Emirates Airline: Penetrating the North American Market

Emirates Airline is known for going against conventional thinking when running its business. Thus far, this strategy has been profitable for the company. In November 2001, the airline announced that it would begin a 13 ? non-stop flight from Dubai to New York starting in June of 2003. However a postponement in the delivery of the Airbus A380-800 aircraft that would service the new route has caused a delay. This will be Emirates’ attempt at penetrating the North American market. In the current politically charged climate there is debate as to whether or not it will be profitable to expand service to this new route from Dubai to New York. Tensions between Washington and the Arab world create restraints as to when Emirates will be able to expand service. However, the main question currently facing Emirates is whether it should expand to New York at this point in time. Unlike many other airlines, Emirates sees no threat surrounding the tensions in the Middle East. The climate has been this politically charged for the past ten years. In fact, during the first Gulf War in 1991, Emirates Airlines was the only airline that did not cancel any of its flights. They continued flying to Kuwait when a majority of its competitors stopped. Emirates continued business as usual and picked up additional business from those airlines that downsized and stopped flights in the region. This strategy exemplifies how Emirates has gone against conventional thinking and come out ahead. Country Risk Analysis Middle East Region Overview The Middle Eastern region is characterized by economies that are over-dependent on oil; however, they differ on size, wealth, and political agendas. A few of the key players in this region include: Iran, Iraq, United Arab Emirates, Qatar, and Saudi Arabia. Of these countries, the United Arab Emirates is quite comparable in many aspects to its neighbors. The UAE and Qatar are not expected to suffer from as much government instability in the threat of war as the other countries. Iran and Iraq, however, have had their share of political unrest, which has drastically affected their oil exports and prices. To counterattack these effects, Iraq has put pressure on the other OPEC countries to increase oil prices and decrease oil exports to the US and Great Britain. As a result, the GDP of all Middle Eastern countries will decrease due to the heavy reliance of oil revenues in exports and as a percentage of GDP. While oil is what makes these countries wealthy, the UAE, Saudi Arabia, and Qatar enjoy higher GDP per capita over Iraq because of their political situations. Dictatorial governments in Iraq allocate funds to programs that will not necessarily aid the country in the long-run. Literacy rates of Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Iran, and the UAE have increased steadily over the past decade. This is mostly owed to government beliefs that educated citizens will 3 augment the status of the country in all aspects. All five countries export to and import from similar countries including; Japan, Italy, China and the US. The main export for these countries is oil and the main imports are machinery and equipment, chemicals and food. United Arab Emirates The United Arab Emirates (UAE) is located in the Middle East between Oman and Saudi Arabia, bordering the Gulf of Oman and the Persian Gulf. The country is slightly smaller than the state of Maine, which makes it a very small country within the Middle East region. The population of the UAE is approximately 3,480,000 people. The literacy rate for the UAE is 79. 2% for the total population above 15 years. When categorized by sex, men and women have comparable literacy rates, a rarity in the Middle East region. The population is predominantly Muslim (96%), with the remaining 4% of the population consists of Christians, Hindus and others. Although Arabic is the official language of the country, Persian, English, Hindi and Urdu are also spoken. The UAE is a federation state formed on December 2, 1971 and is composed of seven emirates. The emirates included in the UAE are Abu Dhabi, Dubai, Ajman, Fujairah, Sharjah, Ras AlKhaimah, and Umm Al-Qaiwain. Prior to the formation of the federation state, the UAE existed as the Trucial States that belonged to the British for the previous 150 years. The Rulers and the British signed a Perpetual Treaty of Maritime Truce in the 1850s that guarantees peace and protection from external threats. In exchange, the British had direct involvement in its foreign affairs and external defenses. When the British intended to withdraw from the Gulf in 1968, the rulers of the seven emirates came together and formed the federation state with hopes to increase their role in global politics. Economic Environment United Arab Emirates’ economy is heavily dependent on oil production. Abu Dhabi is the largest producer, followed by Dubai, and to a much lesser extent, the remaining emirates. Although oil’s contribution to GDP has been declining in the past few years, government revenue and the non-oil economy continue to be heavily reliant. GDP for the year ending 2001 was 67. 6(US$bn) and 21,000(US$bn) per capita, and 70% of government revenue resulted from oil production. Fluctuations in oil prices impact the growth and volatility of the UAE’s economy. The UAE is a member of the WTO, but has been slow to comply with its requirements for liberalizing trade and competition. The banking sector is closed to foreign investment and other ventures must be 51% owned by a local partner. The exceptions to these rules are in free zones, where 100% foreign ownership is permitted. The limitations on foreign direct investment deter the process of economic diversification. Abu Dhabi is the most resistant to opening its economy, but it has pursued private sector involvement to improve infrastructure regarding water and power. Dubai has chosen to focus its efforts on expanding its services sector by creating Dubai Internet City (DIC) and Dubai Media City (DMC), which are free zones where investors can retain 100% ownership. Dubai also allows foreign investors to own property and purchase shares in UAE listed companies. The UAE typically runs a budget deficit, and the 2002 budget projects one of Dh2. 17bn. Federal spending is expected to increase by 2. 2%, and revenue is expected to grow by 3%. Abu Dhabi, Dubai and the UAE Central Bank are the main contributors to the federal budget.

Young people drive their political development

The term gigantic suggests a causal direction. Can these two very different viewpoints be merged? By Habeas Question-I : Political colonization has typically been defined as â€Å"the process by which people come to acquire political attitudes and values. † Colonization agents are, among others, the parents, peers, school, and the surrounding society. The term suggests a causal direction. Young people are socialized by others.Researchers sometimes talk about an gigantic perspective: Young people drive their own political development. The term gigantic suggests a causal direction. Young people choose their own ways to gain information and develop attitudes about society. Can these two very different viewpoints be merged? The current research has Identified several socializing agents In adolescents' political development. We know that parents, peers, the school, and the media are Important agents In shaping adolescents political and CIVIC values. Attitudes, and behaviors. Howeve r, researchers have studied this process through a unidirectional lens, that is, most often taking a top-down approach where transmission flows from parent to hill. From this perspective, adolescents have been considered as passive recipients in their political colonization. In 2002, McDermott and Chaffed wrote perhaps one of the most altering papers in the field of political colonization. In this article, the authors express the need for examining adolescents as active agents in their political colonization.The fundamental question is: should a top-down and bottom-up approach be merged when studying adolescents' political colonization? My standpoint Is very simple: It is not Just possible It is necessary. In order to give an count of how Influential agents and adolescents' agency can be merged, we first need to understand why the political colonization literature has examined youth's political colonization from a unidirectional perspective over the past few decades. Societal shifts and political colonization research over the past few decades The political colonization literature began to emerge in the mid-offs.The societal structures, political climate, and norm of that generation generally exerted a top- down mentality in several scopes of life, whether it was in the family within the school among other social institutions. Generally, the family would normally abide by a patriarchal and hierarchical structure where parents, particularly fathers, were most influential in the familial dynamics. Teachers would often have an authoritarian role with little democracy in the classroom climate.It is no surprise that social models were thus reflected In the work of political colonization researchers at the time. Whether scholars developed theories of communication patterns at home (Chaffed, McLeod, & Hickman, 1973) or role modeling behaviors (Fletcher, Elder, & Memos, 2000) to explain Intergenerational transmission, a top-down approach was objectification of childre n was evident in these models at the time. However, despite the slow changes of the social structures in society, scholars and their theoretical models did not catch up with the generational shifts.It was not until the re-birth of the political colonization research in the sass's that scholars began to re-consider, inspired by other disciplines, the idea that adolescents too, could be active agents in their political colonization. Modern society and new media Modern Western society has shifted towards a tangent quite different from the social structures in comparison to the sass's. Adolescents in these societies have been found to have more influence in the family and perceive more democracy in the family (Stain, Person, Burk, & Kerr, 2011).Politically, schools are also adopting more democratic climates in the classroom allowing children to feel more efficacious and involved in their education (Campbell, 2008). With the emergence and growth of the Internet and â€Å"new media†, adolescents today have easy access to information online, regardless of the influence of other agents (Mossberg, Delbert, & McNealy, 2008). Adolescents might be more inclined to develop an interest and engagement in lattice and societal affairs. They may take the initiative to seek information that is so readily available to them through the Internet.Online behaviors might transfer to offline behaviors; adolescents might be seeking information independently and initiating conversations at home or with peers about different political and societal matters. Again, adolescents should be considered as active agents in their political and civic colonization. Researchers have thus recognized the need to re-examine the way they think about transmission, how they examine adolescents political colonization, and the models they use to explain this.More recently, scholars have been using a bi-directional approach, that is, also considering adolescents' agency in theoretical models that can h elp us understand how adolescents develop their political and civic behaviors (McLeod, 2000; Sapphire & Chaffed, 2002). It became clear that merging the idea of top-down and bottom-up influences was not a choice, rather a necessity in the development of theoretical models in the field of political colonization. Conclusion It is vital for current theories in the field of political colonization to consider adolescents as active agents in their political colonization.

Character Identification in Drama Essay

One of the most powerful aspects of theater is the way that dramatic expression encourages the viewer to participate in the drama by identifying closely with one or more of the characters depicted on stage. In actuality, the measure of a play’s success depends on the degree to which the playwright is able to convincingly develop and exploit the audience’s identification with the dramatic characters and, in some almost ineffable way, allow them to experience the play’s themes and ideas in an intimate way. Most people probably identify more with a single character of any given play than with the other characters. Obviously, the protagonist of a play is expected to engage the audience’s identification and sympathy, but it is not always the case for every viewer that a given play’s protagonist will supply the most expedient method of sympathy and identification. For example, in Shakespeare’s play Hamlet, the character of Horatio seems to me, for reasons which I hope to explain shortly, a more sympathetic character and one with which I can closely identify because Horatio is the good-hearted friend who tries to offer actionable advice to Hamlet, only to have his advice ignored and for tragedy to win the day. From the beginning of the play it is clear that Horatio is meant to serve as a psuedo-narrator of the play and his relationship with the audience is established as quickly and as innately as is possible without s direct appeal to the audience. Although Horatio’s simple lines may seem as though they play little role in the overall development of the play, they are, in fact, rich with meaning. By assuring Hamlet that he should not follow the beckoning form of his father’s ghost in the second part of Act 1 Scene 3, Horatio fully expresses his bond with Hamlet, and in doing so, begins to shift the audience-identification and audience sympathy he has established up to that point with the audience to the play’s true protagonist, Hamlet. When Horatio says â€Å"†Do not, my lord. † (Hibbard 183) he is informing the audience that Hamlet faces true danger and that he is concerned for him; so, too, should the audience be concerned. The essence of the relationship between Horatio and Hamlet is consistently portrayed as a genuine friendship. Horatio’s loyalty is important to the play’s climax at the end of Act 5 Scene 2. He cautions Hamlet, again, to avoid his tragic fate: â€Å"If your mind dislike anything, obey it. I will forestall their repair hither, and say you are not fit. † (Hibbard 344) By now, accustomed to Hamlet’s denial of his friend’s advice, the audience will recall the previous scene when Hamlet, against Horatio’s advice, sought conversation with ghost of his father. They will understand that when Hamlet chooses to disregard the advice of the single character in the play who has demonstrated friendship and loyalty to him, that Hamlet, again, embraces tragic fate. Horatio’s loyalty is â€Å"good† while Hamlet’s loyalty to the ghost of his father is destructive. Horatio represents an â€Å"existential connection to the living moment, whereas the ghost of the King represents the ambiguities of the Christian afterlife† (Holzknecht) and religious dogma as well as cultural tradition and social conservatism. My ability to identify with Horatio comes from the fact that I have also given advice to close friends who opted to ignore that advice and came to ruin. I think most people have probably faced that situation in their lives and the character of Horatio is therefore a good character to encourage audience identification. The same principle is at work in Lorraine Hansberry’s â€Å"A Raisin in the Sun,† where Hansberry challenged deep cultural ideas about African Americans. By focusing her play on realism, Hansberry created a theme which was radically different than the presentation of America typically seen on Broadway stages. The play’s impact on American audiences was very controversial. Hansberry relied on depicting extreme emotional states and conditions for her characters, as well as enticing her audience to experience the world of her characters with as much empathy as possible. In order to engage the audience, and to cause them to identify with the Youngers, Hansberry uses the device of realism, which extends to the character of Mama who is depicted as a well-meaning and hard-working person who faces insurmountable odds. One important reason why I feel an identification with Mama is because of the very beautiful language Hansberry developed for this character. Hansberry delivers the dialogue of â€Å"A Raisin in the Sun† in colloquial language and this aspect of them play enhances the play’s realism. The realism of the play then causes the audience to more closely identify with the play’s characters and plot, and each of these aspects of the play helps to communicate the important sociological and racial themes that drive â€Å"A Raisin in the Sun. † Hansberry’s dialogue, in fact, becomes a key driving force of the play’s ultimate revelatory impact on the audience. As the play progresses and the characters become more clearly defined with motivations that the audience can identify with (or despise) the dialect of the play begins to attain a lyrical uniqueness — a vocal music which was unlike any other play on the Broadway stage of the time. Lines such as â€Å"Seem like God didn’t see fit to give the black man nothing but dreams†¦. ’† (Hansberry, 29) or â€Å"â€Å"There is always something left to love. And if you ain’t learned that, you ain’t learned nothing†¦. † (Hansberry, 135) attain the status of aphorism in the context of the play and divulge important social and racial realities that, for most Americans in the mid-twentieth century, existed, if at all, as merely si-debar newspaper articles or in some other abstract realization. My identification with Mama extends to her empathy for others, such as in the case of the abortion which is alluded to in the play: â€Å"Mama realizes how close the other members of the family are to despair when Ruth reveals that the â€Å"doctor† she has seen is not a conventional physician but a woman who has the capability of performing an abortion, an illegal procedure at the time that could subject Ruth to severe criminal penalties† (Domina 8). I think most people have faced situations where they were meant to do what appears to be â€Å"wrong† in order to do what is essentially right. This is the magic of Hansberry’s characterization. In plays such as Antigone which are ancient plays, identification with the characters can sometimes be more difficult for modern audiences. However, the deep identification with Creon which I experienced while reading the play emerges from the timelessness of certain â€Å"faults† of character, namely pride, which I feel is as much a part of modern life as it is â€Å"common† life, or that is, the lives of people who are not kings or royalty. The damaging impact of pride can be felt over trivial matters as well as great issues as those depicted in the play, Antigone. For my own part, I felt an extreme identification with Creon because I have personally experienced the nature of pride and arrogance in relation to my own life and my own social relationships. One of the most important aspects of my identification with Creon is the fact that — by identifying with Creon — one also, indirectly — identifies with the Chorus of the play which, in the long run, serves as a counterpoint to Creon’s increasingly egomaniacal behavior. While I can abstractly connect my own â€Å"trivial† indiscretions with personal power to Creon’s obviously near-mythic exploits, I doubt that most modern readers would necessarily be able to make that connection because the seeming influence of their â€Å"small lvies† would not seem, to them, comparable to the life and actions of a great man. However, the portrayal of â€Å"great men† in classical tragedy was used in order to exaggerate the qualities and personality traits which were viewed as being connected to tragedy. That means that the aspects of Creon which seem near-mythic in Antigone are near-mythic precisely because they are universal and can, in fact, be applied to everyday lives. This is the power of theater: to span time and culture and find universal identification through the portrayal of archetypal characters. Work Cited Domina, Lynn. Understanding a Raisin in the Sun A Student Casebook to Issues, Sources, and Historical Documents. Westport, CT: Greenwood Press, 1998. Hansberry, Lorraine. A Raisin in the Sun. Random House, New York. 1959 Holzknecht, Karl J. The Backgrounds of Shakespeare’s Plays. New York: American Book, 1950. Hibbard, G. R. , ed. Hamlet. Oxford: Oxford University, 1998. Sophocles. Sophocles Antigone. Trans. Richard Emil Braun. New York: Oxford University Press, 1989.

Surprises and difficulties

Life has always been filled with surprises and difficulties. Oftentimes, we are left to face these challenges alone. We then begin to think how much education has contributed much to the success of others. For this, I believe that my education as a young child has contributed much to who I am today. I believe that English was one of the many subjects that have helped shaped my future. At first, taking English classes served as a barrier at first, but then I have realized that the little things thought in English courses were important to one’s success.The course focused on topics, such as descriptive and narrative essays, comparing and contrasting, argumentations, and summarizations. I found the class to be well organized, with each subject planned carefully by the professors. I must admit that I was hesitant at first, for I thought that I would have a hard time learning the topics. I was wrong. It turned out to be relatively easy, although some topics were confusing. The prog ress I had with regards to learning the topics was surprising.I was able to learn how to express my feelings, emotions, and my opinions about things around me through writing. The use of different words was taught to us, which were clear descriptions of how we felt at a particular time. In addition to this, I have also learned how to be more confident about myself. I know at first, I found it difficult to neither stand in front of a big crowd, nor talk to people I was unfamiliar with.

Accounting Basics for Managers Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Accounting Basics for Managers - Essay Example In the financial year 2012, Home Depot shows impressive growth both financially and operationally. In the financial year 2011, Home Depot revenue increased by 3.53% to a striking $ 70,395 million which has resulted in the operating profit increased by 14.08%. Following its operational growth strategy, Home Depot has introduced diversity in its business. The company is showing interest in covering all the horizons of the globe by opening more and more stores in various areas of the globe as it planning to serve a diverse range of customers. Gross profit margin is one of the key profitability ratio indicators which indicate how well a company is in the process of utilizing its working capital in earning the desired level of profit. In order to calculate the gross profit margin ratio, the gross profit (i.e., sales less the cost of sales) is divided by the revenue of the company. As apparent, the gross profit of the company has increased slightly from the previous financial year which co uld be due to the fact that the cost of sales of the company increased with a bigger percentage as compared to the percentage of the revenue of the company. This could be due to increased raw materials prices from the supplier which the company could not recover from the customers through increased selling price. The next profitability indicator is the net profit margin. The net profit margin is calculated by dividing the net profit (i.e., gross profit less administrative and selling expenditure) with the total revenue.

Biology Blog Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Biology Blog - Essay Example I would ask about his family history to establish whether there have been other members who have been victims of atherosclerosis. Apart from the apparent smoking, I would I would strive to establish other risk factors that are predisposing this patient to worsen his health by carrying out diagnostic tests e.g. ECG, exercising for stress test, or CT scan. This will determine the extent of this condition in order to advice on treatment. Treatment would include first discussing with the patient about his symptoms and the dangers that they pose to him and those around him. He should begin by taking charge of his smoking and recommend that he should eventually quit the habit. Other lifestyle habits to avoid are getting rid of foods high in cholesterol and alternatively adopt low fat and low salt diets. Exercises should begin if he has not been active before as this helps to increase the flow of blood throughout his body system and burns out fats. In addition to lifestyle changes, I would recommend certain medication that will aid the heart in working more effectively. This will depend on the condition of his heart at that moment. Aspirin can be taken as soon as he experiences shortness of breath to aid in breaking up any possible blood clot. 2. An important quality that makes organisms living things is their ability to maintain homeostasis. Describe an example where animals or humans (again, you may or may not choose to use personal experiences) have gone through either a negative or positive feedback mechanism to maintain homeostasis. The maintenance of a relatively constant internal environment despite external environmental changes is homeostasis. One example of a positive feedback mechanism in Homeostasis in seen in the sweating activity. The activity of the sweat glands in our bodies is an important process through which we strive to conserve or release body heat. Just like the way we

Art and gender Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Art and gender - Assignment Example Men are depicted to be more aggressive and adventurous than women. Conversely, women are portrayed as more affectionate and nurturing (Bar-on et al, 2001). They are also ‘sex objects’; they are shown wearing skimpy clothing most of the times and tend to be pursued sexually more often than men. The message also emphasizes the physical appearance of the women, depicting them as passive and seekers for men attention. These views are consistent with Kalof research findings (Bar-on 191-194). Notably these are not the only images of gender roles young men and women are exposed to while enjoying the visual entertainments. Music video No More Drama by Mary J. Blige tries to depict women in a more empowering manner. The gender stereotypes images shown does not necessarily affect different views by both male and women. Kalof study involved young, educated white college students; thus this result does not apply to other racial groups, social classes or people with less education. In addition Kalof (378-385) study focused to prove if sexual images on videos affected people based on their gender. However, in her article she refers to the participants as women or men, which are terms used to describe one’s biological sex rather than male and female. In light of this indistinctness one’s biological sex can probably be the link to one’s sexual attitudes and not the