately, this is my frequent location of this chain. T hey go on to give a glowing paragraph long endorsement of food quality, which concludes with this quote: FYI Just about every dish here has monstrous portions so you wouldn't be the first to share a plate with someone. † The person writing this article is a champion for the Pudenda brand. She feels a connection to the concept and actively recommends visiting the restaurant. This is meaningful, because in online reviews, recommendations relate to sales, and her recommendation is to share.Guests did not link portion size to value as strongly as they did with food quality. Additionally, explicit complaints portion size was rare, including comments about portion size being too small. This suggests guests view portion size as an enhancement rather than a critical factor when calculating value. While it may be possible that large portion size contributes more greatly to guest delight and it is obscured by reviewers' choice of language, the fact that almost half of the quotes point t o portions being oversized, suggests that they are, in actuality, oversized. . Conclusion 7. 1 . Recommendation Based on our analysis of customer reviews, the investment placed into providing large portions exceeds its relative importance to guests. Guests also report that while they have a largely favorable perception of value, they still find prices to be gig. Food quality was identified by guests as the most critical factor effecting impressions of value. Figure 7 shows their relative positions in terms of investment from the company versus relative importance to guests.By decreasing portion size and lowering prices proportionally, both can be set at new, more appropriate levels without changing food quality. Figure 7 Performance vs.. Importance to Customers Similar strategies have been shown to increase traffic, revenue, and APP. In 2007, they termed â€Å"right portion, right price. † Within a year, these new items were contributing up to 15% of sales per month. They als o saw an increase in APP, as more customers were ordering appetizer and deserts.Their success led to the adoption of similar strategies by others, such as Cheesecake Factory and Minim's Cafe © Innings, 2008). Research from outside the industry suggests that Pudenda may benefit more greatly than others by the implementation of such a strategy. Studies have shown that it grocery stores, high quality food brands gain the most running a promotion with lower prices (Sparkman, 1997). Pudenda has a reputation for high food quality, and it is possible that consumers would view lower prices as a reason to read up, similarly to how they have been shown to behave in grocery stores. . 2. Implementation As large portions are a part of the Pappas brand, and some guests continue to express delight, we suggest maintaining the current menu. New menu items featuring reduced portion and price should be developed and offered separately as has been done by other companies. Tests should be conducted at select locations, and sales can determine their success. In addition, tickets with the new items should be analyzed to determine if they are contributing to an increase APP. Customer dieback should also be utilized, and can be used to refine the new menu.