Importance of Literature Essay

Literature is the foundation of life. It places an emphasis on many topics from human tragedies to tales of the ever-popular search for love. While it is physically written in words, these words come alive in the imagination of the mind, and its ability to comprehend the complexity or simplicity of the text. Literature enables people to see through the lenses of others, and sometimes even inanimate objects; therefore, it becomes a looking glass into the world as others view it. It is a journey that is inscribed in pages, and powered by the imagination of the reader. Ultimately, literature has provided a gateway to teach the reader about life experiences from even the saddest stories to the most joyful ones that will touch their hearts. From a very young age, many are exposed to literature in the most stripped down form: picture books and simple texts that are mainly for the sole purpose of teaching the alphabet etc. Although these are not nearly as complex as an 800-page sci-fi novel, it is the first step that many take towards the literary world. Progressively, as people grow older, they explore other genres of books, ones that propel them towards curiosity of the subject, and the overall book. Reading and being given the keys to the literature world prepares individuals from an early age to discover the true importance of literature: being able to comprehend and understand situations from many perspectives. Physically speaking, it is impossible to be someone else. It is impossible to switch bodies with another human being, and it is impossible to completely understand the complexity of their world. Literature, as an alternative, is the closest thing the world has to being able to understand another person whole-heartedly. For stance, a novel about a treacherous war, written in the perspective of a soldier, allows the reader to envision their memories, their pain, and their emotions without actually being that person. Consequently, literature can act as a time machine, enabling individuals to go into a specific time period of the story, into the mind and soul of the protagonist. With the ability to see the world with a pair of fresh eyes, it triggers the reader to reflect upon their own lives. Reading a material that is relatable to the reader may teach them morals and encourage them to practice good judgement. This can be proven through public school systems, where the books that are emphasized the most tend to have a moral-teaching purpose behind the story. An example would be William Shakespeare’s stories, where each one is meant to be reflective of human nature – both the good and bad. Consequently, this can promote better judgement of situations, so the reader does not find themselves in the same circumstances as perhaps those in the fiction world. Henceforth, literature is proven to not only be reflective of life, but it can also be used as a guide for the reader to follow and practice good judgement from. The world today is ever-changing. Never before has life been so chaotic and challenging for all. Life before literature was practical and predictable, but in present day, literature has expanded into countless libraries and into the minds of many as the gateway for comprehension and curiosity of the human mind and the world around them. Literature is of great importance and is studied upon as it provides the ability to connect human relationships, and define what is right and what is wrong. Therefore, words are alive more than ever before.

Unit 6 Essay Exam Ap Us History P3

Elsa Castro period3 11-19-2012 Unit 6 Essay Exam Before the start of the industrial revolution women was a gender that was considered insignificant, and powerless. It has always been that way till the years of 1790 and 1860 that things where begining to change drastically. Since that drastic changed we all know as the industrial revolution economically women were finally given the opportunity to work,earn their own money,and help their families; while domestically there was reat amount of admiration from women in the comfort of their own home now instead of just expecting their place to just be there. The Industrial Revoltuion as we all know was a period of drastic change in technology, manufacturing,and transportation from the start of the nineteenth century onward. Those things had a huge effect on the economic, social, and the cultural conditions. Due to the drastic change women were finally allowed to work.Before the industrial revoltuion if women wanted to work they would have d omestic jobs like sewing,or making household materials out of soap. When the period of change was at its end women were now working in factories. This radical change was only the begining of women being able to work. earn their own money, and being able to gain economic independence. Although women were now able to work they would work to a certain extent. Women would have to work 13 hours a day, and get paid very little.Inaddition if your a women that has been single would have to leave their job if the women is getting married; once your married your husband will be the supporter of the house. Even before, during, and after the industrial revolution the women still had to be at home taking care of her husband and her children. Normally in domestic families women normally would have to agree with the husband, and both of them were only limited to doing certain task

Relationship between decoration and structure in architecture Essay

Relationship between decoration and structure in architecture - Essay Example Decoration refers to the process of making a construction aesthetical while structure refers to the basic features of the structures that enhance the usability and effectiveness of the constructions. The need to balance between the two is vital owing to the role and relevance of the two features in the appropriateness of constructions. Architectures must strive to uphold the two while recognizing the variation in the priorities that they must provide each of the two features as portrayed in the discussion below. Among the fundamental structural features, that architectures must consider in the design of a construction is safety. Structural, material and functional honesty is an architectural value that guides the operations of architectures as they design and carry out various constructions. Honesty of a construction refers to the ability of the construction to bear the load without self-destructing since such would endanger the lives of the users. The value dictates that a structure must display its true purpose and not be merely decoration. This implies that the value recognizes the need for constructions to be aesthetical. However, it gives priority to the functionality of structures. Before incorporating various decorative features into a construction, architectures must ensure that the structures are safe and uphold their actual value. In case a decoration is likely to threaten the safety of a construction, the value dictates that the architectures must overlook such decorative measure s. Honesty as a design value ensures that designers consider and employ appropriate features that will ensure that a structure is safe and stay functional for the time set during its design. When designing a story building for example, the designers must consider such vital features such as the height of the structure, which as well influences the depth of the foundation especially with appropriate consideration to the stability of the location. The

A Comparasion of Rack Supprted Warehouse vs. Conventional Steel Frame Research Paper

A Comparasion of Rack Supprted Warehouse vs. Conventional Steel Frame Buildings - Research Paper Example Warehouse construction is a flourishing industry and thus requires sophisticated methods of construction to fulfill the requirement. Loading and unloading of goods is required that are stored on pallets which are in turn placed on pallet racks. Cranes and forklifts are used to transport these goods to and from the pallets racks to the transportation vehicles. Conventional steel frame structures have been used to build the warehouses, but with the advancement of technology, rack supported warehousing is also in practice. But the two structural designs need to be analyzed and compared in terms of their usage, economic viability, technical feasibility and storage capacity. The two structural systems will be explained briefly before proceeding with the comparison. Steel frame structure A skeleton frame is used in the conventional steel frame which is based on vertical steel columns and horizontal I-beams or trusses. The roofs and walls are attached to the frame and are supported by const ructing the building in a rectangular grid. Material storage is provided through freestanding racks (Kotecki and McHugh, 2009). Hot rolled steel structures and cold form steel structures are the two types of steel frame structures. A wide choice is available in the cross sections of the single storied hot rolled steel industrial building, but economical viability is usually granted through limited number of shapes. A 250Mpa of strength is yielded by the cross section used in the hot rolled steel industrial building (Satpute and Varghese, 2012). The cold form steel building is a pre-engineered structure that has been tested through time for its aesthetic and structural quality. Components of cold form steel Main frame, which is based on I-sections with columns and rafters made of hot rolled sections. Secondary frame, which is provided through Z or C sections. Purlins, eave struts and side girts are used. Wind bracing is provided through circular cross section rods. Exterior cladding is provided through trapezoidal sheeting. Various options are provided through the steel frame construction in terms of width, height and roof slope to suit the operational requirement of the main building structure that will house the pallet racks. In case of a warehouse the following options are commonly used: Clear span, straight column steel building frame: no interior supporting columns are needed, which provides a column free space for steel storage racks (Armstrong Steel, 2012). Width =16’ to 50’ and over, Height =8’ to 60’ and over, Standard roof slope = 1/2:12 to 1:12. Multiple span, straight column steel building frame: interior columns are provided to distribute the load and reduce the cost (Armstrong Steel, 2012). Width =10’ to 600’ and over, Height of=20’ to 60’ and over, standard roof slope =1/2:12. Multiple spans, tapered column steel building frame: tapered columns and interior straight columns are provided in t his structure (Armstrong Steel, 2012). Width = 10’ to 600’ and over, Height =20’ to 60’ and over, standard roof slope =1/2:12. Multiple spans, single slope steel building frame: a sloped roof is provided by adding walls of different height on both the sides creating a slope (Armstrong Steel, 2012). Width =10’ to 600’ and over, Height =20’ to 60’ and over, Standard roof slope =1/2:12. The above options may provide the main frame, but free standing pallet racks may be required separately to store the goods. A teardrop style is used to manufacture these racks. The pallets rest on the horizontal load beams that are held in position by mounting clips. The shelves can be adjusted

Conducting a Lecture Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Conducting a Lecture - Essay Example This essay will look at the different forms of methods that are usable in training to ensure both the nursing professionals and the nursing students get all the information that the lecture on genetic disorders is intended to pass on to them (Oermann & Gaberson, 2006) Lecture Presentation Nurses who have been in practise for some times tend to be repellent to new ideas and discoveries in the field of genetic disorders, this is because most of the information that they are being presented with is contradictory to the information that they were taught when they were in school or that they have grown up knowing. This therefore, requires that the method that is to be used to teach the adult nurses be convincing enough to make them change their views relating to the specific disorder. This will require the use of real life cases and a lot of research statistics on the cases in order to convince them to change the views and information that they previously held. In the case of students who are pursuing a degree in nursing, accepting new information is easy, as they did not have any other contradicting view or information previously. Teaching them will require just the new piece of information and the outdated information may be just for history purposes to show the evolution of information on the subject of genetic disorders. ... eport to duty in their station s therefore they require that the methods of presentation be short, in which theory without practical would do perfectly. Bachelor of nursing students, in most cases do not have knowledge or prior experience in dealing with genetic disorders therefore in presenting the information to them, it will require imparting both the theory and practical skills on how to handle genetic disorder cases (Billings & Halstead, 2009). This therefore will require the students to be exposed to a health institution that deals with genetic disorder cases in order to gain practical experience on top of learning theory bit of the disorder. The differences in age between practising nurses and the students will determine the speed in which any of the two groups will grasp information on genetic disorders. Studies have shown that the young people understand faster compared to the older people and in view of this, the way the trainer is to present information to the practising n urses will be through use of methods that will simplify the information for quick understanding. Some of the methods that a trainer may use include use of both print and visual materials that include charts in order to simplify the information for them to understand much faster and with ease. In addition, PowerPoint presentation and real life cases of patients present in the sessions would also help the nurses to understand much easier. In passing the information to bachelor of nursing students whose memory retention capacity is higher to that of the practising nurses, it will be much easier for them to grasp, therefore the methods of passing the information to them should be fast. In addition, the method should ensure that information on genetic disorders that is passed to the students is

Jazz project 2 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Jazz project 2 - Essay Example Blues songs are not only written about the trials faced during the slave days, these songs are also written about the many trials that blacks have faced over time. After the slaves were freed, the black community had new challenges. While they were excited about being free and in charge of their own lives, there were still a number of obstacles that kept them from being equal to their white counterparts. Because of their inequality, the black community suffered significantly. For instance, the only jobs that were offered to black men were the jobs that their white counterparts were not interested in doing. These jobs usually consisted of back-breaking labor under harsh conditions. Some of the remedial tasks that blacks were forced to perform in order to make a living were working on farms or in the fields or the position of traveling minstrel (University of Scranton). Concerning the conditions under which the blacks were forced to work, one article titled â€Å"Life after the Thirteenth Amendment† states that though blacks were free from slavery; their jobs were similar to what they had to do while they were slaved. Laws were passed to keep blacks in poverty, such as prohibiting them from owning land, imposing stiff fines if they were not working (It was tough to find a suitable job due to severe racial discrimination and lack of work for blacks that did not cause them to take up positions of servitude.), and they could be sold into what was called virtual slavery if they were unable to pay the fines imposed upon them. What’s more, black children could be forced to work as apprentices (Thomas). It would be a very long time before blacks had the true equality that they deserved. Along with the inequality that the black community has suffered, they dealt with a number of other troubles. Blues songs were composed to help them cope with such troubles, as well as being a way to vent out their frustrations. Blues’ songs were sung about the themes that

The Electronic Policy Network Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

The Electronic Policy Network - Research Paper Example The users access the policy network through the subject lists; for instance, democracy, globalization, trade, and gender. Each topic has links to other appropriate and relevant websites. The users can access information from their preferred organizations through signing-up. The information is periodically sent to their e-mail. The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) is one organization that is represented in the online consortium. The ACLU entails a non-partisan and also a non-profit organization. The mission of the organization involves defending the individual rights and also the liberties of individuals, which are guaranteed in the United States constitution and other applicable laws1. The ACLU works through various approaches, for instance, community education, litigation and lobbying. The organization was started in 1920 by the initiatives of Roger Baldwin, Walter Nelles, and Crystal Eastman. The organization has more than 500,000 members, and its annual budget estimates is approximately $100 million. The organization has affiliates in all the states in America and also Puerto Rico. The ACLU gives legal assistance during cases that put at risk the civil liberties. The legal support provided include; direct legal representation, and the preparation of amicus curiae briefs that illustrate legal argum ents. The amicus curiae briefs are prepared, when another legal firm is adequately providing legal representation. At the initial formation stages, the main focus of the ACLU was the freedom of speech. This was majorly applicable to the anti-war protestors2. In the 1920s, the organization increased its activities to encompass safeguarding the free speech rights of striking employees and also artists. The enhanced activities also entailed the collaboration with the national Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP). The collaboration was aimed at preventing discrimination and also racism. In the 1930s, the organizations began to

Information Sensitivity and Protection of Data Essay - 5

Information Sensitivity and Protection of Data - Essay Example ael Deaconess Medical Center uses in handling sensitive data, as appearing in Managing Information Privacy & Security: Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Technology Resources Policy (2007) are against the following: Access to vital information is a key concern by these organizations. There are policies put in place that emphasize of access of information to authorized personnel only. In most cases, there are access control measures allowing specific personnel access to them. Hacking or breaking into somewhere are means of accessing information illegally, leading to further means of access control such as power switches and anti-hacking software. Disclosure of crucial information is critical in healthcare. It may have serious consequences on the patient or their relatives (Herdman, 2006). It is therefore wise to keep it as discreet as possible. In large firms with different departments, restricting disclosure to the less involved ones is a possible way of curbing disclosure. There are also restrictions of unauthorized disclosure of institutional information beyond it, mostly by export through electronic means. The issue of data alteration is a key concerning the three organizations. Altering data interferes with crucial conclusions or actions of healthcare institutions (Iyer, Levin, Shea & Ashton, 2006). Alteration occurs intentionally by malicious staff and is preventable by having monitoring systems such as CCTV cameras in safe rooms. Accidental alterations occur in some cases such as virus attacks on databases, leading to restriction of digital uses that may expose information to such. Destruction of data is likely to occur in any organization in form of crises such as fire, system failure, or virus attacks. Luckily, these are preventable by having fire-fighting equipment, computer back up systems and proper anti-virus software, or in the case of electronic data loss, data recovery mechanisms are available. It is evident that most of the policies applied in data

Topics for writing Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Topics for writing - Essay Example Americans believe in saying things in a direct manner. If an American boss gave you a deadline, he/she can most probably wait for long after the deadline. Americans are not as particular about the deadlines as Germans are. They take and give sufficient time for work, but demand a high quality work. Freedom means a lot to Americans in every walk of life. There is freedom of expression both in terms of language and getup. One can define oneself in whatever way one likes. Sometimes, cultural differences give rise to misunderstandings. For example, two Americans stand at considerable distance from each other while interacting in general, whereas Latin Americans stand pretty close to each other while interacting. Hence, when a Latin American man talks to a woman in the usual manner, the woman considers him as having crossed his limit and entered the personal space of the woman. Thus, it is always a good idea to conduct a brief study about the general standards of ethics and mannerism in A merica in order to escape misunderstandings.

Business , Government and Society Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Business , Government and Society - Essay Example The article mainly discussed how US regulatory bodies have put in place the most business friendly policies. The business environment views government policies in terms of the regulatory burden and property rights protection that affects them on their day-to-day activities. The article discusses how the US government still currently ranks among the top countries with regards business-friendly policies, despite the issuance of new regulations as counteractive measures to financial crisis. There had also been numerous deregulatory policies of previous governments, and thus the current government has undertaken to put in place business friendly measures. However, there have been complaints among congressmen, business people, and trade representatives that a significant percentage of unemployment has resulted from overregulation of the business environment by the government. The article shows that the World Bank ranking has also not included a number of critical factors such as skills of the workforce, the size of the market and macroeconomic conditions. Nevertheless, African countries have been reported to have the most unfriendly business environment characterized by numerous regulations.   Major Stake Holders and Their Interests Major stakeholders of macroeconomic policies include the governments’ political class, the society, and investors in the business environment. ... Concerning changes in governance, the political class alters these guidelines and rules thus affecting the day-to-day operations of businesses. The government plays key role in to the economy of a country as a whole and thus needs to put in place economic policies that would bring economic developments. The governments’ political class being a major stakeholder to macroeconomics, it has continuously interfered with operations of the economy through the construction of public corporations. However, public corporations have been privatized by many governments in a bid to stimulate economic developments through the sale of underpriced shares to private members of the society. Privatization program has been used by nations as an economic reform programs. Stimulation of economic developments has been possible in many economies by coming up with business environments that are more competitive through privatization of public corporations (Rajan & Asher 95). Macroeconomics Theory and Concepts Macroeconomic theory is not the only aspect used by the government to ensure the business environment is favorable for entrepreneurs and for economic growth. Sustained economic growth in most cases depend on structural performance such as government regulations, public sector privatization, favorable policies, liberalization of trade and efficiency of the banking sector. Economic growth that focuses on distributional and progressive improvement has a positive impact of both the interest of the society and the businesspersons. Macroeconomic theories can be complemented by government policies that seek to improve income distribution in the society. Such policies may include reforms with regards to land tenure, access to financial services at affordable rates

Discuss Classic Film Posters Essay Example for Free

Discuss Classic Film Posters Essay Introduction Movie posters today are considered collectibles and rare ones fetch high prices. Great movie posters are hard to find. Historically, most posters are cut and paste jobs that do not sell the movie very well while a great poster could intrigue, shock, inspire as well as excite.   To create sensation and convince viewers, it should be aesthetically beautiful or original as well memorable that a single glance will make the viewer go inside the theatre to watch. According to Kinross (1991), graphic design is the activity that evolved out of what has been known as ‘commercial art’ closely linked to advertising, drawn or painted illustration. The graphic designer is generally acknowledged among themselves as professional designers who are able to work across a range of fields with different media including companies and corporate bodies, book or magazine publishing, exhibition design, signing and architectural graphics, television graphics, posters, among others. Hollis acknowledged that up to the Second World War, artists who are either painters or sculptors such as Kurt Schwitters, Willi Baumeister, and Friedrich Vordemberge-Gildewart. He also added that there had been a crisis in design as computerized designers go off in one direction led by Basel-Wolfgang Weingart and commercially developed by April Greiman and the New Wave of Americans (Kinross, 1991). â€Å"It was something to do with graphic and typographic freedom and with making new images, presenting information as a decorative style†¦ emerged from the new technology of the computer,† Hollis said (Kinross, 1991, p 75). Hollis also believed then that the graphic designer does not control the content of what he or she is designing. He also observed that in postmodernism, there is a large element of eclecticism that borrow past styles and apply them such as what Bruno Mongunzzi, a classic modern typographer and an intelligent designer who is â€Å"not highly original †¦ [with the] notion of â€Å"I don’t want to be interesting, I want to be good,† (p 75). Hollis delineated art as pre aesthetic information while graphics is information which could inevitably become aesthetic. Hollis and Kinross agree that â€Å"graphic design is modernism in the graphic field†¦ the conjunction of image and text† (p 76) of which Hollis emphasized the importance of the relationship between image and text. Lithography (from 1800) was credited to allow joining of image and text laboriously by hand. Likewise, aside from text and image, there was also the conjunction of image and image where photography provided raw material for montage such as John Heartfield’s, and by making surrealism possible images which appeared to be machine-made. Photography was considered as the central generator of graphic design of the modern movement citing the Volkswagen advertisement in particular (Kinross, 1991). Design as also closely linked, if not overlapped with advertising starting the 1960s. Hollis proposed that it was difficult to separate graphics from marketing which is, â€Å"a distinctly bourgeois activity, which has occasionally, probably through pop music, had connections with some sort of mass culture,† (Kinross, 1991, p 79-80). This paper shall try to discuss the organization, design, use of colour, spatial layout, and lettering in the movie posters: The Bridge on the River Kwai, The Guns of Navarone, The Magnificent Seven, and The Great Escape with the above premise. Discussion: The Bridge on the River Kwai. Design This poster uses period book-type design with an obvious elongated presentation. The type spacing or leading is not controlled and seem to take up much space to provide cramped texts that followed, including the movie title. It also uses illustrations in layered format from the smallest image below, a bigger image above it, and the biggest one showing up close in action the lead character. In fact, the rectangle below the introductory four-line texts seem to be a book cover superimposed on the lower small image with the matching text so that the poster seem to have used a book cover itself. Color The use of color is impressive as the classic eye-catching combination of yellow and red are used. A little of blue text complemented the overall mix of colors. Spatial Lay-out As mentioned earlier, there seem to be a followed desire to use a book cover format with introductory catch lines above and supporting details just below the book cover image. The concept, although longer than the usual movie poster, is impressive. Lettering Type fonts were already used in this print but the title â€Å"The Bridge on the River Kwai† is definitely hand-executed in bold, uneven manner which is very prominent. The Guns of Navarone. Design This one uses comics-type illustration and classic poster size to present strong images of the lead characters and the sea. Already, the use of the classic movie poster lay-out is laid and presented making this one in hand-lettering and cut and paste rendition one for the books. Color The use of the yellow/brown and red combination is another notable characteristic of this movie poster. It is catchy with a huge single image in symmetrical balance with the lead credits. However, its catch line superimposed on the image is not very noticeable or striking. Lettering The Guns of Navarone is also hand-executed with uneven yet type-cast style showing ethnic influence in the design and lettering. The bigger presentation of the lead character names overshadow the movie title, showing that the characters are more saleable than the story plot. Or that each could help sell the other. A witty approach towards commercialism. Spatial Lay-out The use of space and overall design of the poster is pleasing and symmetrical. It is also-well-balanced and does not stray the attention away from it. The Magnificent Seven. Design The Magnificent Seven uses the number image as its main design structure showcasing the face of the lead characters. It has a convincing approach to the use of graphics and confining images in a relevant manner so as to emphasize the number. Color Once again, the colors red and yellow are very evident in this poster although the gray, black and white images of the faces and heads confined within the number add a balance that mutes the overwhelming yellow. The use of the neutrals or muted hues is very rational as use of human flesh colors could drown the effect red and yellow provide. However, additional color on the images below the number 7 could have provided more impact, intrigue and variety. Spatial Lay out The lay-out is quite crampy within the confines of the number 7, with much waste on the sides of each space. The limitation could have been the effect of printing graphics at that time. Use of machine is already evident at this poster and the font sizes and the wasted spaces provide a glimpse of experimentation being used. Lettering A combination of hand-executed lettering and machine type, this one shows the limitation of graphic design during the period. The Great Escape. Design Considered the quad poster, this one uses horizontal design to present the entire poster. The balance is achieved through the placement of small catch line on the left and the title and image on the center-right. Color The use of basic red and blue is very effective as black balances the off-white color of the reversed title in big fat fonts. Spatial lay out There is also the experimentation of text size in this poster. While balance is being achieved, there is also the wastage of some space where the catch line could have gained advantage. However, since commercial design was in its adolescent stage, this is forgivable. Lettering Machine seems to be the evident executor at this poster. Every letter size and type are uniformed and the limited use of space made it more obvious. Conclusion The period when photographs are hardly used, comic and book art illustrations were used in movie posters. These posters achieved classic popularity and acceptance due to use of what are typically accepted design concepts at that time; use of basic colors red, yellow and blue which appear striking against one another at the same time catchy in the commercial sense, attainment of balance and symmetry by not tilting the meter of text and photos to only a single side, or plain use of centering. The lay-out and ettering are evidently limited due to time and resources restrictions. However, in a period when posters were used as announcements and not exactly collectible graphic arts, these are acceptable norms for movie posters. Current trends, however, may provide new design concepts that may or may not be considered acceptable in any other given period. Design mutates, and popular taste is conditioned, influenced, as well as acquired. So does design and movie posters. Reference: Kinross, Robin (1992). â€Å"Conversation with Richard Hollis on Graphic Design History.†Ã‚   Journal of Design History 5 (3) 73-93. Hershenson, Bruce (1998). â€Å"A History of Movie Posters.† Reel Classics.

Mechanism Of Electromechanical Induction Meter Information Technology Essay

Mechanism Of Electromechanical Induction Meter Information Technology Essay As the dismal economy spawns desperate measures, most of the residents of our beloved city, Karachi are resorting to a hazardous practice which is stealing electricity. Many utilities say energy theft has risen sharply during the recent economic downturn. Culprits include residential customers whose power is turned off when they fall behind on the bills and small businesses struggling to keep their doors open. They are using a wide array of tactics. Some run wires from utility lines directly into a circuit-breaker panel to bypass the electric meter. Others attached cables on either side of a meter, swipe meters from vacant houses when theirs are removed or tamper with meters to lower their electric bills. People from KESC are finding more and more people are stealing electricity because of the poor economy, said by the sources of electricity supplying corporation. It has been investigated that 3,197 cases of theft in January and February, a 28% jump over the year-ago period. Customers have stolen power for decades, costing utilities 1% to 4% of revenue or about RS 49 billion industry wide each year, according to Electric Light Power magazine. Losses are borned by other customers. Many thieves operate home-based marijuana farms that use lots of lights and power. But the problem is basically mushrooming. Meanwhile, consulting firm Detectent has identified a double-digit arise in business thefts the past six months, many by energy-guzzling restaurants. In Landhi, Deen Baksh, 48, was charged last fall with3 meter rigging. DTE Energy says he helped about 50 downtown businesses cut their gas and electric bills by more than RS.1 million or 30% to 50% each the past several years. The practice is actually dangerous. Touching a power line may burn or even kill an untrained person. In Philadelphia this month, an illegal electricity hookup in a row house resulted in a spark a fire that killed a 30-year-old woman and her 8-year-old daughter. Utilities often learn of thefts from meter readers, neighbors or may be abnormal use patterns. They expect to detect fraud earlier as they roll out smart meters that can remotely monitor electricity usage. Electricity theft can be in the form of fraud (meter tampering), stealing (illegal connections), billing irregularities, or unpaid bills. Estimates of the extent of electricity theft in a sample of 102 countries for 1980 and 2000 are studied. The evidence shows that theft is increasing in most of the regions of the world. The financial impacts of theft has reduced income from the sale of electricity and the necessity to charge more to consumers. Electricity theft is closely related to governance indicators, with higher peaks of theft in countries without effective accountability, political instability, low government effectiveness and high levels of corruption. Electricity theft can be lowered by applying technical solutions such as tamper-proof meters, managerial methods such as inspection and monitoring, and in some cases restructuring power systems ownership and regulation. The main purpose of our report is to present solution to economic problems and then economy rate will become higher. And that loss which KESC have to bear due to this problem will be decreased. Economically this idea has great benefit both for masses and society. Once the theft of electricity would be detected then steps will be taken to stop it which will yield in discouraging the people using electricity illegally. Energy will be distributed to everyone justly thus everyone will be paying charges of only the amount they consume. Energy generating and distributing bodies will not be having extra load over their lines thus no power trips and break downs will occur so no extra money required for correcting such problems. CHAPTER NO 01 ELECTRIC METER 1.1 ELECTRIC METERS: An electric meter or energy meter is equipment that can measure the amount of electrical energy consumed by a residence, business, or an electrically powered device. Electric meters are usually calibrated in billing units; the most common is the kilowatt hour. Periodic readings of electric meters give billing cycles and energy used during a cycle. In settings when energy savings during certain periods are desired, meters may measure demand which is the maximum use of power in some interval. In some areas, the electric rates are higher during specific times of day for encouraging reduction in use. Also, in some areas meters have switches to turn off nonessential equipment. Electricity meters work by continuously measuring the instantaneous voltage (volts) and current (amperes) and then finding the product of these to give instantaneous electrical power (watts) which is afterwards integrated against time to give energy used (joules, kilowatt-hours etc.). Meters for smaller services (for instance small residential customers) can be connected directly in-line between source and customer. For larger loads, i.e. more than about 200 amps of load, current transformers are used, so that the meter can be located other than in line with the service conductors. The meters fall into two basic categories, electromechanical and electronic. 1.1.1 Mechanism of electromechanical induction meter. 1. Voltage coil many turns of fine wire encased in plastic, connected in parallel with load. 2. Current coil three turns of thick wire, connected in series with load. 3.Stator-concentrates and confines magnetic field. 4.Aluminum rotor disc. 5. Rotor brake magnets. 6. Spindle with worm gear. 7. Display dials note that the 1/10, 10 and 1000 dials rotate clockwise while the 1, 100 and 10000 dials rotate counter-clockwise. The electromechanical induction meter operates by counting the revolutions of an aluminum disc which is made to rotate at a speed proportional to the power. The number of revolutions is thus proportional to the energy usage. It consumes a small amount of power, typically around 2 watts. The metallic disc is acted upon by two coils. One coil is connected in such a way that it produces a magnetic flux in proportion to the voltage and the other produces a magnetic flux in proportion to the current. The field of the voltage coil is delayed by 90 degrees using a lag coil.[16] This produces eddy currents in the disc and the effect is such that a force is exerted on the disc in proportion to the product of the instantaneous current and voltage. A permanent magnet exerts an opposing force proportional to the speed of rotation of the disc. The equilibrium between these two opposing forces results in the disc rotating at a speed proportional to the power being used. The disc drives a register mechanism which integrates the speed of the disc over time by counting revolutions, much like the odometer in a car, in order to render a measurement of the total energy used over a period of time. The type of meter described here is basically used on a single-phase AC supply. Different phase configurations use additional voltage and current coils in them. 1.1.2 CURRENT TRANSFORMER (CT) METERING: Huge businesses or multi storey buildings use so much power that they cant be connected to the network via the usual methods so in order for these sites to be metered, the load needs to be broken down so the meter will be able to cope with it and then be multiplied out again in order to get the full amount of power being used. This is known as CT metering. Actually the load comes into a CT chamber from where it is then distributed from buzz bars containing transformers to CT links and then into the meter. The CT chamber also goes into the customers switchboard. The rating of the transformers finds out the multiplier to be applied when calculating true usage. 1.1.3 METER USED IN THE PROJECT: The meter used in our final year project is electromechanical induction meter. 1.2 UNIT OF MEASUREMENT: Kilowatt hour is the most common unit of measurement on the electricity meter which is equal to the amount of energy used by a load of one kilowatt over a period of one hour, or 3,600,000 joules. Some electricity companies also use the SI mega joule instead. Remote current and voltage sensors are be read and programmed remotely by modem and locally by infra-red. The circle with two dots is the infra-red port give the reading. Tamper-evident seals are also present in some meters. Demand is usually measured in watts, but averaged over a period, most often a quarter or half hour 1.3 ELECTRICITY THEFT: Meters can be controlled to make them under-register, effectively permitting power use without paying for it. This theft or fraud can be dangerous and also dishonest. Electricity theft can be in the form of i)fraud (meter tampering) ii)stealing (illegal connections) iii)billing irregularities iv)Unpaid bills. Another common method of tampering on older meters is to attach magnets to the outside of the meter. They magnetically saturate the coils or current transformers, preventing the alternating current from forming eddy currents in the rotor, or inducing voltages in the current transformer. Also rectified DC loads cause mechanical (but not electronic) meters to under-register. DC current does not cause the coils to make eddy currents in the disk so this causes reduced rotation and a lower the bill. Some combinations of capacitive and inductive load can also interact with the coils and mass of a rotor and cause reduced or reverse motion. 1.3.1 Basic Layout Of The Project Including Electricity Theft Possibilities: Bypass wire Breaker to cut out the meter Home Neutral Wire, neutral current iN Phase wire, phase current iP Earth wire Meter Case 1: If there is no bypassing of the meter and the entire load is OFF. iN (Neutral current) = iP (Phase Current) = 0 Case 2: If there is no bypassing of the meter and the entire load is ON. iN (Neutral Current) = iP (Phase current) = some value Case 3; If there is meter bypassing and the entire load is ON. iP (Phase current ) = 0 iN (Neutral Current) = load The first target is to sense / measure phase and neutral current. And if case 3 is verified than it will be a theft case. 1.3.2 Outcomes Of Electricity Theft: The evidence shows that theft is vastly increasing in most regions of the world. The financial impacts of theft have resulted in reduced income from the sale of electricity and the necessity to charge more to consumers. Electricity theft is closely concerned to governance indicators, with higher levels of theft in countries without effective accountability, political instability, low government effectiveness and high levels of corruption. Power theft has surely become an infamously prevalent practice in many parts of the country, both rural and urban. Many cases go unreported in various cities and villages, costing a lot to our countries burdened economy. People actually pay some local electrician a little money to reverse the electricity meter of the house and/or slow its pace. Some people also learn the trick from an electrician and help their family/friends steal electricity. 1.3.3 General Methods To Reduce Electricity Theft: Electricity theft can be reduced by Applying technical solutions such as tamper-proof meters. Managerial methods such as inspection and monitoring. Restructuring power systems ownership and regulation.. A common method of tampering on older meters is to attach magnets to the outside of the meter. These magnetically saturate the coils or current transformers, preventing the alternating current from forming eddy currents in the rotor, or inducing voltages in the current transformer. Rectified DC loads cause mechanical (but not electronic) meters to under-register. DC current does not cause the coils to make eddy currents in the disk, so this causes reduced rotation and a lower bill. Some combinations of capacitive and inductive load can interact with the coils and mass of a rotor and cause reduced or reverse motion. CHAPTER NO 02 MEASUREMENT OF AC CURRENT: 2.1 DESCRIPTION: Here we have considered household power is single-phase electric power, with two or three wired contacts at each outlet. The live wire (also known as phase, hot or active contact), carries alternating current between the power grid and the household. The neutral wire completes the electrical circuit by also carrying alternating current between the power grid and the household. The neutral is staked into the ground as often as possible, and therefore has the same electrical charge as the earth. This prevents the power circuits from rising beyond earth, such as when they are struck by lighting or become otherwise charged. The earth wire or ground connects cases of equipment to earth ground as a protection against faults (Electric Shock). 2.2 MEASUREMENT OF AC CURRENT: Its very difficult to measure ac current and produce voltage proportional to it. For measurement of ac current Hall Effect devices are mostly used. They produce the voltage proportional to the magnetic field in the air gap by inserting Hall Effect magnetic field sensor in the current transformer core air gap. The circuits below measure the ac current without using Hall Effect devices. 2.2.1 WORKING: FIG 1: An electric current J2 is introduced in the secondary winding of the coil which is proportional to the primary winding J1.Th secondary current can be controller by means of number of turns on primary and secondary winding. The primary winding either have one turn or a number of turns wrapped around it while the secondary winding has usually multiple turns around it. If the current transformer is ideal then the current in the secondary winding is equal to that in primary winding. But if it is possess non-ideal characteristics then the current in both windings will not be equal due to substantial phase angle, error of ratio, and/or wave shape in its output. They are the function of: The properties possess by magnetic core. How much burden on it. How much dc component present in the primary current. FIG2: Due to burden in the secondary the currents in the secondary and primary arent equal. Fig 2is used to reduce this effect .V4 is the voltage which is proportional to the rate of magnetic flux and is introduced by terminating the sense winding 10 to high impedance; the effective burden can be reduced by applying it tin series to the secondary winding after it is being amplified. Now the currents in secondary will be proportional accurately to that in primary since the magnetic flux changes in the core is reduced to zero. Smaller flux changes and higher accuracy will be achieved by higher gains in the amplifier circuit while on the other hand this leads to instability and associated =oscillations in the circuit. This technique is a better measure of ac current but the problem raised may be due to the dc component in the primary current FIG 3: Compensation voltage is generated by using secondary current as input and this voltage is required for driving the secondary current. The voltage generated V1 is proportional to the driving current J2 and the output voltage V3 is produced as an information signal. The advantage of above circuit is that instead of using Hall Effect sensors ordinary current transformers can be utilized to measure the ac current with a dc component .The above current sensor has the following properties: Even in the presence of primary current the current transformer gives accurate output. This circuit uses a relatively inexpensive and simple magnetic core. Stable over temperature and time. Primary current in in effected by noise. The voltage V3 is utilized further to obtain a dc voltage. For this purpose this ac output is passed by a rectifier circuit in order to obtain a dc voltage at the output. CHAPTER #03: MICROCONTROLLERS 3.1 INTRODUCTION: Microcontrollers are devices that have CPU, RAM, ROM, I/O ports, and timers all on a single chip. In other words all are embedded on a single chip. For applications in which cost and space are critical issue microcontrollers are preferred for their above mentioned features. Microcontroller is one of the major components of this design as it plays key role of the coordination between all the components. It inputs current signal and evaluates the theft. The result is then sent to remote office by connecting mobile to microcontroller. AT commands are used for communication between mobile and microcontroller. Microcontrollers are available with different instruction set, registers, speed, packaging and costs. There are many different types of microcontrollers. Freescales 6811, Intel 8051, Zilogs Z8, and PIC 16X from microchip technology are popular 8 bit microcontrollers. Nowadays 16 bit and 32 bit microcontrollers are also available. Microcontrollers are not compatible with each other because each has a different instruction set and registers. Certain important points must be kept in mind while selecting a microcontroller for a particular application. Firstly it must be able to satisfy all computational needs. These computational needs include capacity and speed. Speed: While choosing a microcontroller it should be operating at the speed that is required for the application Capacity: For certain applications programs are too long and they exceed on chip RAM capacity. Therefore it is necessary to consider on chip RAM memory. Secondly it must be compatible with devices used in application. This is an important issue. There are many microcontrollers which support only a particular baud rate and are incompatible with the devices that operate at the higher baud rate. Thirdly it must be available in required quantities and at the required costs. 3.2 POPULAR MICROCONTROLLERS: Two important microcontrollers that are widely used are 8051 and PIC. 3.2.1 8051 Family: There are many members of 8051 family which are produced by different vendors and have different features. Some of the well known are: 8051: 8051 was originally produced by Intel corporation .It has 4Kbytes ROM and 128bytes on chip RAM .Other products are 8052 and 8031 microcontrollers. These two have additional features such as increased ROM capacity, speed and timers. AT89C51:One of the most widely used 8051 microcontrollers is AT89C51 from Atmel Corporation. It is one of the most widely used from 8051 microcontrollers because of its easy availability and low cost. OTP version of 8051: One time programmable versions of 8051 are also widely used. Because of its low cost it is used for mass production. 3.3 PREVIOUS APPROACH: Earlier for project purpose Atmel89C51 was selected and ADC0808 was used along with it to convert current to digital. 3.3.1 ATMEL 89C51: It is one of the most commonly used controllers. The reasons behind its popularity are: It is widely available. Programming language is very simple. All its development tools are readily available. 3.3.1.1 Features: It is low powered and 8 bit microcontroller. 32 I/O lines. 6 interrupts 2 timers. 4K flash memory Serial programming is also possible. The figure below shows the pins of Atmel AT89C51. If AT89C51 is used for the current implementation then following points need to be considered: 3.3.1.2 Interfacing ADC With Microcontrollers: It does not have built in ADC therefore an external ADC is interfaced to entertain analog inputs. Normally ADC0808 and ADC0848 are used. 3.3.1.3 Serial communication: For serial communication it has built in UART mode. There is a special serial register known as SBUF. 3.3.1.4 ADC0808: As current is analog quantity and 8051 can only accept digital inputs therefore an ADC was needed .For this purpose ADC0808 was preferred as it is easily available in markets and compatible with 8051. Due to the compatibility issue atmel8951 was replaced by pic16F877A. 3.3.2 PIC: PIC stands for programmable Interface controller and it is made by microchip technology. PIC is widely preferred for industrial applications due to their low cost, capacity, extensive features and wide availability of development tools like its programmer, compiler etc. 3.3.2.1Features Of PIC: It follows Harvard architecture that is code and data spaces are separate. They even have a separate bus. This allows program and data to be fetched simultaneously. Code space is implemented as ROM whereas for data space we have general purpose RAM. However addressable data space is small. There is only one accumulator. Most of the PIC controllers are 8-bit microcontroller that all data should be in 8 bits and all operations are also performed in 8 bits chunks. They also support instructions, operations and commands that allow user to work on single bit. It has predefined instruction set with few changes for different versions .The instruction set includes instructions that support direct memory addressing as well as indirect addressing. It also supports conditions and branching. Newer versions of pic also have built in ADC into the microcontroller. PIC have hardware call stack which cannot be accessed through software. They save return addresses. TYPES OF PIC MICROCONTROLLERS: There are many PIC series of which well known are as follows: PIC17 SERIES PIC18 SERIES PIC32 SERIES PIC24 SERIES PIC16 SERIES For the project PIC16f877A is covered in detail therefore PIC 16 series is discussed briefly. 3.3.2.2 PIC16 Series: PIC16 Series are small, fast, and are available in most of areas. There are many different variants of pic16 series in which some have more I/O pins some have ADC, some have more memory. 3.4 CURRENT APPROACH: 3.4.1 PIC16F877A: For this project pic 16f877A has been used .The reasons behind using it were as follows: It is widely available in most of the areas. It has built in 10 bit ADC that was needed for our project. Its compiler and programmer were also easily available. It supports baud rate required for our application and it is compatible with devices that are used. It is relatively easy to program. The details of the pins are provided in the Appendix A 3.4.1.1 Features Of PIC16F877A: It is a 40 pin device 5 I/O ports A, B, C, D and E some pins are multiplexed so that they can be used for peripheral functions. 15 interrupts 8 A/D input channels 35 single word instructions and 1 instruction is composed of 14 bits. 20 MHz operating speed Data memory of 368 bytes EEPROM memory of 256 bytes 3 timers 2 analog comparators. 3.5 HARDWARE SECTION: Hardware design of PIC consists of combining different modules and devices with the controller that work together in order to attain information from the E-meter and read into the micro-controller. In this section ports, oscillators, registers of PIC that are used for implementing the design are briefly discussed: 3.5.1 Oscillator: External oscillator with a frequency of 12 MHz is used in order to achieve clock speed of 8MHz.The baud rate is set at 9600kbps. Internal oscillator of pic is not used. 3.5.2 I/O Ports: As the current has to be sensed through the microcontroller therefore portA is used and is configured for analog input (AN0 to AN7). Its corresponding direction register is TRISA. 3.5.3 Analog to Digital Converter Module: PIC16F877A has eight pins for Analog-to-Digital (A/D) Converter module. The conversion of an analog input signal results in a corresponding 10-bit digital number. It can even operate in sleep mode. The A/D clock must be derived from the A/Ds internal RC oscillator. The AD module has four registers adresh, adresl, adcon0 and adcon1. The 10 bit AD result is stored in adresh and adresl registers.ADCON1 is used for configuration of port pins. The operation of AD module is controlled through ADCON0. 3.5.4 USART: In order to generate alarm at remote office, controller is connected to mobile. The phone is connected to Universal Synchronous Asynchronous Receiver Transmitter (USART) module which is one of the two serial I/O modules of PIC16F877A. USART is also known as a Serial Communications Interface or SCI. USART uses standard Non-Return to- Zero (NRZ) format (one Start bit, eight or nine data bits and one Stop bit). The USART transmits and receives the LSB first. The transmitter and receiver function independently. 3.6 SOFTWARE DESIGN: 3.6.1 Development Tools: The code is written in pic basic pro language. The code is then converted to hex via microcode studio and hex code is loaded into pic16F877A through quad programmer. Microcode studio is used because its free version is easy available on internet. For compiler three header files are made. One file is used by compiler other is used by programmer. The file with the extension .BAS is used by pbp .Pbp then makes .ASM file from it. It then makes .ASM file from it. If code is error free then assembler required output file with hex code in it. This hex code is loaded in the pic by quad programmer. 3.6.2 Program Code: There are multiple parts of the software design, as the micro-controller plays many parts in the coordination of the instrumentation panel. Firstly internal ADC of the PIC16F877A is configured to sense the current. The next step for the code is to check if input is greater than 0 .If it is greater than 0 then a message is sent to remote office through mobile. For this AT commands are used that are specially made for communication between GSM modules and microcontroller. Other than the mentioned AT commands in the following table are in appendix B COMMANDS PURPOSE ATZ AT+CMGF 3. AT+CMGS 4. AT+CMGL Recall Stored Profile Message Format Send Message List Messages CHAPTER NO 04: WIRELESS ACCESS TECHNOLOGIES: 4.1 EVOLVING WIRELESS TECHNOLOGIES IN PAKISTAN: There are two important wireless access technologies that can be used within Pakistan and are feasible for our project and that are: WIMAX GSM 4.2 GSM TECHNOLOGY: For mobile telephony systems in the world, the most popular standard is GSM. The GSM Association estimated that 80% of the global mobile market uses the standard. 1.5 billion People across more than 212 countries and territories uses GSM technology for their benefits. This means that subscribers can use their phones throughout the world between mobile network operators, enabled by international roaming arrangements. GSM is considered a second generation (2G) mobile phone system because GSM differs from its predecessor technologies in that both signaling and speech channels are digital. GSM also facilitates the wide-spread implementation of data communication applications into the system. The GSM standard provides an advantage to both consumers, who may benefit from the ability to roam and switch carriers without replacing phones, and also to network operators, who can choose equipment from many GSM equipment vendors.GSM also pioneered cheapest implementation of the short message service (SMS), also called text messaging, which has since been supported on other mobile phone standards as well. A worldwide emergency telephone number feature is also provided by this standard. GSM also supports indoor coverage and may be achieved by using an indoor picocell base station, or an indoor repeater with distributed indoor antennas fed through power splitters, to deliver the radio signals from an antenna outdoors to the separate indoor distributed antenna system. When a lot of call capacity is needed indoors then these are typically deployed; for example, in airports or shopping centers. However, this is not a prerequisite, since indoor coverage is also achieved by in-building penetration of the radio signals from any nearby cell. The modulation technique used in GSM is Gaussian minimum-shift keying (GMSK). It is a kind of continuous-phase frequency shift keying. In Gaussian minimum-shift keying, the signal to be modulated onto the carrier is first smoothed with a Gaussian low-pass filter prior to being fed to a frequency modulator, so it greatly reduces the interference to neighboring channels (adjacent-channel interference). 4.2.1 GSM CARRIER FREQUENCY: GSM networks operate in a number of different carrier frequency ranges (separated into GSM frequency ranges for 2G and UMTS frequency bands for 3G), the most 2G GSM networks operating in the 900Â  MHz or 1800Â  MHz bands. The 850Â  MHz and 1900Â  MHz bands were used instead, Where these bands were already allocated (for example in Canada and the United States). In some countries the 400 and 450Â  MHz frequency bands are assigned In rare cases because they were previously used for first-generation systems. In Europe Most 3G networks operate in the 2100Â  MHz frequency band. Regardless of the frequency selected by an operator, it is divided into timeslots for individual phones to use. That is why it allows eight full-rate or sixteen half-rate speech channels per radio frequency. These eight radio timeslots (or eight burst periods) are further grouped into a TDMA frame. In the same timeslot half rate channels use alternate frames. The channel data rate for all 8 channels is 270.833Â  kbit/s, and the frame duration is 4.615Â  ms. The transmission power limited in a handset to a maximum of 2 watts in GSM850/900 and 1 watt in GSM1800/1900. 4.2.2 NETWORK STRUCTURE: The network is structured into a number of discrete sections: The Base Station Subsystem (the base stations and their controllers). The Network and Switching Subsystem (the part of the network most similar to a fixed network). This is also called the core network. The GPRS Core Network (the optional part which allows packet based Internet connections). For maintenance of the network, the Operations support system (OSS). 4.2.3 SMS MODES IN GSM: We have two types of SMS modes in GSM SMS Text Mode SMS PDU Mode The text mode (It is unavailable on some phones) is simply an encoding of the bit stream. It is represented by the PDU mode. There are several encoding alternatives when displaying an SMS message and Alphabets may differ. The most common options are PCCP437, PCDN, 8859-1, IRA and GSM. These are

Caribou coffee company inc.

Caribou coffee company inc. Introduction This assignment presents an analysis on Caribou Coffee Company Inc. (Case study 28 Dess, Lumpkin and Eisner, 2008.) An overview of the industry, in which the company operates, is provided, with an analysis of the company itself. From the outset, an overview of Caribou Coffee Company Inc. is presented; a business segment analysis, and identification of the companys major competitors. The assignment comments on the Companys financial outlook, to year ending September 2009. Whilst some discussion is made in text, for the purposes of the word limit of this assignment, this analysis will appear in the appendices. The assignment concludes with recommendations as to the future direction of Caribou Coffee Company Inc. The work is sourced from existing literature and referenced throughout. Company Overview Caribou Coffee Company Inc., (Caribou) is a specialty retailer of coffees, teas, bakery goods, and related merchandise. As of September, 2009, Caribou Coffee had 525 coffeehouses, which includes 112 franchised and licensed locations, predominantly in the US as well as international expansion to Asia, the Middle East and the United Arab Emirates (UAE.) Caribou targets its customers by offering gourmet coffee and espresso based beverages in addition to specialty teas, baked goods, whole bean coffee, branded merchandise and related products. Furthermore, it sells whole bean and ground coffee to grocery stores, mass merchandisers, office coffee providers, airlines, hotels, sports and entertainment venues, university campuses and online customers. Caribou focuses on creating a unique experience for customers through a combination of high-quality products, a comfortable and welcoming coffeehouse environment, in ski-lodge style, and a unique style of customer service (Caribou Coffee Compan y, Inc., 2009.) The company presents its mission statement as follows: â€Å"Our mission at Caribou Coffee is to provide a total experience that makes the day better.† (Caribou Coffee Company, Inc., 2009) Market competition includes Starbucks, local and regional coffeehouses, restaurants, coffee shops and to some extent, Dunkin Donuts and McDonalds (See also: Dess, Lumpkin and Eisner, 2008.) The Company is a majority-owned subsidiary of Caribou Holding Company Limited and trades on the NASDAQ under the ticker (CBOU) (NASDQ, 2009) (Web-link provided.) Industry Definition Caribou operates in the fast food industry; the fast food market can be defined as the sale of food and drinks for immediate consumption either on the premises or in designated food areas which may be shared with other foodservice operators, or for consumption elsewhere; this definition excludes sales through vending machines and is restricted to sales in specific foodservice channels (Data Monitor, 2008) (Web-link provided.) All market values are given in operator buying prices that is the amount spent by foodservice operators on the food and drink that they serve and not the amount the consumers spend on food and drinks. The difference is the increase various companies add to cover their costs and generate a profit. Consequently, this values the market in terms of the amount of money for which food and drink manufacturers are competing. In terms of market segmentation, Caribou belongs to one of four: Quick service restaurants, take-away, mobile and street vendors, and leisure locations. However, in terms of the coffee industry, this comprises two business segments whole bean coffee and coffee beverages sales (see also: Dess et al, 2008.) Caribou has three reportable operating segments these being: retail, commercial and franchise. Arcapita Bank (Arcapita) based in Bahrain, has been the majority shareholder of the company, since 2000, with 60.6% holdings (NASDAQ, 2009) (Web-link provided.) For Caribou, however, the competitive market, along with a potential class-action lawsuit involving store managers, has caused some serious issues, including increasingly high net losses and decreasing stock price over the past few years (Caribou Coffee Company Inc., 2009.) By providing â€Å"an experience that will make the day better,† Caribou Coffee has created competitive advantage in their store operations, but the question remains whether they can maintain this and use it to sustain their growth strategy. Creating strong human capital is the foundation for the companys differentiation strategy (see also: Dess, Lumpkin and Eisner, 2008; Shultz, 1961.) One of the issues that will be analysed in this case is whether or not Caribous attempts in developing human capital, will enable them to achieve Case Study: Caribou Coffee Company, Inc A Strategic Analysis a sustainable competitive advantage given the competition and threats they are facing. In order for Caribou to maintain its competitive advantage it must continue to create differentiation in its coffeehouses through their human capital. The company has developed strong capabilities in recruiting, developing, and retaining their employees (Caribou Coffee Company Inc., 2009) but this can be easily copied by competitors however, this is not enough to sustain their advantages. To continue to expand they must maintain their strong focus on human capital, in addition to developing their other strengths to create a bundle of resources as the basis of differentiation. Brief Profile of the Industry The global fast food market has exhibited strong growth over the past five years; however, it is predicted to decline in the years leading up to 2015 (Dess et al, 2008.) The market generated total revenues of $154.7 billion in 2008 which represented a Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of 6.6% for the period 2004-2008. By comparison, the European and Asia-Pacific markets grew with CAGRs of 4.4% and 10.3% respectively over the same period and reached values of $26.5 billion and $47.1 billion in 2008 (Data Monitor, 2008.) The number of transactions increased with a CAGR of 2.2%, during the period 2004-2008, to attain a total of 85.8 billion, in 2008. The number of transactions is predicted to rise to 97.0 billion transactions by the end of 2013 thus, representing a CAGR of 2% for the period 2008-2013 (Data Monitor, 2008.) External Analysis PESTEL Political Caribou, like the rest of the food industry is directly concerned with public health and, as such government legislation is in place. Caribou, like all fast food manufacturers must strictly adhere to the regulations of the market in which it supplies its products. For example, frozen food must not be kept above -15C for longer than two hours over a 24 hour period. Furthermore, heating and cooling commercial buildings requires roughly six times more electricity. Since the government in several countries regulates electricity, then Caribou is highly vulnerable to government legislation. Economic A number of positive and negative factors can affect Caribous market growth, as well as the industry. For example, the increases in the price of coffee beans, milk as well as the worldwide economic recession and decreased globalisation of the economy and culture. The latter is evident by the introduction of products from Asia, Latin America and Eastern Europe. Furthermore, demographic changes have increased the demand for, and consumption of fast foods and, for Caribou, this has impacted on their product performance, business profitability, production costs and firms overheads. In 2007-2008 Caribou reported that their production costs significantly increased as a result of higher wage demands due to global economic difficulties. In addition to being the majority shareholder, Arcapita also has two seats on the Board of Directors but its controlling interest could represent an overhang on the stock. Arcapita requires Caribou to operate in accordance with Islamic principles which may limit financial flexibility and impact the perception of the brand. Social Over the past 10-15 years, women have become more financially independent and entered the workforce, and the number of single households and single parents has increased, which has further increased the average disposable income. All of these factors favour fast foods. Specialty coffee is a strong and growing industry in the US. Specialty coffee consumption increased by more than 48% from 2001 to 2006 and the market is estimated to be over $11 billion annually (Dess et al, 2008.) The number of coffeehouses grew from only 500 units in 1991 to 24,000 units in 2006, but the industry remains highly fragmented (with the exception of market leader Starbucks) (Dess et al, 2008.) The reason for such growth is the consumer trend to specialty and traditional products such as micro brewed beer, single malt liquor, and organic foods. Coffee is seen as a new quality beverage, there is an expanding menu, and coffeehouses have become the â€Å"third place† for social consumption. However, the demand for coffee could fall as a result of changes in consumer preferences or concerns about caffeine. Technological Caribou has tapped into the market with their dedicated website. The site is interactive in style and content, with imagery or promotions based on business rules or consumer preferences. This provides the site visitor with more relevant information on coffee types or coffeehouses. Caribous marketing team can also update the site to keep the content fresh for site visitors. Caribou can also monitor consumer responses therefore, looking at new initiatives to meet consumer needs. Environmental As demonstrated, Caribou has many outlets throughout the US and its expansion to the Middle East, Asia and UAE. This means that the company could be affected by regional and national weather which may impact upon consumer preferences and needs. In terms of Corporate Social Responsibility and sustainability, Caribou actively supports sustainable coffee production; for every pound of coffee the company purchases, a significant proportion of money is granted to sustain socially responsible initiatives in coffee-producing communities. Legal Caribou is not without exposure to the potential legal institutions of regional states within the US and those governing the countries outside of the US, where the company has its units. In 2008, Caribou faced legal proceedings, which was filed by three of its former employees, regarding overtime payments. The case was financially settled however, this left an element of disdain amongst other employees and, to a certain extent, consumers (Dayton Business Journal, 2008.) (Web-link provided.) Five Forces Analysis (Porter) Rivalry, Threat of Substitutes, Buyer Power, Supplier Power, Barriers to Entry Rivalry among competitors is quite commonplace in the coffee industry consequently, Caribou must maintain its differentiation to maintain their customers loyalty. There is strong competition in the coffeehouse industry, which is characterised by not only from the industry leader, but also from the threat of new entrants and substitutes attracted by such huge growth (see also Porter.) Caribous position is under threat from emerging and current competitors who have a differentiated approach to the provision of coffee. Caribou competes with specialty coffeehouses; including Starbucks, doughnut shops, bakery-cafà ©s, and traditional quick-service restaurants therefore it must maintain a differentiated concept to continue building on its market share. Caribou is under threat from Starbucks because they have increased their long-term store goals from 30,000 to a target of 40,000 (Starbucks, 2009; web-link provided.) As industry leader, Starbucks is committed to maintaining its domination of the industry, which gives them an overwhelming advantage which means that Caribou, and all the others, struggle to become the recognised second-place coffee ho use. In this instance, the buyer power is very high due to the many choices and the switching costs for going from one coffeehouse to another being so low. In order to create a good quality beverage suppliers need to provide quality coffee beans and, since these are an essential commodity, suppliers are unable to place controlling price demands. Caribous position in the coffeehouse industry is encouraging; when one examines the conditions and different forces that are present in the industry, as well as taking into account its incremental expansion over the years, however, strong competition and buyer power limits profit potential. Partial SWOT Analysis Opportunities and Threats Opportunities Caribou recognises the long-term potential to invest in 2,500 locations which the company believes is achievable based upon limited penetration across markets outside of Minnesota. The company has already increased market penetration by company and franchises in the Middle East and Asia. Furthermore, the company intends to build upon and increase its broader licensing strategy including more franchised stores in the US (see also: Dess, Lumpkin and Eisner, 2008.) This should lead to more profitability for Caribou. Threats A too aggressive growth plan requires Caribou to execute an active development schedule whilst managing existing operations across a range of markets. Consistent performance depends upon suitable locations as well as the recruitment and retention of staff. Consumers in the new markets may not embrace Caribous concept to the same extent as in the core markets such as Minnesota. Inflation for key inputs, for example coffee labour, could impact, as the company may not be able to pass through sizeable price increases and the demand for coffee could diminish as a result of consumer preferences or health concerns about core products for example, caffeinated drinks. Internal Analysis Caribou has been able to achieve a competitive advantage by fulfilling customers needs by placing emphasis on its human and social capital; however, the company is at risk of being compromised as a result of recent events. Developing human capital is embedded within Caribous strategic initiatives, to improve operations by improving their selection and training of coffeehouse personnel (Caribou Coffee Company, 2009.) Through the creation of human capital Caribou has been able to create domination between the individual capabilities, skills, knowledge, and experiences of the companys employees. Shultz, (1961) discusses human capital in more detail. At Caribou, the human capital is built through the extensive training procedures that help create customer satisfaction; social capital is created through the network of relationships that the employees have throughout the company (Caribou Coffee Company, 2009.) Three main interdependent activities of creating human capital i.e., attracting, developing, and retaining, are an organisations main focus (Shultz, 1961.) Caribou attracts human capital by implementing very selective hiring practices. The most important part of Caribous human capital is their focus on creating operational excellence through extensive training procedures; the training at Caribou is very important and continuous, as they believe it is the employees who create the great products or customer service that differentiated the company. The training of employees was believed to be central to fulfilling the mission of creating â€Å"an experience that makes the day better† (Caribou Coffee Company Inc., 2009.) The company implemented this into all of their training practices as one of the companys core competencies that would create strong commitment in their employees. All new employees were given instructions to become ‘drink certified, in-store Certified Instr uctor Trainers provided ongoing instruction in presentation and service, and courses were offered through Caribou College to improve career skills (Caribou Coffee Company, 2009.) The company also retained their human capital by implementing rewards that are both tangible and intangible. Shultz (1961) discusses reward mechanisms in more detail. Caribou follows a pay-for-performance philosophy which enables the company to identify and reward team members whom achieve high performance standards. Employees would work harder to make their coffeehouse the best since the bonuses for managers and the coffeehouse was based on sales, profit, and customer service. The company has a belief that excellence is a product of hard work; this sounds good to consumers because they will get the best, but may be a negative for the employees and will make it harder to have employees contributing to human capital. These factors are what created effective human capital for only a certain time, but other issues is not allowing them to sustain that advantage. Caribou has a culture that allowed a place â€Å"Where Entrepreneurial Spirit Roams Free† (see also: Dess et al, 2008.) The company is not overly structured, which is why employees are able to work on a variety of different projects and take on an extensive range of responsibility; moreover, Caribou has a culture which includes a strong belief in promoting from within the company, which creates a future to work toward for employees. The company is more on the personal or relaxed side where they would communicate in person rather than through emails and they would have a dress code that was business casual. These different aspects of company culture, creates social capital that gains employee loyalty for Caribou; it has a strong belief that customer service is led by their employees and that their selective hiring practices, extensive training, and low turnover created superior employees (Caribou Coffee Company, 2009.) Caribou has created differentiation by implementing a strategy dedicated to creating human capital as a way to better meet consumer needs, but in the changing and rapidly growing industry it will be very difficult to create a sustainable competitive advantage. This strategy has been successful in creating competitive advantage at the business level however; it is arguable whether this is a source of sustainable advantage since this advantage is based on resources and capabilities that can be too easily imitated by competitors. Having dedicated employees creates a value for Caribou, which differentiates them from other coffeehouses; the companys culture has created a value that creates a common purpose for the employees and the company, which creates an effective outcome when presenting service or products to consumers. The challenges that Caribou is facing through the stock declines, company losses, or even the manager demands for overtime pay can possibly weaken their human capital as a source of competitive advantage. Also, the effects of the external environment can significantly impact upon the company if they remain on the same path. The changes that Caribou is facing will send them into a decline of their human capital as a source of competitive advantage, if they do not do anything to add to or change their strategy. SWOT Analysis Strengths and Weaknesses Strengths Specialty coffee sales in the US are on the increase; the factors that are driving growth are a greater awareness of the quality differences between specialty brands and commercial grades. Caribou sells it appeal as their coffee houses are an ideal gathering place, especially amongst teenagers and young adults. Caribou recognises there is a high demand for the variety of their beverages and these can be customised to cater for individual consumer preference. Penetration for coffee consumption is low (16% daily consumption by US population) relative to overall coffee consumption (57%); this is indicative of a major opportunity for growth; Caribou is performing well compared to other competitors and is set to take advantage of the booming industry. Caribou has created a distinctive position through providing high quality coffee in comfortable, ski-lodge like atmosphere, which distinguishes itself from the chic, upmarket approach used by its competitors, in the main, Starbucks. This concept is good; as it enables the company to capitalise on favourable trends in the specialty coffee market. The quality of Caribous custom roasted coffee has been the key to its success, with taste tests demonstrating that consumers prefer Caribou coffee by a significant margin over other competitors (Caribou Coffee Company Inc, 2009.) In terms of Caribous financial position, the last quarter to year ending September 2009, demonstrated a fourth consecutive quarter of positive earnings. These results are driven by strong implementation at every level of the Caribou with a fundamental focus on expansion and diversification, which is a key component of Caribous future growth strategy. Caribou focuses on maintaining its position as a branded coffee company and are making the necessary investments to expand the brand. Financially, Caribou is in a good position to secure further expansion in the future. Weaknesses Caribou competes with specialty coffeehouses, with its main competitor being Starbucks. Caribou must maintain a differentiated concept to continue building its share of the market. During the financial year 2003-2008, Caribou announced net operating losses and negative free cash flow (Caribou Coffee Company Inc., 2009.) Hence, the company needs to improve profitability and operating cash flow in order to sustain growth and achieve a health long term financial position. In terms of geographic concentration, Caribou is predisposed to local economic, meteorological factors and political issues. Conclusion and Recommendations With the industry leader creating new goals that target to make them almost a monopoly in the world of coffee, Caribou is in danger of losing its competitive advantage. This source of social and human capital is a key source of Caribous competitive advantage, but even that is in decline. In order to compete in the industry and even possibly surpass the industry leader, Starbucks, Caribou must have a sustainable competitive advantage. After conducting an internal analysis of the firm, it is clear that Caribou needs to maintain or better its human capital; it needs to implement the same practices, but the company must also consider implementing a way to satisfy overtime pay because the fact that managers work overtime shows dedication like an owner, but maintaining that belief is important for the company. Caribou has created a coffeehouse that is seen as an escape for consumers that helps the company maintain its differentiation from other coffeehouses, but the company is in its stag es of decline if no changes are implemented (Caribou Coffee Company, 2009.) Although Caribous focus on human and social capital has created a temporary competitive advantage, in the current competitive environment these are likely to become necessary success factors, not valuable, rare, inimitable, and non-substitutable core competencies. It is more likely that their human and social capital, superior product quality, store design and atmosphere provide a collection of resources that can create sustainable competitive advantage. Porter (1985.) As Caribou continue to shift their strategies to meet politico-economic and socio-cultural demands, like most in this industry sector, the company is not able to predict the economic and social challenges to which consumers and businesses will be exposed. However, the company believes that it is in a very good position to enable it to react and respond to these challenges because of their remarkable customer loyalty, their unique product brand and its attractive price-value position. As it places emphasis on coffee, a nd combination beverages, the company will, undoubtedly, innovate by creating new products and experiences which complement the coffeehouse experience and drive transactions.

The Great Gatsby :: essays research papers

Doesn’t it always seem as though rich and famous people are larger- than-life and virtually impossible to touch, almost as if they were a fantasy? In The Great Gatsby, set in two wealthy communities, East Egg and West Egg, Fitzgerald describes Gatsby as a Romantic, larger- than-life, figure by setting him apart from the common person. Fitzgerald sets Gatsby in a fantasy world that, based on illusion, is of his own making. Gatsby’s possessions start to this illusion. He lives in an extremely lavish mansion. â€Å"It is a factual imitation of some Hotel de Ville in Normandy, with a tower on one side, spanking new under a thin beard of raw ivy, and a marble swimming pool, and more than forty acres of lawn and garden.† It models an extravagant castle with a European style. Indoors it has â€Å"Marie Antoinette music- rooms and restoration salons.† There is even a â€Å"Merton College Library, paneled with imported carved English oak and thousands of volumes of books.† There is even a private beach on his property. He also has his own personal hydroplane. Gatsby also drives a highly imaginative, â€Å"circus wagon†, car that â€Å"everybody had seen. It is a rich cream color with nickel and has a three-noted horn.† It has a â€Å"monstrous length with triumphant hat-boxes, supper-boxes, tool-boxes, and terraced with a labyrinth of windshields and a green leather conservatory.† Other than Gatsby’s possessions, he develops his personal self. His physical self appearance sets him apart form the other characters. His smile is the type â€Å"that comes across four or five times in life. One of those rare smiles with a quality of eternal reassurance in it.† He has a collection of tailored shirts from England. They are described as â€Å"shirts of sheer linen and thick silk and fine flannel.† He has shirts with stripes and scrolls and plaids in coral and apple-green and la- vender and faint orange, with monograms of Indian blue.† Gatsby wears a unique â€Å"gorgeous pink rag of a suit† that sets him apart as a â€Å"bright spot.† Gatsby’s mannerisms are different too. He gives the â€Å"strong im- pression that he picks his words with care.† Gatsby is an â€Å"elegant young roughneck whose elaborate formality of speech just misses being absurd.† Gatsby also has a particularly distinct phrase which is â€Å"old sport.† Further, at his parties he stands apart from the other people. Unlike everyone else, he does not drink any alcohol. Also, there are no

American Caplitalist Governement Essay -- essays research papers fc

"We hold these Truths to be self-evident, that all Men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness -- That to secure these Rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just Powers from the Consent of the Governed, that whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these Ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its Foundation on such Principles, and organizing its Powers in such Form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness." (Thomas Jefferson, Declaration of Independence) When Thomas Jefferson wrote these words, he wrote them with the intent of establishing a new government that would not give anyone favoritism over others. After 224 years, this idea is still believed in by the citizens of America, but not practiced by their government. As the year s passed, the values of America have slowly altered to materialism. The people trusted our government to make the best decisions for the entire country, but some decisions seem to favor the wealthiest citizens rather than all of the citizens. Not to say that the government is completely corrupt, but their priorities seem to have a monetary value, and they must pay for it some how. As a country with a capitalist government, one that has the main focus of making profit through free markets, money has an unfortunately big influence on policies that are made by the government. According to the public, which was based on middle-class adults in the US, business editors and college students, the general consensus came out to be that they believed that "capitalism must be altered before any significant improvements in human welfare can be realized." This can be seen throughout history in the positions taken by the government about free markets, unionization, and . The United State s of America's government is hyper-capitalistic, because the markets are freer than in any other country. We consume more and are more dependent on working. The markets in the US have not always been so free. In the beginning we had small markets that people did not depend so much on because of the fact that they were all farmers and sharecroppers. The existence of slavery was in very recent in history... ...d States put down its unions. In the United States, we have always believed that all men are created equal. Americans, however, know that even though we were created equal, we are not treated equally. The rich are the V.I.P to the government. They are taken care of well, and pampered with money and privileges that the other hard working Americans deserve more than them. We are in the age of profits, and if the government does not see any monetary value in something, they will not bother with it, even if it is its own people. Bibliography Peterson, Robert A.,Gerald Albaum, and George Kozmetsky.Modern American Capitalism. New York: Quorum Books, 1990. Perlo, Victor. Superprofits and Crises: Modern U.S. Capitalism. New York: International Publishers, 1988. Frances Fox Piven and Richard Cloward, Chapter 3 from Poor People's Movements: Why they Succeed, How they Fail,(Vintage, 1977), pp96-180. Lembcke, Jerry. Capitalist Development and Class Capacities: Marxist Theory and Union Organization. New York:Greenwood Press, 1988. Joel Roers and Joshua Cohen, On Democracy, (Penguin, 1983), Chapter Six, "Democracy", pp146-183. "Industrial Revolution" Encarta Encyclopedia

Eulogy for Son :: Eulogies Eulogy

Eulogy for Son The Death of a Child †¦ Not many people realize that the death of a child is NOT in accordance to God’s NORMAL scheme of things. It is unnatural. God did not mean for a child to go first. A child buries the parent. Not the parent buries the child. Most people do NOT experience the pain and devastation of the death of a child. And I truly hope no parent will ever feel the death of their child because they do not deserve it. The pain and devastation are indescribable †¦ and single persons – and even parents – will never feel this devastation until they experience losing a child themselves. If you love your child, the death of your child is more painful than the death of any of your loved ones, including one’s own parents. And because of this devastation, I do not wish this pain even to my enemies. I have felt the pain of the loss of a Sister; have felt the pain of the death of my Mother, and felt the death of my Father. I know how it feels. I experienced it. It is painful, looking at those old kind folks who bore you; who took care of you; went through all kinds of sacrifices and pains just to look after you for years and years, until one day the child stood on one’s own two feet, and then †¦ there they are, the parents, helpless and lifeless in front of you. Minou, Cyrus’ Mother, describes the death of her Father as a deep stab, like a bullet in the heart that pierces the body deeply. The deaths of my Sister, of my Mother and my Father were like Minou’s Father’s death, deep, painful, sad †¦ Then, the pain and sadness are gone. They remain a fond memory of the good things we did together. Our deaths as parents would be something like this. Mostly the fond memories of things we did together; and that as parents and as a family, we did what we had to do. We as parents have become older, and we lived our lives. It is now our Children’s turn to live theirs and hope, as parents, we did most of what we had to do as God had wished us. When we return to our Creator, it’s okay because we lived our lives †¦ we have fulfilled our lives.

Business Law I Chapter 9 Answers Essay

1. Consideration consists of mutual exchange of gains and losses between contracting parties. In the exchange, a gain by the offer is at the same time a loss to the offeror. The legal term used to designate the gain that each party experiences is that party’s legal benefit. Consideration has three characteristics 1) The agreement must involve a bargained-for exchange; 2)the contract must involve adequate consideration; and 3) the benefits and detriments promised must themselves be legal. 2. A legal detriment can be any of the following: 1) doing something that one has a legal right not to do; 2) giving up something that one has a legal right to keep; and 3) regaining from doing something that one has a legal right to do. 3. The law will not enforce an agreement that has not been bargained for. An agreement involves a bargained-for exchange when 1) a promise is made in exchange for another promise, 2) a promise is made in exchange for an act, or 3) a promise is made for forbear ance of an act. 4. A court may refuse to enforce a contract or any clause of a contract if is considers the contract or clause unconscionable, that is, the consideration is so ridiculously inadequate that it shocks the court’s conscience. This designation usually happens when there is a great inequality in bargaining power between the two parties. 5. Consideration can be a promise not to sue. A promise not to sue, when there is right, or at least the apparent right, to sue, is enforceable when it is supported by consideration. Promising not to sue is forbearance. Acceptance of an agreement not to sue, supported by consideration, terminates one’s right to continue any lawsuit, presently or on the future, on grounds described in the agreement. 6. There are three ways that the courts can seek to uphold charitable pledges. The first way involves actual consideration, which occurs when charitable contributions are made on the condition that the promisor be remembered for the gift by having his or her name inscribed in some way on a memorial associated with the project. Another approach is to use either promissory estoppel or public policy to support the claim. Also, when there is no promise to carry out a specific project, the courts have held each pledge made is supported by the pledges of all others who have made similar pledges. This concept of consideration is used in support of all promises of money for undefined causes. 7. If a creditor accepts as full payment an  amount that is less than the amount due, the dispute has been settled by an accord and satisfaction. Accord is the implied or expressed acceptance of less than what has been billed the debtor. Satisfaction is the agreed-to settlement contained in the accord. Only if the dispute is honest, and the offer to settle made in good faith, and not superficial or trivial will the courts entertain arguments based on accord and satisfaction. 8. The agreements that be enforceable by a court of law even though they lack consideration are: a) Promises under seal – enforceable in some states for contracts not involving goods Unenforceable under UCC for contracts involving goods. b) Promises after discharge in bankruptcy – enforceable in most states. c) Promise to pay debts barred by statute of limitation – enforceable. d) Promises enforced by promissory estoppel – enforceable only if offeror knew that offeree would rely on the promise and offeree places himself in a different and difficult position as a result of that promise. e) Option – enforceable under UCC if made by a merchant, in writing, stating the time period over which the offer will remain. 9. Promissory estoppel is a legal doctrine that restricts a party from denying that a promise was made under certain conditions, even though consideration has not been exchanged to bind an agreement. To be effective, promissory estoppel requires that the party making the promise know, or be presumed to know, that the other party might otherwise make a definite and decided change of position in contemplation of those promises. In reaching this doctrine, courts have accepted the principles of justice and fairness in protecting the party receiving the promise from otherwise unrecoverable loses. 10. Shopping online is one of the fastest growing market places on record. Despite its many advantages (quick & efficient, comparison shopping, availability of hard-to-get products) , there are many difficulties: – Cyber-payment option: Wide variety of methods. One of the most popular methods is by credit/debit card. Most online sellers will accept the major credit cards such as Visa, Master Card. This type of system protects both the buyer and the seller. This process may become the most acceptable process because most of the times when people buy and sell in  cyberspace they are dealing with strangers. The online payment process eliminates the identity verification problem. This is important because one of the biggest concerns about online shopping is security. – Cyber-Payment Security Issues: the ease and efficiency of using credit/debit cards is frequently offset by the security concerns associated with their use. The US is not up-to-date as the EU in providing data and privacy protection to its consumers. The EU Data Protection Directive along with EU E-Privacy Directive guarantee the rights of European citizens while at the same time ensuring the smooth exchange of data among those nation-states that honor the privacy and data protection standards themselves. US corporations that are involved with EU corporations must demonstrate that, despite the lack of legislation in the US, the companies themselves will promise to honor the same degree of protection to data and to privacy as guaranteed by the EU. These guarantees have been labeled the Safe Harbor Principles. They are enforced by the US Department of Commerce. It is best for a consumer to check directly with the US Department of Commerce to determine the true status of a company rather than just relying on the company’s blanket assertion that they follow the safe harbor standards.