Engelsk Stil – God Save the Pub

God Save the Pub Task 1 B. State your opinion about theme pubs and discuss whether it is a good idea that theme pubs go global. A lot of people today would state that the good old English pub is dying, especially after the smoking ban on July 1, 2007, and the fact is that 52 pubs are closing every week, and more than 6,000 fewer pubs today than just ten years ago, but ironically there are more places to enjoy a drink now, than just a couple of years ago.And the reason is quite simple, because a lot of the traditional pubs have been transformed into a new generation of pubs, the so called â€Å"theme pubs† with excellent beverage and high class food, and some pubs are even serving ecological food and beverage. I think it’s very positive that the traditional English pub is being replaced, so the dark and sultry tobacco men pubs, today often are theme pubs, with an open minded friendly atmosphere where women as well as children can come and talk about what’s going o n in the local society.Young people today know exactly what they want, and they want it in a very high quality in a clean environment, and that’s what most of the new generation of theme pubs can offer today. UK is an island in more than one sense and the British people have always been very conservative and afraid of new changes, phenomena also known as nepotism, as we also known from parts of Denmark like Bornholm etc. But since England joined the European Community in 1973 together with Ireland and Denmark, England has slowly changed to be a global and modern country.Therefore I think that the transformations of the traditional pub into modern theme pubs are a natural development nobody can fight against. But theme pubs can in my opinion also become a problem for the British. The newspaper of today tells me, that the British has the highest rate of teenage drunkenness, because young teenagers in England are more likely to get drunk than anywhere else in the whole industria l world. Personally I hink that one of the reasons why the UK has this world record in teenage drunkenness is because children are allowed to go to the theme pubs together with their parents, and here the children see their parents drinking alcohol in a social environment. When the children grow up they will use/abuse alcohol because it already had been accepted by the parents. A huge success in theme pubs in England today is the â€Å"Irish pub theme† â€Å". The Irish pub theme started as just another pub theme, but somehow the Irish theme seems to have fallen into the British taste of pub themes, and appears to go on forever as part of the English pub culture.I think that the English pub tradition with all its different themes is a special and unique English piece of culture, and the question is if it is a good idea that theme pubs go global. First of all I think that it is a very good idea to export theme pubs overseas, because countries like Denmark, Germany, France, Ho lland etc. already have got the traditional English pub for quite a number of years. But the next question is if it’s already too late to do such a business.As we well know the Irish pub themes have been overseas for a great number of years with huge success, so to start a global investment in English theme pubs abroad will rarely be any success. At last its worth to mentioning that the financial crises will kill the idea, even before the idea just was a little thought. Task 2 Murphy’s Memo Date: 2 September 2009 From: Isabella Knudsen To: Management Sales manager Re: New pub theme concept in IrelandJust returned from the UK where I have studied the new theme pubs, I like to inform you about my research. The new generation of theme pubs are popping up all over the UK, and it looks like a huge success. The new theme pubs seem to have a great impact on the young generation, and have become such a huge success, that within a short time the traditional Irish pub slowly wil l die. The new theme pub concept is a transformation from an old-fashioned pub into a modern restaurant. Each theme pub has its own identity.During my visit in the UK I visited different kinds of theme pubs like disco theme pubs, but the most interesting theme was the family and female/children friendly theme pubs. It is also my opinion that people spend more quality time during their stay in their local theme pub. My idea for a new pub theme should be a merge between a family restaurant theme pub in the daytime and a disco live music pub theme in the night time, every night, or for a start every Friday and Saturday night. That will definitely attract the young people of Ireland.I recommend that management should let the advertising agency Shandon Advertising perform a market survey to obtain some exact knowledge about what appeals to young people in Ireland. Thank you, Isabella Knudsen Murphy’s 48 MacCurtain St. Cork 22 October 1998 Shandon Advertising Church St. Cork Dear S ir. We are writing to you, as we need your expert knowledge concerning a new project. Our market share on the Irish market is decreasing, and therefore we are considering starting a new type of pub. Our sales manager has just visited a number of British pubs which have changed a lot lately.Some have become â€Å"superpubs† with space for 500 or more. Other pubs are theme pubs, to meet young people’s taste. Furthermore there are pubs, where you can get a wide selection of dishes at reasonable prices. There is almost an entertainment concept for every taste. As we would like to appeal to young people, we intend to start some new pubs on a trial basis. But before we make a final decision, we need some more details. Therefore we are asking you to inform us if you can do some market researches for us We are looking forward to hearing from you. Yours faithfully MURPHY’S Flann O’Brien Marketing manager

Speaking Out About Malt

Speaking Out about Malt Case 8. 3 Page 404-405, Moral Issues in Business The case of Whitewater Brewing and Mary Davis touches upon several views and moral issues that are not specifically black or white. Case 8. 3 specifically deals with a business called Whitewater Brewing Co. Whitewater Brewing, as its name sounds, is a manufacturer of alcoholic refreshments, selling its brands to various consumers. The article in particular focuses upon a specific Whitewater product, Rafter. Rafter is being targeted to match other similar products that are bottled in a 40 ounce size. The unfortunate part is that these 40 ounce size refreshments are not only popular with inner-city teenagers but in the area where Whitewater sells these 40 ounce products there is already a community alcohol related problem. Whitewater is not in foreign territory, numerous other companies already have sold similar products in the same area targeting the same clientele. More importantly due to its popularity this product produces good revenue for Whitewater. Enter into this scenario an employee of Whitewater Brewing Co. , Mary Davis, an Associate Vice President. Mary has decided to further her education and is attending a course at an outside school, with her husband who was pursuing his MBA. My intention is to try to determine whether or not Mary or Whitewater were following any ethical practices, determine why they made the choices they did, and to attempt to determine if there is any validity to their reasoning. Mary begins working on a term project studying the making of wine and beer. Research shows Mary that several companies’ market products that are high alcohol based and sold at a very low price point, and not considered a premium product, strictly to satisfy a specific market niche. As Mary’s investigations continue she begins to insert her own feelings and viewpoints into her findings and her paper become a reflection of her personal viewpoints, and not necessarily those of her employer. For the opposite side of the case Whitewater Brewing is basically working like it should; trying to maximize profits for its shareholders marketing products to satisfy consumer needs. In this case, that need is a malt liquor sold in 40 ounce containers and targeted to specific customers. This is nothing new, as other businesses are already in this market. The one caveat here is that none of the companies markets their malt liquors under their name; almost to distance themselves from the negative social implications resulting from the sales of malt liquors, specifically to this target audience. Separately and apart neither Mary Davis or Whitewater marketing products would have been a â€Å"Case 6. 3† were it not for the fact Mary Davis IS an employee of Whitewater. More so it never would have bubbled to the surface had Mary Davis done what she did; which was to ultimately write an article for a paper discussing her personal views on malt liquors wherein she states, again her views, as to the social responsibilities of businesses that produce malt liquors. In stating her personal opinions Mary now has pitted herself again the views of the business. Because Mary’s article is viewed negatively by Whitewater, the CEO of Whitewater fears the article will have a negative impact to profits and to the product(s) they sell. They also feel this could lead to legislation that would ultimately result is direct product loss and loss of revenue. These would be fairly legitimate concerns for any business, in my opinion. So if a socially responsible company produces bad products are they bad? One can argue especially in the case of liquor manufacturers that there is heavy investment to provide a product that is intended for good use and that they aggressively help to pass legislation helping to address those who use their products in a negative manner. So morally and ethically Whitewater, in my opinion, is doing what they are intended to do. Specifically they are trying to make money, and to do so in an ethical manner. No company can be wholly responsible, in every circumstance (but in a specific few), for the immoral or unethical behavior of others utilizing their products. Ralph Jenkins, CEO of Whitewater, writes to Mary Davis to express the company’s views on her behavior and to ask her to first clear all further comments (regarding her personal views on liquor production) with the business. Mary feels this to be an invasion of her right to free speech. Additionally Mary informs Ralph Jenkins that she seeks to pursue her article further and even speak at an engagement about her views (personal ones). Mr. Jenkins remains adamant that Mary adhere to his requests further escalating things to state she can either comply or resign. So does Davis have a moral right to free speech in the workplace, or can Whitewater determine the extent to her ‘free’ speech? Also what would Davis’s best path ethical path be? The second is the easiest to answer so I will do that now. Davis could simply put resign, enabling her to champion her beliefs and become a martyr for her cause, as it were. As for the first question the answer is not a simple clear cut one, and ultimately will be an individual one. Currently there is already legal precedent that allows companies to require employees not to â€Å"act or speak disloyally†. Take the following case: In Korb v. Raytheon, 574 N. E. 2d 370, 410 Mass. 581 (1991), Raytheon terminated Lawrence Korb after receiving complaints of his public involvement in an anti-nuclear proliferation nonprofit known as the Committee for National Security (CNS) and his advocacy of reduced defense spending. On February 26, 1986 The Washington Post ran an article describing Korb's speech at a press conference held the day prior as â€Å"critical of increased defense spending. † Following the publication of the article, several military officials â€Å"expressed their disapproval† of Korb's comments. [77] Despite writing a letter of retraction which ran in The Washington Post, Raytheon terminated Korb's position after it continued to receive â€Å"Navy, Air Force, and Armed Services Committee objections. [78] In adjudicating Korb's claim of wrongful discharge, the Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts found â€Å"no public policy prohibiting an employer from discharging an ineffective at-will employee. † His claim under the State Civil Rights Act was dismissed as well. In affirming the lower court’s decision to dismiss, Justice Abrams wrote: â€Å"Although Korb has a secured right to speak out on matters of public concern, and he has a right to express view s with which Raytheon disagrees, he has no right to do so at Raytheon's expense. [79] The above article shows one perspective of the courts on this matter. Furthermore Mary Davis needed to be sure her personal opinions could withstand the scrutiny of being challenged for slander, unless there was very strong specific data supporting her views. Despite Mary’s strong personal views, even if validated, she is in conflict by the very nature of working for Whitewater and having such strong personal views. She may have morally sound arguments about liquor products but she is ethically wrong then for working in the liquor industry. My view is that Mary’s intent, though ethically sound, is still less ethical than that of Whitewater. Mary attempts to peanut butter spread the first amendment right to free speech across the board, when in fact Whitewater too has rights and expectations within the first amendment. While Mary is entitled to do as she chooses outside of work; there are limitations when her choices can have specific negative impacts to her employer. And for these impacts she can be held accountable legally, despite her moral righteousness. In conclusion there is no clear path to moral righteousness and ethical behavior. What I feel is important is that in the end we can do either in a manner that withstands legal implication (much of it already established) and exercise our own personal moral conviction in a manner that does not leave us conflicted. QUESTIONS FROM THE BOOK. 1. Do you think Mary Davis acted irresponsibly or disloyally? I don’t believe at the time Mary Davis intended to act irresponsibly or disloyally; however Mary should have thought more about the big picture and talked with her management first about her intentions. This is a particularly tough issue; as this does touch upon the right to free speech. Depending upon what sort of agreement the company has with Mary would speak volumes as to her ‘rights’ outside of work and expectations as to how she is expected portray her company. Mary also should have known that media sensationalism is what they are in business for. Her views were liable for their interpretation and hence liable to be misconstrued or mis-utilized; as they were. Does Whitewater have a legitimate concern about her speaking out on this issue? Mary’s concern is legitimate; of that there is no doubt. However as an emissary of her company she is responsible both inside work and outside work to present an image of her company that is positive. Or she could choose to work elsewhere. If Mary were to choose her moral high ground and leave the company she would be commended for her actions that follow her beliefs. Does the company have a right to abridge her freedom of expression? The company does have some right to abridge her freedom; particularly if they have a company handbook which specifies their expectations (within reason). Mary’s views and activities outside of work have no real concern to her company; but ethically Mary is working in an industry where serving liquor is the nature of business. These companies often display and rely on laws and policies to inflict rules regarding consumption and abuse. That individuals abuse their products is really not completely their fault. Ethically they are trying to be responsible and they are after all in the business to sell and make a profit. 2. Is your answer to question 1 affected by whether you agree or disagree with the views Mary Davis expressed? I think for the zealots on either side of the spectrum individual views would impact whether they agreed or disagreed with Mary Davis. However, it is my belief that you need not side nor disagree with Mary to realize that her behavior and that of Whitewater brewing are dealing with ethical grey matter. The company has rights as much as Mary does; and each can make choices that would resolve this conflict. Mary can leave Whitewater and then no longer be under their scrutiny or Whitewater can have specific policies on expected behavior that reflects the company position. Communication is at the core of the problem. If either side had communicated among themselves could have avoided this situation; and who knows; perhaps Whitewater being community responsible may have given Mary a different tact to utilize that would have made her and Whitewater happy. 3. Should there be any limits on an employee’s freedom of expression? If not, why? If so, under what circumstances is a company justified in restricting an employee’s right to speak out? This is a tenuous issue as there are already many amendments to current laws of free speech. I understand that businesses have a right to ensure viability and employee comments can adversely affect them. I think so long as there is clear communication up front about business policies regarding this and that they are communicated regularly and clearly then it becomes a buyer/employee beware situation. Again within reason individuals should still be able to express themselves; particularly when there is no direct verbiage that is specific about a business. I am an opponent to a business screening by Facebook etc as what a person does on their time does not necessarily prove they would be bad at work. Statistics aside we all know you can make data to support whatever view you want today. The bigger question is the legal one; and companies basically in my opinion wield a heavy sword (meaning they have deep pockets for legal issues) to drive their views and challenge you to dispute them. So one question we should be asking is once hired by a business â€Å"Are you now their property which can be used in any way, and discarded when no longer needed? † After all, today one can be dismissed without cause, employee at will. Take for instance the following article:http://www. bs2. com/freespch. htm The First Amendment to the U. S. Constitution establishes freedom of speech in the USA. There are several major limitations on this freedom: Only the government is prohibited from restricting speech. Private corporations are free to censor speech of their employees. Freedom of speech is not absolute, even when government regulation or law is concerned. For  example, freedom of speech does not give one the right to commit perjury. See the beginning of my essay on infotorts for more examples. Since 1977, the U. S. Supreme Court has retreated from protecting freedom of speech even for government employees, as explained in my separate essay. Fundamentally, an at-will employee in the USA can be terminated at any time, and for any reason – or  no  reason  at  all – and the courts will not intervene to protect the ex-employee from allegedly unfair treatment by the employer. Courts have repeatedly recognized that â€Å"any  reason† includes a â€Å"morally  wrong† or â€Å"morally  reprehensible† reason. I  have briefly discussed the history of at-will employment in the USA and criticism of this doctrine in a separate essay. The combination of: o legal protection for freedom of speech of employees of for-profit and non-profit corporations and other non-governmental employers, and the freedom of employers to terminate employment at any time, for any reason means that employees in private industry have no legal rights to freedom of speech. (end of art icle) The case presentation doesn’t specify whether the newspaper article identified Mary Davis as an employee of Whitewater. Is that a relevant issue? Whether Mary Davis was identified or not is not necessarily relevant. Once stated, today there should be an assumption that someone, anyone, can ultimately determine ownership. This is especially true if the information is anything but verbal and has been recorded in any way, manner, or form. Does it matter what position in the company Mary Davis holds? To a degree the fact that Mary Davis is high up in the corporate chain bears a more significant impact. In a higher position Mary is more an emissary of the business and as such expected more to promote the business image. However despite her position as an employee of a business she is bound to the requirements of that business, especially once specified to her. Or she can choose to follow her conscience and resign. . What do you think Mary Davis ought to do? Clearly Mary Davis should resign; or fold to the demands of her boss and refrain while employed by Whitewater from expressing her personal views on any liquor related issues. What moral considerations should she weigh? Mary simply needs to weigh what is important to her; her work, money, job and family stability or her moral considerations and the poss ibility that she would need to shift employment in order to not have direct involvement in an industry she believes to be practicing unethical behavior. Does she have conflicting obligations? Mary does have conflicting obligations. If so what are they? They are her obligations to survival, money, job stability, employment, etc. On the other side is her obligation to her conscience and her moral beliefs, particularly the one that is contrary to the production and sale of malt liquor to individuals (specific individuals). 5. Is the company right to be worried about what Mary Davis writes or says, or is the board of directors exaggerating the potential harm to Whitewater of her discussing these issues? The company is totally right to be worried about Mary Davis. There is many a story about David and Goliath where a single individual toppled a business based upon their personal beliefs. 6. Assume a CEO like Ralph Jenkins is legitimately worried that an employee is making damaging statements about the company. How should the CEO handle the situation? My opinion is that the CEO would need to sit with the employee and state the business doctrine as it were. Next would be to ask open ended questions to see if there was an option where both needs could be met satisfactorily without any negative repercussions to either party involved. Is discharge or some sort of discipline called for? Initially, discharge or discipline may not be called for; unless policies had been clearly stated beforehand. Should the company adopt a formal policy regarding employee speech? All companies should have formal policies regarding employee speech. Moreover these should be communicated in plain simple language and reiterated yearly to ensure everyone remains cognizant of the policies. If so, what policy would you recommend? I recommend a policy that is developed with the individuals at all levels of the business to ensure varied concerns are addressed and the needs of the business (their viewpoint) is clearly understood. Works Cited Customer, A. â€Å"Amazon. com: Moral Issues in Business (9780495007173): William H. Shaw, Vincent Barry: Books. † Amazon. com: Online Shopping for Electronics, Apparel, Computers, Books, DVDs & More. Web. 16 Jan. 2012. . â€Å"First Amendment to the United States Constitution. † Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia. Web. 16 Jan. 2012. . â€Å"Freedom of Speech. † Dr. R. Standler's Professional Homepage. Web. 16 Jan. 2012. ;http://www. rbs2. com/freespch. htm;.

How effectively the systems and processes being deployed within the Essay

How effectively the systems and processes being deployed within the organization have aligned to deliver the organizations performance objectives - Essay Example The paper presents business operations as the function which plans and estimates the day to day activities within an organization. Operations refer to the most important functions in an organization, as it manages all the activities in the organization. Ideally, business operations ensure the following factors. ï  ¶ All internal groups are integrated into the same plan with well prescribed roles and responsibilities ï  ¶ All internal operating groups perform together as one unit, to make sure operational integrity, development of business, risk management and resource management, allocation of resources, and overall the finest practices. ï  ¶ Successful communication among other functional departments within the company. ï  ¶ Participating in business planning for developing strategies. ï  ¶ Working within the constraints of an integrated budget, and combining all fiscal practices, while following other recognized policies, procedures and controls. â€Å"While operations are generally well understood and structured in most large organizations, business operations in many small to medium sized companies tend to be less clear. It is not unusual to see functional lines or boundaries blur together or; departmental responsibility and accountability shared by many people within one organization†. The systems and processes play a very significant role in accomplishing the goals and objectives of the organization. The organizations emphasize in their reports about how much they rely on the operation and systems. The operations of business changes from organization to organization. It concentrates on the volume and character of the business. It depends, whether the company focuses on products or services, and whether the operation is small or large. Here we have accepted SAMBRO International as our choice for the organization analysis. â€Å"Sambro International Ltd is a private company categorized under Hobby, Toy, and Game Shops and located in Manchester, United Kingdom† (Sambro International Limited 2012). It has established as one of the major companies in toy manufacturing in Britain. It is a privately owned manufacturing firm, founded in 1996. The company has two different sections. 1) New World Toys 2) Stocklot. New World Toys produces and distributes their elite certified goods, and their own brand goods. Stocklot is the company which deals in clearaning stock in European and UK countries, through multiple retail channels. Stocklot mainly focuses on the trading of big brands, and children's character merchandise at very low prices. The company keeps growing with its innovative operation technologies and us e of advanced systems, to develop production processes. The processes and systems are executed to attain strategic goals of the industry. The mainly significant thing is that they should make sure that these processes are in line with the envisaged strategic goals. Emphasis on design, execution, and measure are necessary for the improvement of business operations and processes. The cycle of this process is a never ending process and an ever lasting process, as it aims at continuous improvement. Certain steps and taken in designing and executing the right technology based machineries for document supervision, project application, integration, and workflows, to assist process administration and alter process. These are the theories followed by the Sambro International for their uninterrupted flow of production. â€Å"One frequent question is how operations differ from project managers. The main difference is that, project managers are focus on the success of their projects, while the operational wing focuses on the success of the office† (Barry 2010). The Role of Operations in Business: The role of operations within an organization is

Physical Geography Of South And East Asia Essay

Physical Geography Of South And East Asia - Essay Example The people who occupy India have mainly embraced Buddhism, Sikhism, Hinduism and Jainism who are also spread in other parts of India (James & Merchant, 2013). Central Asia is composed of countries such as Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, Kazakhstan, West China and Xinjiang. The people of Central Asia are mainly Muslims and Buddhists. The people who have greatly influenced the way of life in Central Asia are the Persians, Mongols, Tatars, Afghans, Sarmatians and the Russians who conquered most parts of the region. Other people who live in Central Asia are the Chinese, Arabians, Mongolians and the Turkish (Ooi, 2004). East Asia is made up of countries such as China, Macao, Taiwan, Mongolia, Vietnam, Japan, North Korea and South Korea. Some of the ethnic groups in the region include Korean, Yamato, Han, Tibetan, Kazakh, Uyghur, Mongol and Manchu, Evenks, Yakuts and the Buryats. Major language groups in the region include Korean language, Tungusic, Mon-Khmer, Sinitic, Tibeto-Burman, Ainu languages, Turkic and the Miao-Yao. The Chinese language has greatly influenced other languages in the region including that of the Japanese and Korea. The Northern part of Asia is mainly occupied by Russia. Most of the ethnic groups in North Asia speak Uralic, Turkic, Mongolic and the Tungusic languages. East Slavs, as well as the Paleo-Siberian, also form part of the population. The geographic region of Siberia is mainly composed of the Turkic, Tatars and the Siberia Khanate.

Logical Fallacies in the World of Advertisement and YouTube Phenomenon Essay

Logical Fallacies in the World of Advertisement and YouTube Phenomenon - Essay Example Advertisement is a birth child of the free market economy although it is not focused in promoting free market. For instance, the advertisers are focused into trying to manipulate consumers so that they buy products or a way of life (Martin, 16). A look at the book Amusing Ourselves To Death by N. Postman gives a clear glimpse of the role and the impact of advertisement in the society today. The people have a tendency of medicating themselves into attaining happiness or bliss; as a result, they sacrifice their rights voluntarily. Aspects of television's entertainment represent a way by which the rights of the consumers for entertainment. This is a similar approach in the area of print media such as the magazines. The issues of politics, as well as religion, can be easily diluted depending on how the advertisement messaged is packaged. This essay paper is an analysis of a particular advertisement in semiotic terms. Therefore, this essay intends to show many ways that advertising works, as well as the extent the impacts of advertisement on the audience and the society. The Lancome advertisement This is an advertisement taken from the Marie Claire magazine. In addition, this advert has appeared in several other magazines. From a reader’s perspective, what catches the eyes of most readers is the ugliness of the model that underwent a makeup (Martin, 22). The image is unattractive but for most people, the choice of color is very fascinating. This advertisement covers a sprawling three pages of the magazine. The image on the first page is of a model who has red hair; this image covers almost the whole page. The female model is a woman although she is quite challenging to guess (Alperstein, 18). The reason for this is that mostly with modeling a 25 year old lady can be made to look like a 25 year old. The model is wearing a hat which is of a blue-turquoise-green. She has a scarf which has shiny palettes and a spiky shape. The background where the model is being photographed is very light colored with rose and peach tones which are dominating the blurring background shapes. The woman seems to move forward, her posture is very dynamic (Alperstein, 21). The following pages which are double ones show the similar model in a dark blue-green make-up (Alperstein, 34). Her picture covers the whole of the left page while on the right page sit indicates a dark blue rose and there is a picture of the cosmetic product which is being advertised (Martin, 31). The advert also gives the web-site address for the product (Martin, 29). By showing information in parts of different elements, the advertisement incorporates fallacies as it is not exclusive on what it is really standing for. In undertaking a semiotic analysis of the advert discussed above, this essay paper intends to apply a framework that was proposed by Chandler, as well as by focusing on the important signifies and what they signify. There are a number of various signifiers that could be easily identified from a critical analysis of the main one obviously being the woman dressed up as an insect. The signified -the mental concept the woman represents is 'change'. Of course, the woman as she is depicted in the photograph also stands for conventional norms of female beauty in the form of a somewhat fragile creature. The woman depicted on the

Organisation and Management of Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words - 1

Organisation and Management of - Research Paper Example Planning comes in many different forms and this process involves setting the scope of the project as well as the necessary tools needed to conduct a successful research project. Tools planning might be measured in electronic database availability, resource literature compilation, availability of a non-disruptive environment for thought and secondary research, and also the planning of specific objectives related to the goal of project completion. After the planning stage, the student must be motivated to complete all tasks on time and remain focused on fulfilling all of their planned objectives. Because a project as large-scale as a dissertation involves multi-tasking in all stages of development, motivation is a primary factor to ensure that the project meets its proposed timeline without interruption to attaining a quality end result. There are generally two types of motivation, intrinsic and extrinsic. Intrinsic motivations come from within and are linked specifically to the task itself. For example, this motivation might be developed from having a personal association with the research project in a way that provides value to the researcher. Therefore, the student should be able to come up with a suitable topic that is directly associated with something in their career field that is personally rewarding or they feel would bring value to the reader. By identifying personally with the research topic, the student will probably have more incentive and enthusiasm for conducting all stages of the project successfully.

Park plaza county hall london Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Park plaza county hall london - Essay Example This has resulted to a rise in the level of customer satisfaction. Different scholars of the world have described the state of the UK hospitality market as ‘fast-changing’. This means that the particular hotels in this industry have to race to keep up with the pace. The fast changing nature of this industry has further been attributed to the technological advancements of the world. The different hotels have to therefore direct more of their resources and time to the emerging technology-based techniques and communication platforms such as social media to remain appealing to the evolving demographics of the world. Newer market segments continues to emerge in the hospitality industry in UK what has perpetrated the changes experienced in the market where most customers today are going for fast, better and more personalized services. London continues to be viewed as the ‘growth engine’ of the hotel sector in UK following the high number of hotel businesses located in the city. Hotel business in London is appealing following the fact that London it is a major tourist destination. Throughout the year, London experiences influx of visitors from all parts of the world. This has resulted in a boom in the hotel business in the city. The main objective of this market report is to evaluate the market operations of Park Plaza County Hall London hotel through use of specific market analysis tools; PESTEL analysis and market mix-7Ps and how the market operations impact the hotel business of Park Plaza County Hall London hotel. This market report was commissioned to specifically examine the role and contributions of marketing to the success of a business by looking into the operations of Park Plaza County Hall London hotel in the UK hospitality industry. It further offers specific recommendations that can adequately be integrated by the business to enhance its performance within this industry. According to Baines and Page (2010, p.

The importance of having enough knowledge about Testing Essay

The importance of having enough knowledge about Testing - Essay Example For this purpose, second language teachers must not only possess adequate knowledge of regarding appropriately ‘testing’ their students but also must have On the basis of my extensive research on the subject, I can safely state that ‘bilingualism’ and ‘testing’ are closely related – particularly in terms of second language studies. The accurate evaluation of a student’s performance entails the adoption of an appropriate method of testing. In the absence of such an awareness, the instructors may not be able to develop an effective test. There are various types of testing or assessment procedures. While evaluating the progress of a student in a certain skill, the teacher must develop an effective method of testing which is both reliable as well as valid.I lacked adequate knowledge regarding such crucial issues as ‘assessment’ and ‘testing’, and my experience as a second language teacher at various schools as well as at a university failed to offer the much-needed guidance and awareness on such issues. I encountered various difficulties in testing different levels of students. However, after participating in this course and the Practicum course, my knowledge and understanding of these crucial concepts have widened and helped me in appropriately evaluating the performance of my students irrespective of their levels. I strongly recommend this course to all the second language teachers who have too often deal with bilingualism and testing.

Fleet Planning Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Fleet Planning - Essay Example It is all because of all such various factors, it is considered that the airline industry is a vibrant and unpredictable industry. As this industry has been really dynamic of late, it has been considered by many airline service providers to alter their performance style into a private management style rather than the earlier government interfering style. (The Global airline industry program) To respond to the dynamic nature of the airline industry, many airline service providers have followed a low-cost strategy and to be able to apply this low-cost strategy, fleet planning strategies have been followed. In order to implement a successful the fleet planning strategy, companies have focused upon four different issues: Costs are a major factor that enables a company to earn profits. If the costs are controlled properly, higher profits would be earned. In recent years, costs have been an important aspect towards a company’s success. The knowledge and control of the costs provided by the latest aircraft models, engines and fleet universality are an important aspect in the assessment of future fleet necessities. Demand in the market is another aspect which ascertains the requirement of fleet for a company. The general demand by the customer regarding the services provided and the fares offered would also be necessary in ascertaining the appropriate fleet for a company. The biggest revenue/cost saving of adding more aircraft of the same type is the compatibility and similarity, for example Airbus in marketing their Aircraft claims that communality exists between their aircrafts and the of having a fleet of different type sizes of aircraft from Airbus would: Since the systems are similar and properly use the same tools and procedures for maintenance or even operation such as refueling, or baggage handling, that would have a big effect on the

Public transport Essay Example for Free

Public transport Essay Public transport can be described as a shared service of passenger transportation readily available for public use. Modes of public transport in many modern cities include trains and trams, buses, trolley buses, ferries and rapid transit. Public transport is necessary to economic and social development, with easy movement of people, goods and services. Increased number of motor vehicles in the modern cities carries both economic and social costs evidenced by increased air pollution. Air of poor quality can serious affect the health of the public and can result to premature deaths. Public transport is said to be the key of reducing air pollution in the urban cities in the following ways: reduced emission of carbon monoxide, reduced emission of nitrogen oxide and carbon dioxide emission, reduced emission of the volatile organic compounds and minimized fossil fuel consumption. Studies have shown that private vehicles, which are mainly petrol-powered, emit carbon monoxide, lead, benzene and lead which are detrimental to the air in our cities (European Environment Agency 2010). Still, due to the large number of this private vehicles, they are bound to emit this pollutants in high amounts compared to public transport. It is clear that, in order to reduce the air pollution and especially the concentration of carbon monoxide in our cities, there is need for people to rely much on public transport rather than the private vehicles. Nitrogen oxide and carbon dioxide emitted on the environment. Study conducted by the American enterprise institute and Brookings institution in 2002 showed out that the quantity of nitrogen oxide and carbon dioxide emitted by the private vehicles was about double the amount emitted by the public transport for every mile traveled by a passenger (European Environment Agency 2010). Use of public transport can reduce carbon footprint of an individual. Another study in the year 2005 showed that the use of public means rather than the private means could have reduced the carbon dioxide emission in the United States by 3. 9 million of metric tones. So it is much possible that, reducing air pollution in our cities can be achieved by depending more on the public transport. On other organic volatile compounds, the same study showed that the private vehicles could emit 92 percent more organic volatile compounds than the public vehicles as compared to mile traveled by each passenger. Efforts of reducing air pollution in our cities should focus on how to minimize usage of private vehicles in transport and also encourage use of the public means in transport. The same studies by the same two institutes showed out that in United States, public transport only used half of the fuel which was required to fuel the private vehicles. The more fossil fuel is used, the more emission of pollutant air is likely to emit in the environment, so in order to reduce the air pollution in our cities, there is need to encourage use of public transport. Public transport is very vital in our cities especially in achieving the global war on reducing air pollution which can result to global warming. Efforts need to be put in place to ensure that people use much the public means in most of their traveling because it will reduce air pollution in our cities as well as reducing the urban congestion of vehicles and also reduce the overdependence of energy imports. Bibliography European Environment Agency, 2010, Sources of Air pollution, Viewed July 27, 2010 http://www. eea. europa. eu/publications/2599XXX/page010. html

Implementing Alternative Sources of Energy

Implementing Alternative Sources of Energy Chapter 1 Introduction 1.0 Introduction Hotels constitute a key element of the organized chain of activity in the travel and tourism industry, and occupy a crucial place in concerns over environmental protection related to tourism and travel. The hotel industry, because of the nature of its functions, characteristics, and services, consumes substantial quantities of energy, water, and non-durable products. It has been estimated that most environmental impacts created by the hotel industry can be attributed to site planning and facility management; excessive consumption of local and imported non-durable goods, energy, and water; and emissions into the air, water, and soil (APAT 2002; Mensah 2004; Trung and Kumar 2005). 1.1 Problem Statement Integration of renewable energy sources into hotel operations is perceived as the most promising form of crisis mitigation. There are two types of energy: renewable which is infinite and non-renewable which will run out in the future. Alternative energy includes wood or biomass, wind energy, solar energy, fusion and hydropower. Non-renewable energy includes fossil fuels, coal, geothermal power and nuclear fission. Even if with many promising alternative energy sources, hoteliers remember that conservation is the key to efficient energy use, no matter what the source of the energy may be. Energy consumption in hotels is among the highest in the non-residential building sector in absolute values. Available specific information on the energy characteristics, thermal performance, energy losses, electric loads, and comfort conditions play significant role for the sustainable development of hotels systems. During the past years, there has been rising interest, there has been increasing int erest, in the use of the concept of energy. The use of renewable sources in energy production with the need to promote sustainable tourism, provide energy-based amenities for tourists, and ensure environmental protection, and it focuses on solar power, wind power, the power of running water and biomass, the power of biofuel for motor vehicles, and biothermal energy. We are in an alarming situation in Mauritius whereby there is an increase in the arrival of tourist. The hotels sector has expand a lot with new hotels constructed. Moreover, due to that increase of tourist in hotel meaning that there is indirectly and directly an increase in the level of energy consumption. The increase in the energy consumed is having an impact upon the environment, hence hoteliers are now trying to find a solution to prevent environmental degradation. There is a need in using alternative source of energy in order to reduce their consumption and also to reduce their cost. Aims Objective of Study The aim is to analyse the alternative source of energy use in hotels and how it can be implemented with the following objectives: To analyse to which extent hotels are aware of alternative energy Assessing the alternative source of energy of hotels To assess how far the hotels are ready to implement alternative source of energy Evaluate the barriers in implementing alternative energy in hotel CHAPTER 2 LITERATURE REVIEW 2.0 Introduction In light of global climate change, issues of energy consumption in the international tourism industry have been receiving increased attention. In recent years, the tourism literature has increasingly recognized energy as an important issue. In particular, G à ¶ ssling et al (2005, p. 418) state: ‘ the use of fossil fuels and related emissions of greenhouse gases is, from a global point of view, the most pressing environmental problem related to tourism. The hotel sector has also been recognized as a key contributor of greenhouse gas emissions ( Warnken et al , 2004 ; Becken, 2005 ; Scott et al , 2007 ), research such as that conducted by Becken (2005) suggests that this has not typically been a major environmental concern for   tourism stakeholders. Moreover, a major concern among the hoteliers are to adapt new strategies in implementing alternative sources of energy which will help in reducing their consumption of the actual energy which is relatively high and costly. As su ch, Becken (2005) argues that energy has not been a major environmental concern for tourism stakeholders. 2.1 Consumption of energy by the Hotel Sector Energy has long been considered a component of environmental sustainability in tourism. For example, the environmental sustainability principle of the International Ecotourism Standard specifies that ecotourism products should minimize energy consumption, maximize energy efficiency, and implement procedures to train staff and provide relevant information to guests   ( Green Globe, 2004 ). Hotels are among the most energy-intensive compo ­nents of the tourism industry, representing essential tourist services and an important source of employment. As such In tourisms early stage, most of the energy was used to provide lighting inside and around buildings, and to provide heating. Energy was also used in storing and preserving foodstuffs, preparing and serving food, and for sanitary purposes (for bathroom facilities, laundries). Recently, the consumption of energy used in air-conditioning or for the needs of various auxiliary facilities (swimming pools, saunas, lounges) has grown con siderably. About one third of all energy consumed is used in guest rooms (30 percent of total consumption of electricity, 36 per cent of total energy used in heating, ventilating and air-conditioning, and 34 per cent of total water consumption). In this situation Energy is a key precondition to tourism processes. At a final-product level, electrical energy and heat power are the forms of energy most commonly used, while mechanical energy and solar and wind power are used substantially less. 2.2 Energy sources All other forms of energy belonging to the second group are nonrenewable: fossil fuel (coal, crude oil and natural gas), nuclear power, the Earths internal heat energy released on its surface (hot springs), the Earths internal heat energy that is renewed in its interior through the radioactive decay of uranium and thorium, and light atoms that are needed for fusion to take place. These nonrenewable forms are finite energy sources, and their duration depends upon the intensity with which they are exploited. Coal is the primary energy source of fossil fuels, and its combustion releases great quantities of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. From an ecological viewpoint, this represents the pivotal problem of using fossil fuels, because CO2 and other emissions impact on the environment and pollute the atmosphere through greenhouse gasses. At the same time, the era of cheap fossil fuel has come to an end, and newly awoken concerns about fossil fuel security have further made dependency on them less desirable. In addition, the mean annual temperatures are predicted to rise in the order of 1.20-7.07à ¢Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã‚ ¦C between 2070 and 2099, further exacerbating the problem (Mimura et al. 2007). The prevalence of fossil-fuel generated power and the (still) marginal utilisation of renewable energy resources translate into significant emissions of particulates, nitrogen and sulphur oxides and other air pollutants, both locally and globally. Secondary pollution in the form of acid rain causes the acidification of lakes and soils, with negative effects on flora and fauna, human health and man-made structures and products. The decades of cheap fossil fuel did little to help promote the technology and subsequently it was not until the late 1990s that renewable International Journal of Sustainable Energy 95 energy gained new momen tum in the energy agendas of local governments and international organisations alike. The four principal strategies for reducing greenhouse gas emissions in accommodations include: reducing overall energy use, improving energy effi ciency, increasing the use of alternative energy sources and offsetting emissions through the development of renewable energy projects or the planting of trees to act as carbon sinks ( Ãâ€" n à ¼ t and Soner, 2006 ; Becken and Hay, 2007 ; Dalton et al , 2007 ; Scott et al , 2007 ;UNWTO, 2007a ). 2.3 Alternative sources of energy 2.3.1 A solar thermal collector A solar thermal collector is a solar collector considered to bring together heat by absorbing sunlight. The word is useful to solar hot water panels, but can also be used to denote more difficult installations like solar parabolic, solar trough and solar towers or easier installations such as solar air heat. The more multifaceted collectors are normally used in solar power plants where solar heat is used to generate electricity by heating water to fabricate steam which drives a turbine connected to an electrical generator. The simpler collectors are typically used for supplemental room heating in residential and commercial buildings. A collector is a tool for converting the energy in solar radiation into a more functional or storable form. The energy in sunlight is in the form of electromagnetic radiation from the infrared (long) to the ultraviolet (short) wavelengths. The solar power striking the Earths surface depends on weather conditions, as well as location and direction of the surface, but in general it averages about 1,000 watts per square meter under lucid skies with the surface straight perpendicular to the suns rays. 2.3.1.1 About Parabolic Trough Solar Trough solar systems use parabolic rounded trough shaped reflectors center the suns power onto a receiver pipe running at the focus of the reflector. Because of their parabolic shape, troughs can focus the sun at 30-60 times its usual intensity on the receiver pipe. The intense energy heats a heat transfer fluid (HTF), typically oil, flowing through the pipe. This fluid is then used to produce steam which powers a turbine that drives an electric generator. The collectors are united on and east-west axis and the trough is rotated to follow the sun to make best use of the suns energy input to the receiver tube.   Heat transfer fluid (usually oil) runs through the tube to absorb the concentrated sunlight. This rises the temperature of the fluid to some 400 °C. The heat transfer fluid is then used to heat steam in a normal turbine generator. 2.3.2 Biogas Biogas can bring a spotless, effortlessly controlled source of alternative energy from organic waste materials for a small labour input, replacing firewoood or fossil fuels (which are becoming more expensive as supply falls behind demand). During the conversion process pathogen levels are diminished and plant nutrients made more willingly available, so better crops can be grown while accessible resources are preserved. Since small scale units can be moderately simple to build and function biogas should be used openly if possible (for cooking, heating, lighting and absorption refrigeration), since both electricity generation and density of gas (for storage or use in vehicles)use large amounts of energy for a small output of functional energy. This idea is suited to distributed systems where waste is treated close to the source, and mud is also reused locally,to reduce transport and primary capital cost compared to a centralised system. As the distributed system will need a sustain network, biogas contributes to the triple bottom line; benefiting the environment, reducing costs and contributing to the social organization. This kind of biogas consists mainly methane and carbon dioxide. Other types of gas generated by use of biomass are wood gas, which is formed by gasification of wood or biomass. This type of gas consists mainly of nitrogen, hydrogen, and carbon monoxide, with little amounts of methane. Biogas may be used as a low-cost fuel in the hotel industry for any heating function, such as cooking. It may also be used in present waste management amenities where it can be used to run any type of heat engine, to produce either mechanical or electrical power. Biogas can be compacted, like natural gas, and used to power motor vehicles and in the UK for example is estimated to have the potential to replace around 17% of vehicle fuel.   Biogas is a renewable fuel, so it qualifies for renewable energy subsidies in a few parts of the world. 2.3.3 Biomass Biomass, a renewable energy source, is organic material from living, or freshly living organisms such as wood, waste, hydrogen gas, and alcohol fuels. The biomass- energy- materials technology (Pinatti, 1999)—better known by its BEM acronym—uses acid pre-hydrolysis in a vacuum reactor in order to separate municipal solid wastes into two fractions. Biomass is commonly plant matter grown to generate electricity or generate heat. In this way, organic biomass can be integrated, as plants can also engender electricity while still alive. The most conservative way in which biomass is used however, still relies on direct incineration. However, it is possible to use biogas tapped from existing dumps and resulting in nil fuel costs, and either select or compatibilize technologies for upgrading the use of future municipal solid wastes, also with negative fuel costs, or ‘‘opportunity cost of waste function Vollebergh (1997), based on the amount of garbage that will not disposed in dumps. Forest organic residues for example (such as dead trees, branches and tree stumps), yard clippings, wood chips and rubbish are often used for. Biomass also includes plant or animal matter used for production of chemicals. Biomass may include recyclable wastes that can be use to burn as fuel. However, it excludes such organic materials as fossil fuels, which have been altered by geological processes into substances like petroleum.. 2.3.4 Flat plate collectors Flat plate collectors, developed by Hottel and Whillier in the 1950s, are the most common type known still now. They consist of (1) a dark flat-plate absorber of solar power, (2) a transparent cover that allows solar energy to pass through but reduces heat losses, (3) a heat-transport fluid (air, antifreeze or water) to remove heat from the absorber, and (4) a heat insulating backing. It contain of a slight absorber sheet (of thermally stable polymers, aluminum, steel or copper, to which a black or selective coating is applied) often backed by a grid or coil of fluid tubing placed in an insulated casing with a glass or polycarbonate cover. Most air heat fabricates and some water heat manufacturers have a completely swamped absorber consisting of two sheets of metal which the fluid passes through. The heat exchange part is greater than they may be slightly more efficient than usual absorbers. 2.3.5 Hydro Using water force as a source of energy is not new method. Some countries, such as Canada, are dependent upon on hydro power. Clearly, the availability is restricted to specific region. And to make competent use of hydro power, the scale must be enough. While the contribution of hydro is important, it is not expected to belong to the main flow in terms of aggressive growth of green energy on a global basis (Halldo ´rsson and Stenzel, 2001). 2.3.5 Geothermal Earth heat source on the 9000 degrees Farenheit inner earth hotness and steadily reduces in temperature closer to the surfaces, but the temperature close to the surface vary greatly. Rainwater that sips in deeper parts of the earth gets hot and is known as geothermal source. In several parts of the world this water finds its means back to the surface via cracks and faults, such as geysers (i.e. in Iceland) and boiling springs. As with solar energy, the matter is how to tap that virtually unlimited spring of green energy. In most cases the trick is to bore to find and get access to the geothermal basis. The hot water can then be used both straight and in geothermal power plants, which consists of three varieties. Steam can directly be used to produce electricity with a dry steam generator. Water among 300-700 degrees Farenheit can be used in a Flash Power Plant, where hot water is flashed into vapor, Water with a warmth as low as 220 degrees Farenheit can be used in a Binary Power Pla nt, where the hot water in some way produces steam from a fluid with a lower boiling peak using warmth exchangers. The used water is fed back into the basis for reheating. It is renewable in a sense, as the obtainable heat capacity has its limits. Currently, the universal capacity of geothermal power plants is over 9000MW. The energy cost of easy access geothermal energy power plants is similar to wind energy. An MIT study showed that it is possible to increase the capability in the US alone to at least 100,000 MW, requiring a speculation of up to US$1 billion. It is analogous to drilling for oil; the more you want, the more hard (expensive) it is to find the sources. Clearly, geothermal energy can become a major provider to the worlds energy needs on the long term. Geothermal power plants can regulate the output to the required requests, which is a important advantage and makes them very suitable for base load power (the amount of energy that is always desired). 2.3.6 Tidal Energy If there is one thing we can safely forecast and be sure of on this planet, it is the coming and disappearing of the tide. While the energy capacity is dependable, converting it into electrical power is not simple. One option is to construct a tidal barrage (contrast to hydro lakes) which are not only complex but also cause radical changes to the currents in the estuary that could have enormous effects on the ecosystem. Nonetheless, tidal barrages have a enormous potential, worthwhile further examination. Another option is to use offshore turbines that work analogous to wind parks, but underwater and using the tides as a basis, This technology brings no environmental issues, but as it is in an early stage, the cost is not yet aggressive (like wind energy in the premature days). 2.4 Energy Audit To determine energy performance of a building, both constructional elements and energy production and consumption systems need to be evaluated. Depending on the purpose of the building aforementioned elements and systems have different contribution and a various methodology is needed for precise energy performance calculation. Energy audit is an analysis of thermal performance and energy systems of building with the purpose to determent its energy efficiency or non-efficiency. Energy audit also helps getting new conclusions and suggestions on how to increase the energy efficiency. Main goal of energy audit is to access and process collected data, and to get as much accurate present energy performance of building, concerning construction characteristics in terms of thermal protection, quality and efficiency of heating, ventilation and cooling systems, quality and efficiency of lighting and household   appliances and building management. .   For example Large-scale tidal energy pro duction has been planned for Passamaquoddy Bay straddling New Brunswick and Maine, and the Bay of Fundy as at least the 1930s. Even the late American President John F. Kennedy, a winner of a large-scale barragestyle tidal power plan at ‘Quoddy, envisioned a â€Å"fossil-fuel-free energy future† on the Atlantic seaboard. Newer tidal current technologies offer much more energy generation possibility, and much less environmental trouble, than the impoundment schemes superior in earlier plans. 2.5 Barriers to implement alternative sources of energy The need for using alternate sources for energy has been progressively rising as the environment is getting worse due to human utilization. For those people who wish to make dissimilarity in their lifestyles, or want to help find better energy sources for everybody, there are government allocations that will provide the financial support to do rising energy costs are finally starting to force global leaders to research alternatives and provide the funding to make changes. 2.5.1 Solar water heating systems (SWHS) Problems such as malfunctioning pumps, leakage from tanks etc. were experienced and maintenance and repairing facilities may not be to the required level. However, individual users in direct contact with manufacturing companies were generally satisfied. But this was true for only new systems. An encouraging response came from the potential users; 90% in the cities were willing to buy if it saved them energy. But current high prices of the system were a deterrent to them. Although solar water heating systems are simple in construction, responses indicated that minor faults could lead to serious problems, especially if not detected early. It was found that many systems did not perform as expected due to reasons such as low level of awareness, technical problems and lack of maintenance. It was also revealed that due to unsatisfactory performance, credibility of SWHS was low and there was an urgent need to restore the confidence of both existing and potential users. SWHS are still not pe rceived as environmentally attractive and potentially economical means of providing hot water to targeted users. Therefore, serious efforts and corrective measures both from industry and government are needed for a sustained growth of SWHS market. The key stakeholders (users, manufacturers and experts) indicated that the economic / financial barriers are the most important barriers for SWHS industry. The SWHS were considered high priced compared to conventional water heating systems and electricity made it further unattractive for the â€Å"low bill† electricity consumers. A lack of credit facilities was another obstacle in this category. Awareness / information barriers were ranked second with stakeholder indicating these as most important. Presence of SWHS industry can hardly be noticed by consumers. Industry on the other hand offers very limited choices due to a lack of significant market. Technical barriers were ranked third with stakeholders indicating these as most important. However, some experts and users were of the opinion that technical barrier would have been ranked first if the SWHS were used more widely. SWHS manufacturers on the other hand argued that the lack of knowledge about the system design and operation, and a lack of maintenance were the root cause of the problem. The quality of the product has improved in the last three years. 2.5.2 Recommended actions to remove SWHS barriers The Following measures were recommended by the stakeholders to remove the barriers. Information and awareness Development of effective public awareness and promotion programs that are prepared based on market surveys and studies. It was proposed that the programs should concentrate on use of media especially TV and newspapers. The concept, the benefits and the required operating conditions for SWHS should be made clear to end-users through these media strategies. Promotion of SWHS could also be done through participation in various exhibitions held in syndicates, hotels, clubs etc. The demonstration systems can be set-up in places like city councils, clubs, big factories, conference halls, and stadiums etc. where the impact can be far reaching. Printed materials (such as leaflets, brochures) containing information on systems, selection criteria, maintenance requirements, and information about suppliers and their after sales services needs to be made available to the consumers. ther modes for awareness building could include seminars and presentation to targetted users in schools, universities and clubs, and awareness among students by setting up of laboratories in these places. Economic and financial Financial support from the governmental, private sectors and donor agencies to the SWHS needs to be put in place. Availability of credit facilities with low interest rates and reduction in SWHS prices to make it competitive with other alternatives is equally important. Encouraging local manufacture of SWHS by reducing taxes and customs duties on solar water heating system components. Financial and technical support to research and development activities for product improvement should also be provided Technical Current manufacturing standards and specifications should be revised to include quality control and assurance components and installation requirements. SWHS and their spare parts could be made available in shops and markets.   This should be accompanied with availability of maintenance centres within easy reach. A program or mechanism to address the problem of the systems already installed in the new cities needs to be prepared and implemented. Relevant government authorities, manufacturers and dealers of SWHS need to co-operate in this programme. The users of the system need to be made aware o f the maintenance requirements of the SWHS through the program. Formulation and enforcement of appropriate quality checks at the factory level, product quality and performance guarantee and mechanism for their enforceability , and setting up maintenance cum marketing centres for SWHS are other measures to increase their penetration. Institutional A federation, union or society, which can bring representatives of users, companies, financing sources, policy makers and researches on one platform can be very useful to co-ordinate efforts in this area. 2.5.3 PV (photo voltaic) systems for electrification There was a consensus that economic and financial barriers are the most important barriers and should be addressed first. This was followed by policy barriers, indicating need for a governmental mechanism to promote PV technology (Ahmad and Shenawy, 2006). Market barriers were considered next in importance, indicating small size of the market and limited access to international market. Private sector involvement was limited due to small size of the market. Some PV manufacturers even suggested the need for obligatory laws for rural electrification using PVs. While experts and users considered technical problems and availability of maintenance as an important barrier, PV manufacturers did not consider this as a barrier. Important barriers within these categories were as follows: Lack of information The awareness on the applications of solar PV systems is very low. High dissemination costs The target group for solar electrification lives in dispersed rural dwellings, and proportion of wealthy households is also low in these areas. Dwellings are far apart, and therefore the transaction costs for commercial dissemination, installation and after-sales services are very high. These costs are estimated to be about 30% of the total costs of PV systems. Unfavorable tariff system The tariff charged by utilities does not reflect the real cost of rural electrification. Tariffs for electricity are identical in rural and urban areas, although the cost of supplying electricity is much higher in the countryside. On the other hand, consumers with low consumption of electricity pay lower tariffs. This makes PV system uncompetitive with the grid electricity. PV system is also not able to offer the range of services that a grid can offer, making it further uncompetitive. The electricity tariffs do not include external costs (environmental costs) due to use of fossil fuels in electricity generation. If these costs are considered in tariff setting, PV systems could be competitive with traditional electricity sources. Taxes and duties As in many other developing countries, PV system is considered a luxury product and charged very high import duty. Sometimes, tax exemptions may be available for equipment imports for a public or NGO project. But this inhibits commercialization. Further, the components that are produced locally (such as charge regulators, and batteries), attract high duties to protect the market for local manufacturers. This can cause problems if technology with the local manufacturer is not reliable. Import of equipment and materials is also a problem due to foreign exchange constraints. 2.5.3.1 Actions to overcome the PV electrification barriers The solar PV systems still have opportunities and potential for contribution to the rural development programs. These include the following: Solar radiation is high in Tropical Island, making solar PV system operation quite reliable and attractive. Technical and technological experiences are available. The actions to overcome the barriers include the following; Awareness campaigns need to be launched on regular basis to bring out the potential merits of PV systems and applications. Financial schemes need to be designed to support buyers. Manufacturers, suppliers, and agents should have their representatives and centres near the consumers. Since the PV programme is in initial stage, government supported market incentives needs to be designed to encourage commercial development and deployment. PV rural electrification projects can be integrated with other development programs. Integration of various PV rural electrification projects can help sharing of experiences in barrier removal. 2.5.4 Large Biogas Plants (LBP) The barriers identified in the case of LBP are: Information and awareness barriers A lack of awareness on LBPà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã… ¸s positive economic and environmental impacts Absence of governmental support for development, awareness and dissemination of the technology, necessary in the early stages of such programs. Institutional barriers Lack of co-operation and communication between the involved institutions, organisations and other stakeholders. Absence of NGOs role Economic and financial barriers Competing petroleum products and electricity are subsidized and easily available. High capital costs of LB P compared to other organic waste treatment systems. There is no economic evaluation for the positive environmental impact of the LBP. Unavailability of land within the targeted sites. Policy barriers A lack of application of environmental laws. Moreover, due to the high revenue generated by the states upon energy provided by the states electricity central, it is very difficult to implement alternative or renewable energy. 2.5.4.1 Actions to overcome the LBP barriers Since the LBP programme is in initial stages, most of the action needed relates to formulation of a proper plan and setting up implementing agencies, and ensuring co- operation between various agencies involved in the programme. The actions may include; Awareness programmes bringing out benefits of LBP as a source of clean energy and provider of environmental benefits through waste treatment. Reforming energy pricing policy to encourage and make RETs competitive with petroleum fuels and electricity. Setting up financing mechanisms to provide financing at reasonable rates of interest. Carrying out market potential study. Setting up a coordinating committee for planning and implementing the national action plan as suggested above for LBP. Strengthening the co-operation between the concerned ministries, institutions and organisations involved in the programme. Encouraging NGOs role in promoting LBP technology. 2.6 Direct and Indirect Impacts Social and environmental impacts of SWHS Energy saved by renewable energy technologies was estimated to be about 65%.   Estimated annual reduction in CO2 emissions is 190 thousand tons. Since the manufacturing is de- centralised and relatively labour intensive (at present, compared to alternatives; oil and electric heating), it

Jane Austens Pride and Prejudice and William Shakespeares King Lear E

Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice and William Shakespeare's King Lear Two English literary works, one a comedy and the other a tragedy, by two different authors of separate centuries, both have their fair share of characters who illustrate the admirable and the not-so-admirable of dispositions. Jane Austen's socially satirical novel Pride and Prejudice from 1813 and William Shakespeare's poetic poem King Lear from 1606 match each other very closely in the context of how good character reveals itself. In each piece, the authors present readers with a contrast between the wonderful and the terrible and act as puppet masters in the competition for the common object of desire; the "prizes" for Shakespeare's dramatic characters are power and riches, and while Austen's characters also aspire to possess affluence, their primary concern is high regard from others. In terms of Pride and Prejudice, all unfavorable characters commit different offenses against amiability in their quests for a flattering reputation, but Austen manipulates their actions so that each comes off as being an extrovert. Similar terms apply to King Lear in that Shakespeare's disgraceful characters act grandiosely and employ dishonesty in attempts toward prosperity. As Pride and Prejudice's villain in disguise, Mr. Wickham sets out to convince his new acquaintances of Hertfordshire that he is a victim of a heartless Mr. Darcy. He initiates discussion with Elizabeth about Darcy's spiteful disposition and ventures so far as to claim to her sympathetic ears "I can never be in company with this Mr. Darcy without being grieved to the soul by a thousand tender recollections. His behavior to myself has been scandalous," (59). Elizabeth later d... ...extroverted methods in meeting the desire. Superior characters demonstrate non-public acts, and anonymous deeds in terms of King Lear, and always without selfish intent. Those successful in attaining the want in both works are on the good side, but inevitable flaws mildly contaminate their characters. As authors, Austen and Shakespeare have the power to personify perfection and invent a role with developed, first-rate, and unblemished character. No one is without fault; high-value characters are the next best example of humanity. Through two contrasting literary pieces, Austen and Shakespeare both present readers with the proposition that one need not be perfect to have noble and virtuous character. Works Cited Austen, Jane. Pride and Prejudice. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1998. Shakespeare, William. King Lear. England: Signet Classics, 1998.

External Research Essay -- essays research papers

The External Business Environment Today, business has evolved into highly competitive industries who offer goods and/or services. Businesses are connected with society on all Political, Economical, Technological, and Socio-cultural levels. The Business environment has become chaotic as the world constantly changes and grows. The past decade has yielded advances in every field imaginable, and created a very dynamic, competitive free market in the U.S. The Consumer Services Industry:   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Business today is made up of two types of industries, goods and services. Services in general face an extremely competitive market. Services are often intangible, and difficult to place value on. The consumer service industry is directly related to the state of an economy. Consumers must have the available free income to obtain the services, and become loyal users of it. The consumer must be made to perceive that the option does in fact lie within his/her reach and such an option will in fact enrich life for the customer. Also, the consumer must be made to see that time must be made available in order to take advantage of the opportunity. One of the most prevalent forms of competition in the consumer industry is differentiation. It’s important to be an innovator and original to stay on top. The service industry relies heavily upon consumer turnout. This heavy reliance has led to the consumer dictating much of the decision making. A service business must always hold t...

Philosophy of Existentialism :: Papers

Philosophy of Existentialism From what I understand reading Jean-Paul Sartre's work the Existentialism is philosophy that places emphasis on individual existence, subjectivism, and freedom of making choice. According to Sartre, Existentialism is philosophy that states that "if God does not exist, there is at least one being in whom existence precedes essence." It seems that Sartre's theory rests on this thesis that 'existence precedes essence' and therefore it should be basis for any further discussion or understanding of this philosophy. To prove this Sartre uses example of man or human being, he says that man first exist, where he is nothing, and then afterwards he defines himself, where he himself will have made what he will be. So if I understand this correctly this means that you need to have existence in order to have essence, so there is no predetermined 'true' thing, it has to already exist in order to become what it is. Therefore man is fully in charge of creating himself as a person, and creating his own future. Subjectivity is also important to Existentialism, and by subjectivity Sartre means that while choosing his own self, man also chooses all man. And he states this idea in this citation "to choose to be this or that is to affirm at the same time the value of what we choose, because we can never choose evil. We always choose the good, and nothing can be good for us without being good for all." I'm not sure if I can agree with this, because knowing myself, sometimes I consciously make decisions that I know are not good for everyone. But what I think Sartre is trying to say is that those passionate choices and actions that every individual makes, are influencing choices and actions of others. Third and last thing that makes up my definition of the Existentialism is freedom of choice. "The boy was faced with the choice of leaving for England joining the Free French forces-that is, leaving his mother behind-or remaining with his mother and helping her to carry on. He was fully aware that the woman lived only for him and that his going off-and perhaps his death-would plunge her into despair, whereas every effort he made toward going off and fighting was an uncertain move which might run aground and prove completely useless.

An Analysis of Plenty by Isabelle Dixon

Dixon's poem Plenty shows the relationship between a mother and her five daughters which, on a wider horizon could be taken as a relationship between adults and children. The poet starts by telling us that they used to run ‘riot' and this was more than the mother could cope with. We are not told whether the behaviour was meant to annoy the mother or it was just a normal prank played and enjoyed by children. The situation in stanza is not a pleasant one as the poet gives us a grim picture of the situation they had to cope with.Water was a rare commodity and because of that they could not afford the luxury of filling the ‘old enamel a tub' which we are told was ‘age-stained' and rusty. The reason for that is given in stanza two where the poet explains that there was persistent drought and dams were dry and ‘windmills stalled. ‘ The most interesting thing about the description here is that she compares her mother's smile to the stalled windmill and the dry dam. One gets the impression that even though the mother was smiling it lacked the warmth of a genuine smile.We are also made to understand that such a smile almost always came when she had done something wrong. She continues to tell us that her mother smiling at their faults was a ploy to keep them from being chaotic or mischievous. What we learn from this is that the mother did not do anything to scold the children perhaps because she knew shouting and ranting was not going to work. We are told that this situation was on-going. Added to all this was the fact the mother had to worry about how to provide the bare necessities of life for her children and ensure that there was food on the table.  Read also Critical appreciation of the poem â€Å"Old Ladies’ Home†.It was not a cheerful situation because ‘each month was weeks too long. ‘ This gives me the impression that the mother had to the hard work of ensuring whatever little money she had could be suffic ient for the month but this was not the case. ‘Her mouth laid clamped hard on this' shows us that the mother did not talk this aspect of her worries. She did not want the children to worry because she was worrying about how she was going to feed them. The first four stanzas paint a grim picture and describe a period of want when everything, including water, was in short supply.However, even though the situation was grim the mother made sure she bore everything in silence and concentrated on how to make her children happy. By not scolding them unnecessarily and by being gentle with in times of misbehaviour she was able to cope. Stanza five begins with a litany of the pranks the poet and her sisters used to play. They ‘skipped chores' and when the mother was not near they indulged in the ‘lovely sin' of filling the bath beyond the recommended limit given by their mother. However, stanza five is also a discovery for the poet.She tells us that as children they did not understand why their mother had to impose those water restrictions or why she had to bother about every little prank they played. ‘We thought her mean' is enough to tell us that she has realized this. Stanza seven echoes the title of the poem as we are told how water is no longer in short supply. The poet can afford to stay in the bath for as long as she wishes and can fill the tub to the brim if she so wishes. The ‘now' at the beginning of the stanza tells us that the poet's situation has changed.Unlike the past she is no a ‘sybarite' and devotes herself to luxury. It is as if she is saying making up for all the luxury she lost in childhood. The metaphor ‘The shower's a hot cascade' describes vividly the poet's feeling. She is comparing the shower to water fountain and not only that it is hot. She can even afford to leave the heating on. The last stanza begins with a feeling of nostalgia. The poet misses her sisters who, we can confidently say, are no longer staying with their mother. They have all moved on and perhaps enjoying the luxury of a filled bath tub.She even misses her mother's smile. Unlike in the past the mother's smile is full of mirth because the ‘lean dry times' are over. We get the impression that their mother's suffering was due to their long childhood and now that they are able to fend for themselves most of the problems have gone. The mother is now happy and does not have to worry about a month which was ‘weeks too long. ‘ A casual reading of the poem will make the reader think it is a reminiscence of someone's childhood experiences. But underneath this surface lies the themes and messages the poet puts across.We learn that patience can help us deal with a lot of life's everyday problems. Instead of adults taking their frustrations onto their children they should learn to cope with these frustrations. We also learn from the mother's reactions to the children's behaviour that children must be allowed to be children and occasionally brought onto the straight path when necessary. The mother did not do anything that would have driven the children away from home. She did not blame the children for the fact that she could not afford a luxurious for herself and the children.What she did is what every parent should learn: she accepted her responsibility as a parent and understood that the children did not negotiate with her to come into the world. Her responsibility was to provide the physical, biological and emotional needs of her children. It is also good that poet later realised the mother was not being mean after all. This is also a very important message for the youth of today. They should understand that every parent wants the best for their children and even though they may see some of the decisions taken by adults as harsh in the long run it is for their own benefit.

Country Life vs City Life

Country Life Better Than City Life In my opinion I think country life is better than city life. The city is very busy and crazy! The crowds and traffic generates stress that challenges the human being. Perhaps that is why the city people act like an angry, stressed and unfriendly person. The country is so calm and peaceful, makes the city people want to go down there for vacations. Life in the city is very challenging. The public transportation reduces the demand for your own vehicles and the accompanying expenses. City life provides distractions available in the arts, theater, and other forms of entertainment.Even though there is a lot of activities that you can do like, going shopping on every corner and sidewalk, the city life also carries a heavy price. Housing and food are expensive. Services, such as transportation, are expensive. Worst of all, the most expensive part of life in the city is the fee it takes on your body through stress. Stress is everywhere in the city with ever y waking moment in the city. The crowds, traffic, tight work schedules never calm down. The air in the city is not healthy at all. The poisons of thousands of vehicles overwhelm what little green life remains to clean the air. Crime is very high in most cities.The odds of becoming a victim are high even for simple trips to the local grocery store or bank. Your brain and body are endlessly attacked by environmental pollution that a human inhales. There are very few opportunities to relax, stress builds, and the quality of your life decreases. The city dweller looks forward to a day out of the city. Historically, movement patters have been from the city to the suburbs and later to the country. Escape becomes the order of the day. Each move to the outer boundaries of the urban environment makes life a little more peaceful. The move to the country is the greatest move of all.Peaceful is the most concise description of the country. The night is quiet. Soft insect noises and the plaintive call of an owl rule the stillness. No heavy traffic, no sirens, no rush of the â€Å"madding crowd. † Life is simple and calming. Food is grown locally, instead of remotely. Everyone knows your name, and has been to your grandparents’ house. The country offers advantages to the stressed city dweller that can reduce stress, induce health, and present understanding. The country is for the laid back, no-stress, free living life you always wished for! This is just a few reasons why the country life is better than the city life.

Payment Methods in Ecommerce

With the rapid advancement in technology and the expansion of business, more and more companies are venturing into E-commerce in a race to grow not just regionally but also internationally. E-commerce adaption necessitates the change of the business model companies have been following traditionally and with it comes the change in the modes to make the payments.With the popularity of the internet for common use in business since 1990, E-commerce has been growing and touching the new horizons in every category of business , there are organizations today that depends heavily upon the E-commerce and there are examples amongst the fortune 500 giants which have seen tremendous growth in the era of E-commerce conducting the business online .(â€Å"Microsoft†,n. d) When the companies conduct business online the modes of financial payments become different from that of the traditional business payment ways like cash , checks, debit cards etc.Since while buying online, there is generall y no physical presence involved and customers could order the products sitting anywhere using their computers. B2B ( Business to Business)E-commerce today accounts for more than the 95 percent of total E-commerce and the B2B E-commerce means both the buying companies and the selling companies are the organizations and which consequently refer to larger amount of payment flow which is linked with buying or selling the products online , so electronic payment systems that are in place have to be very advanced when it comes to preciseness, security, privacy and the speed of processing the amount. â€Å"Turban et al† , 2004) There are always risk associated with the information that could be revealed over the internet while making a transaction and could lead to something unexpected like misuse of the instruments like credit cards and E-checks used to make the payment online. In an effort to make electronic payments more robust and error free, there are various protocols that are being utilized to encrypt the information being sent over the internet and these protocols differ in the encryption techniques. (â€Å"Electronic Commerce,† n. ) E-commerce is based on an ever advancing technology that gives birth to high end safety measures that could be applied while making the financial payments over the internet however internet Frauds, thefts still take place and need to be addressed since E-commerce is growing and would keep on growing at a fast pace as companies look to expand and make technology their platform for success in the retail market particularly. Introduction E -commerce is not limited only to buying and selling it also is an effective way of facilitating the inter and intra organizational flow of information and providing the customer service.There could be more than one way to define the E-commerce depending upon the prospective of the business and application of the technology, from a business prospective E-commerce is application of tech nology to make business more automated when it comes to day to day transactions and work flow, similarly if applied to the service industry E-commerce would mean a tool to address the service costs at the same time increasing the quality and speed of the service.The essay touches the various modes of electronic payment systems that are being used today as part of E-commerce today however it particularly concentrates upon online credit card payment systems, the terms related to the credit cards, their transactional process over the network, protocols that make credit card transaction secure over the internet . Some evolving electronic payment methods are simply electronic version of existing payment systems such as paper checks and credit cards and some other are based on the digital currency technology.Essay also focus upon the various protocols which exist to encrypt the information that is being sent over the internet to make the transaction exact and secure, the encryption techno logy that is being used along with the algorithms implanted in the cryptography techniques, the advantages and disadvantages of the various mode of payments that could make a difference when customers are concerned about the privacy and the security while making a transaction online keeping in view the amount of transactions that would take place in day to day business have been discussed since with increase in number of transactions number of thefts, frauds will also increase.Concept and Size of Electronic Payment Since payment systems use the electronic and computer networks, the nature of these payments is more complex than payment systems used in the conventional commerce so companies dealing in E-commerce should constitute frequent practice in banking. Most common form of the payments in E-commerce are payments made in Business to Business since they make more than 95 percent of total E-commerce payments today and these are executed through a proper network of electronic commun ication that would include digital telephony , IP telephony and use of internet to complete the transaction. (Turban et al, 2004 ) The amount of payment made in the electronic payment system varies from one type to another of the E-commerce; the payments that are made in the Business to Business E-commerce are quite higher than what are made in Business to Consumer or Consumer to Business types of the E-commerce.There are transactions that may range from $1 to $ 10 which generally take place in Business to Consumer form only and by their nature are known as the micro payments. Payments up to $ 500 are still mostly done under Business to Consumer form of E- commerce however are not considered micro payments, example of this could be buying a customized laptop from the Dell website which could cost around $500. (Danial, 2002) Payments higher than $1000 would generally fall under Business to Business E-commerce since individual customers who have to make a purchase bigger than this amo unt would preferably like to buy the products physically. â€Å"B2B transactions account about 95% of e-commerce transactions, while others account about 5%†. Turban et al, 2004 ) Modes of Payment in Electronic Payment system in E- commerce. There have been dozens of modes of payment in electronic payment system some of them are widely accepted and common however some of them are not. Some of them are just the electronic versions of the conventional methods that are there in regular form of commerce. Following are some common forms that are used in daily forms of E-commerce. 1. Electronic Fund Transfer. 2. Credit Cards. 3 E –cash. 4. Smart cards. 5. E –checks. 6. Electronic Debit Cards. Online Credit Card Payment System. â€Å"It seeks to extend the functionality of existing credit cards for use as online shopping payment tools.This payment system has been widely accepted by consumers and merchants throughout the world, and by far the most popular methods of pa yments especially in the retail markets†. (Laudon and Traver, 2002) A credit card is generally issued by the banks or other financial institution. It comes with a fixed amount of spending limit depending upon the type of the credit card and payment is to be made to the issuing institution within a stipulated time period it could be 30-40 days after which customer has to pay interest on the amount due. Following are the few terms that are related to the use of credit cards. 1. Card holder: – a card holder is the authorized person who is entitled to do purchases online using the card. 2.Card issuer: – Card issuer could be financial institution or a bank that has issued the credit card to card holder after a certain amount of verification about the card holder. 3. The merchant:- Merchant is the one who accepts payment via credit card used online in exchange of goods or services offered by him. 4. The acquirer: – a financial institution that establishes an acc ount for merchants and acquires the vouchers of authorized sales slips. 5. Card brand/card type :- there are types of credit cards that are accepted worldwide and different institution take care of different types of credit cards such as Visa and Master Card. (Turban ,Lee, King, chung , n. d)Process of using Credit Card While making a purchase online using a credit card, the transaction goes through a series of steps and following are few terms that need to be understood before understanding the transactional process, all these terms are kind of processes that could take place while processing a transaction. * Sale: A sale is when the card holder purchases a product or service from a merchant and the money is transferred to the merchant's account. *   Preauth: A preauth is not a sale transaction however it is a transaction to make sure that the credit card is valid and it typically charge around $1. 00(Techrepublic ,n. d)  ·Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   * Postauth: â€Å"A p ostauth involves purchasing something before it is shipped. The customer can preorder something, and the amount is deducted from the customer's credit limit. No money is transferred, but the card hold is maintained on the customer's card.When the merchant fulfills (typically, ships the product), the merchant can perform a postauth to transfer the money and remove the card hold from the customer's card†. (Techrepublic, n. d) * Credit: This transaction is used while returning the good according to the procedure under the agreement and merchant puts the money back into the account. * Chargeback: A chargeback transaction is used in case of dispute settlement. In case of a dispute customer files a case and the financial institution involved temproraly withdraws money from the merchant`s account and transfers it to customer`s account. Each party have a certain number of days to prove the right billing and depending upon that amount goes in the account of right party. (â€Å"Techrep ublic† ,n. ) Steps involved in the online transaction While making a transaction customer fills in the credit card information on the HTML page and the information is sent over the server. 1. Server receives the information and sends it to the code that validates the information added by the user and if found valid this information is formatted into data that gateway could understand and is sent to gateway. (â€Å"Techrepublic† ,n. d) 2. â€Å"The gateway receives the formatted data from the HostRAD code, validates the card, and checks to see whether the amount for the transaction is available in the user's account†. (â€Å" Techrepublic† n. ) Upon validation if the card is found invalid or if there is not enough amount on the card a disapproval goes to the code and gateway charges the merchant money at this point of transaction even if it goes bad and if everything is found right the transaction is approved and an approval message is sent to the code. 3. Depending upon the type of the type of the card(Visa, Master card) gateway is batched upto the appropriate clearing house transactions arrive at the gateway, they're batched through to the appropriate clearinghouse. The clearinghouse that is used is determined by the credit card type and the bank that issued the card. As the clearinghouses receive transactions from all the gateways, the clearinghouses batch the transactions for all the banks involved, transferring monies from bank to bank.For providing this service, the clearinghouse takes between two percent and five percent of the total sale. (â€Å"Techrepublic†, n. d) 4. As the clearinghouses batch the transactions they receive, they transfer money from the customer's bank to the merchant's bank. 5. The merchant's bank receives the transactions from a clearinghouse and then transfers the appropriate amount of money for the customer transaction (started in box 1) into the Merchant's Card Not Present merchant account (†Å"Techrepublic†,n. d) Credit Card Transaction Security â€Å"More than 100 million personally-identifiable customer records have been breached in the US over the past two years. Many of these breaches involved credit card information. Continued credit card use requires confidence by consumers that their transaction and credit card information are secure†. (â€Å"Texas department of information resource† ,2009)The Payment Card Industry (PCI) Security Standards Council is the authoritarian agency that issues the standards and policies that help reduce the internet crimes in use of credit cards and all vendors that accept credit cards in their transactions have to abide by these laws . PCI council includes all the major Card brands like American Express, Discover Financial Services, JCB International, MasterCard , and Visa International. â€Å"Texas department of information resource† ,2009) â€Å"The Council created an industry-wide, global framework that d etails how companies handle credit card data – specifically, banks, merchants and payment processors. The result is the PCI Data Security Standard (DSS) – a set of best practice requirements for protecting credit card data throughout the information lifecycle†. (â€Å"Texas department of information resource† ,2009) â€Å"The PCI compliance security standards outline technical and operational requirements created to help organizations prevent credit card fraud, hacking, and various other security vulnerabilities and threats. The PCI DSS requirements are applicable if a credit card number is stored, processed, or transmitted.The major credit card companies require compliance with PCI DSS rules via contracts with merchants and their vendors that accept and process credit cards. Banks, merchants, and payment processors must approach PCI DSS compliance as an ongoing effort. Compliance must be validated annually, and companies must be prepared to address new a spects of the standard as it evolves based on emerging technologies and threats†. (â€Å"Texas department of information resource† ,2009) Following are some terms related to online Credit card frauds â€Å"Phishing – This technique refers to randomly distributed emails that attempt to trick recipients into disclosing account passwords, banking information or credit card information. This one scam has played a major factor in the crisis we face today.Since phishing emails typically appear to be legitimate, this type of crime has become very effective. Well designed, readily available software utilities make it nearly impossible to trace those guilty of phishing. Phishtank, an anti-phishing organization, recently revealed that nearly 75,000 attempts of this nature are made each month† Pharming – This new technique is one of the most dangerous of them all. Pharming involves a malicious perpetrator tampering with the domain name resolution process on th e internet. By corrupting a DNS, (Domain Name System), a user can type in the URL for a legitimate financial institution and then be redirected to a compromised site without knowledge of the changes.Unaware of the background predators, the consumer types in their bank account details or credit card number, making them the latest victim of fraud. Skimming – refers to a process in which a special device is used to copy encoding data from the magnetic strip of a credit or debit card. This device is usually secretly mounted to an ATM machine as a card reader. Dumpster Diving – this act refers to a process in which an individual vigorously shift's through someone else's trash in search of personal and financial information. With a mere credit card approval that contains a name and address, a criminal can easily open up a credit card in your name and accumulate substantial debt in no time.Security measures in online credit card payment systems. Four necessary and important m easures that must to be followed for safe electronic system are as following. 1. Authentication Authentication is a method to verify buyer`s identity before payment is authorized. 2. Encryption Encryption is a process to making data that has to be sent over the internet indecipherable so that it could not be read by unauthorized persons and read only by the persons in authority to do so. 3. Integrity It has to be made sure that information that is sent over the internet is not modified, altered in an intentional or unintentional way. 4. Nonrepudiation This is the quality of a secure system that prevents anyone from denying that they have sent certain data. Here the communication system should be fault tolerant. Server where the transaction has been sent should keep a record log of every transaction and the user can't deny that he or she has not accessed the server. Security Schemes Key security schemes that make sure that information sent over the network while engaging in a transac tion is secure include encryption, digital signature, certificates and certifying authorities. Encryption:-Encryption is a technology that deciphers any kind of information before being sent over the network so that it could not be retrieved and misused by an unauthorized person.Two common encryption technologies that are used to encrypt and decrypt the data are Secret key and public key encryption as explained below. Secret Key encryption In this cryptography technique one key that is known as secret key is used to both encrypt and decrypt the data at sender`s as well as receiver end . Secret key encryption is easy to implement when number of users are less. The algorithm that is used for secret key cryptography is Data Encryption standard (DES) (Schneier ,n. d). The only problem with this encryption method is that the key has to be sent over to the counterpart. (â€Å"Dret†, n. d) Public key cryptography/Assymetric encryption.In this kind of encryption there are two keys th at form the part of encryption technology they are the public key and the privaret key . the public key is known to allthe users however the private key is only known to one user the owner. there are two methods the kep pair could be used eithet the data could be encrypted by the receiver`s public key and it will be decrypted by his private key but there is a problem with this method since the encrypting key is public key no body will know who sent the message the other way is encrypting the data with receiver`s private key and decrypting it by public key however this method also has an issue every public key holder will be able to decrypt the message so it has to be combination of keys.The data is encrypted using the receiver`s public key and reencrypted using the receiver`s private key the reciver has to use combination of keys to decrypt the data fully which means that the first the reciver`s private key and then the sender`s public key. The algorithm that is used in this techniq ue is RSA. (â€Å"turban, 2004) (â€Å"Dret†, n. d) Electronic Protocols. SET (Secure Electronic Transaction) protocol is an e-commerce protocol designed by Visa and MasterCard. Customers can purchase online and their personal information would be protected and also their buying habits would be recorded along with the information they provided. â€Å"SET developed by Visa and MasterCard is an open standard for encryption and security specification for credit card transactions on the Internet.The SET is a set of security protocols and formats that main section are application protocol and payment protocol†. (â€Å"Itig† , n. d) SET has many merits: SET has provided merchant protective method, cost-cutting and enough security for the electronic payment. It helps making the online E-commerce free from online fraud to quite an extent. SET keeps more secrets for the consumer to improve the satisfaction of their on-line shopping experience. SET helps the bank and the credit card company to expand the service to more broad space –Internet. And it lowers the probability of credit card on-line fraud. Therefore SET seems more competitive than other online payment method.SET has defined interface for all quarters of online transaction so that a system can be built on the products made by the different manufacturers. SET protocol based E-commerce model Although SET has been widely used in the electronic payment area and has gained more attention from the electronic commerce promoter, the SET transaction mode model only. Even for B2C model, its application is also limited. (â€Å"Itig†, n. d) DES algorithm and the RSA algorithm are used in SET protocol to carry on the encryption and the decryption process. SET protocol use DES as symmetrical encryption algorithm. However, DES was no longer a safe algorithm right now. Therefore, DES should be replaced by more intensive and safer algorithm.Moreover, along with the development of processing speed and storage efficiency enhancement of the computer, the algorithm will be cracked successively. It is necessary to improve the extendibility of encryption service. SET protocol is huge and complex in the application process. In a typical SET transaction process, the digital certificates need to be confirmed 9 times, transmitted 7 times; the digital signature need be confirmed 6 times, and 5 times signature, 4 symmetrical encryptions and 4 asymmetrical encryptions are carried out. (â€Å"cs. ucf†,n. d) SET protocol involves many entities such as customers, merchants and banks. All of them need to modify their systems to embed interoperability.As the SET requests installment software in the network of bank, on the business server and PC of the customer and it also need to provide certificates to all quarters, so running cost of the SET is rather high. The protocol cannot prove transactions which are done by the user who signs the certificate. The protocol is unable to pr otect cardholder and business since the signature received finally in the protocol is not to confirm the content of the transaction but an authentication code. If cardholders and trade companies have the dispute, they cannot provide alone the evidence to prove its transaction between themselves and the banks. Although there are some drawbacks in the SET protocol, it is still the most standard and the safest in the present electronic commerce security protocol and the international standard of the security electron payment.In order to overcome the defect that SET protocol only supports credit payment style, PIN(Personal Identify Number) digital items are modified in this paper; with regard to the other deficiencies such as complexity, slow speed, poor safety and adaptation of SET protocol, this paper also makes a model of architecture security control mechanism, introduces electron transaction authentication center and strengthens the security of transaction process of SET protocol. (â€Å"cs. ucf†,n. d) Transmission control Protocol (TCP) which is the main protocol used to send data over internet was not designed back then keeping in view the security issues that could arise in today`s World where E commerce plays an important role. The data transmitted through TCP could be read, intercepted and altered.Security breach still happens while an email is being sent or files are being transferred over the internet. Customer is always concerned over security when processing a transaction and sending information over the internet. Credit card information like name, number and date of expiration. Presently most of the companies use SSL (Secure Socket Layer) protocol to provide security and privacy this protocol encrypts the order at PC before sending it over the network however this protocol may not provide all the security needed. There is another more secure protocol Secure Electronic transaction (SET) however SET is is a slow protocol and may take long time to respond and also it requires that the digital wallet is installed on the customer pc.Electronic Fund Transfer â€Å"Electronic funds transfer† means any transfer of funds, other than a transaction originated by check, draft, or similar paper instrument, that is initiated through an electronic terminal, telephonic instrument, or computer or magnetic tape, so as to order, instruct, or authorize a financial institution to debit or credit an account. Electronic funds transfers shall be accomplished by an automated clearinghouse debit, an automated clearinghouse credit, or by Federal Reserve Wire Transfer†. † (Turban ,Lee, King;amp; chung ,n. d) Electronic Checks. E check is the electronic version of the traditional paper based checks , Paper check has been one of the most important way of payments that has been in use for a long time keeping in view the same concept E check has been designed to serve the same purpose. E-check contains the same information like acco unt number, issuing bank, address of the issuing bank and the amount of check.To validate the authenticity of the person, instead of signatures it has a digital code which is generated while filling in a check and is cross verified with the database while encashing it. Electronic Check offers many advantages over the traditional paper check since all the information is filled in electronically over the computer and it is not revealed as it passes through very few people who are in authority. E checks are cheaper by many folds because of ease of processing, also E-checks are lot faster in procession since the data is sent electronically and the chances of getting a check bounced are almost negligible. Electronic Wallets Electronic wallets or the e wallets also referred to digital wallets.An e wallet is a software program that contains user`s payment information in encrypted form to ensure its security, for example an individual`s e wallet could contain credit card number , bank accou nt number ,contact information and shipping location . This information can then be automatically and securely transferred to an online order form. †. (Turban ,Lee, King;amp; chung ,n. d) Virtual Credit Cards â€Å"Closely allied to e wallets is concept of virtual credit card. A virtual credit card is an image of a credit card placed on the computer desktop. With one click of the credit card image the card holder access the account information and pays for the online purchases.Customer can even drag and drop the virtual card from desktop onto an online checkout page . The credit card number and contact information is automatically entered into the checkout form and the customer just needs a pin to enter or other form of identification to authorize the transaction†. (Turban ,Lee, King;amp; chung ,n. d) Concluding Remarks Although there are many online payment systems available to choose from while making a purchase under E-commerce however the credit card is still the do minant and the most popular way not only because of the convenience it has but also because of its worldwide acceptability.Despite of the several security measures in place, credit card frauds do take place and protection of the information provided over the internet while making a purchase is of utmost importance. Encryption using the DES and RSA algorithms make the data indecipherable while being transmitted over the network and these encryption technologies are hard to break into however there are other ways credit card information could be disclosed. Phishing and Pharming as mentioned above in the essay are recent threats that are becoming common and are needed to be addressed as soon as possible since the users who are not really aware of these threats could unintentionally disclose information they are not supposed to.Credit card has wider acceptability because of its long established network thanks to the credit card brands like the Master card, Visa international and America n express and because of its friendly characteristics like ease of carriage, fast processing, 24 hour purchasing facility and the convenience of making purchase sitting anywhere. With the advancement of technology new protective measures like thumb imprint, retina scan are gaining popularity however it will take time for them to become common and implemented everywhere while making an online transaction since there are the cost and awareness issues related to these high end technology gadgets.