A Bottle of Tyme Essay -- UEC Economics Essays

A Bottle of Tyme The United European Countries was formed just before the collapse of the United States of America. The Survivors of the Clones’ â€Å"true human† purge sought refuge in the UEC, specifically England, where they were welcomed with open arms, as much of their work force had been destroyed by the Arab invaders. The UEC is lead by President Hartford, who was elected to her second term just before the conflict first began between the United States and the Arab Empire. She heads the executive branch of the UEC, while the Senate embodies the Legislative branch. The Upper Senate is comprised of 4 Senators from each representative country, regardless of size or population. The Lower Senate has membership based on population, and so, each country receives one Lower Senator for every three million people. Each European country is treated as a semi-independent state, much as the states of the United States were. Each country’s national language is maintained, as are their customs and lifestyles. The only real difference is that their governments are now working together under a solidified government, not the easily sidestepped UN, which failed to halt the Arab uprising in the first place. As it is a fairly new governmental body, the UEC doesn’t suffer from the internal sabotage most modern governments are faced with, although the individual governments of each representative country are still ripe with corruption, as they needn’t change much to be accepted into the UEC. As such, the various countries in the UEC get along extraordinarily well with each other, but enter the country, and one can easily see that society on its most basic levels has begun to break ... ...n of untied countries. Their conquered lands were then given to the peasants who suffered so horribly at their hands. Although the Empire has been crushed to a mere  ¼ of its original power, it still controls the oil fields of Saudi-Arabia and has many sleeper cells across the globe. Perhaps one day it will strike out again at all who would oppose them. Back in North America, Canada and Mexico were in the clutch of fear, fear of invasion by the clones running rampant across the former United States. Although they were assured by the clone leaders that no harm would come to them, they remain wary of the clones’ every move. As for the Clone Nation itself, through what surveillance is available, it seems that a form of forced socialism exists, with complete breakdown of social class structure and religious ideologies.

Life Changing Experience Essay

This essay is a major part of my life, and it means the world to me. So I want to share my experience of me getting married and/or being married. I will be informative with how it came to where I am today of being married and how I have learned from prior mistakes that was made in my life. And I will also tell how our love for each other has grown stronger and how we have become closer in our path of life. This is a hard journey to accomplish and make it last a lifetime. I was young and had lots to learn about being married and becoming a wife, the thought I had in my mind that marriage was supposed to be easier, as they make it look in fairy tale stories. I then realized it was not so easy. I was married to a man that never took marriage seriously and it affected our relationship drastically. Our marriage lasted for only six months. In those six months he refused to work to support our family. After several months of financial struggle, I woke up one day with the realization that my sons and I did not deserve this type of life. I decided to move on and search for someone who valued a marriage the same way I did. When I think back on when I first met my husband, it still gives me butterflies. Our first encounter was while we were doing laundry at a local laundry mat. I was standing there folding clothes and when I looked at him I felt my heart melt, like a hammer to a nail in a board. . A few days had passed and my friend introduced the two of us. I thought for sure it was love at first sight. He was so sincere and respectful to my home. He would ask me questions about my boys and things that I was interested in and what my hobbies were. Our marriage has been one of the biggest blessings in my life. It has taught my husband and I many lessons and values that have brought us closer together and our love stronger. Our marriage began on a warm sunny day. Driving to the courthouse, I could feel my heart pounding so hard as though it was going to beat right out of my chest. It felt like butterflies fluttering over a breezy meadow. The closer the time got for us to say our sacred vows to each other; my heart felt like a rose blooming endlessly. As I turned to him and the judge pronounced us man and wife, I felt like I was on cloud nine. Our marriage is full of surprises and happiness. The blessings of our marriage began when we were blessed with another son. We learned a true lesson on how to be the best parents that we could be to these boys. I could tell he was scared about being a father. He is a wonderful father to the boys; he loves to go out and shoot basketball, and kick around a soccer ball with them in the yard. He tries to be a decent father figure in their lives. Being able to teach the boys right from wrong is another lesson for us to learn as couple. There are times he has to discipline them for things that they do wrong. We always do our best to work as a team to work out our disagreements. I found for us to work as an effective team, we have to listen to each other’s perspectives and find the pros and cons to our disagreement. The present is here, the future is to come with more blessings for our marriage. Every time I look at my husband, he still continues to make my heart race. I am unsure the road that lies ahead of us, but I am sure my husband will hold my hand every step of the way as we continue to grow and learn together. My husband and I have a powerful bond between us, as we have an unbreakable trust. We know each other’s limits, how to make each other laugh, and how to work well as a team. I know deep down in my heart that our marriage will last a lifetime. We have learned much about each other and realized how our marriage is a true blessing to us. I would have never picked any other man to spend the rest of my life with. When I look at him in twenty years, I’ll still see his charming smile; that very smile that took my breath away in the first moments we met. My husband is my present and future. We are two halves that make a whole. With his half, he is the one that truly makes our family complete. He has helped me become a better person, given my sons stability as a father and it has been a true blessing being married to this man.

How To Write A Research Paper Essay

This guide covers research papers, and provides advice on forming a title for your research paper, how to plan your paper before you start, and filtering material for your research paper. What is a research paper? The terms ‘research paper’ and ‘term paper’ are frequently used interchangeably. However, the terms do not mean the same thing. ‘Term paper’ was used in the past exclusively to refer to the project (indeed research based) that was due at the end of a term, semester or quarter whereas ‘research paper’ had a more specific meaning, i.e. a paper written as a summary of research. Hence ‘research papers’ may be written at any level (before, during and after attending university), they may be published works in a professional journal and they may represent the results of practical research, which would not ordinarily be conducted for a term paper. This is the context in which we will discuss the term ‘research paper’ herein. A research paper is an academic written assignment that is the product of a research project. This may span days, months, weeks or even years. Typically, research papers will involve the examination of a particular issue, and discuss: * The background or history of that issue * Any outstanding questions relating to the issue (the research paper will commonly focus on one particular question and seek to establish evidence to answer this) * The current data and statistics relating to the issue * The problems relating to the issue as revealed by the data * The problems relating to the issue as revealed by practical primary research (i.e. carrying out interviews, tests etc) or secondary research (i.e. looking at other people’s research) * Proposed solutions to the problems, and the strengths and weaknesses of these * Conclusions drawn from the data, research and evidence, as examined * Recommendations in relation to these conclusions. We will look at each of these elements in turn, in order to understand how a student or professional can write a good research paper. Forming a title for your research paper Unlike most types of assignment, the research paper title is usually decided upon AFTER you have completed the paper. This is so that the title accurately reflects the contents of the paper. However, your research paper will need a working title. This helps you to focus and helps others to understand what you are doing – for example, your lecturer/instructor or, if working at a higher level, those funding your project. You should therefore return to this section when you have completed your paper. You then need to pick a concise, accurate title for your research paper that will make readers want to look at your content, help others find your paper in databases, and explain exactly what is covered by the paper with a high degree of accuracy. A research paper will commonly have a title of 15-20 words in length. Every word must be necessary for the title – and so for example, ‘Project on†¦Ã¢â‚¬â„¢ ‘Paper on†¦Ã¢â‚¬â„¢ ‘Research on†¦Ã¢â‚¬â„¢ should be removed as these types of phrases are not necessary. Example concise research paper titles: * Unemployment by Constituency * Transport in New York Research Paper Subtitle Unlike a research paper or essay, it is very common to give your research paper a subtitle. This explains your title more fully, puts it in context and qualifies the extent, or scope, of the research. Example subtitles (relating to the above example titles): * 2007-2008 trends using constituency maps * Transport governance and provision since X was elected in 1999 Researching/gathering information for your research paper As your research paper needs to show a good depth of reading, good research skills are paramount! But before you start, a key thing to bear in mind is that you MUST reference all material that you use in your paper. So the first thing to do is find out what referencing style is required (either by your university or, if you are writing a research paper for a journal, by that journal) and start to record the location of your sources using that referencing style. If you do this as you perform the research, you’ll save yourself hours of time later on. Here are some research tips to get you started: RESEARCH STEP 1 * Form a list of keywords from your research paper’s working title * Use a thesaurus to find words that mean the same thing as your list of keywords RESEARCH STEP 2 Most students will begin researching using the Internet and indeed, this is a great way to get ideas for your research paper. So start with Google, type in your keywords and bookmark the most relevant information sites that appear in relation to the issue. Then identify all current matters that relate to your issue from those sites. Note: Internet websites provide a fast source of up-to-date information but unfortunately they are not a reliable source. Use a search of the web as a starting point but unless the website is hosted and edited by a ‘reliable’ organization (such as the Government), don’t rely on its contents as a source for your research paper. Find another means of verifying the information. RESEARCH STEP 3 Now you’ve identified a list of issues and current debates for your research paper, you need to find some quality source material. The first stage is to find the most recent books written about the issue you’re researching. Whilst books are not as up-to-date as journals and articles, they will contain valid points-of-view that need to be considered. So where do you find books for your research paper? * Google Books – this is a good place to start as it has several thousand books that have been scanned in, together with details and snippet views of those which haven’t been scanned in. * Amazon.com – Amazon is a good source because you can see which books are being released, and their release date, as well as using ‘search inside’ to look through the contents of many books (this latter service only works if you have placed an order before) * Questia – Questia has thousands of books scanned in although you have to pay a small subscription fee. Your university may also provide you with access to a library and you can then search through their databases to find the most relevant and recent books for your research paper. The best way to scan whether a book is relevant to what you’re writing about is to look through the index. You’ll quickly see if there’s anything useful in the book for your research paper. RESEARCH STEP 4 Now you have the latest books for your research paper, you need to start looking for journals. These really should be your main type of source material. Open University Web Resources is an excellent list of such journal databases, although you’ll need an ATHENS password to use some of them. Our favorite journal databases for consistently excellent and up-to-date content are: * ScienceDirect – 2,000 peer-reviewed journals, books, handbooks etc * EBSCO- thousands of journals, millions of articles * Emerald- thousands of journals in management and library and information services, engineering, applied science and technology * Ingenta – 4,500+ journals in all fields and a further 20,000 abstracts The latter source, Ingenta, gives you FREE access to the bibliography which is useful for your research paper even if you don’t have an athens login. Locate articles relating to your subject and check out the bibliography for further reading which you might be able to locate online without passwords. You can sometimes obtain a free trial of these databases giving you temporary access. Also, the four websites also have a good number of journals that you do not need a subscription to view. These are often indicated by a special icon. For example (from Ingenta): RESEARCH STEP 5 There is one final type of source material you need to consider, and that is the news. If you’re lucky enough to have an athens password, your first stop will be Lexis Professional (formerly known as LexisNexis Executive) which contains the full text of newspapers and other news sources worldwide; as well as company data, annual reports and business directory information from Disclosure, Extel, ICC, and Worldscope. If you don’t have an athens password, any good news site will suffice – US News, CNN etc. Of course, if you are researching an issue which affects another country, you should be looking at that country’s main news website. What you are looking for is any current developments that may affect the research for your paper. This may be statistics released by the Government, consultation papers, proposed changes in legislation, current developments or debates etc. Don’t forget, newspapers are NOT a reliable source of information. You are using them to find information for your research paper but you should substantiate this information once you have found it. If it is reported that the Government has released some statistics, go and find those on the Government website. If a consultation paper has been released, go and find the paper and read it. Filtering the material for your research paper The five step research process reveals a lot of information for your research paper and you’ll need to filter it down, or you’ll have too much to analyses. This does, however, beg the question – how many sources should you use? The answer to this depends on the level of your research paper. If it is an assignment for your degree, you should look at using roughly 9 quality sources per 2,500 words. If it is for some post-graduate course, you can easily double that. A professional research paper (for publication) might use 30-40 sources per 2,500 words. The emphasis in all cases, however, should be on quality and not on quantity. A good selection of research material from a variety of quality sources (i.e. not just books, not just journals, not just the internet and not just the news) is far better than a huge selection of research material from poor quality, unreliable sources of a similar type. To help filter the information you have found for your research paper, you are going to need to evaluate its quality. This involves a consideration of whether: * The source is a quality source -it’s reliable, dependable and highly likely to be accurate. * The source is unbiased – watch newspapers which may have political views. Ask yourself if the writer has presented a balance argument, or has deliberately played down one side of the argument to prove his own personal views. * The source is relevant to your research – does it specifically tie in with your working title? * You haven’t already got enough material to prove what this source proves – if you aim to back up each of your arguments in your research paper with 2-3 pieces of evidence (for a very high quality paper) or at least 2 for a student paper, then you can filter out any material that is excessive of this. Creating an outline for your research paper A basic outline will look something like this: * Working title (as discussed previously) * Purpose – this is a short statement to say what the paper is for. It helps people who are looking for research papers themselves to assess the relevancy of your research paper to their studies. Example purpose statement: This paper shows the number of people claiming benefits recorded as resident in each constituency in the United States in July 2008, together with comparisons with the levels in July 2007 and July 1997. This paper also presents residence-based unemployment rates for all constituencies in the United States. * Methodology – this is a statement of how you will carry out your research. You have already done some ‘secondary research’ but you may also wish to carry out ‘primary research’ for your paper. Primary research (sometimes called ’empirical research’) is research you carry out yourself and data that is produced as a result of this, which has never been published before. Primary research may be carried out through face-to-face interviews, telephone interviews, postal surveys, website surveys or focus/discussion groups. Be careful before carrying out research over the phone or through the post though – some states allow people to restrict how they are contacted. Secondary research is the study of data that exists already such as books, journals, statistics, other research papers, websites, news reports, magazine articles etc. You have already carried out secondary research through the five step research process. So which research method is best for your research paper? Instinctively you may think that the primary data will provide the most interesting results. However, if your time and budget are both limited, do not be tempted to embark on a study. You will do far better analyzing existing studies than producing a low-quality study that is limited in its value due to the amount of time and finance you can devote to it. * Scope of research – all research is going to be limited to certain factors. A paper on ‘crime’ cannot investigate all types of crime, committed by all sexes, all ages, globally. So how are you going to limit your paper? What areas of the issue will you look at and which will you discard? Your statement of scope will be about 150-300 words long and explain exactly what you are going to cover in your research, and what you are going to leave out (usually with brief reasons). If you are carrying out primary research, you may want to set out the limitations of this here too. * Introduction – this is where you set the scene for your reader. You explain what you are researching and why. You identify the issues you will be looking into and you say what you are going to prove. It is therefore a good idea to write this last, along with your final title! * Background/history – this section of your research paper isn’t essential but might be appropriate. You might want to explain the development of the issue and how particular matters have arisen. Don’t bother unless it is necessary, to put the matter in context. * Body – this section of your research paper will be broken up into sub-sections, each dealing with a particular sub-matter. Aim to present balanced evidence in each section on the points you wish to raise, and try not to reach any conclusions at this stage. The ‘body’ is the body of your research, not the analysis. * Findings/Discussion – here’s where you analyze the research you have conducted and say how your findings are relevant to the issue. It’s a very important section, without which you will have merely stated other people’s findings and opinions without contributing anything yourself. * Conclusion – this section of your research paper returns to the introduction and stated aims, and spells out very clearly how you achieved them, referring to the points you have proved and the evidence you have used to prove it. It should not be repetitive but instead, it should summarize the results of your research. You should also ensure no new material is introduced at this stage – if you have new material for your research paper, put it in the body and findings sections. * Recommendations – this section of your research paper is very much optional and will depend on whether such a section would be appropriate for the subject you are studying. Law research papers almost always will include recommendations. What sort of recommendations should you make? These might include: * How policies/the law/practice should be changed, based on your findings * What further research must be carried out before making any sensible recommendations. Your recommendations must actually relate to what you have established in your research paper. You cannot randomly introduce things at this stage that you think might be useful. They must be logical recommendations, based on your research and analysis, and they should follow on from the conclusion. Now you have written out an outline for your research paper, you will literally be able to ‘fill in the blanks’ and your paper should evolve and progress naturally, following the headings you have chosen. Keep referring back to your working title as you write, as well as to your methodology and scope. This should limit you to material that is most relevant and ensure you don’t include excessive, unnecessary points. Finishing your research paper Now you’ve written up your research paper, you’ll need to do a little editing and proofreading to ensure the finished product achieves the grade you’re looking for. This includes: * Weeding out any unnecessary material. Evaluate what you have written and whether it is needed, keeping the methodology, scope and working title in mind * Proofreading your research paper. Read it out loud, have someone else read it for you, run a spell check, run a grammar check – go over the paper several times and make sure you haven’t made any errors. There are often extra marks for students in respect of presentation. * Checking your referencing. Every source should be properly referenced. Quotations should be in â€Å"quotation marks†. Your work should contain a full list of references and a bibliography. References are sources you actually cite in your work whereas the bibliography includes sources which you may have read, and may have influenced your writing, but you haven’t specifically cited.

The Career Criminal Essays - Criminology, Criminal Law, Crime

The Career Criminal Essays - Criminology, Criminal Law, Crime The career criminal The career criminal, or, more pointedly, those individuals who participate in criminal acts on a regular basis for both a central and constant source of income has, generally, a specific set of identifying factors which, while conclusive in laymen's terms, fail to meet the criteria necessary for scientific inquiry. While definitions exist as to what a career criminal is, the research methods employed in determining these definitions are a large point of contention for criminal justice theorists, especially due to their potential and virtually imminent inclusion to modern hypothesis on the subject. These research methods include longitudinal data collection and compilation, cross-sectional data collection and compilation, and, as at least one group of theorists argue, the most efficient method, informative interviewing. The longitudinal research method employs a data collection technique which focuses on the duration of a particular actin this case, the so-called criminal careerbased not upon specific incidents, but the length of time measured between such acts (Blumstein, Cohen, and Farrington, 1988). That is, an individual's propensity for criminal conduct in a so-called career mode would be measured first by the original act as an origin, then with the succeeding acts, until a final point became evident. Therefore, such a research method would logically conclude that an individual who performed or participated in criminal conduct on two occasions several years apart would be considered a career criminal. It is for this reason, that criminal justice theorists differ as to the applicability and relevance of the longitudinal research method (Blumstein, Cohen, and Farrington, 1988). Since the longitudinal research method could construe two independentor even two interdependantcriminal acts as the foundational make-up of a career criminal, theorists may hypothesize incorrectly as to the actuality of an individual having a career based in criminal behavior. Because it is widely believed by opponents of the longitudinal research method that the mere occurrence of two criminal acts spaced out over an individual's lifetime or testing window is not indicative of the so-called career criminal modus operandi, the research method has increasingly lost its popularity and application in such studies, unless, of course, it is supported or otherwise confirmed by other utilized research procedures (Blumstein, Cohen, and Farrington, 1988). One of these alternative testing and research methods is the cross-sectional data collection and compilation model. The cross-sectional data collection and compilation model, when applied to the criminal career hypothezation, measures the probability of occurrence of a particular act of criminal conduct or other so-called criminal behavior. The cross-sectional model allows for a glimpse into each individual criminal act which may be thought to, when compiled, comprise a framework which indicates that individual is a career criminal. For this reason, the cross-sectional model is infinitely more applicable and accurate in determining, or at least providing indicators which would lead to a determination, of conduct constituting that of a career criminal. While such assistance is immeasurable for a determination of whether or not an individual is a career criminal, it still falls short of a definite model for such identification. For this reason, many criminal justice theorists feel that the individual application of the cross-sectional model is inappropriate for its unsupported inclusion into relevant scientific hypothesis. Once again, however, when such data is adequately supported or otherwise confirmed by other information, inclusion is proper. Criminal justice theorists have relied on either one, or both models since the inception of investigation into all areas of criminal behavior. Such data, however, comes under fire if, and when, other theories surface which either provide additional information, or information which is more in-depth and in deference to that data already obtained and reported upon (Gottfredson and Hirschi, 1988). The dilemma, of course, is that regardless of how detailed and in-depth even the most comprehensive of testing techniques are, there is always one method which is the most detailed, as it originates from the primary source. This data is called informative interviewing (Gottfredson and Hirschi, 1988). Informative interviewing is a method through which criminal justice theorists acquire information from the primary source (Gottfredson and Hirschi, 1988). In the case of the present issue, deliberating over the question of what behavior is indicative of a career criminal, information would most probably be

Case Study EasyJet Essays

Case Study EasyJet Essays Case Study EasyJet Essay Case Study EasyJet Essay Essay Topic: Easy Marketing This report will consist of an analysis of EasyJets macro and micro marketing environment. Macro-environmental factors include; political, economical, social and technological changes to the environment, i.e. the external marketing environment. The micro-environmental factors on the other hand include groups of people directly affected by the companys decision; for example; stakeholders, competitors, intermediaries and customers, i.e. the internal marketing environment. Using these I will then go on to conduct a SWOT analysis. A SWOT analysis will enable me to look EasyJets strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats and in turn allow me make strategic recommendations for the future. In order to help do this, the report will be based on collected and analysed data about EasyJet and will look in depth and analyse what this means to Tesco as a European conglomerate. Background to EasyJet EasyJet was launched in November 1995 by a Greek called Haji-Ioannou with a fleet of two Boeing 737-300 flying from London to Glasgow and Scotland. Today it operates with 72 aircraft, offering 125 routes from 39 European destinations. The defining way that EasyJet was able to establish itself into such a successful airline is largely due to its base concept of offering a low cost, no-frills service. It believed that as the demand for short-haul air transport was price-elastic, reducing prices would mean more people would fly. This might be a reason why EasyJet was able to undercut its rivals as traditionally airline concepts are based on the fact that airline traffic grows in line with the economy and that cutting prices will only lead to a decrease in revenues. EasyJets revenue in 1998 was  £77 million and in 2006 this figure had risen to 1,619.7 i(easyJet.com) EasyJet keeps costs low by eliminating the unnecessary costs and frills associated with traditional airlines. This is don e by through numerous methods: use of the internet to reduce distribution costs, maximise the utilisation of substantial assets, ticketless travel, no free lunch, efficient use of airports and paperless operations. Easyjet.com is the main brand name ii(keynote.com) and its mission statement is To provide our customers with safe, good value, point-to-point air services. To effect and to offer a consistent and reliable product and fares appealing to leisure and business markets on a range of European routes. To achieve this we will develop our people and establish lasting relationships with our suppliers. (easyjet.com) EasyJet is now the UKs leading low-cost airline and the second-largest in Europe after Ryanair. It continues to facilitate its strategy of growth, for example, with the addition of the Airbus and GB airways at a cost of  £103.5 million iii(news.bbc.co.uk), currently it looks like it will just go from strength to strength? EasyJets external marketing environment (STEP analysis) In order to conduct a STEP analysis, firms need to review the environment in which they operate. The following factors play a major role in the airline industry today i.e. political-legal, economic, socio-cultural and technological. Social Factors Whilst being a dominant low-cost airline, and the second largest in Europe, EasyJet has not won over all members of the public. Currently the French and German community are proving a problem. This is because there is a general reluctance to use credit cards over the phone and Internet. (Hattee J. (2000).) Currently 95% of all tickets are sold over the internet iv(easyJet.com). The idea of cheap flights generally appeals to the public. However, the promotion of prices through for example newspapers and Teletext that are unrepresentative of the actual cost on another day/time, are likely to deter or antagonise customers. It has actually been in the news recently that airlines such as EasyJet should only advertise prices that show the actual cost i.e. includes all taxes etc, a ploy used before to draw in customers. Technological Factors EasyJet is faced with balancing technological advancements, for example, the use of the internet on distribution and cost synergies from industry consolidation, and the risk of rising costs and competitive pricing. EasyJet was one of the first airlines to embrace the opportunity of the Internet when it sold its first seat online in April 1998. Now approximately 95 % of all seats are sold over the Internet, making easyJet one of Europes biggest Internet retailers. v(easyjet.com) Technological developments in the field of e-commerce and aircraft manufacture are vital in allowing EasyJet to maintain an advantage over its competitors. EasyJet now offers paperless operations as the management and administration of the company is undertaken entirely on IT systems which can be accessed through secure servers anywhere in the world enabling huge flexibility in the running of the airline. Also passengers instead of receiving tickets now get emails containing there travel details and booking reference online. This has greatly reduced the costs of issuing, distributing, processing and reconciling millions of tickets each year. vi(easyJet.com) Economic Factors There are likely to be increases in fuel costs, congestion and other environmental restrictions. The risk of terrorism is likely to have an impact on insurance costs i.e. they will go up and the system of security implemented i.e. much greater/more alert. Globalisation should continue to boost traffic in the long-term and the introduction of the single currency in Europe is likely to bring more business to EasyJet as Europe becomes more integrated. Stelios Haji-Ioannou, the founder of low-cost airline easyJet, believes that the euro has reduced the currency risks of running a business in Europe and that must lower costs and hence prices for consumers. vii( www.time.com) Political-legal Factors The political environment concerns the role of the government and the extent to which it intervenes in an economy. Political issues, such as the threat of ongoing war in the Middle East, and more recently issues in South America have driven up oil prices. They have also been going up due to the threat of a cold winter. As a result this reflects on the cost of aviation fuel. Whilst these political factors have a direct impact on the economy, such as increasing fuel costs, increased congestion, environmental restrictions, higher security, and insurance, they are intrinsically linked with social-cultural effects i.e. impacting upon the attitudes towards air travel. Due to terrorist attacks such as September 11th, airlines such as British airways have stopped flights to certain countries (particularly in the middle- east), in fear of another attack. This has had a domino effect whereby it has caused a political stir, with Britains believing that they maybe the next victims of a terrorist attack. Airlines have lost a lot of money as they are no longer going to certain destinations. I believe the implication of certain security measures have also had an influential effect on customers. As ordered by the Transportation Security Administration, new security screening went into effect due to the foiled British terror attacks. The primary restriction was the carrying-on of liquids or gels including beverages, shampoos, sun tan lotions, toothpaste and hair gel. Passengers were permitted to have baby formula and/or breast milk, prescription medicine with a name matching that of the traveller, and non-prescription medicines. Any beverages purchased past the security checkpoint must be consumed prior to boarding any aircraft. Philip Fanara, Jr., Ph.D. CFA, from the department of finance, insurance, and international business, expresses his view that airlines may lose some customers due to the new regulations being an inconvenience. viii(www.thehilltoponline.com) EasyJets internal marketing environment Competitive analysis EasyJet faces stiff competition from airlines such as Ryanair, BMIbaby, MyTravelLite and Buzz. Virgin Express, Hapag Lloyd Express, Germanwings and Air Berlin already are or might become competitors as a result of future expansion plans. Ryanair (EasyJets main competitor) is the only one of these companies so far to have succeeded and shown a continuous annual profit. In September 2006 it made  £235 million and in September 2007 the figure had risen to 291 million, a 24% increase. ix(www.ryanair.com) Suppliers EasyJet currently has two suppliers, Boeing and Airbus. An important part of easyJets strategy is to operate a modern fleet and based on the current business model, requires easyJet to acquire a significant number of further aircraft whilst achieving a low total fleet operating cost. Between 2003 and 2007 there were 12 aircraft deliveries under the Boeing contract. However, 120 aircraft deliveries were made under the Airbus contract in this same period. x(www.easyjet.com) Airbus was looked more favorably upon as it offered significantly better value than Boeing, the Airbus Contract enables it to purchase Airbus A319 aircraft at a price approximately a third per seat below the price for the Boeing 737-700 aircraft delivered to it under the Boeing Contract in August 2002. Other factors included fact that the Airbus had agreed to provide extensive support to the Company, especially with regard to training for easyJets pilots, cabin crew and maintenance personnel. Also, Airbus has put arrangements in place in keeping with low cost operation i.e. Airbus A319 aircraft maintenance will not exceed the cost of maintenance for its Boeing 737-700 aircraft. xi(EasyJet.com) Media The media have provided a link between the airline EasyJet and the public. Press releases portraying special deals and new routes available Im sure have proved beneficial to EasyJet in terms of attracting new customers. For example, deals of the week are advertised which are ideal for those on a budget who need some inspiration when looking for a holiday destination or for those looking for a last minute getaway at an affordable pricexii(www.easyjet.com) and also routes, easyJet to launch flights to Jersey!EasyJet, Europes leading low-fares airline, today announced it will launch two new routes to Jersey from Liverpool and London Luton next spring, with daily flights commencing on 31 March and 21 April respectively. xiii(www.easyjet.com) Press is generally good for EasyJet. Environmentalists With the number of flights leaving the UK set to double or triple by 2030, environmentalists have put airlines at the centre of the debate on global warming, a development that could lead to restrictions being imposed on the industry. The Conservatives have unveiled their `Greener Skies proposals. Among the suggestions are the introduction of VAT on fuel for domestic flights and higher tax rates for frequent flyers. xiv(www.keynote.co.uk) Customers Travel is now a priority for todays consumers, however the youth market needs addressing. The outlook for consumer expenditure looks extremely healthy, which will continue to sustain leisure spending. With holidays and additional short breaks now the UKs top two expenditure priorities (23% and 22% respectively), this multiple trip culture has become so ingrained that it will require a major downturn to change this. In Mintels Holiday Lifestyles Responsible Tourism UK, Leisure Horizons January 2007, some 22% of respondents stated that even the disappearance of low fares would fail to change their habits. The 25-44-year-olds are currently the core low-cost market and despite the budget connotations, the no-frills market is actually driven by the wealthier socio-economic groups splashing out on multiple trips.xv(http://academic.mintel.com)

(Updated Guide) Weighted GPA Calculator

(Updated Guide) Weighted GPA Calculator SAT / ACT Prep Online Guides and Tips Most likely, during high school you've taken a mix of classes: some honors, some standard, and some APs. The weighted GPA reflects that those classes have different difficulty levels. So what's the easiest way to figure out what your weighted GPA is? We have two great methods to calculate it! What Is a Weighted GPA? Your GPA, or grade point average, is a way for colleges to quickly see a solid, summary indicator of your intelligence, work ethic, willingness to challenge yourself, and skills. A weighted GPA showcases the hard work and challenge of your high school career by reflecting whether the classes you took were standard level, honors level, or AP/IB level. It does this by adding .5 to every honors class GPA conversion decimal and adding 1 to every AP class conversion decimal, creating a scale that goes from 0.0 to 5.0. So, for example, imagine Diane gets an A in AP French and Sven gets an A in standard level Geography. A weighted GPA would recognize that the AP class was most likely harder, so Diane’s A would become 5.0, while Sven's A would be 4.0. Here is a table that explains how all this usually works in more detail: Letter Grade Percentile Standard GPA Honors GPA AP/IB GPA A+ 97-100 4.0 4.5 5.0 A 93-96 4.0 4.5 5.0 A- 90-92 3.7 4.2 4.7 B+ 87-89 3.3 3.8 4.3 B 83-86 3.0 3.5 4.0 B- 80-82 2.7 3.2 3.7 C+ 77-79 2.3 2.8 3.3 C 73-76 2.0 2.5 3.0 C- 70-72 1.7 2.2 2.7 D+ 67-69 1.3 1.8 2.3 D 65-66 1.0 1.5 2.0 F Below 65 0.0 0.0 0.0 How Do You Calculate Your Weighted GPA? There are two different ways to calculate your weighted GPA. Class-by-class method This method goes through each of the classes that you've taken, one by one: #1: First, convert all the final class grades you’ve gotten, keeping careful track of whether the course was honors level, AP level, or standard. #2: Next, add up all of these converted decimals– this is your sum. #3: Then, count the total number of classes you have taken. #4: Finally, divide the sum by the number of classes and round to the nearest tenth- this is your weighted GPA. Pro tip: you can't simply add each individual year's GPAs together and divide by 4 because you may have taken a different number of classes each year. Sorted-classes shortcut method If you've already done an unweighted GPA calculation, then this method is for you: #1: First, count separately the number of standard classes, honors classes, andAP classes that you've taken. #2: Next, add yourunweighted converted gradesum+(.5*number of honors classes) + number of AP classes. This is your weighted sum. #3: Finally, divide the weighted sum by the total number of classes you've taken. Step Calculation Let's gothrough an example of how this works in practice bycalculating the weighted GPA of spymaster aliasJane Doe. We will be calculating the GPA Jane submits on her college applications, so we will leave off her senior year grades. Note that on hertranscript, classes marked with a â€Å"+† are honors classes, and those marked with an â€Å"a† are AP classes. First let’s convert her grades. I will convert them into weighted and unweighted format so you can see the difference: 9th grade 10th grade th grade Unweight. Weight. Unweight. Weight. Unweight. Weight. 3.0 4.0 3.3 3.8 3.3 4.3 3.7 3.7 4.0 4.0 4.0 4.0 4.0 4.0 3.0 3.0 3.3 3.8 3.0 3.0 3.3 3.8 4.0 5.0 3.3 3.8 3.7 4.7 4.0 5.0 Total 17.0 18.5 17.3 19.3 18.6 22.1 Honors classes 2 2 1 AP classes 0 1 3 Total number of classes 6 6 6 Boy, Jane really stepped up her game junior year! Nicely done. Class-by-class method: Sum of weighted scores=59.4 Number of classes taken = 15 Jane'sweighted GPA =59.4 / 15 = 4.0 Sorted-classes method: Sum of unweighted scores = 52.9 Number of honors classes = 5 Number of AP classes = 4 Number of classes taken = 15 Weighted sum = 52.9 + (.5 * 5) + 4 = 59.4 Jane's weighted GPA = 59.4 / 15 = 4.0 What’s Next? Now that you've gone through our weighted GPA calculator, check whether Jane was right to go all out academically junior year by learning which year of high school is the most important for your college applications. Let us help you figure out the pros and cons of weighted and unweighted GPAs with our comprehensive explanation. Explore what a good or bad GPA score is, and how you compare to the average high school student. Get the scoop on whether colleges use weighted or unweighted GPAs when assessing your application. Want to improve your SAT score by 160 points or your ACT score by 4 points? We've written a guide for each test about the top 5 strategies you must be using to have a shot at improving your score. Download it for free now:

Qualities that make an ideal friend Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Qualities that make an ideal friend - Essay Example He would go the extra mile to make sure that we remain contented and satisfied with things that are happening with us. An ideal friend would take our family as theirs and thus would easily come in and go out of our house as and when needed. This ideal friend would not mind asking us what we have on our mind and secretly solve our problems. This ideal friend would give us company whenever we need it the most. This would mean that he would give his shoulder whenever we are down and hug us when we get heart-broken. This ideal friend would also help us financially when we go through a credit crunch. He would interact with our problems in such a way that problems will start getting solved in a quick manner. (Author Unknown, 2008) His linkage with our lives is immensely significant since the ideal friend is ideal for the very same reason. This ideal friend will capture our hearts with his humor and wit and would not less us get bored whenever we need good company and a lift from our social and professional problems. An ideal friend keeps people happy with him and does not indulge in useless gossip. He concerns his own self with the betterment of his own personality as well as of his friends. He concentrates on the aspect of ‘giving’ more than anything else. He is humble and remains very polite at the best of times. He does not give into pressure which is exerted upon his personality every now and so often. Indeed an ideal friend is ideal in all facets of life. In the end, an ideal friend possesses so many qualities that it seems pretty hard to list down all of them. Most of these qualities do not exist in one such person to which we can remark as being the most ideal one possible. Hence there is enough reason that there is no ideal friend in this world for us. We forget that we also have to become an ideal friend for an individual so that he could become as such. But then again