Strategy definition of Lloyds bank TSB Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Strategy definition of Lloyds bank TSB - Essay Example yers in the industry, who prove to be large-scale retailers, this company’s focus is ensuring that it can register growth (Competitor strategies & industry trends 2014, p. 20). This is the reason why it intends to register a 40 to 50 % growth in its balance sheets in a period of five years. This is achievable because of the increasing growth in mortgages (How Lloyds responds to changes in the business environment 2014, p. 3). The Lloyds TSB banks need to continue registering growth if the group is to remain a leader in the UK banking sector. The company will focus on its core business and invest more in its iconic brands, factors that will ensure a high level of profitability (Lloyds Banking Group plc SWOT Analysis 2014, p. 6). Lloyds Bank TSBs business strategy focuses on the customer. This strategy was developed after realizing that customers were the most important entities in any business. If the bank can satisfy customers, then it is assured of registering growth. It intends to offer all its customers an outstanding experience (Lloyds TSB Bank 2010, p. 29). This experience is defined by reliability, consistency, and convenience. Moreover, the bank will invest in its digital capability, providing a platform for online and mobile branches, a factor that will present customers with the increased convenience of banking (Patrick 2011, p. 29). In addition, the bank is determined to open up networks of branches that can meet the emerging needs and preferences of customers. The Lloyds Bank TSB has the three categories of its customers as the core of its business. It intends to keep helping households, communities, and businesses (Ray 2013, p. 55). Through its mortgage plans, the Lloyds Bank TSB offers househo lds the opportunity to own a home. In addition, it helps the entire British community register economic growth and have the appropriate social wellbeing by using its experience and expertise. Moreover, the Lloyds Bank TSB has the intention of continuing to

Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi Analysis Essay Example for Free

Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi Analysis Essay In the book, Persepolis, by Marjane Satrapi, the main character is the author as a young girl growing up in Iran during the Islamic Revolution of 1979. She starts off as an incredibly positive child with enormous faith in herself and her relationship with G-d. Through her experiences, especially when she was in her crucial, early teenage years, she completely loses her faith in G-d and also rebels against her environment. The author wants to show the Western world that there are many people in Iran, like Marjane, that are no different than Westerners. She does this by describing her childhood teenage conflicts with her parents, with oppression and with her faith in G-d, all of which most Western teenagers could easily relate to. Marjane’s conflicts prove that she is not just a spoiled teenager, rebelling for no other reason than just being a teenager, but that the environment she was in would make most teenagers rebel. Two of Marjane’s conflicts with her parents come from her strong desire to participate in the public protests against the Shah. Marjane has a close relationship with her parents, whose activism against oppression influences her greatly. She sees her parents go to protests against the Shah and she desperately wants to join in and be a part of it. On panels 16.9-17.6, Marjane is begging her parents to allow her to join them in the next day’s protests. She says to them, â€Å"For a revolution to succeed, the entire population must support it.† They tell her she can’t go yet because it is too dangerous. She is very upset with them for not letting her go. Later, on panels 38.1-39.5, Marjane defies her parents’ authority by attending a demonstration with her maid, Mehri. The author narrates, â€Å"When I finally understood the reasons for the Revolution I made my decision.† Marjane is referring to her decision to go to a protest against the Shah. This is after her maid’s heart is broken because the boy she is in love with dumps her when he finds out she is below his social class. Marjane believes that the Revolution will abolish the social class system. These two examples of conflict with her parents show that Marjane is not just acting out against her parents, but cares deeply for the future of her country and those closest to her, like her maid. The Islamic Fundamentalists’ new rules and laws also create conflicts for Marjane because of the influence from her parents’ secular beliefs and her previous secular schooling. On panels 96.1-98.7, the author describes Marjane’s new school environment after her secular French school is shut down. The students are forced into Islamic schools where the girls and boys are separated. They have new rituals to perform, like hitting themselves to honor the Iran-Iraq war casualties. Almost immediately, the students begin to make fun of the rituals and the new teachers enforcing them. The school is so upset with the students’ behavior that the parents are called in for a lecture as well. At the end of the lecture, Marjane’s father says to the teacher, â€Å"If hair is as stimulating as you say, then you need to shave your mustache!† This shows Marjane’s parents’ rebellion against the Fundamentalism, which heavily influences Marjane. It also shows that Marjane, and her fellow students in this case, are not doing anything wrong in their parents’ eyes, but simply having a tough time adapting to this completely new set of beliefs, rules and laws. A similar conflict for Marjane revolves around the new, strict rules on what women can wear in public. On panels 130.1-134.4, Marjane’s parents return from a trip to Turkey with gifts of Western clothing for her. She immediately puts them on, gets a compliment from her mother, and goes out to buy some black market rock and roll tapes. She is confronted by the Guardians of the Revolution for wearing the Western clothing and almost gets arrested. Like any teenager who receives cool, new clothes from their parents, she wants to immediately enjoy wearing them. Also, she has only known freedom and has been taught by her parents that it is OK to express herself with clothing. Rather than being a spoiled teenager, rebelling against the Fundamentalists, she is simply a teenager expressing herself and trying to enjoy herself in her new clothes. Marjane’s environment also causes her to have a major conflict with her faith in G-d. As a young girl, Marjane truly believes that she will be the Last Prophet. (6.3-9.6) She feels so strongly about this and her relationship with G-d she even endures ridicule from her classmates for saying she will be a Prophet. But, as her environment changes, and the Revolution starts to build, she shows signs of conflict with her faith in G-d. On Panel 10.1 she says, â€Å"My faith was not unshakable.† On 10.2 the author narrates, â€Å"The year of the Revolution I had to take action. So I put my prophetic destiny aside for a while.† The fact that she truly believed she would become a prophet, to the point of enduring ridicule, showed that she was very serious about her faith in G-d. Then her environment changes so much due to the building Revolution and the terrible things happening in Iran under the Shah’s government that she takes her emotional energy away from her f aith in G-d and starts to put it towards the Revolution. Her once strong relationship with G-d ends completely when her uncle Anoosh is falsely accused of being a Russian spy and executed. (70.1) On panel 70.4, Marjane tells G-d, â€Å"Get out of my life! I never want to see you again!† Throughout the rest of Persepolis, Marjane never again mentions G-d. She went from believing she is a prophet, and talking to G-d regularly, to completely rejecting Him. This profound change shows that Marjane’s life was deeply affected by her environment. When the tough environment Marjane grew up in is considered, her conflicts with her parents, with oppression and with her faith in G-d seem understandable. Her conflicts with her parents arose mainly from her desire to protest because that’s what she thought she should be doing. Her conflicts with her oppressive, Islamic Fundamentalist school are understandable because it was all new for her and her classmates. And finally, her conflict with her faith in G-d was due to the overwhelming circumstances of the Revolution and the oppressive, Islamic Fundamentalist regime. Her reactions to her environment seem completely normal and justified. She is not a rebellious child and teenager, but is just very committed to whatever she believes in, and conflict almost always comes with commitment.

Measurement - Mathematic Reform :: essays research papers fc

Part A: Content Goals for Measurement in Grades 3-5   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Most students enter grade 3 with enthusiasm for, and interest in, learning mathematics. In fact, nearly three-quarters of U.S. fourth graders report liking mathematics (NCTM, 143). This can be a very critical time in keeping children interested in what they are learning. If the work turns too monotonous and uninteresting it can have a negative effect on their perceptions of the subject later in life. If students in grades three through five are given mathematic material that is interesting it can help keep their enthusiasm toward the subject. One of the major content areas that is covered at this time is measurement. Measurement is one of the ways that teachers can introduce students to the usefulness and practicality of mathematics. Measurement requires the comparison of an attribute (distance, surface, capacity, mass, time, temperature) between two objects or to a known standard. Measurement also introduces students to the important concepts of precision, approx imation, tolerance, error and dimension. Instructional programs from prekindergarten through grade twelve should enable students to understand measurable attributes of objects and the units, systems, and processes of measurement. Also, apply the appropriate techniques, tools, and formulas to determine measurements (NCTM, 171). This paper will describe how those ideas are developed in grades three through five.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The first and most basic standard for measurement at this level is being able to understand measurement attributes that we use on a daily basis. Some of these attributes include length, area, weight, volume, and size of an angle. Knowledge of these variables is very important because they are ideas that will be used regularly throughout their lives. When students attain a better understanding of these measurement variables the next objective is to have them decipher the correct way to measure them. Choosing the appropriate unit to measure variables such as length, area, and weight can be just as important as knowing their meaning. For example, knowing that length is the distance between two points is irrelevant if a student tries to measure it with an angle or area. Knowing the proper way to measure a variable is very important. This idea also brings into perspective the standard of measurement that deals with understanding the need for standard units, or a basic way to describe an attribute. This requires students to become familiar with standard units in the customary and metric systems.

Death Penalty Essay -- essays research papers fc

Thesis It is more reasonable to utilize the death penalty than to abolish it. The death penalty should not be abolished because (1) it deters people from committing murder and (2) because the death penalty gives peace of mind to the victims and their families and puts an end to the crime.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Arguments for the thesis (1) The death penalty should not be abolished because the fear of the highest form of punishment will keep potential victims alive. (2) The death penalty should not be abolished because the families of the victims can only begin the healing process once the murderer is put to death. Response to objections to the thesis (1) Objection: The death penalty should be abolished because even the highest form of punishment will not remove the evil from society. Response: If the death penalty was abolished, the convicted murderer has the potential to escape and kill again. This will spread more evil and give the option to kill again to the murderer. (2) Objection: The execution of a convicted murderer will never bring the victims back to life. Therefore it serves no purpose other than to kill.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Response: Resurrection has never been the purpose of the death penalty. The family members just want to start healing and they can’t while the perpetrator is still alive. Bibliography Van der Haag, Ernest and John P. Conrad, The Death Penalty: A Debate (New York: Plenum Press, 1983). Arlen Specter, â€Å"Congress must make Death Sentences Meaningful Again† (Human Events, July 1994). Hugo, Adam Bedau, Ed., The Death penalty in America: Current Controversies (New York: Oxford University Press, 1997) Blumstein, Cohen, Nagin, Deterrence and Incapacitation (National Academy Press January 1978) It is more reasonable to utilize the death penalty than to abolish it. The death penalty should not be abolished because (1) it deters people from committing murder and (2) because the death penalty gives peace of mind to the victims and their families and puts an end to the crime. The death penalty deters some people from committing heinous crimes and thereby also saves human lives. Not everyone will be deterred from committing heinous crimes because of the death penalty. However, since the death penalty is the highest penalty for crimes it will obviously evoke the most fear in a human being. This fear will save... ...rt the healing process. If a state governed by law is to be able to show warmth, compassion and peace of mind to victims and their families, then the death penalty is the most effective way to bring this about. The argument to the above is that the death penalty does not bring back any victim to life, therefore, unnecessary. Just because someone has taken a life, it doesn’t mean that the convict’s life should also be taken. Is it fair to take a bad situation and make it worse? The death penalty will never sweep away the emotions and feelings of grief that the relatives and friends feel. Murdering the convicted murder would only cause more grief for his family, therefore, over time, grieving would become commonplace. Resurrection has never been the purpose of the death penalty. It is understood that the death penalty will not totally take away the emotions and feelings of the relatives, however the death penalty will ease those pains. The grief and despair would be considerably heavier to carry if the relatives knew that the perpetrator was only sentenced to prison and would be released after a period of time. Therefore, I feel that the death penalty will never become unnecessary.

Paul Krugman, in Praise of Cheap Labor Bad Jobs at Bad Wages Are Better Than No Jobs at All.

In Praise of Cheap Labor Bad jobs at bad wages are better than no jobs at all. By  Paul Krugman|Posted Friday, March 21, 1997, at 3:30 AM ET For many years a huge Manila garbage dump known as Smokey Mountain was a favorite media symbol of Third World poverty. Several thousand men, women, and children lived on that dump–enduring the stench, the flies, and the toxic waste in order to make a living combing the garbage for scrap metal and other recyclables. And they lived there voluntarily, because the $10 or so a squatter family could clear in a day was better than the alternatives. Advertisement The squatters are gone now, forcibly removed by Philippine police last year as a cosmetic move in advance of a Pacific Rim summit. But I found myself thinking about Smokey Mountain recently, after reading my latest batch of hate mail. The occasion was an op-ed piece I had written for theNew York Times, in which I had pointed out that while wages and working conditions in the new export industries of the Third World are appalling, they are a big improvement over the â€Å"previous, less visible rural poverty. I guess I should have expected that this comment would generate letters along the lines of, â€Å"Well, if you lose your comfortable position as an American professor you can always find another job–as long as you are 12 years old and willing to work for 40 cents an hour. † Such moral outrage is common among the opponents of globalization–of the transfer of technology and capital from high-wage to low-wage countries and the resulting growth of labor-intensive Third World exports. These critics take it as a given that anyone with a good word for this process is naive or corrupt and, in either case, a de facto agent of global capital in its oppression of workers here and abroad. But matters are not that simple, and the moral lines are not that clear. In fact, let me make a counter-accusation: The lofty moral tone of the opponents of globalization is possible only because they have chosen not to think their position through. While fat-cat capitalists might benefit from globalization, the biggest beneficiaries are, yes, Third World workers. After all, global poverty is not something recently invented for the benefit of multinational corporations. Let's turn the clock back to the Third World as it was only two decades ago (and still is, in many countries). In those days, although the rapid economic growth of a handful of small Asian nations had started to attract attention, developing countries like Indonesia or Bangladesh were still mainly what they had always been: exporters of raw materials, importers of manufactures. Inefficient manufacturing sectors served their domestic markets, sheltered behind import quotas, but generated few jobs. Meanwhile, population pressure pushed desperate peasants into cultivating ever more marginal land or seeking a livelihood in any way possible–such as homesteading on a mountain of garbage. Given this lack of other opportunities, you could hire workers in Jakarta or Manila for a pittance. But in the mid-'70s, cheap labor was not enough to allow a developing country to compete in world markets for manufactured goods. The entrenched advantages of advanced nations–their infrastructure and technical know-how, the vastly larger size of their markets and their proximity to suppliers of key components, their political stability and the subtle-but-crucial social adaptations that are necessary to operate an efficient economy–seemed to outweigh even a tenfold or twentyfold disparity in wage rates. A  nd then something changed. Some combination of factors that  we still don't fully understand–lower tariff barriers, improved telecommunications, cheaper air transport–reduced the disadvantages of producing in developing countries. (Other things being the same, it is still better to produce in the First World–stories of companies that moved production to Mexico or East Asia, then moved back after experiencing the disadvantages of the Third World environment, are common. In a substantial number of industries, low wages allowed developing countries to break into world markets. And so countries that had previously made a living selling jute or coffee started producing shirts and sneakers instead. Workers in those shirt and sneaker factories are, inevitably, paid very little and expected to endure terrible working conditions. I say â€Å"inevitably† because their employers are not in business for their (or their workers') health; they pay as little as po ssible, and that minimum is determined by the other opportunities available to workers. And these are still extremely poor countries, where living on a garbage heap is attractive compared with the alternatives. And yet, wherever the new export industries have grown, there has been measurable improvement in the lives of ordinary people. Partly this is because a growing industry must offer a somewhat higher wage than workers could get elsewhere in order to get them to move. More importantly, however, the growth of manufacturing–and of the penumbra of other jobs that the new export sector creates–has a ripple effect throughout the economy. The pressure on the land becomes less intense, so rural wages rise; the pool of unemployed urban dwellers always anxious for work shrinks, so factories start to compete with each other for workers, and urban wages also begin to rise. Where the process has gone on long enough–say, in South Korea or Taiwan–average wages start to approach what an American teen-ager can earn at McDonald's. And eventually people are no longer eager to live on garbage dumps. (Smokey Mountain persisted because the Philippines, until recently, did not share in the export-led growth of its neighbors. Jobs that pay better than scavenging are still few and far between. ) The benefits of export-led economic growth to the mass of people in the newly industrializing economies are not a matter of conjecture. A country like Indonesia is still so poor that progress can be measured in terms of how much the average person gets to eat; since 1970, per capita intake has risen from less than 2,100 to more than 2,800 calories a day. A shocking one-third of young children are still malnourished–but in 1975, the fraction was more than half. Similar improvements can be seen throughout the Pacific Rim, and even in places like Bangladesh. These improvements have not taken place because well-meaning people in the West have done anything to help–foreign aid, never large, has lately shrunk to virtually nothing. Nor is it the result of the benign policies of national governments, which are as callous and corrupt as ever. It is the indirect and unintended result of the actions of soulless multinationals and rapacious local entrepreneurs, whose only concern was to take advantage of the profit opportunities offered by cheap labor. It is not an edifying spectacle; but no matter how base the motives of those involved, the result has been to move hundreds of millions of people from abject poverty to something still awful but nonetheless significantly better. Why, then, the outrage of my correspondents? Why does the image of an Indonesian sewing sneakers for 60 cents an hour evoke so much more feeling than the image of another Indonesian earning the equivalent of 30 cents an hour trying to feed his family on a tiny plot of land–or of a Filipino scavenging on a garbage heap? The main answer, I think, is a sort of fastidiousness. Unlike the starving subsistence farmer, the women and children in the sneaker factory are working at slave wages  for our benefit–and this makes us feel unclean. And so there are self-righteous demands for international labor standards: We should not, the opponents of globalization insist, be willing to buy those sneakers and shirts unless the people who make them receive decent wages and work under decent conditions. This sounds only fair–but is it? Let's think through the consequences. First of all, even if we could assure the workers in Third World export industries of higher wages and better working conditions, this would do nothing for the peasants, day laborers, scavengers, and so on who make up the bulk of these countries' populations. At best, forcing developing countries to adhere to our labor standards would create a privileged labor aristocracy, leaving the poor majority no better off. And it might not even do that. The advantages of established First World industries are still formidable. The only reason developing countries have been able to compete with those industries is their ability to offer employers cheap labor. Deny them that ability, and you might well deny them the prospect of continuing industrial growth, even reverse the growth that has been achieved. And since export-oriented growth, for all its injustice, has been a huge boon for the workers in those nations, anything that curtails that growth is very much against their interests. A policy of good jobs in principle, but no jobs in practice, might assuage our consciences, but it is no favor to its alleged beneficiaries. You may say that the wretched of the earth should not be forced to serve as hewers of wood, drawers of water, and sewers of sneakers for the affluent. But what is the alternative? Should they be helped with foreign aid? Maybe–although the historical record of regions like southern Italy suggests that such aid has a tendency to promote perpetual dependence. Anyway, there isn't the slightest prospect of significant aid materializing. Should their own governments provide more social justice? Of course–but they won't, or at least not because we tell them to. And as long as you have no realistic alternative to industrialization based on low wages, to oppose it means that you are willing to deny desperately poor people the best chance they have of progress for the sake of what amounts to an aesthetic standard–that is, the fact that you don't like the idea of workers being paid a pittance to supply rich Westerners with fashion items. In short, my correspondents are not entitled to their self-righteousness. They have not thought the matter through. And when the hopes of hundreds of millions are at stake, thinking things through is not just good intellectual practice. It is a moral duty

The Beginning Of World War II Essays - International Relations

The Beginning Of World War II Essays - International Relations The Beginning of World War II At daybreak on the first day of September, 1939, the residents of Poland awakened to grave news. A juggernaut force of tanks, guns, and countless grey-clad soldiers from nearby Germany had torn across the countryside and were making a total invasion of the Pole?s homelands. Germany?s actions on that fateful morning ignited a conflict that would spread like a wildfire, engulfing the entire globe in a great world war. This scenario is many people?s conception of how World War II came about. In reality, the whole story is far more detailed and complex. The origins of war can be traced as far back as the end of the first World War in 1919, when the Treaty of Versailles placed responsibility for that terrible war squarely on Germany. Years later, in the Far East, Japanese ambition for territory led the nation to invade Manchuria and other parts of nearby China, causing hostilities to flare in the Pacific Rim. Great Britain, the United States, and many other nations of the world would all be drawn into battle in the years to come, and each nation had it?s own reason for lending a hand in the struggle. Although Germany was the major player in World War II, the seeds of war had already been planted in the Far East years before conflict in Europe. On September 18, 1931, the powerful Japanese military forces began an invasion of the region known as Manchuria, an area belonging to mainland China. This action broke non-aggression treaties that had been signed earlier. It also was carried out by Japanese generals without the consent of the Japanese government. In spite of this, no one was ever punished for the actions. Soon after the assault on China, the Japanese government decided it had no choice but to support the occupation of Manchuria. By the next year the region had been completely cut off from China (Ienaga 60-64). Because of the Japanese offensive in China, the League of Nations held a vote in October to force Japan out of the captured territory. The vote was passed, 13 to 1, but Japan remained in control of Manchuria. A second vote, taken in February, 1933, a formal disapproval of the Japanese occupation, was passed 42 to 1. Instead of expelling Japan from the area of Manchuria, it caused the nation to formally withdraw it?s membership in the League of Nations the next month (Ienaga 66). Now unrestrained by the recommendations of the League of Nations, Japan continued it?s intrusion onto Chinese soil. By 1937 Japan had moved military forces into Beijing, Shanghai, and Nanjing, as well as other regions of China. By 1940, Japanese seizure of territory had spread to deep inside Southeast Asia and even parts of Australia (Sutel et al). Also in 1940, the Triparte Pact was signed, allying Japan, Germany, and Italy into a powerful force that stretched halfway around the planet. The association with Hitler and Germany unified the war in the Pacific and the war in Europe. Japan was now fully involved in what came to be known as World War II. As warfare raged in the Pacific Rim, a chain of events was unfolding that would produce catastrophic results. The Treaty of Versailles of 1919 held Germany fully accountable for the tragedy of World War I. The nation was stripped of large areas of land, it?s armaments, as well as it?s dignity. In addition, the reparations that were to be paid to the allied nations virtually destroyed the economy of Germany. The resentment of the treaty burned in the hearts and minds of Germans for years afterward. In 1933, a man by the name of Adolf Hitler was elected Chancellor of Germany after working his way up the ladder of government. By speaking against the Treaty of Versailles and making promises of a better life to the German people, Hitler gained the support of his fellow countrymen, and he easily won the election. Almost immediately after Hitler took office he began securing his position in power. Hitler took steps to eliminate all opposition, including political parties and anyone else who spoke out against him. The death of President Hindenburg in 1934

Summary of A Victim Essays

Summary of A Victim Essays Summary of A Victim Essay Summary of A Victim Essay In Bruno Bettelheim’s A Victim, his purpose is to prove that the victim has as much control over a situation as the aggressor. He demonstrates that if one does not act like a victim, then one will not be treated as a victim. Bettelheim also proves that if a person does not behave in an expected way then one can not stereotype them (Bettelheim 57). Bettelheim makes the point that the victim acts in ways that are just as annoying as the aggressor’s actions. Attention is not brought to it because it is easier to say if the aggression will come to a stop, then the person getting victimized reactions will change. He explains that will not always happen, because the victim and aggressor are interlocked. They both have the same effect on each other, and no one assumes that the victims actions play a role on the aggressor’s reaction (57). Bettelheim’s next point is if one does not act like a victim then one will not be treated as a victim. Because he does not beg or act like there was such a difference in him and the guard, he is not acting as the rest of the victims. It is shocking to the guard, his expectations of the Jewish people is not how this man is acting, and he lets the man through to get further treatment. Since the man does not act like a victim, it is hard for the guard to treat him as one (58). â€Å"Since I did not act as the dangerous Jew was expected to, I did not activate the anxieties that went with his stereotype† (58). Bettelheim’s main purpose, is that the victim has as much control over a situation as the aggressor.

How to Split Strings in Ruby

How to Split Strings in Ruby Unless user input is a single word or number, that input will need to be split  or turned into a list of strings or numbers. For instance, if a program asks for your full name, including middle initial, it will first need to split that input into three separate strings before it can work with your individual first, middle and last name. This is achieved using the String#split method. How String#split Works In its most basic form, String#split takes a single argument: the field delimiter as a string. This delimiter will be removed from the output and an array of strings split on the delimiter will be returned. So, in the following example, assuming the user input their name correctly, you should receive a three-element Array from the split. #!/usr/bin/env rubyprint What is your full name? full_name gets.chompname full_name.split( )puts Your first name is #{name.first}puts Your last name is #{name.last} If we run this program and enter a name, well get some expected results. Also, note that name.first and name.last are coincidences. The name variable will be an Array, and those two method calls will be equivalent to name[0] and name[-1] respectively. $ ruby split.rbWhat is your full name? Michael C. MorinYour first name is MichaelYour last name is Morin However,  String#split is a bit smarter than youd think. If the argument to String#split is a string, it does indeed use that as the delimiter, but if the argument is a string with a single space (as we used), then it infers that you want to split on any amount of whitespace  and that you also want to remove any leading whitespace. So, if we were to give it some slightly malformed input such as Michael C. Morin (with extra spaces), then String#split would still do what is expected. However, thats the only special case when you pass a String as the first argument. Regular Expression Delimiters You can also pass a regular expression as the first argument. Here, String#split becomes a bit more flexible. We can also make our little name splitting code a bit smarter. We dont want the period at the end of the middle initial. We know its a middle initial, and the database wont want a period there, so we can remove it while we split. When String#split matches a regular expression, it does the same exact thing as if it had just matched a string delimiter: it takes it out of the output and splits it at that point. So, we can evolve our example a little bit: $ cat split.rb#!/usr/bin/env rubyprint What is your full name? full_name gets.chompname full_name.split(/\.?\s/)puts Your first name is #{name.first}puts Your middle initial is #{name[1]}puts Your last name is #{name.last} Default Record Separator Ruby is not really big on special variables that you might find in languages like Perl, but String#split does use one you need to be aware of. This is the default record separator variable, also known as $;. Its a global, something you dont often see in Ruby, so if you change it, it might affect other parts of the code- just be sure to change it back when finished. However, all this variable does is act as the default value for the first argument to String#split. By default, this variable seems to be set to nil. However, if String#splits first argument is nil, it will replace it with a single space string. Zero-Length Delimiters If the delimiter passed to String#split is a zero-length string or regular expression, then String#split will act a bit differently. It will remove nothing at all from the original string and split on every character. This essentially turns the string into an array of equal length containing only one-character strings, one for each character in the string. This can be useful for iterating over the string and was used in pre-1.9.x and pre-1.8.7 (which backported a number of features from 1.9.x) to iterate over characters in a string without worrying about breaking up multi-byte Unicode characters. However, if what you really want to do is iterate over a string, and youre using 1.8.7 or 1.9.x, you should probably use String#each_char instead. #!/usr/bin/env rubystr She turned me into a newt!str.split().each do|c| puts cend Limiting The Length of the Returned Array So back to our name parsing example, what if someone has a space in their last name? For instance, Dutch surnames can often begin with van (meaning of or from). We only really want a 3-element array, so we can use the second argument to String#split that we have so far ignored. The second argument is expected to be a Fixnum. If this argument is positive, at most, that many elements will be filled in the array. So in our case, we would want to pass 3 for this argument. #!/usr/bin/env rubyprint What is your full name? full_name gets.chompname full_name.split(/\.?\s/, 3)puts Your first name is #{name.first}puts Your middle initial is #{name[1]}puts Your last name is #{name.last} If we run this again and give it a Dutch name, it will act as expected. $ ruby split.rbWhat is your full name? Vincent Willem van GoghYour first name is VincentYour middle initial is WillemYour last name is van Gogh However, if this argument is negative (any negative number), then there will be no limit on the number of elements in the output array and any trailing delimiters will appear as zero-length strings at the end of the array. This is demonstrated in this IRB snippet: :001 this,is,a,test,,,,.split(,, -1) [this, is, a, test, , , , ]

The Issue of Marketing and Environmental Factors Essay

The Issue of Marketing and Environmental Factors - Essay Example This paper will look into the marketing operations of McDonald's, addressing some of the environmental factors that have an influence on the marketing decisions of the company. To this effect, the paper will look into the effect of demographic characteristics of markets and cultural differences. Additionally, there will be a discussion on social responsibility, international relations, and technology. Partnerships among various businesses are vital if global marketing is to succeed. These partnerships are instrumental for McDonald's to become aware of territory that is uncharted and even builds the capacity to expand their operations into these regions (Gilpin, 2008). These interdependent entities are successful since they have access to large reserves of services and most importantly, ideas on how to improve the operations. Because of global interdependence, there are endless opportunities created for the expansion of McDonald's, within America and even outside its borders. Global interdependence creates the need for laws and agreements on what should be the convention in marketing practice that traverses borders. Since the inception of the idea of free trade, there has been numerous free trade agree agreements signed. For example, within Europe is the European Union. Such trade agreements expand the capacity of organizations like McDonald's to operate. When globalization creates increased capacity for such organizations to operate under subsidized tax rates, it benefits the expansion endeavors of the company (Werz and Fried, 2008). The success of the market for McDonald’s product is dependent on the knowledge of demographic attributes of their market. In order to know where to set up their maneuvers it is essential for them to be aware of some of the demographic characteristics of their target, for example, the age of the population, their eating habits and the income distribution.  

Economic growth Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Economic growth - Essay Example However, the index is limited in that it ignores the relationship of the attributes that are used to construct it. As such, two countries can have the same HDI but have different levels of education standards or health care. In order to eliminate the limitations of the HDI and traditional models that are used to measure human development, the article proposes a new model. The model is constructed based on stochastic dominance. The stochastic model used compares different variables according to the preferences of rational economic decision makers and ordering them in a stochastic manner. The model has not been used because it can only be tested pair-wise. The article contends that the stochastic model weights are explicit which leads to the creation of the scenario that represents the most optimistic development. The model gives more weight to the dimension that is realized much higher in the countries than other dimensions. The article uses the HDI index as a benchmark and uses the stochastic dominance model to get weights that are assigned to the sub-indices. The article asserts that this move helps to maximize the distribution distance which occurs between the used indices. As such, the article uses stochastic dominance to measure the factor that has the major contribution to the development using the HDI index. The article uses the biased literature review which reveals the weakness of the traditional methods of measuring development. GNP and GDP are cited as the main traditional methods of measuring development. The articles espouses that GDP and GNP per capita uses the income to analyses development while there are other factors that cannot be owned or produce by individuals that lead to the development. HDI was development to remedy these shortcomings, however, HDI is criticised in using poor source of data to construct its constituents. There is also a lack of conserves

Law of Rape- Problem question Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

Law of Rape- Problem question - Essay Example 1). The important factors to look for in Alice’s case are signs of both obvious and discreet objections to Ben’s sexual advances. There are no obvious verbal or nonverbal cues from Alice before or during sexual intercourse with Ben. She did not tell him â€Å"no,† and he did not threaten her in any way. Alice was not intoxicated, and there were no indications that she was drugged either. The keyword in every rape situation or incident is consent. The law is very clear on accounts of non-consensual rape, but if consent is initially given, is it still considered rape? Should it still be tried in court? CPS (Crown Prosecution Service) applies the word â€Å"effective† to consent. They explain, â€Å"The law does not allow a person’s consent to sexual activity to have effect in the following situations: where the person giving consent did not understand what was happening and so could not give informed consent, and where the person giving consent was u nder the relevant age of consent† (Sexual Offences- Rape, 2010). These two forms of consent are opposites of one another due to the fact that the letter would not hold up in court but the initial one would because of the lack of understanding. Alice is presumably of age. The issue that comes to light is whether or not Alice was understanding of her situation. Now, she is not mentally handicapped or incoherent by drugs or alcohol, but she was misled by Ben into believing engaging in sexual intercourse with him would in turn give her love, companionship and financial stability. The question remains about whether or not Ben is guilty of rape under the present law. In a court of law, it is unlikely that Alice would have a solid case against Ben because consent was given and there is not a clear establishment of understanding in regards to how â€Å"understanding† is defined in law. Although, that does not mean Ben is innocent, the fact remains that Alice was not affected by outside substances or health, which would be concrete evidence to support Ben’s side of the case. Looking at the accused offender, Ben, his bodily actions fail to reveal any harmful intent. Physically, Ben did not coerce Alice by means of force of threat. The disputable wrongdoing he committed was verbal manipulation. The court could argue that Alice consented to sexual intercourse with Ben based on her personal expectations of him. She was willing because he met her requirements for a mate, and at any time she could have resisted his advances. Alice could have been eager to receive a lover and that overrode her ability to spot the red flag Ben presented when he promised marriage to her so soon after they met. Some may even go so far to say that Alice wanted a wealthy companion so much she willingly fell for Ben’s deception. The idea of willingness is another dubious term that arises in court in reference to rape cases. The Merriam-Webster dictionary defines willingne ss as â€Å"cheerful readiness to do something† (2011). Alice could be seen as happily engaging in sexual intercourse based on the cheerful prospect of marriage and love. If that is the case, Ben would have a stronger case in his defense against her in court. Too much evidence points to Alice consenting to him, especially because consent was given prior to, and during the actual act. No signs point to Alice

The Roar of the Tiger Mom Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

The Roar of the Tiger Mom - Essay Example These activities included watching the television, getting below â€Å"A† grades, playing computer and video games, and to attend sleepovers at friends’ places. The article also stipulates Chua using unsound methods of ensuring that her children were properly motivated in order to ensure their excellence. For example, she indicates that she often refers to one child as garbage with aim of trying to make the child work harder. She also rejects a birthday card that has been crafted amateurish referring it as unworthy. Finally, with aim of motivating her children, she condemns her child who is only seven years old for her inability to play a piano piece, which is complex despite her practicing it several times. A story that appeared on the time magazine indicated that Meredith Viera who is usually joyful when hosting her program was unable to hide her content towards Chua as she read some of the comments posted by viewers when she had hosted Chua in her show. Comments ranged from regarding Chua as a monster to questioning whether she really loves her children. Despite this, ideas proposed by Chua were received well by some readers. This was especially with regard to a study that had ranked United States of America students as 17th when it came to reading, 23rd in sciences and 31st in mathematics in the entire world. Such readers associated with Chuo’s piece since they felt that the United States of America should not accept academic failure if they expect to compete with other superpower countries such as China which had topped the Students rankings. Thus the question of whether protecting the children’s self-esteem is more important than ensuring the academic excellence of American children which will later result in their economic success is raised. In short, which consequences are worse to bear with?  

Marketing Plan and Questionnaire Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Marketing Plan and Questionnaire - Assignment Example Political aspect †¢ Stability in the political environment within the United Kingdom America. †¢ Democracy been practiced in the political processes. †¢ Cordial relationship across the globe. †¢ Political regime has created a conducive environment for business people through political goodwill. Economic aspect †¢ The GDP of the United Kingdom has improved from 1.7% in 2013 to 2.6% in 2014. †¢ The inflation rate in the United Kingdom is relatively low. currently at 1.8% †¢ Formation of trade blocs such as EU. †¢ The unemployment rate in UK has dropped to 5.5% while the wage rise by 2%. †¢ Per capita income of the United Kingdom has increased from $41,776.80 in 2013 to $45,603.30 in 2014 Social aspect †¢ The population in the United Kingdom and the globe is increasing. †¢ There are different age groups in the UK who demand different products. †¢ There are different social-classes i.e. Upper class, middle-class, and lower class . History aspect †¢ Nightwear have been worn in the UK for a long time ever since 1880s. Technological aspect †¢ Designing of nightwear should satisfy the clients †¢ Production processes involved should be efficient has technology evolves. †¢ Enhancement in the Platform for conducting business e.g. online marketing. †¢ Transfer and adoptability of technology in apparel industry. †¢ Cost versus benefit of a given technology need to be analyzed. Environment aspect

The Roar of the Tiger Mom Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

The Roar of the Tiger Mom - Essay Example These activities included watching the television, getting below â€Å"A† grades, playing computer and video games, and to attend sleepovers at friends’ places. The article also stipulates Chua using unsound methods of ensuring that her children were properly motivated in order to ensure their excellence. For example, she indicates that she often refers to one child as garbage with aim of trying to make the child work harder. She also rejects a birthday card that has been crafted amateurish referring it as unworthy. Finally, with aim of motivating her children, she condemns her child who is only seven years old for her inability to play a piano piece, which is complex despite her practicing it several times. A story that appeared on the time magazine indicated that Meredith Viera who is usually joyful when hosting her program was unable to hide her content towards Chua as she read some of the comments posted by viewers when she had hosted Chua in her show. Comments ranged from regarding Chua as a monster to questioning whether she really loves her children. Despite this, ideas proposed by Chua were received well by some readers. This was especially with regard to a study that had ranked United States of America students as 17th when it came to reading, 23rd in sciences and 31st in mathematics in the entire world. Such readers associated with Chuo’s piece since they felt that the United States of America should not accept academic failure if they expect to compete with other superpower countries such as China which had topped the Students rankings. Thus the question of whether protecting the children’s self-esteem is more important than ensuring the academic excellence of American children which will later result in their economic success is raised. In short, which consequences are worse to bear with?  

BAN SMOKING IN PUBLIC PLACES Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3500 words

BAN SMOKING IN PUBLIC PLACES - Essay Example We claim to be Ð ° nation having freedom and equality, Ã'•Ð ¾ therefÐ ¾re, the point of view of Ã'•mÐ ¾kerÃ'• is explicit that not Ð °llÐ ¾wing them to Ã'•mÐ ¾ke in public is taking Ð °wÐ °y their freedom. Nevertheless, my point is that Cigarette Smoking Ã'•hÐ ¾uld be banned in public places because of the health risks, it impÐ ¾Ã'•eÃ'• on people who are expÐ ¾Ã'•ed to Ã'•ecÐ ¾ndhÐ °nd Ã'•mÐ ¾ke. Imagine going to the reÃ'•tÐ °urÐ °ntÃ'• or bars and unable to enjoy Ð ° nice meal or have Ð ° gÐ ¾Ã ¾d time because the place is Ð ¾verwhelmed with cigarette Ã'•mÐ ¾ke. Not only the smell of the Ã'•mÐ ¾ke is bad, it clings to clothing, hair, skin, and irritates eyes causing them to water and itch. How pleÐ °Ã'•Ð °nt is that? To many nÐ ¾n-Ã'•mÐ ¾kerÃ'• that is not very pleÐ °Ã'•Ð °nt, especially when it is harmful to their health. This eÃ'•Ã'•Ð °y will argue why Smoking Ã'•hÐ ¾uld be banned from clÐ ¾Ã'•ed-in public places. There are over Ð ° billion cigarette Ã'•mÐ ¾kerÃ'• Ð °crÐ ¾Ã'•Ã'• the world. Ð  large percentage of these Ã'•mÐ ¾kerÃ'• comes from America. For many years, people have been trying to put Ð °n end to cigarettes and their usage. Cigarette Ã'•mÐ ¾king is one of the top three preventable cÐ °uÃ'•eÃ'• of death Ð °mÐ ¾ng Ð mericÐ °nÃ'•. Not only are the people who Ã'•mÐ ¾ke affected by its dangers, but Ð °lÃ'•Ð ¾ the people who chÐ ¾Ã ¾Ã'•e not to Ã'•mÐ ¾ke. The effectÃ'• of cigarettes are increÐ °Ã'•ingly taking their toll. Banning cigarettes in public is Ð ° gÐ ¾Ã ¾d way to help prevent the dangers of cigarette Ã'•mÐ ¾king tÐ ¾wÐ °rdÃ'• thÐ ¾Ã'•e who are Ð °gÐ °inÃ'•t it. Johnsson and his co-authors report in their study that cigarettes Ã'•hÐ ¾uld be prohibited in public places because they are hÐ °zÐ °rdÐ ¾uÃ'• to the environment, they have Ð ° great influence on young children to Ã'•tÐ °rt smoking, and they are harmful to other people’s health (Johnsson et al, 2006). TÐ ¾bÐ °ccÐ ¾ Ã'•mÐ ¾ke cÐ ¾ntÐ °inÃ'• more than 4,000 chemicals in it. Forty of these chemicals are carcinogenic and eight of them Ð ° clÐ °Ã'•Ã'• Ð  carcinogenic,

Moral Challenges Essay Example for Free

Moral Challenges Essay Morality is a highly contested topic in every day life. It can be defined as a thought process of making decisions based on one’s beliefs or desires shaped by one’s culture. A right or wrong moral decision can therefore be said to be a product of culture and law stipulated in a constitution and applied in a certain jurisdiction. In everyday life, we are faced with challenges and situations that require our judgment and actions (Kermerling, 2002). In this paper, I will explore two moral situations in which I believe I made the right and wrong decisions respectively, the parties that were involved, the reasons behind my actions and the consequences that followed my decisions and actions. Lastly, I will identify what actions I will take if faced with the same situation the next time to avoid making wrong decisions. Moral Challenges A Right Moral Decision The decision I made to take responsible leadership role and mitigate the planned students’ strike was one of the most acceptable action I ever made in my life. I was actively involved in a peace mission to contain the strike that was organized by drunken and unruly students in the university. The judgment process was affected after the students took alcohol and caused disorder in the institution (Cima, Tonnaer Hauser, 2009). The peace mission involved the director of the faculty, a lecturer, the student leaders and a few students. The students had issues with a lecturer who had failed to show up in three lectures. While it was right for the students to complain over the absence of the lecturer, it was expected for them to follow the right procedure in addressing the problem. The organizers of the strike came while drunk and tried to convince and force the rest of the students to join them in a demonstration to the administration offices. Some students got tempted and joined the unruly students claiming that the administration has failed to act appropriately to their claims. As the chair person of the students union, I took an initiative and addressed the students and informed them that contrary to the claims of some of them, the issue was being addressed and that the lecturer in question had been summoned and appropriate solution would be arrived at soon. I spoke with wisdom, â€Å"Comrades, we are gathered here to inquire about our rights to have normal and uninterrupted studies. Besides, any missed lecture means waste of time and resources. However, the lecturer in question has been summoned and the decision will be communicated to us in appropriate time. Furthermore, I have called the director of the faculty and informed me that he will be here with us in the next one hour. Therefore, I request all of us to have patience since the issue is being handled wisely by the administration. Thank you! † My speech caused a mixed reaction with minority of them accusing me and the rest of the leaders of being sympathizers and colluding with the administration and not giving students’ interests any priority. They begun singing and chanting and demanded at the top of their voices that, â€Å"we demand that you and all our leaders join us in the fight for our rights†¦ we want to show the lecturer a lesson. † Majority of the students were convinced in my speech and they helped in calming the situation. Later, the faculty director arrived and he addressed us all giving the way forward to the satisfaction of the majority. The main architects of the strike were identified and suspended and others expelled and the university once again realized the tranquility which was important in the learning process. This benefited the administration as it served as a wake up call and they moved with speed to address majority of issues by factoring in student needs. The rest of the students benefitted by continuing with normal learning and all the issues raised were addressed with the lecturer getting a warning A Wrong Moral Situation An incident I remember to have taken a wrong decision involved taking side with my brother to indict our house help. Due to my brother’s recklessness, he had left the car keys in his girlfriend’s house. The girlfriend quietly sneaked in our compound and took off with the car whose keys were forgotten in her house. Unfortunately, the girlfriend was a drug dealer and so used the car to transport hard drugs to her customers. She got spotted by the police although she managed to escape abandoning the car and drugs. After learning that the car was in police station, my father rushed home to interrogate us all before proceeding to the police station to record a statement. On sharing with my brother we called his girlfriend and struck a deal to be silent on the whole issue and put the whole blame on the house help. Although I knew the whole truth that my brother had forgotten the keys at his girlfriend’s house, I argued in defense of my brother. I maintained that it was the house help’s responsibility to take care of everything. My brother after gaining confidence and my support, he made his remark in a family meeting, â€Å"I fail to understand how the car came to be used in drug trafficking. It is evident that the house help has been colluding with drug traffickers. The house help should get sacked with immediate effect. † He talked harshly as he left the sitting room, â€Å"He should provide a succinct explanation in this meeting or else he will do it better at the police. † I felt a push inside my heart that what I was doing was wrong but I convinced myself that I had the obligation of defending my brother no matter what and so I cared less of the consequences to the other party. This is the case that happens with psychopaths (Cima, Tonnaer Hauser, 2009). The houses help felt much threatened and could not raise point to defend himself even when it meant he was not guilty. This led to his sacking letting my brother to go scot-free. My brother’s girlfriend and her gang made their best not to be caught in the scandal as they feared the consequences like imprisonment and fines. But the house help suffered unfairly as he lost his job failing to get paid and getting disturbed with even not knowing what could follow. I regretted of making such decision and I made a promise to myself that in case I got faced with the same problem, I would first remind my brother that it should be his responsibility to be accountable for every action he takes and that the house help has aright to expression and fair treatment. This will serve as an example and a wake up call for him to act appropriately in future. The issue of defending my brother and his girlfriend was not moral as it led to the firing of the house help. I will in future keep morals and make sensible decisions which respect all people regardless to class (Kermerling, 2002). In general, it is important that we make decisions based on our beliefs and moral codes on what is right and wrong. This will help shape our society and make everyone act to appropriately. Right moral decisions have significant benefit in the society. With right moral judgments, justice will be maintained and the offenders will be punished. Wrong moral decisions deprive the society of peace and justice. The poor and the minor groups in our society will always be intimidated as they are powerless. Reference: Cima, M. , Tonnaer, F. , Hauser, M. D (2009). Psychopaths know right from wrong but don’t care. Human Molecular Genetics’ Special Review Issue: Molecular Genetics Advances in Neurological Disease. 3(1): 329-45. Kemerling, G (2002). Kant: The moral order. Retrieved June 06 2010 from: http://www. philosophypages. com/hy/5i. htm

Business Plan for a java Culture coffee shop

Business Plan for a java Culture coffee shop Coffee Shop: Business Plan Executive Summary The coffee bar based on the java culture is resolute to develop into an essential and daily requirement of the local coffee lovers. It will be a place where one can escape from his daily stressful life schedules and find comfort, friends as well as books, all at a single space. The business plan of java culture coffee bar is purely based on introducing coffee shop for the clients with free cafà © and above all that they will provide free books to their customers so that they can enjoy and relax themselves. The basic idea behind this coffee bar is to serve the best coffee of that area where the coffee will be admired with the pastries. The company is planning to start this project on a 1000 square foot land which will be best suited for a coffee shop situated in the central Noida. The company believes in the welfare of the society and accomplishes it by supporting charity and income of the people belonging to rural areas by adopting fair trade. The company has also planned to support those farmers by using their coffee in the coffee bar who cultivates the coffee by adopting sustainable manufacture, fair trade and organic products. (Bplans) Table of Contents 1. Introduction 2. Company Description 3. Market Analysis 4. Organization and Management 5. Service or Product Line 6. Marketing and Sales 7. Funding Request 8. Financial Projection 9. References Introduction Purpose: For the operations of the initial year, the main objectives of the Java culture coffee shop are discussed below: The main purpose of our coffee shop is to gave social and friendly environment to the people. By helping our customer by giving convenient location, good customer service and best quality of coffee for drink. Key to success: The company’s keys to success are discussed below: Our store will offer great quality customer service and a serene environment. A relaxing, upscale interior design. Employee training in order to be at pace with competitive scenario. Gave special discount offer to our regular customer Company Description Java Culture is launching its first business plan in India. It will offer new style of coffee shop in Noida where localities, teenagers and other people feel relaxation in that environment. Variety: No other coffee bars located in that particular location will able to meet up the quality, taste and range of tea, smoothies, coffee drinks, juice, cocoa and other products that Java culture does. Location: Java culture will be located in the main section of Central Noida in the centre of the entertainment and shopping hub of Noida (sector -18). Expansion: This coffee bar is expected to be the first of a chain of the Java culture coffeehouses located in markets that have significant traffic by the store, and main attraction point for the youth. Java culture concept: At one time CONTESSA was the acknowledged quality automobile in India. After that Mercedes-Benz was introduced and then Audi, with its superb product and service approach. Java will be the first Audi of the coffeehouse chain industry, offering a higher quality product andbetter quality service in an exceptional environment. Market Analysis Java culture launches a different coffee shop in growing market segment. Market Segmentation: Javas customer base in Noida is comprised of four target groups. These groups are: Students and Faculty Teenagers Office workers Others Target Market Segment Strategy: Java Culture will provide the relaxing atmosphere for those who generally drink coffee. Our most of the clients will be college students and couples where they can meet and also read books and pass their time without paying any extra amount. Organization and Management Organization: the design of the organizational entity, its structure, vision and mission, and decision making organs. Management: the processes/procedures and systems of the organization that ensure that the organization efficiently uses its available resources to achieve its aims and objectives. Management Team: A full-time manager is appointed to supervise the day round activities. The responsibilities of manager is to administer the staff, developing a marketing strategy, handling the suppliers, fulfilling various other every day managerial duties and organizing inventory. We believe that we have chosen the best suited person for the job. The five key elements necessary for the sustainability of our organization are as follows: Service or Product Line Java Culture will offer the best coffee and maintain high quality which will further attract the customers. It also offers pastries, snacks and sandwiches. The lists will be available in a clearly drafted menu card. Product Description: The organization highly specialized not only in beverages like coffee, tea and juice etc. but also in eatables such as chocolates and snacks. We are not bounding ourselves to specific product but strive to provide customers with many options as wide range of variety under one roof. Services: We provide door step delivery services to the customers. We offer special discounts on any day of the week. We also offer combo deals. We have provided Wi-Fi connectivity. We provide gifts to our regular customer on festive seasons. Marketing and Sales The Organization is focusing on Customer oriented marketing strategy as how to attract new customers and encouraging the existing clients to demand for more. Competitive Edge: Our competitive edge,compared tothe other coffeehouses in Noida includes the following: Asignificantly higher quality, better tasting coffee product. Ourcurrent location can arguably be considered the best in the market. We have various drinks which can be served as a substitute for people who dont drink coffee. These alternatives are tea, shakes, juice and squashes. Our Internet website will include online ordering also. Sales Strategy: Our sales strategy includes: Recruiting dynamic sales force that can know and satisfy customer needs. There are various practices that need to be carried out to offer best of quality. Always indulge in a) reduce customer waiting time, and b) create efficient product ordering Sell coffee, gift baskets on our website Establish coffee service at local businesses Adopting various marketing strategy like discount to key groups, selling cards etc Create an online feedback program Sales Forecast: We are assuming that in first year, our per day customer will be 150 and within a year it will increase by approximately double of the first year. Marketing strategy: Our strategy will be to offer a high quality product andsuperb servicein a superior environment. Launch Marketing: Launch marketing leads to awareness amongst masses, various techniques establish organization’s brand images are as follows: Emails Local Electronic Media Local Print Media Packaging Superior location Funding Request As our sole proprietorship business is on its initial stage and it’s a small scale business, so I will utilize my fix deposits and savings for the business. And can borrow from friends and relatives. For further expansion I will utilize the profits in the long run. Financial Projection The Company is placing itself in market as setback to the risk which is primarily due to liquidity. The company maintains the liquidity as the debt to be cleared at the month end and no credit sale. The Company’s investment structure enables the company to maintain good liquidity. Projected Cash Flow: As the chart of java culture America projects, organization will enjoy good cash flow, this leads to meets debt on as and when basis and not only that, but it will be in a better position to meet future uncertainties. (Source: Java Culture America Cited from BPlans) References Bplans. As retrieved on February 4, 2014, available at, http://www.bplans.com/about_us/ Kotler, P. and Keller, K. L. (2006), â€Å"Marketing Management† (12th ed). Prentice Hall Publications. National resource guide, (2013), (English), As retrieved on February 4, 2014, available at, http://www.sba.gov/about-sba/what_we_do/resource_guides 1

Soliloquies of Shakespeares Macbeth :: GCSE English Literature Coursework

Macbeth- Soliloquy Analysis  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚      The opposition of light and dark as symbols for life and death is the foundation upon which much of Shakesphere’s Macbeth is built. In Act V Scene V of Macbeth, strong words covey all of these thoughts to the reader. The tone for Macbeth’s speech is immediately set after hearing of the death of Lady Macbeth. Having lost his queen, and seeing his hopes turn to ashes, the bitter Macbeth now comments on life in caustic words. â€Å"Tomorrow creeps in this petty pace.† The basic feel of this brings a negative connotation to tomorrow. Iit keeps coming slowly and slyly as if to attack. What exactly does this petty pace refer to? It is the progression of life, as Macbeth now sees it. This negative and dark imagery continues to grow because tomorrow is unrelenting. â€Å"[T]ommorow creeps...To the last syllable of recorded time.† With these dreary remarks Macbeth presents his hopeless outlook. He feels the only way to end the pain of life is through death. â€Å" And all our yesterdays have lighted fools The way to dusty death.† What can be taken from this is that from our earliest recollection, we are constantly being guided forward from yesterday to our death. If light is life, then the light just leads us to death. When these lines are read together it enables the reader to see the despair and agony Macbeth is now suffering. The past is pushing him ahead and the future is creeping in on him. He has nowhere in time or space to escape. Death is the only place left to go. â€Å"Out, out brief candle!† Lady Macbeth’s candle has burnt out and soon his will also. Although he talks here about life being light (the candle flame), light is not desirable to him. He wants to extinguish it. Macbeth is at the point in his life where he is now trapped by his fate. The consequences of his actions have caught up with him. This may very well be why he has such a dreary outlook on life. Life is associated with light but Macbeth is at a state where he sees no significance in having lived. â€Å" Life’s but a walking shadow.† Macbeth is saying here that one’s life is dark and dreary, and that the light of life only serves to cast a dark shadow . Soliloquies of Shakespeare's Macbeth :: GCSE English Literature Coursework Macbeth- Soliloquy Analysis  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚      The opposition of light and dark as symbols for life and death is the foundation upon which much of Shakesphere’s Macbeth is built. In Act V Scene V of Macbeth, strong words covey all of these thoughts to the reader. The tone for Macbeth’s speech is immediately set after hearing of the death of Lady Macbeth. Having lost his queen, and seeing his hopes turn to ashes, the bitter Macbeth now comments on life in caustic words. â€Å"Tomorrow creeps in this petty pace.† The basic feel of this brings a negative connotation to tomorrow. Iit keeps coming slowly and slyly as if to attack. What exactly does this petty pace refer to? It is the progression of life, as Macbeth now sees it. This negative and dark imagery continues to grow because tomorrow is unrelenting. â€Å"[T]ommorow creeps...To the last syllable of recorded time.† With these dreary remarks Macbeth presents his hopeless outlook. He feels the only way to end the pain of life is through death. â€Å" And all our yesterdays have lighted fools The way to dusty death.† What can be taken from this is that from our earliest recollection, we are constantly being guided forward from yesterday to our death. If light is life, then the light just leads us to death. When these lines are read together it enables the reader to see the despair and agony Macbeth is now suffering. The past is pushing him ahead and the future is creeping in on him. He has nowhere in time or space to escape. Death is the only place left to go. â€Å"Out, out brief candle!† Lady Macbeth’s candle has burnt out and soon his will also. Although he talks here about life being light (the candle flame), light is not desirable to him. He wants to extinguish it. Macbeth is at the point in his life where he is now trapped by his fate. The consequences of his actions have caught up with him. This may very well be why he has such a dreary outlook on life. Life is associated with light but Macbeth is at a state where he sees no significance in having lived. â€Å" Life’s but a walking shadow.† Macbeth is saying here that one’s life is dark and dreary, and that the light of life only serves to cast a dark shadow .

scarlet letter :: essays research papers

Summer Reading: The Scarlet Letter In the novel The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne symbolism is prevalent, understanding symbolism is necessary for understanding Hawthorne’s novels. The rosebush is a symbol in the novel. It is rendered through the characters of Hester and Pearl in how they are perceived by the people. Hester Prynne has been convicted of being an adulteress. She is put on a scaffold as a form of public humiliation and told to wear a Scarlet A on her breast to identify herself with shame. Hester stands on the scaffold for three hours. As she stands, she looks around at the crowd of people. Inside she is shameful but to the onlookers she appears proud. The rosebush also from a distance looks majestic and alive but as one gets closer, its thorns are revealed. Hester, like the rosebush, is very pretty and majestic but as one gets closer the Scarlet A of an adulteress is revealed. In the wild, rosebushes use their thorns to keep predators away. Hester and Pearl are like rosebushes because they try to keep people at a distance from them. As Pearl grows up she becomes a very pretty, young girl as her mother is. She is also faced with the reality that she was born out of wedlock. Pearl develops a rude, annoying personality because she has never had anyone that has wanted to be close to her because of her predestined status in the community. Before she has even grown up she is known as an inferior member of society. Her personality is her protection, just as thorns on a rosebush protect the flowers. Hester uses her Scarlet A to keep Hester from having anyone close to her. Her past has kept her from wanting anyone to try and pry into her business. She would rather people stay away from her and her family to prevent any more gossip or talk about her. However, by the novel's end, Hester has become a proto-feminist mother figure to the women of the community. The sham e attached to her scarlet letter is long gone. Women recognize that her punishment stemmed in part from the town fathers' sexism, and they come to Hester seeking shelter from the sexist forces under which they themselves suffer. Throughout The Scarlet Letter Hester is portrayed as an intelligent, capable, but not necessarily extraordinary, woman. A rosebush too, is portrayed as being strong yet beautiful plant.

Psych Exam

Psychology is best defined as the science of behavior and mental processes. A cognitive psychologist would be most likely to design a study of the processes involved in decision making. Roy is interested in the details of the relationship between the brain structures and behavior. Roy is most likely a biological psychologist. The tasks of an industrial/organizational psychologist Include Improving supervisors' leadership skills, creating maximum-efficiency work groups, and suggesting other research-based programs designed to Increase efficiency.An Industrial/organizational psychologist doing cross-cultural work finds that In Country Llama, the workers have the highest Job satisfaction when they are rewarded for their accomplishments and quality of work. Country Llama probably has an Individualist culture. Dan performs the same experiment on several different occasions. Each time he performs the experiment, his data suggests different conclusions.The results from Dawn's experiment lac k reliability. Tall Is Interested In how alcohol consumption affects driving ability. He gives college students two, four, or six beers and then assure how many obstacles the students â€Å"hit† when they are in a driving simulator. The dependent variable is the number of obstacles hit. Dry. Summers investigated the influence of snacking on the onset of sleep in preschool children.One group of preschoolers ate a candy bar prior to bedtime, the other group ate nothing. Time until the onset of sleep was recorded for each child. In his experiment, eating or not eating the snack is the independent variable, and the time until the onset of sleep is the dependent variable. Cine operated the telephone switchboard t a large company, answering calls and directing them to the appropriate extensions.Remembering her introductory to psychology class, she decided that her situation was much like that of the dendrites and axons of neurons, because numerous people could call her at one time, but she could send out only one call at a time. Since Gordon sustained sever head trauma, he can no longer perform basic sewing tasks such as treading a needle. When he tries to play the piano, it is as if his fingers do not remember how to make the necessary movements, even for pieces he has known for years. Gordon most likely has damage to his cerebellum.

Catherine Smith Essay

Catherine Smith was miss-treated in this situation as she had been to the police numerous times and never was there once a charge laied against Kevin smith. The one time Catherine retaliated she was put on trial and was almost sentenced to 25 years jail for only one offence when Kevin had committed 17 offences which were 3 attempted murders and several sexual assaults. The police did nothing even know Catherine had gone to them and they did nothing at all, that was not fair on Catherine or her family. Catherine was wrongly accused of trying to kill her husband Kevin in self-defence after over 30 years, this is just like she had already been in jail and done nothing wrong. Lucky for once the judge ruled out her case as self-defence and Kevin is still out in the world hurting Catherine. In 1997 Catherine escaped but Kevin came looking for her. He kidnapped their son Duncan and held him at gun point and Kevin was charged for only kidnapping his son not for any of the other 17 crimes he had committed and only sent to jail for a couple of mouths. Catherine could not believe that this had happened on a couple of mouths this is very unfair to Catherine and her kids. During this time Catherine tried to go see all her children. But a week before he was issued on parole. Catherine and her kids had to go into lock down again. Vicky Smith says â€Å"he was obsessive. He had to find her, he had to have her, he had to control her, and he had to own her. (Daughter) Also in the time Catherine and Kevin were married he assaulted 2 police officers, stole their gun and fired at his children who were trying to run and hid, again nothing was done and he wasn’t charged. This is not fair that someone that horrible can get away with so much and thing that are so important. Kevin smith was finally sentenced for up to 10 years jail for 17 offences including rape, assault and attempted murder. His sentence was not rightly done because for attempted murder is jail time for less than 25 years and Kevin is only getting 10 years for what he has done. Also this happened over 30 years ago and Catherine was technically in jail for over 30 years and for all the things Kevin had done to Catherine and what he put his family through all he got was 10 years jail. The jury in her trial only took 25 minutes to reach a unanimous verdict of not guilty. Finally Kevin Smith was convicted for his crimes. However it took another three months for justice to be delivered, with smith repeatedly stymieing the legal process. â€Å"he was trying more stalling tactics†¦ never faced up to what’s happened,† As Catherine quotes â€Å"I can’t believe it, finally, I can tell people my address. Finally I can go and visit my grandchildren without fear. A few years of peace, that’s what this means†. â€Å"With time already served, Kevin will be eligible for parole in 2020†.

Mentoring and Counseling in the Workplace Essay

Mentoring and Counseling in the Workplace - Essay Example Thus, obtaining in-group status may be a prerequisite for subordinates to receive mentoring from their supervisors (McManus). The most critical cycle for effective counseling is the 4Es cycle - Enter, Empathize, Empower and Exit. At a workplace, if people need to share their problems and if they need to go back with a sense of relief, then the most important requisite for a mentor or counselor is that the mentor or counselor needs to build a trust based relationship quickly that could actually help the aggrieved person. Some of the essential characteristics that a mentor or counselor needs to possess as an individual are strong yet effective communication, make an objective assessment of situations, the ability to call a spade a spade and communicating this reality to the person opposite in a way to empower them in their current situation and give feedback effectively. Empathy is one of the soft skills that any person would need to be an effective counselor. Empathy actually means affection clubbed with passion touched by the quality of suffering. This particular characteristic is viewed by many professionals as the most important one in a helping relationship. ... The following are the most important yet critical values that a mentor or counselor needs: 1. A professional qualification with consistently high academic performance. 2. Have the required soft skills to be an effective counselor providing support services to people. 3. Last but not least, needs to have mastered the 4E counseling cycle. Empathy is one of the soft skills that any person would need to be an effective counselor. Empathy actually means affection clubbed with passion touched by the quality of suffering. This particular characteristic is viewed by many professionals as the most important one in a helping relationship. "Empathy is often viewed as conveying sensitivity to the client and trying to understand what "walking in the other guy's shoes" may feel like. The counselor need not necessarily have undergone the experiences of a person who is actually having a problem in order to understand the former's feelings (Brooks/cole - A division of Thomson learning)." Genuineness is another important aspect that any person who intends to take up a counseling profession needs. Genuineness is the expression of true feelings. "To be a genuine mentor or counselor, one must avoid role playing or feeling one way and acting another. Genuine counselors do not take refuge in any specific role, such as therapist. Genuineness involves self-disclosure. It implies a willingness to be known to others (Brooks/cole - A division of Thomson learning)." Balanced Objectivity or Subjectivity - This refers to private, personal and unique ways of experiencing situations. Both these characteristics have their own disadvantages when not balanced properly at a workplace which actually is a collection of various kinds of

Kurdistan Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 4500 words

Kurdistan - Research Paper Example While the political waves have promised to grant this state some form of political freedom, it is clear that it has a long way to go in the journey towards its independence. In the Middle East, Kurdish people claim one of the longest histories. The Kurdistan land was founded back in the year 2400 BC and the Kurds occupied the same geographic region that they occupy today. However, the population in this land has changed since there hass been massive foreign invasions and immigrants into this region. The current face of the Kurdish people has been changed by not only the people surrounding them but also those that have entered in this region in the course of history. One of the historical times that the Kurds mark is the time that they fall under the rule of the Ottoman. The Ottoman Empire considerably suppressed the Kurdish people and this had socioeconomic impacts in this land. Since 1843, during the Ottoman rule, a massive Kurdish uprising underpinned the political consciousness of this community. In the year 1908, the Kurdish people responded to oppression by attempting to form a national Kurdish movement. During the period of the First World War, there was a great struggle to redefine the boundaries of the Kurdistan land. Treaties were being formed by the respective governments to divide the minority communities such as Kurdistan. However, the government of Iraq and Turkey refused to give up the Kurdish land due to the presence of Oil wells in this region. They felt that this would be a great economic loss for the country. At the end of the Second World War, the Kurdish people formed the Mahabad Republic of Kurdistan, a body that gave this land independence from the other countries. However, this independence was short-lived as Iran, with the support of US and Great Britain destroyed this land and executed its leaders. This was a great blow for the land as it reduced the hopes of reconstruction and left the and under no

Bibliography Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Bibliography - Essay Example Investors who are risk-averse and are searching for a recognized periodic payment arrangement usually prefer to invest in bonds. On the other hand, investors who wish to risk more than is the case with bondholders, and are seeking to be included as joint partners in a corporation. Investors who are risk-averse and are searching for a recognized periodic payment arrangement usually prefer to invest in bonds. On the other hand, investors who wish to risk more than is the case with bondholders, and are seeking to be included as joint partners in a corporation. The source describes one disadvantage in investing in stocks being that they do not necessarily guarantee returns. Bonds, however, guarantee returns (Kristof, 17). The source also states that there are greater prospects of high returns with stocks, even though there is also the likelihood of losing money. Compare and contrast the advantages and disadvantages of each? Milevsky, Moshe. Are You a Stock or a Bond?: Identify Your Own H uman Capital for a Secure Financial Future, Updated and Revised. New York: FT Press, 2012. The source describes stocks and bonds as being types of investment that give people the chance to invest their money in a specific business establishments in the hope of accruing handsome profits in future. Though both of these have a number of similarities, they also differ considerably in many ways. Both of these financial tools, in general, allow an individual to be able to invest in private or public companies, in the hope of being a future beneficiary through accrued profits. Stocks, which define the ownership shares in a corporation, are often the most favored by short time investor. One disadvantage in investing in stocks is that they do not necessarily guarantee returns. Bonds, however, guarantee returns. Therefore, there are greater prospects of high returns with stocks, even though there is also the likelihood of losing money. The source asserts that stocks are descriptive of a busin ess’s shares (Milevsky, 84). When a shareholder uses his own money to buy stocks from the company, he is actually acquiring ownership of the business. When the business realizes any profit, a percentage of it is given to the shareholders. In the matter of bonds, when a person invests in them, he is actually lending money to the business in question with the expectation that the firm will reimburse the bonds' amount along with a pre-determined interest rate on a definite time period. According to the source, business establishments may need to raise capital in such ways in order to expand into different localities or new ventures. They also raise capital in order to fund their businesses. Usually, it is the developing businesses that favor issuing stocks to get the necessary finances as this facilitates their growth while helping them to avoid accumulating more debt. The larger corporations are more likely to prefer acquiring capital by availing bonds without giving the chance of ownership to additional shareholders. The Risks involved in making investments in stocks and bonds Bernstein, William. The Ages of the Investor: A Critical Look at Life-cycle Investing. New York: CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform, 2012. The source states that for the most part, making such investments in a company always has different risks for the shareholder; but can also deliver handsome profits (Bernstein,

Income determination Research Proposal Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Income determination - Research Proposal Example Consequently, this topic has become attractive making many researchers to shift attention towards the same as a vital dissertation topic. Surprisingly, unearthing the variety of macroeconomic and microeconomic factors to be incorporated in the computation of income, stands erected as the major stumbling block despite the recent research benchmarked against much effort and focus peddled to weed out this phenomenon. According the research findings of Michael Sare pegged at showcasing the inevitable and direct relationship between income distribution and macroeconomic factors, (The Cross Country 1997), real depreciation for LDCs, trade improvements, higher income, growth rates, and high investment rates are the vital variables associated to regional income determination. A reciprocal relation is also looming between investment and growth-facilitating policies and enhancement of in income distribution. Public expenditures and inflation are the centerpieces as policy variables that have greater magnitudes on income distribution. Income distribution attaches so little to inflation fluctuations, price ratio of investment, external position, level of real change and changes in public consumptions. People employ a tendency to trade off between equity and growth and attaches disadvantaged economic segments as the significant beneficiaries of economic growth. According to Deininger and Squire (1996), unearths beneficial evidence linking proceeding growth to initial income disparity. Bruno, Ravallion and Squire (1996), showcased that subsequent growth is attached to preceding distributed endowments of income and assets, and that, poverty eradication impacts is more felt by LDCs as compared to developed countries based on growth processes. With respect to Milanovik (1994), sets to illustrate unique reason behind lower income inequalities in developed nations as resulting from not only significant of social choice elements such as employment and

The application essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

The application - Essay Example Information flow and its transmission from one station to the other and also the channels of communication were essential to our success. Mistakes that used to occur due to poor communication skills were usually detrimental to the survival of the force. I aspire to become a senior officer in the communication department of the military, where I will be presented with the opportunity to streamline the communication processes as well as upgrade the channels and techniques of communication in order to build a strong force. I will also have an opportunity to serve as a mentor to the upcoming military trainees in regard to communication in order to help them in building a career in the field. While studying in your institution, I will exercise my ability to participate in class work, an aspect of learning that I acquired since my secondary school days. I am used to organizing group work and discussions, which have always enabled me to be a leader in school as well as my days in the military. I have always been chosen to head discussion groups due to my organization skills coupled with conflict resolution skills, and I hope I will be able to utilize them in your institution. To supplement my leadership skills, I have experience in the field of communication, having worked in the Korean army broadcasting station when I served in the military. This was a great exposure in the field of communication. Understanding class work will be easy for me as I already have basic knowledge in communication. More over, I was able to use modern communication equipment and therefore I can be of much assistance to my colleagues in class, especially those who are joining this field for the first time. Apart from personal growth and career development, I understand that communication studies are important in social interactions. It helps in establishing relationships with groups of people in the society, while treating each group depending on its uniqueness. In

Post Merger Period of Fiat and Chrysler Essay Example for Free

Post Merger Period of Fiat and Chrysler Essay First of all, they wanted to further solidify their brand presence. Fiat has been successful in the European market but lacks visibility in North America; while Chrysler does not carry a strong dealer network in the European markets. What’s worse, historically, Chrysler was referred to the â€Å"Number Three† auto manufacturer and even today, it still remains as the â€Å"Number Three† after GM and Ford. This impression links to poor brand visibility and low customer royalty. In order to change the status quo, Chrysler focused more on brands differentiation. It planned to reposition itself as an upper scale brand. In 2011, Chrysler unveiled their new Imported From Detroit campaign. It defined itself as the â€Å"import-fighter† and focused on quality, technology, fuel saving and sustainability. As for fiat, they invited celebrities to advertise for them. For example, they invited American singer Jennifer Lopez. This offered them the opportunity of a 360-degree partnership, which triggered the greatest awareness growth ever. Without being shown on television or through the networks, it gained global attention. The second problem they have is labor issues. The relationship between Fiat and labor union has never been satisfying. It suffered from the large layoffs and rigid Italian labor laws. Also, FIOM (labor union in Italy) instigated strikes in the fear that Fiat might pull out from Italys employer’s association and Italian auto market. The disputes between Fiat and Italian labor union are still in heat even today. On the other hand, the UAW (United Automobile Workers), who is the part owner of Chrysler, used to provide cheap labor for Chrysler in order to profit from low production cost. However, this happened no more because their friendly relationship broke off as Fiat and UAW were sharply disputing over the value of Chrysler’s equity. During this argument, the US workers were also fighting for better treatment that further intensified the conflict. Additionally, one of the biggest problems they encountered after the merger was how to form a new and effective management structure. In Nov 2009, two companies announced their new plan for management structure. In detail, Chrysler is ready to break even operationally in 2010; net in 2011, nd repay TARP (Trouble Asset Relief Program) by 2014. (Chrysler had operational profits in the first and second quarters of 2010 and repaid TARP in 2011). Chrysler handles large displacement and hybrid engines, as well as â€Å"all cars above C size,† for Fiat worldwide. That implies Chrysler will engineer and possibly build mid-sized cars for exports (In progress). Quality improvements will continue and extend to dealer service (Quality confirmed; dealer service, likely to take many years). In these four years, Chrysler and Fiat achieved their alliance objectives in the areas of cost cutting, technology sharing, global integration, product rationalization, and RD savings. Furthermore, since this is a trans-Atlantic alliance, two companies would encounter problems caused by cultural differences along their way of integration. For instance, Italians are used to the typically relationship-oriented culture, meaning that â€Å"relationships† come before tasks and relationships are often pre-requisites for the concluding transactions. However, Americans tend to follow the rule of law and regard legal documents as binding. As another case in point, two cultures differ in their attitude towards time. Americans usually attempt to control time, view it as a limited resource, and value it for defining what and when things need to be done while Italians, see â€Å"time† as the context in which everything take place so that we never run out of it. In conclusion, two companies would have a hard time communicating and reaching an agreement when it comes to make strategic decisions.

Multilateral Approach to Climate Change

Multilateral Approach to Climate Change MULTILATERALISM CLIMATE CHANGE What will it take for the US to embrace a multilateral approach to confront climate change? In your answer, please consider: Overall US attitudes toward multilateralism and global governance What terms for a successor agreement to the Kyoto Protocol might the US find acceptable? According to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (n.d.) (UNFCCC), climate change is a complex problem. It touches all aspects of our lives, be it environmental or our very purpose in this world. We need to educate one another on the impacts of climate change globally. The centre of this environmental issue as agreed by everyone is the need to reduce emissions. In 2010, the countries in the UNFCCC had reached a consensus that the greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions must be reduced and managed in such a way that global temperature does not see any hike by more than 2 degrees Celsius. It is clear that global warming is a serious issue. The American public and the rest of the world saw Al Gore’s ‘An Inconvenient Truth’. So why did the US fail to legislate a policy on climate change? According to Skjaerseth, Bang Schreurs, (2013), there are three possible explanations on this matter, namely, differences in agenda-setting privileges, potential for issue linkages and law-making procedures and formal leadership. Agenda-setting privileges refer to the setup of lawmakers in the US. The lawmakers have to tip the balance between promoting an agenda for greater good in the interest of the constituencies and getting a re-election. Issue linkages essentially involve a joint negotiation of two or more issues where it is believed that linkages can improve the chance of an agreement. Lastly, the law-making procedures, these are the political institution settings. The American setting is such that the bill sponsors or the leaders who champion the policy propo sal have to trade off rules, procedures and norms in the legislature with the home state economics, in order to arrive at a winning coalition. The US Senate is represented by states which have different interests individually. For instance, coal, agricultural and manufacturing states are commonly against carbon pricing as it adds to their production costs. One may tempt to accuse the US as pure selfish for not acting in concerted effort to stem global warming. The US is the world’s largest greenhouse gas (GHG) emitter and yet it refused to join the multilateral effort of the Kyoto Protocol (KP). 191 countries and the European Union signed the KP cooperation to curtail the average global temperature hikes and the consequential change in global climate. The developed member countries of the KP are legally bound to achieve a target in emission reduction in the KP’s first commitment period started in 2008 and ended in 2012. In December 2012, the Doha Amendment to the KP was adopted which launched a second commitment period, starting on 1 January 2013 until 2020. KP was governed by the UNFCCC, see UNFCCC (1997). Because of the higher level of GHG emissions are caused by the developed countries, the KP is therefore binding on these countries to achieve those set target. The developed countries have contributed to more GHGs in the atmosphere since they have gone through more than 150 years of industrialisation, hence the heavier burden. Why was the US unable to embrace multilateralism? Multilateralism can be defined as the practice of coordinating national policies in groups of three or more states, through ad-hoc arrangements or by means of institutions (Keohane, 1990). Since the commencement of the KP, the European Union (EU) has been successful in legislating KP in its member states. According to Skjaerseth, Bang Schreurs, (2013), the EU, in December 2008, has passed a comprehensive legislation on the 20-20-20 targets. They called for a 20% reduction in greenhouse gas emission, a 20% increase in the share of renewable energies in overall energy consumption and a 20% cut in primary energy consumption. So why didn’t the United States become a party to the KP? US President Bill Clinton signed the 1997 KP but never submitted it for Senate consideration. This example of a failure by the US to ratify an environmental treaty is not exceptional. The US Department of State (n.d.)’s website reported of many major multilateral environmental agreements that had failed to achieve ratification from the Senate. According to Hovi et.al. (2010), the way the KP was designed, it stood no chance of getting any ratification from US Senate. In 1997, five months before the KP meeting, the Senate passed the Byrd–Hagel resolution (Byrd–Hagel). In 2001, President Bush echoed the sentiments of Byrd–Hagel: ‘I oppose the Kyoto Protocol because it exempts 80% of the world, including major population centers such as China and India, from compliance, and would cause serious harm to the US economy. What would it take for the US to have a hand in the global governance of climate change? It has after all made itself the world’s policeman in some war-torn areas. It had negotiated responses to problems that affect more than one country. So clearly, the US has no qualm in embracing global governance then. Now, what would it take for the US to change its mind on joining KP in its second commitment period? Will it enter the fray if developing countries like China and India sign up? Or does it take an international embargo on these major GHGs to reduce their carbon footprints? Hovi Skodvin (2008) concludes that any efforts to seek the US to sign up with the successor of the KP are likely to fail. One main reason is that the US cannot be threatened to sign on any trade or technology cooperation as the threat would just be unbelievable. A common approach by the U.S. is â€Å"to act first at home and then to build on it at a global level†, see Purvis (2004). So instead of facing the divided government and upcoming elections, the US lawmakers can focus on its own internal environmental regime. This federal climate policy can mimic the KP’s requirement that is to reduce the GHG emissions to 7% below 1990. Successful policies were implemented nationwide on the renewable energy. While others agreed on cap-and-trade system aimed at reducing carbon dioxide emission from power plants. This way, perhaps the American public would be more inclined to push for the US’ role in international level. The key to the success of the implementation of the KP lies on its effective compliance commitment by the member countries. Therefore the world leaders have to come together and decide if confronting the issue of global warming is indeed a priority. If they are worried about the loss of economic bargaining chips, the same can be said about the potential from creating renewable energy sources and making them available to the world. So KP is an excellent platform for the world communities to embark on this green mission to preserve planet earth. References: United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. (n.d.). Background on the UNFCCC: The international response to climate change. Retrieved from: http://unfccc.int/essential_background/items/6031.php Skjaerseth J.B., Bang G Schreurs M.A. (2013). Explaining Growing Climate Policy Differences Between European Union and the United States. Global Environmental Politics Vol. 13, No.4. p. 61-80. United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. (1997). Kyoto Protocol. Retrieved from: http://unfccc.int/kyoto_protocol/items/2830.php Keohane, R.O. (1990). Multilateralism: an agenda for research. International Journal Vol. 45, No. 4. p. 731-764.http://www.jstor.org/action/showPublisher?publisherCode=sageltd Retrieved from: http://www.jstor.org/discover/10.2307/40202705?uid=3738672uid=2129uid=2uid=70uid=4sid=21103954165271 US Department of State. (n.d.) Treaties Pending in the Senate (updated as of May 7, 2014). Retrieved from: www.state.gov/s/l/treaty/pending/index.htm Hovi, J, Sprinz, D.F. and Bang, G. (2010). Why the United States did not become a party to the Kyoto Protocol: German, Norwegian, and US perspectives. European Journal of International Relations. DOI: 10.1177/1354066110380964 Hovi, J Skodvin, T. (2008). Which Way to U.S. Climate Cooperation? Issue Linkage versus a U.S.-Based Agreement. Review of Policy Research. Volume 25, Issue 2, p. 129–148. Purvis, N. (2004). The perspective of the United States on climate change and the Kyoto Protocol. International Review for Environmental Strategies 5(1). P. 169–178.