...LEGO as we know it today first came into being in 1949 when Godtfred Kirk Christiansen used a “new” material – plastic – to create simple four and eight stud building blocks. Today, LEGO has turned into one of the most famous toy brands in the world. The aim of this case study essay is to asses the macro and micro environment in which LEGO is performing today. Micro Marketing Environment The micro marketing environment is defined as “the forces close to the company that affect its ability to serve its customers – the company, market channel, firms, customer markets, competitors and publics, which combine to make the firm’s value delivery system” (Kotler, Wong, Saunders and Armstrong, 2005) One of the most notable things concerning the micro environment of LEGO is that it is viewed as a strong brand. It been part of the toy market for so long, that grandparents and parents can remember playing with the toy as a child, and so often feel they have a relationship or bond with the product. The brand has also infiltrated many markets world-wide, and its fame is instrumental in its continued success. The case study states, it’s the only European company to enter the worlds Top Ten toy manufacturers. The product also has a unique selling point. The toy of LEGO is aiming to capture a creative imagination and also enable it to stand out in the market of dolls, cars, computer games etc. It is promoted as a “system of play”, which can be a strong selling point when trying to compete...
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...Shared by: http://hello-engineers.blogspot.com/ Artificial Intelligence - An Introduction to Robotics Tim Niemueller and Sumedha Widyadharma July 8, 2003 Abstract This document gives a short introduction to the basics of robotics in the context of artificial intelligence. It describes the very basics of robotics like sensors and effectors, gives an overview on robotic history, and introduces some basic problems encountered in modern robotics. It describes possible solutions to those problems without going deeply into theory. The problems introduced are perception, basic pose description, transition and sensor models, localization as a special case of perception (Monte Carlo Localization, Extended Kalman Filter), representation of environment (workspace and configuration space), path planning (cell decomposition, potential fields, skeletonization, Voronoi diagrams, and probabilistic roadmaps), movement of robots, and some real-life examples. This document was created accompanying a talk in the context of the proseminar "Artificial Intelligence" in summer semester 2003 at the RWTH Aachen, Chair of Computer Science V, Knowledge-based Systems Group. 1 1.1 Introduction Capek and his Robots The term "Robot" can be traced back to Karel Capek's play "R.U.R. Rossum's universal robots" (in 1921) that comes from the Czech word for "corvee". 1.2 A brief History of Robots Robotics are based on two enabling technologies: Telemanipulators and the ability of numerical control...
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...Toys "R" Us, Inc. ___________________________________________________________________________________________ Toys "R" Us, Inc. Recent Developments Jan 31, 2011 : Toys "R" Us offers to pay staffers $1m in back pay Fast Facts Headquarters Address One Geoffrey Way, Wayne, 07470, United States of America Telephone + 1 973 6173500 Fax + 1 973 6174006 Website www.toysrus.com Ticker Symbol, Stock Exchange N/A Number of Employees 70,000 Fiscal Year End February Revenue (in US$ million) 13,543.00 SWOT Analysis Strengths Weaknesses Efficient distribution capabilities Dependence on selected vendors Industry recognition Seasonal nature of the business Multiple channel selling strategy Wide geographic presence Opportunities Threats Growth of web-based store concept Increase in counterfeit products Increase in consumer spending in the US Increase in organized retail crime Strategic collaborations Jan 31, 2011 : Toys "R" Us offers to pay staffers $1m in back pay Jan 31, 2011 : Toys "R" Us offers to pay staffers $1m in back pay Toys "R" Us, Inc. - Company Overview Toys "R" Us, Inc. (Toys"R"Us) is a specialty retailer of toy and baby products. The company’s product portfolio includes children’s apparel, juvenile, learning, entertainment, core toy, parenting and seasonal products. These products are sold under various private labels such as Fast Lane, Imaginarium, Dream Dazzlers...
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...A Helping Hand for Europe: The Competitive Outlook for the EU Robotics Industry Authors: Simon Forge and Colin Blackman Editors: Marc Bogdanowicz and Paul Desruelle EUR 24600 EN - 2010 The The mission of the JRC-IPTS is to provide customer-driven support to the EU policymaking process by developing science-based responses to policy challenges that have both a socio-economic as well as a scientific/technological dimension. European Commission Joint Research Centre Institute for Prospective Technological Studies Contact information Address: Edificio Expo. c/ Inca Garcilaso, 3. E-41092 Seville (Spain) E-mail: jrc-ipts-secretariat@ec.europa.eu Tel.: +34 954488318 Fax: +34 954488300 http://ipts.jrc.ec.europa.eu http://www.jrc.ec.europa.eu Legal Notice Neither the European Commission nor any person acting on behalf of the Commission is responsible for the use which might be made of this publication. The report reflects the views of the authors and does not necessarily reflect those of the European Commission Europe Direct is a service to help you find answers to your questions about the European Union Freephone number (*): 00 800 6 7 8 9 10 11 (*) Certain mobile telephone operators do not allow access to 00 800 numbers or these calls may be billed. A great deal of additional information on the European Union is available on the Internet. It can be accessed through the Europa server http://europa.eu/ JRC 61539 EUR 24600 EN ISBN 978-92-79-17657-9 ISSN 1018-5593...
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...Strategy & Leadership Emerald Article: Global competition 2021: key capabilities for emerging opportunities Armen Ovanessoff, Mark Purdy Article information: To cite this document: Armen Ovanessoff, Mark Purdy, (2011),"Global competition 2021: key capabilities for emerging opportunities", Strategy & Leadership, Vol. 39 Iss: 5 pp. 46 - 55 Permanent link to this document: http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/10878571111161525 Downloaded on: 29-03-2012 To copy this document: permissions@emeraldinsight.com This document has been downloaded 954 times. Access to this document was granted through an Emerald subscription provided by Technische Universitaet Hamburg-Harburg For Authors: If you would like to write for this, or any other Emerald publication, then please use our Emerald for Authors service. Information about how to choose which publication to write for and submission guidelines are available for all. Additional help for authors is available for Emerald subscribers. Please visit www.emeraldinsight.com/authors for more information. About Emerald www.emeraldinsight.com With over forty years' experience, Emerald Group Publishing is a leading independent publisher of global research with impact in business, society, public policy and education. In total, Emerald publishes over 275 journals and more than 130 book series, as well as an extensive range of online products and services. Emerald is both COUNTER 3 and TRANSFER compliant. The organization is a partner of the Committee on...
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...Steering Behaviors For Autonomous Characters Craig W. Reynolds Sony Computer Entertainment America 919 East Hillsdale Boulevard Foster City, California 94404 craig_reynolds@playstation.sony.com http://www.red.com/cwr/ cwr@red.com Keywords: Animation Techniques, Virtual/Interactive Environments, Games, Simulation, behavioral animation, autonomous agent, situated, embodied, reactive, vehicle, steering, path planning, path following, pursuit, evasion, obstacle avoidance, collision avoidance, flocking, group behavior, navigation, artificial life, improvisation. Abstract This paper presents solutions for one requirement of autonomous characters in animation and games: the ability to navigate around their world in a life-like and improvisational manner. These “steering behaviors” are largely independent of the particulars of the character’s means of locomotion. Combinations of steering behaviors can be used to achieve higher level goals This paper divides motion behavior into three levels. It will focus on the (For example: get from here to there while avoiding obstacles, follow this corridor, join that group of characters...) middle level of steering behaviors, briefly describe the lower level of locomotion, and touch lightly on the higher level of goal setting and strategy. Introduction Autonomous characters are a type of autonomous agent intended for use in computer animation and interactive media such as games and virtual reality. These agents represent a This stands...
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...Philosophy and Design Pieter E. Vermaas • Peter Kroes Andrew Light • Steven A. Moore Philosophy and Design From Engineering to Architecture Pieter E. Vermaas Delft University of Technology Delft the Netherlands Andrew Light University of Washington Seattle USA Peter Kroes Delft University of Technology Delft the Netherlands Steven A. Moore University of Texas Austin USA ISBN 978-1-4020-6590-3 e-ISBN 978-1-4020-6591-0 Library of Congress Control Number: 2007937486 © 2008 Springer Science + Business Media B.V. No part of this work may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, microfilming, recording or otherwise, without written permission from the Publisher, with the exception of any material supplied specifically for the purpose of being entered and executed on a computer system, for exclusive use by the purchaser of the work. Printed on acid-free paper. 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 springer.com Contents List of Contributors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Design in Engineering and Architecture: Towards an Integrated Philosophical Understanding . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Peter Kroes, Andrew Light, Steven A. Moore, and Pieter E. Vermaas Part I Engineering Design ix 1 Design, Use, and the Physical and Intentional Aspects of Technical Artifacts. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ...
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...THE FUTURE OF TECHNOLOGY OTHER ECONOMIST BOOKS Guide to Analysing Companies Guide to Business Modelling Guide to Business Planning Guide to Economic Indicators Guide to the European Union Guide to Financial Markets Guide to Management Ideas Numbers Guide Style Guide Dictionary of Business Dictionary of Economics International Dictionary of Finance Brands and Branding Business Consulting Business Ethics Business Strategy China’s Stockmarket Globalisation Headhunters and How to Use Them Successful Mergers Wall Street Essential Director Essential Economics Essential Finance Essential Internet Essential Investment Essential Negotiation Pocket World in Figures THE FUTURE OF TECHNOLOGY THE ECONOMIST IN ASSOCIATION WITH PROFILE BOOKS LTD Published by Profile Books Ltd 3a Exmouth House, Pine Street, London ec1r 0jh Copyright © The Economist Newspaper Ltd 2005 All rights reserved. Without limiting the rights under copyright reserved above, no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in or introduced into a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise), without the prior written permission of both the copyright owner and the publisher of this book. The greatest care has been taken in compiling this book. However, no responsibility can be accepted by the publishers or compilers for the accuracy of the information presented. Where opinion is expressed it is that of the author and does not necessarily...
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...PART 2 The Global Marketing Environment CHAPTER 2 The Global Economic Environment Case 2-1 The Global Economic Crisis I n his 1997 book One World, Ready or Not, William Greider described the United States as “the buyer of last resort.” Greider explained that, for many years, the United States was the only nation that was willing to absorb production surpluses exported by companies in Europe, Asia, and Latin America. Greider asked: “Who will buy the surpluses when the United States cannot?” The conventional wisdom has long held that strong spending by consumers in other nations would keep the world economy humming. However, by 2008, Greider’s question was taking on a new urgency and the conventional wisdom was being tested. An economic crisis that had its roots in lax subprime mortgage lending practices began to spread around the globe. In the United States, where the crisis began, economic misery was widespread: The housing market collapsed, real estate values plummeted, credit tightened, and job growth slowed (see Exhibit 2-1). As the price of oil passed the $100 per barrel benchmark, the average price of a gallon of gasoline rose to $4. American consumers were, indeed, less willing and less able to buy. However, the crisis was not confined to the United States alone. Consumer-goods exporters in Asia, which Exhibit 2-1: The bursting of the global real estate bubble was only one aspect of the worst recession in decades. The ripple effects from the economic...
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...ANATOMY AND PHYSIOLOGY- 2013 Draft v4 7-3-12 1. DESCRIPTION: Understand the anatomy and physiology of the nervous, excretory and digestive system. A TEAM OF UP TO: 2 APPROXIMATE TIME: 50 Minutes 2. EVENT PARAMETERS: Each team may bring only one 8.5" x II" two-sided page of notes that contain information in any form from any source and up to 2 non-programmable, non-graphing calculators. 3. THE COMPETITION: Students should know the basic anatomy and physiology of the nervous, excretory and digestive systems and how aging and specific diseases affect them. Process skills expected may include data collection, making observations, inferences, predictions, calculations, analyses and conclusions. The test may include various formats (e. g., timed stations, written test, PowerPoint slides, anatomical specimens, etc.) for the following topics: a. DIGESTIVE SYSTEM - All levels should know: 1. Functions ofthe digestive system 11. Basic anatomy of the component parts of the alimentary canal and accessory organs of digestion iii. Anatomy of the four layers ofthe wall of the alimentary canal IV. Comparison of the lining of the esophagus, stomach, small intestine and large intestine v. Compare and contrast mechanical and chemical digestion vi. Physiology of chemical digestion of proteins, fats and carbohydrates vii. The effects of exercise on the digestive system viii. The diseases on each level from the cell to the whole person as listed: stomach & duodenal ulcers, cancers of the digestive...
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...SIXTH EDITION STRATEGIC MANAGEMENT IN ACTION Mary Coulter Missouri State University Boston Columbus Indianapolis New York San Francisco Upper Saddle River Amsterdam Cape Town Dubai London Madrid Milan Munich Paris Montréal Toronto Delhi Mexico City São Paulo Sydney Hong Kong Seoul Singapore Taipei Tokyo Editor in Chief: Stephanie Wall Senior Acquisitions Editor: April Cole Editorial Project Manager: Claudia Fernandes Director of Marketing: Maggie Moylan Senior Marketing Manager: Nikki Ayana Jones Marketing Assistant: Gianna Sandri Senior Managing Editor: Judy Leale Production Project Manager: Kelly Warsak Senior Operations Supervisor: Arnold Vila Operations Specialist: Cathleen Petersen Creative Director: Blair Brown Senior Art Director: Kenny Beck Text Designer: LCI Design Cover Designer: LCI Design Cover Art: Svetoslav Iliev/Shutterstock.com Permission Specialist: Brooks Hill-Whilton Media Project Manager, Production: Lisa Rinaldi Senior Media Project Manager, Editorial: Denise Vaughn Full-Service Project Management and Composition: Integra Printer/Binder: RRD/Willard Cover Printer: Lehigh-Phoenix Color Text Font: 10/12, Times LT Std Credits and acknowledgments borrowed from other sources and reproduced, with permission, in this textbook appear on appropriate page within text. Copyright © 2013, 2010, 2008 Pearson Education, Inc., publishing as Prentice Hall, One Lake Street, Upper Saddle River, New Jersey 07458. All rights...
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...Electrical Engineering 101 Third Edition Electrical Engineering 101 Everything You Should Have Learned in School… but Probably Didn’t Third Edition Darren Ashby AMSTERDAM • BOSTON • HEIDELBERG • LONDON NEW YORK • OXFORD • PARIS • SAN DIEGO SAN FRANCISCO • SINGAPORE • SYDNEY • TOKYO Newnes is an imprint of Elsevier Newnes is an imprint of Elsevier 225 Wyman Street, Waltham, MA 02451, USA The Boulevard, Langford Lane, Kidlington, Oxford, OX5 1GB, UK © 2012 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the Publisher. Details on how to seek permission, further information about the Publisher’s permissions policies and our arrangements with organizations such as the Copyright Clearance Center and the Copyright Licensing Agency, can be found at our website: www.elsevier.com/ permissions This book and the individual contributions contained in it are protected under copyright by the Publisher (other than as may be noted herein). Notices Knowledge and best practice in this field are constantly changing. As new research and experience broaden our understanding, changes in research methods, professional practices, or medical treatment may become necessary. Practitioners and researchers must always rely on their own experience and knowledge in evaluating...
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...Employers, job seekers, and puzzle lovers everywhere delight in William Poundstone's HOW WOULD YOU MOVE MOUNT FUJI? "Combines how-to with be-smart for an audience of job seekers, interviewers, Wired-style cognitive science hobbyists, and the onlooking curious. . . . How Would You Move Mount Fuji? gallops down entertaining sidepaths about the history of intelligence testing, the origins of Silicon Valley, and the brain-jockey heroics of Microsoft culture." — Michael Erard, Austin Chronicle "A charming Trojan Horse of a book While this slim book is ostensibly a guide to cracking the cult of the puzzle in Microsoft's hiring practices, Poundstone manages to sneak in a wealth of material on the crucial issue of how to hire in today's knowledge-based economy. How Would You Move Mount Fuji? delivers on the promise of revealing the tricks to Microsoft's notorious hiring challenges. But, more important, Poundstone, an accomplished science journalist, shows how puzzles can — and cannot — identify the potential stars of a competitive company.... Poundstone gives smart advice to candidates on how to 'pass' the puzzle game.... Of course, let's not forget the real fun of the book: the puzzles themselves." — Tom Ehrenfeld, Boston Globe "A dead-serious book about recruiting practices and abstract reasoning — presented as a puzzle game.... Very, very valuable to some job applicants — the concepts being more important than the answers. It would have usefulness as well to interviewers with...
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...4 TH EDITION Managing and Using Information Systems A Strategic Approach KERI E. PEARLSON KP Partners CAROL S. SAUNDERS University of Central Florida JOHN WILEY & SONS, INC. To Yale & Hana To Rusty, Russell &Kristin VICE PRESIDENT & EXECUTIVE PUBLISHER EXECUTIVE EDITOR EDITORIAL ASSISTANT MARKETING MANAGER DESIGN DIRECTOR SENIOR DESIGNER SENIOR PRODUCTION EDITOR SENIOR MEDIA EDITOR PRODUCTION MANAGEMENT SERVICES This book is printed on acid-free paper. Don Fowley Beth Lang Golub Lyle Curry Carly DeCandia Harry Nolan Kevin Murphy Patricia McFadden Lauren Sapira Pine Tree Composition Copyright 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, scanning or otherwise, except as permitted under Sections 107 or 108 of the 1976 United States Copyright Act, without either the prior written permission of the Publisher, or authorization through payment of the appropriate per-copy fee to the Copyright Clearance Center, Inc. 222 Rosewood Drive, Danvers, MA 01923, website www.copyright.com. Requests to the Publisher for permission should be addressed to the Permissions Department, John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 111 River Street, Hoboken, NJ 07030-5774, (201) 748-6011, fax (201) 748-6008, website www.wiley.com/go/permissions. To order books or for customer service please, call 1-800-CALL WILEY (225-5945)...
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...4 TH EDITION Managing and Using Information Systems A Strategic Approach KERI E. PEARLSON KP Partners CAROL S. SAUNDERS University of Central Florida JOHN WILEY & SONS, INC. To Yale & Hana To Rusty, Russell &Kristin VICE PRESIDENT & EXECUTIVE PUBLISHER EXECUTIVE EDITOR EDITORIAL ASSISTANT MARKETING MANAGER DESIGN DIRECTOR SENIOR DESIGNER SENIOR PRODUCTION EDITOR SENIOR MEDIA EDITOR PRODUCTION MANAGEMENT SERVICES This book is printed on acid-free paper. Don Fowley Beth Lang Golub Lyle Curry Carly DeCandia Harry Nolan Kevin Murphy Patricia McFadden Lauren Sapira Pine Tree Composition Copyright 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, scanning or otherwise, except as permitted under Sections 107 or 108 of the 1976 United States Copyright Act, without either the prior written permission of the Publisher, or authorization through payment of the appropriate per-copy fee to the Copyright Clearance Center, Inc. 222 Rosewood Drive, Danvers, MA 01923, website www.copyright.com. Requests to the Publisher for permission should be addressed to the Permissions Department, John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 111 River Street, Hoboken, NJ 07030-5774, (201) 748-6011, fax (201) 748-6008, website www.wiley.com/go/permissions. To order books or for customer service please, call 1-800-CALL WILEY (225-5945)...
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