Domestic and Regional Regulation in the Airlines Sector Essay

Domestic and Regional Regulation in the Airlines Sector - Essay Example However, the civil aviation sector has only contributed to ~3% of anthropogenic warming in the last 20 years, and therefore, it is a relatively small contributor to the phenomenon of climate change2. While using this argument, it is arguable that any climate policy involving the airline industry must strike a balance between the abatement costs and emissions reductions. The airline sector makes several arguments about aviation’s impact on climate change, including the fact that the industry has improved efficiency of aircraft fuel by more than 70%, which has brought together their environmental and economic goals3. Moreover, aggressive pursuit of increased fuel efficiency means that emissions of greenhouse gases from the sector account for less than 3% of total EU greenhouse gas emissions. However, the sector’s contribution to climate change has continued to elicit heated debate with EU-based environmental groups argue that the figure is closer to 10%4. The examination of these arguments and counterarguments must take metrics and language used into consideration in determining the actual impact of the aviation sector on climate change. Whatever the case, the airline sector in the EU faces a serious barrier to continued growth. Commercial aircraft are almost entirely reliant on jet fuel like kerosene, which means that their combustion by-products are unavoidable and, therefore, their regulation would risk increased production costs5. The lack of commercially viable, alternative sources of energy means that any regulations and policies seeking to mitigate climate change must take on a sectoral or industry-specific dimension to protect the airline sector’s economic viability6. Therefore, climate change deliberations at the Paris 2015 Conference on Climate Change should find policy prescriptions that mitigate climate change, while also considering dominant cost drivers.  

Fairytales Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Fairytales - Essay Example An important theme of Cinderella is male superiority. All men discussed in the story are in dominating and controlling positions and accordingly, the women are shown in submissive positions to the men. There are two men performing main roles in the story i.e. Cinderella’s father and the king’s son. While Cinderella’s father is shown to be a rich man, her mother is said to be old and sick. Death of Cinderella’s mother is an important event in the story as it changes Cinderella’s life. It does not take Cinderella’s father long to get married to another woman, and there is no mention of memories or love of Cinderella’s mother in her father’s mind or heart in the story that follows. This is suggestive of the notion that it is very easy for a man to forget a woman and that a man never falls short of women ready to be his wife, irrespective of his age. While her father happens to be a rich man, this hardly helps Cinderella in any way. Her father does not intervene anywhere as Cinderella’s step-mother and step-sisters make her their servant. This is suggestive of the ignorance of men toward women even in the position of their children, thus again mentioning the superiority of men over women in a way. Finally, when the king organizes the festival, its main purpose is to provide the prince with an opportunity to have all the beautiful girls in the town right in front of him and select anyone he wants to marry among them as his future wife. Not just this, but also the element that all girls in the town are so eager to be there at the festival, knowing the purpose for which it has been arranged suggests that men are far advanced in terms of power and superiority in comparison to women. It is understood that any girl the prince would pick up would sure be his wife, there is no question of the girl’s readiness for this. Even Cinderella, the main character of the story with whom, children sympathize and wh om they love finds a way to attend the festival. All these elements imprint this fact in the minds of the children that men assume a strange and obvious sort of superiority over the women. Rapunzel Rapunzel is another fairytale that never fails to get admiration from the little readers. There are many elements in the story that spark interest for it in the children. Some of these elements include the long and beautiful hair of Rapunzel, the garden that accommodates all sorts of beautiful flowers, not to mention, the magical rampions in it, use of the long hair of Rapunzel as a rope, and most importantly, her pitiful life. For a fact, a common element between many fairytales is that the main character of girl in the story is always pretty but is in pitiful circumstances, waiting for a prince to come to her rescue. Rapunzel is no different in this sense. Marriage is an important theme of Rapunzel. All couples talked about in the story are married couples. When children read such stori es in their childhood, they are raised with the assumption that marriage is the only way two people can live together and procreate in the society. Such stories lay the foundation of the fundamental status of marriage as the building block of the society and the criticism toward cohabitation and same sex marriage observed in everyday life. The story starts with the depiction of a couple of man and woman that are husband and wife to each other and have a

Transfer application for University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign Essay Example for Free

Transfer application for University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign Essay My high school years demonstrate a strong history of community involvement and social work that gave me a chance to develop my communication skills, translate leadership potential into real actions and let me help other people in meaningful and effective ways. The combination of various activities and burden of multiple responsibilities also proved a challenge to my academic achievements. Thus, I must admit that being involved in volunteering work a few hours a week, working as President of the Snowboarding club and church leader and Vice-President in my Korean church, I spent less time and effort on studies than other students. With this said, the broad variety of activities did develop my personality and increase my potential to add to diversity on Urbana Champaign campus. Working as President of the Snowboarding club, I learned a lot about this sport and organization of different sports events. Throughout my community involvement, such as work in the asylum and in the institution for physically handicapped people, I gained knowledge about life that is very different from our usual patterns. As baby-sitter in the orphanage, I got to know many disadvantaged kids whose perspective was different from mine. Learning to help these people, I realized that humans are very diverse and at the same time united by common feelings of love, hate, trust, hope and sympathy. Besides, being of Korean origin, I can bring to the campus an understanding and appreciation of our rich culture and customs. During my life in the US, I have retained my ethnic culture through involvement in the initiative in my Korean church that was aimed at helping new people fit into the US environment. I hope to bring this experience in helping new people to University of Illinois, making my experience at transition work for other people. International studies have long captured my interest and hold it to this point. A foreign national, I am most interested in international trade and development, and specifically the interconnection between these two phenomena. My experience in changing the national environment proved a trigger causing my interest in the field and motivating me to pursue it as a profession. Coming from Korea, I became interested in national political and economic system and their reflection in people’s contemporary experience. Korea had a rather painful history, being to this point divided into two parts. The striking difference in life standards between North and South Korea intrigued me because not so long ago we were one nation. As I grew up, I realized the importance of a choice of a political and economic system the nation makes. Reading a lot about different economic theories and practices, I developed an interest in how to help poor nations develop better. I come from a relatively prosperous background and feel obliged to help countries with a very low income level to overcome dire poverty and provide their people with basic benefits. Developing international trade, I believe, can be the answer to many of their problems. Working for one month in 2006 in Essen Tech Co – The Department of Trade, I gained further insights into the nature of international trade. There I mingled with professionals in the field who shared with me their expert knowledge and opinions formed on the basis of relevant information, which was very interesting for a novice. At this point, I have some theoretical and practical background in the chosen field. Now I need more substantial knowledge to let me use my potential to the fullest. With deep interest in the field, I believe I can make my involvement into an important contribution.

Green Roofs in Malaysia

Green Roofs in Malaysia In Malaysia, green roofs are considered as a fairly new concept although the concept offers many benefits. Green roofs promotes amenity and aesthetic benefits, environmental benefits, and economic benefits. The principal aim of this research is to improve the quality of green roof systems in Malaysia by develop design guidelines for green roof systems. This research will identify the performance benefits of green roof, the current phenomenon of green roof as well as their obstacles to adopt green roof systems. Mixed method of qualitative and quantitative approach will be applied in this research. The review of the literature will be conducted to gather information about green roof in order to identify the benefits of green roof systems. Survey will be conducted among three target populations, namely developers, architects and landscape architects who work in the Malaysian construction industry. Individuals for the sample group will be selected because as providers of green roofs, the ir views and actions have a direct influence on green roof development. The categorization of the building professionals will enable easy identification of any disparity in views between them. Besides that, the case studies also one of the vital steps to achieve the objective of this research. The Case Studies will combine different methods to compile an understanding of design guidelines for green roof systems. Case study methods involve an in-depth, longitudinal examination of a single instance or event. They provide a systematic way of looking at events, collecting data, analyzing information, and reporting the results. This research is attempted to develop design guidelines for green roof systems in Malaysia. The findings from this research will open new avenues and fields for future researchers and academicians to carry out extensive researches on the topics concerned. INTRODUCTION The green roof is a system that used growing medium and vegetation on the top of the building roof (Cresswell, 2007). The vegetation is planted in a layer of soil or growing medium as the top layer of the roof. The water membrane system is positioned between growing medium and roof deck to carry away access water and also have a filter system to make sure that the plants have a sufficient water supply during dryer day (Long et al., 2006, Piper, 2003). Green roofs have been increasingly popular in Germany, United Stated of America and Europe (Koonce, 2010) not just because of the aesthetic value, but also for improving environment (Li et al., 2010). As discussed by (Castleton et al., 2010) the roof of a building can be partially or completely covered with a layer of vegetation. Many expert confirm that green roof can be classified into two types of systems which are intensive and extensive (Long et al., 2006, Molineux et al., 2009, Cresswell, 2007, Castleton et al., 2010). Intensive s ystems is more like a roof garden supporting large tree and shrubs, but require deep substrates and regular maintenance. Therefore, it is generally heavy and requires a specific support from the building (Molineux et al., 2009, Cresswell, 2007). The extensive system is opposite of intensive systems which have a thin substrate layer with low level planting, typically sedum or lawn, and can be very lightweight in structure (Castleton et al., 2010). Instead of lightweight, these roofs require little or no additional structural support from the building, less expensive, low maintenance, and designed for limited human access. Plants selected for extensive system are usually have a shallow root system, good regenerative abilities, resistance to direct solar radiation, harsh winds or heavy rainfall, and ground cover species on slopes up to 30% (Long et al., 2006, Cresswell, 2007). There are many potential benefits of green roofs. These may be considered to fall into three main categories, Amenity and Aesthetic Benefits, Environmental Benefits, and Economic Benefits, although there is a great deal of crossover between categories. Amenity Aesthetic Benefitsinclude leisure and open space, visual aesthetic value, health and therapeutic value, and food production. Environmental Benefits include ecological and wildlife value, water management, air quality, sound absorption, and reducing the urban heat island effect. Economic Benefitsinclude increased roof life, building insulation and energy efficiency, and green building assessment and public relations. These benefits operate at a range of scales. Some will only operate if relatively large numbers of green roofs are implemented in any particular area and their benefits will only be apparent at the larger neighborhood or city scale. Others will operate directly on an individual building (Michael and Thomas, 2003, V ancouver, 2009). Therefore, it is important to adopt green roof as it gives many benefits to reduce the environmental impact. The purpose of this research is to develop design guidelines for green roof system in Malaysia. RESEARCH STATEMENT The phenomenon of global warming or climate change has led to many environmental issues including higher atmospheric temperatures, intensive precipitation, increase greenhouse gaseous emission and of course increase indoor discomfort condition (Asmat Ismail et al., 2010). Some scientists believe that changes are part of natural variability (Radhi, 2009) while others point to human activity (Oh and Chua, 2010, Nordell, 2003) as the cause of increasing atmospheric concentrations of greenhouse gases (GHGs) and the key driver of climate change. As the Carbon dioxide (CO2) in atmosphere increases, the ability of earth surface to reradiate heat to the atmosphere is lessen. Carbon dioxide acts as a blanket over the surface and keeps the earth warmer than it would otherwise be. The warmer climate outside will also affect the indoor temperature of building. When the outdoor air temperature increases, building will experience indoor discomfort. The demand for mechanical ventilation will be cri tical and eventually lead to higher energy consumption in building (Asmat Ismail et al., 2010). The heavy reliance on air conditioning typically increases energy use, increased emission of CO2, increase other GHGs to power the system (Calm, 2002) and also adding to negative impacts of global warming (Wilkinson et al., 2007). Therefore, it is vital important to reduce the energy consumption in building by reducing the usage of air conditioning system where the air conditioning systems release the carbon into the air which has been identified as the element that insulates planet and one of the major contributor in global warming. Buildings are important contributors to the ever-increasing carbon emission and its impact on global warming (Kui, 4 october 2010; The Star, May 2009). Buildings last longer, and over that lifetime they play a part in contributing to the destruction of the environment. Over its life cycle, a building uses many resources and is the source of much pollution emissions (Yoon, 2009). In Malaysia, commercial and residential building use up 48% of the electricity generated (Li, 2009). During the UN Climate Change Conference in December 2009, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak made very clear Malaysias commitment to the green cause, pledging to cut up to 40 per cent of Malaysias carbon emission intensity in terms of GDP by the year 2020 from year 2005 levels (Singh and Ping, 2010, Fernandez, 2010). Therefore, one way to reduce the impact of global warming and improve urban environmental quality is by adopting the green roof technologies (Williams et al., 2010). However, the question arise s, why Malaysian construction industry must adopt the green roof technology? It is because most of the heat 75% enters from roof compare to 25% from wall. Besides that, the roof is exposed most for the longest period to solar radiation where heat radiated from the sun is absorbed by the roof surface and the ceiling absorbs the radiated heat (Lu, 2009). Apart from that, the green roof technology is able to reduce the energy consumption and can improve the internal comfort during the spring and summer seasons (Fioretti et al., 2010, Michael and Thomas, 2003, Lawlor et al., 2006). Furthermore, green roof lead to lower energy bills, and provide a carbon sink in urban areas, along with many other diverse ecological advantages (Sihau, 2009). Thus, in order to reduce the amount of heat entering through the roofs, such buildings must be adopted with green roof technology. In Asia, the use of green roofs has arisen in Japan, Singapore, Hong Kong and China. Although the idea of green roofs in Asia is new, these countries are active in developing, practicing and conducting research on green roofs, particularly in Singapore (Wan et al, 2010). According to Wong (2005) roofs present 21%-26% of urban areas and this can provide a unique opportunity to improve the environment if green roofs are used. In urban areas such as Kuala Lumpur, there are a lot of opportunities to implement green roofs in the development because of rapid expansion in these areas. By having a green roof, the areas taken from nature to be developed are made to come alive again. Green roofs in Malaysia are considered as a fairly new though lots of benefits are offered. However, in country that has similar climate with Malaysia such as Singapore have grown remarkable on green roof. Compare to Singapore, Malaysia are far behind in terms of research done, policies, technology and practice in this area (Govindaraju et al., 2005, Chandran et al., 2009). Malaysia still remains many potential obstacles to their more widespread adoption. This obstacles include a lack of standards, high costs when green roof installers are inexperienced, few demonstration examples to inspire and give confidence to developers considering a green roof and a lack of relevant and reliable research to provide confidence in the economic and environmental benefits of green roofs (Williams et al., 2010) (Williams et al, 2010; Sihau 2009; Michael Thomas, 2003). Besides that, Malaysia has a very different climate to the temperature regions of the northern hemisphere where green roofs are more common. Relying on northern hemisphere research, experience and technology is problematic, due to significant differences in rainfall, temperature, available substrates and suitable vegetation (Wilkinson, 2009). This may introduce unacceptable levels of risk and unnecessary expense to development projects consid ering green roofs. Since Singapore is advance in developing green roof system, therefore Malaysia should put Singapore as an example to move towards green roof system. This research examines green roofs in Malaysia, the status of the industry and discusses information gaps requiring research. Therefore, it is important to overcome the obstacles by adopting green roof technology in Malaysia in order to get the benefits offers from the technology. In recent years, green roofs are becoming more and more popular in the world and have also attracted much attention in Malaysia. However, when people consider applying green roof systems, they often find it difficult to understand the technical requirements, design an effective system and evaluate their performance. Unlike other countries that are very advance in green roof technologies such as Germany and Japan, they have their own guidelines for green roof system (Hui, 2010). A brief discussion with Ishamuddin Mazlan from Ministry of Energy, Green Technology and Water (KeTTHA) indicates that there are no design guidelines for green roof systems in Malaysia. In German, the German Landscape Research, Development and Construction Society (FLL) has been working on standards for green roof technology for 25 years. Their ‘Guideline for the Planning, Execution and Upkeep of Green-Roof Sites (FLL-guidelines) reflects the latest developments in German acknowledged state-of-the-art tec hnology (Philippi, 2005). Over 800 green roofs can be found in Germany alone, a leader in building codes and incentives for green roof installation. In Asia, Japan has become a center for green roof technology. Its capital, Tokyo, is the first city to mandate building vegetation must constitute 20 percent of all new construction (Wark, 2003). Their guidelines are very useful to implement green roof but they should not be copied directly without adapting and considering the local conditions of Malaysia. Therefore, there is an urgent need to develop local design guidelines for green roof systems in Malaysia. THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK There were various research has been conducted in the field of green roof systems and the quantity seems to increase over the years since environmental issues become more concerning worldwide. The research that has been done in the field of green roof can be grouped into seven which are research on storm water management, research on materials, research on opportunities and barrier, research on environment, research on energy and building, research on perceptions, and research on guidelines. The research that has been done in storm water management for instance by Berghage et al (2009) conducted a research on Green Roofs for Stormwater Runoff Control. The findings of the paper indicate that the green roofs are capable of removing 50% of the annual rainfall volume from a roof through retention and evapotranspiration. Rainfall not retained by green roofs is detained, effectively increasing the time to peak, and slowing peak flows for a watershed. Whereas Berndtsson et al (2009) conduct ed a research on Runoff water quality from intensive and extensive vegetated roofs. This study investigated influence on runoff water quality from two full scale vegetated roofs (an intensive from Japan and an extensive from Sweden). Results show that both extensive and intensive vegetated roofs are a sink of nitrate nitrogen and ammonium nitrogen with similar performance. The intensive vegetated roof is also a sink of total nitrogen in contrast to the extensive roof. While Hardin and Wanielista (2007) has done research on a water quality assesment of a green roof stormwater treatment systems. The results of this work show that the use of green roof stormwater treatment systems for the improvement of stormwater quality is a promising treatment option. The total suspended solids results show that green roofs had a lower concentration and smaller standard deviation than the control chambers. Besides, Emilsson et al (2007) has done a research on Effect of using conventional and control led release fertiliser on nutrient runoff from various vegetated roof systems. The findings of the paper indicate that Conventional fertilisers caused high nutrient concentrations in the runoff water. Concentrations decreased during the duration of the experiment but at the end of the experiment they were still higher than after fertilisation with CRF. Conventional fertiliser also increased the total nutrient runoff. Research on materials for instance has been done by Molineux et al (2009) on Characterising alternative recycled waste materials for use as green roof growing media in the U.K. This study have shown that the alternative substrates perform as well if not better, than the widely used crushed red brick as growing media, in terms of plant growth and material characterisations.. They are also similar in price to the red brick substrate (Shireminerals, pers. comm.) and are already commercially available. While Cresswell (2007) has done a research on Characterisation of Mineral Wastes, Resources and Processing technologies. The findings indicate that Aerated concrete is a material that is suitable for use as a light weight green roof substrate. It has the appropriate density and water absorption. Research that has been conducted on opportunities and barrier for instance by Williams et al (2010) on Green roofs for a wide brown land: Opportunities and barriers for rooftop greening in Australia. This paper examines green roofs in Australia, discusses the challenges to increasing their use and the major information gaps that need to be researched to progress the industry in Australia. While Wilkinson and Reed (2010) compile a unique building database incorporating information about 536 commercial buildings and evaluate the potential suitability of each building to undergo a green roof retrofit. A relatively small proportion of roofs are found to be suitable, partly a result of local climate conditions and rainfall patterns, and the physical property stock. On a purely physical assessment, only a very small proportion of central business district (CBD) stock is found to be suited. These buildings are most likely to be in low secondary locations, ungraded or B grade buildings, priv ately owned, concrete framed and not overshadowed by adjoining properties. Besides, compile a unique building database incorporating information about 536 commercial buildings and evaluate the potential suitability of each building to undergo a green roof retrofit. A relatively small proportion of roofs are found to be suitable, partly a result of local climate conditions and rainfall patterns, and the physical property stock. On a purely physical assessment, only a very small proportion of CBD stock is found to be suited. These buildings are most likely to be in low secondary locations, ungraded or B grade buildings, privately owned, concrete framed and not overshadowed by adjoining properties. Besides, Rowe and Getter (2006) conducted research on The Role of Extensive Green Roofs in Sustainable Development. This paper is a review of current knowledge regarding the benefits of green roofs, plant selection and culture, and barriers to their acceptance in the United States. Because o f building weight restrictions and costs, shallow-substrate extensive roofs are much more common than deeper intensive roofs. Therefore, the focus of this review is primarily on extensive green roofs. Research on environment for instance has been done by Renterghemand Botteldooren (2011) on In-situ measurements of sound propagating over extensive green roofs. In this study, in-situ measurements of sound propagation over flat, extensive green roofs were presented in 5 case studies. These involved situations with either a single diffraction or double diffraction over green roofs. Measurements show that green roofs may lead to consistent and significant sound reduction at locations where only diffracted sound waves arrive. Among the single diffraction cases, acoustic green roof improvements exceeding 10 dB were found, over a wide frequency range. While Li et al (2010) study on Effect of green roof on ambient CO2 concentration. The study systematically investigates the effect of green roofs on the ambient CO2 concentration using field measurements, chamber experiments and numerical simulations. Plants can reduce the CO2 concentration in the environment by absorbing CO2 in the daytime. In a typical sunny day in summer in Hong Kong, the CO2 absorption rate of a plant in the daytime is much greater than the CO2 emission rate at night. The extent of the green roof effect is related to the condition of the plants, the position of the green roof and the ambient airflow condition. In a sunny day, a green roof may lower the CO2 concentration in the nearby region as much as 2%. On the other hand, Carter and Keeler (2008) conducted research on Life-cycle cost-benefit analysis of extensive vegetated roof systems. This study uses data collected from an experimental green roof plot to develop a benefit cost analysis (BCA) for the life cycle of extensive (thin layer) green roof systems in an urban watershed. The results from this analysis are compared with a traditional roofing scenario. The net present value (NPV) of this type of green roof currently ranges from 10% to 14% more expensive than its conventional counterpart. A reduction of 20% in green roof construction cost wo uld make the social NPV of the practice less than traditional roof NPV. Besides, Jones and Alexandri (2008) studied on Temperature decreases in an urban canyon due to green walls and green roofs in diverse climates. From this quantitative research, it has been shown that there is an important potential of lowering urban temperatures when the building envelope is covered with vegetation. Air temperature decreases at roof level can reach up to 26.0 1C maximum and 12.8 1C day-time average (Riyadh), while inside the canyon decreases reach up to 11.3 1C maximum and 9.1 1C daytime average, again for hot and arid Riyadh. It can be concluded that the hotter and drier a climate is, the greater the effect of vegetation on urban temperatures. Research on energy and building that has been done by Chang et al (2011) on Optimal Design for Water Conservation and Energy Savings Using Green Roofs in a Green Building under Mixed Uncertainties. The study identifies the optimal green roof area that keeps within the cost of a conventional home over a specific life time, such as 50 years. Research findings show that as the reliability level associated with the chance constraint was decreased, the upper bound of the green roof area did not vary much for either shingle or metal roofs. The lower bound was found to decrease in the same situation, however, due to the higher minimum cost of the cistern in relation to the greater volume of expected rainfall, forcing the required green roof area to decrease. While Fioretti et al (2010) investigate Green roof energy and water related performance in the Mediterranean climate. The investigation performed within the specific climatic context of the Mediterranean region. Full-scale experimental results are provided from two case studies, located in north-west and central Italy, consisting in two fully monitored green roofs on top of public buildings. The attenuation of solar radiation through the vegetation layer is evaluated as well as the thermal insulation performance of the green roof structure. The daily heat flow through the roof surface is quantified showing that the green roof outperforms the reference roof, therefore reducing the daily energy demand. As for water management, it is confirmed that green roofs significantly mitigate storm water runoff generation even in a Mediterranean climate in terms of runoff volume reduction, peak attenuation and increase of concentration time, although reduced performance could be observed during high precipitation periods. Besides, Castleton et al (2010) conducted a research on Green roofs; building energy savings and the potential for retrofit. This paper reviews the current literature and highlights the situations in which th e greatest building energy savings can be made. Older buildings with poor existing insulation are deemed to benefit most from a green roof as current building regulations require such high levels of insulation that green roofs are seen to hardly affect annual building energy consumption. As over half of the existing UK building stock was built before any roof insulation was required, it is older buildings that will benefit most from green roofs. The case for retrofitting existing buildings is therefore reviewed and it is found there is strong potential for green roof retrofit in the UK. Research on perception has been done by Wan Zuriea et al (2010) on Perception towards green roof in Malaysia. Results from interviews showed that the respondents perceived green roofs benefits are that they provide leisure and operational space, visual amenities value and health and therapeutic value and environment and economic advantages. From the field observation study, it was found that there is a good potential for green roof as it promotes a range of benefits that can solve the problem of ecological steps, limitation of space, greenery balance, global warming, aesthetics and lost of wildlife habitat that occur in many urban areas. While House (2009) conducted research on North Texas Stakeholders: Perceptions of Extensive Green Roofs. The findings of the paper indicate thatstakeholders perceived extensive green roofs as being appropriate for use in North Texas. Concerns were raised regarding plant selection, weight requirements, initial cost, city codes, and aesthetics. Develop ers and city officials indicated their concern for the performance of green roofs in the extremes of the North Texas climate, while architects and landscape architects spoke of the multitude of benefits and appropriateness for this region. Overall, perceptions of extensive green roofs were favorable, but a lack of adequate research and concerns over cost issues were frequently cited as barriers to implementation. However, in this paper, researcher tends to focus on design guidelines of green roof system.ÂÂ   There is no similar thorough research which has been done by any other researcher in Malaysia regarding on design guideline of green roof systems. Malaysia still do not have the design guidelines for green roof system based on the preliminary interview that has been done with Encik Ishamuddin bin Mazlan from the Ministry of Energy, Green Technology and Water (KeTTHA). For instance, Hui (2010) has develop technical guidelines for green roof systems in Hong Kong. This paper describes the major findings of a research to develop technical guidelines for green roof systems in Hong Kong. The current knowledge and latest trends of green roof technology in the world have been studied. Useful information and experience were examined for assessing the potential benefits and key design factors. By investigating the system components and practical considerations of typical green roof projects in Hong Kong and other countries, key information is established for preparing the technical guidelines. Based on the review of the previous related to the research, there seems no study that has been done on design guideline for green roof systems in Malaysia and this will be an interesting topic for researcher in this Master research. Therefore, there is a gap that has been left for researcher to fill in and to contribute to the existing body of knowledge. AIM AND OBJECTIVE Generally, this research seeks to have an understanding and knowledge on green roof systems. This study aims to improve the quality of green roof systems in Malaysia by develop design guidelines for green roof systems. In order to achieve the aims above, three (3) correlative objectives are outlined as follows: To identify the operational performance benefits of green roof technology To explore the obstacle to adopt green roof technology To develop design guidelines for green roof systems in Malaysia RESEARCH QUESTIONS Research questions are framed as a guide to fulfil the research objectives. This research is expected to produce design guidelines that make best use of the potential of green roof. Having decided that, the following research questions are addressed and framed: Research question for objective 1 What are the effect of the green roof to the environment How green roof can reduce energy consumption in buildings How importance of using green roof technology in buildings Research question for objective 2 What are the barriers in adopting green roof systems in Malaysia How do this barrier effect the adoption of green roof in Malaysia Research question for objective 3 What are the factor need to be considered in designing the green roof systems RESEARCH METHOD The methodology in conducting is three different stages as follows: a) Literature Search Review Literature search will conducted to gather information about green roof in order to identify the benefits of green roof systems. The sources and information from journals, articles, books and internet are then fully analyzed and studied to gain better understanding on green roof technology. b) Survey Survey will be conducted among three target populations, namely developers, architects and landscape architects who work in the Malaysian construction industry. Set of questionnaires will be distributed to explore the obstacles to adopt green roof technology in Malaysia by comparison of answers to the same set of questions. The analysis of data from the questionnaires responses may provide data from which tables of obstacles can be produced. c) Case Study The Case Studies combine different methods to compile an understanding of modular green roof systems. Case study methods involve an in-depth, longitudinal examination of a single instance or event: a case. They provide a systematic way of looking at events, collecting data, analyzing information, and reporting the results. As a result the researcher may gain a sharpened understanding of why the instance happened as it did, and what might become important to look at more extensively in future research. RESEARCH SCOPE AND LIMITATION The target group of this research consisting of developers, architects, and landscape architects in the peninsular of Malaysia excluding Sabah and Sarawak who work in the Malaysian construction industry. Individuals for the sample group will be selected because as providers of green roofs, their views and actions have a direct influence on green roof development. The categorization of the building professionals will enable easy identification of any disparity in views between them. SIGNIFICANCE OF THE RESEARCH This research is expected to identify the performance benefits of green roof systems in order for green roof to be utilized in Malaysian buildings. Besides that, this research will identify the obstacles to adopt green roof and develop recommendation to overcome this obstacles. Furthermore, this study will add to the body of knowledge that green roof systems can enhance the environment of the urban area, reduce energy use in buildings, and help to reduce effect of global warming especially in urban area in Malaysia. On top of that, this research hopes to give a better understanding and way to adopt green roof systems in Malaysian buildings. At the end of this research, it will develop new design guidelines for sustainable green roof systems in Malaysia. Aim Research Statement Objectives Research Questions Research Method To improve the quality of green roof systems in Malaysia by develop design guidelines for green roof systems. Global warming or climate change OB1: To identify operational performance benefits of green roof technology RQ1.1: What are the effects of the green roof to the environment RQ1.2: How green roof can reduce energy consumption in buildings RQ1.3: How importance of using green roof technology in buildings Literature review Obstacles in adoption green roof systems OB2: To explore the obstacles to adopt green roof technology RQ2.1: What are the barriers in adopting green roof systems in Malaysia RQ2.2: How do this barrier effect the adoption of green roof technology in Malaysia Questionnaire Survey Design Guidelines OB3: To develop design guidelines for green roof systems in Malaysia RQ3.1: What are the factor need to be considered in designing the green roof systems Case Study

Behind Closed Doors Essay -- essays research papers fc

Behind Closed Doors Over the years, many people have believed that the issue of sexual harassment should not be discussed in public. Sexual harassment was to be discussed behind closed doors. In spite of this, the social and political systems have changed instantaneously. This social problem has affected men and women throughout time; however, it seems that the women of our society more closely look at this issue. This social topic has encouraged women to establish organizations in order to help them discuss the issues more openly and to demand equality including fairness and justice throughout the workplace and in their social lives as well. In recent years, sexual harassment has been one of the most serious and widespread problems found in the workplace. For this reason, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights proclaimed, by the United Nations in 1948, to help everyone in their fight for self-respect and dignity. Indeed sexual harassment is an issue that complicates employment decisions. People also recognize that it is an issue involving the creation of an antagonistic or offensive work environment. In many instances, the issue of sexual harassment is not something minor that can be easily solved. Sexual harassment, in most cases, involves a superior’s behavior towards a subordinate. As mentioned before, most forms of sexual harassment occur in the workplace. An employee can charge an employer with sexual harassment as a result of the misconduct of managers, fellow employees, vendors, and even customers. Eventually, sexual harassment can cause a hostile work environment. It is true, for the most part, that sexual harassment comes in many forms in the workplace. There are two significant ways in which one can identify sexual harassment. They are called the â€Å"Quid Pro Quo† and the â€Å"Hostile Environment Harassment.† The essence of the Quid Pro Quo theory of sexual harassment occurs when an employee is confronted with sexual demands to keep her job or obtain a promotion. This is a true violation of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which is also referred to as the Title VII Act. Even though sexual harassment by its very nature is complicated to define, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission provides a general description of sexual advances. [The several basic varieties of the Quid Pro Quo harassment indicate the unwelcome sexual advances and requests for... ...sex with him. She had bee going on with his sick plan for six months. The owner as far as we know hasn’t been charged with anything, but the boss is in jail for some felony concerning the blackmail. My friend still has deep seeded emotional problems with the men that she works with. She has been to a psychiatrist only to be told that it is a healing process and that it takes time. I think that this ordeal has hurt her mentally more than anything else. In conclusion I’d like to ask everyone, male and female, to think before you act. What you might think is a harmless joke could be just the opposite to someone else. What can we do as individuals and as a group to stop this to commonly practiced act? Works Cited Aggarwal, Arjun P. â€Å"Sexual Harassment in the Workplace† Butterworths Canada Ltd. 1992 Lindemann, Barbara and Kadue, David D. â€Å"Sexual Harassment in Employmet Law† Copyright Clearance Center (CCC) Transactional Reporting Services 1993 Caggiano, Christopher â€Å"The Inc. Faxpoll† Multimedia Publications Inc. 1992 Baridon, Andrea P. â€Å"The New Rules and Realities for Managing Men and Women at Work† McGraw Hill Inc. 1994 Serepca, Beth â€Å"Sexual Harassment† Internal Auditor October 1995

This Way for the Gas Ladies and Gentlemen Essay -- Analysis, Tadeusz

The sullen narrative This Way for the Gas Ladies and Gentlemen poignantly recounts the events of a typical day in a Nazi concentration camp during World War II. The author, Tadeusz Borowski, was Polish Holocaust survivor of Auschwitz, the series of death camps responsible for the deaths of the largest number of European Jews. Recounted from a first-person point of view, the novel unfolds at dawn as the unnamed narrator eats breakfast with a friend and fellow prisoner, Henri. Henri is a member of Canada, the labor group responsible for unloading the Jewish transports as they arrive into the camps. They are interrupted by a call for Canada to report to the loading ramps. Upon the arrival of the transport, the narrator joins Henri in directing the prisoners to either life, in the labor camps, or to death, in the gas chambers. In reality the path is neither one of life or death, rather it is routing prisoners to inevitable death or immediate death. Regardless of how many times he is aske d, the narrator refuses to disclose to the transport prisoners what is happening to them or where they are being taken. This is camp law, but the narrator also believes it to be charitable to â€Å"deceive (them) until the very end†(pg. 115). Throughout the day the narrator encounters a myriad of people, but one is described in great detail: a young woman, depicted as being unscathed by the abomination that is the transport. She is tidy and composed, unlike those around her. Calmly, she inquires as to where she is being taken, like many before her, but to no avail. When the narrator refuses to answer, she stoically boards a truck bound for the gas chambers. By the end of both the day and of the novel, the camp has processed approximately fifteen thousand p... ...urvivors crawling towards me, clawing at my soul. The guilt of the world had been literally placed on my shoulders as I closed the book and reflected on the morbid events I had just read. As the sun set that night, I found no joy in its vastness and splendor, for I was still blinded by the sins of those before me. The sound of my tears crashing to the icy floor sang me to sleep. Just kidding. But seriously, here’s the rest. Upon reading of the narrators’ brief excerpt of his experience, I was overcome with empathy for both the victims and persecutors. The everlasting effect of the holocaust is not only among those who lost familiesà ·, friends, /6mà ·illions of their very race, but also with the prisoner workers who were-and have been-relentlessly tormented by (the guilt of their actions) (their guilt). This (novel, story, event, etc..) will not soon be forgotten.

Costa Coffee Strategy

MMS assignment: Costa Coffee STRATEGY: 1. Identify, analyse and discuss Strategic issues in Costa Coffee. â€Å"Costa has flourished in a recession which has claimed many victims in the industry,† says Whitebread company. 1The reason for this success is its strategy. Using the PESTEL framework will help identify, analyse and discuss Costa’s strategy. Despite the importance of political, environmental, technological and law factors, for the purpose of this essay we will focus on the economic and social factors affecting Costa Coffee. We will first see how economic factors such as the recent raise of coffee beans price influence Costa’s prices. We will then use social factors such as consumer trends to identify the different trends today and explain how Costa is reacting to them. Through this essay we will have then explained how â€Å"Costa has flourished in a recession which has claimed many victims in the industry,†2 The main economic factor affecting the coffee market today is the raise of coffee beans price. Due to heavy rains brought on by Caribbean storms in the coffee producing 1 Zekaria, S. , 2010. Whitbread Says Costa Coffee ‘Flourished' During Recession. [online] 2010 FOX News Network, LLC. Available at: [Accessed 23 December 2010] 2 Zekaria, S. , 2010. Whitbread Says Costa Coffee ‘Flourished' During Recession. [online] 2010 FOX News Network, LLC. Available at: [Accessed 23 December 2010] countries from Central America, coffee prices have increased3. Coffee futures have gone up 35% since June 2010 to reach the highest price for a pound since December 1997: $1. 848. 4 This is a significant problem because coffee beans are raw materials for coffee shops. Hence if shops do not have coffee beans or not enough, their sales will plummet. As John Wolthers, a trader at coffee exporter Comexim in Santos reports: â€Å"It's a great time to be a producer, and a difficult time to be a roaster. 5 Because these prices are due to natural disasters, it is possible that they will not change until at least end of 2010 or 2011. A normal consequence would therefore be to raise prices in order to retain money. However, Whitbread PLC, owner of Costa Coffee, announced November 10th 2010 that â€Å"it has no plans to increase beverage retail prices , even as it remains concerned over escalating wholesale costs. † 6One of the reasons for this action is because Costa had already bought many coffee beans before the storm hence has enough to provide the outlets with enough beans during this period of increased prices. This shows that Costa â€Å"plans† its purchases well because as we 3 Zekaria, S. , 2010. Whitbread's Costa Coffee Plans No Retail Price Rises. [online] 2010 The Connors Group, Inc. Available at: [Accessed 23 December 2010] 4 Danby, T. and Sellen, T. 2010. No Relief in Sight for the Coffee Market. [online] 2010 Dow Jones & Company, Inc. Available at : [Accessed on 23 December 2010] 5 Danby, T. and Sellen, T. 2010. No Relief in Sight for the Coffee Market. [online] 2010 Dow Jones & Company, Inc. Available at : [Accessed on 23 December 2010] 6 Zekaria, S. , 2010. Whitbread's Costa Coffee Plans No Retail Price Rises. [online] 2010 The Connors Group, Inc. Available at: ; http://www. tradingmarkets. com/news/stockalert/sbux_wtbrf_-update-whitbread-s-costa-coffee-plans-no-retail-price-rises-1297481. html; [Accessed 23 December 2010] 7 Zekaria, S. , 2010. Whitbread's Costa Coffee Plans No Retail Price Rises. [online] 2010 The Connors Group, Inc. Available at: < http://www. tradingmarkets. com/news/stock- can see, thanks to its bulk-buying in coffee beans, it is now unaffected, unlike the other coffee shops, by the coffee bean market. However this could be a risk because one can never know exactly how many beans are consumed per day and Costa does not know for certain how long these prices will remain high. Another reason Costa would not want to raise prices could be because in a period of recession, where consumers are being more and more careful with the way they spend their money8 they will not want to buy a drink at Costa if it is too expensive. Moreover if it is therefore cheaper at Starbucks or Caffe Nero for example why would they want to pay more for the same drink? Hence a third reason for Costa’s decision is due to the competitiveness with the all the other coffee stores. The final reason is â€Å"With total sales growing at 33% year on year, and like for like sales up 9%†9, and with over 1,100 outlets in the UK and 130 new shops to open within this year in the UK10 perhaps Costa is not too affected by the increase of coffee beans price. Hence, with the increase of coffee beans, Costas strategy is not to increase prices for different reasons which demonstrate Costas strength in the coffee industry which therefore explains why it has flourished during the recession: Costa stops at nothing. lert/sbux_wtbrf_-update-whitbread-s-costa-coffee-plans-no-retail-price-rises-1297481. html> [Accessed 23 December 2010] 8 Rodenberg, J. , n. d. Costa Coffee vs Starbucks. [online] Templates Wise. Available at: [Accessed 16 December 2010] 9 Hospitability And Catering News. , 2010. Costa Coffee has wins „Best Branded Coffee Shop Chain?. [onl ine] Available at: [Accessed on 23 December 2010] 10 Zekaria, S. , 2010. Whitbread Says Costa Coffee ‘Flourished' During Recession. [online] 2010 FOX News Network, LLC. Available at: [Accessed 23 December 2010] Moreover, social factors such as consumer trends enable us to see how Costas strategy is brilliant. According to CJ Bobrowski, Head of Costa Systems, â€Å"With greater insight into trends we can adapt more quickly to any changes in consumer needs, helping us to stay ahead of competition in a crowded marketplace. â€Å"11 Hence identifying and explaining the trends and how Costa adapts to them explains its success. For this essay, we will focus on three trends. With prices that cannot increase due to competitively another way in which companies can now compete is through quality. As more and more coffee shops open in the UK, demonstrating high quality is an important aspect for consumers today. With each one providing the same type of product, they need to know which one is the best quality-wise. One of Costa’s advertisements promotes its cappuccino by saying: â€Å"Sorry Starbucks, the people have voted. †12 This advert clearly shows the consumers concern for quality. Through this advert Costa shows it has clearly adapted to consumers new trend. The thirst for an experience is another trend. It has become so important that a word for consumers searching for an experience was invented: â€Å"Transumers†13. Consumers no longer look for simple coffee but for an experience. Costa provides this by training its baristas at official training academies opened by Costa. In fact in 2009they invested in a third Training Academy. Therefore, each of their barista have been professionally trained to provide each 11 Bobrowski, CJ,. [online] Torex Retail Holdings Limited. Available at: [Accessed 17 December 2010] 12 Rodenberg, J. , n. d. Costa Coffee vs Starbucks. [online] Templates Wise. Available at: [Accessed 16 December 2010] 13 Trend watching. , 2006. Transumers. [online] Trendwatching. om. Available at: < http://trendwatching. com/trends/transumers. htm> [Accessed 23 December 2010] customer with the best coffee. 14 This is important for no other coffee shop has invested in training academies which makes Costas drinks even more of an experience for consumers. The â€Å"Nintendo Wii Fitness† is increasingly bought which shows consumers’ concern for health. They are especially more t roubled about the amount of fat, saturated fat, salt and sugar in their food. 15 Hence health has become a trend. In order to respond to this, Costa has different techniques. The first is to provide consumers with different types of milk: soya or skimmed for no extra cost. 16However, Costa does not advertise enough this aspect hence many customers are not aware of these options. They need to increase the marketing for this aspect in order to be fully responding to this trend. The second technique is working with the Food Standards Agency to reduce salt and saturated fat and indicate their quantities. 17This way, the products stay the same with less fat and consumers know how many calories they absorb. This is very risky for Costa. Many consumers are not aware of how many calories there are in their beverages and could be 14 The Food and Drink Innovation Network,. 2009. Costa Opens third training academy in Newburry. [online] Food & Drink Innovation Network. Available at: http://www. fdin. org. uk/2009/06/costa-opens-third-training-academy-in-newbury/ [Accessed 17 December 2010] 15 Foods Standard Agency, 2008. Consumer confidence rises around many food issues. [online] Crown copyright. Available at: [Accessed on 16 December 2010] 16 Morgan, J. , 2008. Fast food menu is recipe for obesity. [online] Cambridge Newspaper Ltd. Available at: [Accessed on 15 December 2010] 17 Food Standards Agency, 2010. Healthy catering commitments. [online] Crown Copyright. Available at: [Accessed on 14 December 2010] shocked like Rebecca: â€Å"It's lethal! I don't want it now [†¦] I know there's a lot of fat in them too. â€Å"18 By observing the trends and adapting to them despite possible negative consequences, Costa proves that â€Å"[great] insight into trends [helps costa] to stay ahead of competition in a crowded marketplace. 19 Costa has been able to â€Å"make it through† the â€Å"rough patches† despite the increase of coffee beans price and its ability to identify and adapt to consumer’s trends. However will they have to increase their prices soon? With such sales growing 33% year on year20 will this firm be able to be at the top of the coffee shop list? 18 Sky News HD, 2009. Cancer Fear Of Calorie-Laden Iced Co ffees. [online] BskyB. Available at: [Accessed on 14 December 2010] 19 Bobrowski, CJ,. [online] Torex Retail Holdings Limited. Available at: [Accessed 17 December 2010] 20 Hospitability And Catering News. , 2010. Costa Coffee has wins „Best Branded Coffee Shop Chain?. [online] Available at: [Accessed on 23 December 2010] MARKETING: 2. Analyse Costa’s Marketing; and then reflect on how it compares to the marketing of Starbucks. Deborah Dougherty, professor of Management and Global Business at Rutgers Business School, and Cynthia Hardy, professor of Management and Marketing at the University of Melbourne, agree that it is difficult for old organisations with a big history to innovate due to the challenges of new technology and global competitors. 1 Costa Coffee being a new organisation hence should not have many problems innovating its products and processes. Being part of the young rising coffee shop industry, Costa Coffee’s number one competitor is Starbucks. Dr. Robert G. Cooper, expert in the field of innovation, published The Invisible Success Factors in Product Innovation in which he establishes â€Å"Eight Actionable Critical Success Factors† for innovation. 22 In this essay we will only use certain factors to explain how Costa’s service and product innovations are better than Starbucks but how, despite this; Costa is still a little behind for the future. In order to be competitive in today’s UK coffee shop industry, service innovation is vital. Costa and Starbucks have therefore launched a new loyalty card because as Jeffery Young, managing director of Allegra Strategies notices: â€Å"Electronic loyalty cards provide an 21 Dougherty, D and Hardy C,. 1996. Sustained Product Innovation in large, mature Organisations: overcoming innovation-to-organization problems. Academy of Management Journal, 39(9, pp. 1120. 22 Cooper, R,. n. d. From Experience: The Invisible Success Factors in Product Innovation. [online] Product Development Institute Inc. Available at: [Accessed on 17 December 2010] opportunity to engage in rich dialogue with customers and track their behavior. †23 Hence this card will not only improve the dialogue between customers and firm but also will enable the companies to innovate their manufacturing process or services in order to adapt to the changing behavior. 24 Although the service is the same, are the reasons behind this innovation the same? One of Cooper’s critical innovation success factors is the justification of the project. 25 For Costa, this new card is a positive sign; its use is to replace the successful old card. According to a year-long trial in Scotland, one in three transactions was using the old card26. Hence in order to thank the customer’s loyalty, Costa wanted to add â€Å"rewards† and innovate the card so that one no longer had to top-up money on the card in order to purchase but would simply pay with money and then receive points that would transform into rewards. 27 The justification for Starbucks’s loyalty card is not for the same positive reasons. For them, with â€Å"sales decline and customers brew at home or visit competitors†, this new loyalty card is a 23 Thomas, J,. 2010. Costa Coffee rolls out customer loyalty card. online] Haymarket Business Media. Available at : [Accessed on 15 December 2010] 24 Thomas, J,. 2010. Costa Coffee rolls out customer loyalty card. [online] Haymarket Business Media. Available at : [Accessed on 15 December 2010] 25 Cooper, R,. n. d. From Experience: The Invisible Success Factors in Product Innovation. [online] Product Development Institute Inc. Available at: [Accessed on 17 December 2010] 26 EatOut,. 2010. Costa Launches New Coffee Club. [online] Available at: [Accessed 15 December 2010] 27 EatOut,. 2010. Costa Launches New Coffee Club. [online] Available at: [Accessed 15 December 2010] echnique to hopefully rebound profits by attracting customers back to the store for its benefits with the card. 28 Therefore, this innovation shows that although both companies propose the same service through their loyalty cards, the reasons behind this same service differs which shows that Costa is raising compared to Starbucks who is struggling against its competitors. Another example that shows that Costa’s innovation is better than Starbucks’s is the launch of a new drink: The Flat White. Although Starbucks is the first to have inaugurated this drink, Costa is the one who has the biggest impact in the UK29. Costa Coffe is the only one to have followed Cooper’s fifth critical innovation success factor : â€Å"A well-planned, adequately-resourced and proficiently-executed launch. †30 Indeed, Starbucks only launched the drink in London whereas Costa, several weeks after, launched it nationally. By launching nationally, Costa was able to sell its new product everywhere whereas Starbucks, only in London31. Hence out-of-London people could believe Costa is the â€Å"founder† of the Flat White, which could therefore lead them to a competitive advantage. Starbucks is the perfect example for Cooper’s statement: â€Å"In some businesses, it’s almost as though the launch is an 28 Startz, S,. 2009. Starbucks Boosts â€Å"Rewards† With Revamped Loyalty Program. [online] 2001-2010 brandchannel. Available at : [Accessed 14 December 2010] 29 Westfield London. n. d. Costa Coffee. [online] 2008 Westfield Group. Available at : [Accessed on 15 December 2010] 30 Cooper, R,. n. d. From Experience: The Invisible Success Factors in Product Innovation. [online] Product Development Institute Inc. Available at: [Accessed on 17 December 2010] 31 Boughton, I,. 2010. Costa Coffee launches the „flat white? ationwide. [online] Reed Business Information. Available at: [Accessed 23 December 2010] after-thought – something to worry about after the product is fully developed. †32Moreover, Costa says to have invested â€Å"more than twelve months’ research, involving the training of 6,000 baristas, at a cost of ov er one million pounds. †33This also shows they followed Cooper’s fifth factor. However, Starbucks says that their baristas had trained themselves due to customers’ requests and that the â€Å"education in the making of the drink was anyway already readily available from a number of barista trainers†. 4 Perhaps Starbucks is right, but according to an independent survey by Tangible Branding Limited consumers prefer Costa’s Flat White to Starbucks’s. 35 This could be explained by the twelve months research and training of 6,000 baristas with a cost of one million pounds. Furthermore, both companies follow Cooper’s second innovation success factor: â€Å"the voice of the customer†. According to Costa's core skills trainer Tim Douglas the Flat White â€Å"will attract some of our latte drinkers who are looking for a milky drink with a broad strength of flavour, and cappuccino drinkers who want a milkier drink with a much richer coff ee 2 Cooper, R,. n. d. From Experience: The Invisible Success Factors in Product Innovation. [online] Product Development Institute Inc. Available at: [Accessed on 17 December 2010] 33 Boughton, I,. 2010. Costa Coffee launches the „flat white? nationwide. [online] Reed Business Information. Available at: [Accessed 23 December 2010] 34 Boughton, I,. 2010. Costa Coffee launches the „flat white? nationwide. [online] Reed Business Information. Available at: [Accessed 23 December 2010] 35 Westfield London. n. d. Costa Coffee. [online] 2008 Westfield Group. Available at : [Accessed on 15 December 2010] flavor. 36 Hence this drink will be able to satisfy the gap between lattes and cappuccinos. Costa is purely reacting to the customers’ need for this â€Å"gap-filling-space†. On the other hand, Starbucks is innovating this drink due to their very negative â€Å"customer’s voice†. Their consumers find their coffees â€Å"too bland and milky†37 w hich is why, the Flat White is the perfect drink to launch because it is â€Å"Stronger, smaller and less milky† than most of their drinks. 38 Therefore, although Costa and Starbucks are using the same product innovation, they have different reasons which show that Costa is becoming more competitive than Starbucks. Although this essay has proved that presently, Costa is innovating for more positive reasons than Starbucks, this state might change in the near future. During a period of recession it is important that firms react to this economical problem. Starbucks, as opposed to Costa, has seemed to understand this and has innovated in â€Å"at-home† machines. The Starbucks Barista Espresso Machine39 or the Barsita Aroma Grande coffee machine enable consumers who do not necessarily want to go out to have a Starbucks coffee to stay at home 36 Williams, A,. 2010. Great White Hope. online] William Reed Business Media Ltd 2010. Available at: [Accessed 23 December 2010] 37 Wallop, H,. 2009. Starbucks to sell ‘flat white' for those fed up with milky coffee. [online] Copyright of Telegraph Media Group Limited 2010. Available at : [Accessed 17 December 2010] 38 Wallop, H,. 2009. Starbucks to sell ‘flat white' for those fed up with milky coffee. [online] Copyright of Telegraph Media Gr oup Limited 2010. Available at : [Accessed 17 December 2010] 39 Justin,. n. d. Starbucks Barista Espresso Marchine. [online] Coffee-Mker-Review. net. Available at: [Accessed 17 December 2010] and make one. Costa should look into this innovation for the future, especially with this economic crisis that continues to worsen. However, Costa may not want to produce these machines because consumers drink their coffees not only for the beverage itself but also for the environment Costa provides, for the â€Å"experience† and unique touch each Barista has when they make one. Hence, perhaps selling these machines would not be of great utility for them. Starbucks is a great competitor for new and rising coffee shops such as Costa. But through this essay we have seen that Costa Coffee is becoming the â€Å"number one† competitor with Starbucks due to its respect to Cooper’s â€Å"Eight Actionable critical success factors†. However, Costa must not forget that Starbucks may be a little weak in the UK but is very strong internationally and that Costa’s next step to compete with Starbucks could perhaps be to have a bigger and stronger position internationally. Referencing List: Bobrowski, CJ,. [online] Torex Retail Holdings Limited. Available at: [Accessed 17 December 2010] Bottonwood,. 2010. Productivity and Coffee Shops. [online] The Economist Newspaper Limited 2010. Available at: [Accessed 13 December 2010] Boughton, I,. 2010. Costa Coffee launches the „flat white? nationwide. [online] Reed Business Information. Available at: [Accessed 23 December 2010] Bowers, S. , 2008. John Derkach: Singular vision fuelled by double macchiato. [online] Guardian News and Media Limited 2010. Available at: [Accessed 15 December 2010] Cooper, R,. n. d. From Experience: The Invisible Success Factors in Product Innovation. [online] Product Development Institute Inc. Available at: [Accessed on 17 December 2010] Danby, T. and Sellen, T. 2010. No Relief in Sight for the Coffee Market. [online] 2010 Dow Jones & Company, Inc. Available at : [Accessed on 23 December 2010] Dougherty, D and Hardy C,. 1996. Sustained Product Innovation in large, mature Organisations: overcoming innovation-to-organization problems. Academy of Management Journal, 39(9, pp. 1120. EatOut,. 2010. Costa Launches New Coffee Club. [online] Available at: [Accessed 15 December 2010] Foods Standard Agency, 2008. Consumer confidence rises around many food issues. online] Crown copyright. Available at: [Accessed on 16 December 2010] Food Standards Agency, 2010. Healthy catering commitments. [online] Crown Copyright. Available at: [Accessed on 14 December 2010] Hospitability And Catering News. , 2010. Costa Coffee has wins „Best Branded Coffee Shop Chain?. [online] Available at: [Accessed on 23 December 2010] Justin,. n. d. Starbucks Barista Espresso Marchine. [online] Coffee-Mk er-Review. net. Available at: [Accessed 17 December 2010] Morgan, J. , 2008. Fast food menu is recipe for obesity. [online] Cambridge Newspaper Ltd. Available at: [Accessed on 15 December 2010] Ndzamela, P. , 2008. Credit crunch putting the bite on cafe culture. [online] Thomson Reuters. Available at: < http://www. reuters. com/article/idUSTRE4AC7YE20081113> [Accessed 15 December 2010] Prynn, J. , 2008. Coffee shop boom time as chains defy crunch. [online] Evening Standard. Available at: [Accessed 16 December 2010] Rodenberg, J. , n. d. Costa Coffee vs Starbucks. [online] Templates Wise. Available at: [Accessed 16 December 2010] Sky News HD, 2009. Cancer Fear Of Calorie-Laden Iced Coffees. [online] BskyB. Available at: [Accessed on 14 December 2010] Smith, A. , 2009. Coffee Price Too Steep? Blame the Weather. [online] Time Inc. Available at: [Accessed 15 December 2010] Startz, S,. 2009. Starbucks Boosts â€Å"Rewards† With Revamped Loyalty Program. [online] 2001-2010 brandchannel. Available at : [Accessed 14 December 2010] The Food and Drink Innovation Network,. 2009. Costa Opens third training academy in Newburry. [online] Food & Drink Innovation Network. Available at: http://www. fdin. org. uk/2009/06/costa-opens-third-training-academy-in-newbury/ [Accessed 17 December 2010] Thomas, J,. 2010. Costa Coffee rolls out customer loyalty card. [online] Haymarket Business Media. Available at : [Accessed on 15 December 2010] Trend watching. , 2006. Transumers. [online] Trendwatching. com. Available at: < http://trendwatching. com/trends/transumers. htm> [Accessed 23 December 2010] Wallop, H,. 2009. Starbucks to sell ‘flat white' for those fed up with milky coffee. [online] Copyright of Telegraph Media Group Limited 2010. Available at : [Accessed 17 December 2010] Westfield London. n. d. Costa Coffee. [online] 2008 Westfield Group. Available at : [Accessed on 15 December 2010] Williams, A,. 010. Great White Hope. [online] William Reed Business Media Ltd 2010. Available at: [Accessed 23 December 2010] Zekaria, S. , 2010. Whitbread Says Costa Coffee ‘Flourished' During Recession. [online] 2010 FOX News Network, LLC. Available at: [Accessed 23 December 2010] Zekaria, S. , 2010. Whitbread's Costa Coffee Plans No Retail Price Rises. [online] 2010 The Connors Group, Inc. Ava ilable at: ; http://www. tradingmarkets. com/news/stockalert/sbux_wtbrf_-update-whitbread-s-costa-coffee-plans-no-retail-price-rises-1297481. html [Accessed 23 December 2010]