Airline Distribution Systems in 2013 Essay

Web based commerce and internet technology have dramatically transformed the airline industry throughout the past thirteen years. The internet has enabled travelers to bypass the traditional distribution pattern of travel agencies and enabled airlines to sell more directly to passengers (European Commission, 2006). Since the mid-1990s there have been some major changes to the airline ticket distribution industry which were both a result of internet technologies (GAO, 2003). Major U. S. Airlines claimed a net operating loss of nearly $10 billion in 2002 and had paid over $7 billion to distribute tickets to consumers (GAO, 2013). These distribution expenses include booking fees to global distributions system to the amount of hundreds of millions of dollars (GAO, 2003). Airlines would receive a set booking fee each time an airline ticket was purchased through a travel agent by the global distribution system used by the travel agent (GAO, 2003). Due to most U. S. carriers being largely dependent on each of the global distribution systems for distributing tickets to different travel agent and consumers and consumers having to subscribe and pay fees to each, there are concerns that the global distributions systems may exercise market ower over them (GAO, 2013). Market power would allow global distribution systems to charge high, noncompetitive fees to airlines and in turn, these costs may be passed on to consumers (GAO, 2013). Environment Two major changes have occurred in the airline ticket distribution industry since the 1990s that have produced cost savings for some major U. S. airlines (GAO, 2013). The airlines have developed less expensive internet ticketing sites that bypass global distribution systems and their fees and encourage consumers to book directly rather than through travel agencies (GAO, 2013). Between the years 1999 and 2002 the average percentage of tickets booked on-line either from airlines or travel agencies grew from 7% to 30% (GAO, 2013). (See Appendix A). The next effort to reduce costs that airlines made was the cutting the amount of commissions they would pay to travel agencies (GAO, 2013). These attempts have still not eliminated the dependence airlines have on global distribution systems. In the report made by the U. S.  Government Accountability Office (GAO), they were unable to determine the exact relationship between global distribution system booking fees and related costs and were not able to reach any conclusions towards the potential exercise of market power by global distribution systems in the airline ticket distribution industry (GAO, 2013). Despite these reports there have still been numerous complaints from airlines that the companies who distribute airline flight and fare information are stifling competition and violating federal anti-trust laws (Koenig, 2011). Government reports help airlines because they investigate claims which are made that could possibly violate anti-trust laws and act as a middleman to solve disputes. Travelport and Sabre are two large global distribution systems which have had investigations against them (Koenig, 2011). A third company, Amadeus, is another global distribution system and the three of them make up for all of the distribution systems in the U. S. (Koenig, 2011). The justice department has clearly stepped into the mix by investigating claims of monopoly power and anti-trust. Only announcements of such investigations have taken place with no more real information being handed to the public. American and US Airways have both filed lawsuits against the global distribution giant, Sabre (Koenig, 2011). Sabre was actually created by American Airlines but later spun off as a separate company (Koenig, 2011). American also sued Travelport for using monopoly tactics and burying their flight information (Koenig, 2011). With Travelport accounting for nearly $2. billion of American’s ticket sales last year, it is hard to see where the complaint lies yet American is intent of wrongdoing and is asking for government assistance through lawsuits (Koenig, 2011). Government institutions try to protect consumers and smaller companies in tourism by imposing anti-discrimination and anti-trust regulation to ensure that real information is presented and competition levels remain satisfactory (Beatrice, Cezar, & Alexandra, 2013). Industry Airlines and independent travel agencies were amongst the first to take advantage of the marketing and sales opportunities the internet provided (Borenstein, & Rose, 2013). Airlines saw the internet as a way to bypass the traditional sales channel of travel agents in order to gain control of lower costing electronic ticketing methods (Borenstein, & Rose, 2013). The internet provided an alternative for airlines and lowered their fears of sales being blocked by ticketing agencies (Borenstein, & Rose, 2013). Domestic airlines in Mumbai, India are attempting to not follow the conventional fixed commission system (Cuckoo, 2005). The issue of commission reduction has caused a huge stand-off between travel agents and international airlines (Cuckoo, 2005). Legacy airlines let by flag carrier Air-India announced in May, 2005 that they would cut commissions from 9% to 5% (Cuckoo, 2005). British Airways joined in with this plan and other European and Southeast Asian carriers were expected to follow suit (Cuckoo, 2005). Travel agents are planning to fight the commission cuts through the Travel Agents Association of India (TAAI) and the Travel Agents Federation of India (TAFI) (Cuckoo, 2005). Just as many U. S. Carriers have claimed fear of, agents in India announced a plan to boycott Air-India and to stop selling their airline tickets in the event of commissions being cut (Cuckoo, 2005). Low-cost carriers have an advantage to the internet because they can start off with new models of distribution whereas legacy carriers have been using agents for decades and it is hard for them to step out (Cuckoo, 2005). Air Decan is a low-cost airline in India that sells 35% of its tickets online and has been knowingly boycotted by agents because it offers a lower price, usually around 5% less, to consumers who book directly from them (Cuckoo, 2005). An International low-cost airline, Air-Arabia, will not pay any commissions to travel agents with its India flights (Cuckoo, 2005). Air-India’s low-cost subsidiary, Air-India Express will also have their passengers pay handling fees instead of the airlines (Cuckoo, 2005). Another Airline to consider is Frontier who makes their lowest fares available on both their own website and on the big online travel agencies (OTAs) such as Priceline and Expedia (Perkins, 2012). There is a difference however, when passengers purchase from any other site or agency other than Frontier, they only earn half of the amount of frequent flyer miles, do not get advanced seating, and will face higher fees for various changes (Perkins, 2012). Marketing Strategy and Situational Analysis Some may find it peculiar that companies are now battling other companies that they themselves created. The three major GDS systems that control most airline ticket distribution worldwide, Amadeus, Sabre, and Travelport provide OTAs with fare information and transact sales (Perkins, 2012). OTAs are used by most airlines in order to sell their tickets along with their own websites. In addition to providing airfares OTAs also provide hotel accommodations, rental cars, and most other popular travel services (Perkins, 2012). Airlines now want to avoid fees which were once accumulated through the use of agents and GDSs charge them anywhere between $5 and $12 to book a flight while a transaction through their own system probably costs less than $1 (Perkins, 2012). Now that the internet source is available and extremely efficient the airlines want to gain control back of their customers in order to be able to sell them additional services (Perkins, 2012). On their own sites they could have the ability to present upgraded options such as a bundled no-fee fare packages and can provide passengers with the ability to book semi-premium economy seats (Perkins, 2012). Airlines also want to avoid the easiness of price comparisons passengers have with OTAs in order to maximize their profits once again. The problem, as stated earlier in this paper, is that GDSs account for more than half of their business and to cut them out of the transaction stream completely would be extremely difficult (Perkins, 2012). Airlines are also signed into long-term GDS contracts that require that they provide the same fares to GDS that they have available on their website (Perkins, 2012). A third problem is that large buyers and managers of business travel are extremely dependents on GDS for various reasons such as fare, price, and other information that is required to control travel costs (Perkins, 2012). Attempts to move completely from GDS systems by most airlines have been unsuccessful but many have been able to find ways to shun them. Southwest is one who has managed to have their own system entirely because if you want to fly Southwest, you have to go to Southwest (Perkins, 2012). Allegiant and Spirit also provide only limited participation with GDS (Perkins, 2012). Others get around the contractual agreement of having the same fares available by offering discount promotional codes for direct bookings (Perkins, 2012). With the advantages of control of ticket distribution for the airlines stated and the various strategies used by each airline along with their strengths discussed, let us now look at the weaknesses of these distribution systems. The main weakness is that with the amount of passengers that do use OTAs, there’s a chance they will not use airlines that are not on these sites due to their popularity. Passengers want to be able to compare prices and OTAs provide just that. Passengers may not be willing to research fares on their own and may only go to their preferred airline if OTAs aren’t available. Airlines win if they are the airline of choice but if they aren’t they could be losing potential customers. Commercial Websites This study will look at two individual airlines and their websites and discuss how successful they are. According to Google Trends, the internet is the number one source for both business and leisure travel and roughly 83% of personal travelers use it as well as 77% of business travelers (The Economist, 2009). The two airlines in this review will be United Airlines and Southwest Airlines. Commercial websites need to consider what customers experience when searching for information, evaluating alternative products, and purchasing them (Peter, & Donnelly, 2013). We will be reviewing these three basic areas of which web site designers should consider for each United and Continental Airlines. With information search, there needs to be ease of navigation, fast page downloads, effective search features, and frequent product updates (Peter, & Donnelly, 2013). When evaluating alternatives, designers need to consider the ease of product comparisons, product descriptions, ease of contacting customer service representatives, and a status of the availability of items (Peter, & Donnelly, 2013). With the purchase evaluation, designers need to consider security and privacy issues, the checkout process, payment options, delivery options, and the ordering instructions (Peter, & Donnelly, 2013). United Airlines makes navigation simple by placing their flight search table right on the home page. They also include a section for members to sign in, passengers to print their boarding pass, check a flight status, and to change or view reservations right on the home page. These are some of their most used services which are placed right in plain sight on their home page making the information users are looking for easily obtainable. When searching for a flight the speed of the page downloads is quite fast especially considering that a query is being made and information has to be sorted. The results of the search used for this study came back fast and with more information than even requested. The site included many additional options to narrow the search down and was very up to date. When a search for a flight is made the results make it easy to compare similar flights available and even points to the direction of which options could/would give passengers a lower fare. The descriptions are accurate, clear, and comprehensive enough for customers to make informed decisions when choosing a flight. Customer service can easily be reached by clicking on the top right corner of the screen no matter what page of the site you are on. When a search is made unavailable flights or booked flights are not even visible making it easy for customers to view the availability of their options. When considering the purchase made on a web site, it is clear that United has all of the issues covered from security and privacy issues to ordering instructions. United airlines guides customers from the start of their home page all the way to the end purchase with ease. The steps are clear and the purchase can be made in a reasonable amount of time. Customers have various payment options such as credit card, PayPal, or buy it now as well. Southwest Airlines uses a more simplified homepage yet still has the flight search on their home screen to allow for ease of navigation. On top of providing ease of navigation they also use their home page to advertise promotions. The speed of pages downloads is quick, the returned information was effective, and the flight schedules were all up to date on Southwest’s site. They also provided multiple flights to choose from that incorporated a variety of different prices. The promotions continued through the flight selection process as well going on to add discounts if a hotel were to be booked as well. Flight comparisons and descriptions were easy to compare and were accurate, clear, and comprehensive enough to allow consumers to make informed decisions. Something I was surprised to find about the site was that the customer service phone number was not extremely easy to locate. Customers have to click through about 3 pages before a number is given and that is after they find the tiny help icon at the top of the screen. The status of availability is done the same whereas unavailable seating or options are not even displayed to customers. Southwest covers issues of security and privacy all the way to ordering instructions. Southwest Airlines guides customers from the start of their home page all the way to the end purchase with ease. The steps are clear and the purchase can be made in a reasonable amount of time. Customers have various payment options such as credit card, PayPal, or buy it now as well. Comparing the two directly, Southwest’s homepage is more simple and easier for consumers to take in whereas United has an abundant amount of options to choose from. They are both however, very effective and successful commercial websites and follow all of the guidelines mentioned above from the text with the exception of a number for customer service being more difficult to find on Southwest’s website (Peter, & Donnelly, 2013).

Euroland Foods SA Case Analysis

I. Introduction Euroland Foods Company was a publicly traded company since 1979. Theo Verdin founded the company in 1924 as a result in developing his dairy business. Euroland Foods Company saw itself as a multinational producer. The four products were high-quality ice cream, yogurt, bottled water, and fruit juices. Each product accounted for 60%, 20%, 10%, and 10% of the company’s revenue respectively. The company’s headquarters was in Brussels, Belgium. Since the day the company was founded, it has experienced steadily development. II. Background of Firm The board of directors of Euroland Foods Company had 12members. Three of them were the Verdin family, four of them were from the management, and the left five members came from outside. The combined Verdin family, the combined company executive, Venus Asset Management, and Banque du Bruges et des Pays Bas were the four biggest stockholders. Each had 20%, 10%, 12%, and 9% of the company’s shares outstanding respectively. Senior Management Committee was responsible for the capital budgeting and presenting it to the board of directors every year. Seven members, including five managing directors, one PDG, and one finance director, were on the committee. III. Statement of Situation Euroland Foods Company had two major problems comparing with its peers. One was the high debt-to-equity ratio, another one was the low price-to-earnings ratio. The debt-to-equity ratio was 125%, which made the Banque du Bruges, Euroland’s bank, could not keep silence. Banque du Bruges strongly pushed a debt reduction program to Euroland. No project could be financed if the leverage level was beyond the current debt-to-equity ratio. The lower the price-to-earnings ratio, the lower the stock price was. In this case, the Euroland’s stock price was lower than average of peers. At the current ratio 14, Euroland’s market value was below its book value. Euroland Foods Company failed in the trying of new product introduction. Its sales had been stopped since 1998. The creditor, Banque du Bruges, was worrying about the Euroland’s ability to pay its debt back. The one of the biggest stockholder, Venus Asset Management, was worrying about cutting off the dividends. IV. Constraints on Solution Due to the high debt-to-equity ratio, the board of directors decided to limit capital spending to EUR 120 million. There were eleven projects on the table, and up to total EUR 316 million. There was estimated minimum acceptable IRR and maximum acceptable payback years. (Table 1) V. Possible Solutions In order to increase the sales, Euroland Company has to choose projects wisely under the EUR 120 million budget limitation, minimum IRR limitation, and maximum payback period limitation. Net present value, internal rate of return, and payback period are the main measures Euroland Company used to analyze each project. According to Exhibit 3, project 1 replacement and expansion of the truck fleet, project 2 a new plant, project 3 expansion of a plant, project 4 development and roll-out of snack foods, and project 5plant automation and conveyor systems are eliminated for the over maximum acceptable payback period. The left projects are all considerable. The special project in this case is the effluent-water treatment at four plants. Because it belongs to the safety or environments category, there is no measurement yet. Euroland Company could see it as a future expenditure, and if Leyden was right, we can spend EUR 6 million today instead of EUR 15 million four year later. This project will save Euroland a lot in the future. (the saving amount equals to the net present value of EUR 15 million minus EUR 6 million) The project is going to be mandatory four year later. VI. Recommended Solution If I was on the board of directors, I would approve project 11, Acquisition of a leading schnapps brand and associated facilities, which is analyzed as project 10 on the Exhibit 3; project 7, Market expansion southward, which is analyzed as project 6 on the exhibit 3; and project 9, Development and introduction of new artificially sweetened yogurt and ice cream, which is analyzed as project 8 on the exhibit 3. The capital budget for the three projects are EUR 60 million, EUR 30 million, and EUR 27 million respectively, which give us the total EUR 117 million. We still have EUR 3 million can use, and I will propose to use it in the effluent-water treatment at four plants project. Although the project estimated cost is EUR 6 million, companies barely pay such a huge amount in one day. We can negotiate with the seller to come up a payment plan; in addition we need to make a deal which the first payment is not greater than EUR 3 million. Project 7 market expansions southward and project 8 market expansions eastward are similar, but I decided to approve project market expansions southward instead. Besides the higher net present value and internal of rate of return, the purchasing power is stronger and competition is less intense.

Factors and Motivations That Influence Biological Warfare

Many troops during the years of World War I met their demise in what is arguable the most terrifying and inhumane of all military tactics – biological warfare. Soldiers inhaled a deadly acidic gas that burned them from the inside out, suffocating them in an excruciating and unimaginable pain. Kurth Audrey, a professor of strategy at the U. S. National War College in Washington, stated: â€Å"Science is as neutral as a knife; it may maybe a blessing or a curse depending on the heart and the mind of the man who holds it. †[1] Terrorists organizations are motivated by many factors to use biological warfare. If a terrorist organization has the concepts of science down, as a neutral knife, then they can produce weapons that can fulfill their agenda, whether it is something that has to do with reputation, politics, or religion. Many factors contribute to terrorists using this type of warfare, which stimulates the motivations of terrorist organizations. These factors range from; access to information, cost, ease of dissemination, availability, access to technology, and difficulty of detection. Biological warfare is a dangerous type of warfare, than can cause severe damage to a population of people, crops, or animals. It can also cause harm to the one that is dispersing the biological agent, which causes one to think, why would someone use this type of warfare? Biological agents are often simpler to attain and produce than chemical weapons that can cause mass destruction in a population. The material for biological agents can easily be grown or purchased. There are some agents, such as Anthrax or Brucellosis, which occur naturally in animals in certain parts of the world , and individuals can acquire these agents just by traveling the globe to where these agents grow. For an example, the Aum Shinrikyo cult was reported to have gone to Zaire, a place in Africa, to seek the strains of Ebola for its use in its bio-weapons program. [2] Until recently, anyone could order agents from supple houses around the world. In 1995, American Type Culture Collection (ATCC), a mail order company that provides biological products, shipped the bacteria, Anthrax, to Saddam Hussein's biological warfare program in Iraq. [3] Just like the increase of technology throughout the decades, there is also an increase of availability of information related to chemical and biological weapons. Information on how to create biological weapons can be taken from articles within scientific literature on a variety of topics, which only requires a trained scientist to understand. The Internet has created forums on which terrorists groups can reach out, recruit members, and spread messages. It also makes a large library of information available to just about anyone who is interested on the production of biological agents. One resource that is found online is, Bacteriological Warfare: A Major Threat to North America, which is written by Larry Wayne Harris of the Aryan Nation. 4] This manual describes the reproduction and growth of biological agents, and can be purchased for only $30. [5] Another resource available is called, Silent Death, which instructs the reader in ways to kill using chemical and biological poisons. According to the publisher of this book, it sells thousands of copies each year. [6] Bio-engineers are now armed with knowledge on how to cease biological agents, as well as the effects of the agents upon a population. According to Ken Alibek, who supervised the Soviet bio warfare program, â€Å"Although the mos-sophisticated and effected versions [of biological weapons]require considerable equipments and scientific expertise, primitive versions can be produced in a small area with minimal equipment by someone with limited training†¦ They would be relativity inexpensive and easy to produce. †[7] To produce bio-weapons, a terrorist organization must have access to a scientist with some graduate training in the fields of microbiology or genetic engineering. The political and economic situation in Russia created a supply of bio warfare scientists who were not being paid and were unable to provide for themselves or their families. Regardless of the political, moral and ethical standards of these scientists, it is reasonable to expect that many of those scientists are now working for terrorist organizations around the world. Iraq scientists discovered which strains to order by reviews in American scientific journals, which are located at American Type Culture Collection in Rockville, Maryland. For thirty-five dollars, they also picked up strains of tularemia and Venezuelan equine encephalitis once targeted for weaponization at Fort Detrick. [8] The knowledge that is learned, and the availability of the biological agents, caused the relative ease of production of the agents, storage they can be contained in, dissemination factors, increased safety for the troops handling the binary agents, and the less complicated processes of demilitarization. The cost of producing and deploying biological weapons is less expensive than chemical weapons; the materials, equipment, and production space are all so inexpensive, any terrorist organization can afford them. According to an Office of Technical Assessment (OTA) Report, the cheapest overt production of one nuclear bomb costs $200 million, with larger programs costing up to 50 times more. In contrast, a large arsenal costs less than $10 million dollars. 9] Kathleen Bailey, found through interviews with professors, students, and scientists, that all that was needed to create a biological weapons program capable of producing large amounts of agents, would be several biologists with $10,000 worth of equipment – all of which who could fit into the same room. [10] This then causes many terrorists organizations to actually be capable of producing a biological agent. Dissemination of biological agents can be simple and inexpensive. There are a variety of different ways they can be de livered. The simplest methods of dissemination are through the contamination of food products or water. This method only requires direct access to any food product or water- preferably during the purification stages of that food product or of that water. Biological agents can also be dispersed through the contamination of agriculture, indirect transmission through animals, and direct contact, such as the assassination of Georgi Markov in 1978 through a ricin- containing pallet that was shot into his thigh. Dissemination through aerosol or vapor into an enclosed area or the open air is more complex than just through food products or water. Biological agents released into the air, such as through the release of vapors from a crop duster, are subject to biological decay, physical decay, atmospheric thermal stability, wind speed, and dimension of the land surface. The dissemination of agents is more predictable in rural areas than urban regions. The agents must be able to withstand the stress of the dissemination, environmental factors, and physical obstructions. Researchers have found, however, that dissemination of agents at night or enclosed dark areas, such as subways or tunnels, can be particularly effective. [12] Biological agents can be extremely lethal, some biological agents create more deadly affects than others, such as Anthrax. According to the Department of Defense, ten kilograms of Anthrax can cause more damage than a ten kiloton nuclear weapon. [13] This form of warfare can lead a military down by 90% through the intentions of militarization, by giving the military that dispensed the biological agents a form of character. Since most individuals are not vaccinated for different types of diseases, such as smallpox, it can lead to millions of people dying. Small pox is an example of a bacteria that can cause up to 2 million people, if being exposed to a society, to die because of the complete absence of prevention and control measures since 1970, because people do not believe that this disease will emerge again. It has such a high mortality rate (one in three people die) and infectiousness (on average, one person will infect three additional people). Politics seams to be the cause of many disasters from the corrupt French government in 1740 which led to the brutal French Revolution, to the rebellions of Aum Shinrikyo, which formed their own structure based on the Japanese government. Aum Shinrikyo attracted followers that opposed the Japanese government, in the late 1980's and 1990's, which caused their group to become larger. Their goal was to pursue terrorist violence in competition with rival groups that Shoko Asahara, the leader of this violent group, feared would attract support away from Aum Shinrikyo. Their next goal was to take over the Japanese government. On March 1194, Aum Shinrikyo tried to assassinate the leader of a rival religious sect, the Soka Gakkai, but failed because the spraying system mounted on a van malfunction and contaminated its operators. However, the second attempt occurred in Mastumoto on June 27th, 1994, the members working with the biological agents of Aum Shinrikyo, improved the spraying system, which targeted three judges who were expected to rule against the sect in a land dispute. This later resulted in the injuries of 500, including the three political judges they were after. In September 1984, Rajneeshee religious cult the Dalles, Orgeon grew Salmonella typhimurium to manipulate the results of the November 1984 election. They planned to buss homeless people into their commune and register them as voters, and make the opposing voters sick and unable to vote. They then poisoned to county commissioners by using the method of dissemination of contaminating water with salmonella typhiurium, which caused both the commissioners to become sick. The cult then contaminated ten Dallas restaurants, which opened up 751 cases of salmonella. 16] The uses of these pathogens by both these two different groups, had the attentions of manipulating whatever they deemed was politically corrupted. Biological agents can be small and easy to transport. William Patrick, who left the US biological Weapons Development Program around 1969, regularly carries a vial containing a stimulant for anthrax, just to test whether or not it will be detected. In 1999, he brought the vial with him into a hearing of the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence without being detected and claimed to make the same move at the State Department, the Pentagon, and the CIA. 17] Many have traveled through airports, with high-tech security, around the world carrying equipment for deploying these biological agents through the air and never were stopped to explain the purpose for the equipment. The first signs of an attack may not even come until weeks after the agent has been deployed. Thus, by the time the authorities determine an attack has taken place, the perpetrators could be anywhere in the world, trying to escape what they have done. Biological attacks can be mistaken for naturally occurring disease outbreaks. Because of the difficulty in detecting a biological weapons attack, it is almost impossible to lay blame on a particular group or individual for the outbreak. As technology, and information on the biological fields of science increase, so do the potential threats of this type of warfare. It has been examined closely to how the factors help contribute to this type of warfare, as well as how motivation leads for this type of warfare to become some-what successful. The main major factor of groups to use this type of warfare would be religion. Religion plays a tremendous role in human misery, from wars, such as the crusades, to the use of biological weapons targeted at specific religious groups. When terrorism is involved in the name of religion, such as Al-Qaida, it is often motivated by violence that is regarded as â€Å"divine duty† which justifies bloodshed. One of the hallmarks of a religious terrorist is the unquestioned willingness to kill a large number of people without conscience behind their agendas. Since biological warfare is very effective in killing mass number of people, many religious extremist groups use this form of warfare to justify their actions, and views on religion. Terrorists groups have reputations that attract many people. Acquiring such massive biological weapons, or producing such complicated weapons, brings the terrorist group a high-rank reputation as well as to be seen as having no boundaries. It then makes it easier for the terrorist group to achieve their agendas. Aum Shinrikyo cult is an example that uses both of these motivations. Their attack in the subway system in 1995 not only caused the successful attack of fifty-five hundred people, according to their agenda, but had gotten people to realize their dangerous element; the involvement of highly intelligent and educated people, in which some are considered to be Japan's brightest scientists, computer technicians, and trained professionals. Even by the standards of cults, the Aum were a strange bunch. Among other things, members believed in the virtues of levitation and coffee enemas. They also wore elaborate radio sets on their heads so as to better hear the thoughts of their Leader. Despite their unusual ideas, the cult attracted a number of educated followers with scientific and technical abilities. It is a discouraging fact: religious cults may be strange and oblivious, but that doesn't prevent them from attracting capable intelligent followers – or to pursue their doomsday agendas. This type of warfare is an inhumane, dangerous type of warfare, that has killed dozens of people. If we actually take the factors into consideration, than we can lower the motivation and the prevent the further productions of these biological weapons. Bibliography http://www.bibliotecapleyades.net/sociopolitica/esp_sociopol_AUM01.htm

Distracted Driving in The United States Research Paper

Distracted Driving in The United States - Research Paper Example Various laws and legislations have been implemented in different states of US but this still remains an uphill task for the states. Various new recommendations and options are coming up in the shape of laws. Slowly and gradually this problem will be overcome by introducing safety measures and educating the youngsters. There have been incidents of mobile usage that resulted in loss of lives. There was a high school girl Alex Brown who lost her life to texting while driving. So her parents are eager to create awareness of texting while driving after losing their daughter. Her parents have made a website for educating people on distractions caused by texting while driving (â€Å"Remember Alex Brown foundation†). Chirping mobile phones are less expected to make flying dangerous. It endangers the lives of other onboard passengers. Comparatively danger is more on ground and these electronic devices have killed people on the roads. As per the department of transportation, chatting dr ivers are exposed four times to a crash. If we compare the reaction of an alcohol drunk driver with a driver using mobile phone then the distraction from a cell phone using driver slows and equals to a legally drunk individual (Carlson). Texting while driving is more dangerous than texting while driving. Looking down on any object or receiving and sending messages during driving is foolish. According to research carried out at Virginia Tech Institute, a driver takes his eyes off the road for approximately 5 seconds while sending or reading a text message. In this time, driver covers about length of a football field at 55 mph (Carlson). If we observe handling of mobile phone while driving then it is clear that it attracts total attention of drier. While reading text it catches visual attraction. Physical distraction is there when one is holding the phone in hand and mental distraction when concentrating on the material it shows on screen. So, it takes complete attention of the driver (Simon). Today the number one reason of auto accidents is distracted driving. The percentage has touched the alarming stage in recent past. Distracted driving has become the number one safety concern of road driving. Transportation secretary named distracted driving as â€Å"epidemic†. Now Toyota motors is spending about 50 million US dollars on research on issues associated with distracted driving. They named it as â€Å"growing cause of accidents.† National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) released some facts and figures at the end of conference which shows that more than 5800 people died and about 515000 were injured last year due to distracted driving. Other studies show that technological advancement has proven to be a major factor in traffic accidents (O’ Donnell). Statistics also show that texting has become the most accurate and very famous form of communication. People send or receive about 110 billion text messages per month. According to a survey, about 11 percent of teens have admitted the habit of texting during driving. Other reason for popularity of texting is that it is very short. That is why drivers believe it is the quickest form of communication from behind the wheels. Studies do not confirm this mind set rather it is proved that how exposed one is to accident while texting during driving. Even at slower speed the risk of accident is high (O’ Donnell). The Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS) has gathered data regarding

Therapeutic Polysaccharides Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words - 1

Therapeutic Polysaccharides - Essay Example On a fundamental level, polyssarcharides are defined as polymeric chains composed of mono- or di-saccharides bound together by glycosidic bonds, a special type of covalent bond. Carbohydrates possess a hemiacetal group that contains a reactive anomeric carbon that readily reacts in certain low pH cellular environments to form a stable glycosidic bond. While the ring structure of the carbohydrate subunits confers a rigid form, the glycosidic bonds allow for chain flexibility, conferring similar mechanical properties found in other semi-elastic polymers (Andre and Gushlbauer 1974, p.803-805). The unique properties yielded by this chemical structure allow polysaccharides to fulfill a variety of biological roles. The plant commonly referred to as the Butternut Squash, also commonly called the Winter Squash, Pumpkin Squash, and Field Pumpkin, is scientifically known as Cucurbita moschata, a member of the same family as gourds and cucumbers. Like its close relatives, the plant grows on a v ine with soft, hairy stems and is found in both North and South America in growing zones USDA 8 through 11 (Saylor and Network Vista, Inc. 2008, p.4175). The plant is widely grown for foodstuffs and is a common home gardener favorite. The leaves of the plant are broad, with nearly orbicular structure, and few lobes are present in the vine. Annually, Cucurbita moschata produces yellow colored flowers with wide spreading and crinkled petal structures, of a monoecious variety possessing both male and female structures within a single plant.

Zhang Yi Mou film-makers Movie Review Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Zhang Yi Mou film-makers - Movie Review Example Let us overview some of the films of Zhang Yi Mou in order to find out what they are trying to show to the audience, and in the end try to see what similarities exist in his films and in the way the director presents them. The movie "Raise the Red Lantern", filmed in 1991, is one of the earliest works of Zhang Yi Mou, but nevertheless represents an astonishingly mature genre of melodrama. Indeed, while offering the audience rich and beautiful imagery, this picture is in essence a bitter story of Chinese sexual politics. That the films events take place in 1920s should not distract us from the fact that dangerous traditions may still be present in todays China as well. The movie begins as young Songlian after her father dies leaves college and becomes the fourth wife of Chen, a rich older man. However, this new life of Songlian is hardly a happy one because of a hostile atmosphere within her new family where each wife competes for preference from the side of their husband. Initially, Songlian attempts to win through in this contest, but the worth of the prise is hardly justified - it is the sexual attention of the husband, who himself is almost ignored by the camera. Power is distributed between wives b y the masters choice where to spend night, and the chosen wife may enjoy foot massage and the right to appoint menu for the next day. Here, we can understand the name of the film - according to an old tradition, red lanterns mark the place where the master wants to spend the night. Quite symbolically, if the master is absent lights go out as well as his attention to a wife. So, it is in this environment that Songlian attempts to outwit the ageing first wife, the apparently attentive second wife, and the secretive third wife. The faked pregnancy of Songlian temporarily endows her with power, but when the truth is uncovered the fate of Songlian is predetermined - her red lanterns are destined to remain dark. Finally, the girl becomes mad, and, ironically, the film ends with the arrival of the fifth wife. This plot is probably used by the director to indicate the ways in which we ourselves tolerate our own subjugation and ideological oppression, and this is true for people of different times, nationalities and positions. It is also quite indicative that "Raise the Red Lantern" was prohibited in China. "The Story of Qiu Ju", filmed in 1992, is another fascinating picture about a Chinese woman. The heroine of the film, an idealistic and obstinate peasant, strives for justice to be served after her husband gets hurt by the village authority. For Qiu Ju this incident is an extreme example of power abuse, so she can only be appeased by an apology, which she cannot obtain. In this situation, even despite being pregnant, Qiu Ju goes to town to settle her pressing issue with authorities there. But there she again fails to get satisfaction as all that she is offered is a financial settlement without recognition of guilt and public excuse. Then the woman carries her matter further to the city level, to the county level, until she reaches the capital authorities. Qiu Jus crusade against bureaucracy provides a comprehensive picture of modern China with its striking contrast between rural and city life. At the same time, the story of the peasant woman investigates different moral issues in a b ureaucratic society. However, above all stands the convincing and moving

Changing Climates Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Changing Climates - Essay Example This increase has been caused by an increase in the greenhouse gases as humans continue to burn more fossil fuel. The other impact is an increase in the number of asthma related cases especially for the younger generations. The main reason behind this is the smog that results from emission of carbon dioxide gases. With respect to the State of Maine, the most probable impact that would affect the people living in this region is rise in ocean water. Since this nation is in close proximity to the sea, an increase in its level would have devastating effects both to the people and to the economic performance of the nation. Additionally, being an industrialized nation, the people living in Maine could be at a higher risk of experiencing increased asthma cases. This is because the developed countries have high levels of carbon dioxide emissions, which are in turn responsible for creation of smog that causes an increase in the number of asthma cases in

Origins of Shintoism and it's impact on pre-modern Japan Research Paper

Origins of Shintoism and it's impact on pre-modern Japan - Research Paper Example The followers of Shintoism are expected to follow four affirmations in their everyday lives and in their ways of thinking. These affirmations are to the family, cleanliness, nature worship and matsuri which pertains to fiests and festivals dedicated to the spirits "kami". Ancient Japan is well known for images of geishas, samurais and great battles better known as the Tokugawa period. However, Classical Japan, also known as the Heian era, is more peaceful in comparison. The capital of Japan moved to Heian-Kyo in 796, which translates to the â€Å"capital of peace and tranquility† which will later on be known as Kyoto. Emperors were strong during the early parts of this period and had a continuing relationship with China. (1) In 894, the communications between Japan and China ceased to non-existent and Chinese influence to the Japanese nation gravely declined. It is then that the nation truly developed its own culture and society. The Heian era is a period known for the manifes tation of great arts and music like â€Å"gagaku† which is an imperial court music and poetry. Gagaku was a tradition introduced by China which was then performed during special occasions. (2) The great influence of Shintoism will be seen through the unsparing ritual feasts which have started to take place in temples and have been recorded in various diaries and novels. During this period, Buddhism is also known to spread rapidly among the 1†Insei: abdicated sovereigns in the politics of late Heian Japan†. GC Hurst. 1976. 2†Institution, ritual, and ideology: The twenty-two shrine-temple multiplexes of Heian Japan†. AG Grapard. 1988 people, although it coexisted with Shintoism rather than cause conflicts. With was the slow but sure development of Japan's own concepts of independence from the Chinese influence. The power of the emperor continued to decline over time which eventually, despite the existence of an Emperor during this era, the position was m erely of a figurehead ruler without true power. The real power in this period lies with the Fujiwara clan, mostly due to the political haggling. Several problems have arisen during this period which brought about the eventual downfall and end of this era. (3) The effectiveness of the government declined and Taika reforms have failed. Taika reforms is a tax structure which gives heavy taxes to the farmers but none to the shrines and temples which were quite abundant. The income of the state as well as the public's welfare showed a very significant decrease. The dangers of the consequences of this state of the economy have brought on increasing public outrage. Landowners and nobles who have lost their powers alike have felt threatened enough to employ the services of protectors, giving rise to samurais, in order to protect themselves. Provincial governors have become, in general, corrupted and lazy. The welfare of the public was ignored and the aristocracy of the court became decadent and useless. Leading clans by this time were the Minamoto and the Taira families. By this time, even monasteries were maintaining their own military forces. One of the incidents that clearly elaborated this increasing power struggle occurred in 903. Tara-No-Masakado, who was the leader of the Kanto district decided to revolt against the government with his refusal to pay taxes. He established his own kingdom and threw out the nobles and kept the power to himself, although his claim to power to success was short-lived. Another bushi house

Industrial uses for hemp Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Industrial uses for hemp - Research Paper Example Due to this reason, hemp cultivation has been banned by the federal law in the United States, with China being the largest legal cultivator of hemp for industrial use. This, surprisingly, is a great loss as hemp has great industrial uses. Hemp is used to make about 25000 different products. Apart from the traditional uses in well-known products like rope, twine, nets, canvas bags and carpets, the fiber from the hemp plant can also be used in the production of textiles for apparel, diapers, sheets, towels, tents, drapes, knapsacks and shoes. Surprisingly enough, the first Levi's jeans were made out of hemp fibers and were stronger and possessed better quality. Hemp oil possesses the property of oxidizing as soon as it comes in contact with direct air, and if not stored properly, can become rancid. The proper way of storing the oil is to place it in a dark glass bottle and refrigerate or freeze. Due to this quality, hemp oil is used in manufacturing oil-based paints. They help the pain t to quickly dry out and yet have an oily/wet effect when sealed open. Linseed oil possesses the same quality and is used in the paint industry as a substitute. Hemp oil is also a great moisturizer, and is thus used in the production of moisturizing creams and is used in the cosmetic industry to make creams, lipsticks, foundations, mascaras etc. Its healing and inflammatory properties trigger its use in the production of lip balms and freckle, anti-blemish creams for facial purposes. Hemp is also used to create ropes of varying strengths. Hemp, in its natural form, appears very similar to the linen cloth. Its twigs are braided together to make ropes. The strengths of the ropes can be varied by changing proportions of the organic fibers being used in making the rope. Hemp happens to be a strong fiber and thus as its proportion is increased, the rope gains more strength. Hemp is also used to manufacture cloth, blending it with other fibers to like cotton and silk to add strength to th e cloth and give it a more ever lasting effect. Hemp, in its neat form, with very little addition of other organic fibers, is used to make everlasting fabric, making it strong and difficult to tear apart. Hemp seeds are an essential for the animal/bird feed industry. According to a survey in 2003, it was discovered that more than 95% of hemps sold in the entire European Union is used as animal or bird feed. Hemp seed is also used by pharmaceuticals as it has anti-inflammatory properties. Its use dates back to the third millennium BC, where hemp was used as a healer to accelerate the healing of all kinds of burns; injuries from the use of fire or lifting hot sum and substance, strong sun burns due to excessive exposure to the sun, etc. It was also used to treat rheumatism, ulcers, asthma, insomnia, migraine and other health problems. Hemp also possesses high nutritional value, and includes high amounts of dietary fiber, calcium and iron. Another unique property of the plant is that i t does not trigger any kind of allergies. Hemp oil can also be used as a supplement to those who are under-nutritioned, relieving symptoms of eczema and the seed contains a high content of omega-3. Surprisingly enough, hemp is also used to make building material, for instance, concrete-like blocks made out of hemp and lime are used as insulators in buildings. Very recently, The Renewable House in the UK, was made using hemp-based materials. Hemp also has the ability to be used as fuel.

Write an essay on the book 'The Lost Orchard' by Patrick Deeley and

Write an on the book 'The Lost Orchard' by Patrick Deeley and say why you would recommend it for use in the school classroom - Essay Example The students will be told about the time limit to read the text in the class. At the second stage of this activity, after the given time, the students of Part A in each group, will tell the students of Part B in their own groups, the first half of the story and then the students of Part B will tell the last half of the story to Part A in their own groups. Students will be given fixed time for this part of the activity too. In the end, at the third stage of this activity, the teacher will ask one of the students from each group to tell the story in his/her own words. The group, from which a member will tell the entire story correctly, will win. In this way, the reading of this book could be made interesting and exciting. The teacher will divide the students in groups of 5 or 6. Each group will be assigned the task of reading one particular chapter of the book. There will be a time limit for this reading. After the given time, the teacher will give each group the mingled up cut pieces of the summary of each chapter. Each group will be given the mingled up summary of the chapter, which was assigned to it to read. All the groups will be required to arrange the strips of the summary in sequence to make a complete story. At the end, all the groups will read the summary of the assigned chapter, arranged in sequence, aloud. Under the guidance of their teacher, the students may research on where the goldmines or coalmines have been discovered in the world and how has this discovery affected the inhabitants of the related areas. Students may conduct interviews on the issues of their own school. After interviewing, they may write down the notes mentioning the suggestions for improvement to present them to the administrator of their school. Students can write the character sketches of the main characters of the book i.e. Paul, Magpie, Raymie, etc. It could be guided writing, where the

Infrastructure system Article Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Infrastructure system - Article Example The importance of the development of infrastructure systems in Sweden can be understood through the principles applied on the state regarding the protection of the interests of population. In this context, in accordance with a report related with the aims/ characteristics of social strategy in Sweden 'social policy of Sweden is based on the assumption that all citizens regardless of the origin and the status of property should have equal access to education, health, cultural, etc. characteristic for Sweden is to finance health care and pensions from taxation, and additional social security' (Sweden, Social System, December 4, 2008). At a next level, the projects that have been already developed but also those which are pended and which are related with the infrastructure systems of Sweden - see also the studies/ reports presented throughout this study - prove that the improvement of infrastructure systems in Sweden is one of the priorities of the country's government. Existing infras tructure (as analyzed in the paper) can lead to the assumption that the relevant projects are carefully reviewed and closely monitored by their administrators ensuring the quality of work but also the limitation of time/ cost in accordance with the relevant contractual terms. 2. Infrastructure systems - characteristics and effects on economy Infrastructure systems can refer to a series of sectors, including roads, bridges, communications, energy, railway network and energy. All these sectors are important for the quality of life of population within a specific country. It is for this reason that all of these sectors are administered primarily by the state - firms operating in the private sector can also intervene in the development of relevant projects however their work will be based on a relevant contractual agreement with the governmental authorities. In other words, these systems cannot be administered by the private sector - if such a case occurs then a relevant agreement has to exist between the state and the firms involved. From a different point of view, it is noticed by Fox (2001) that 'infrastructure is best envisioned as services that come from a set of public works, not as physical facilities; infrastructure can expand rural economies by raising productivity levels, allowing expansion in the use of other reso urces, and attracting resources' (Fox, 2001, 103). It should be noticed that infrastructure systems are quite important for many aspects of human life - including social life, health and personal/ professional development. Indeed, the presence and activation of people within a society requires the existence of specific facilities that will guarantee the

On the sidewalk bleeding Essay Example for Free

On the sidewalk bleeding Essay Sixteen year old, Andy Anderson, was found dead 3:00 am in the morning by his girlfriend Laura. Andy Anderson a member of a gang that refer to themselves as the ROYALS recently got stabbed by another gang group the GUARDIANS. This incident took place in a dark alley right in front Alfredo’s, a local corner store. The police think that andy was stabbed around 11:30 p.m. and slowly bled to death. He was stabbed with a knife just below his rib cage. Due to some evidences weve gathered at the scene and witnesses we spoke to, we have some major leads on this crime scene. Our first witness was a 32 year old man, luke lucas, who was sorry that he was too drunk to realize that andy was dying. â€Å" I only wish I would have been sober, I would of been able to help.† He said during his interview. Our next witnesses were two teens, they saw Andy lying down â€Å"on the sidewalk bleeding† and wanted to help †¦ until they saw his bright purple ROYALS jacket. The two teens did not want to get mixed up in between these two gangs. We are still asking them further questions on this because we feel that were not getting the whole story. This devastating tragic event really shows the extreme dangers of gang violence. When the police saw Andy’s ROYALS jacket that he had taken off, they knew that this wasnt just a random act of violence, and that this was a planned attack. What a price to pay for being in a teen death, what a tragedy. Police would like anyone with any kind of information with any kind of information to contact 69 division or to leave an anonymous tip for crime stoppers. Andy’s funeral will be held at Holy Redeemer Roman Catholic Churc h in Ottawa Sunday afternoon. Donations are being accepted by the Youth Services Bureau of Ottawa in the teen’s honour.

Relationship Between Consumers Behaviour And Purchasing Green Products Marketing Essay

Relationship Between Consumers Behaviour And Purchasing Green Products Marketing Essay Green products refer to a green product is one that causes almost no damage to the environment and a product is made out of recyclable and renewable materials. (Edge, 2010) The second definition is green products minimize the damage or harm some production methods can have on our air, water, soil, animal life and plants. (Osborn, 2010) As the green products have gained popularity in the Malaysia market more consumers will focus to the greener products. Therefore, this will influence many organisations and industries will manufacture the product for their company. In addition, for the green products that is in many area of the industry such as automobile industry the hybrid car or environment friendly car. In addition, green products included energy star appliance, energy efficient electronics, environmentally friendly household products, alternative transportation, organic foods, fair trade coffee, organic cotton and hemp apparel, natural skin and personal care products. Therefore, t o be successful within green market it is important to tie the products environmental attributes to the lifestyles of the target consumers. Furthermore, to protect our earth people not only buying or using the green products, but the consumer now require high services when they consumption to the product. Therefore, organizations not only focus on their green products but it also provides the green services for their consumer. In the 21 century, many service industries also follow the step to provide their green service, such as in the tourism now it becomes ecotourism. The definition of ecotourism is ecologically sustainable tourism with a primary focus on experiencing natural areas that fosters environmental and culture understanding, appreciation and conservation. (Safari, 2010) It also is the travel that preserves the environment and promotes the welfare of local people. Travellers that are interested in ecotourism want to enjoy natures offerings, but do it in a way that does not negatively impact the natural resource. According to the Malaysian government, healthcare travel as one of the potential services to genera te nation economic growth therefore Malaysia is fast-gaining recognition as a preferred destination for healthcare travellers. (International Medical Travel Journal, 2010) Theory of Reasoned Action The Theory of Reasoned Action was established in 1975 and modified in 1980 by Ajzen and Fishbein. According the Ajzen and Fishbein suggested that the attitudes could explain human action therefore, this theory was used to study on human behaviour and develop appropriate interventions. The key assumption of this theory is that individuals are assumed usually quite rational and make systematic use of information available to them. People consider the implications of their actions before they decide to engage or not engage in a given behaviour. (Ajzen, I and Fishbein, M, 1980) Therefore, the consumers behaviour is the main consequence to impact consumers perspective to purchase the green products. For example, if our attitude leads us to want to purchasing the green product but dont have enough money to consumption, so because of lack of money will prevent people attitude from causing to purchase the green product. In addition, consumers perspective not only the personal behaviour, but it also influence by the social environmental such as friends and family. That is, whenever our attitudes lead us to do one thing but the relevant norms suggest we should do something else, both factors influence our behavioural intent. Environmental Concern Malaysia is the developing country that faced great challenges in ensuring a balance between development and environment sustainability. Environmental concern defined as a global attitude with indirectly to effects on behaviour through behavioural intention. The consumers perspective is influence by the environment concern because recently many problems of global warming such as earthquakes and tsunami in this worlds. (Cosby, 1981) Environmental concern is also sometime known as ecological concern, which refers to the degree of emotionality, the amount of specific factual knowledge, and the level of willingness as well as the extent of actual behaviour on pollution-environmental issues. In Malaysia, the environmental management is conducted by the federal government which is cooperation between Department of Environment (DOE) of the Ministry of Science, Technology and Environment and Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment (NRE). In the main objective is to administer the 1974 Environment Quality Act (EQA) is established to providers the framework for environmental regulation in Malaysia. Along with findings that a consumers environmental awareness is viewed as a pre-condition for green consumption, environmental concern is an important determinant of consumer behaviour toward organic products. (Paladino, 2005) Environmentally responsible consumption emanated from criticism that the marketing concept ignored the impact of individual consumption upon society as a whole. For the marketers, environmentalism has become a standard influencing consumers perspective. Consumers they consider the environment to be important will therefore evaluate the environmental consequences associated with the purchase of a product. So consumers may be purchase of green products, if the environmental consequences are important enough to them. For example, there is a need for creating and marketing an environment friendly car or hybrid car which is going to have reduced detrimental impacts on the mother earth and creating a sizeable awareness to the human action. In addition, the natural resources like fuel face limited problem, human they must develop new or alternative ways of satisfying these unlimited wants. Consumers perceived level of self-involvement towards the protection of the environment may prevent them from engaging in environmentally friendly activities such as recycling. (Wiener, 1990) Therefore, (Dahab, 1995) measured intent by asking consumers to indicate whether a recycling activity was something they are currently doing, something they intend to do, something they may not do, or something they probably will nor do. After research information above that approve the strong influence of the individual consequences on intention explains that consumers they are high levels of environmental concern but not exhibit pro-environmental behaviours. In the general belief among researchers and environmental activities that through purchasing green products, products with recyclable packaging or properly disposing of non-biodegradable garbage, consumers can contribute significantly to improve the quality of the environment. (Abdul-Muhmin, 2007) According the information of demographic, today still have many traditional rural communities in Malaysia and it still use a large number of species of medicinal purposes. This traditional knowledge has been used by pharmaceutical companies in their search of new drugs, especially from developing countries with high biodiversity and long tradition of the use of plants for medicinal purposes. In addition, today the healthcare travel is become popular to the local and foreigner tourist. Therefore, the establishment of the Malaysia Healthcare Travel Council (MTHC) will bring the efforts of because Malaysia is rich with the natural resources to manufacture the green products and green services. (International Medical Travel Journal, 2010) In this few years, tourism is the second highest earner of foreign currency every year growth of 7.3%, and the ecotourism is the part of the faster growing within tourism industry. Malaysia with its outstanding biodiversity and scenic natural environmen t has been successfully promoted as an ecotourism and nature-oriented tourism destination in recent years. For example, Sipandan Island, Redang Island and Layang-layang Island are considered to be among some of the worlds best nature island loving by local and foreigner tourist. (Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment, 2006) Price Requirements of Green Products In last few years, many firms are suffered the problem of alternative energy because the actual demand for the resource and material is high to supply to manufacture non green products. (Leslie J. Vermillion. and Justin, 2010) Therefore, this impact the market selling price is expensive with the material cost is high, but nowadays firms can get supply material by solar panels and wind turbines to manufacture the green products such as hybrid car. Although the prices is high but the green product is of high quality is reasonably to the priced and consumers are able to pay more money for them. In the 21 century, from Rothe and Bensons (1974) notion of intelligent consumption for every consumer when they consumption of the products or services. (Rothe, 1974) Malaysian consumer has rights that are under protected by the regulations and various laws in Malaysia. For example, Federation of Malaysian Consumers Association (FOMCA) is the non-governmental establish by consumers organization t o defend the rights and interests of consumers that including control the green products market price. (FOMCA, 2009) Therefore, the consumers have more power than ever before to use intelligent agents to get the reasonable prices for the products and services, bid price on various offerings and promotion. Green consumer have evolved and research to understand the awareness levels of the consumer towards the green products and willingness to accept and pay a premium for the green product. In Malaysia, although consumer seems to be in favour of green product and willing to pay it but the government are taking their tolls or taxes on the peoples budgets. Therefore, by collect the taxes from the consumer when purchasing the green product are effects of the weakening Malaysias economy. Despite the Malaysia economic downturn to impact the people income level, but they still are willing to pay green products to reduce the emit carbon dioxide to save the earth. According to the 2009 National Green Buying Research survey, four of five people claim to still be buying green products throughout the recession. (GreenSeal, 2009) In latest few years, Malaysias government offers many environmental incentives for the manufacturing sector to reduce their cost to impact the selling price decrease. For example, organization have capital rebate up to 50 percent and exemption on import duties and sales tax for purchase of recycling machineries. Furthermore, in Malaysia culture background also related to perceptions of price and perceived fairness of the green products, therefore this report will research the Malaysian between Malay, Chinese and Indian who they more accepting than other ethnicities of price premiums on green products and organic foods. (Arnold, 2008) So from the Leslie J. Vermillions research 65% of consumers feel that paying more for sustainable products is not an option. (Leslie J. Vermillion. and Justin, 2010) This show that, the growth in consumption of the green products or services and it focuses on the factor such as high quality and health benefits to the consumers. (Arnold, 2008) According the reported, in the America State the green market is about $250 billion, while 63 million of consumers are directed in order to buy pure green products and reject the non viable alternative, offered to them by the conventional market. (Reitman, 1992) Quality of Green Products The product content requirements from consumers specify that purchased products must have desirable green attributes such as recycled or reusable items. In the Malaysia, company can require their suppliers must have to develop and maintain the Environmental Management Systems (EMS) to certify as fully compliant with one of the recognized international standards such as ISO 14001 and Green Guard Certification. In addition, in Malaysia green purchasing activities are carried out by large firms in order to control the performance of suppliers. For example, electronics industry such as Sony, HP, Intel and Microsoft have established the Electronic Industry Code of Conduct (EICC). (Tarig Khidir ElTayeb, 2010) This code approve that the health and safety, environment, and business ethics to the products before supply to the shop. This evidence many large firms tend to set strict green standard for their purchased inputs and require their suppliers have same standard to strict the quality of green products. Therefore, the prices of the green products are expensive because one of the impacts is the higher of quality. For example, the indoor air quality of green building is significantly higher than other methods of building because environmentally friendly products are used in the building process such as high quality carpeting and paint to more healthy. (Saga, 2005) The consumers perspective towards green products has produced conflicting results in its analysis of whether or not consumers believe green products are lower or higher quality. According (DSouza, 2007) studies, found that consumers believe that green products are priced higher and of poorer quality than the non-green alternative. Therefore, Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment (NRE) and Department of Environment (DOE) will cooperation with the NGO to inspect the quality and healthy towards the green attributes such as recycled or reusable material items to manufacture the green products. In addition, restrictions to the green product must not contain environmentally undesirable attributes of chemical material such as lead, CFC chlorofluorocarbons, and plastic foam in packaging material. Although the results did vary between the green products with non environmental products, almost half of the respondents in the countries surveyed indicated that green products offer compara ble the quality over conventional alternatives. Education and Supplier Information Recently, there is an environmental or ecological angle to virtually everything in the world. It is now commonplace to hear of recycle products or green products, organic food, eco-tourism, hybrid car or environment friendly car, green housekeeping, eco-building, greening libraries (e-library) and also eco-feminism. (Ephraim, 2003) Therefore, the education and technology are very important for the new generation to creativity and innovative the product to become a green ideas and concept to save earth. Recently in the Malaysia, more versus less information to the Malaysian therefore without the information that will influence the consumers confident towards the green products. If the knowledge gap and information with more detail on the uses and values of green products prevents consumers in committing themselves to any purchase decisions. According the concept of ecological imperatives by Fisk (1973) reflect that the need to educate the consumer to become aware of environmental prob lems and their relation to their consumption and perspective to the green products. (Fisk, 1973) In addition, from the understanding the subject and the outcome of the study should help marketers and the government to device the strategies which will motivate the customers to buy green product and save the earth. Today, every standard of education in Malaysia from kindergarten until university should educate the knowledge about the problems consequence by the humans attitude to destroy the earth. For example, every one also know the vehicular pollution is a bigger threat to human health than any other type of air pollution because this pollution exists at that level from where humans use air to breath. Therefore, human in the 21 century they must learn and get the knowledge to take action to reduce the global warming. Such as research the new source like replace driving fuel in future, low pollution cars, less eat meat change to be vegetarian food and making the homes energy efficient. (Brower, 1999) In addition, educators and writers may also be considered green workers if they focus on informing people about green principles such as books author. An educator might do this at an elementary school as part on the subject. (Admin, 2011) In the conclusion, consumers with higher education levels are more inclined to buy green because they got knowledge to do a lot of research to the green products or services before purchasing. According to (Neff, 2007) studies, Hispanic and Asian populations are more likely to be green consumers than African Americans. For example, college students in order to get them demand that the universities use their environmentally friendly products. In the Malaysia, the information and education to the people are less and no distinct to the public. Therefore consumers they cant get the information of green products with more detail. This is because many companies tend to exaggerate the environmental benefits of using their products. In addition, it also has some companies mislead the information and knowledge to the consumers about the biodegradability and recyclability of their products. Because of the unethical firm attach importance to the profitability and deceptive practice of companies attempts to make themselves appear more environmentally friendly than they actually are, therefore causing the environmental marketing claims are often vague and confusing. (Deen Shireen, 2002) In this case, many environmental organizations and the ministry of the environment, such as Resources for Living Green and Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment (NRE), are also taking action to prevent and protect companies from deceiving cust omers about the eco-friendliness of their products. Although more than half of consumers wanted more detailed information, many consumers they wanted the labels with used simpler words to easy understanding. According (Drichoutis et al., 2006), the type of information to be relevant and suggest that consumers might be unwilling to evaluate more complicated information. Furthermore, (Heimbach, 1982) also explain that more information is not always better and that consumers prefer information that directly concerns their health. Therefore, organic products are viewed as promoting a healthy lifestyle, it appears that values concerned with health and environment influence attitudes toward buying organic food. In the Malaysia, if without the education and information for the consumer that will influence the marketplace and profit for the organization. Therefore, the green education is very important to educate the dumb million about the knowledge of green products and reduce, reuse and recycle.

John Gardners Grendel as Hero? Essay -- Grendel Essays

John Gardner's Grendel as Hero? "'I cry, and hug myself, and laugh, letting out salt tears, he he! till I fall down gasping and sobbing."1 Â  With these words the reader is introduced to the "hero" of Gardner's Grendel, and the mood is set for the coming pages. How is one to interpret this ambiguous, melodramatic narrator, whose phrases mix seemingly heartfelt emotional outbursts with witty (if cynical) observations, and ideological musings with ironic commentaries? Perhaps this is what makes Grendel such an extremely engaging narrator. A confounding juxtaposition is established in the first pages, in which the reader must somehow reconcile a hideous, murdering monster, with an apparently philosophical, intelligent, wry and thoughtful being. It is clear from the outset, that if Grendel is to be the hero of this novel, then he will not be so in the conventional sense of the word. The Macquarie Dictionary defines a hero as, "a man of distinguished courage or performance, admired for his noble qualities."2 Grendel, Ruiner of Meadhalls, possesses no readily apparent noble qualities, so how then is he to win over the reader? As the question suggests, Grendel has many elements of character that can nevertheless win over his audience, such as his humour, and his intelligence and self-consciousness. In addition to these personal qualities, there are several external factors which elicit sympathy in the reader, and tend to illuminate Grendel by a more favourable light. These include: his indoctrination by the dragon (who encouraged him to believe him that it was his natural role and duty to harass the Scyldings), and his imposed "immortality" (his view of which can be summarised in his comment, "So it goes with me day by day and ... ...tical Review of Long Fiction. Vol. III 4 vols. Pasadena, California: Salem Press, 1991, p 1273 _______. Critical Review of Short Fiction. Vol. III 4 vols.. Pasadena, California: Salem Press, 1991. Rebsamen, Frederick. Beowulf: A Verse Translation. New York: HarperCollins, 1991. End Notes 1 Gardner, John, Grendel, New York: Vintage, 1989, p. 6. 2 Delbridge, A., Bernard, J. R. L., Blair, D., Peters, P., Butler, S., Eds., The Macquarie Dictionary, Second Ed., Macquarie: Macquarie, 1995, p. 826. 3 Gardner, p. 8. 4 Ibid., p. 6. 5 Ibid., p. 14. 6 Ibid., p. 85. 7 Ibid., p. 46. 8 Ibid., p. 51. 9 Ibid., p. 52. 10 Ibid., p. 100. 11 Ibid., p. 74. 12 Ibid., pp. 72-3. 13 Ibid., p. 75. 14 Ibid., p. 9. 15 Ibid., p. 146. 16 Ibid., pp. 21-2. 17 Ibid., p. 24. 18 Ibid., p. 173. 19 Ibid., p. 92.

Eugenides’s The Virgin Suicides and Joyce Carolyn Oates’s Expensive Peo

Eugenides’s The Virgin Suicides and Joyce Carolyn Oates’s Expensive People Suburban life is commonly portrayed as a narrative of the upper-middle class. Clean, sterile and reserved, suburbia is a tangible representation of the universally misconstrued â€Å"American dream.† However, culture fails to recognize the dark underbelly of this uplifting dream: a world of masked depression, ingrained superiority and stark ignorance. Jeffery Eugenides’s The Virgin Suicides and Joyce Carolyn Oates’s Expensive People both narrate the darker side of the American dream. This hidden societal decomposition is portrayed in a light filled with brilliant reality; a reality that true American life fails to acknowledge. Both The Virgin Suicides and Expensive People were written about a time wrought with cultural tension. Although none of this is directly mentioned it seems highly unrealistic that any part of these happenings failed to seep into suburban communities and infect them with some sense of a crumbling reality. Outside influences, whether they were consciously recognized or not, drifted silently into suburban America and cast a suffocating spell on these structured communities. National crisis and society as a whole became the catalyst for suburban decomposition, simply because all those living in such communities chose to ignore reality and feign an untouched existence. In The Virgin Suicides the five Lisbon girls are placed in â€Å"a comfortable suburban home† (Eugenides 5). However, this placid existence is disrupted by the suicide attempt of the youngest daughter Cecilia. The naivetà © of the community is shown extremely early in this novel , citing the newspaper’s failed obligation to report the drama: â€Å"Our local newspap... ...al institutions. Suburban life has always been seen as untouchable, a form of utopic existence. Both Eugenides as well as Oates did an excellent job in distilling this myth and portraying the American dream-esque neighborhood as more of an American fiction. The Lisbon suicides, dictated by monotonous routine and dreary life style, became a representation of the disease that was infecting the country: conformity. Richard’s murder of his mother became the crack in the community’s pristine outer shell of existence; his refusal to become submissive to suburbia came when he sent the last bullet into his mother. Both novels capture negative suburban influence and, in reference to Hunter S. Thompson’s theory of the â€Å"death of the American dream,† in direct correlation with both novels, suburban life has become â€Å"a monster reincarnation of Horatio Algers American dream.†

Music Played Key Role in US Civil Rights Movement Essay -- Role of Mus

Music was used as a critical instrument in the early 20th century in mobilizing and inspiring the civil rights movement by giving them more voice to bring out their grievances. According to Kerk (2007, p.18) Martin Luther king was the most prolific figure who utilized music to sensitize society, â€Å"we believe that freedom songs play a big and vital part in the struggle that we are going through† this words were also echoed by the Albany movement â€Å"music keeps us a live, it gives us a sense of unity, new courage every dawn, hope to move on that the future still holds something in our most daring and dreadful hours† Development of Music The 20th century was a century which United States had great influence in the world of music across the globe. America was the birth place of most influential music, from jazz to rock which was promoted by the q7uality of technology like radio and phonographs. Advanced technology ensured fast distribution of music to Americans and all-round the globe. 20th century also brought African Americans and their music culture which was more practiced by slaves. However, even before the African American s came into music, blues music was already evolving leading to development of other genres like country music, jazz to rock and classical music. Soul music came up as a result of rock and roll from the African American gospel, rhythm and blues. As the century grew bands were created like the bubblegum pop band comprised of blacks who created new fusion of R&B and hip hop music that is still embraced till now. Rap music evolved from the Blues, rap music was made up of deep rhythms and autobiographical lyrics. Music nurtured the African American tradition and their struggle towards equality the same cent... ...its songs. Montgomery, Ala: NewSouth Books. Kirk, J. (2007). Martin Luther King, Jr. and the civil rights movement: controversies and debates. Basingstoke New York: Palgrave Macmillan. Monson, I. (2010).Freedom sounds : civil rights call out to jazz and Africa. New York Oxford: Oxford University Press. Menkart, D., Murray, A. & View, J. (2004). Putting the movement back into civil rights teaching: a resource guide for K-12 classrooms. Washington, D.C: Teaching for Change and the Poverty & Race Research Action Council. Roy, W. (2010). Reds, whites, and blues social movements, folk music, and race in the United States. Princeton: Princeton University Press. Schneider, M. (2002). We return fighting : the civil rights movement in the Jazz Age. Boston: Northeastern University Press Various. (2005). The Civil Rights Movement. City: Morgan Reynolds Pub. Music Played Key Role in US Civil Rights Movement Essay -- Role of Mus Music was used as a critical instrument in the early 20th century in mobilizing and inspiring the civil rights movement by giving them more voice to bring out their grievances. According to Kerk (2007, p.18) Martin Luther king was the most prolific figure who utilized music to sensitize society, â€Å"we believe that freedom songs play a big and vital part in the struggle that we are going through† this words were also echoed by the Albany movement â€Å"music keeps us a live, it gives us a sense of unity, new courage every dawn, hope to move on that the future still holds something in our most daring and dreadful hours† Development of Music The 20th century was a century which United States had great influence in the world of music across the globe. America was the birth place of most influential music, from jazz to rock which was promoted by the q7uality of technology like radio and phonographs. Advanced technology ensured fast distribution of music to Americans and all-round the globe. 20th century also brought African Americans and their music culture which was more practiced by slaves. However, even before the African American s came into music, blues music was already evolving leading to development of other genres like country music, jazz to rock and classical music. Soul music came up as a result of rock and roll from the African American gospel, rhythm and blues. As the century grew bands were created like the bubblegum pop band comprised of blacks who created new fusion of R&B and hip hop music that is still embraced till now. Rap music evolved from the Blues, rap music was made up of deep rhythms and autobiographical lyrics. Music nurtured the African American tradition and their struggle towards equality the same cent... ...its songs. Montgomery, Ala: NewSouth Books. Kirk, J. (2007). Martin Luther King, Jr. and the civil rights movement: controversies and debates. Basingstoke New York: Palgrave Macmillan. Monson, I. (2010).Freedom sounds : civil rights call out to jazz and Africa. New York Oxford: Oxford University Press. Menkart, D., Murray, A. & View, J. (2004). Putting the movement back into civil rights teaching: a resource guide for K-12 classrooms. Washington, D.C: Teaching for Change and the Poverty & Race Research Action Council. Roy, W. (2010). Reds, whites, and blues social movements, folk music, and race in the United States. Princeton: Princeton University Press. Schneider, M. (2002). We return fighting : the civil rights movement in the Jazz Age. Boston: Northeastern University Press Various. (2005). The Civil Rights Movement. City: Morgan Reynolds Pub.

Economics of Consumption Tax on Unhealthy Goods.

Economics of Consumption Tax on Unhealthy Goods. Introduction: Unhealthy consumption prevails in the fields of nutrition, energy and transport. Taxing is one a solution to provide a healthier living. With globalization, qualities of goods do fail to meet the international standards. International movements of goods which damage health are increasing with Cross border marketing, promoting unhealthy behaviours of alcohol and tobacco consumption and unhealthy diets. (Richard Smith, 2003). The report narrows down to Daily life consumption of tobacco and alcohol considering the impact of individual’s income, price of the produce and the substitutions available briefing on supply and demand. The taxing of unhealthy goods is segmented under consumption taxation rather than on income. For addictive goods, the level of consumption today not only causes harm tomorrow, but also increases the marginal benefit of future consumption. Literally every country charges through some sort of ad valorem tax through value added tax, sales tax or an expenditure tax. Economic Models to study Demand for Cigarettes: Studies on demand for cigarettes have applied several types of economic models to different types of data with various estimation techniques. In general, two types of economic models are used: the conventional demand model and the addictive demand model. These models have been applied to two types of data: aggregate level data including time-series data for a single geographical unit and pooled cross-sectional time-series data, and individual level of survey data. Conventional demand models which use aggregate data normally specify the demand equation in a way that the quantity of cigarettes demanded is a function of cigarette prices, income, tobacco control policies and a variety of socioeconomic and demographic factors. But there are two exceptions (Baltagi and Goel, 1987; Peterson et al. , 1992), in which a quasi-experiment approach was used to compare changes in cigarette consumption in states in the United States that have raised cigarette taxes to consumption in states where taxes have not changed. A small but growing number of studies have used data on individuals taken from large-scale surveys (Lewit et al. , 1981; Lewit and Coate, 1982; Grossman et al. , 1983; Chaloupka and Pacula, 1998; Farrelly et al. , 1998). These studies differ from those using aggregated data, in that they normally estimate a two-part model, by estimating firstly the probability that an individual will smoke and, secondly, the level of consumption among smokers. The conventional demand model does not account for the addictive nature of cigarette smoking. There are several versions of the addictive model that have been used for studying the demand for cigarettes: the imperfectly rational addiction model, myopic addiction model and rational addiction model (Chaloupka and Warner, 1999). The rational addictive model is the most recent model used for modelling demand for cigarettes (Becker and Murphy, 1988; Becker et al. , 1991; Pekurinen, 1991; Chaloupka, 1990, 1991, 1992; Keeler et al. , 1993). The rationality here simply implies that individuals incorporate the interdependence between past, current, and future consumption into their utility maximization processes. This is in contrast to the assumption, implicit in myopic models of addictive behaviours, that future implications are ignored when making the current decision. Empirically, the demand equation is specified as the quantity of cigarettes demanded in the current period being a function of both past and future consumption as well as those other factors included in the conventional demand model. Becker and Murphy (1988) and Becker et al. (1991) developed several hypotheses from the basic rational addiction model. First, the quantities of the addictive good consumed in different time periods are complementary. As a result, current consumption of an addictive good is inversely related to not only the current prices of the good, but also to the all past and future prices. Consequently, the long-term effect of a permanent change in prices will exceed the short-term effect. Moreover, the ratio of the long-term to short-term price effect increases as the degree of addition rises. In addition, the model predicts that the impact of an nticipated price change will be greater than that of a comparable un-anticipated price change, while a permanent price change will have a larger impact on demand than a temporary price change. Finally, price responsiveness varies with time preference: addicts with higher discount rates will be more responsive to changes in money prices that those with lower discount rates. Specific variables included in the demand model of each study vary, depending on the economic mode l used and the availability and type of the data. Important factors that have been evaluated include costs of cigarette smoking, consumers’ income, cigarette advertising and other promotion activities, and health information. The cost of cigarette smoking should be defined broadly, including not only the purchase price of cigarettes, but the time and other costs associated with smoking. Restrictions on smoking in public places and private work sites, for example, impose additional costs on smokers by forcing them outdoors to smoke, by increasing the time and discomfort associated with smoking, or by imposing fines for smoking in restricted areas. Similarly, limits on access to tobacco by youth may increase the time and potential legal costs associated with smoking. Supply and Demand- Price Elasticities : Cigarette consumption is found to be negatively related to price. The estimated price elasticity from those studies using aggregated data varies from -0. 14 to -1. 23, but most fall in the narrower range from -0. 3 to -0. 5, including the result from the two quasi-experimental studies (Baltagi and Goel, 1987; Peterson et al. , 1992). The estimated price elasticities from the studies using individual-level data, in general, are comparable to those estimates from the studies using the aggregate data. Nearly all of the studies of the price-demand relationship focus on the developed countries. Warner (1990) argued that price responsiveness in less developed countries is likely to be greater than in more developed countries, given the relatively low incomes and relatively lower level of cigarette consumption by smokers in poor countries. Are young smokers more or less sensitive to prices? The question of whether youth are more or less responsive to prices than are adults has been examined in a number of studies using individual-level data (Lewit, et al. , 1981; Lewit and Coate, 1982; Grossman et al. , 1983; Chaloupka, 1998). Findings from those studies are mixed. The earlier studies on this issue found that youth are more sensitive to prices than are adults. This result, however, was challenged by the study done by Wasserman et al. (1991), which found that the price responsiveness of youth was not significantly different from that of adults. Recent studies of youth and young adult smoking (Chaloupka and Grossman, 1996; Farrelly et al. , 1998; Tauras and Chaloupka, 1998) generally supported the earlier results that the price sensitivity of cigarette demand was inversely related to age. Those recent studies estimated the price elasticity of demand for cigarettes by youth was between -1. 1 and -1. 3, very similar to -1. 44 estimated Lewit et al. in1981. The price responsiveness of sub-population groups by income levels has been investigated by a number of researchers (Chaloupka, 1991; Townsend et al. , 1994; Farrelly et al. , 1998). Results from those studies indicate that cigarette demand is less price elastic for more educated or higher income individuals. The economics of â€Å"sin taxes†: Economists always draw sharp distinction between private costs and benefits and externalities. Where goods generate externalities when consumed, and where consumers make well informed, rational choices, efficient consumption choices would be made if tax levied at rate equal to marginal external cost. The 3 main categories of smoking and drinking externalities: -Direct externalities like Costs of passive smoking, Injury to victims of alcohol-fuelled violence and accidents. Costs of collectively-funded medical treatment and care– Treatment of the individual smoker / drinker for tobacco / alcohol –related conditions, other differences in medical treatment and care costs arising from individual consumption. -Other net public expenditure effects like forgone pensions and revenue effects. Under perfect compet ition the supply curve is the marginal cost to the firms in the business. Any costs that are borne by neither the seller nor the buyer must be added to these costs to create the social cost of the good. On the assumption that the only people who benefit from the consumption of the goods are the consumer themselves, the demand curve is the social benefit curve. |Figure 1 : Modelling Externalities | | | |[pic] | |Source :Issues in Economics Today, Robert | So, instead of coming to the market solution of a price-quantity combination P*-Q*, the socially optimal combination is P`-Q`. That is, if there is a market for a good where some of the costs spill over to others, then the market will produce too much of the good and charge too little for it. Modeling Taxes – Government Intervention To correct an externality, we can tax the osffending good, we can limit its use, and we can forbid its use. Of these options, taxes are most appealing to economists, as they allow people who are willing to pay all of the costs of their consumption to go ahead and consume. Using taxes in this way has the positive effect of discouraging those people who are not willing to pay the costs from becoming consumers of the undesirable or unhealthy good. |Figure 2 : Effect of Tax | | | |[pic] | |Source :Economics, John Sloman | When a tax is imposed on a good, this will have the effect of shifting the supply curve upwards by the amount of the tax. In the case of a specific tax, it will be a parallel shift, since the amount of the tax is the same at all prices. In the case of an advalorem tax, the curve will swing upwards. At a zero price there would be no tax and hence no shifts in the supply curve. As price rises, so the gap between the original and new supply curves will widen, since a given percentage tax will be a larger absolute amount the higher the price. The curve shift upwards by the amount of the tax because the firm is persuaded to produce the same quantity as before the imposition of the tax(Q1),and they must now receive a price which allows them fully to recoup the tax they have to pay(P1 + tax). The effect of the tax is to raise price and reduce quantity. Price will not rise by the full amount of the tax, however, because the demand curve is downward sloping. The price rises only to P2. Thus the burden or incidence of such taxes is distributed between consumers and producers. Consumers pay to the extent that price rises. Producers pay to the extent this rise in price is not sufficient to cover the tax. Discussions Increase in price of A will Increase the demand for B and vice versa. High taxation should relatively increase the consumption of quality goods. When related with the income of the general public the consumption is high when the income is high and would prefer luxury products over cheaper items. The availability of alternatives impact the consumption behaviour, people move towards cheaper produces. The consumption level is cut-down by stages and level of quitting or rehabilitation stages increase with alcohol than cigarettes with a relative cheaper price tag (diminishing marginal rate of substitution). The alternative of direct consumption of tobacco (oral or nasal stuffs) are taxed less than the branded cigarettes for example, some tax higher tar and nicotine cigarettes at higher rates than lower tar or nicotine cigarettes, while others impose lower taxes on smaller and/or filtered cigarettes than on longer and/or unfiltered cigarettes. The structure of tobacco taxes in most countries is a mix of both specific and ad valorem taxes that varies across tobacco products. (Frank J. Chaloupka et al) The consumption levels are just a trade-off between the available choices. The positive effect of tax is over powered by the illegal substitutes of drugs and addictive consumption. In addition, many suggest that ad valorem taxes are likely to lead to reductions in average product quality as producers and consumers switch to lower cost tobacco products (Barzel, 1976; British American Tobacco, 1994; Sobel and Garrett, 1997). The high market price will catalyze higher criminal activities as it becomes a habit to consume illegal products with the demand being almost constant. With increase in price the supply tends to increase. But in the addictive market, the supply curve facing issues of quality uncertainty tends to move upward depicting the decrease in supply even if the product is in the thick market. The supply curve literally becomes vertical reflecting on whatever the price market will bear even in the presence of multiple entrants. In the short run, with the demand being highly in-elastic, suppliers would enjoy setting up high price benefit from a high margin of profit after tax. Fluctuating around the firms’ marginal cost, higher prices does not bring in extra supply power. Rather excise tax on tobacco and alcohol are highly regressive in a longer-run where it is a loss to the firm making to exit from the industry. A tax increases the cost of selling each unit of a product and therefore usually decreases the willingness of sellers to supply given quantities. (Joseph J. Cordes et al, 2005). The higher the price elasticity of supply of a good or service, the greater the excess burden of a tax on its sale and vice versa. Conclusion: One can conclude the inelasticity of the demands for unhealthy goods (tobacco and alcohol) increases the consumption taxation as a whole with increase in revenue for the government. On a long run, chances are high for a shift towards elastic demand with respect to the prices. This allows a room for thinking for the policy makers to improve on the taxation procedure by concentrating on the supply side more than the consumer side of the market. References: Becker GS et al. (1991). ‘Rational addiction and the effect of price on consumption’. American Economic Review . Vol. 81 (2),pp. 237-41. Becker GS, et al (1994). ‘An empirical analysis of cigarette addiction’. American Economic Review. Vol. 84(3), pp. 396-418. Becker & Murphy KM (1988). ‘A theory of rational addiction’. Journal of Political Economy. Vol. 96(4), pp. 675-700 Chaloupka FJ. (1991). ‘Rational addictive behavior and cigarette smoking’. Journal of Political Economy . Vol. 99(4),pp. 722-42. Chaloupka FJ. (1998). ‘The Impact of Proposed Cigarette Price Increases’. Policy Analysis No. 9, Health Sciences Analysis Project. Washington: Advocacy Institute. Chaloupka FJ & Pacula RL. (1998). ‘An Examination of Gender and Race Differences in Youth Smoking Responsiveness to Price and Tobacco Control Policies’. National Bureau of Economic Research Working Paper No. 6541. Chaloupka FJ, Warner KE . (1999). ‘The economics of smoking’. In: Newhouse JP, Culyer AJ, editors. The Handbook of Health Economics. Ediiton. 1, Chapter. 29, pp. 1539-1627. Chaloupka FJ, Wechsler H. (1997). ‘Price tobacco control policies and smoking among young adults’. Journal of Health Economics. Vol. 16(3), pp. 359-73. Peter Earl, Tim Wakeley (2005). Business Economics: A Contemporary Approach. Berkshire: McGraw – Hill Education. Frank, R. (2008). ‘The Economic Naturalist: Why Economics Explains Almost Everything’. Virgin Books. John Sloman (2000). Economics. (Fourth Edition). Essex. : Prentice Hall. Joseph et al(2005). Encyclopedia of taxation and tax policy’. (Second Edition). Washiington. : Urban Institute Press Mirrlees, J. , (2000). ‘What taxes should there be? ’. Paper Presented at the 7th Annual Conference, Toulouse, France. March 24. Robert C. Guell (2005). ‘Issues in Economics Today’ (Second Edition). New York. :Tata Mcgraw Hill -Irwin Selected case studies: ‘Issues in the global tobacco economy’. Food and Agriculture Organ ization of the United Nations,Rome, 2003. ———————– Word Count: 2192