Ice-Fili

Ice-Fili â€Å"A storied market leader facing competitive pressures† To: Senior Management, Ice-Fili February 12, 2012 Current Situation Ice-Fili was able to maintain its leading position in the Russian ice cream industry during volatile times. However, it now faces even tougher challenges that threaten its future prospects: reduction in ice-cream consumption, emergence of cost-efficient regional players, and the lack of a quality distribution system. After analyzing the situation, we recommend a strategy that aims to grow sales through the earning of market share, and improving the distribution network.Porter’s Five Forces’ Model Industry Rivalry Industry rivalry is high. The ice-cream industry is fragmented; 300 producers compete in the market. Ice-Fili is an industry leader with 5% market share. Regional producers threaten Ice-Fili with their significant cost advantage and flexible production system. In addition, foreign companies such as Baskin-Robbins and Ne stle are expanding through relatively untouched segments such as cafes and restaurants. Threat of Entry Threat of entry is high.Numerous frozen imports companies have emerged as regional ice-cream producers with their cold-storage and production capabilities in pursuance of relatively high profitability in the ice cream industry. Economies of scale are not required for those small regional players. In addition, new entrants can enjoy significant cost advantages over Ice-Fili through more cost efficient equipment. Threat of Substitute Products or Services Threat of substitute is high. Ice-cream is not perceived as a family product that people can enjoy at home as a dessert.Impulsive purchasing consists of a large portion of ice cream sales in Russia, mainly through kiosks or street stalls. In 2000, ice cream consumption declined 3. 5 % from the previous year; in contrast, its substitutes such as beer, soft drink and confectionery products experienced strong market demand growth indic ating a change in consumer behaviour on the back of strong advertising. Bargaining Power of Buyers Bargaining power of buyers is high. Since Ice-Fili contracted with dozens of small distribution companies, no single firm has a significant bargaining power.However, there is a potential downside risk due to the absence of exclusive contracts. For example, Service Fili, an independent affiliate, can carry its competitors’ products without restriction. No binding provision exists to enforce Service Fili to carry Ice-Fili’s products. A potential risk arises when competition becomes severe. Ice-Fili could lose distribution volumes if competitors offer more favourable deals to its distributors. Lastly, when thinking about the end consumer as a consumer of ice-cream, we see low switching costs. Bargaining Power of Suppliers Bargaining power of suppliers is low.For each of its major ingredients, Ice-Fili has 3~ 4 different suppliers and it is not hard to find new one. Thus, swi tching costs are low. Internal Environment Ice-Fili highly value employees, as shown by its financial director quoting Stalin’s â€Å"Human resource capital decides everything†. Ice-Fili understands its struggle in establishing itself in the open-market economy, so it actively seeks young and talented managers to help revive the company. Strategy & Key Success Factors Ice-Fili employs somewhat of a focus strategy as a few products make up a significant portion of revenues.However, they do have a very large product offering even though some products make up a very small portion of revenue. Thefore, Ice-Fili does not fully employ a focus strategy. Most of Ice-Fili’s ice cream products are priced at 6 rubles per portion, making it more expensive than products of regional producers and Nestle and at the same time a lot less than premium products which could be as much as 15 rubles per portion. Ice-Fili’s commitment to only using high-quality natural ingredien ts and eliminating the use of any artificial preservatives or colorants makes it clear its strategy is not low cost.Ice-Fili also does not directly compete with premium brands such as Baskin-Robbins and Haagen-Dazs which have twice the price and compete intensively in restaurants and cafes. To succeed in this strategy, Ice-Fili needs to do two things. First, it needs to broadcast its commitment to follow the legacy of the traditional Russian ice cream makers and inspire consumers to cherish and value traditional Russian ice cream making method, thus creating stronger brand equity. Second, Ice-Fili needs to restructure its current distribution system. Nestle already has its products twice as available as Ice-Fili. Summation of Key Problems ) Competition: Baskin & Robbins and Haagen-Dazs have already become incumbents in the premium ice cream space. Regional players have a big cost advantage so a price war or a move into a low cost strategy would be difficult. 2) Distribution: Ice-Fil i’s products have fairly limited availability. Distribution was also highlighted as a factor for the failure of other players in the Russian ice-cream market Reccomendation Possible Strategies The main goal of our recommendation is to stop the decline of Ice-Fili’s return on equity which has fallen from 27. 3% in 1996 to 14. 4% in 2001 (Figure 1, Appendix).We will look to do this through a combination of sales growth and margin expansion. We outline several possible options, and choose one which looks to be the most optimal: 1) Focus on a low cost approach to grow sales 2) Focus on restaurants and cafe’s to improve margins 3) Focus on a few key products and improved distribution system to grow sales Analysis of alternatives and final recommendation 1) Ice-Fili currently still has 25% of their products produced with old machinery which results in higher costs in relation to regional players who have recently emerged and structured their operations around more eff icient machinery.Ice-Fili could firstly invest in their equipment to modernize the rest of their machinery and improve the cost structure of their whole operation. They would then need to lower their pricing from the current 6 rubles closer to 1. 5 rubles to improve volumes. This could potentially be a lucrative strategy. However, the main problem we see with this is the possible reduction in margins that could emanate from this (although it could be made up through increased volumes and lowering of costs). Also, since almost 80% of sales come through Gastronoms and Kiosks with limited space, sacrificing price for volume may not be optimal. ) If Ice-Fili focus or even just expand into restaurants and cafes, they could potentially improve margins due to the higher price points seen in this space. Ice-fili is a market leader with the number one market share in the industry as a whole, and they have also been around for much longer than both regional players and foreign competitors. Th is bodes well for their ability to still sell significant volumes at higher prices. The downside to this strategy that we foresee is the fact that Ice-Fili is not the incumbent in this high end space with foreign competitors like Baskin-Robbins already fairly established.Secondly, we see that Baskin-Robbins’ factory utilization for 2001 was very low at 7%-12%. Although this may not be representative of the high end industry as a whole, it is still a concerning sign. 3) Our final alternative, and the one we recommend is the focus on a few key products, and the improvement of Ice-Fili’s distribution chain. Ice-Fili’s Lakomka was one of the three most recognized brands of ice-cream in Russia, but Ice-Fili was not able to trademark it. However, the industry has not historically spent much on advertising, and Ice-Fili is still a market share leader.This means there is still time to brand Lakomka as Ice-Fili’s product, just like how people think about Coke when thinking about Cola drinks or â€Å"Googling† something when thinking about doing an internet search. By focusing on a few key products, Ice-Fili can capitalize on their storied tradition, and take advantage of the limited space in their main distribution channel (kiosks). Along with this strategy to grow sales through taking of market share, we also recommend growing sales through improving availability.There are heavy capital requirements for building a strong distribution channel alone, but a joint venture with Baskin Robbins would be an efficient way to achieve this since these companies compete in different parts of the market, and a partnership with an international company will make foreign debt and equity investors more open to financing Ice-Fili. Appendix Figure 1. Financial Calculation (in thousands of U. S. dollars) Figure 2. Ice-Fili’s Current Market Position Price Price Brand Equity Brand Equity

Caucasian American Race in My Community

Being a Caucasian American residing in Western Massachusetts I believe that my ancestors were native from the polish and Irish descendants. According to the research I conducted I found that under this population the white people are described as those people with an origin from Europe, Middle East or North Africa, the African –American or the popularly known as the â€Å"Blacks† are said to have originated from any black race of the Sub-Saharan Africa, the American Indians who are also referred to as the Alaska Native are those with an origin from any of the people of the North, Central and South America and are popularly known to be maintaining the affiliation of its tribe. The Asian Americans are the people originating from the Far East, South East Asia and the Indian sub-continent and lastly the Hispanics, these is the population that are said to be bi-racial. (Jessica and Claudette, 2002)In the city I find that there are more people from different origins who do no t look like my ethnic group and the majority of them are the African Americans who I find to be people originating from the native Sub-Saharan Africa, who were captives that were enslaved within the boundaries of the United States although some of them originated from the voluntary African Immigrants from Africa. Whereby, in the year 1860, 3.5 million Africans were enslaved in the Southern part of the United States while 500,000 lived free across the United States. (Jessica and Claudette, 2002)How Are The Caucasian Americans Different From The African American?According to research I therefore state that in areas resided by the Caucasian American population is highly developed, taking an example of Western Massachusetts where the Asian Americans are said to be well represented in several professional sectors through which they are said to be earning higher wages especially in the sectors that involve business and technology even though they are poorly represented in the higher manag ement levels. Under this I find that in the year 2002 the businesses for this ethnic group had recorded a number of over 1.1 million businesses where they employed more than 2million workers where they had revenue of above $326 billion.Leadership in My CommunityI find that inequality exist within the ethnic groups in my community, whereby according to a survey done I indicate that disparities exist among the ethnic groups under which it is said that this inequality is practiced where, higher incomes whites and Asians are discriminated from the Blacks the Native Americans.   I therefore say that in my community many leaders come from the rich who take the prerogative to solve problems in the city, solutions put forward by the rich have not worked at all, but have made much harsher the Caucasian American conditions for living where the problem of us the Caucasians get neglected, causing the inter-depended equations to get ever more lopsided and we are back to where we started from i n our normal problems, this shows that there are no solutions that work for the poor and that if there were, communities like mine would already be using them. (Lupton & Power 2002)Under leadership we find this racial discrimination has led to the following effects on the gender sensitivity in my community: Economic development under this, I find that women are said to be disadvantaged by the segregation in the distribution of income and consumption within the Western Massachusetts where the share of the national income shows that there is inequality between women and men in the society, where women are said to have a significantly lower share of national income than men in my city.Personal insecurity the racial discrimination is said to lead to gender segregation among the various ethnic groups in my community thus leading to the women to be at a risk from violence in Western Massachusetts, whereby practices such as the traditional believes where women are regarded as burdens rathe r than assets this is normally practiced in Western MassachusettsMedia Representation of Racism in Western MassachusettsThe need for dependency makes the people in my community to be looking upon the media to be given information about the events taking place and the products present in the market globally, so they have to tolerate the messages by the media so as they get the information about a particular event taking place. In this case we find that the people read, listen and interpret the message depending on their socio-economic class, gender, age, education and their ethnic backgrounds, in this manner we find that they are influenced by the media to carry out a particular action or even to copy the concepts of life shown in the message that is put across to them through advertisements. (Couldry and Curran, 2003)  Under this, I have found out that there is always some disinformation about my ethnic group whereby this practice is not only practiced by the business owners, but it is also used by various political leaders and the government, who influence the media organizations to disseminate certain information that is meant to undermine the Caucasian American community and their leaders in the government and through this, I find that many people are led to take an action depending on the message given to them by the media who are surely, aware that the information included in the advertisement is not true. (Couldry and Curran, 2003)Racial Discrimination in Western Massachusetts SchoolsThe term racial discrimination creates a distinction between one group of people from another, this is normally based on the skin colour, facial features and the hair texture, it normally vary depending on the culture, and social economic factors in my community   According to the secondary research that I conducted, I find that the this area is highly affected by racism in many sectors including schools where racism is practiced through   the separation of students by their colour; I find that many students who attend sub-urban schools are white, since the sub-urban schools are meant for those individuals who are claimed to be belonging to a higher social class this is because the schools are claimed to be of a higher quality compared to the other schools that are attended by the Caucasian   children. (Darnell, James and Downey, 1998)Effects of Racial Segregation in SchoolsI found out that, teachers in many schools are said to be practicing discipline on students depending on the race, gender and socio-economic factors, though many people including teachers, argue that the discipline and policy practices in schools are balanced and objective, there are still main causes that lead to an increase in the number of students of colour being send out of school, there are various causes of racial inequality in discipline implementation in many public schools in my community and   these include;Cultural Insensitivity And Misunderstanding; I find tha t this has been said to be the major factor leading to crisis in discipline systems both in students and the teaching staff that is believed to be leading to the distinction between racial and ethnic groups among students.Due to the growing urban population in my community, many suburban schools are growing, thus increasing the racial and language differences On contrary, the number of teachers decreases as a result of color and social differences in which I find that   many school Administrators employ teachers depending on the number of the colour of the students, this has probably led to a cultural variance through which a number of teachers lack knowledge with the cultural values, and belief systems of the particular students. Therefore due to lack of the teachers’ familiarity with the students’ cultural perspectives the teacher is not able to understand the behaviour of a particular student. (Darnell, James and Downey, 1998)Psychological Insinuation racial discr imination is said to be having psychological implication on various children in the society since the children are forced to participate in a particular culture at school which needs them to alter to their home cultures through this the students face a variety of conflicts giving rise to a psychological and identity problem.Socio-Economic Factors; this is normally experienced in many schools creating differences among the members in the learning institution. For example in a situation where we find a teacher living in a middle social class that has a uniform way of living and a lower income student living in an economically troubled society, this differences between the teacher and the student is said to complicate the relationship between the two groups. (Karl and Linda 1997)Alienation this normally occurs in children due to the assimilation policies that are imposed in schools which are normally meant to break the conversion of culture and language from an older generation to a yo unger generation this leads to the alienating of the native children from their society older to younger stimulating the identity crisis within their societies. This alienation can lead social isolation that might also lead to depression through stress anger and fatigue which normally happen to detract the student from performing in schools.I therefore argue that, racial discrimination in Western Massachusetts   schools has a diversified effects on the students which normally differ with the presence of many factors including those of self attitudes and the cultural and socio-economic backgrounds this factors target the performance of the students whereby a negative impact is brought that is when a school administration fails to address the needs of its students this may be done when the school administers in formulating its curricula that include the exclusion of minority cultures and languages which proves to lack relevance to the students thus making the students to loose inter est whereby they fail to attend school and some of them dropping out of schools due to the boredom caused by the school curricula this course may also lead to a low literacy rate among the members of the society.RecommendationI therefore conclude that, in most cases lack of motivation leads to, absenteeism, poor performance, lack of involvement in activities, and dropout cases in schools. Most students are said to be undergoing various challenges while at school, these problems may include: fear of failure, lack of academic success, social pressures, lack of confidence in themselves, misplacement of papers and books, frequent absenteeism, lack of motivation and quietness at school as a result of racial discrimination. I recommend teachers in Western Massachusetts to focus on the students’ problems culturally, linguistically and socially and at the same time, they should encourage the students to choose subjects that are of interest to them.The government plays a role of ensur ing that commitments to equal rights and opportunities are upheld and delivered, by setting an enabling environment for gender and racial equality at the country level and in the Western Massachusetts community through the formulation and implementation of conferences and international conformities. Therefore, I recommend that the governments should empower the poor Caucasian American community by improving the internal governance structures, finance management systems, skills knowledge and abilities. Promote linkages, learning and dialogue between the poor and support the formation of umbrella groups that can effectively negotiate member interests with outside activists.ReferenceCouldry N. and Curran, J. (2003) – Contesting Media Power, Alternative media in aNetworked world, Lanham & Oxford, Rowman & LittlefieldDarnell A. & Downey D. (1998):-Assessing the OppositionalCulture Explanation for Racial/Ethnic Differences in School Performance American Sociological Review 63: 536- 553.Jessica S. and Claudette E (2002)   The Asian Population: 2000. Census Bureau publication, c2kbr01-16Karl, A. and Linda, N. (1997): Children, Schools, and Inequality: Boulder, Co- WestviewLupton, R & Power A. (2002). â€Å"Social Exclusion and Neighbourhoods In UnderstandingSocial Exclusion† Hills J, Le Grand J. & Piachaud D. Edn pp. 118- 140. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Network Risk Assestment Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Network Risk Assestment - Research Paper Example The network layout of I.T soft requires an expandable and efficient network that will fulfill the requirements of the company. Advanced security features are also required in order to protect the VoIP traffic and preserve network availability. As I.T soft an automated business support network. The network is utilizing latest technology in terms of both hardware and software, however cost considerations cannot be ignored as the company is an SME. The software technology includes the new innovative network that supports the following: As seen in Fig 1.1, there is no protection on the Internet connection that is terminating on the router. The connectivity from the router to the two data switches i.e. switch connecting to the data center and the second switch connecting the access points also have no protection. However, MacAfee EPO is installed on the server and on the workstations as well. The centralized anti- virus works on defined policies and scans workstations, USB drives and downloads from the Internet. In this scenario, if any threat enters the network from the Internet and penetrates in the server hosting Mcafee EPO server, it will certainly corrupt the operating system and consequently, infect the EPO server as well. Identified risks from the Internet are virus and malicious codes. For physically securing the information systems, there are no physical controls currently. As shown in Fig 1.2, there are no physical controls on the data center and everyone can enter without verification and authentication. The sales database and customer database are connected to the switch. Every request from the users is redirected to the router, where the router checks the Access Control List (ACL). In this scenario, the accounts staff has permissions to access these servers. However, all the other users on the network are restricted to access these servers. I.T soft has configured an email server to provide email

An Annotation of Incident by Countee Cullen Essay

An Annotation of Incident by Countee Cullen - Essay Example The author starts off with a nostalgic stanza; a nostalgia that is filled with the hope of meeting new people and gaining memorable experiences in Baltimore. He tells of his sojourn in Baltimore—‘once riding in old Baltimore’—with an emphasis on the word ‘old’ to perhaps inform his readers that Baltimore has changed a lot since the incident. Or perhaps to stress that ‘old’, racially prejudiced Baltimore is no more. Then he describes what he feels and thinks about while passing by ‘old’ Baltimore—‘heart-filled, head-filled with glee’ (Nielsen 29). He uses the words ‘heart’ and ‘head’ to express the delight that he felt and the hopeful thoughts that he has in seeing Baltimore. But instead of using the word ‘happiness’ he says ‘glee’, perhaps to moderate the intensity of his feelings. This gleeful emotion intensify when he suddenly encounters someone from Baltimore—‘I saw a Baltimorean’ (Nielsen 29); a Baltimorean that would quickly change his views of and hopes for Baltimore. He describes their encounter- ‘Keep looking straight at me’. His description of this encounter leaves the reader guessing: will this be a friendly encounter or a hostile one? The author then gives important details about this particular incident. The reader is informed that this story is a childhood memory—‘Now I was eight and very small’ (Lown & Steinbergh 106).... This revelation perhaps surprises the reader because of how vivid the author recounts the incident, as though it only happened recently. Knowing that the author was only eight years old when it happened heightens the essence of the story. It becomes a story about an innocent child who, at a very young age, already has something to share to the world through poetry. After revealing his age at the time of the incident, the author describes the ‘Baltimorean’- ‘and he was no whit bigger’ (Nielsen 29). This depiction implies that in terms of stature, they are clearly equal. And seeing that the ‘Baltimorean’ seems harmless, the author shows amicability—‘And so I smiled’ (Nielsen 29). However, immediately afterward, he reveals how the ‘Baltimorean’ responded to his friendly gesture—‘but he poked out His tongue/ and called me, ‘Nigger’’ (Nielsen 29). This revelation may have taken aback t he reader, for the author starts off his poem with a cheerful tone, and then drastically changes the mode into something unpleasant. The final stanza portrays how the incident affected the author’s perspective, not only of Baltimore, but the entire state of affairs during that time. It describes how, at a very young age, this very important incident scarred and opened the eyes of the author to reality. It shows how all positive expectations can be crushed by a single incident. The author equates this incident or, more particularly, the attitude of the Baltimorean toward him, to the entire Baltimore—‘I saw the whole of Baltimore’ (Lown & Steinbergh 106). He is implying that ‘old’ Baltimore is a racially prejudiced place. He then tells the reader how long he stayed in Baltimore, that is, ‘from May until

Inadequate nutrition and cognitive decline Essay

Inadequate nutrition and cognitive decline - Essay Example This course study will dwell on the subject of age-related cognitive decline and nutrition as a contributing factor. The lecture will cover the normal and the non-normal aging process of individuals and in particular how nutrients add up to the neurological well-being of the elderly. The hypothesis in this discussion is that: nutritional imbalance is a resultant factor in cognitive decline. We shall review related studies and literature to support this hypothesis which aims to create awareness among all individuals to continue trying to find the nearest approach to cure and prevention of cognitive abnormalities.As the human body tends to grow with age, a certain amount of memory decline is felt which includes the minute reductions or delay in thought processing. For others though, a magnitude of reduction beyond what may be considered "normal" and are relentlessly progressive, robbing individuals of their memories, intellect, and eventually their abilities to recognize close members of their families may concurrently result to a certain cognitive decline. The increasing risk of demented elderly adults created the idea of preventing or reversing neurological disorders associated with cognitive decline. The results of the clinical investigative studies revealed according to Amador(1998) the discovery of vitamin deficiencies causing neurological and psychiatric symptoms. Further, Amador added that the potentials of Vit.B(cobalamin) deficiency has been overlooked as a treatable cause of reversible dementia. Markle(1996)critically reviewed the alteration in thought processes associated with Vit. B deficiencies and discovered several causes that contribute its loss in the bodies among elderly patients. Quadri et al(2004)further added elevated homocysteine concentration results to folate deficiency that aggravates the early risk factor for cognitive decline in elderly individuals. However Under Wright's(2000) free-radical theory of aging, he provided that the effects of "oxidative damage" are responsible for much aging particularly of the premature kind. Wright also suggested based on animal studies that diets high in anti-oxidant-rich foods may be beneficial in slowing ARCD. Among people aged 65 and older, high vitamin C and beta-carotene levels have been associated with better memory performance. Zagaria(2002)further explained that these nutrients as explained may be markers for other dietary factors responsible for protection against cognitive disorders. In most cases when physical activity is diminished, cellular metabolism is likewise affected which results to mal-absorption of nutrients that are needed by the body. Inadequate dietary intake, intake of drugs that inhibit B12 absorption, increased cobalamin excretion that can occur according to Amador in the presence of normal hematological studies. A detailed description on the role of specific nutrients in age-related cognitive decline will be discussed which includes: Vit.B (cobalamin) an d folates; antioxidants and other food products. Vit.B(cobalamin) Andel et al (2005) noticed strong evidence of connection between the low levels of vitamin B12 and warned that this is a common nutritional deficiency in the Western world. Commonly present in meat, poultry, fish, eggs and dairy products adults over 50 are mostly lacking than most people due to atropic gastritis whereby B12 absorption in the small intestine is reduced. However, it should be noted that certain acidic elements are persistent in the stomach of the elderly despite age, it is unusually unthinkable to blame the lack of needed nutrients to gastritis. Teunisse et al(1996)related that cobalamin is an essential vitamin for hematopoiesis and the maintenance of neurologic and psychiatric health. Since it is not synthesized in the body, animals must obtain Vit.B 12 from their diet. Vit.B12 works by aiding in cellular formation and longevity. Essentially it shares in the proper digestion,

Music Technology Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Music Technology - Coursework Example +4dBu is generally found in professional level equipment such as public address systems. Finally, -85dBu indicates the level of noise floor (residual electronic noise) in the sound amplifying system. Noise floor is the measure of the lowest audible sound that can be amplified by the system. Collectively, the three levels are known as the operating line levels of an audio system (Glenn, 1998, p.731). A.2. What do the ranges of 24 dB, 89 dB and 109 dB indicate? Explain the function that each of these ranges has in an audio system? (9 marks) The range 24dB in the diagram indicates the headroom of the sound system (peak level- nominal level) = +28dBu-(+4dBu) =24dBu. According to Rossing (2002, p.168), the main function of this range is to describe the capacity of the sound amplifying system to handle loud sound peaks. For example, a sound system with a larger headroom range is often able to handle significantly louder sound peaks before the sound is distorted or broken. On the other hand , 89 dB range shown in the diagram indicates the S/N ratio (Signal to Noise ratio) of the sound amplifying system. Generally, S/N ratio refers to the difference between the nominal level of the sound system and the noise floor. When the S/N ratio is combined with the headroom, the result is known as the dynamic range assuming that there is no signal below the noise floor in the sound amplifying system (Borwick, 1980, p.45). ... gard, the dynamic range of the system function as the indicator of the difference between the electro-acoustic noise floor and the peak output level of the audio system. B. Why does the graphic refer to two different kinds of dB? Explain both types extensively using formulas for both types too. (15marks). The graphic diagram refers to the two types of dB namely the dB (SPL) and dBu scales. With regard to the dB (SPL), the primary variable measured is the sound pressure level in the audio system. This kind of dB is achieved by measuring the ratio amplified input signals using the logarithmic formula: 10  log  (P2/P1)  dB   Ã‚  where the log is assumed to base 10. (Rossing , Moore , Wheeler, 2002, p.87). The other type of dB used in the diagram is dBu which generally indicates the output of the sound amplifying system (amplitude ratios). dBu is the unit measure of the absolute value of the electrical potential of the system in volts (relative to the sound produced). The formula for this kind of dB is: 20 log10 (V/ V0) = 20 log10 (V/ 0.7746), where voltage is measured using root mean square (Glenn, 1998, p.851). ` C. About the values showed above, would you considered this to be a professional system or only a home-made-like system (e.g. cassette or vinyl) based)? Explain your choice. (5marks). According to the values given in the diagram, the system illustrated is most likely to be a professional system. For example, headroom of 24dB is capable of ensuring high fidelity sound that is only found in the professional sound amplification systems which are often comparatively more sophisticated than the normal homemade systems like those using vinyl and cassettes. Additionally, the large dynamic range indicated in the diagram is a likely suggestion that the system has a high

Human Freedom Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Human Freedom - Essay Example From this stance, freedom and responsibility becomes two sides of the same coin that are simply inalienable. Three of the most astounding quotations of Sartre with direct bearings to my thesis will be discussed in detail with the aim of setting a clear pattern that will not impede the coherence of my discourse as the paper advances. They are as follows: A quick analysis of any of the above quotations individually reveals the exclusive attributes of the message being portrayed by Sartre in one breadth and a striking presence of complementary interconnectivity as they converge to give credence to the core values underpinning the existentialist ideology. In the first quote for instance, like Plato he asserts to the principle of the object in man1. Sartre argues that any essence in life will primarily take root from a fore existence. Contingent with the above idea about man's absolute freedom, it can be said that this "freedom" is packaged in a complex paradoxical guise. He proves that freedom without determinism is terribly misplaced. It further does not exonerate the individual from being accountable for his actions and inactions, mindful of the fact that this freedom is highly pervasive because it is able to generate multiplier effects. Its effects are lumped in the various sub-categories of anguish, forlornness, bad faith, despair and authenticity. The third quote illuminates the challenges man is confronted with in his quest to exercise the discretionary power bestowed on him to make choices. His main difficulty has to do with the fact that his free choice also places a burden of responsibility towards other people directly unto his hands. For this reason man's individual choices as contained in his freedom is of universal significance. Global terrorism a twenty first century political and security challenge to the American people can be used as a sufficient illustration to drive home this point. The scale of the problem has left America in a position that makes it impossible for her to claim ownership of the war to overcome all forms of extremism and Semitism. It is for this reason that America is leading the global war against terrorism with the support of her allies as well as international security establishments like NATO. Viewed from another angle, it is a war that the terror organizations and their sponsors are determined not be vanquished, which makes the war a collective all encompassing war. On the question of responsibility, Sartre makes it known that being responsible towards oneself transcends individuality to include an extension into the wider community of the human family. Indeed, America's responsibility in the war is explained by her security and foreign policies and the extent to which these policies have affected other nations positively or negatively prompting extremism. Implicitly or explicitly, the war has had its fair share of criticism which includes among other things the US government mistakenly

Intrinsic Value of Boeing Company Research Paper

Intrinsic Value of Boeing Company - Research Paper Example It is the chief leader in innovation and aerospace products and services. The demands of the customers made the company continue to expand its products and services such as development, design, support, sales and manufacture of commercial jetliners, satellites, military aircraft, missile defense, launch systems and services and human space flight (Intrinsic Value of Boeing Company, 2010). The company expanded to include in their services the creation of new and more proficient commercial airplanes. They included to integrate military platforms and defense systems and create advanced technology resolutions (Boeing in Brief, 2011). The company operates in Chicago with more than 165,000 employees across the United States and other countries (Boeing in Brief, 2011). Most of their employees are college degree holders, with those advanced degrees in technical and business fields thus making the company one of the most diverse in terms of talent and capabilities word wide. Boeing has been categorized into two business units namely, Boeing Commercial Airplanes and Boeing Defense, Space and Security (Boeing in Brief, 2011). Boeing Capital Corporation provides for the financial solutions of the two business units (Boeing in Brief, 2011). ... The direct competitors of Boeing are the following companies: European Aeronautic Defense and Space Company, Lockheed Martin Corporation and Northrop Grumman Corporation. Lockheed Martin Corporation or LMT has a market capital of 24.40B, while Northrop Grumman Corporation has 15.28B (Direct Competitor Comparison, n.d.). Boeing and ABC Activity-Based Costing or ABC is a â€Å"method of attributing costs to products based on first assigning costs of resources to activities and then costs of activities to products† (Activity-Based Costing and Quality Management, n.d., p. 453). This method is one of the foremost developments in product costing. As stated in Chapter 8 of Activity-Based Costing and Quality Management, this method is considered as more accurate but requires more time and expense. A research study was conducted to Boeing Commercial Airplane Group (BCAG) in Wichita Division in 1999 to 2000. Paduano, Harris, and Gershenfeld (2000) believed that the Activity-Based Costin g method is worth the study due to its great interest on Boeing’s lean practices involving cost of production and services. With this study, the researchers wanted to find out the effects of using the ABC method and its benefit to the company bearing in mind that ABC management will lead to a more accurate allocation of company’s charges and improvement on costs. According to Paduano, Harris, and Gershenfeld (2000), motivation for the application of ABC rooted from the fact that the method recognizes the true costs which will help the leaders or managers in decision making such as in manufacturing. This method also helps the managers truly understand that in making their critical choices, they

Music Contracts & Negotiations Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Music Contracts & Negotiations - Essay Example cessful negotiating process might look like, what the best negotiation techniques might be and how to achieve satisfactory results for both sides of negotiation when interests of negotiating parties come into contradiction with each other. In this essay I will focus on two key types of negotiation, such as so-called win-lose or zero-sum negotiation (also known as positional or distributive) and win-win or integrative negotiation, as well as the importance of confidence and good communication skills to successful negotiation. I am going to elaborate on pros and cons of the employment of integrative and distributive types of negotiation and dwell on the concept of issues, positions and interests within the context of negotiation in the field of music industry. On top of that, I will invent a scenario of negotiation between a music act and a record label in order to illustrate some aspects of negotiation and communication theories covered in this essay. When entering any negotiation, in order to achieve desirable goals a negotiating party must stick to some rules based on a certain negotiation structure, which is not that complex as one think a successful negotiating paradigm might be. There are four key stages of negotiation, which are preparation for a negotiation, exchanging information between negotiators on different aspects of the future agreement between them, bargaining per say and closing or commitment of an agreement (Shell, 2008, n. p.). Any negotiation may be of at least two types depending upon the intentions of negotiators to fully use their advantage in resources and power in order to influence final decision or upon a particular nature of the deal to be reached between the parties of a negotiation. As a rule, if negotiating parties are not interested in mutual satisfaction for each and every party involved in the negotiation and do not seek out benefit for all parties from the deal they are set to make, then they ar e most likely to enter distributive

Deal Directly With The Issue Of Death Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Deal Directly With The Issue Of Death - Essay Example Whereas in Seneca’s ‘on shortness of life’, he explains the life is not short as people think if it is used in the right manner. Nature has given enough time to human being to accomplish what they want. He sees natural phenomena as the metaphor for life. So death is a natural process to him, which has to be dealt with courage and willingness. According to him, human spirit should adapt to the natural law of death. He claims that human beings are bad soldiers who do not follow the commands of God. This is very true as it can be seen widely that human beings have always acted opposite to God’s commands and rules. It is natural for beings that are once born to die and accepting it is the wisdom in real man. In the same manner, Socrates also suggests that man should neither fear in life nor in death. From his thinking, we can understand the greatness of him. The first and worst fear of a human being is dead and one who advocates fearlessness to death indeed is a genius. A man who is spiritually educated will never have the concern in dying as he knows it is a hard truth. He will respect and obey the law of nature and enjoy both life and death equally. This is because he knows that soul is immortal and nothing can kill it or destroy it. In the apology, Socrates gives his genuine perspective on death to people. Socrates reveals that souls are immortal and live forever. It is a fact that soul existed along with God and has been given physical form to be tested by him.... In regard to his death penalty, Socrates responded that his physical body can only perish but not his eternal soul. This is the true nature of human soul and death is just a phase in its journey. Socrates claims that feelings arise from knowledge and since he has no knowledge about death he is not afraid of it. He believes that death is a kind of blessing. This is because; death can give opportunity to a person to go to world he has not been before. There he is able to meet his ancestors and can test them and be in touch with them. This is true as nobody have any idea of where we will go after death and it would be a new experience for human beings to die and know the truth. So in such a case, one should look forward to death which is going to be an exciting experience. Seneca believes that the fear of death is the underlying philosophical root of most other human fears. Seneca like Socrates also believed in the immortal nature of soul. In â€Å"shortness of life† Seneca menti ons that one should think about life rather than death and analyze what is important in life. One should find right attitude to time, and to value and allocate time in the right way. This is very right way of seeing life as people should utilize their time in doing good and being good. In 'Consolation to Helvia', Seneca consoles his mother by saying that material comforts are not the end of life. He explains about the relationship of Man with God and position of a person in the universe. It is true that once we understand our relationship with God we would not be afraid of death. One should understand the working of the natural world to eradicate the fear in the mind about death. Also Socrates in his apology mentions that he has no feeling or emotions about death. He explains that it is not

The Internet brand MusicWorld.com. Essay Example for Free

The Internet brand MusicWorld.com. Essay The paper presents e-commerce business idea that could be realized at the Internet brand MusicWorld.com. Mission Statement of MusicWorld.com It is MusicWorld.com’s goal to enhance the development of electronic music by being the premier, comprehensive resource on the Internet for electronic music aficionados and producers of MusicWorld.com will democratize music, creation, distribution and consumption by: assisting artists in the production of their music by providing samples and sound fonts at no cost giving talented artists with few connections or resources the chance to distribute their music giving small record labels the chance to distribute their music online, increasing their viability allowing a fan of the music anywhere in the world instant access to a huge selection of releases from across the globe at very reasonable prices. Executive Summary A formidable opportunity has arisen from the combination of the advent of the Internet as a medium for music distribution, and the rise in popularity of a genre of music that is entirely composed with computer software electronic music. This genre has been largely ignored by most mainstream retailers and labels because of its non-traditional song formats that make it non-conducive for radio play. It is MusicWorld.com’s plan to market the electronic genre of music via a web site whereby consumers will download the music to their PCs. As a convenience, MusicWorld.com will write the purchased songs to CD and ship them directly to consumers who are not yet equipped to download music. The web site is designed for maximum user-friendliness, unlike any other music site today. MusicWorld.com’s unique web design allows users to browse the selection effortlessly, while being able to automatically hear excerpts from each virtual CD. The electronic genre of music is ideal for online distribution for the following reasons: There is a proliferation of artists worldwide within this genre because of the low price and accessibility of the necessary equipment and software The music is created on PC; artists simply send MusicWorld.com music files via the Internet from anywhere in the world Even very popular artists within this genre are accessible to negotiate contracts with since they tend to be self-distributed, or own small record labels Because of the genres rapid evolution and its individualistic nature, aficionados constantly demand new material MusicWorld.com is distinguished from its competitors in that: The site uses flash software, the latest generation in web site technology that allows users to view complex graphics and animations, and hear high-quality audio It uses a push marketing approach in that there is no need to download individual music files It combines the advantages of CD-quality, piracy-protected downloadable music, custom-mixed shipped CDs, an electronic focus, event information, and musician resources The market The market for electronic music is largely composed of University students. According to Jupiter Communications: College students, typically have free broadband access that makes digital distribution much more feasible, not to mention the highest penetration rate of any online demographic. This audience is the first that will be compelled to purchase writable drive peripherals specifically for the digital delivery of commercial music. (3) Aficionados of electronic music are raised in the age of the World Wide Web, making Internet distribution in tune with their lifestyle. Offer and Use of Proceeds The estimated net proceeds to be received by MusicWorld.com from the sale of common shares, is GBP 166,666 (including GBP 16,666 of expected expenses associated with the offering). MusicWorld.com intends to allocate GBP 27,777 of the net proceeds towards the purchase its web site design, and the balance, in the amount of GBP 138,888, towards funding salaries and working capital. The investor will receive 10% of the common shares in exchange. Capitalization The following table sets forth the capitalization of MusicWorld.com as at the dates indicated, before and after giving effect to the issue of common shares contemplated hereby. Shareholders equity Pro forma as at April 30, 20## Pro forma as at April 30, 20## after giving effects to the Common shares No. of common shares (without par value) 1,650,000 1,833,333 Book value of equity (in GBP) GBP 165 GBP 183,498 Summary Financial Information 1,833,333 outstanding shores 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 Revenue GBP 405,752 GBP 1,622,987 GBP 4,900,662 GBP 12,964,445 GBP 30,145,945 Net Income (GBP 56,483) GBP 232,377 GBP 1,051,891 GBP 3,275,671 GBP 8,034,936 Net Book Value GBP 39,468 GBP 271,846 GBP 1,323,738 GBP 4,599,409 GBP 12,634,346 Return on Ave. Equity GBP 103,743 GBP 156,368 GBP 812,923 GBP 2,982,460 GBP 8,790,386 Gross Margins 30% 30% 30% 30% 30% Earnings per share (GBP 0.28) (GBP 0.016) GBP 0.07 GBP 0.31 GBP 2.43 The Opportunity The music industry is experiencing two major changes: Music has been traditionally sold in a physical format that required manufacturing, including the record, the eight-track tape, the cassette, and the CD. Recently, with the advent of the Internet and increasing bandwidth, music has been reduced to a digital entity as witnessed by the proliferation of MP3. This is the biggest change the recording industry has possibly ever seen. As we look ahead, we anticipate that the convenience of digital delivery of phonorecords may soon make digital transmission services the music distribution method of choice for many consumers.(4) Music used to be classified into a narrow range of genres. These included classical, pop/rock, country, and jazz. Tastes have fragmented over the last decade, such that there are many more genres of music today most likely due to the proliferation of low-cost technology that allows artists to self-publish. This phenomenon was virtually unheard of in the past due to the enormous costs involved. Once upon a time, people bought pop music. Then they bought rock music. Now, they buy grunge, ambient, illbient, acid house, acid jazz, drum n bass, Eurodance, hip-hop, trip-hop, lounge, techno, glam, industrial metal, lo-fi, dream pop, psyche rock or riot grill. Digital technology encourages this fragmentation by giving each new splinter genre easier access to the means of producing and distributing its wares.(5) Despite its growing popularity, electronic music has been practically ignored by mainstream record labels and radio stations, which are just beginning to catch on. Internet radio stations are discovering that the genre can be lucrative however. One of these is amino Radio: AminoRadio is a 24-hour station devoted completely to music including techno, drum n bass, house, turntablism, and other forms of electronic music. AminoRadio is The Eclectic Radio Companys answer to the huge demand for techno electronic music that is not being provided by any other form of broadcast media. (6) Launched in August 1998, amino Radio now has over 15,500 listening sessions per month, and is growing at a rate of 300% each quarter. The lack of electronic musics traditional radio play is possibly due to the unusual format of the songs, which have erratic lengths. Some tracks are ten seconds long, while the majority are at least seven minutes long. This does not fit well with the traditional radio format of three and four minute songs. With virtually no radio play, record labels do not want to risk the investment of producing electronic artists music. The result? An invisible community of electronic music lovers who hear the music through Internet radio, at dance clubs, and buy it from specialized record stores at a premium. The record stores are supplied by small record labels, which have grown out of the success of certain artists. MusicWorld.com plans to take advantage of the resulting opportunity by positioning itself as the premier online source for electronic music and culture. The Music History Whether we are prepared to admit it or not, technology has always defined popular music. From the development of the microphone that allowed Bing Crosby and Frank Sinatra to croon softly on top of a big band to Keith Richards discovery of the pleasures of an overdriven guitar amplifier, the excitement generated by pop music is often the thrill of exploration and the sense of possibility provided by the use and misuse of new technology. Electronic music is about the era of the proliferation of digital technology; an age in which the boundaries between human and machine are becoming increasingly blurred. (7) Possibly the most significant difference between electronica and other musical genres is the importance of the DJ in reinterpreting and re-mixing what artists produce. Indeed, there is a significant shift in recognition from the musicians themselves to the DJs who perform it live, and who also record their work. This began in Chicago with the advent of House music, which was pioneered at a local venue called the Warehouse. The tradition continued later in Detroit, the birthplace of techno. The importance of the DJ can be attributed to the fact that the music is disseminated by being played live, and by the fact that only a professional working full-time could possibly afford the time and cost involved to gather such rare music from various countries. In Germany, where electronica occupies a significant portion of the Top 40, it is bona fide pop music. (8) Music production process The following explains how electronic music is created using current technology: The minimum equipment needed is a computer with at least a 150MHz processor, 32 Megs of RAM, a MIDI-compatible sound card (e.g. Soundblaster), 1 gig of hard disk space, and music composition software (MIDI), e.g. Cubase already affordable. The sound card is capable of generating sounds which fall into 2 categories: synthesized, and sampled Synthesized sounds are generated from simple tones, whereas sampled sounds are recorded from various sources, often using a microphone Using MIDI software, the musician creates a score which plays these sounds, which effectively act as instruments (think of the MIDI score as sheet music, the sound card as the instruments, and the computer as the musicians) The result of the MIDI file playing these sounds is a WAV file. This file can then be uploaded to MusicWorld.com. The Products and Services A comprehensive electronic music web site has been designed for maximum user-friendliness, unlike any other music site today. The unique design allows users to browse MusicWorld.com’s musical repertoire effortlessly, while being able to automatically hear excerpts from each virtual CD. The site uses Flash technology, the new generation in web site design that allows users to view complex graphics and animations, and hear high-quality audio by streaming the content to them as they browse the site. Music fans can: Listen to various tracks/clips of their favorite artists and/or DJs Download a complete CD in 10 minutes through use of a high bandwidth connection for GBP 4.00 (this includes downloading the cover art as well). They then have the choice of burning the file to a CD, or playing it through their computer. Have a custom CD burned by MusicWorld.com’s staff, and have it shipped for an additional fee (GBP 3.00) Find out about electronic music events in their area, or elsewhere Read/listen to interviews with their favorite artists/DJs Electronic artists can: enter into a distribution agreement with the site whereby their music is available for purchase download (and post) musical samples which are used to create their music at no charge agree to be interviewed to increase awareness of their work DJs can: sample songs/clips of various artists before buying have access to the latest tracks from even the most obscure artist from anywhere in the world virtually instantaneously enter into a distribution agreement with the site whereby their music is available for purchase agree to be interviewed to increase their recognition post tour information Labels can: use MusicWorld.com as an additional distribution vehicle for their talent, at no marginal cost use MusicWorld.com to run promotions for new releases (e.g. sneak previews, etc.) By making sure the site offers not only music to consumers, MusicWorld.com is ensuring authenticity. Web sites that only aspire to be stores, forget why people surf the Internet in the first place: for information. MusicWorld.com intends to provide high-quality information on the topics that interest the target market to ensure frequent visits to the site, and a positive brand image. The intent is to be the premiere resource for electronic music and related information on the Internet. A site of this caliber does not presently exist. Operations Technology   Site Operations Standard operations for MusicWorld.com consist of three major facets: updating the site with new information, adding musical content to MusicWorld.com’s repertoire of products, and distributing such content to online customers. The addition of musical content to the MusicWorld.com site consists of: Artists submitting their music (and cover art, created on their home PCs) to MusicWorld.com’s submissions department as a digital audio file, or on a conventional CD MusicWorld.com screening musical content for quality and appropriateness (a qualified Artistic Director, see the Employees section on page 25) Artists signing a digital distribution contract, whereby they earn 50% of the sales price (before shipping) of each full album or individual track Converting content into a format (Liquid Tracks) that can be played by customers Liquid Music Player or Real Player using the Liquifier Pro music publisher Uploading it to our server The second facet involves distributing content to customers: Hosting the site through a dedicated server Providing samples of music, which are streamed with the Liquid Music Server software. Providing this music for purchase via a secured credit card transaction. This is provided by a third party that specializes in this service, iBill see www.ibill.com) Delivering the selected content from MusicWorld.com’s server (managed with the Liquid Music Server software) MusicWorld.com will be paying a one-time licensing fee (GBP 16,666) for the use of Liquid Audios Liquid Music System, a commercial hosting package that includes the Liquifier Pro (copy-protected music publisher), Liquid Music Server (music delivery management software), and the Liquid Music Player (digital audio listening software). The Liquid Music System not only meets our requirements for efficient, trouble-free software to manage and publish musical data, but also equally offers superior performance and flexibility. The Liquifier Pro is the first professional software that allows MusicWorld.com to prepare and publish CD-quality, copy-protected music for purchase and delivery via the Internet to PCs and Macs everywhere. It transcends audio features by providing the capability to include lyrics, credits and artwork all contained within one file, the Liquid Track. Furthermore, Liquid Audio uses Dolby Digital encoding, resulting in the highest quality audio for streaming and downloading of CD-quality music on the Internet. To ensure audio quality, regardless of different connection speeds, the Liquifier also provides a unique preview capability before publishing to the Liquid Music Server. Target Markets MusicWorld.com target market is very specific, as it comprises those people who already listen to electronic music. MusicWorld.com conducted a survey of 100 respondents, mostly in the UK area, with approximately 10% of respondents were from abroad, (surveyed via the Internet). As this market research revealed, the target market is young (average age 25), well educated (average 1-3 years University), and predominantly male (65%). They have computers at home (81%), Internet access (97%), and spend more time on the Internet than most people (9 hrs/wk). They also are more likely to have access to a high bandwidth connection (31%) than average Internet users, and are also more likely to possess a CD burner (29%). They also buy more CDs than the average consumer. A high proportion (12%) of electronic music fans actually compose their own music, which supports the fact that a high proportion of them (75%) would like to support a retailer, which rewards artists at a higher level than the industry average. This is part of MusicWorld.com’s marketing strategy. Possibly the most important characteristic of electronic music listeners is that they are dispersed all over the globe. For the purposes of marketing communications, however, MusicWorld.com’s main target markets are in the U.S., Germany and the UK. This is because the consumers in these countries are either English speaking or highly fluent in English, have the highest sales of CDs per capita, and the highest concentration of electronic music fans for historical reasons. Since MusicWorld.com’s main distribution channel is via the Internet, an English speaking person anywhere in the world with Internet access can be attracted to our site and make a purchase. Product MusicWorld.com conducts an electronic commerce that aims to fulfill all the needs of electronic music fans and artists. The site will have an image that fits with that segments lifestyle and tastes. This will come naturally, given that MusicWorld.com’s founders are part of the target market. Thus, in the very short term, MusicWorld.com’s goal is to become the most complete online resource for electronic music lovers, regardless of whether the people frequenting the site actually purchase anything. The idea is to get consumers used to using the site for information such that when they are in the market for a new CD, they use MusicWorld.com’s site as opposed to another that has not served their needs so well. After this initial period, the site must continue to innovate and respond to the consumers needs. Even beyond this, it must anticipate what customers want before they want it. This way, it will be hard to take away the first-mover advantage that the site will have in this niche market. MusicWorld.com will rely on some independent, unsigned artists for the sites content, however, MusicWorld.com will also target certain small electronica-focused record labels in order to add their roster of artists to MusicWorld.com’s repertoire. These small labels have much to gain from partnering with MusicWorld.com. Partnership offers a way of earning 40% of sale price while incurring no marginal cost whatsoever. In fact, MusicWorld.com’s site can be seen as a way of popularizing the labels roster of artists. MusicWorld.com will find unsigned talent through posting on Internet Newsgroups, which is free of charge. In fact, MusicWorld.com already has found numerous artists through market research who are enthusiastic about the possibility of the online distribution of their music; f(y)u, for example, whose CD is included at the back of this document. MusicWorld.com will have a qualified artistic director screen submissions, and only make the highest quality music available in order to preserve   brand image. Distribution In terms of the delivery of music, MusicWorld.com’s primary market research showed that our potential customers are mainly concerned with the following: Security of transactions (5.72 on a scale of 1 to 7) Speed of download (5.48 on a scale of 1 to 7) Technical problems (5.17 on a scale of 1 to 7) The site will provide secured credit card transactions as well as alternative modes of payments to satisfy all customers. In the first three months these aspects are taken care of by Liquid Audio, by being a part of the Liquid Music Network. Download times will be reduced as high bandwidth connections become the norm. MusicWorld.com will ensure that the customers who so choose will be able to download their CD without running into any of the above-mentioned problems through the use of proven, easy-to-use software from Liquid Audio. As the customer profile suggests, the target segment is very narrow and would be difficult to reach with traditional distribution methods. The spread of customers has so far made this market very small and unattractive. However, the Internet overcomes the obstacles of geography in the sense that almost everybody can be reached from a web site. Pricing MusicWorld.com’s primary market research showed that its customer have a large amount of disposable income (average income of GBP CAD 15,000, yet many are students), spends money on technology (81% have computers and 92% have Internet access) and is not particularly price sensitive (average importance of price on a scale of 1-7 was 4.8). The average downloadable CD price suggested by respondents was GBP 5,50 CAD. At the time of the survey (Feb. 1999), there were no sites offering whole CDs available for download. Sites were offering individual tracks for GBP 0.55, however. Now, Good Noise Inc. is offering full albums for GBP 4.99, although they do not have any electronic (genre) music, which tends to be more expensive because of the high import rate. The selected price-point for MusicWorld.com’s album downloads will be GBP 4 /unit, as compared to the price of actual CDs (physical copies) sold in retail outlets for GBP 6-8/unit domestic, or GBP 9-16 for imports. This GBP 4 price is composed of GBP 2.48 profit margin (56%), GBP 1.70 in artist/label royalties, and GBP 0.18 credit card processing fees. Such a cost structure is made possible by the online nature of MusicWorld.com’s distribution, which bypasses many levels in the distribution channel, and thus many overhead costs normally incurred by wholesalers/retailers. MusicWorld.com is selecting the GBP 4 price point for several reasons: To encourage first time purchases To discourage new entrants from entering the niche A very competitive introductory price will encourage loyalty. This cost structure allows not only offering a better price to consumers (with a faster speed to market), but also better royalties to artists. Under the traditional record label contracts, artists can expect to earn 10% of sales at the most. With MusicWorld.com’s method, unknown artists gain worldwide distribution overnight, and royalties of GBP 1.70 per album sold. This offers significant incentives to artists who either arent known enough to sign major record deals, or dont have an interest in dealing with major labels. There is also a significant opportunity for labels to be able to distribute their artists work worldwide risk-free, with no marginal costs, no marketing costs, and no administrative hassle. Promotion MusicWorld.com will use public relations, advertising, personal selling and an Associates Program to meet sales goals. Public relations Post MusicWorld.com to all Internet search engines (e.g. Excite, Altavista, etc.,) (free) with the help of analytical software, Webposition Gold, which optimizes meta tags for each search engine, as they all have different preferences Post links to MusicWorld.com on smaller related sites, such as hyperreal.org and Technoindex.com (free) Post newsgroup messages in the appropriate newsgroups, e.g. alt.emusic, alt.music.techno, alt.music.house, alt.music.jungle (free) Send press releases to all relevant media, including electronic music print and Internet magazines, campus radio stations, and alternative newspapers in urban areas Sponsor electronic music events, by posting signage, passing out flyers, and video Advertising MusicWorld.com will advertise in several print publications, which cover the UK and Germany, the U.S., and Canada. Respectively, they are: Mixmag, XLR8R and Tribe. MusicWorld.com will also advertise on the Internet, primarily on Technoindex, an index site which lists all relevant electronica sites, and on aminoRadios Internet radio site (exclusively electronica) Positioning Electronic music fans should view MusicWorld.com as the comprehensive one stop shop for all of their electronic music related needs. This means their actual musical needs, their need for information on artists, DJs, upcoming events, films, etc., and their need to contact other fans of the music. Composers of electronic music should view MusicWorld.com as a source of samples and sound fonts to create their music with, and as a fairly remunerated means of distributing their music and gaining recognition. DJs should view MusicWorld.com as a source of the latest in cutting edge material for their repertoires, and as a means of gaining exposure via actually distributing their music or by consenting to be interviewed, and/or posting tour information. An important note to make is that it is essential that MusicWorld.com reaches all three of its positioning goals, as it is the combination of the three that will lead to success. By having the site supported by leading DJs and talented artists, it gains credibility as an authentic place to purchase music. This puts it way ahead of a simple retailer who is merely selling music. In contrast, MusicWorld.com should become a part of the consumers lifestyle. Competitors and Substituting Products Online Players Downloadable Music CD Quality Piracy protected Custom CD shipped Event Info GBP 11 or less Push marketing Electronic focus Musician resources MusicWorld.com x x x x x x x x x CDuctive x n/a x x raveworld.net x x thewomb.org x x MP3.com x x x CDnow n/a Amazon.com n/a hyperreal.org x x x technogenesis x x x a little x X-radio.com x Astralwerks x GoodNoise x x   To compete with these firms, MusicWorld.com must successfully bundle these three characteristics greater source of information, greater variety of innovative electronica, and downloadable content and build brand equity to be recognized as THE electronica site. MusicWorld.com will continue to offer online order processing for regular shipping to accommodate electronica fans that have not yet acquired the latest technology. MusicWorld.com’s greatest competitors generally offer real-time streaming audio of sample tracks (to listen to directly with RealAudio), or downloads of single tracks, mostly using MP3, and online ordering of conventional CDs. Most are small, independent outfits, formed over the last three years, and appear to be privately owned. Competitors generally price conventional CDs at GBP 5.55-8.88, and downloadable tracks at GBP 0.55 each, plus a base price of GBP 2.772 GBP 3.3285 for a custom CD. The market for online music is already consolidating, as big players merge to create bigger entities with wider revenue bases (e.g. CDNow and N2K), in hopes of protecting themselves from new entrants. Investors belief in the explosive potential for online (downloadable) content distribution is reflected in market capitalization of these companies shares. This threat of new entrants is very real, as witnessed by the extension of Amazon.coms retail mix into CDs for home delivery, and the recent creation of online mega-distributors such as Spree.com and Buycomp.com. The next logical step for such distributors is to offer online downloads. Meanwhile, a variety of small, independent sites are also appearing with alarming frequency. Major record labels such as Warner and Sony Records have recognized the digital threat and are moving to develop competitive alternatives. Some have even begun to recognize the potential of the electronica market, and are signing contracts with major artists (e.g. Fatboy Slim and Virgin Records). Some are even developing separate labels to cover electronica Virgin Records Astralwerks is now a significant player in terms of variety offered. They have not given any indication that they plan to offer downloadable music. The speed with which this industry is moving can cause MusicWorld.com’s window of opportunity to close rapidly. Any investment initiative that is to be undertaken in this venture will have to be taken now. References: Jupiter Communications, Music Industry and the Internet, p.5 Techno Tackles the Net, Niall McKay and Christopher Jones, http://www.wired.com/news/print version/culture/story/16764.html?wnpg=all Jupiter Communications, Music Industry and the Internet, September 1998, p.9 National Music Publishers Association, http://www.nmpa.or2/nmpa.html The Music Industry. A Note of Fear, The Economist, Oct. 31, 1998. AminoRadio press kit. http://www. Aminoradio.com Modulations treatment (Caipirinha productions), Peter Shapiro, available at: http://www.modulations.com/ Quantum Fireball as quoted on www.egghead.com on April 20, 1999. http://www.gvu.gatech.edu/user surveys/survey-1997-04/graphs/purchase/OnIine Seeking And Purchasing.html Calculated from lFPl and Statistics sources. Prices obtained from www.CDuctive.com on April 20,1999. Prices obtained from www.technogenesis.com on April 20, 1999.

The North Shore Essay Example for Free

The North Shore Essay To travel across Minnesota, is the opportunity to experience the vast prairie lands, where an individual can see as far as the eye allows, to the lakes, where the water calms, and the trees enrich the landscape.   Perhaps no venture is as rich as the North Shore, where the terrain is varied, the fog rolls in as across what appears to be an ocean, and the view is grand.    The journey north to The North Shore, is enlivened with small towns, each filled with treasures from local artisans, and every other shop boasting of being the best in canoeing outfitters as the Boundary Waters approaches.    It is where an individual can quite literally reach the â€Å"end of the road.†Ã‚   The North Shore has had an impact on the history of Minnesota, from the settling of the land, to the economic fortunes and misfortunes. Tourism in the Duluth and North Shore area continues to expand, in this area rich in history.   The Superior Hiking Trail, a long distance footpath, was modeled after the Appalachian Trail, runs along the ridgeline adjacent to Lake Superiors North Shore from Duluth, Minnesota to the Canadian border.   By 1998, 240 miles of the project has been completed. The trail was completed with the assistance of federal, state and local governments in combination with artists, resort and business owners, and hiking enthusiasts.   The Trail was officially opened in July 1987 at Briton Peak on the Sawbill Trail. According to Backpacker magazine, Minnesota’s Superior Hiking Trail (SHT) ranks as one of the 10 best hiking trails in the country.   This trail covers 224 miles of Minnesota’s most rugged terrain, running parallel to the North Shore of Lake Superior.   Throughout the trail, there are more than two-dozen rivers and streams among the ridges of the Sawtooth Mountains.   Throughout the trail there are opportunities to see Lake Superior and numerous inland lakes.   The high ridges are covered with oak trees and maple trees.   Additional growth includes boreal evergreens, birch, and aspen.   In the valleys, cedar and spruce trees and interspersed with red and white pine. The Superior National Forest The Superior Forest is covered with 445,000 acres of surface water, more than 1,300 miles of cold-water streams and 950 miles of warm water streams flow within the boundaries of the Superior. Fish species such as walleye, northern pike, small mouth bass, lake trout, brook trout, rainbow trout, and brown trout can be found in abundance in these waters. The northern forest continues to thrive with a variety of pine, fir and spruce trees and a variety of wildlife including deer, moose, the gray wolf, and black bear.   The population of the gray wolf has returned in Northern Minnesota, where it had once dwindled.   Reports of the wolf population vary from 300 to 2500.   (www.duluthstreams.org) Lake Superior was known to the Native Americans as Gitche Gumi.   The North Shore is 150 miles long.   Lake Superior, the world’s largest freshwater lake, covers about 31,700 square miles.   Lake Superior is the deepest of the Great Lakes, as much as 700 feet deep, only 3 miles out from shore. The deepest spot, 1,332 feet, is 40 miles off Munising, Michigan. The lake is 380 miles long, 160 miles wide, and has a surface area of 31,700 square miles, and 2900 miles of shoreline. (www.duluthstreams.org) History of Lake Superior The Native Americans first traveled Lake Superior using birch bark canoes to navigate the waters of Lake Superior.   Immigrant Europeans also used birch bark canoes to explore Lake Superior as early as the 1600s.   During the 1700s, the fur trade expanded the economy of the area, increasing the usage of Lake Superior by larger, cargo-carrying vessels.   When the fur trade declined in the 1800s, the local economy focused their efforts on fishing Lake Superior.   Merchant ships increase trade and transportation. Settlement of the North Shore began following the La Pointe Treaty in 1854, in which the Native Americans gave the Minnesota shoreline of Lake Superior to the United States.   (Castle, 1915)   The signing of the La Pointe Treaty was the Ojibwe surrender of their last territory.   They didn’t fully understand the process and believed they were working toward a compromise when it occurred. Because of the rich resources of copper, iron, and timber, navigation of Lake Superior continued to grow.   With the introduction of the railroad, bulk cargo of wheat and corn became more common.   With the increase in traffic on Lake Superior, came increased risk, as ships and sailors were lost due to weather, human error or mechanical failure.   The collapse of the fur trade made an economic impact on the area of Lake   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   1 Rhoda R. Gilman, The History and Peopling of Minnesota: Its Culture, Daedalus 129.3 (2000): 1, Questia, 24 Apr. 2007 http://www.questia.com/PM.qst?a=od=5001774954. Superior and the Native Americans, who had once participated in trade between themselves and the Europeans.   (Castle, 1915) The waters of Minnesota flow south to the Gulf of Mexico, east to the Atlantic Ocean, and north to Hudson Bay.   Minnesota’s history is interwoven with that of Canada, â€Å"described by French traders and missionaries in the 1600s, the region was for practical purposes a part of British territory until well into the nineteenth century. Today it shares with the Province of Ontario a coastline on Lake Superior and a vast wilderness canoe country. With Manitoba it shares the agricultural wealth and the flood problems of the Red River Valley, and it depends on the prairie provinces for vital energy resourcesoil from Alberta and Saskatchewan, and hydroelectricity from northern Manitoba.†1 This area was first settled by Native Americans from the St. Lawrence Valley.   The Ojibwe Indians, settled in the areas west of Lake Michigan and Superior, in an attempt to flee the Iroquois.   â€Å"For the next century and a half the land now comprising Minnesota was included in the Canadian fur-trade systema continent-spanning network that linked American Indian cultures and resources with the commercial world of Europe. Indian people handled production on their own terms, while transportation and marketing were dominated first by licensees of the French crown and later by large British-managed monopolies.†1 1 Rhoda R. Gilman, The History and Peopling of Minnesota: Its Culture, Daedalus 129.3 (2000): 1, Questia, 24 Apr. 2007 http://www.questia.com/PM.qst?a=od=5001774954. Initially, settlement of the area occurred quickly, as the rumors of copper and gold spread.   As the railroad neared, the population of Duluth grew from 14 families in January of 1869, to 3,500 people by July of 1869, mostly consisting of Scandinavian immigrants. The increase in population also brought an increase in the building of sawmills, grain elevators and warehouses, and homes. (www.mnhs.org) Following the 1873 Panic, Duluth’s population rapidly dwindled to 1,300 people.  Ã‚   A period of recovery occurred during 1879 and 1889, returning stability to the area. The economy in Duluth rapidly spread across the state, increasing the ability to trade grain from the prairies.   Two Harbors was established as the first iron ore port in Minnesota, increasing the opportunities for laborers in the state.   The fishing industry continued to grow, from 35 commercial fisherman in 1879, to 195 commercial fisherman in 1885.   The fishing industry followed the same path as the fur trade, and eventually commercial fishermen were forced to look for other work.   (Castle, 1915) As an outlet for iron, Duluth became Minnesota’s third major city.   Shipbuilding opened up new opportunities in the area, bringing further prosperity.   Railroad yards and ore docks continued to multiply after the turn of the century, to meet demand.   (Gillman, 2000, 1)   To increase the ability to transport material goods, a trail through the woods was established during the 1870.   As the railroad expanded in the state, the Duluth Iron Range Railway was constructed connecting Duluth and Two Harbors in 1889.   The road led to a great deal of change in the lives of the residents and in the economy.   No longer were the residents of the area dependent on outside vendors to transport their products.   Roads enabled them to transport their own products.   Roads also increased tourism in the area.   (Castle, 1915) As spoken by New York journalist, John St. John in 1946, while describing Lake Superior: â€Å"To the travelerlet me say a few words. Take a bark canoe, which two or three trials will make you at home in, for they are much easier to get the ‘hang’ of than most persons suppose; go to the adjacent islands, run into the caverns and grottos which cannot be reached in any other way. If you are in pursuit of pleasure, whether lady or gentleman, you can find it in the Lake Superior region, provided you can be pleased with grand scenery, water-falls, lakes and mountains.†1 (www.mnhs.org) The Sault Locks were completed in 1855, enabling steamboats on the Lakes to carry passengers and freight.   During the first year, 149 steamers carried 8,295 passengers and 5,690 tons of cargo.   (Blegen, 1963) Reportedly, Minnesota as a tourist destination began in the spring of 1826, when   the steamer Lawrence arrived in Fort Snelling, needing   to re-establish its communication with the outside world.   (www.mnhs.org)   Fort Snelling became a popular location, with steamers arriving with passengers who were on what they considered to be a â€Å"fashionable tour of the Northwest.   It wasn’t long before visitors from as far away as New Orleans, St. Louis, and Pittsburgh traveled to Minnesota for a variety of reasons. Minnesota is rich in both history and culture.   First settled by the Ojibwe Indians, Minnesota was forever altered by the European immigrants who established treaties in order to acquire the land for their settlement.   These treaties forced the Native Americans to move onto reservations.   During the time span between 1826 and 1871, six treaties and agreements with the Dakota nation, and sixteen treaties, agreements, and major pieces of legislation affecting the Ojibwe, were used to take the native land.   (Peacock, 2000) References Blegen, Theodore C. (1963) Minnesota: A History of the State. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press. Castle Henry A. (1915) Minnesota, Its Story and Biography, 2 vols. Chicago: Lewis Publishing Company. Copway, George. Life, Letters, and Speeches. Ed. A. Lavonne Brown Ruoff and Donald B. Smith. Lincoln, NE: University of Nebraska Press, 1997. Questia. 24 Apr. 2007 http://www.questia.com/PM.qst?a=od=21009722. Duluth, Minn. a See-Worthy Seaport on Lake Superior. (2004, October 17). Daily Herald (Arlington Heights, IL), p. 3. Retrieved April 23, 2007, from Questia database: http://www.questia.com/PM.qst?a=od=5007582493 Gilman, R. R. (2000). The History and Peopling of Minnesota: Its Culture. Daedalus, 129(3), 1. Retrieved April 23, 2007, from Questia database: http://www.questia.com/PM.qst?a=od=5001774954 Minnesota Historical Society.   (1996)   Minnesota Lake Superior History.   Retrieved April 23, 2007 from http://www.mnhs.org/places/nationalregister/shipwrecks Peacock, Thomas D., and Donald R. Day. Nations within a Nation: The Dakota and Ojibwe of Minnesota. Daedalus 129.3 (2000): 137. Questia. 24 Apr. 2007 http://www.questia.com/PM.qst?a=od=5001775006.

Hand Made Paper Products Marketing Essay

Hand Made Paper Products Marketing Essay Today in the world of modernization, the rapid urban growth has led to ecological deterioration globally. Many nations are adopting eco friendly practices in order to maintain balance between development and environment of the region. To contribute positively in the advancement and sustainable development, UAE is acting as a central point for all nationalities and ages which are concerned with the environmental protection and waste management. The UAE takes initiative to build green economy in the region and practices with several programmes and policies with an aim to become one of the world leaders for export of technology as well as eco friendly products. It also maintain a sustainable environment to support long term growth (Mohammed unveils UAEs Green Economy, 2012). This initiative includes several policies in the area of investment, agriculture and energy in which hand made paper products is one of the practices implemented in UAE. The demand of hand made paper products are gradually increasing for both domestic and industrial utilization. Handmade papers are used for the purpose of crafting, manufacturing gift items and carry bags. The handmade products are eco friendly in nature and also admired for style, simplicity and easy for use. Literature Review: The growth of handmade paper products has been remarkable as sustainability appeals directly to consumers. The education and awareness leads to the usage of the green products or eco friendly products in the society (Finding the green in todays shoppers). The usage of products is depending on consumers perception which can be influenced by the social awareness programs and also by avoiding hazardous and harmful products. For example, in order to promote paper bags usage of poly bag is restricted in India. The majority of consumers, more than eighty percents care about the uses of renewable energy (Harleysville, April 2011). At the same time this concern has diminished slightly in order to proceed for the advancement. Consumers primarily relate renewable energy with several benefits of environment and the living beings. Despite of common perception, region is also a major factor that influences consumer attitude for the usage of products. For example, UAE is more aware about the eco friendly product and implemented many programs such as carbon footprint, renewable power etc (Harleysville, April 2011). As per modern study, it has been found that eco friendly products are more preferred among other consumable products category and hence, there is a scope for the usage of these products (figure 1) (Harleysville, April 2011) Figure 1: Green purchases are far larger in more consumable categories Source: (Finding the green in todays shoppers) Figure 2: There is a huge prospect for companies to fulfill the latent demand for green products Source: (Finding the green in todays shoppers) The UAE found that adopting eco friendly products is not just good for the environment but it is also good for the business as there is vast opportunity for such products (figure 2) (Carla Ferraro, 2008.). Initially, consumers not eagerly adopts and implements the new technology but because of the threats of global warming and social awareness consumers are getting conscious and concern about the factors and thus contributing to the green environment (Carla Ferraro, 2008.). For Example, as per the news published in the various newspaper of the UAE, most of the consumers are switching towards the uses of Jute bags instead of plastic bags. In context to handmade paper products, consumers trend is gradually increasing with the awareness and education; although the UAE market majorly depend on the import from other countries for eco friendly products. Research Methodology: Research Design: In order to identify and analyze the consumer trends pertain to the Hand Made Paper Products in the UAE region, a research design has been formulated. In order to provide right direction to data analysis in the research we have formulated a well Prearranged Questionnaire. The questionnaire comprises of the questions asking about the characteristics of the Hand Made Paper Products which attracts the consumers towards their usage. The questionnaire is based on the 5 points Likert scale questions for the responses of the respondents in order to analyze the research findings more vibrantly. Please refer Questionnaire Document attached in Appendix for the Questionnaires. Sampling- Random Sampling: The sampling method that has been used in our survey is the Random Sampling Method. Random Sampling Methods include the acquiring of data from a non-specific selection of the target population so as to get a non-uniform data for the areas specified. The questionnaires are distributed among the respondents on the random basis and thus random sampling has been used for the collection of the data of the study by assorting questionnaires. Respondents and Sample Size: The sample size of the study is 100 and the respondents of the study are the retail consumers of various FMCG products. Sources of Data: The data associated with the project has been collected through both the sources i.e. primary as well as secondary sources of data collection. Data Collection: The Information pertaining to the Sources of Data Collection their respective Research Instruments are as follows: Analysis of Findings: Data Analysis: The data provided in this section includes the results obtained from the questionnaire which had been developed for analyzing the consumer trends pertain to the Hand Made Paper Products in the UAE region. Question 1 to Question 5: Q1. Gender: GRAPH: 1 Analysis: The above graph depicts that out of the total respondents of the study, 57% are males and 43% are females. Q2. Age: GRAPH: 2 Analysis: The above graph shows that out of the total respondents of the study, 10% belongs to the age group of 18-24, while 35% belongs to the age group of 25-31. 25% of the respondents belong to the age group of 32-38 years and 30% of the respondents belong to the age group of 39 and above. Q3. Nationality: GRAPH: 3 Analysis: The above graph depicts that 60% of the respondents are from UAE, 25% belongs to other Arabian Countries and 15% belongs to different other countries. Q4. Educational Qualification: GRAPH: 4 Analysis: The above graph shows that out of the total respondents of the study, 10% have qualification up to higher secondary, 20% are graduates, 25% are post graduates, 30% are professionals and 15% having other educational qualification. Q5. Monthly Income: GRAPH: 5 Analysis: The above graph depicts that out of the all the respondents of the study, 20 % have the monthly income of AED 10000-15000, 25% have the monthly income of AED 15001-30000, while 35% have the monthly income of AED 30001-50000 and 20% of the respondents have the income above AED 50000. Question 6 to Question 10: As per Appendix 1 GRAPH: 6: Products used for Carrying Daily Items GRAPH: 7: Affordable Rates and Augmented Quality GRAPH: 8: Multipurpose usability GRAPH: 9 : Market Availability GRAPH: 10: Durability GRAPH: 11 GRAPH: 12: Preference: GRAPH: 13 : Usage GRAPH: 14: Help Factor GRAPH: 15 Analysis of Question 6 to Question 10 as Per Appendix 1 The results of the study depicts that out of 100 respondents 30% prefers to use plastic products, 25% Hand Made Paper Products, 18% Polythene Products, 12% Jute Products and 15% uses other material in carrying daily items. The Hand Made Paper Products available at reasonable and affordable rates and augmented quality 35% of the respondent agrees with the fact. Out of 100 respondents 47 agrees with the fact that the Hand Made Paper Products have multipurpose usability and are easily portable, usable and recyclable. 25% of the respondents strongly agree with the fact that they prefer hand made paper products due to their easy availability in the market. Hand Made Paper Products are non durable to use as per 32% respondents. The Hand Made Paper Products act as good substitutes against harmful polythene products according to 48% strongly agreed respondents. 39% of the respondents agree that they prefer paper products due to the advertisements and environmental awareness. 37% of the respondents strongly agree with the fact that there is significant difference between the usage of handmade paper products and polythene based products. 49% of the respondents strongly agree with the fact that using Hand Made Paper Products is a good way to reduce the amount of paper wastage and they help in preventing deforestation and saving the forest reserves. 47% of the respondents strongly agree with the fact that Hand Made Paper Products help in saving the Earth from Green House Effect Global Warming. Conclusion and Recommendations: Conclusion: Hand Made Paper Products are easily portable, usable and recyclable. They are available easily in the market at affordable rate and good quality; although they are not durable; they are good substitutes against harmful polythene. Hand Made Paper Products is a good way to reduce the amount of paper wastage and they help in preventing deforestation and saving the forest reserves. Hand Made Paper Products helps in saving the Earth from Green House Effect Global Warming. So in order to become socially responsible towards our natural environment we should use hand made paper products in place of harmful plastic products. UAE has been more concern towards the usage of eco friendly products including the Hand Made Paper Products. Recommendations: In order to promote the use of hand made paper products the government should take following steps: Conducting various advertisement campaigns and environmental awareness programs. Put ban on the use of plastic, polythene products and encourage compulsory usage of hand made paper products. It should provide subsidy and financial assistance to the small scale industries which are producing the eco friendly paper products. It should enhance the market of hand made paper products by creating demand and offer supply. Making availability of the home made paper products at various retail shops so as to ensure their maximum usage. References: Carla Ferraro, A. J. ( 2008.). Environmentally Friendly Retailing. The Australian Centre for Retail Studies. Finding the green in todays shoppers. Harleysville, P. (April 2011). Consumer Attitudes About Renewable Energy: Trends and Regional Differences. National Renewable Energy Laboratory. Mohammed unveils UAEs Green Economy. (2012, January 15). Retrieved October 4, 2012, from http://www.emirates247.com/: http://www.emirates247.com/news/government/mohammed-unveils-uae-s-green-economy-2012-01-15-1.437708 Appendix: 1 Questionnaire: Dear Respondent, Please give few minutes to complete this questionnaire. Please be assured that your responses will be kept private and confidential and used for academic purposes only. PERSONAL INFORMATION: Name: __________________________________________________ (Optional). Q1. Gender: Male. Female. Q2. Age: 18-24 Years. 25-31 Years. 32-38 Years. 39 Years and Above. Q3. Nationality: UAE. Other Arabian Countries. Others. Q4. Educational Qualification: Higher Secondary. Graduate. Post Graduate. Professional. Other. Q5. Monthly Income: AED 10000-15000 AED 15001 30000 AED 30001 -50000 Above AED 50000 Q6. Which of the following do you prefer for carrying daily items? Plastic Products Hand Made Paper Products Polythene Products Jute Products Other Q7. Are the Hand Made Paper Products available at reasonable and affordable rates and augmented quality? Strongly Disagree. Disagree. Neutral. Agree. Strongly Agree. Q8. Do the Hand Made Paper Products have multipurpose usability and are easily portable, usable and recyclable? Strongly Disagree. Disagree. Neutral. Agree. Strongly Agree. Q9. Are the Hand Made Paper Products easily available in the market? Strongly Disagree. Disagree. Neutral. Agree. Strongly Agree. Q10. Do the Hand Made Paper Products possess adequate durability? Strongly Disagree. Disagree. Neutral. Agree. Strongly Agree. Q11. Do the Hand Made Paper Products act as good substitutes against harmful polythene products? Strongly Disagree. Disagree. Neutral. Agree. Strongly Agree. Q12. Is your preference towards Hand Made Paper Products due to various Advertisements and Environmental Awareness? Strongly Disagree. Disagree. Neutral. Agree. Strongly Agree. Q13. Do you feel any significant difference between the usage of handmade paper products and polythene based products? Strongly Disagree. Disagree. Neutral. Agree. Strongly Agree. Q14. Using Hand Made Paper Products is a good way to reduce the amount of paper wastage and they help in preventing deforestation and saving the forest reserves. What is your opinion for this statement? Strongly Disagree. Disagree. Neutral. Agree. Strongly Agree. Q15. Do you feel that Hand Made Paper Products help in saving the Earth from Green House Effect Global Warming? Strongly Disagree. Disagree. Neutral. Agree. Strongly Agree