Crime patterns Essay

Short Answer Questions: 1) What do sociologists mean when they describe deviance as being relative? Provide an example of a deviant behavior and identify how it is relative. Deviance is relative because of a number of factors. These factors include: location, age, social status, and individual societies that do not conform to social norms. Deviance deals with situations in everyday life and that is what makes deviance relative to sociologists. An example of this type of behavior is â€Å"A person speaking loudly during a church service would probably be considered deviant, whereas a person speaking loudly at a party would not. Society generally regards taking the life of another person to be a deviant act, but during wartime, killing another person is not considered deviant† (Sparknotes.com, 2014). This is relative because it is relating to the persons involved in the situation and their surroundings. 2) What are deviant places, and how are they associated with deviant acts? Deviant places are places that sustain deviant acts. These could be old buildings, poverty-stricken neighborhoods, or largely-populated areas. These places create certain stresses and could cause these behaviors. For example areas with a lot of poverty are usually areas with the highest crime rate. This stress leads to stealing, drugs, etc. , 3) Sociologists detail the importance of contextual and social patterns for deviant acts such as abuse, murder, and rape. Choose from abuse, murder, and rape, and then detail an important social pattern or variation. 4) Compare and contrast two different types of suicide, providing an example of each. Essay: What are the fundamental differences between the biological, psychological, and sociological theories of deviance? Choose a sociological theory from your readings and provide a summary of its important ideas and concepts. Then choose a deviant act and utilize the theory to explain why people engage in such behaviors.

Eastern Religion Hinduism Essay

Hinduism:   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Hinduism has no single prophet nor one god to worship; rather they have many metaphors for the gods. Hinduism has no beginning, founder, no central authority, and no organization. Hindus believe in one supreme being who has unlimited forms. Some of the central beliefs of the Hindus is the idea of reincarnation, in which, is the doctrine of transmigration and rebirth the idea is universal in India. The other two beliefs are the spiritual goal and the caste system. The holy texts are the Veda, the Upanishads and the Bhagavad-Grita The practices of the Hindus are the Puja in which is the prayer in the home or in the temple but it is mostly in home since the religion is very much concern with everything around life. The ceremonial practices usually take in community centers. There are three important events in ones life according to the Hindus, birth, marriage and death. Buddhism:   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Buddhism was born in the Kingdom of Sakyas, which is now the border between India and Nepal. Scholars disagree on the age of birth in which it is between 563 – 368 B.C.E. Some of the beliefs of Hindus and Buddhism interact such as the idea of reincarnation both agree with the idea of rebirth but Buddhism rejects the caste system and the Veda. Buddha means the â€Å"enlightened one† and it was a title given to the Siddhartha Gautama the founder of Buddhism. Buddha is accepted like the existence of Jesus Christ that it is accepted through faith and the disciples. It is said that Jesus might have used some of the Buddha ideas into his. The central beliefs are the four truths and the eightfold path. The teachings are in the Dhammapada, in English know as â€Å"words of doctrine†, â€Å"way of truth† or â€Å"the path of truth† The practices of Buddhism is a part of life including diet, the job, trade or profession, daily meditation and giving offerings at a shrine, temples, or monasteries. Confucianism:   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The belief was started in China around the sixth or fifth century B.C.E by Confucius; a major part of the belief is it emphasis on learning and the source of values. The religion has two sets of books; the major five classics including I Ching, Shu Chang, Shih Ching, LiChi, and Ch’un-Ch’iu.. This religion is more of an ethical movement because it lacks sacraments and liturgy. There are four types of Confucianism schools and marriage and funeral could be done though other religious ministers or priests. Taoism:   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The foundation of Taoism is attributed to Lao Tzu and his writings called the â€Å"Classic Way of Power† Taoism is based on the individual and tended to reject the organized society. The key concept is that of non-action or the natural course of things. It is a direct link to yin and yang. It also obtained many things from the Buddhist perspectives. The central beliefs they don’t have prayers because it beliefs in the natural things and that there is no god. They are compassionate people and is more about a philosophical movement instead of a religion.   The purpose of the rituals is the concern of having immortality and the purpose was to live longer. It is believed that elements of Shamanism, which it is more related. Taoism is based on energy.

The Effects of HIV on the Body

HIV is a fascinating disease because of the fact that you do not actually die from the disease itself; you die from another, potentially harmless, disease, which your body cannot protect against due to its weakened immune system. In order to understand this better, it is important to understand how HIV affects the body. HIV weakens the body’s immune system by attacking T4 lymphocytes, a type of white blood cell. These T4 helper cells are called this because they have a receptor molecule on their surface called, CD4. The T4 cells don’t create antibody but they are responsible for chemically communicating, using chemokine, with other white blood cells in order to â€Å"launch an attack† on a virus. The HIV cells contain two viral proteins that are directly involved in the process of infecting someone, these proteins are called gp41 and gp120. The â€Å"CD4 on the surface of the T cell allows for the docking of gp120; once docked, the gp120 changes its shape so that it can bind to the chemokine receptor (called CCR5), and fusion and entry of HIV take place after binding. Sherman p. 178)† It is not known exactly how the viral proteins deplete T4 cells but it is believed to â€Å"involve a depression in the ability to expand their numbers. (Sherman p. 178)† Once the T4 cells reach 400 to 800 cells/mm^3, as opposed to the healthy 1,000 or more T4 cells/mm^3, the first opportunistic infections can arise. This refers to infections that would normally not cause a disease, or a t least nothing life threatening, but given the bodies weakened immune system begins to cause serious health problems for the individual. After this point things become dangerous, but can still be turned around, however if a persons T4 count reaches 200, they officially have AIDS. Once someone has gotten AIDS, there is little to nothing a doctor can do because their immune system is so damaged that they can barely fight off a cold. At this point the person’s immune system is so damaged that they could very easily die from something like pneumonia or meningitis. As the infected decline further they become more and more susceptible to disease and even something like herpes, which is almost always not fatal, can cause death. Once a person reaches the 100 T4 cells/mm^3 mark there is no telling what could kill them, it could even be something as simple as a cold or influenza. The good news is that, although there are no cures for AIDS, there are some options for controlling HIV before it reaches the AIDS state. The first AIDS treatment, which is still used today, is an antitumor compound called azidothymidine (AZT). AZT was developed in 1964 by a pair of chemists-pharmacologists named George Hitchings and Gertrude Elion who had created several other antitumor drugs. AZT works by delaying â€Å"the onset of AIDS by inhibiting viral multiplication†¦AZT jam’s the cell’s copier and, in do doing, blocks the synthesis of new virus particles. (Sherman p. 184)† There are several other drugs called nucleoside analogs that also block the synthesis of viral nucleic acids, and are generally used along with AZT to make the famous â€Å"drug cocktail. † Another treatment option is a combination of protease inhibitors and reverse transcriptase inhibitors. The protease inhibitors work by preventing the viral enzyme, protease, from cutting viral proteins into shorter pieces. If short viral proteins cannot be produced then a complete virus cannot be assembled. The reverse transcriptase inhibitors work by blocking viral replication. This combination of drugs is able to significantly reduce virus production, up to 90-99%. The only problem with these treatments is that they are expensive and need to be taken daily. Although there is no cure for HIV/AIDS there is constant research being done on the possibility of creating some sort of vaccine that would be able to prevent HIV and, at least, slow the development of new HIV cell in those who are already infected. So far there have been some advancements but nothing has been created that would be effective or stable enough. That being said, the continuing efforts of the medical field and breakthroughs in treatment, we are moving closer and closer to the possibility of having some kind of vaccine and maybe someday a cure.

Blood Splatter Analysis Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Blood Splatter Analysis - Research Paper Example Blood spatter analysis was sensationalized during the O.J. Simpson trial. Bloodstain pattern analysis, hereinafter referred to as (â€Å"BPA†), began in the late nineteenth century. However, while it has been studied for such a long time, the science and exact art of bloodstain pattern analysis has only recently become a staple in crime scene analysis. The first known study of blood spatters occurred at the Institute for Forensic Medicine in Poland, by Dr. Eduard Piotrowski. His studies resulted in the publication of his book "Concerning the Origin, Shape, Direction and Distribution of the Bloodstains Following Head Wounds Caused by Blows." The study of BPA is a combination of physics, biology and math. The investigation can take place at the scene of the crime or through the pictures that crime scene investigators take at the scene of a crime. The first time that blood spatter became highly sensationalized was 1955 in a case called Ohio v. Samuel Sheppard. Since 1955 when Dr. Paul Kirk first presented a bloodstain evidence affidavit in State of Ohio v. Samuel Sheppard, expert testimony on bloodstain interpretation has gained wide acceptance in U.S. courts (James, 1998). At trial, an affidavit purported to be an expert opinion was submitted by Dr. Paul Kirk. This 1955 case landmarked one of the earliest instances of our legal system recognizing the importance of blood spatter analysis in investigating the scene of a murder. The testimony offered outlined the position of the murderer or suspect and that of the victim. Ultimately, despite strong objections, the testimony demonstrated that the victim was assailed by the defendant’s left hand. The initial step in the examination of blood at any crime scene is to be fully aware of how bloodstains are characterized. (Department, 1998). There can be no characterization without answering three crucial

Implementing Change Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3500 words

Implementing Change - Assignment Example In 1999 with major changes taking place at the national level of government in the form of devolution, local councils were scrambling to 'keep their heads above water'. During this time period, it was evident that each department was focused crisis after crisis within their own department and there was no vision for propelling the city into a cohesively run organisation (Leeds City, 2006, screen 1). Seeing the need for organisational change the leadership of Leeds City Council set about creating a culture of unified strategic direction and bring together all employees to focus on meeting the strategic needs of the city. In order to achieve this, the Chief Executive and his staff focused on development of the Council's Core Values as a first step in the process of organisational change. Once the core values had been identified council's next step was to begin to create the atmosphere conducive to change. In the following paragraphs we will examine how Leeds City Council was able to successful launch a sweeping organisational change and a shift to continuous process improvement. Upon arriving at the council core values the Chief Executive understood that without the support of employees the core values established would be nothing more that words on paper. The next step the executive undertook was to educate and gain acceptance for this move towards organisational change. ... l the "Vision for Leeds" into the culture of the council and ensure management understood 'the council's objectives and the cultural change needed to bring them about' (Leeds City, 2006, screen 1). The Road to Change Before an organisation can effectively make a change they have to understand what change is and what it is not. "The creation of healthy change is about living comfortably with conditions of constant change, and finding ways to create, within those conditions, pathways for accomplishing desired objectives through continuous adaptation." (Discussion, 2005) Understanding and redefining the complexity of this requires a three-fold approach. First, change does not mean we throw away the old, rather we build upon where we are; secondly, change is not finite, we can not view change as something we are finally doing or somewhere we will be - Change is constant; and thirdly, with change there is no return to normalcy. The continual process of evolving, of change, if you will, becomes the constant with the organisation. How we once did things as an organisation is in the past. Kotter and Cohen point out the biggest hurdle an organisation faces when initiating change is not dealing with proces ses or systems, but rather, changing the behaviour of the members of the organisation itself. Once that is accomplished the rest falls neatly into place. (2002) This requires a new way of thinking within the organization, a shifting from old preconceived ideas and notions and a movement towards envisioning and creating the means for this change to occur. The organization transforms itself based on the shifting thought processes brought on by the change. An organization is not the outward faade of the building and internally the hierarchy of management. An

ETHICS AND FINANCIAL SERVICES Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

ETHICS AND FINANCIAL SERVICES - Essay Example During this era, some of its techniques were quite confusing and blatant. The company had excluded some of its expenses from its financial book. The case highlights various red flags such as an extreme growth-oriented management team and growing need for extra capital. With this, the auditors allowed themselves to be misled and missed the red flags that could have alerted them to dig and analyse their analysis more deeply. During the era 1990-1994, the company was involved in a fraud scheme whereby Gottlieb and Drabinsky received $7, 000, 000 directly or through the company owned by Gottlieb. Approximately $ 4, 000, 000 of the total amount was capitalized as the pre-production costs. Gottlieb and Drabinsky operated a kickback scheme with Livent vendors and took the mentioned amount from the company and took into their own pocket. To fully convince the company of the transaction, Gottlieb instructed the two vendors to present an invoice that could not expose their deal. After Livent agreeing to the deal, Gottlieb and Drabinsky received the payment for bogus services. In the mid 1990s, it became difficult for the company to attain its financial goals. Gottlieb and Drabinsky enjoyed their financial gain, and in turn, the company had to bear the loss. It became difficult for the company to raise additional capital to sustain its operation. Further, Gottlieb and Drabinsky manipulated the company by directi ng Livent’s accounting staff to obscure the company’s financial crisis. Some of the manipulations included erasing the accounting records that recorded the liabilities and expenses of the company at the end of each year. The Livent’s accounting staff engaged into an accounting scam of transferring the preproduction costs of existing show to shows that was in production. This transfer manipulated the company to comprehend the cost of the major items used in production. To reduce the costs of

The standard policy of new technology applied in distribution power Essay

The standard policy of new technology applied in distribution power network - Essay Example not merely includes within its ambit, interlinked transmission systems, but moves ahead to encompass all the aspects of energy industry that is energy generation, transmission, distribution and consumption (Saint 2009). It includes within its scope, the energy related technicalities at the household and industrial level. It is a pity that in the last few years, much stress has been laid on developing efficient household and industrial complex distribution and transmission models; a commensurate enthusiasm was not shown in developing smart distribution networks. In this context, the concept of Smart Grid is path breaking and ingenious. There is no denying the fact that the US Energy Policy and Security Act of 2007 is a trail blazing strategy that has laid down the framework for standardizing policies pertaining to new technologies in the distribution power networks (Saint 2009). The strategy enshrined in this document not only aspires to achieve maximum reliability and obliterating an y barriers to the development and deployment of Smart Grid, but also intends to gain in terms of energy savings and making cost effective investments in the realm of Smart Grid (Saint 2009). The standard policy towards energy distribution in the developed countries around the world tends to encourage the modernization of transmission and distribution systems, while making way for dependable, fool proof and reliable power infrastructure that can adjust to and accommodate any future alterations in demand and technology. The crux of the Smart Grid is to facilitate a demand response that is in consonance with the ethos of free markets and economies, and also enables the consumers to have a proactive role in adjusting their energy needs to the changing prices (Saint 2009). At the same time it intends to exploit all the possible power generation and storage options, by it the wind, solar or bio energy (Saint 2009). The eventual idea is to forge such an approach towards energy generation and

VISUAL ANALYSIS Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

VISUAL ANALYSIS - Essay Example Therefore, we can say that the target market of this classy advertisement, are mostly consumers belonging to the upper class. From the warm expression on the man’s face, and the child’s similar manner, it can be deduced that they are father and son. The presence of wedding band further strengthens this observation by showing the marital status of the man. All the minor detailing of the father’s clothing, such as his accessories, proves that he belongs from the privileged class, and the child’s clothing also speaks of wealth. From their body languages, there seems to be a presence of a relationship based on trust, respect, and fondness, between them. It seems that the father is trying to set an impressive example, and the son is looking up to him as a role model. On the whole, the advertisement with its creative text and the refined setting, is giving the message that a Patek Philippe watch increases the value of the person wearing it, and lasts generations. It is also shown that this watch can reinforce the warm and solid relationship between a father and a son. A father will buy this watch, thinking that one day he will pass it on to his son, and the son will always keep it, and cherish it, as a revered memorabilia. From the old times, watches have held special importance in the man’s heart. They are always associated with a person’s social status, personal taste, and economic prosperity. Whether it is a graduation present, gifted from a proud father to his young son, or a wedding present, given as a welcoming sign to son-in-law, watches always forge and solidify a significant bond between the giver and the receiver. When it comes to the upper class, high-end watches are associated with the social power and financial prestige. The advertisements of Rolex, TAG Heuer, Cartier, Movado etc., always either feature wealthy successful men, or shows settings that depicts a luxurious and prosperous life,

English Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

English - Assignment Example es a letter from Frank Baldry, the real cousin of Chris the war soldier informing Jenny that Chris, during the course of war, had suffered from amnesia and had lost his recent memory. His old memories however are intact. Therefore, Jenny learns from Frank that the portion of the memory of Chris that was affected by amnesia was the one which had Kitty her wife in it. He failed to remember even a slight memory regarding Kitty. On the other hand he considers his youth memories with Margret as quite fresh. Later in the novel one also learns that before coming home, Chris sent a letter to Margret in France asking her to meet him upon his return. Margret Grey, unlike Kitty, was quite a simple person and not that wealthy. She had signs of aging on her and the indications of youth from her face had almost disappeared entirely. But ine learns later in the novel that although what some might call a lowly life, she was quite satisfied with it. During the course of this paper, the main aspects of the novel would be elaborated along with some of the hidden significances. Shedding some critical light on the novel, it can be easily observed that there is a sheer uncomfortable atmosphere all along the novel. One sees that Kitty, a woman of pure class who was admired by everyone, and who was the queen of Chris’s heart and his humongous stately house had within an instant, after learning of the letter had her conditions changed upside down. The mansion of hers was no more a luxury anymore as both the stately house and the name of Chris haunted her emotions of the affections that Chris used to have towards her. Contrary to the usual scenario of a soldier’s return to his home after the war, the novel draws a blurred picture of the severe trauma he faces as a result of the war and what’s even more tragic, the impact of all that trauma on the girls back home, one his wife, second his cousin and the third his old lover. In a broader aspect, one can say that the effect of the

Strategic Management and Leadership Report on Apple Inc Essay

Strategic Management and Leadership Report on Apple Inc - Essay Example The researcher of this paper tells that the initial years of the company exhibited great prospects for Apple Computer, Inc., but soon the company had massive declining sales. This was primarily because of the technological failures more than any other reason. During this period Apple Computer produced microcomputers as a way forward from the computers that were produced by the IBM’s mainframe computers. Though the Apple I started off well, in the early years of 1980s, the sales for Apple Computers drastically reduced, as the platform (Macintosh) of the Apple was not compatible with the prevalent computers of the time. In the mid-1980s after continuing to experience declining, the sales company founder Steve Jobs was fired from his own organization. During Job’s absence the company was negatively affected by the introduction of competitor Microsoft’s DOS operating system. Soon, the market leadership of Apple was a thing of past, as Microsoft was more user friendly . Steve Jobs would eventually rejoin the company and call for a series of new ideas. The company placed new emphasis on innovation and produce items like the iPhone, iTunes, iPod and iPad, all of which became immensely popular across the globe. From Apple Computers, the company shifted to the name Apple, Inc. as it enabled buyers to understand that the company also produced other items apart from computers. ("Apple computer, inc.," 2011). Today Apple, Inc. is recognized as the world’s leading technology company and has a ubiquitous international presence. When one examines the financial figures from the time Jobs returned, the results are truly staggering. Essentially, he brought an organization from the brink of bankruptcy to one annually generating $25 billion dollars in net income and a stock valuation exceeding $400 ("Apple," 2011). Currently Apple competes in a variety of market sectors: mp3 players, smart phones, personal computers, tablets, and they are rumored to be e ntering into the television market (Elmer, 2011). It follows that the organization has a variety of competitors, including Microsoft operating systems, a glut of mp3 and

Slum Life Empowerment Activities Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words - 1

Slum Life Empowerment Activities - Essay Example Among those activities, I enjoyed community mobilization and community empowerment through environmental cleaning as well as public awareness through talks. It is now the third year since I chose and decided to pursue a course of life in giving back to the society in form of youth mobilization for behavior change as part of my leisure activity. Studying from the city presents a challenge in time management in that weekly daily routines are often defined by waking up for school early every day and returning home late in the evening, very tired and having a lot to accomplish in studies before I retire for bed. Nevertheless, much of my free time is over the weekends and especially on Saturday when I do not attend school. On weekends, I engage in the activities of visiting the slums around the city for empowerment programs especially aimed at youths who often indulge in drugs and are associated with crime. I enjoy the whole experience of mobilizing and gathering people together for a pub lic lecture on behavior change, for street cleaning exercises as well as for talent shows. After growing up within the city suburbs, passing through slums have not been new to my life and I have observed the challenges that life in slums entails. Life in slum is characterized with poor living standards, lack of basic needs like food shelter and clothing as well as deprivation of such basic services as education. This contributes more to antisocial behaviors especially among the youth where drug use and insecurity becomes part of their lives. This, therefore, informed my decision to spend my leisure time interacting with slum dwellers in efforts to help them change behaviors for a positive living. More specifically, my delight is in engaging the people in community welfare activities such as environmental cleaning activities, drugs and substance campaigns as well as in talent  search through sporting activities.

Listening Habits Essay Example for Free

Listening Habits Essay â€Å"Tap, tap, tap.† is what you hear as your elbow partner is writing their pencil against the table. The tapping continues to go on until the teacher says something important then there is a moment of silence. There are many bad listening habits out there, it’s just finding them within ourselves, but everyone else as well. A bad listening habit that one may obtain is finding a subject that it too boring or dull. In order to pay full attention, you need something worth giving the attention. Another thing that poor listeners do is make fun of how the speaker is; meaning they either don’t like the way they look, speak, or act. It doesn’t matter who or how it comes out; what matters is what comes out. One last poor listening habit is trying to take every single detail down. You’re just writing a lot of useless information because you and I both know that you won’t go back and read it all. I myself am guilty of having some bad listening habits as well. One of them is that I get really excited about one part of the presentation that I completely blank out on the next part. I need to work on keeping focused on the entire presentation. A second bad habit that I contain is that I get lazy so I only listen for the most important facts and write them down. I should be alert throughout the whole presentation that way I can get more then the facts, like the little details. The last poor listening habits that I have is that I get distracted extremely easily. No matter how fast a distraction distracts me, I need to fight the urge to let it get to me! Luckily, there are ways to help us become better listeners! One way is to guess or predict what the presenter will say next. This will help us be engaged in the presentation and get something out of it. Another helpful idea to try is to point out the supporting materials, along with being engaged. This will also help us get better studying material. One last habit that will be great to get into is summarizing while the speaker is taking a break. Summarize what they said in your mind to help you keep track of what they are talking about. No matter with all of the bad listening habits, we can easily change them. Not only will this help us in high school, but it will also help us in college. Better listening skills along with other college readiness skills will help us walk into our future pretty easily. All it takes is the willingness of the student themselves to give that little extra push!

Pro-Natal Policies Analysis

Pro-Natal Policies Analysis Pro-Natal Policies in Norway Background Norway’s average fertility rate over the past 10 years is about 1.9, compared to Singapore’s average of 1.25 over the same period (The World Bank, 2014). Furthermore, 5 out of 6 women between the ages of 30-39 still remain employed (BBC News, 2006). Norway is Scadinavia’s richest country, enjoying an oil boom which started 40 years ago (Mohsin, 2014). Most of its revenues are channelled into a wealth fund that has accumulated to $890 billion, or about $170,000 per person. These oil revenues allow for large budget surpluses, protect government schemes from recessions, and provide resources for the future (Rindfuss et al.). The Nordic welfare states have a long-running tradition of implementing policies directed at the family (Rà ¸nsen, 2004). However, these policies are not for pro-natalist reasons, but rather based on their ideas of gender equality and a general concern for the well-being of families and their children. Also, Norwegian society holds the philosophy that children are an essential part of society (Andersen, 2012). Policies Child Benefit The child benefit is paid to all families with children below the age of 18 to cover their costs of having children (Ministry of Children, Equality and Social Inclusion). It is paid per child from the month after the child’s birth till the month before the child turns 18. In 2012, the child benefit was â‚ ¬ 119 per month. A single provider is entitled to an additional child benefit. Parental Leave Benefit Families receive the parental leave benefit upon the birth of a child, a scheme that was started way back in 1956 (BBC, 2014; Ministry of Children, Equality and Social Inclusion, 2014). For most families, this continues until the child is about a year old. The goal of the parental leave benefit is to make it financially feasible for one parent to care for the child at home during its first year, as well as to facilitate equality in parenting. A period of 47 weeks with parental leave benefits, or 57 weeks with reduced benefits (80% of pay) is shared between the parents to provide income for the first year of the child (Anderson, 2012; Ministry of Children, Equality and Social Inclusion, 2014). After the first year, the child is entitled to a place in a day-care centre and/or a cash benefit. Mothers have the right to parental leave benefits if they have worked for at least 6 out of the last 10 months (Ministry of Children, Equality and Social Inclusion). Mothers who do not fulfill this requirement have entitlement to a lump sum maternity grant. In 2011, this grant was â‚ ¬ 4310 per child. The three weeks before and six weeks after birth have to be taken by the mother as part of the parental leave benefit period. The father also has to fulfil a minimum quota of leave (Ministry of Children, Equality and Social Inclusion, 2014; BBC News, 2014), with the Norwegian government has planning to lengthen this by one more week. The rest of the leave period can be freely shared between both parents. When the father takes any leave outside of his quota, he has to take up primary care of the child. A goal of this is to allow for fathers to spend more time alone with the child during the toddler stage. Since the paid leave is financed by taxes, employers do not lose out when employees use their parental leave (BBC News, 2014). Funding for the parental leave benefits and lump sum maternity grants amount to about â‚ ¬ 1.83 billion (2011) (Ministry of Children, Equality and Social Inclusion). More than 80% of mothers and 70% of fathers are entitled to parental leave benefits. Cash Benefit For one and two year olds, parents can choose between a place in a day-care centre or receive a cash benefit (Ministry of Children, Equality and Social Inclusion). They can also choose to combine a reduced rate cash benefit with reduced time in a day-care centre. Only children who are one year of age can receive the cash benefit and are entitled to a maximum benefit period of 11 months. For cash benefits, only full or half cash-benefits can be chosen. The cash benefit is approximately â‚ ¬ 404 per month (2011), is non-taxable, and is paid without income or means-testing. Day-care A child is entitled to a place at a day-care centre as soon as the child turns one-year old (Andersen, 2012). Both public and private day-care centres are heavily subsidised by the state, and parents are means-tested and are charged accordingly at different rates. Fees are capped at â‚ ¬308 per month. This is in contrast to an average of â‚ ¬144 a week in Ireland. Furthermore, the childcare system in Norway is highly regulated and the standard of care is known to be of very high quality. Effectiveness A study by Lappegà ¥rd (2010) found that policies which promote involvement of fathers in childcare and gender equality such as paternal leave are positively associated with second births, while policies which grant general support for the family such as childcare cash benefits are positively related with third births. Another study conducted by Zuvander, Lappegà ¥rd and Andersson (2010) found a positive association between fathers’ parental leave use and continued childbearing in Norway for one-child and two-child couples. For families with two children, an extended period of leave for the mother was positively associated with the birth of a third-child. Furthermore, using data from Norway, Rindfuss et al. (2007) showed that the greater availability of child-care centers leads to a younger age for the first birth, and that high quality and affordable child-care leads to increased child-bearing. However, Rà ¸nsen, a Norwegian statistician, claimed that implementing generous family policies do not guarantee high fertility (BBC News, 2014). Sweden is cited as an example, whereby birth rates have not improved even though family policies were as generous as in Norway. Sweden went through a sharp increase in unemployment, after which the fertility rate fell from 2.1 in 1992 to 1.5 in 1997. It is believed that it is Norway’s combination of steady economic growth and family policies that has kept birth rates high, since people have a tendency to postpone having children during periods of economic insecurity. Pro-Natal Policies in France Background France has the second highest fertility rate in Europe, ranked after Ireland (France Diplomatie, 2013). In 2012, the fertility rate was 2.01, close to the replacement rate of 2.1. The birth rate has been increasing since 1995, and this trend has often been linked with many family policies during that period (Laroque and Salanià ©, 2008). In addition, France still maintains a high rate of female employment: 85% of women are employed (France Diplomatie, 2013). In France, fulfilment comes about from a rewarding family and social life (France Diplomatie, 2013). A 2011 study found that close to 60% of young French people were keen to start a family and have children. This figure was the highest rate in Europe. Policies Generous Monetary Benefits Women under maternity leave can receive full salary for 16 weeks, and are eligible to 26 weeks if the child is their third, and up to 34 weeks in the case of multiple births (European Union, 2014). Fathers are granted 11 consecutive days of paternity leave with full salary. Furthermore, families are entitled to monthly parental allowance if one of the two parents stops working or reduces his/her working hours to care for a child under three years of age. In addition, parents receive a family allowance after their second dependent child under 20 years of age (European Union, 2014). This monthly amount depends on the number of dependent children. After the third child, if the other two children are under 21 years, families are entitled to further family support amounting to â‚ ¬ 167.34. This is subject to means-testing Families can also receive assistance for their first child (European Union, 2014). For example, they can be paid a premium of â‚ ¬923.08 for a birth or â‚ ¬1846.15 for an adoption; a monthly allowance to assist parents with raising and education costs for three years (â‚ ¬ 184.62); family support allowance to help raise a child in the absence of help from one or both parents (ranging from â‚ ¬ 90.40 to â‚ ¬ 120.54), and a back-to-school allowance that is means-tested to help families with their children’s schooling costs (â‚ ¬ 360.47 for 6 to 10 year olds, â‚ ¬ 380.36 for 11 to 14 year olds, â‚ ¬ 393.54 for 15 to 18 year olds) Tax concessions for big families Large benefits stand to enjoy substantial tax concessions, whereby families with at least three children benefit the most (European Union, 2014). The French tax system is such that tax units are households, not individuals. Each household amounts to a number of shares determined by marital status and the number of children. Married couples are entitled to two shares, a further half-share for the first two children, and an additional one share per child after the third child. Given that taxable income is calculated as the total household income divided by the number of shares in a household, large families get to enjoy a significant reduction in taxes. Wide range of childcare services France has a comprehensive childcare and pre-school system that allows parents to continue working (European Union, 2014). Nurseries are run by businesses, the local government, or parent associations. The fees for most nurseries are means-tested. Parents can also choose to hire a licensed childminder who can look after up to 4 children at his/her home. Also, pre-school in France is free. In addition, parents with children under the age of six can make use of after-school centres, which are usually subsidised by the Familiy Allowance Fund. Effectiveness Laroque and Salanià © (2008) found a notable impact of financial incentives on fertility especially for the first and third child. Also, according to Letablier (2008), the main cause for France’s impressive fertility rate is likely due to the of support provided to parents to reduce the costs of children and in reconciling work and family life for mothers so that they can work and care for their children. The latter supports findings from a recent OECD report which found that the most effective policies to boost birth rates are the ones that help women to reconcile career and family. According to the report, government expenditure to provide childcare to help families improve work-life balance is more effective in raising fertility rates than giving money to families to subsidise births (Silverman, 2011). What Can We Learn? How Do They Suit Their Respective Economies (welfare/open economy?) France Financial incentives, though helpful in increasing fertility to a certain extent, are not as effective as helping women to reconcile work and family through the availability of childcare services and parental leave programs. Concessions on taxation, nonetheless, may be a useful tool in raising birth rates. To boost fertility, government policy should utilise a wide variety of instruments and measures to create a conducive environment for child-bearing. McDonald (2007) lends support to this by advocating for comprehensive policies over piecemeal policies, as the real importance of a single policy lies not in its econometric impact, but in how it adds to the way young people perceive their society’s support for those who have children. It is the symbolic meanings of the policies that count most. Norway Funding effective pro-natal policies may require substantial government spending, which may only be affordable to well-endowed and wealthy countries without the possibility of a deficit. Economic stability may also be a pre-condition for high and steady birth rates. Policies that advocate gender equality in parenting may be effective in raising birth rate. Granting more paternal leave to fathers can be helpful, as well as setting a minimum quota of leave to encourage fathers to spend more time caring for the child. Also, the availability of good quality and affordable child-care services can help boost fertility.

Regional Economic Integration

Regional Economic Integration Regional economic integration becomes a new trend in the world of trading nowadays; there are many World Regions and Trade Organizations such as APEC, EU, NAFTA and ASEAN (Trade, 2010). In this essay, the objective is comparing the European Union (EU) and North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), which are known as two top regional economic integrations in the world. Before comparing and contrasting these two regional trade associations, this essay will firstly consider giving some background knowledge of EU and NAFTA. It will then go on with comparing the level of regional economic integration with free trade area, custom union, common market, economic union and political union between EU and NAFTA. Making the comparison between the impact of integration in EU and NAFTA will be stated as the third section in this essay. At the end, this essay will give a conclusion in order to summarize the key point in the main body. EU, whose forerunner was the European Economic Community (EEC) that was founded in 1958 and changed its name into EU in 1993, followed the ratification of the Maastricht Treaty (European Union, n.d). The EU includes 27 European countries today, as an economic and political partnership between these countries. In addition, according to Actrav (n.d), the objective of the EU is calling to eliminate the internal trade barriers and create a common external tariff in order to strengthen the economic and social harmonious development and establish finally unified monetary economic monetary union (EMU), promote economic and social between member countries. Moreover, EU can develop the free moverment of goods, services, capital and people. Compare with North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), according to United States Trade Representative (n.d), NAFTA consist of the United States, Canada, and Mexico on 1 January, 1994. Moreover, some restrictions and duties were eliminated in 2008. SICE (2012) expounded that the objective of NAFTA include the following guidelines: Elimination within 10 years of tariffs on 99 percent of the goods traded between member countries. Remove majority of the barriers on the cross-border flow of services. Intellectual property rights are protected. Foreign direct investment between member countries is less restrictions. Members can apply national environmental standards. Commissions are establish to police violations. The next part of this essay shows the information about regional economic integration, which relates the EU and NAFTA. According to Charles (2011, p 688), regional economic integration can be defined as agreements among countries in a geographic region to reduce and ultimately remove tariff and nontariff barriers to the free flow of goods, services, and factors of production between each other. European Union and North American Free Trade Agreement are the most obvious example to show regional economic integration. Charles (2011) stated that there are five levels of economic integration, which are free trade area, customs union, common market, common market, economic union and political union. The table 1 is shown below: The first level of economic integration is free trade agreements (FTAs). Rolf and Nataliya (2001) explained that FTAs can avoid the barriers such as import tariffs and import quotas between signatory countries. Each country can determine its own policies with nonmember. For example, the traffic barriers are very different between member and nonmember (Charles, 2011). In addition, according to WTO (2002), the most popular form of regional economic integration is free trade agreements, which accounts for almost 90 percent of regional agreements. The example of free trade area in the world is the NAFTA that include three countries, are United State, Canada and Mexico. NAFTANOW (2012) explained that NAFTA is the largest FTAs in the world, has abolished most parts of tariff and non-tariff which are barriers for trade and investment in the union systematically. Also, NAFTA has helped create a certain and confident environment for long term investment through the establishment of a successf ul and reliable regulation for the safe investment. EU also eliminated the tariff and non-tariff barriers during trade between member countries, but has a little bit different with NAFTA, which EU focus on the non-tariff barriers than tariff. The next level of economic integration is customs union (CU), which build on a free trade area. Michael Holden (2003) descried that members in a customs union have no trade barriers with goods, as well as services among them. Besides, the CU put forward a common trade policy which shows respect to those nonmembers. It is a typical form for common external tariff that has the same tariff sold to any member countries when the subjects of imports are nonmembers. For example, EU began in this level at the beginning, but now it has moved to the high level of economic integration. In addition, NAFTA also has comment external trade barrier from outside. For example, Andean Community is known as the customs unions around the world, which assured free trade between signatory countries and compelled with a common tariff of 5 to 20 per cent on trading products while importing from countries outside the union. According to Jennifer (2004), every single common market represents a major step to important integration of economy. Except for the involvement of the provision for customs union, a common market (CM) moves all barriers into capital and other resources, peoples mobility within the areas mentioned in the question, as well as removing the non-tariff barriers of trading such as controllable management of the standards for the product. A common markets establishment typically needs the accordance of those significant policies within many areas. As an example, free movement of labor makes the agreements of worker qualification and certification necessary. Besides, a common market is also typically relevant to a comprehensive assemblage of monetary and fiscal policies, whether through design or the result, because of the increasing economic interdependence with the area and the influences that one member state can bring on another or other countries, which gives more rigorous restrictions on the ability of the engagement on the independent economic policies with the necessarily. The first coming benefit of establishing a common market is the gains of economic efficiency under expectation. Within the common market, labor and capital could respond to the economic signals more easily with the unfettered mobility, which lead to a higher allocation efficiency. In EU and NAFTA, both of regional trade associations can be seem as common market, because they can freely move the capital, people and goods without barriers. For example, in EU the people can travel most of the continent without border controls between EU countries and NAFTA also the same as EU (European Union, n.d). Michael Holden (2003), the deepest form of economic integration, also known as an economic union, adds the requirements of the accordance between a numbers of key policy areas to a common market. Apparently, economic unions as a higher level of integration, require formally coordinated monetary and fiscal policies as well as labor market, regional development, transportation and industrial policies. It would have opposite results to operate dispersive policies in those regions since all countries would share economic space basically. An economic union contains the usage of a unified monetary policy and a common currency with frequency. The functions of an economic union would be enhanced with eliminating the uncertainty of exchange rate through permitting trade to follow efficient was economically instead of being unduly influenced by considering exchange rate, which is also suitable for business location choosing. Supranational institutions would be requested to manage the trade wit hin the areas of union in order to ensure consistent applications of the regulations. These laws should still be administered within a national level while countries would renounce the control over this area. In economic union, there are many different between EU and NAFTA. One of the most important differences is the currency. In the EU, it has a single currency of Euro, however, the currency not just one in NAFTA. In addition, the political structure of the EU and NAFTA also different. There are four main institutions in the EU political structure, which are European Commission, the Council of European Union, the European Parliament, and the Court of Justice. Moreover, EU has own fiscal police of Maastricht Treaty. In contrast, NAFTA has not political structure to control the police, because NAFTA is like a law which became in 1994 (Charles, 2011). Therefore, NAFTA can be seem as economic union because no single currency between member countries. The move toward economic union raises the issue of how to make a coordinating bureaucracy accountable to the citizens of member nations. The answer is through political union in which a central political apparatus coordinates the economic, social, and foreign policy of the member states (Charles, 2011, p268). The United State is the good example, which even closer this stage. However, NAFTA and the EU both are not become political union. In the third part of this essay, it will talk about the impact of integration in EU and NAFTA, such as economic grow, increased competition and so on. The EU establishes a single currency which is benefit for the Europeans. There are many reasons; first, handling one currency is better than many, because companies and individuals can save a lot. For example, people going from Germany to French, they do not go to bank in order to change German deutsche into French francs. Second, when the consumers to shop around the Europe, one currency can make them easier to compare prices of goods and service, which will lead to increase competition. For example, if the car sell in France is cheaper than Germany, the people can go to France buy the car and then sell in Germany. This will make the German company face a competition with French company. Third, a common currency can increase the highly liquid pan-European capital market. In addition, according to Gabriele (2008), the EU also impact on business because the transaction costs between the members of EU will disappearance, which can make the products produce in lower cost. It will get more competitive advantage with nonmember countries. However, the drawback of Euro is that national authorities will lose control over monetary policy. And the implied of loss of national sovereignty to the European Central Bank (ECB) underlies the decision by Great Britain, Denmark and Sweden to stay out of the euro zone for now (Charles, 2011, p278). Furthermore, another disadvantage of the euro is that may lead to economic growth become lower and inflation will higher in Europe. The impact of integration in NAFTA is increase exports, imports and investment between U.S. in NAFTA countries, which will lead to increase economic grow. According to United States Trade Representative (n.d), the goods exports of U.S. to NAFTA increased 23.4% between 2010 and 2009, and up 149% from 1994. In addition, the import from NAFTA countries also developed 25.6 from 2009, and up 184% from 1994. Moreover, United State foreign directs investment (FDI) in NAFTA also up 8.8% between 2009 and 2008. All of these data show that the integration makes NAFTA countries trade and invest more than before. In addition, Charles (2011) explained that as other influences over NAFTA, companies from US and Canada would move their industries into Mexico for its labor market with low cost. At the meantime, Mexico could get benefits from the inward investment and the improvement with employment with the labor market.It is beneficial for US and Canada because Mexicans could import more goods from U S and Canada with their increasing incomes, therefore increasing demand of Mexicans and the making up for jobs lost in companies that moved production to Mexico, which brings advantages to US and Canada with the lower-price products made in Mexico.In addition, the advantage of lower labor costs in Mexico can increase the international competitiveness of U.S. and Canadian firm to better compete with outside of competitors such as Asian and European rivals. The negative of NAFTA is that loss of U.S. jobs to Mexico, which up to 5.9 millions. Moreover, the Mexicos environment deteriorated is the other problem in NAFTA, because the productions of the United States move into Mexico. The same production will effect more cheaply and more dirtily, which will result in environment deteriorated. Such as globally in terms of resource depletion, pollution and greenhouse gas emissions, and ecosystem spoilage. Furthermore, there was also opposition in Mexico to NAFTA from those who feared a loss o f national sovereignty. This point of view is similar with the costs of the Euro (Charles, 2011). In conclusion, after compare and contrast of regional economic integration between EU and NAFTA, there are many factors are similar. For example, they both are free trade area, customs union and common market, because they meet the requirements of these three stages. In addition, they have not tariff and non-tariff barriers between member countries. Moreover, both have common external tariff to nonmember countries and free movement of capital, people and goods. However, the big different between EU and NAFTA is, EU has a single currency and fiscal police, but NAFTA without these two elements. In the part of impact of integration, it shows the positives and negatives of EU and NAFTA. The similar points are both can increase their economic growth and foreign direct investment in signatory countries. In addition, they both face some problem of nation will loss of national sovereignty, such as Mexico and Sweden. However, EU also has a problem of lost control over monetary policy but NAFT A will not face this issue, because NAFTA is not single currency in U.S., Canada and Mexico.

Woman and Abortion :: essays research papers

Woman and abortion has always been an issue concerning everyone else except the female who is having the child. Most US citizens today believe that abortion is the wrong way to go, the unborn fetus has no chance at life. It is against the Catholic religion to do this but many people have to do this. Abortions are usually wanted by the teenagers in our society, whether they had made a mistaken and forgot to wear a condom or just chose not to wear one. This article is stating that our government is going to start testing the mothers who are caring a child. They want to ensure that the rights of the unborn fetuses are upheld. The rights of the baby should be upheld, and I believe that it will be but I also believe that there are groups that will not agree with this. These groups will protest at this trial to ensure what they wish to happen occurs.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The Supreme will decide whether pregnant women can be tested for drugs. If being tested for drugs just means taking blood then it would not be harmful towards the unborn fetus. In this case the Supreme Court is deciding whether or not a woman can be given an injection to be tested for a drug. But will this injection hurt the baby, or is it for the good of the baby so that the mother may be given help if she is in fact a drug addict. It was recorded in 1985, in South Carolina, that a hospital in the south would take any measure necessary to make it possible for the unborn fetus has a healthy birth.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The unborn fetus should have rights, but how do we know when the unborn child is in danger. We need to use and make laws to ensure that pregnant women in no way possible can harm their babies. Unfortunately this is nearly impossible to accomplish, for it can only be accomplished when the pregnant woman comes into her doctors office for a check up. When she does come in for a check up, as of now, the doctor can only advise you on what to do. Unless you are tripping over your own feet, or there is something visibly wrong with the way you look the doctor can not do anything with out your consent.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The hospitals, doctors, and whom ever else there is out there in the world who is out to help you should have more rights than they have now.

How effective is Harper Lees title of To Kill a Mockingbird? :: English Literature

How effective is Harper Lee's title of To Kill a Mockingbird? '" Shoot all the bluejays you want, if you can hit 'em, but remember it's a sin to kill a mockingbird." That was the only time I ever heard Atticus say it was a sin to do something, and I asked Miss Maudie about it. "Your father's right," she said. "Mockingbirds don't do one thing but make music for us to enjoy. They don't eat up people/s gardens, don't nest in corncribs, they don't do one thing but sing their hearts out for us. That's why it's a sin to kill a mockingbird."' (p. 96) From the above quote we learn that a mockingbird gives only pleasure to people. It does not harm anyone, or destroy people's gardens, like other birds might do. The book can be said to contain 'human mockingbirds' who, each in their own way, are persecuted or treated badly through no fault of their own. Probably the two main and most obvious mockingbirds in the novel are Boo Radley and Tom Robinson. These two characters very much contrast each other, but the way they are treated by other persons in the book gives them a mutual bond. Both of these characters had to pay for their actions with their lives - Boo Radley being deprived of friendship and the outside world by his own family, and Tom Radley being convicted of a crime he did not commit, which ultimately lead to his death. Boo Radley, otherwise known as Arthur Radley, is described by Jem as a monster-type figure: "Boo was about six-and-a-half feet tall, judging from his tracks; he dined on raw squirrels and any cats he could catch, that's why his hands were blood-stained - if you ate an animal raw, you could never wash the blood off. There was a long jagged scar that ran across his face; what teeth he had were yellow and rotten; his eyes popped, and he drooled most of the time." (p.19) We know that this is not what Boo Radley really looks like, and Jem is giving this description to Scout so as to tease her. Being as young as she is, she believes this portrayal of Boo. However, though Jem is only having a laugh, this shows us what sort of image of Boo the children grew up with. The title could be connected with this because the children are mocking Boo's life and making fun of it. I also think that the following words from Jem are important: '" I think I'm beginning to understand why Boo Radley's stayed shut up in

Customer Perception Towards Branded Carbonated Drinks

STUDY OF CUSTOMER BEHAVIOR AND ATTITUDE TOWARDS BRANDED CARBONATED DRINKS Submitted by : Hari Baboo CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION Beverage Industry in India: A Brief Insight In India, beverages form an important part of the lives of people. It is an industry, in which the players constantly innovate, in order to come up with better products to gain more consumers and satisfy the existing consumers. FIGURE 1: BEVERAGE INDUSTRY IN INDIA The beverage industry is vast and there various ways of segmenting it, so as to cater the right product to the right person. The different ways of segmenting it are as follows: * Alcoholic, non-alcoholic and sports beverages * Natural and Synthetic beverages * In-home consumption and out of home on premises consumption. * Age wise segmentation i. e. beverages for kids, for adults and for senior citizens * Segmentation based on the amount of consumption i. e. high levels of consumption and low levels of consumption. If the behavioral patterns of consumers in India are closely noticed, it could be observed that consumers perceive beverages in two different ways i. e. everages are a luxury and that beverages have to be consumed occasionally. These two perceptions are the biggest challenges faced by the beverage industry. In order to leverage the beverage industry, it is important to address this issue so as to encourage regular consumption as well as and to make the industry more affordable. Four strong strategic elements to increase consumption of the products of the beverage industry in India are: * The qua lity and the consistency of beverages needs to be enhanced so that consumers are satisfied and they enjoy consuming beverages. The credibility and trust needs to be built so that there is a very strong and safe feeling that the consumers have while consuming the beverages. * Consumer education is a must to bring out benefits of beverage consumption whether in terms of health, taste, relaxation, stimulation, refreshment, well-being or prestige relevant to the category. * Communication should be relevant and trendy so that consumers are able to find an appeal to go out, purchase and consume. The beverage market has still to achieve greater penetration and also a wider spread of distribution. It is important to look at the entire beverage market, as a big opportunity, for brand and sales growth in turn to add up to the overall growth of the food and beverage industry in the economy. The Carbonated Drinks Industry In India; A Perspective The Rs. 17000 crore market of carbonated drinks industry in India looked really bad just after the â€Å"Pesticide† controversy last year. But some cool promotions and quick reactions by cola companies have handled the crisis satisfactorily. The controversy has thought the industry few lesson or so and in the process consumer and the economy also benefited. â€Å"Colas, contributing more than 50 per cent to fizzy drink sales, saw a huge slide after the pesticide controversy, but are believed to be making a come back. Thanks to increased advertisement spends which is over 20 per cent higher than last year. There is some good news on the non-cola segment. The lime and lemon segments with brands like sprite and 7up have registered a 30 to 40 per cent growth, although on a smaller base. Nevertheless, the battle between two cola giants, Coke & Pepsi, did not go any slow. Rather it has become fiercer. They are now fighting each other even at the local level. That too the trend is as old as start of this millennium. The present scenario of the carbonated drinks market is behaving the way it has all to do with a duopoly situation. A duopoly is a competitive situation where there are two competitors, normally of roughly equal si ze. Although in every place they have local competitors and there is a huge unorganized flavoured water market. Yet again, packaged water is also a competitor to the cola brands and in this category neither of the two cola companies are market leaders. However, as far as the carbonated drinks are concerned there are only two brands, Coke and Pepsi. Therefore, we can safely say that this condition does qualify to be a near duopoly situation and thus there is such intense competition. Unless, the two parties in a duopoly collaborate with each other, which is certainly not the case in the cola market worldwide or in India, this battle is not going to slow down even a bit! Rather, it would grow stronger with every passing day. In a situation like this it is very interesting to observe marketing strategies in general and Product & Pricing strategies in specific of the players, merely because the action of one player is bound to invite similar reaction from the other. As if, the third law of Newton, that ? every action has an equal and opposite reaction? , can‘t fit better in any other situation! In a duopoly like situation, as far as cola industry in India is concerned, it can be said that it is foolish to cut prices unless, one of the two parties has a much lower cost base. But that is not the case in India. In fact, both the companies, Coke and Pepsi, invest heavily in advertising and in distribution through their franchise as well as their own systems. However, a great deal of attention is paid by both companies to cost, particularly in the development of a tightly effective supply chain system in which economies are squeezed out and, wherever possible both overheads and working capital are controlled. Therefore, it is extremely difficult to for both the parties to play with the prices. Rather, it is counter-productive exercise, as when prices are reduced in a particular area by one of the cola brands, the second must follow. If we look into the history of pricing of these two particular players of the carbonated drinks industry, we will see that the first major initiative in the price front took place some years ago when the brand Coca-Cola came back to India. At that point of time colas were available only in 200 ml bottles. Coca-Cola, in it‘s come back trail, broke the tradition by launching Cola in the 300 ml size bottles but at the same price as Pepsi, which was then in a 200 ml bottle. With this strategy, Coke expected to gain advantage in the market especially in India, which is traditionally a highly price sensitive market. However, Pepsi, as being a fierce competitor was prepared for it and soon launched its colas in the 300 ml sizes. Thereby, in India, it was the 300 ml bottle which became the standard in most parts of the country, making the price a parity issue between the two brands. Then, a few years ago, one litre and 1. 5 litre non-returnable PET bottles at a discount in comparison to, a 300 ml returnable glass bottle, the traditional packaging in this product category, was launched by Pepsi. It was a successful move resulting in significant increase in the consumption level especially amongst the loyal consumers in the urban areas. And part of the rule of the game, Coke followed Pepsi in the above move in order to reduce the cost per glass to the consumer. Then came the days of a 500 ml non-returnable PET bottle which was advertised almost totally on the cost of the consumer per 100 ml of cola! Nevertheless, the great advantage that the PET bottles provided is that they have increased home consumption level which was not of much significance compared to out of home consumption till then. And in very recent times the Coke did a u-turn that is price cuts. The latest move of reducing price to the consumer is the very opposite of what has been happening to-date. It has now re-launched a 200 ml bottle at a unit price of approximately 2/3rd of the 300 ml price, thus making retail purchase look cheaper. This strategy was meant to fight consumption pattern of smaller towns and rural areas where two people share a 300 ml bottle. Importantly, by making the bottle smaller it has only reduced unit price without affecting the trade margin. It has been reported that Pepsi has been cutting the price of its 300 ml bottle in some places, until an inventory of 200 ml bottles was built, as an answer to the Coke‘s strike. However, this act of Pepsi might boomerang as there is a strong probability of having some negative effect on the supply chain and other inventory cost in the long run. Competitive Arena The soft drink market all over the world has been witnessing a neck to neck battle between the two major players, Coca-Cola and Pepsi since the very beginning. The thirst quenchers are trying hard to have the major chunk of the pie of carbonated soft drink market. Both the players are spending their energies in building capacity, infrastructure, promotional activities etc. Coca-Cola being 11 years older than Pepsi has dominated the scene in most of the soft drink markets in the world and enjoying leadership in terms of market share. But the Coca-Cola people are finding it hard to keep away Pepsi, which has been narrowing the gaps regularly. The two are posing threats to each other in every nook and corner of the world. While Coca-Cola has been earning most of its bread and butter through beverage sales, Pepsi has a multi products portfolio with some portion from the same business. Aims/Objective In this research we are making an attempt to study which carbonated drink is preferred by consumers around Manipal, and do they take into account factors such as price, brand, taste etc while purchasing a carbonated drink. * Consumer perception towards Carbonated drinks. * To understand buying behavior of consumers. * To recommend for future course of action. CHAPTER 2:RESEARCH DESIGN Research Design: Descriptive research- also known as statistical research, describes data and characteristics about the population. Descriptive research answers the questions who, what, where, when and how. COLLECTION OF DATA 1. Primary data : Based on questionnaire, will be distributed among consumers & direct interview will be taken, to collect the data. 2. Secondary data : Collected from articles, magazines, newspaper research reports and internet. 3. Sampling: Stratified sampling technique will be considered. A sample size of 200 consumers will be selected from Manipal to study. The process of grouping members of the population into relatively homogeneous subgroups before sampling. Proportionate allocation uses a sampling fraction in each of the strata that is proportional to that of the total population. If the population consists of 60% in the male stratum and 40% in the female stratum, then the relative size of the two samples (three males, two females) should reflect this proportion. SAMPLE SIZE This refers to the number of element to be selected from the universe to contribute a sample. The sample should be optimum i. e. it should fulfill all the requirement of efficiency, respectiveness, reliability and flexibility pertaining to the research conducted. It is generally denoted by ‘n’. It can be calculated using the formula:- n = z / e? in case of Infinite population. Where, n=sample size ?=Standard deviation e=error Many a times, the standard deviation of population is not known and sample is not yet taken, rough estimate of the population will given by, Range of Population Distribution 6 Here range is the difference between highest and lowest score. In this case, range = 5-1 =4 Therefore standard deviation, For 95% confidence level, from normal distribution table, z=1. 96 Error, e=0. 1 Substituting these values in the above equation , we get, n= (1. 96 0. 67? )/(0. 1? ) Sample size, n=172. 44 Taking sample size as 200. Random sampling is undertaken for selecting sample from the population SAMPLING ERROR: In any study involving the sampling process, there would normally be a certain amount of inaccuracy in the data collected. This inaccuracy is termed as ‘Sampling Error’. In other words, sampling errors are those errors which arise on account of sampling. Limitations of the Study 1. Some of the respondents refused to fill the questionnaires. 2. The responses may vary as some people did not want to come up with real answers. 3. The people were busy in their own work so they might not have given actual responses. . Limitation of time. 5. The survey is conducted only in few areas of Manipal; hence the results may vary in other parts of the cities. 6. Small sample size. 7. And like any other research the limitation of personal bias of respondents limits the scope of the study. 8. The findings are based on the survey conducted in the month of feb; the results may vary in other months. CHAPTE R 3. DATA REPRESENTATION AND ANALYSIS 3. 1 DEMOGRAPHIC FACTOR Gender of respondents Frequency table: GENDER | Frequency| Percent| Valid Percent| Cumulative Percent| Valid| male| 106| 53. | 53. 0| 53. 0| | female| 94| 47. 0| 47. 0| 100. 0| | Total| 200| 100. 0| 100. 0| | Inference The above pie chart depicts the distribution of the total sample that we had undertaken in our study. We observe here that most of the respondents are male than female. Male respondents are 106 out of 200 respondents whereas females are 94 out of 200. Age of respondents Frequency table AGE | Frequency| Percent| Valid Percent| Cumulative Percent| Valid| 0-15| 68| 34. 0| 34. 0| 34. 0| | 16-25| 56| 28. 0| 28. 0| 62. 0| | 26-35| 44| 22. 0| 22. 0| 84. 0| | 36-45| 26| 13. | 13. 0| 97. 0| | 46-70| 6| 3. 0| 3. 0| 100. 0| | Total| 200| 100. 0| 100. 0| | As per respondents, age group of 0-15 people with the frequency of 68 out of 200, 16-25 group people are around 56 , 26-35 are 44 people , 36-45 are 26 people respec tively. 3. 2 PROFESSIONAL FACTOR Frequency table WORK| | | | | | | | | Frequency| Percent| Valid Percent| Cumulative Percent| Valid| professional| 26| 13| 13| 13| | | businessman| 18| 9| 9| 22| | | service| 52| 26| 26| 48| | | student| 98| 49| 49| 97| | | others| 6| 3| 3| 100| | | Total| 200| 100| 100| | | Inference As per respondents the student respondent are 98 out of200while service people were around 52 out of 200 ,professional people are around 26 ,businessman people are around 18 whereas 6 of them are in others category. 3. 3 CARBONATED DRINKS Frequency table COLA | Frequency| Percent| Valid Percent| Cumulative Percent| Valid| coca cola| 36| 18. 0| 18. 0| 18. 0| | pepsi| 34| 17. 0| 17. 0| 35. 0| | thumbs up| 52| 26. 0| 26. 0| 61. 0| | 7up| 24| 12. 0| 12. 0| 73. 0| | sprite| 22| 11. 0| 11. 0| 84. 0| | mazza| 16| 8. 0| 8. 0| 92. 0| | fanta| 16| 8. 0| 8. 0| 100. 0| | Total| 200| 100. 0| 100. 0| | | | | | | | | | | | | As per respondents, 52 people out of 200 likes thumbs up, while people loves to drink coca cola , pepsi, 7up, mazza, fanta 36,34,24,22,16,16 respectively Gender vs. age GENDER * AGE Cross tabulation| | | | | | | | | AGE| | | | | Total| | | | 0-15| 16-25| 26-35| 36-45| 46-70| | GENDER| male| Count| 34| 30| 25| 14| 3| 106| | | Expected Count| 36. 04| 29. 68| 23. 32| 13. 78| 3. 18 | 106| | female| Count| 34| 26| 19| 12| 3| 94| | | Expected Count| 31. 96| 26. 32| 20. 68| 12. 22| 2. 82| 94| Total| | Count| 68| 56| 44| 26| 6| 200| | | Expected Count| 68| 56| 44| 26| 6| 200| | | | | | | | | From the respondents, in the age group of 0-15 have 34 males and females respondent respectively. While 16-25 age group have 30 males and 26 females’ respondent respectively. While 26-35 age group have 30 males and 26 females’ respondent respectively. Because they are major consumers of branded carbonated drinkers Gender vs. Occupation GENDER * WORK Cross tabulation| | | | | | | | | WORK| | | | | Total| | | | professional| businessman| service| student| others| | GENDER| male| Count| 20| 12| 23| 47| 4| 106| | | Expected Count| 13. 78| 9. 54| 27. 56| 51. 94| 3. 8| 106| | female| Count| 6| 6| 29| 51| 2| 94| | | Expected Count| 12. 22| 8. 46| 24. 44| 46. 06| 2. 82| 94| Total| | Count| 26| 18| 52| 98| 6| 200| | | Expected Count| 26| 18| 52| 98| 6| 200| As per respond ents, male generally who respondent are majorly students and in female also major respondent were student only. While service people are only 23 as male and 29 as female respondent, professional count is 20 in male and 6 at female. In businessman category 12 are male respondent while 6 of them are female. Gender vs. Prefer branded carbonated drinks GENDER * COLA Cross tabulation| | | | | | | | | | COLA| | | | | | | Total| | | | coca cola| pepsi| thumbs up| 7up| sprite| mazza| fanta| | GENDER| Male| Count| 21| 22| 31| 12| 8| 5| 7| 106| | | Expected Count| 19. 08| 18. 02| 27. 56| 12. 72| 11. 66| 8. 48| 8. 48| 106| | female| Count| 15| 12| 21| 12| 14| 11| 9| 94| | | Expected Count| 16. 92| 15. 98| 24. 44| 11. 28| 10. 34| 7. 52| 7. 52| 94| Total| | Count| 36| 34| 52| 24| 22| 16| 16| 200| | | Expected Count| 36| 34| 52| 24| 22| 16| 16| 200| As per respondent male person like thumbs up are around 31 persons while 21 and 22 people like coca cola and Pepsi respectively. In7up category 12 male respondent and in sprite, mazza, fanta 8,5,7 respectively are there. And in female person like thumbs up are around 21 persons while 15 and 12 people like coca cola and Pepsi respectively. In7up category 12 female respondent and in sprite, mazza, fanta 14,11,9 respectively are there. Gender vs. Effect of advertisement GENDER * ATTRACT Cross tabulation| | | | | | | | | ATTRACT| | | | | Total| | | | creativity| Effect of brand ambassador| idea| frequency| logical| | GENDER| male| Count| 29| 25| 14| 28| 10| 106| | | Expected Count| 25. 4| 26. 5| 11. 66| 26. 5| 15. 9| 106| | female| Count| 19| 25| 8| 22| 20| 94| | | Expected Count| 22. 56| 23. 5| 10. 34| 23. 5| 14. 1| 94| Total| | Count| 48| 50| 22| 50| 30| 200| | | Expected Count| 48| 50| 22| 50| 30| 200| As per respondents, advertisement is mode of marketing where frequency of ads, creativity and effect of brand ambassador for male respondent are 28,29and 25 respectively. While in female has effect of brand ambas sador, frequency of ads and logic of ads are 25, 22 and 19 respectively. Age vs. Preferred branded carbonated drinks AGE * COLA Cross tabulation| | | | | | | | | | | | COLA| | | | | | | Total| | | | coca cola| Pepsi| thumbs up| 7up| sprite| mazza| fanta| | AGE| 0-15| Count| 13| 12| 15| 13| 5| 5| 5| 68| | | Expected Count| 12. 24| 11. 56| 17. 68| 8. 16| 7. 48| 5. 44| 5. 44| 68| | 16-25| Count| 8| 11| 9| 8| 7| 7| 6| 56| | | Expected Count| 10. 08| 9. 52| 14. 56| 6. 72| 6. 16| 4. 48| 4. 48| 56| | 26-35| Count| 11| 7| 15| 2| 5| 1| 3| 44| | | Expected Count| 7. 92| 7. 48| 11. 44| 5. 28| 4. 84| 3. 52| 3. 52| 44| | 36-45| Count| 4| 3| 12| 0| 4| 2| 1| 26| | | Expected Count| 4. 8| 4. 42| 6. 76| 3. 12| 2. 86| 2. 08| 2. 08| 26| | 46-70| Count| 0| 1| 1| 1| 1| 1| 1| 6| | | Expected Count| 1. 08| 1. 02| 1. 56| 0. 72| 0. 66| 0. 48| 0. 48| 6| Total| | Count| 36| 34| 52| 24| 22| 16| 16| 200| | | Expected Count| 36| 34| 52| 24| 22| 16| 16| 200| As per respondents, 0-15 age group does show that much of variation and as same at other age groups. While the age group of 16-25 show much variation than 46-70 age group pe ople. Age vs. Reason of purchase AGE * LIKE Cross tabulation| | | | | | | | | | | LIKE| | | | | | | Total| | | brand name| taste| easy avail| packaging| price| Effect of brand ambassador| others| | AGE| 0-15| Count| 16| 16| 9| 10| 11| 6| 0| 68| | | Expected Count| 13. 6| 17| 10. 88| 6. 8| 13. 6| 5. 44| 0. 68| 68| | 16-25| Count| 9| 14| 9| 4| 15| 3| 2| 56| | | Expected Count| 11. 2| 14| 8. 96| 5. 6| 11. 2| 4. 48| 0. 56| 56| | 26-35| Count| 10| 8| 11| 2| 10| 3| 0| 44| | | Expected Count| 8. 8| 11| 7. 04| 4. 4| 8. 8| 3. 52| 0. 44| 44| | 36-45| Count| 5| 8| 2| 4| 4| 3| 0| 26| | | Expected Count| 5. 2| 6. 5| 4. 16| 2. 6| 5. 2| 2. 08| 0. 26| 26| | 46-70| Count| 0| 4| 1| 0| 0| 1| 0| 6| | Expected Count| 1. 2| 1. 5| 0. 96| 0. 6| 1. 2| 0. 48| 0. 06| 6| Total| | Count| 40| 50| 32| 20| 40| 16| 2| 200| | | Expected Count| 40| 50| 32| 20| 40| 16| 2| 200| As per respondent, 0-15 age groups reasons for purchases of branded carbonated drinks are basically on brand name and taste. While age group 16 -25 group people think price and brand name is the important factor in selection of drink. Other age group thinks taste as one of the factor and as well as brand name, prices are important factor. Null hypothesis: ho: Is taste dependent on the selection of branded carbonated drinks? The results are as shown below with the help of table and graphical representation. COLA * TASTE Cross tabulation | | TASTE| Total| | | very important| important| not important| not at all important| | COLA| coca cola| Count| 5| 19| 7| 5| 36| | | Expected Count| 8. 1| 17. 6| 7. 7| 2. 5| 36. 0| | Pepsi| Count| 15| 8| 9| 2| 34| | | Expected Count| 7. 7| 16. 7| 7. 3| 2. 4| 34. 0| | thumbs up| Count| 5| 33| 10| 4| 52| | | Expected Count| 11. 7| 25. 5| 11. 2| 3. 6| 52. 0| | 7up| Count| 9| 8| 6| 1| 24| | | Expected Count| 5. 4| 11. 8| 5. 2| 1. 7| 24. 0| | Sprite| Count| 5| 13| 4| 0| 22| | Expected Count| 5. 0| 10. 8| 4. 7| 1. 5| 22. 0| | Mazza| Count| 3| 8| 5| 0| 16| | | Expected Count| 3. 6| 7. 8| 3. 4| 1. 1| 16. 0| | Fanta| Count| 3| 9| 2| 2| 16| | | Expected Count| 3. 6| 7. 8| 3. 4| 1. 1| 16. 0| Total| Count| 45| 98| 43| 14| 200| | Expected Count| 45. 0| 98. 0| 43. 0| 14. 0| 200. 0| We can observe here that the respondents takes as taste as important in selection of carbonated drinks. A s taste is one of factor which influence in the selection of carbonated drinks Chi-Square Test | Value| df| Asymp. Sig. (2-sided)| Pearson Chi-Square| 31. 655(a)| 18| . 024| Likelihood Ratio| 33. 984| 18| . 013| N of Valid Cases| 200| | | a 13 cells (46. 4%) have expected count less than 5. The minimum expected count is 1. 12. INTERPRETATION: Since the calculated value 0. 024 is less than 0. 05, we reject the null hypothesis and conclude saying that the taste is dependent on the selection of carbonated drinks. Null hypothesis: ho: Are carbonated drinks only popular among the youth? AGE * COLA Cross tabulation Count | COLA| Total| | coca cola| pepsi| thumbs up| 7up| sprite| mazza| fanta| | AGE| 0-15| 13| 12| 15| 13| 5| 5| 5| 68| | 16-25| 8| 11| 9| 8| 7| 7| 6| 56| 26-35| 11| 7| 15| 2| 5| 1| 3| 44| | 36-45| 4| 3| 12| 0| 4| 2| 1| 26| | 46-70| 0| 1| 1| 1| 1| 1| 1| 6| Total| 36| 34| 52| 24| 22| 16| 16| 200| As per respondents, age group 0-15 are 68 respondent where they like coca cola, Pepsi, thumbs up,7up 13,12,15,13 respectively. Age group 16-25 are 56 respondent where they like coca cola, Pepsi, thumbs up,7up 8,11,9,8 respectively. Age group 26-35 are 44 re spondent where they like coca cola, Pepsi, thumbs up,7up 11,7,15,2 respectively. We can observe here that the respondents age factor affect importantly in selection of carbonated drinks. As taste is one of factor which influence in the selection of carbonated drinks Chi-Square Tests | Value| df| Asymp. Sig. (2-sided)| Pearson Chi-Square| 27. 016(a)| 24| . 304| Likelihood Ratio| 31. 222| 24| . 147| N of Valid Cases| 200| | | a 18 cells (51. 4%) have expected count less than 5. The minimum expected count is . 48 . INTERPRETATION: Since the calculated value 0. 304 is higher than 0. 05, we accept the null hypothesis and conclude saying that the age is interdependent on the selection of carbonated drinks. So, carbonated drinks are popular among the youth. Null hypothesis: HO: Is advertisement a major factor in the selection of the brand of carbonated drinks? COLA * LIKE Cross tabulation| | | | | | | | Count | | | | | | | | | | | | LIKE| | | | | | | Total| | | brand name| taste| easy avail| packaging| price| Effect of brand ambassador| others| | COLA| coca cola| 11| 7| 4| 3| 9| 1| 1| 36| | pepsi| 7| 10| 3| 3| 8| 3| 0| 34| | thumbs up| 10| 11| 9| 4| 13| 5| 0| 52| | 7up| 5| 9| 5| 3| 1| 1| 0| 24| | sprite| 1| 6| 6| 4| 2| 2| 1| 22| | mazza| 3| 4| 4| 2| 2| 1| 0| 16| | fanta| 3| 3| 1| 1| 5| 3| 0| 16| Total| | 40| 50| 32| 20| 40| 16| 2| 200| We can observe here that the respondents advertisement affects importantly in selection of carbonated drinks. As advertisement is one of factor which influence in the selection of carbonated drinks Chi-Square Tests | Value| df| Asymp. Sig. (2-sided)| Pearson Chi-Square| 32. 104(a)| 36| . 654| Likelihood Ratio| 33. 992| 36| . 564| N of Valid Cases| 200| | | a 34 cells (69. 4%) have expected count less than 5. The minimum expected count is . 16. INTERPRETATION: Since the calculated value 0. 654 is higher than 0. 5, we accept the null hypothesis and conclude saying that the advertisements are interdependent on the selection of carbonated drinks. So, advertisement affects in the selection of branded carbonated drinks. Null hypothesis: HO: Does occupation has a role in selecting the Carbonated drink? WORK * COLA Cross tabulation| | | | | | | | Count | | | | | | | | | | | | COLA| | | | | | | Total| | | coca cola| pepsi| thumbs up| 7up| sprite| mazza | fanta| | WORK| Professional| 5| 4| 7| 2| 3| 2| 3| 26| | Businessman| 6| 12| 0| 0| 0| 0| 0| 18| | Service| 11| 8| 14| 14| 4| 1| 0| 52| Student| 14| 9| 30| 7| 14| 12| 12| 98| | Others| 0| 1| 1| 1| 1| 1| 1| 6| Total| | 36| 34| 52| 24| 22| 16| 16| 200| As per respondent, 30 student select thumbs up as their favorite drink , in businessman category nobody likes other drink rather than coke and pepsi. While in other occupation doesn’t have any definite favorite drinks. Chi-Square Tests | Value| df| Asymp. Sig. (2-sided)| Pearson Chi-Square| 73. 241(a)| 24| . 000| Likelihood Ratio| 77. 160| 24| . 000| N of Valid Cases| 200| | | a 22 cells (62. 9%) have expected count less than 5. The minimum expected count is . 48. INTERPRETATION: Since the calculated value 0. 000 is lower than 0. 05, we reject the null hypothesis and conclude saying that the occupation are dependent on the selection of carbonated drinks. So, occupation does not affect in the selection of branded carbonated drinks. CHAPTER 4: FINDINGS AND CONCLUSION Findings 1. Maximum number of people surveyed is below 15 years because they are major consumers. 2. Out of 200 people 13%are professionals, 9% are businessman, 26% are serviceman, and 49% are students. 3. Out of 200 respondents, 97% of consumers buy cold drinks and only 3% of them do not buy. 4. 9% respondents prefer coke, 18% prefer Pepsi, 12% 7up, 11 % of them prefer Sprite, 9% Fanta, and 23% prefer Thumbs-up. 5. 25% people purchase cold drinks because of taste, 20% people purchase cold drinks because of brand name, 20% people purchase cold drinks because of packaging, 15% people purchase cold drinks because of price, 11% people purchase cold drinks because of brand ambassador, 8 % people purchase cold drinks because of easy availability & 1% people purchase cold drinks because of any other reason. 6. Out of 200 consumers 98% have seen the advertisement and only 2% have not seen the advertisement of any brands. 7. 3% people remember the advertisement of coke, 23% people remember the advertisement of Pepsi, 1% people remember the advertisement of 7up, 6% people remember the advertisement of sprite, 4% people remember the advertisement of Fanta, and 23% people remember the advertisement of Thumbs-up. 8. 24% people remember the advertisement because of creativity, 25% people remember the advertisement because of brand ambassador, 11% people remember the advertisement because of their idea of delivering the message, 25% people remember the advertisement because of frequency of ads, and 15% people remember the advertisement because of logical reason. Conclusion From the analysis of the data collected and from the experiences we have reached the following conclusions: * COKE is most popular amongst its users mainly because of its TASTE, BRAND NAME. Thus it should focus on good taste so that it can capture the major part of the market. But most of the consumers prefer THUMSUP as their 1st preference, then COKE. * We come to the conclusion that visibility affects the sales of project in a very special way. And in terms of the advertisements lays is lacking behind mostly consumers remember the advertisement because of the frequency of add and brand ambassadors, creativity. After acquiring a new customer, there is lot of importance of its retention also. This can be done only by providing extra flavors and good taste. * In today’s scenario, customer is the king because he has got various choices around him. If you are not capable of providing him the desired result he will definitely switch over to the other provider. Therefore to survive in this cutthroat competition, you need to be the best. Customer is no more loyal in today’s scenario, so you need to be always on your toes. We feel that there is cut-throat competition between COKE,PEPSI,THUMSUP so to be on top of mind of the customers they need to do something outstanding every time. CHAPTER 5:ANNEXURE QUESTIONNAIRE Dear Sir/Madam, This questionnaire has been prepared with a view to make a STUDY OF CUSTOMER BEHAVIOR AND ATTITUDE TOWARDS BRANDED CARBONATED DRINKS . The information will be strictly used for educational purpose only by the students of Manipal Institute of Management (Manipal University) . we would be grateful if you could spare some time in filling up this questionnaire. ) NAME : 2) AGE :a)0-15 b) 15-20 c) 21-35 d) 36-45 e) 46-70 3) Gender : M F 4) Occupation : Professional Businessman Service Student Other 5) Do you drink soft drinks: Yes No 6) If yes which soft drink Brand: Coke Pepsi 7) If No why so?†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. 8) Which carbonated drink do you prefer most: Coke Pepsi 7Up Mountain Dew Thumbs Up Sprite Fanta 9) Which packa ge do u prefer most: Pet Bottle Glass Bottle 10) About Carbonated drink what do you like the most: Brand name Taste Easy availability Packaging Price Brand ambassador Any other†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ 11) What is the importance of taste in a carbonated drink? (Please rate them from 1- 4) 1=>Very Important 2=>Important 3=>Not important 4=>Not at all important 12) Have you seen any advertisements of carbonated drinks: Yes NO 13) Advertisement of which carbonated drinks do you remember the most : Coke Pepsi 7Up Thumbs Up Sprite Mountain dew Fanta 14) What attracted you in the advertisement? (PLEASE RATE THEM from 1-4) Creativity Brand ambassador Idea of delivering the message Frequency of add Logical reason 15) What is your opinion of the brand? Excellent Good Fair Poor 16) What is your monthly consumption? 17) Any suggestions? ____________________________________________________________ __ CHAPTER 6 : BIBILOGRAPHY (i) Research methodology by C. R. Kotari (ii) Websites: www. cocacola. com www. pepsi. com www. wikipedia. com (iii) Doing Quantitative Research in Education with SPSS by Daniel Muijs.

Bill Of Life Essay

What is your life worth? Imagine a time to come in which those who are pro-life and those who are pro-choice concur fought a second elegant war over the sanctity of life. They dismiss the war by compromising on a Bill of Life that states solely pregnancies must come to term however, parents and guardians have the right when their child is between the ages of bakers dozen and eighteen to abort them. The child does non die though. Each and e genuinely eccentric of the child is kept alive hence they are technically soundless alive, on the dot in separate pieces. This process is cognize as unwinding. Once the unwind fix up is signed, no changes can be make even if the parent changes their oral sex, it is irreversible. Connor discovers his own unwinding put to nominateher after investigating tickets he finds, tickets to the Bahamas for everyone in his family, except for him. Connor is a good teen, only if like many teens, his emotions can get the better of him and his pare nts have a unmanageable time controlling him. Risa is a cover of the state of Ohio and the orphanage is overcrowded. She tries to convince the master of her worth, but bungles her chance when she makes five mistakes at her piano recital.Lev rejoices in his destiny at a party solely employ to celebrating him and his life. Levs family is extremely devoted to their devotion Lev, as the tenth child in his family, is destined to be a benignant tithe, a human sacrifice. Lev enjoys the attention this brings and is quick to fulfill his destiny. These three teenagers meet when Connor decides to go AWOL and escape his unwinding order. The bulk develops by dint of their, and others, alternating viewpoints of what happens to a teenager once the order is signed. Connor, Risa, and Levs journey to their future follows their growing recognition of what their life intend to them. Shusterman teases the contributor with just enough study to keep going, but continues to build this sad vie w of the future as the plot line develops.Mysterious references to clappers and storked babies are explained more(prenominal) fully later in the book and these people round out the unsettling forces at work in this troubled society. This very thought-provoking book would not leave my mind for days, or truthfully weeks, after reading material it. This book has made the rounds of the early days services division and one of my co-workers still gives me grief over the books weeks after reading it. Not for the faint-hearted, especially as the reader learns more about the unwinding process, this disturbing novel will pluck at your mind and have you wondering what your life is worth.

Labor and Employment Laws Essay

Human resource departments atomic number 18 responsible for returnively, legally, fairly, and consistently attempting to maximize an formations return on its military man capital investment while minimizing fiscal risk. This is why labor honors and courteous consummations be sendd in the prune place and opposite felicities to insure the well consummate of others atomic number 18 without risk and effective(WGU).Analysis of smirch AIn every government boardncy all bases need to be cover and all information gathered originally whatever request is finalized. It is necessary to put in whether the employee dependant for the leave and whether the terms as stipulated under the Family and Medical Leave bite of 1993 (FMLA) were actually met. The coiffure requires that for wholeness to gain ground from the leave he or she mustiness beget worked with the employer for more than 12 months. Employee A had worked for 2 old mature and it faecal matter be deduced that he had successfully completed at least 1250 hours at the work place. The rule of the police is to make it possible for unmatched to accomplish his professional pledges and individualal ones without having to hold one at the expense of a nonher. The ten adequate to(p)ness for the leave must be for the bursting charge of a family member who has a dangerous health condition or ones own health condition. Employee A asked for the leave to take safeguard of his married woman who had prematurely given birth to twins.In fact, this is one of the causations listed in the FMLA for this type of leave. It is not difficult to discern that this is a beneficial medical condition which requires continuous care of the patient. Therefore, employee A should not be subjected to any victimization upon his request of leave. Focusing on the distance of the leave, an employee is entitled to up to 12 weeks of this type of leave, so long as the right paperwork is provided. Employee A had been out f or 11 weeks, hence, was still within the statutory limit of 12 weeks. Since the issue of paper work is not a concern under this shoes, I have confidence that he supplied all the necessary archiveation.The employee must be reinstated to the same position he held in advance the leave, so long as hestill is able to perform the substantial function of the job. Employee A was still able to perform the functions of the job. Hence, he was reinstated to his former position. On the issue of hire during the leave, the Act does not require employers to pay the employees during the leave solely any arrangement to the contrary must, however, be respected. Since, there was no agreement to this effect with the employer the manager is under no obligation to pay the withheld remuneration for the 11 weeks. The new manager in withholding the salary did not breach any law and this decision cannot be properly utter to be discriminatory laws, in this theme FMLA (Lau & Lisa, 2013).Analysis of berth B ordinary laws of Human Rights are captured in the U.S. constitution. The Civil Rights are contained in the Civil Rights Act of 1964. The special(prenominal)s of employment law are contained in various federal statutes that address specific issues in employment law. The employment law to be considered in the current spotlight is the Age Discrimination in physical exercise Act of 1967 (ADEA). The brief statement of the facts regarding employee B is that he was 68 years of age and had served social club X for 42 years and was assessed to be to a higher place average on his instruction execution. He was allegedly not promoted because of his age with the company preferring a younger employee of 32 years who received a performance review of adequate. First of all, Company X is bound by the Act, since it had 75 employees which is demeanor supra the minimum requirement of 20 employees.As such, Company X in hiring, promoting or firing its employees must pay due regard to the r equirements of the Act. Secondly, employee B is shortly 68 years old, meaning that he is protected by the Act which states that it protects workers above the age of 40. If the assessment of both employees revealed that the sometime(a) one was still performing conk out than the younger one then it would be hard to find a material reason for the promotion of the younger employee. Additionally, the situation does not fall under the riddance of Bona Fide Occupational Qualification (BFOQ) stipulated in the Act. on a lower floor this exception, a younger employee can be preferred to an older one if it is objectively established and to some extent unambiguous that the job cannot be effectively performed by the older employee. In view of the foregoing, I rest upon the conclusionthat there was contrariety on the basis of age in selection of the younger employee for the promotion at the expense of employee B. The fact that the employee was not asked to point out an ADEA waiver or any d ocument to the effect confirms my position. Age was the however for reason for lack of promotion of the employee (Lau & Lisa, 2013).Analysis of Situation CThe only purpose that Company X gave for ill luck to hire employee C was that such a move would have been costly to the company. Therefore, I would assume that the employee was qualified for the job as the applicable statue (Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990) applies to qualified but change persons. Consequently, it cannot be doubted that employee C was qualified for the job. Secondly, the Act gives considerations of whether the disabled person can perform the subjectives of the job. low this test it would be understandable when a company fails to hire a finesse person as a driver. This is unsufferable since such a person cannot perform the essential functions of the job. Accordingly, the Act in any case permits the failure to hire a disabled person if it will require reasonable adaptation in order to perform the jo b.The essential function of the job would be inharmonious with employee Cs situation and as such the level of accommodation required was too high. Company Xs decision not to hire employee C does not amount to discrimination but an instance of genuine distinction. The adjustments needed to take hold employee C would be too a good deal and, therefore, the decision not to hire him is not discriminatory against him. As a result, employees are more protected since they are the breakable parties in the employment contract bargain. This is because employees can be exploited by ill-intentioned employers. As such employment laws together with other human rights laws take care of employees. The laws also protect the interests of employers by lining the duration of certain leaves, qualifications for some benefits as discussed above and hiring of employees on the basis of merit and not any other considerations. (Lau & Lisa, 2013).Work Cited scalawag1.Lau T.S. & Lisa J.A. (2013) The Legal a nd Ethical Environment of Business. new(a) York Flat World Knowledge Inc.