Solutions to the 21st Century Energy Issues Essay

Solutions to the 21st Century Energy Issues - Essay Example concerns, it may prove undesirable to use only fossil fuels to meet the ever-growing demands for energy. Moreover, reserves of natural gas and oil are limited. As ther reserves are localized in certain geographical areas, this might lead to conflicts and wars between countries. It is therefore of utmost importance to expand the contribution of alternatives to fossil fuel combustion during the next decades. With scientists issuing warnings that deposits of fossil fuels will not last us beyond another century, it is time we woke up and took note of this crisis. Conventional forms of fuel like coal and petroleum will be exhausted in a few decades' time. These are not renewable and need certain climatic conditions and several years to be formed again. Solar energy is a source of power that uses energy from the sun. The term solar energy is used more specifically to describe the utilization of this energy through human endeavor. It is a renewable energy source that has been used in many traditional technologies for centuries. It is also in widespread use where other power supplies are absent, such as in remote locations and in space. The primary forms of solar energy are heat and light. Secondary forms and effects include photosynthesis, wind, the Gulf Stream, the hydrologic cycle, fossil fuels and electricity1. The total solar energy available to the earth is approximately 3850 zettajoules (ZJ) per year (89,000 TW), which is far more than what we need for human consumption. Solar energy is harnessed and stored in the form of solar cells and can be used to heat up rooms, offices, geysers and a lot of other needs of humans. 3.2 Wind Energy Wind power is the conversion of wind energy into more useful forms, such as electricity, using wind turbines. At the end of 2006, worldwide capacity of wind-powered generators was 73.9 gigawatts; although it currently produces just over 1% of world-wide electricity use, it accounts for approximately 20% of electricity use in Denmark, 9% in Spain, and 7% in Germany. Globally, wind power generation more than quadrupled between 2000 and 2006. Most modern wind power is generated in the form of electricity by converting the rotation of turbine blades into electrical current by means of an electrical generator. In windmills (a much older technology), wind energy is used to turn mechanical machinery to do physical work, such as crushing grain or pumping

Discuss the historiography of conmopolitanism in Bombay Essay

Discuss the historiography of conmopolitanism in Bombay - Essay Example Alternatively, another argument put forward is the fact that there are â€Å"a wide variety of alternative cosmopolitan formations†¦.reflected in civil society organisations and lifestyle changes for different groups, and often vividly reflected in film†4. The focus of this paper is to critically evaluate the historiography of cosmopolitanism in Bombay. To this end, it is submitted that the issue of cosmopolitanism in Bombay is intrinsically complex in embodying multifarious and diverse lifestyle â€Å"cosmopolitan formations†5as a result of lifestyle and socio-political changes in India. Additionally, it is submitted that on the one hand, the archetypal Bollywood Film arguably personifies the historiography of cosmopolitanism in Bombay as evidenced by the contrast between depictions of cosmopolitan Bombay in the initial aftermath of Independence and the subsequent cinematic reflections of â€Å"destabilisation of the postcolonial vision of urban national development†6. Accordingly, it is further submitted that to some extent the Indian film acts as a microcosm of the cultural development of Bombay from a historiography perspective and that cosmopolitanism in Bombay is ultimately correlated to social change. However, it is important to highlight the fact that from a socio-cultural perspective, the archetypal Indian film has served an important function in providing escapism to the poorer masses. Therefore, whilst film is clearly an important aspect of considering cosmopolitanism in Bombay, it is ultimately the socio-political backdrop that will influence the continuing evolution of cosmopolitanism. This is further evidenced if we consider the fact in postcolonial India, the initial unification of Indian people during Independence had moved towards an ostensible cosmopolitan Bombay embracing its multicultural population,

Cryptography: Theories, Functions and Strategies

Cryptography: Theories, Functions and Strategies Abstract Digital signing is a mechanism for certifying the origin and the integrity of electronically transmitted information. In the process of digitally signing, additional information called a digital signature is added to the given document, calculated using the contents of the document and some private key. At a later stage, this information can be used to check the origin of the signed document. The mathematical base of the digital signing of documents is public key cryptography. This work presents the theory behind digital signatures, signature schemes and attacks on signatures and provides a survey of application areas of the digital signing technology. Moreover, there are lab exercises developed in Mathlab, to reinforce the understanding of this technology. 1. Introduction The Concise Oxford Dictionary (2006) defines cryptography as the art of writing or solving codes, however modern cryptography does not met this definition. Therefore, this work starts with a literature review defining some key concepts, like what cryptography and cryptographic system are and the different types of cryptographic system are presented. The other interesting and preliminary concept is the notion of cryptosystem functions which are also discussed in the introductory section. Furthermore, it is stated that public-key encryption represents a revolution in the field of cryptography, and this work poses some basic definitions on this topic trying to explain the theory behind. The rest of the literature review is concentrated on public key cryptography and it focuses on the theory behind digital signatures, signature schemes and attacks on signatures. And finally, the literature review presents a survey of application areas on digital signatures. One part of the contribution of this work, is an overview of the secure hash standard (SHS) and implementation of the secure hash algorithm (SHA-1), required for use with digital signature algorithms. The main part though, is the implementation of AES and RSA by utilizing Mathlab. The code of all these implementations is thoroughly discussed and explained in this work. Moreover, a comparison is also presented subsequently. 2. Cryptography The Greek words â€Å"krypt ´os† standing for â€Å"hidden† and the word â€Å"l ´ogos† that means â€Å"word†, are in essence the base from where the word cryptology was derived. As these words denote, cryptology can be best explained by the meaning â€Å"hidden word†. In this context, the original purpose behind cryptology is hiding the meaning of some specific combination of words which in turn would insure secrecy and confidentiality. This is a very limited viewpoint in today’s perspective and a wide range of security applications and issues now come under the term of cryptology (rest of the portion of this section will clarify this point of view). As field of mathematical science, Cryptology includes the study of both cryptanalysis as well as cryptography. On one hand, cryptography is a very broad term and represents any process used for data protection. On the other hand, the study of security related issues and the probabilities of breaking the cryptographic systems and a technique is known as cryptanalysis. By making reference to (Shirey, 2000), the field cryptanalysis can be best described as the â€Å"mathematical science that deals with analysis of a cryptographic system in order to gain knowledge needed to break or circumvent the protection that the system is designed to provide.† In simple words, cryptanalyst can be regarded as the opponent of the cryptographer i.e. he/she has to get around the security which cryptographer devised on his/her part. (Buchmann, 2004) claims that a cryptographic system (or in short a cryptosystem) describes â€Å"a set of cryptographic algorithms together with the key management processes that support use of the algorithms in some application context.† This is a diverse explanation that includes all sorts of cryptographic algorithms as well as protocols. However, hidden parameters like cryptographic keys may or may not be used by a cryptographic system (Delfs, 2007). Similarly, participants of the undergoing communication may or may not share those secret parameters. Thus, cryptographic can be classified into following three types: a cryptographic system in which no secret parameters are employed (called an un-keyed cryptosystem); a cryptosystem which makes use of secret parameters and at the same time shares the parameters between the participants (known as a secret key cryptographic system); and a system that utilizes the secret parameters, but not sharing them with the participants (call ed a public key cryptographic system) (Shirey, 2000; Buchmann, 2004). Cryptography aims at designing and implementing cryptographic systems and utilizing such systems which are secure effectively. The first a formal definition about the term cryptography dates from relatively past time. Back then, the approach known by the name â€Å"security through obscurity† was being used (Dent, 2004). There are a lot of examples based on this approach by which security of the system was improved by keeping internal working and design secret. Majority of those systems do not serve the purpose and security may well be violated. The Kerckhoffs’ principle is a very famous cryptographic principle which states that (Kerckhoffs, 1883): â€Å"Except for parameters clearly defined to be secret, like the cryptographic keys, a cryptosystem must be designed in such a way as to be secure even with the case that the antagonist knows all details about the system†. However, it might be noted that one important aspect is that a cryptosystem is perfectly securing theoretically grounds, but it may not remain the same when implemented practically. Different possibilities of generating attacks on security of such systems can arise while having the practical implementation (Anderson, 1994). Attacks which make use of exploitation of side channel information are the examples of such attacks. If a cryptosystem is executed, it can result in the retrieval of side channel information with unspecified inputs and outputs (Anderson, 1994). In encryption systems, the input is plaintext message plus the key, while the specific output is the cipher text. Thus, there are chances on information leakage. Power consumption, timing characteristics along with the radiation of all types are some examples in this regard. On the other hand, side channel attacks are the types of network attacks which extract side channel information. Since the mid 1990s there were many di fferent possibilities have been found by the researchers in order to build up side channel attacks. A few examples in this regard are the differential power analysis (Bonehl, 1997), and fault analysis (Biham, 1997; Kocher, 1999) as well as the timing attacks (Kocher, 1996). It is a very practical statement that any computation performed on real computer systems represents some physical phenomena which can be examined and analyzed to provide information regarding the keying material being employed. Cryptography does not help to cope with this situation because of the inherent nature of this problem. 2.1 Cryptosystem functions Other than the usual random bit generators as well as the hash functions, there are no secret parameters that are used in cryptosystem functions. These are the junketed functions that characterize the cryptographic system functions. In cryptographic functions, the elements used are usually one-way and it is difficult or almost impossible to invert them. This follows that it is easy to compute a cryptographic function whereas it is hard to invert the functions and also to compute the results of the relationships (Kerckhoffs, 1883). It is difficult to apply any mathematical method for inverting the cryptographic system functions in a way that will be coherent and meaningful. For example, a cryptographic system functions such as F: X → Y is easy to comfortably use mathematical knowledge to compute while it is hard to use the same to invert (Buchmann, 2004; Shirey, 2000). There are many examples of one-way functions that we can use to demonstrate the meaning of the cryptosystems. In a situation where one has stored numbers on the cell phone, computation of the same is possible and easy due to the fact that the names are stored in an alphabetical manner (Garrett, 2001). If one inverts the relationship of these functions, it will be impossible to compute because the numbers are not arranged numerically in the storage phonebook. It is notable that a lot of other things that we do in daily life are comparable to cryptosystem function in the sense that you cannot invert or undo them. For example, if one breaks a glass, the process is one way because it is not possible for these pieces to be restored together again (Goldreich, 2004). Similarly, when one drops something into water, it is not practically possible to reverse the action of dropping this item (Mao, 2003). The English corresponding action would be to un-drop the item as opposed to picking it. Cry ptosystem functions cannot be demonstrated as purely one-way and this is the branching point between cryptosystem functions and the real world of things and circumstances. The only one-way functions in mathematics can be exemplified by discrete exponentiation, modular power and modular square functions. Public key cryptography uses these functions in its operations but it has not been well documented whether they are really one-way or not. There has been debate in practice whether one-way functions really exist in the first place or not (Garrett, 2001). In the recent day cryptographic discussions a lot of care should be applied when referring to the one-way functions so as not to interfere or make false claims to the functional attributes of these parameters. There is a need to look for extra information and knowledge concerning one-way functions so that efficient and meaningful inversions are possible and mathematically coherent. Therefore, functions such as F: X → Y is considered to be a one-way function (Koblitz, 1994; Schneier, 1996). This follows that if F can successfully and coherently inverted, the need for extra information is needed. This will hence bring the notion of the meaning of the other parameters in relation to F. Computer science uses the hash functions in its operations. This is because these functions are computable and generates output dependent on the input that was used (Katz, 2007; Koblitz, 1994). 3. Digital signatures The public-key encryption presents a revolution in the field of cryptography and until its invention the cryptographers had relied completely on common, secret keys in order to achieve confidential communication (Smart, 2003). On the contrary, the public-key techniques, allow for the parties to communicate privately without the requirement to decide on a secret key in advance. While the concept of private-key cryptography is presented as two parties agree on a secret keyk which can be used (by either party) for both encryption and decryption; public-key encryption is asymmetric in both these respects (Stinson, 2005). Namely, in public-key encryption: One party (the receiver) generates a pair of keys (pk, sk), where pk is called the public key and ps is the private key, The public key is used by a sender to encrypt a message for the receiver, and The receiver uses the private key to decrypt that message. There three parts of information form part of public key certificate: Some naming information A Public key Digital signatures (this can be one or more) Encryptions and digital signatures were introduced to make the web transactions secure and manageable. The use of cryptographic techniques was applied to enhance and provide security layer such that the encrypted information and files would remain secure and confidential. Very frequently, a digital signature is mistaken with the inverse of a public-key encryption, but this is not entirely true. In the history, a digital signature could be obtained by reversing, but today in the majority of the situations this process would be impossible to be performed. Basically, a digital signature is a form of a mathematical scheme for signifying the genuineness of a digital message. A valid digital signature would provide a proof to the person that receives the message or the document that these information is indeed created by a specified sender. Moreover, it would prove that message or the document was not altered during the transportation. Digital signatures are usually used for software distribution or mainly money transactions, where it is very important to detect the possibility of forgery. As a part of the field in asymmetric cryptography, it might be noted that a digital signature is somehow equivalent of the traditional handwritten signatures. On the other hand, in order to be effective, a digital signature should be correctly implemented. Another very important concept is the notion of non-repudiation. This means that if somebody signs a document by using a digital signature, they can not say that it was not signed by them, even though their private key remains as a secret. On the other hand, there is a time stamp, so that even if the private key of a sender is compromised in future, the digital signature will remain valid. Examples of such messages are: electronic mail contracts messages sent via some cryptographic protocol A digital signature usually is comprised of: An algorithm for producing a key. This algorithm would find a private key by chance from all the possible private keys available. Then it will output that private key with a matching public key. A signing algorithm that, given a message and a private key, produces a signature. A signature authenticating algorithm that, given a message, public key and a signature, it will accept or reject the message. Primary, a signature produced from a fixed message and a private key verifies that the genuineness of that message is ok, by means of the matching public key. Then, it has to be computationally infeasible to make an appropriate signature for a party that doesn’t have the private key 4. Algorithms 4.1. Introduction to SHS This section provides an overview of the secure hash standard (SHS) and implementation of the secure hash algorithm (SHA-1), required for use with digital signature algorithms. SHA-1 is used for computing a compressed version of a message or a data file. If that data has a length smaller than 264 buts, then the output will be 160-bit and is called a message digest. The message digest used for an input to the Digital Signature Algorithm (DSA). This algorithm will verify the signature for the message. Signing the message digest instead of the originall message itself, might advance the effectiveness of the procedure. This is since the message digest is usually much slighter in size than the original message. Very important is that the same hash algorithm should be used by both the verifier and the digital signature creator. The usage of the SHA-1 with the DSA can be presented as follows: Interesting for SHA-1 is that it is computationally impossible to discover a message which matchs to a given digest. Moreover, it is also impossible to find two dissimilar messages which create an identical message digest. 4.2. Implementation of SHA-1 The following functions were implemented for the SHA-1 algorithm: Name of source file: secure_hash_algorithm.m. Function in the source file: secure_hash_algorithm (message). This function takes an input a string of characters. Example: Hello, How are you? How is it going on? Output is the message digest, the hash value of the message. Thus, the hash value of the above message is F418F52AE6DC208599F91191E6C40FA876F33754. Name of source file: arithematic_shift_operations.m. Function in the source file: arithematic_shift_operations (number, position, op). The inputs are: number: it is a hexadecimal large number of any size. The number is represented in base 16 and is stored as a string. Ex: ‘FFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFF’ position: the number of positions to be shifted by. It is a decimal number in base 10. Op: it is the type of operation done. Inputs are ‘SRA’ -> shift right arithematic and ‘SLA’ -> shift left arithematic. For example, the function: arithematic_shift_operations(‘FFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFF’, 3, ‘SRA’) would return ‘1FFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFF’, and arithematic_shift_operations(‘FFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFF’, 3, ‘SLA’) would return ‘FFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFF8’. Name of source file: bi2hex.m. Function in the source file: bi2hex (number). The input to this function is a vector of ones and zeros and the result is a hexadecimal output represented in string. For example, for the input â€Å"Number = [1 1 1 1]† bi2hex (Number) returns ‘F’ and for â€Å"Number = [1 1 1 1 0 0 0 1 ]† bi2hex (Number) returns ‘F1’. Name of source file: hex2bi.m. Function in the source file: hex2bi (number). The input to this function is a number stored in form of a string in base 16 and the result is a vector containing the binary representation of input string. For example, for the input â€Å"Number = ‘F’ †, hex2bi (Number) returns â€Å"[1 1 1 1]† and for â€Å"Number = ‘F1’ â€Å", bi2hex (Number) returns â€Å"[1 1 1 1 0 0 0 1]†. Name of source file: hexadecimal_big_number_adder.m. Function in the source file: hexadecimal_big_number_adder (number_one, number_two). The inputs to this function are numbers stored in hexadecimal string format. Output is the result, a hexadecimal string and carry, a decimal number. After using this function, it has to be checked if the carry is generated, Incase if it is generated then the carry has to be appended in the beginning to the result. For example: Number_one = ‘FFFFFFFF’ Number_two = ‘EEEEEEEE’ [result, carry] = hexadecimal_big_number_adder (Number_one, Number_two) Result = ‘EEEEEEED’ , carry = 1; Hence the real sum is Result = strcat(dec2hex(0), Result); this results to ‘1EEEEEEED’ Name of source file: hexadecimal_big_number_subtractor.m. Function in the source file: hexadecimal_big_number_subtractor(number_one, number_two). The inputs to this function are numbers stored in hexadecimal string format. Output is the result, a hexadecimal string and sign, a decimal number. If sign is -1, then the result generated is a negative number else is a positive number. . For example: Number_one= ‘EEEEEEEE’ Number_two= ‘FFFFFFFF’ [result, sign] = hexadecimal_big_number_subtractor(Number_one, Number_two) Result = ‘11111111’ Sign = -1. Name of source file: hexadecimal_big_number_multiprecision_multiplication.m. Function in the source file: hexadecimal_big_number_multiprecision_multiplication(multiplicand, multiplier). The input is a multiplicand stored in string format is a hexadecimal number. And so is multiplier. The output is a result and is stored in form of a string. For example: multiplicand= ‘EEEEEEEE’ multiplier= ‘FFFFFFFF’ hexadecimal_big_number_multiprecision_multiplication(multiplicand, multiplier) result is ‘EEEEEEED11111112’ Name of source file: comparision_of.m. Function in the source file: comparision_of(number_one, number_two, index). This function compares two numbers in hexadecimal format stored in form of strings. Always input index as decimal 1. Therefore, it: Returns 1 if Number_one > Number_two, Returns 0 if Number_one = Number_two, and Returns -1 if Number_one For example, if Number_one= ‘EEEEEEEE’ Number_two= ‘FFFFFFFF’, the result would be: comparision_of(Number_one, Number_two, 1) returns -1. Name of source file: hexadecimal_big_number_modular_exponentiation.m. Function in the source file: hexadecimal_big_number_modular_exponentiation (base, exponent, modulus). This function calculates (power(base, exponent) % modulus). Here the input base, exponent and modulus are hexadecimal strings of any size. For example: Base = ‘FFF’ Exponent = ‘EEE’ Modulus = ‘AAAA’ hexadecimal_big_number_modular_exponentiation (Base, Exponent, Modulus) returns ‘8BAB’ Name of source file: hexadecimal_big_number_multiplicative_inverse.m. Function in the source file: Z = hexadecimal_big_number_multiplicative_inverse(number_one, number_two). This function returns multiplicative inverse of number_two modulo number_one. If az = 1 (mod m) then z is the multiplicative inverse of a mod m. Here â€Å"number_one = m†, â€Å"number_two = a†, â€Å"number_one = ‘FFFF’ †, â€Å"number_two = ‘1235’ â€Å" andresult is ‘634D’, which in turn is the multiplicative inverse of number_two.Hence : (result * number_two) mod number_one = 1 Name of source file: hexadecimal_big_number_test_for_primality.m. Function in the source file: hexadecimal_big_number_test_for_primality(number). The input to this function is an ODD number stored in hexadecimal format as a string. This function returns 1 if the input is a prime and returns -1 if input is composite. Name of source file: power_of_two_conversion_to_hexadecimal.m. Function in the source file: power_of_two_conversion_to_hexadecimal(power). The input is the number, the power to which two has to be raised to. It is a decimal number and the output is a hexadecimal number in form of string. For example, power_of_two_conversion_to_hexadecimal(4) returns ‘10’ i.e 16 in decimal system. Name of source file: hexadecimal_big_number_division.m. Function in the source file: hexadecimal_big_number_division (dividend, divisor). This function returns quotient and remainder both in hexadecimal string format. The inputs to this function are strings of hexadecimal format. This function uses other two functions in turn which are defined in source file Get_multiplier.m, multiplication_by_single_digit_multiplier.m. Name of source file: remove_leading_zeros.m. Function in the source file: remove_leading_zeros (number). This function takes number in hexadecimal string format as input and removes the leading zeros in the string and returns it. For example, if â€Å"Number = ‘000000012345’ â€Å", then the function returns ‘12345’. Some of the most prominent functions are presented in Appendix A. 4.3. Introduction to MD5 The MD5 Message-Digest Algorithm is a extensively utilised in cryptographic hash functions. Basically this is the case for cryptographic hash functions with a 128-bit (16-byte) hash value. MD5 is used in many security applications, and in addition it is frequently used to check data integrity. An MD5 hash is typically expressed as a 32-digit hexadecimal number. The following figure represents a schematic view of the MD5 Message-Digest Algorithm. 4.4. Implementation of MD5 This algorithm would compute MD5 hash function for files. For example, if as input is given the d = md5(FileName), then the function md5() will computes the MD5 hash function of the file specified in the string FileName. This function will returns it as a 64-character array dwhere d is the digest. The following methodology that the MD5 algorithm was implemented: Initially, the function Digestis called. This function would read the whole file, and will make it uint32 vector FileName = C:\md5InputFile.txt [Message,nBits] = readmessagefromfile(FileName); Then, it would append a bit in the last one that was read from that file: BytesInLastInt = mod(nBits,32)/8; if BytesInLastInt Message(end) = bitset(Message(end),BytesInLastInt*8+8); else Message = [Message; uint32(128)]; end Consequetly, it will append the zeros: nZeros = 16 mod(numel(Message)+2,16); Message = [Message; zeros(nZeros,1,uint32)]; And a bit length of the original message as uint64, such as the lower significant uint32 first: Lower32 = uint32(nBits); Upper32 = uint32(bitshift(uint64(nBits),-32)); Message = [Message; Lower32; Upper32]; The 64-element transformation array is: T = uint32(fix(4294967296*abs(sin(1:64)))); The 64-element array of number of bits for circular left shift: S = repmat([7 12 17 22; 5 9 14 20; 4 11 16 23; 6 10 15 21].,4,1); S = S(:).; Finally, the 64-element array of indices into X can be presented as: idxX = [0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 1 6 11 0 5 10 15 4 9 14 3 8 13 2 7 12 5 8 11 14 1 4 7 10 13 0 3 6 9 12 15 2 0 7 14 5 12 3 10 1 8 15 6 13 4 11 2 9] + 1; The initial state of the buffer is consisting of A, B, C and D. such as: A = uint32(hex2dec(67452301)); B = uint32(hex2dec(efcdab89)); C = uint32(hex2dec(98badcfe)); D = uint32(hex2dec(10325476)); The message is reshaped, such as: Message = reshape(Message,16,[]); The look between the blocks, such that X is an extraction of the next block: for iBlock = 1:size(Message,2) X = Message(:,iBlock); The buffer states are stored as: AA = A; BB = B; CC = C; DD = D; The buffer is transformed by utilizing the X block from above, and the parameters from S, T and idxX k = 0; for iRound = 1:4 for q = 1:4 A = Fun(iRound,A,B,C,D,X(idxX(k+1)),S(k+1),T(k+1)); D = Fun(iRound,D,A,B,C,X(idxX(k+2)),S(k+2),T(k+2)); C = Fun(iRound,C,D,A,B,X(idxX(k+3)),S(k+3),T(k+3)); B = Fun(iRound,B,C,D,A,X(idxX(k+4)),S(k+4),T(k+4)); k = k + 4; end end The old buffer state is also being added: A = bitadd32(A,AA); B = bitadd32(B,BB); C = bitadd32(C,CC); D = bitadd32(D,DD); end The message digest is being formed the following way: Str = lower(dec2hex([A;B;C;D])); Str = Str(:,[7 8 5 6 3 4 1 2]).; Digest = Str(:).; The subsequent functionality is performed by the following operations: function y = Fun(iRound,a,b,c,d,x,s,t) switch iRound case 1 q = bitor(bitand(b,c),bitand(bitcmp(b),d)); case 2 q = bitor(bitand(b,d),bitand(c,bitcmp(d))); case 3 q = bitxor(bitxor(b,c),d); case 4 q = bitxor(c,bitor(b,bitcmp(d))); end y = bitadd32(b,rotateleft32(bitadd32(a,q,x,t),s)); And the bits are rotated such as: function y = rotateleft32(x,s) y = bitor(bitshift(x,s),bitshift(x,s-32)); The sum function is presented as: function sum = bitadd32(varargin) sum = varargin{1}; for k = 2:nargin add = varargin{k}; carry = bitand(sum,add); sum = bitxor(sum,add); for q = 1:32 shift = bitshift(carry,1); carry = bitand(shift,sum); sum = bitxor(shift,sum); end end A message is being read frm a file, such as: function [Message,nBits] = readmessagefromfile(FileName) [hFile,ErrMsg] = fopen(FileName,r); error(ErrMsg); Message = fread(hFile,inf,ubit32=>uint32); fclose(hFile); d = dir(FileName); nBits = d.bytes*8; Lastly, the auto test function is the following: function md5autotest disp(Running md5 autotest); Messages{1} = ; Messages{2} = a; Messages{3} = abc; Messages{4} = message digest; Messages{5} = abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz; Messages{6} = ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZabcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz0123456789; Messages{7} = char(128:255); CorrectDigests{1} = d41d8cd98f00b204e9800998ecf8427e; CorrectDigests{2} = 0cc175b9c0f1b6a831c399e269772661; CorrectDigests{3} = 900150983cd24fb0d6963f7d28e17f72; CorrectDigests{4} = f96b697d7cb7938d525a2f31aaf161d0; CorrectDigests{5} = c3fcd3d76192e4007dfb496cca67e13b; CorrectDigests{6} = d174ab98d277d9f5a5611c2c9f419d9f; CorrectDigests{7} = 16f404156c0500ac48efa2d3abc5fbcf; TmpFile = tempname; for k=1:numel(Messages) [h,ErrMsg] = fopen(TmpFile,w); error(ErrMsg); fwrite(h,Messages{k},char); fclose(h); Digest = md5(TmpFile); fprintf(%d: %sn,k,Digest); if ~strcmp(Digest,CorrectDigests{k}) error(md5 autotest failed on the following string: %s,Messages{k}); end end delete(TmpFile); disp(md5 autotest passed!); 4.4.1 Results This algorithm is tested with the input: university of Portsmouth department of electronic and computer engineering. This was written on the file: â€Å"C://md5InputFile.txt†. The outpus results are as in the following fugures: Textual description of the output results follows: OUTPUT FileName = C:\md5InputFile.txt Running md5 autotest FileName = C:\md5InputFile.txt 1986621045 1769173605 1864399220 1867522150 1836282994 1752462703 1885692960 1836348001 544501349 1696622191 1952671084 1768845170 1851859043 1868767332 1953853549 1696625253 1852401518 1769104741 26478 1: 3129b41fa9e7159c2a03ad8c161a7424 FileName = C:\md5InputFile.txt 1986621045 1769173605 1864399220 1867522150 1836282994 1752462703 1885692960 1836348001 544501349 1696622191 1952671084 1768845170 1851859043 1868767332 1953853549 1696625253 1852401518 1769104741 26478 2: 3129b41fa9e7159c2a03ad8c161a7424 FileName = C:\md5InputFile.txt 1986621045 1769173605 1864399220 1867522150 1836282994 1752462703 1885692960 1836348001 544501349 1696622191 1952671084 1768845170 1851859043 1868767332 1953853549 1696625253 1852401518 1769104741 26478 3: 3129b41fa9e7159c2a03ad8c161a7424 FileName = C:\md5InputFile.txt 1986621045 1769173605 1864399220 1867522150 1836282994 1752462703 1885692960 1836348001 544501349 1696622191 1952671084 1768845170 1851859043 1868767332 1953853549 1696625253 1852401518 1769104741 26478 4: 3129b41fa9e7159c2a03ad8c161a7424 FileName = C:\md5InputFile.txt 1986621045 1769173605 1864399220 1867522150 1836282994 1752462703 1885692960 1836348001 544501349 1696622191 1952671084 1768845170 1851859043 1868767332 1953853549 1696625253 1852401518 1769104741 26478 5: 3129b41fa9e7159c2a03ad8c161a7424 FileName = C:\md5InputFile.txt 1986621045 1769173605 1864399220 1867522150 1836282994 1752462703 1885692960 1836348001 544501349 1696622191 1952671084 1768845170 1851859043 1868767332 1953853549 1696625253 1852401518 1769104741 26478 6: 3129b41fa9e7159c2a03ad8c161a7424 FileName = C:\md5InputFile.txt 1986621045 1769173605 1864399220 1867522150 1836282994 1752462703 1885692960 1836348001 544501349 1696622191 1952671084 1768845170 1851859043 1868767332 1953853549 1696625253 1852401518 1769104741 26478 7: 3129b41fa9e7159c2a03ad8c161a7424 md5 autotest passed! 4.5. Introduction to Caesar cipher The Caesar cipher in cryptography, is in essence a shift cipher. It represents as one of the simplest and most widely known encryption methodologies. The Caesar cipher is a kind of substitution cipher. It means that each letter in a given plaintext is replaced by another letter. This is done due shifting by some fixed number of positions down the alphabet. Julius Caesar was the first to use this ci

Comparing Macbeth, Hamlet, and Othello Essay -- comparison compare co

Comparing Shakespeare’s Macbeth, Hamlet, and Othello  Ã‚      Shakespeare’s tragedies were extremely popular in Elizabethan times and today. A tragedy is described as â€Å"a sad, serious story or play, usually ending with the death of the hero. A disastrous, fatal or dreadful event.† By comparing the three plays, Macbeth, Hamlet and Othello it is possible to see how he has used techniques appropriate to tragedy and how he applied them to his plays. The opening of the play is significant because it sets the scene and the preceding atmosphere. When looking at the start of many of Shakespeare’s plays the audience generally discovers the protagonist by other characters. The audience also become aware of where the play is performed, together with important events contained in the play’s plot. In order to compose the openings of the plays it is necessary to examine the way in which Shakespeare uses setting, imagery, language, theme and structure. In doing this it will be possible to understand Shakespeare engages the audi ence attention in his opening scenes. The setting of a play is very important. The setting creates the mood and can say a lot about the characters in that scene, following scenes, and often introduces characters we have not yet met. In Othello a dubious character Iago is introduced in a dark alley. Dark, shady pathways are synonymous with wrong doings and give the audience a hint that the character is bad. Shakespeare does this therefore, to create a picture of the character. He puts that character in a stereotypical environment. There is a degree of mystery surrounding the dark as it limits your senses. This helps accentuate the idea that Iago is a dubious character. In Macbeth the witches appear amidst thunder and li... ... Shakespeare, William. The Tragedy of Macbeth. http://chemicool.com/Shakespeare/macbeth/full.html, no lin. Shakespeare, William. Hamlet. Norton Critical ed. Ed. Cyrus Hoy. New York: Norton, 1992.   Shakespeare, William. Othello. Clayton: Prestwick House Inc., 2005

Keurig: Convenience, Choice, and Competitive Brands Essay

In 1990, John Sylvan and Peter Dragone entered the coffee brewing industry by launching their company Keurig built upon on the question of, â€Å"why do we brew coffee by the pot when we only drink it by the cup?† Within a few years after their start-up, they were able to secure multiple patents as well as acquiring $1 million from venture capitalists to improve upon their prototype. By 1998, Keurig, which is German for excellence, was finally able to launch their first industrial strength, single-serve machine delivering a perfect cup of coffee every time. Keurig was lucky to join the coffee market at the dawn of its explosion, when consumers’ wants and needs began to shy away from traditional coffee pot brewing and shifted more towards a single cup of premium, gourmet roasted coffee. As the coffee market continued to grow, it exhibited two trends. First being the â€Å"mainstreaming† of specialty coffees and secondly, only brewing one cup of it at a time. Keuri g focused its efforts towards adapting to these changes by dramatically boosting innovation, technology, and their R&D department. Keurig changed the game in the single cup sector by introducing their patented K-Cup and partnering with Green Mountain Coffee Roasters (GMCR). These were tiny plastic cups that contained the coffee grounds already within the filter and sealed with an aluminum lid. All the consumer then has to do is place the cup within the Keurig machine (without removing the aluminum), close the lid and press a button, and in less than a minute, a fresh cup of coffee awaits. From the time of its launch in 1998, Keurig offered only 8 varieties of GMCR coffee and by the early 2000’s consumers had the choice of over 200 varieties from 30 different brands. When it comes time that Keurig’s patents will expire, competition will skyrocket, so it is extremely important that they pay close attention to their competitors’ moves. After an in depth analysis of the entire coffee industry, its competitors, and major market players, I have determined three recommendations to go forward with: Recommendation 1: Expand internationally using a transnational strategy. Recommendation 2: Follow GMCR’s 2012 initiatives with increased innovation Recommendation 3: Pursue a recycling initiative or biodegradable K-Cups With the coffee drinking market growing as fast as it is along with the amount of competition that  can present in the market, it is important that firms build their brands and are constantly improving what they have to offer. Recommendation 1: Expand internationally using a transnational strategy. Current in the industry, the top market players have established themselves in the United States as well as in other various parts of the world such as Europe and Asia. In order to be a serious competitor, Keurig must consider the advantages to expanding internationally, not only for sales but for manufacturing purposes as well. That being said, it is extremely important that companies pay close attention to other cultures and certain characteristics that effect each community differently. Especially when you are attempting to enter somewhat of a segmented market. Keeping foreign cultures in mind, implementing a transnational strategy would be the most advantageous in terms of serving the needs of other countries. Keurig would impose a think global, act local strategy or â€Å"glocal†. The book describes this as a middle ground strategy for when there are relatively high needs for local responsiveness as well as appreciable benefits to be realized from standardization. Although coffee is somewhat the same all over, different cultures prefer different types or blends. It is crucial that a company understands a cultures preferred wants and needs before embarking abroad. Although it may be difficult to implement, the benefits of sharing information and resources across boarders along with flexible coordination can far outweigh the negatives. Because coffee can become so standardized, it will not be extremely difficult or costly to differentiate between the lines. If Keurig wants to be able to compete with the other industry leaders, it is essential that they take the time to do careful research, then implement their strategy for expanding abroad. Recommendation 2: Follow GMCR’s 2012 initiatives with increased innovation With the expiration of Keurig’s patents coming to a near, it is crucial that Keurig be on the defensive end for a while and prepare themselves for any major market moves. In order to prepare themselves, Keurig must also have some tricks up their sleeve to keep their market share and diversification high because of the relatively low barriers to entry. There were two of GMCR’s 2012 initiatives that stood out as goo d plans for attack. The first one dealt with launching new coffee makers such as the Rivo Cappuccino and Latte System as well as new variety blends to accompany them. When their patent expires, launching  a completely new product with new patents will pave the way for increased market share. Keurig will be able to compete in a much broader market and can appeal to greater amounts of consumers. In addition to developing new variety packs, it is also essential that Keurig pursue more beverage options to appeal to a broader market. For instance, GMCR mention introducing a Wellness Brewed line to include healthy beverages containing vitamins and antioxidant ingredients. Keurig must continue growth between certain partnerships to keep up with certain trends in the market to be able to jump on new opportunities that present themselves and can be taken advantage of. Innovation is extremely key to remaining on top, and it is one of Keurig’s primary key success factors. Recommendation 3: Pursue a recycling initiative or biodegradable K-Cups Pursuing a green initiative, I believe will bring nothing but prosperity to Keurig. Being economically and socially responsible can yield high returns if done in the right way. With the coffee industry already in the global spotlight wi th Fair Trade agreements, it certainly would add credibility to a brand. With a large number of coffee drinkers already economically conscious, it would exponentially boost ratings if they were enforce a recycling initiative similar to what Nespresso did with their â€Å"ecolaboration† and encouraging consumers to recycle. Equally as important, if not more, would be the need for developing biodegradable K-Cups. It is very important to the world and its consumers to give back to the earth and not harm our environment. With the extremely high number of K-Cups produced, it would be extremely beneficial to find a way for those tiny little cups decompose into the ground. From the time Keurig was launched until 2006, over 1 billion K-Cups had been consumed. Within the next two years, another 2 billion had been consumed by 2008. That is an exceptionally large amount of K-Cups potentially harming the environment that could otherwise be helping to add to our nutrient rich soil. Industry Analysis Exhibit 1: Dominant Economic Forces Market size and growth rate: The coffee market within the United States is steadily increasing from year to year. In 2012, the US alone consumed nearly one-third of all coffee worldwide. That equals out to roughly 400 million cups of coffee per day.  During World War II, US coffee consumption accounted for nearly 80% of all coffee worldwide. Despite the drastic change in percentages, the coffee industry has never been as profitable as it is today because consumer value migration. In the early 90’s, P&G, Phillip Morris/Kraft, and Nestle held nearly 90% of the entire coffee market. When the market for specialty coffees began to take hold, within six years, that market had already grasped 22% of the total market share, leaving the big 3 in the dust without knowing how to properly react to the extensive growth. The big names were concerned with price and consistency while specialty coffee focused on origin, quality, processing and cultivation. It was estimated that the total coffee market consumption was nearly 2.9 billion pounds or $30-$32 billion in 2012. Specialty coffee accounted for nearly 37% of volume share and over 50% value share meaning it was far more profitable than generic coffee. In 2010, there were 90 million coffee brewers within US households and in 2012 alone, approximately 24 million brewers were purchased. During this growth phase, single cup brews increased 52% while all other brews only increased 3%. Coffee pods and single cup brews have experienced dramatic growth and have begun taking over the entire coffee market share. From 2011-2017, it is expected that these will lead the evolution with a 74% off-trade growth. Number of Rivals: Within the specialty coffee industry, there are only a handful of companies that compete at the level of Keurig and their single K-Cup technology. There are four main market players that have similar brewing technologies. The most successful competitor would have been Nestle with their Nespresso brewing machine released in 1976 that utilized pods for their espresso. Their technology has been around the longest but with the emergence of Keurig, they slowly began to be overshadowed. Keurig’s other three primary competitors included Mars’ Flavia beverage system which targeted offices, Kraft’s Tassimo system which offered an at home brew, and lastly there was the Senseo brewing system manufactured by Sara Lee. Scope of competitive rivalry: The coffee industry has a massive international market that reaches all points around the world. The US has the next largest market compared to  France. Americans consume 276 cups of coffee a year while the French consume 395. Nestle took advantage of this by expanding its technology to Europe to include both France and Switzerland as well as in Japan and China. Within the US, Keurig began to dominate by purchasing companies nationwide to increase its market share much quicker than rival companies were able to keep up with. Specialty coffee already had a strong foothold in New England. To expand their brand, Keurig partnered with Van Houtte to gain market share in Canada and later purchased Caribou Coffee (Midwest) as well as Tully’s coffee (Pacific Northwest). Number of Buyers: The number of buyers within the Unites States is extremely vast. As mentioned earlier, nearly 90 million of American households had a coffee brewer of some sort. The scope of brewers reaches far beyond that and can be classified into smaller groups. Households: extremely prevalent within the industry with high purchase power Hotels: approximately 5 million coffeemakers are in hotel rooms in the US Businesses: most, if not all businesses have a coffeemaker onsite or in their break rooms. B2B: Wal-Mart, Starbucks, Office Depot, Staples, Bed, Bath & Beyond Pace of technological change: The increase of technology and push for innovation plays a huge role in gaining market share. The evolution from a coffee pot to single cup brews has sparked a huge push to develop the perfect cup of coffee while at the same time making the process simpler. Coffee pods lead the way for the early 2000’s but when Keurig introduced their K-cups, other companies were eager to jump on board. Their patented technology included the coffee and the filter all into one simple cup. Keurig also released the My K-Cup, which allowed consumers to use their own coffee grounds to make a single cup roast. Upon Keurig’s patent expiration in 2012, other companies such as Breville and Cuisinart developed their own single cup brewers and even offering a My K-Cup as part of the package. Specific brewing techniques are important to customers in terms of getting the most out of your cup of coffee. Improving upon the injection brewing process is the key to perfecting the brew. Innovation is extr emely crucial in order to meet customer demands as well as keeping up with their wants and needs. It is  critical to have a strong research and development department to keep up with these changes. Standard Products: Within the specialty coffee market there are two products used within conjunction. There is the brewing machine itself and then there is the pod or the cup. There is mild differentiation between products but vast differentiation between different blends or roasts and so on. In the end, what it comes down to is the techniques applied to the brewing processes. Though coffee is not the only thing a Keurig can brew. It can brew a wide variety of beverages such as tea, lemonade, cider, fruit brews, and cocoa, which many competitors cannot compete with. Vertical Integration: By partnering with Green Mountain Coffee Roasters, Keurig was able to keep the manufacturing and selling process within the boundaries of their supply chain. Also by partnering with Van Houtte, they were able to acquire an already very successful vertically integrated company on top of being able to expand their market share into Canada. GMCR divided their operations into 3 different segments: Specialty Coffee business unit (SCBU), Keurig business unit (KBU), and Canadian business unit (CBU). Each of these carry out different responsibilities such as packaging processes or customer relations. For instance SCBU deals traditional packaging for supermarkets, convenience stores and distributors, while KBU focuses more on single serve packs for at home brewers. Keurig also has many licensing partnerships to carry and promote their product in their stores such as Wal-Mart and Starbucks. Exhibit 2: Five Forces Analysis Rivalry: Weak to Moderate Buyer demand is growing rapidly (-): the specialized coffee industry is growing as exponential rates, in some years even double digit increases Costs to switch are high (-): if a consumer owns a Keurig, then they are unable to switch to any other brand that does not utilize K-Cups Number of buyers are increasing (-): it is a growing market that is spreading rapidly and gaining nationwide attention Fairly high product differentiation (+/-): The brewers themselves are strongly differentiated as well as the diversity in the roasts themselves Threat of New Entrants: Strong Entry barriers are low (+): once Keurig’s patents expired, it made it easier for companies to enter the market and mimic preexisting products Buyer demand is growing (+): specialty coffee drinks are growing dramatically Expanding market segments (+): companies are purchasing or partnering with other companies to increase the geographical market segment. In doing so they are also expanding their product lines buy adding new brews Threat of Substitutes: Moderate to Strong Substitutes are readily available (+): consumers can choose to go to Starbucks or other coffee shops. Customers can also pursue another source of caffeine such as sodas, energy drinks, or 5-hour energy Substitutes have comparable features (+): Whether customers are pursuing a caffeine fix or looking for a good cup of coffee, they are each similar and readily available Relatively high switching costs (-): it would be much cheaper to put a K-Cup into the brewer than to go out to a coffee shop and purchase a specialty brew. Same idea applies for purchasing sodas or energy drinks Supplier Power: Very Strong Differentiated product selection (+): the products available are specific to each company’s needs such as K-Cups or pods. Coffee blends are very specific as well and rely on the same product on a regular basis No good substitutes for suppliers without high switching costs (+): it can be extremely difficult to switch coffee producers. There are specific contracts in place that need to be fulfilled. Supplier industry is more concentrated (+): Keurig obtains its coffee from specific companies that their sole purpose is to provide coffee. The industry is also dominated by a few large companies Bargaining Power of Buyers: Weak Buyer demand is growing (+): It is expected that the specialized coffee industry will continue to grow and bring high demand Buyer might not necessarily be able to postpone purchase (-): The primary purpose of purchasing coffee is for the caffeine intake and waking up. Certain customers integrate coffee into their daily routine and do not fare well without it High switching costs (-): difficult and expensive to purchase an  alternative product. Buyers price sensitive (-): In Keurig’s case, this works to their benefit because purchasing a specialty cup of coffee is more expensive than purchasing K-Cups and customers are likely to revert to Keurig when money is tight Exhibit 3: Driving Forces Entry or exit of major firms: In 2012 when Sara Lee was forced to discontinue their Senseo coffee maker, that in turn opened up a great deal of market share for competing companies such as Keurig to take advantage of. Companies were able to thrive off their misfortune and gain market share and new customers. On the contrary, barriers to entry into the market are relatively low, meaning new competition can arise causing existing companies to have to shift their focus and execute counteracting strategies. Buyer preferences shift to standardized product: With this situation I believe that Keurig has the upper hand whether buyers prefer a standardized product or a differentiated product. The same can apply for a situation in which buyers have to cut costs. Keurig offers both cheap, generic beverages and expensive, high end K-Cup choices. Keurig is the better alternative to purchasing an expensive specialty drink at a coffee shop. Regulatory or government policy change: There could be an increase in price between trade agreements or extra tariffs imposed for importing coffee into the United States. This could cause Keurig to have to make drastic changes in their pricing or expenditures. Although they might not deal directly with importing the coffee, they would surely be impacted down the line and consequently have to bear the brunt of it with increased prices from suppliers. Product innovation: There is always a high probability of a competitor coming out with a revolutionizing innovation that boosts them to the forefront of the market. Both Kraft and Nestle are capable of improving their products and making Keurig seem outdated. Keurig would in turn have to implement a sound strategy to counteract their move and boost their research and development teams. Exhibit 4: Key Success Factors Technology and Innovation: Held 26 US patents and 65 international patents in 2007  Patented proprietary portion-pack system using specially designed filter, sealed in a low-oxygen environment to ensure freshness (K-Cups) Specially designed proprietary high-speed packaging lines that manufactured K-Cups Brewers that precisely controlled the amount, temperature, and pressure of water to provide a consistently superior cup of coffee in less than a minute Eliminating the need to measure water and coffee grounds Marketing: Penetrating the medium and low income homes and not just appealing to high end Reliable pod machine, with easy to use refills, and a variety of coffee flavors that are easy to find. Leading to a 94% customer satisfaction rating Offering My K-Cup to use for personal coffee grounds Encouraging distributors to give away or lease Keurig brewers to businesses in order to attain the real profits from the K-Cups Utilizes â€Å"razorblade model† that keeps customers continually having to replenish their K-Cups once they have purchased the brewer GMCR deriving 90% of consolidated net sales from Keurig appliances and K-Cups and receiving $.04 royalties from every K-Cup sold through partners Expanding Brand Name Vertically integrating their business to keep it within the supply chain Partnered with Van Houtte, Starbucks, Dunkin Donuts, Newman’s Own, Gloria Jean’s, Coffee People, Caribou Coffee, and Tully’s coffee in order to increase market share Partnering with large corporations such as Starbucks, Home Depot, Wal-Mart, Staples, and Bed, Bath and Beyond to promote and stock their product on their shelves With these partnerships, Keurig was able to expand their customer base not only geographically but also by expanding their beverage variety to more than coffee and tea Exhibit 5: Competitor Overview Competitor Analysis Despite stiff competition and rapid growth of single cup brewing, barriers to  entry remained relatively low. Although, the high demand for Keurig’s K-cup technology began to vastly outnumber that of its competitors, many still pursued their techniques and innovative strategies. Sara Lee: Their brewing line was called the Senseo which was the first real competitor of Keurig. The Senseo utilized similar brewing techniques by being able to vary the amount of water passing over the coffee, which affected the flavor and strength of the brew. When Keurig introduced their Vue system in 2012, Sara Lee was unable to compete forced to shut down production due to unreliable performance and short product life span. Kraft Foods: Launched their product called the Tassimo, which utilized coffee pods called T-Discs that caught on extremely well in France. After spending nearly $10 million in promoting T-Discs, coffee pod volume grew 26% in 2005 and another 35% the following year in France. Unfortunately, due to lesser quality of coffee and limited user control features, sales were negatively affected. On top of that, in 2012, approximately 835,000 coffeemakers in the US and another 900,000 in Canada as well as 4,000,000 T-Discs were recalled after reports of brewers spraying hot liquid and causing second degree burns to consumers. Mars: They developed a brewing system named Flavia. Their primary focus was creating a coffee maker that would be ideal for the workplace or in a business environment Nestle: Nestle has been in the coffee industry the longest out of the competitors. In 1976 the launched the Nespresso machine that was one of the first to encapsulate the single cup espresso. Their technology quickly caught on and within ten years had expanded their market to Switzerland, Japan, and Italy. In the early 90’s they introduced their household espresso machine in France. By 2000 they were experiencing double digit growth by focusing on the highest quality coffee. Their industry was skyrocketing and in 2006 exceeded revenue of 1 billion, quickly followed by 2 billion in 20 08, then 3 billion in 2010. By 2012 they had over 8,300 employees across 60 countries, offering 30 machine models, which all lead to their 19% market share in espresso and premium coffees that paved the way for the rest of the premium coffee roasters. Exhibit 6: Financial Breakdown The chart below demonstrates the breakdown of net sales between 2010 and 2012 of each of the products the Keurig sells. It is clear the vast majority of  sales is due to sales of single serve packs growing on average nearly 1 million a year. Keurig has experiences substantial growth from year to year with the exception certain royalties. Their ability to rely on the sales of single serve packs acts as their distinctive competency. Exhibit 7: Weighted Competitive Strength Assessment The weighted competitive strength assessment demonstrates that Keurig and Nestle both have the strongest market positions compared to the inferior Kraft and Sara Lee. Keurig exemplifies its strengths in quality and innovation while Nestle has the upper hand in their developed brand name and advertising abilities. Kraft and Sara Lee have lower scores considering their failed attempts to compete at the top only to have their products discontinued or recalled which reflects their overall quality which is demonstrated in the group map below COMPANY ANALYSIS Exhibit 8: Business Level Strategy Keurig focuses their strategy around broad differentiation by offering customers something that competing rivals cannot. Keurig coffee makers have appeal to all coffee drinkers worldwide, especially in the Unites States, whether they are pursuing a premium roast or a basic cup of coffee. They appeal to the niche market of specialized gourmet coffee drinkers with the ability to reach the broader section of all coffee drinkers. They offer something attractively different while keeping quality at a premium. In doing so their customer loyalty continues to flourish with nearly all of them being repetitive buyers as well as a 94% customer satisfaction rating. Through all of their partnerships with other coffee companies they are now able to appeal to vast array of customers, and not just coffee drinkers. Their massive selection of K-Cups includes over 30 brands with over 200 varieties to choose from. Their partnerships have also put them to the forefront by being able to grasp a nationwide market share that appeals to everyone. When it comes to innovation, Keurig’s puts that as a top priority, which keeps them ahead of their imitative competitors, especially when it comes to the speed and simplicity of using their product. Their ability to evolve their technology through innovation is their strongest sustainable  competitive advantage. In addition, their continued increase in capital investments is why they have remained an industry leader as well as their large amount of patents they are able to retain. Keurig would not be nearly as successful without their well-built, in-depth research and development team. Keurig stands by their name of excellence. Lastly, their implemented growth strategies is what will keep them on top with continual improvements and innovations to all aspects of their brand. Of the 90 million households with coffee makers, Keurig has made it their goal to convert half of those coffee makers to Keurigs as well as strongly pursuing hotel rooms to implement their technology. GMCR has four vectors of their growth strategy for Keurig which include new brewer technologies, new beverage categories, new brands, and new channels. Keurig clearly demonstrates their strive for product supe riority over the rest of the market. Exhibit 9: Resources and Competitive Capabilities Resource Strengths Keurig has developed a strong loyal customer base that spans beyond specialty coffee drinkers, and even beyond coffee drinkers for that matter, including tea and cocoa Acquirement and partnership with multiple established companies nationwide that strengthen their market share, customer base, and supply chain success Core Competencies Strong differentiation from their competitors in terms of offering their superior K-Cups and premium roast coffee blends Their strong ability to improve upon their technology with their extremely advanced and well-rounded research and development department Distinctive Competencies Keurig has become an industry leader in the single cup market by vastly differentiating their products from competitors through a series of patents that revolutionize the speed and simplicity of using their coffee makers. Exhibit 10: S.W.O.T.O. Analysis Strengths Keurig is one of the leading innovators in the industry with one of the best research and development teams to back them that are constantly aiming to  improve their brand Expanding the firms brand vertically and geographically to gain greater market share and appeal to consumers by broadening their beverage horizons and offering over 200 different varieties The idea that customers will continually run out of K-Cups and have to repurchase them and earning a $.04 royalty with every K-Cup sold through another brand Weaknesses Keurig, unlike many of the other industry leaders, has not firmly established itself as a strong international brand. In order to stay at the top, a company must compete with its rivals on other playing fields. There is tremendous room for growth internationally, especially with the technology Keurig has to offer Opportunities Total coffee machine sales are projected to increase by 20% from 2011-2016 The specialty coffee industry is experiencing rapid growth New iced coffee drinks are becoming more popular in the market Threats The idea that some of Keurig’s key patents will expire in 2012, meaning they are vulnerable to mimicking as well as potential flooding of new entrants due to the relatively low barriers to entry Increased tariffs or trade barriers Options Implementing a green initiative to encourage recycling as well as developing biodegradable K-Cups to not hurt the environment Expanding internationally and increasing its market share Push to partner with hotels to include a Keurig coffee maker in every room

Comic Relief in the Tale of Two Cities

Comic relief is an important theatrical convention that makes the story more interesting and appealing to readers. In Charles Dickens’s A Tale of Two Cities, Dickens uses one of his minor but fascinating characters, Jerry Cruncher, to depict this. The two or three chapters dealing with Jerry Cruncher and his family life are humorous and he also illustrates the terrible poverty during the 18th century. And despite the novel’s tragic scenes and symbolic images, Dickens uses  Jerry to lighten things up  a bit.Jerry Cruncher is a multidimensional tradesman, honest to some, but truly not, as well as a conscientious father and self-conscious individual. Jerry Cruncher can be described as gruff and  ragged. An odd-job man, who sits outside Tellson's Bank during the day and is a body-snatcher by night. He is also uneducated which lead him to do unnecessary actions. Even  when describing Jerry, Dickens uses jokes. â€Å"Mr.Cruncher himself  always spoke of the year of our  Lord as Anna Dominoes: apparently under the impression that the Christian era  dated from the invention of a popular game,  by a lady who had bestowed her name upon it. † (Dickens 66) Dickens also uses the character of Jerry to illustrate the terrible poverty of life in England during the 1700’s when Dickens goes more in depth about  Jerry in chapter 14 called The Honest Tradesman. This was a chapter  dedicated solely to Jerry Cruncher. In this chapter, the most interesting and comic scene is presented.Jerry has  such a hard time supporting his family that  he resorts to digging up dead bodies in  secret to help make ends meet. He tries to hide this by telling his wife and son that he is going fishing, but instead he was actually fishing up for bodies to sell to a surgeon. Another humorous scene in the story is how he becomes paranoid and begins to hate that his wife prays about him. He believes that she is praying against him. â€Å"What do you m ean by flopping yourself down and praying against me? † (Dickens 67) He sometimes snubs and beats her for doing so.He constantly calls himself â€Å"an honest tradesman†, even to his son. All these peculiarities of Jerry Cruncher are humorous. In conclusion, Dickens uses comic relief to appeal to his readers and change the mood. Jerry Cruncher is a perfect example of this. His life is a prototype of the poverty during 18th century. Through his characteristics, misfortunes in life, and bizarre actions, Jerry Cruncher was able to provide the reader humorous scenes rather than the chaotic and violent drama of the French Revolution.

Biography of José Francisco de San Martín, Latin American Liberator

Biography of Josà © Francisco de San Martà ­n, Latin American Liberator Josà © Francisco de San Martà ­n (February 25, 1778–August 17, 1850) was an Argentine general and governor who led his nation during the wars of Independence from Spain. He is counted among the founding fathers of Argentina and also led the liberations of Chile and Peru. Fast Facts: Josà © Francisco de San Martà ­n Known For:  Leading or helping to lead the liberations of Argentina, Chile and Peru from Spain.Born: February 25, 1778 in Yapeyu, Province of Corrientes, Argentina.Parents: Juan de San Martà ­n and Gregoria Matorras.Died:  August 17, 1850, Boulogne-sur-Mer, France.Education: Seminary of Nobles, enrolled as cadet in the Murcia infantry regiment.Published Works:  Antologà ­a.Spouse: Marà ­a de los Remedios de Escalada de la Quintana.Child: Marà ­a de las Mercedes Tomasa de San Martà ­n y Escalada.Notable Quote: The soldiers of our land know no luxury, but glory. Early Life Josà © Francisco de San Martin was born on February 25, 1878 in Yapeyu in the Province of Corrientes, Argentina, the youngest son of Lieutenant Juan de San Martà ­n, the Spanish governor. Yapeyu was a beautiful town on the Uruguay River, and young Josà © lived a privileged life there as the governors son. His dark complexion caused many whispers about his parentage while he was young, although it would serve him well later in life. When Josà © was seven years old, his father was recalled to Spain and returned with his family. In Spain, Josà © attended good schools, including the Seminary of Nobles where he showed skill in math and joined the army as a cadet at the young age of eleven. By seventeen he was a lieutenant and had seen action in North Africa and France. Military Career with the Spanish At the age of 19, he was serving with the Spanish navy, fighting the British on several occasions. At one point, his ship was captured, but he was returned to Spain in a prisoner exchange. He fought in Portugal and at the blockade of Gibraltar, and rose swiftly in rank as he proved to be a skilled and loyal soldier. When France invaded Spain in 1806, he fought against them on several occasions, eventually rising to the rank of Adjutant-General. He commanded a regiment of dragoons, very skilled light cavalry. This accomplished career soldier and war hero seemed the most unlikely of candidates to defect and join the insurgents in South America, but thats exactly what he did. Joining the Rebels In September of 1811, San Martin boarded a British ship in Cadiz with the intention of returning to Argentina, where he had not been since the age of seven, and joining the Independence movement there. His motives remain unclear  but may have had to do with San Martà ­ns ties to the Masons, many of whom were pro-Independence. He was the highest ranking Spanish officer to defect to the patriot side in all of Latin America. He arrived in Argentina in March of 1812 and at first, he was greeted with suspicion by Argentine leaders, but he soon proved his loyalty and ability. San Martà ­n accepted a modest command, but made the most of it, ruthlessly drilling his recruits into a coherent fighting force. In January of 1813, he defeated a small Spanish force that had been harassing settlements on the Parana River. This victory - one of the first for Argentines against the Spanish - captured the imagination of the Patriots, and before long San Martà ­n was head of all of the armed forces in Buenos Aires. The Lautaro Lodge San Martà ­n was one of the leaders of the Lautaro Lodge, a secretive, Mason-like group dedicated to complete liberty for all of Latin America. The Lautaro Lodge members were sworn to secrecy and so little is known about their rituals or even their membership, but they formed the heart of the Patriotic Society, a more public institution which consistently applied political pressure for greater freedom and independence. The presence of similar lodges in Chile and Peru aided the independence effort in those nations as well. Lodge members often held high government posts. Argentinas Army of the North, under the command of General Manuel Belgrano, had been fighting royalist forces from Upper Peru (now Bolivia) to a stalemate. In October 1813, Belgrano was defeated at the Battle of Ayahuma and San Martà ­n was sent to relieve him. He took command in January of 1814 and soon mercilessly drilled the recruits into a formidable fighting force. He decided it would be foolish to attack uphill into fortified Upper Peru. He felt that a far better plan of attack would be to cross the Andes in the south, liberate Chile, and attack Peru from the south and by sea. He would never forget his plan, even though it would take him years to fulfill. Preparations for the Invasion of Chile San Martà ­n accepted the governorship of the Province of Cuyo in 1814 and set up shop in the city of Mendoza, which at that time was receiving numerous Chilean Patriots going into exile after the crushing Patriot defeat at the Battle of Rancagua. The Chileans were divided even amongst themselves, and San Martà ­n made the fateful decision to support Bernardo OHiggins over Jose Miguel Carrera and his brothers. Meanwhile, in northern Argentina, the Army of the north had been defeated by the Spanish, clearly proving once and for all that the route to Peru through Upper Peru (Bolivia) would be too difficult. In July of 1816, San Martà ­n finally got approval for his plan to cross into Chile and attack Peru from the south from President Juan Martà ­n de Pueyrredà ³n. The Army of the Andes San Martà ­n immediately began recruiting, outfitting and drilling the Army of the Andes. By the end of 1816, he had an army of some 5,000 men, including a healthy mix of infantry, cavalry, artillerymen and support forces. He recruited officers and accepted tough Gauchos into his army, usually as horsemen. Chilean exiles were welcome, and he appointed OHiggins as his immediate subordinate. There was even a regiment of British soldiers who would fight bravely in Chile. San Martà ­n was obsessed with details, and the army was as well equipped and trained as he could make it. The horses all had shoes, blankets, boots, and weapons were procured, the food was ordered and preserved, etc. No detail was too trivial for San Martà ­n and the Army of the Andes, and his planning would pay off when the army crossed the Andes. Crossing the Andes In January of 1817, the army set off. The Spanish forces in Chile were expecting him and he knew it. Should the Spanish decide to defend the pass he chose, he could face a hard battle with weary troops. But he fooled the Spanish by mentioning an incorrect route in confidence to some Indian allies. As he had suspected, the Indians were playing both sides and sold the information to the Spanish. Therefore, the royalist armies were far to the south of where San Martà ­n actually crossed. The crossing was arduous, as flatland soldiers and Gauchos struggled with the freezing cold and high altitudes, but San Martà ­ns meticulous planning paid off and he lost relatively few men and animals. In February of 1817, the Army of the Andes entered Chile unopposed. The Battle of Chacabuco The Spanish soon realized they had been duped and scrambled to keep the Army of the Andes out of Santiago. The Governor, Casimiro Marcà ³ del Pont, sent all available forces out under the command of General Rafael Maroto with the purpose of delaying San Martà ­n until reinforcements could arrive. They met at the  Battle of Chacabuco  on February 12, 1817. The result was a huge patriot victory: Maroto was completely routed, losing half his force, while the Patriot losses were negligible. The Spanish in Santiago fled, and San Martà ­n rode triumphantly into the city at the head of his army. The Battle of Maipu San Martà ­n still believed that for Argentina and Chile to be truly free, the Spanish needed to be removed from their stronghold in Peru. Still covered in glory from his triumph at Chacabuco, he returned to Buenos Aires to get funds and reinforcements. News from Chile soon brought him hurrying back across the Andes. Royalist and Spanish forces in southern Chile had joined with reinforcements and were threatening Santiago. San Martà ­n took charge of the patriot forces once more and met the Spanish at  the Battle of Maipu  on April 5, 1818. The Patriots crushed the Spanish army, killing some 2,000, capturing around 2,200 and seizing all of the Spanish artillery. The stunning victory at Maipu marked the definitive liberation of Chile: Spain would never again mount a serious threat to the area. On to Peru With Chile finally secure, San Martin could set his sights on Peru at last. He began building or acquiring a navy for Chile: a tricky task, given that the governments in Santiago and  Buenos Aires  were virtually bankrupt. It was difficult to make Chileans and Argentines see the benefits of liberating Peru, but San Martà ­n had great prestige by then and he was able to convince them. In August of 1820, he departed from Valparaiso with a modest army of some 4,700 soldiers and 25 cannons, well supplied with horses, weapons, and food. It was a smaller force than what San Martà ­n believed he would need. March to Lima San Martà ­n believed that the best way to liberate Peru was to get the Peruvian people to accept independence voluntarily. By 1820, royalist Peru was an isolated outpost of Spanish influence. San Martà ­n had liberated Chile and Argentina to the south, and  Simà ³n Bolà ­var  and Antonio Josà © de Sucre had freed Ecuador, Colombia, and Venezuela to the north, leaving only Peru and present-day Bolivia under Spanish rule. San Martà ­n had brought a printing press with him on the expedition, and he began bombarding citizens of Peru with pro-independence propaganda. He maintained a steady correspondence with Viceroys Joaquà ­n de la Pezuela and Josà © de la Serna in which he urged them to accept the inevitability of independence and surrender willingly in order to avoid bloodshed. Meanwhile, San Martà ­ns army was closing in on Lima. He captured Pisco on September 7 and Huacho on November 12. Viceroy La Serna responded by moving the royalist army from Lima to the defensible port of Callao in July of 1821, basically abandoning the city of Lima to San Martà ­n. The people of Lima, who feared an uprising by slaves and Indians more than they feared the army of Argentines and Chileans at their doorstep, invited  San Martin  into the city. On July 12, 1821, he triumphantly entered Lima to the cheers of the populace. Protector of Peru On July 28, 1821, Peru officially declared independence, and on August 3, San Martà ­n was named Protector of Peru and set about setting up a government. His brief rule was enlightened and marked by stabilizing the economy, freeing slaves, giving freedom to the Peruvian Indians and abolishing such hateful institutions as censorship and the Inquisition. The Spanish had armies at the port of Callao and high in the mountains. San Martà ­n starved out the garrison at Callao and waited for the Spanish army to attack him along the narrow, easily defended coastline leading to Lima: they wisely declined, leaving a sort of stalemate. San Martà ­n would later be accused of cowardice for failing to seek out the Spanish army, but to do so would have been foolish and unnecessary. Meeting of the Liberators Meanwhile, Simà ³n Bolà ­var and Antonio Josà © de Sucre were sweeping down out of the north, chasing the Spanish out of northern  South America. San Martà ­n and Bolà ­var met in Guayaquil in July of 1822 to decide how to proceed. Both men came away with a negative impression of the other. San Martà ­n decided to step down and allow Bolà ­var the glory of crushing the final Spanish resistance in the mountains. His decision was most likely made because he knew that they would not get along and one of them would have to step aside, which Bolà ­var would never do. Retirement and Death San Martà ­n returned to Peru, where he had become a controversial figure. Some adored him and wanted him to become King of Peru, while others detested him and wanted him out of the nation completely. The staid soldier soon tired of the endless bickering and backstabbing of government life and abruptly retired. By September of 1822, he was out of Peru and back in Chile. When he heard that his beloved wife Remedios was ill, he hastened back to Argentina but she died before he reached her side. San Martà ­n soon decided that he was better off elsewhere, and took his young daughter Mercedes to Europe. They settled in France. In 1829, Argentina called him back to help settle a dispute with Brazil which eventually would lead to the establishment of the nation of Uruguay. He returned, but by the time he reached Argentina the tumultuous government had once again changed and he was not welcome. He spent two months in Montevideo before returning once again to France. There he led a quiet life before passing away in 1850. Personal Life San Martà ­n was a consummate military professional, who lived a  Spartan  life. He had little tolerance for dances, festivals and showy parades, even when they were in his honor (unlike Bolà ­var, who loved such pomp and pageantry). He was loyal to his beloved wife during most of his campaigns, only taking a clandestine lover at the end of his fighting in Lima. His early wounds pained him greatly, and San Martin took a great deal of laudanum to relieve his suffering. Although it occasionally clouded his mind, it did not keep him from winning great battles. He enjoyed cigars and an occasional glass of wine. He refused almost all of the honors and rewards that grateful people of South America tried to give him, including rank, positions, land, and money. Legacy San Martà ­n had asked in his will that his heart is buried in Buenos Aires: in 1878 his remains were brought to the Buenos Aires Cathedral, where they still rest in a stately tomb. San Martà ­n is the greatest national hero of Argentina and he is considered a great hero by Chile and Peru as well. In Argentina, there are statues, streets, parks, and schools named after him wherever you go. As a liberator, his glory is as great or nearly as great as that of Simà ³n Bolà ­var. Like Bolà ­var, he was a visionary able to see beyond the confining borders of his own homeland and visualize a continent free of foreign rule. Also like Bolà ­var, he was constantly stymied by the petty ambitions of the lesser men who surrounded him. He differs from Bolà ­var chiefly in his actions after independence: while Bolà ­var exhausted the last of his energies fighting to unite South America into one great nation, San Martà ­n quickly tired of backstabbing politicians and retired to a quiet life in exile. The history of South America might have been very different had San Martà ­n remained involved in politics. He believed that the people of Latin America needed a firm hand to lead them and was a proponent of establishing a monarchy, preferably led by some European prince, in the lands he liberated. San Martà ­n was criticized during his life for cowardice for failing to chase nearby Spanish armies or for waiting for days in order to meet them on a ground of his choosing. History has borne out his decisions and today his military choices are held up as examples of martial prudence rather than cowardice. His life was full of courageous decisions, from deserting the Spanish army to fight for Argentina to crossing the Andes to  free Chile  and Peru, which were not his homeland. San Martà ­n was an outstanding general, courageous leader, and visionary politician and is very deserving of his heroic status in the nations he liberated. Sources Gray, William H. â€Å"The Social Reforms of San Martin.† The Americas 7.1, 1950. 3–11.Francisco San Martà ­n, Jose. Antologà ­a. Barcelona: Linkgua-Digital, 2019.Harvey, Robert.  Liberators: Latin Americas Struggle for Independence  Woodstock: The Overlook Press, 2000.Lynch, John.  The Spanish American Revolutions 1808-1826  New York: W. W. Norton Company, 1986.

Market Failure Essays

Market Failure Essays Market Failure Essay Market Failure Essay A) Using appropriate theory, diagram and examples, analyse the way in which the market ‘fails’ with regards to the environment World market existed from the basic economics of supply and demand theory where demand is the amount or quantity of goods or services that buyers are willing to pay at certain price in exchange for its value or benefit while supply refers to the quantity of goods or services that suppliers are willing to produce at certain cost. Figure 1 and 2 below explain how demand and supply changes with price. Figure 1 shows an inversely proportional relationship of demand and the price. Demand increase from Q1 to Q2 when price drops from P1 to P2. This explains why post Christmas sales attracts huge crowd to the shopping mall. Figure 2 shows a direct proportional relationship of supply and the price. Supply quantity increase from Q3 to Q4 as the price of goods or services increase from P3 to P4. Supplier tends to produce more at higher selling price as it means higher profit for the supplier. This can be seen in agriculture industries where Malaysia and Indonesia where palm oil production increased significantly when the profit is high. However, supplier cannot keep producing without limit as price is determined by whether there is demand. When the supply is more than the demand, the price will drop. When demand is more than the supply, the price will increase. Due to the opposite nature of the demand and supply with respect to price, supply and demand will have to keep re-adjusting itself until a point where supply S is equal to demand D. This is the point where all the demand will be fulfilled by the supply at a optimum price (Peq). This is when market reaches its equilibrium (Fig 3). This is the state where market is most efficient in its resource allocation. In the real world market, the basic supply and demand curve sometimes fails to allocate its scarce resources to the socially optimal outcome when externality exits. Externality is defined as the costs or benefits of activities that are indirectly imposed to the third parties at certain cost or benefit which is not been considered by the producers or the consumers. When there is a cost imposed on third parties, it is called negative externality. For example, when a pig farm is build next to a residential village, the villagers will have to bear the smell of pig farming. The pig farming activities may also pollute the river. This indirectly imposes higher cost to the villagers who drink the water from the river which causes higher health costs. Similarly, when third parties benefited from an activity in which they are not directly involved or paid for, it is called a positive externality. (A. C Pigou, 1932). Both negative and positive externality can cause market to fail. Figure 4 below illustrates the effect of external externality to the market equilibrium. When a firm produces a good and pollutes the air, the Marginal Private Cost (MPC) will represent the cost of producing the goods without taking into consideration any cost of polluting. This will produce QMKT quantity of goods at the cost of PMKT. Since the firm is polluting the air, there will be cost involved as there is 3rd party who suffers from the pollution. As such the true cost of producing will need to take into consideration of externality cost. It’s called Marginal External Cost (MEC). The true cost is reflected as Marginal Social Cost (MSC) which is the sum of MPC and MEC. A new supply demand equilibrium will occurs at MSC equal to D curve which gives the quantity of QMSC at price of PMSC. This shows how market fails in free unregulated market where it was producing too much goods / services (QMKT) at low price (PMKT). Positive externality exists when 3rd party enjoy the benefit from certain economic activities without paying for it. An example will be when a property developer builds a shopping mall nearby a housing estate, residents nearby will gain the convenience of shopping place as well as rise in property prices. The problem is that the developer will not spend to build more shopping mall simply because residents get to enjoy the convenience. This happen exactly the same in the market where market does not allocate enough resources to produce the socially optimal quantity at its own cost. This can be illustrated in Figure 5. Figure 5 shows that in free unregulated market where Marginal External Benefit (MEB) is omitted, equilibrium happens when supply curve (S) is equal to Marginal Private Benefit (MPB) curve and produces the QMKT quantity of goods or services. With the inclusion of MEB, the quantity of goods produced QMSB are more than QMKT at MPB. This underproduction due to positive externality is also a market failure. With proper subsidies and incentive, MEB will be taken into consideration, hence enable the supplier to produce more goods or services at quantity QMSB and sell at a higher price (PMSB). From the explanation above, we can conclude that market failure can occur when externality exists and causes misallocation of resources for most efficient use. These failures are especially obvious with regards to the environment. Factories decision to dispose waste into river, lake and greenhouse gases emission into the atmosphere has caused huge negative effect to the environment as well as to the people who utilise the natural supplies. It causes damage to health, infrastructure as well as the whole ecosystem. For the past 150 years, our world has gone through unprecedented economic growth as well as the population increase. This led to surge in demand for energy, land, transportation as well as agriculture product. At the same time, more waste and pollution was released to the environment all without proper control. Lots of forests which serve as natural way reducing carbon dioxide had been destroyed in order to provide land for new settlement and farming as well as for economic development. This further worsens the world’s carbon dioxide level of the greenhouse gases. Figure 7 shows the distribution of greenhouse gases emission from different industries (Stern Review, 2006). People today have experienced devastated effect of environmental damage. World is getting warmer, certain places are getting drier while other places are getting wetter and windier. People are also experiencing more powerful and destructive El Nino. Global warming has caused melting of ice and rise in sea level, together with unusual weather, it can cause tremendous damages to the people as well as country economy. According to Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid of Nevada, The hurricane Katrina would cost US at least $150 billion (San Francisco Chronicle, 2005). Recent snow storm in China will cost $21 billion to its economy and also directly affecting global supply chain (Singapore Straits Times, Feb 24, 2008). Figure 8 shows the global average temperature projection until 2100. It shows that global temperature will continue to rise by 2 to 3 degree and this will have serious impact to the world which may cause even worst disaster and much more disaster than what the world has experienced today. In view of the huge externality cost for the environment, different countries have come to realise the importance of reducing the greenhouse gases and pollution. This has brought to the agreement of Kyoto protocol in 1997. Legally binding greenhouse gases emission target was set for different member countries. Developed countries will provide financial aid to developing countries in the effort to curb pollution. Europe has adopted carbon trade permit in order to limit the amount of emission. Countries used Pigouvian tax method to levy taxes to the firm that pollutes according to the amount of pollution they produce. This forces the polluting firm to internalised the effect of externality as well as creating incentive for the firm to reduce pollution. However, this tax is based on estimate. Therefore with the inclusion of this tax, it may only get closer to marginal social cost. This tax method can also be applied to work with positive externality. Certain countries such as Malaysia will provide tax incentives for the re-plantation work after logging. Because of that, lots of land that were logged had gone through re-plantation process or had been converted into palm oil where palm oil has become a source of renewable energy source. Regulation for maximum emission was also enforced. Firms will be fined if they exceeded the emission limit. Regulation, however does not really gives incentive for firm to cut down pollution. Firms tend to pollute to the maximum pollution limit allowed. Some countries like Philippines also practices different policy on transportation. Only vehicle number plates end with certain number are allowed to be on the road on certain days of the week. This indirectly helps to cut down the transportation pollution. Introducing of new technology better efficiency and reduced emission has also gained steam. Singapore has introduced green vehicle such as hybrid car and Compact Natural Gas (CNG) car which are more fuel efficient and produce less carbon (Singapore News, Jan 13, 2008). Germany has introduced its hydrogen technology to the BMW cars which produces zero emission with the by product as water vapour (Singapore Straits Time, Feb 14, 2008). Australia is researching into injecting certain kangaroo bacteria into cattle and sheep stomach which scientists believe can reduce large quantities of harmful gases that were released by the animals (Green Diary, 2007). Use of renewable energy such as solar power has become increasing popular. International Energy Inc of USA is developing technology to convert carbon dioxide into bio fuels using algae (International Energy Inc). The technological breakthrough can lead to substantial emission reduction. Other policies such as subsidies are also introduced. Singapore has been giving huge subsidy for firms involved in renewable energy as well as water recycling research. This has made some of the water treatment companies to successfully bring down the cost in converting waste water into drinking water. In conclusion, externalities cause market to fail with regards to environments which have serious implication to the world economy. Each country will have to contribute their fair share and effort towards a feasible solution and collaborate with each other in the effort of reducing emission although there are still lots of argument by developing countries that current environmental problem was mainly the result of the past emission by the developed countries. References A. C Pigou, 1932. The Economics of Welfare. Air Transport Bureau (ATB). Aircraft Engine Emissions cao. int/icao/en/env/aee. htm Airbus website. Airbus A380. See The Big Picture. airbus. com/en/aircraftfamilies/a380/index2. html Allen Hershkowitz, Darby Hoover, Peter Atkin, 2006. How Airlines and Airports Can Clean Up Their Recycling Programs Andrew Mackenzie and David Rice, 2001. Ethics and the Multinational Corporation, in the Moral Universe. BBC News, UK, Feb 26, 2008. Airline in First Biofuel Flight. http://news. bbc. co. uk/2/hi/uk_news/7261214. stm Centre for Asia Pacific Aviation, China Aviation Outlook 2007 D. Daggett, O. Hadaller, R. 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