Bag of Bones CHAPTER THIRTEEN

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Hartley’s novel Essay

Although appearing to have a cynical view of love in the poem Larkin does in fact not doubt love, but the expectations that we have of it. In the words of Andrew Swarbrick, Larkin expresses not feelings of bitterness or pessimism but â€Å"of pathos, of a tender sympathy for the widow who recalls dreams knowing they are best forgotten. † Though sometimes pleasurable reminiscing can reveal hopes that were unfulfilled, dreams never lived out, good times we can never experience again. Therefore what we perceive to be pessimism in Larkin is, in this instance, simply realism, an understanding of the illusions contained in the world, making him â€Å"less deceived† as a result. He once remarked, â€Å"Poetry is an affair of sanity, of seeing things as they really are† it was for him a way of being honest, not overestimating the value of things. Nonetheless, in the final poem of The Whitsun Weddings, An Arundel Tomb, Larkin hints at his belief in love. Despite not having a successful love life himself he still implies that he has faith in its existence, the ultimate word of the anthology being the abstract noun, â€Å"love†. This line is a testament to its endurance and strength, â€Å"What will survive of us is love. † John Saunders likens these lines containing the â€Å"prove/love† rhyme to Shakespeare’s attempt to define true love in Sonnet 73, Larkin’s concluding line echoing the rhyming couplet, â€Å"If this be error, and upon me proved I never wrote, nor no man ever loved. † An Arundel Tomb concentrates on the historical aspect of the past. The persona in the poem, which is in fact Larkin, examines the concept of artifacts, how something set in stone can withstand the test of time regardless of whether it actually existed in the first place. Visiting a Sussex churchyard Larkin sees an example of love that both moves and intrigues him, had it not been for the incongruity of two linked hands displayed on the tomb he would have walked by. It is a gesture small yet touching but the cynic in Larkin questions its validity presuming it to be a case of â€Å"a sculptor’s sweet commissioned grace† rather than a symbol of a long and devoted marriage. Together in death the couples’ â€Å"faces blurred† but the husband is still â€Å"holding her hand†. Over time their features have been weathered but their effigy remains as a reminder of their lives, a monument to their love. Archaic language is used to complement the subject matter of the poem, capturing a bygone time so unlike today’s â€Å"unarmorial age†. Further manipulation of syntax is evident with the effective juxtaposition of the adjectives â€Å"sharp† and â€Å"tender†, conveying simply but perfectly Larkin’s confused and mixed reaction to the union of the stone hands. There is debate over Larkin’s true feelings towards the real meaning of the â€Å"faithfulness in effigy†. Whether or not he again intended the pun with the use of the verb â€Å"lie† just as lovers were â€Å"lying together† in bed is unclear. As Brother Anthony (An Sonjae) points out in his paper Without Metaphysics there is a huge diversity in the interpretations of Larkin’s intended meaning in his work, it is up to the reader to determine their own response â€Å"which is good for the reader, but a challenge too†. Does the poet believe that â€Å"love survives† not only in stone? Or as Andrew Swarbrick quite rightly points out does he â€Å"almost† believe it as the penultimate line suggests? â€Å"Our almost-instinct almost true† therefore cancels out the optimism of the following statement. Here we witness Larkin lowering his defenses, allowing himself to hope for the best, to want love to be â€Å"that much mentioned brilliance† but he cannot do so completely for fear of it being an illusion. Although hinting at what he truly believes it is as though he will not allow himself to trust it in case he is mistaken. Yet whether love survives or not it lives on in Arundel where â€Å"only an attitude remains†. This is also true of Larkin’s poetry, and in fact to the whole genre. Whereas fictional characters and places from novels are lost, forgotten, poetry allows thoughts to survive as art long after the death of the artist. Larkin wrote of this inspiring philosophy in 1955, contained in a statement to D. J. Enright he explained, â€Å"I write poems to preserve things I have seen/thought/felt†¦ I think the impulse to preserve lies at the bottom of all art. † Yet as mentioned previously the meaning of Larkin’s literature is not always clear, just like he could only assume the significance of the joined hands we can only guess at the thoughts of Philip Larkin which are contained and live on in his verse. The poem Dockery and Son relates the events and emotions that occur when Philip Larkin revisits his old college, steps back into the past only to be disappointed with what he finds there. An outsider there, he no longer belongs and finds himself a stranger in his own past, as well as physically being unable to enter his past residence â€Å"the door of where (he) used to live† is also â€Å"locked† metaphorically. However, the most disturbing thing for Larkin is the news that one of his peers now has at son at Oxford: Dockery unlike Larkin with â€Å"no son, no wife, no house or land† is a success story. The door to fatherhood is therefore also â€Å"locked† for Larkin. By starting with dialogue the poem is made more authentic as it adds an injection of reality to the verse. It also alerts Larkin to the fact that he is no longer part of that world, of public school boys and ranks, he, unlike Dockery, has no reason to revisit that part of his life. He feels â€Å"ignored†. As in The Whitsun Weddings Larkin philosophizes whilst on a train which is not only a vehicle in the normal sense of the noun but a vehicle for his thoughts and also a metaphor for direction, moving forward in life. The simplistic repetition in the third stanza â€Å"How much†¦ How little†¦ † conveys Larkin’s disappointment in himself as he contemplates his own achievements in comparison with those of Dockery. Whereas Leo Colston benefited from his nostalgic visit to the past it has been a negative experience for Larkin who should never have returned. Both Larkin and Hartley present philosophies on the past in two contrasting but equally effective genres, which themselves give insight into the pasts of the authors. The past is, as both pieces of literature show, inevitably significant to us all. How we are affected by it however, either negatively or positively, is to some extent in our own hands. â€Å"Even a god cannot change the past† (Agathon 445 BC) yet we can move on, learn from our experiences and in the future be â€Å"less deceived†. L. P. Hartley’s novel is a message to us all that we should not dwell on what has come before, but concentrate on living the present, Leo recognized that he â€Å"should not be sitting alone† before it was too late. In reality the past does not fully exist; in the words of Larkin it is a â€Å"love song† that can never sound the same, a â€Å"locked† door which we can never be reopened, â€Å"only an attitude† that lives on in our minds. We may try to capture moments and emotions in stone, or in verse yet the only place where they truly exist is in our memory. We have the ability to dictate the significance the past holds for us. And so whilst we cannot change our pasts, we have the ability to change our future; Shakespeare declared that â€Å"What’s past is prologue† yet we can determine what is contained in the epilogue.

The Man With the Scar Analysis

The story â€Å"The Man with the Scar† I would like to speak about is written by W. Somerset Maugham who is one of the most popular and widely read English writers. He wrote novels, short stories, plays and most of them had a great commercial success. W. Somerset Maugham traveled a lot during his life, he met different people, saw their lives so he gained a lot from his trips. Sometimes Maugham’s stories were thinly disguised episodes involving his host or others he had met on his travels-circumstances that occasionally resulted in threats and lawsuits.The text for analysis is a short story. The main character is the storyteller who speaks about events from the first person. The secondary character is a friend of the storyteller, we know nothing about him: his name, age, his prof, etc. He’s just a companion which answers the author’s questions but he also plays a particular role in the story, because the author reproduces the life of the man with the scar with the help of his companion.The story takes place in The Palace Hotel at Guatemala city in Central America. Author uses the Spanish language â€Å"Que tal, general†, â€Å"Gracias†Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ for underlining the local coloring of the place and the nationality of the men which speak this language. The narration begins with the description of the scar on the man’s face. Author uses epithets like â€Å"broad and red, a great crescent† that’s why storyteller notices this man, because of his scar, and immediately he tries to understand why this scar appeared on his face.Author gives us a man’s appearance and characteristic features using epithets â€Å"undistinguished features, artless expression† what about man’s appearance â€Å"He wears a very shabby grey suit, a khaki shirt and a battered sombrero†. From this description given by storyteller we can suppose that the man with the scar could be a military man, maybe Spaniard but a poor man. His work consists of selling lottery tickets. Than the author introduces a little dialogue between author’s companion and the man with the scar.The tone of their conversation shows us affably mood. Companion is interested in the life of the man with the scar, his business, calls him general and treats him, offers a brandy. The next passage tells us a sad story about the Man with the Scar. We get to know he was a general, he was able to upset the government but he was tried by court-martial and was sentenced to be shot ay dawn. Author gives us two descriptions. The first shows us the night before the execution. The men were playing poker and the author underlines that† he general, he’d never had such a run of bad luck in his life† speaking about poker. This phrase tells us about true character of the man, because he was condemned to death at the dawn, what could be worst? But no for him not be winner in poker is important. I think he accepted his destiny and he lived one day one night. Then storyteller describes the day after the night. The day of the execution. The men were led into the patio of the goal and placed against the wall, the five of them aide by side.The men were waiting for the general’s arrival, and â€Å"the man with the scar † as an optimist said that than he had the time to smoke another cigarette and added that the general was always unpunctual. This phrase tells us that our character knows the general very well. The general arrived and asked men their last wish. Four of the five shook their heads but our friend accepted. The author introduces the little dialogue between the general and the man.From this dialogue we get to know about the last wish of the man with the scar, he desired to see his wife, which was waiting for him at the prison door, for saying to her good bye. The general accepted. While our friend was smoking his last cigarette the four men were executed. The storyteller gi ve us the description of the wife â€Å"she was in black, with a veil over her hair, and her face was dead white†. It was clear she was shaking with a fear. The author shows us her beauty, loveliness which was very attractive but which had short life.The man killed his wife, but so quickly that nobody could understand how this had occurred. The author shows us the reaction of the other men and the A. D. C means general. Everybody was shaken but nothing could be done. â€Å"She‘s dead† the general concluded. â€Å"Why did you do it? † asked the general. â€Å"I loved her† answered man. The general said at last â€Å"It was a noble gesture† and refused to execute him. So the death of the woman was the culmination point of the story. The wife dead for the sake of her husband.In conclusion I have to say this story begins with author’s worrying about the scar on the face of the man and ends with the same question â€Å"But how then did he get the scar?† the narrator asked his companion â€Å"Oh that was the due to a bottle that I burst when I was opening it .. a bottle of ginger ale† And the author’s answer â€Å"I never liked it† this shows us the frustration, the author’s frustration of the cause of that scar why the scar appeared on his face†¦So the scar had not been caused by a sabre or by a fragment of shell, no it had been caused by a bottle of ginger ale.

Parimary Article Summary Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Parimary Article Summary - Assignment Example She asserted that in order to achieve success in the implementation and execution of the goals of TCN, it is essential that efforts are directed based on qualitative research, which can guide the future directions of the TCN paradigm. Doing this will ensure delivery of quality nursing care and resolution of diverse ethical issues, which are desired to achieve TCN goals. The nurses should be educated with a mindset of planning appropriate policies and understanding the cultures of different communities and how they are circuitously connected with the concept of care. This practice will help the nurses to educate the future generations and students about TCN. The foreseeable development towards TCN will surely help the world as a whole. The teaching of nurses on all possible levels of all cultures will help this multi-cultural world become a better place. To achieve success, it is necessary to develop the right strategies, training procedures, and education policies for nurses. TCN is still in progress and needs much hard work and dedication. Nonetheless, the theory of TCN and the efforts behind it are

Satan, hero Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Satan, hero - Essay Example This paper is a critical review of the character the devil and some of the ways in which he is made different from what we would expect. Milton clearly brings out some artistic styles can be of great use in analyzing this topic and coming up with a clear conclusion. Is Satan the hero of the epic poem paradise lost and does he shows signs of a likeable and sympathetic hero from the story? Milton starts by taking us to the creation story. However, his main interest is not about God, Adam or eve. He is more concerned with the challenges that face Satan: â€Å"F Mans First Disobedience, and the Fruit Of that Forbidden Tree, whose mortal tast Brought Death into the World, and all our woe With loss of Eden, till one greater Man Restore us, and regain the blissful Seat† (Milton 1) He starts by explaining some of the challenges that Satan underwent during the creation period and why he was to resist all these challenges and become Gods worst enemy. He starts the poem by saying that in the beginning all humans are oppressed by one ruler who he says is God until one-man (Satan) come and sets us free. This is a clear indication that Milton loves Satan and would follow him all the way to the gates of hell if given a chance. He sees the life that Adam and eve lived and link it to that of dictatorship. It is for this reason that Satan come out and convinces man to eat the forbidden fruit and be like God. This is a clear epic story told by an expert who knows how to involve his character and makes people love his character. From this statement, it is easy and normal for the reader to start hating God and at the same time start loving Satan. It is normal for one to start realizing the dictatorship of god and start seeing the deliverance of Satan. The other point that shows the devil as a hero is the fact that Satan realizing the oppression and dictatorship that God has, decides t fight all these with just a group of his loyal angels. This shows that the devil is not jus t ready to reveal the dictatorship of God rather he is also ready to fight for it just to see that man is finally free from the dictator. This puts Satan like a human rights activists who is ready to die just to ensure that other people are well and that people are delivered from the dictator. This is one of the most common forms of epic stories and poems and is a clear depiction of mastery of poetic strengths. Milton uses his skills not only to make one like Satan but to also make the reader to have some hatred of Gods view of the world and how he intended us to live. It also makes the reader have some sympathetic feelings for Satan and see him as a person who had a determination for the entire world population to be rescued from the dictatorship of God. This makes Satan likeable (Milton 6). With mastery of classical tragedy, Satan in paradise lost contains some elements of a hero. In a classical tragedy, a faithful man is put to many troubles and undergoes many problems just to sa ve his people or to fight the master who has all the power to control everything and therefore uses his powers to kill the dreams of the hero. In paradise lost, God is seen to have many supernatural powers, which he uses to his advantage. With all these resources, it is close to impossible for the devil to fight him and win. To start with, he has many angels who Milton considers his army and the devil only has a few of such angels who God refers to as demons. It is therefore close to impossib

Mentoring Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Mentoring - Essay Example Metros and Yang (2006) trace back the origin of mentoring as a professional activity back to the ancient Greece where the technique was used to impart personal, spiritual and social values in young men. The modern mentoring borrows from the historical apprentice/craftsmen relationship where trade was learnt by young people through copying the master artisan. It was in the 1970s that mentoring was adopted as a career development strategy. Indeed, this cost-saving approach has been universally applied to ensure continuous professional development. This paper evaluates the application of mentoring as a human resource function in the teaching profession. Establishing what mentorship means in the teaching profession and evaluating the resultant benefits, it would be appreciated that mentoring is a universal and cost effective learning and development approach that results in continuous professional development in teaching. Mentoring refers to a relationship where a senior employee takes u p the responsibility of grooming junior or new employees in an organization (Elkin 2006). Interpersonal, political and technical skills would be conveyed from the more experienced employee in this relationship. This makes experience a key concept in mentorship with mentors expected to exude greater experience, achievement and influence. As such, Donnelley (2008) and Rao (2008) refer to a mentor as a counsellor, teacher, skills and intellect developer, guide, exemplar, host and most significantly, facilitator and supporter in the realization of the vision of the kind of life envisioned by the person being mentored, referred to as a protegee. The main objective of mentorship is to help employees attain psychological effectiveness and maturity and also get integrated into the organization. According to Metros and Yang (2006), it provides career advice and personal and professional enrichment to mentees. This could occur at a formal or informal level based on the work culture and top ma nagement commitment. In the teaching profession, the many associated roles including classroom management and discipline, learning new curricula, individualizing student programs, using technology and coordinating extracurricular activities among others could be a challenge for new teachers to handle (Thomas 2012). This could make the achievement of the institutional goals elusive. Mentoring plays a critical role in ensuring that learning institutions achieve their targets. Specifically making an observation of institutions of higher learning, Metro and Yang (2006) observe that these learning institutions previously did not identify or support the professional needs of its staff, focus having been on managing the diverse student clientele. Such practices have however been overtaken by events as more institutions adopt mentorship programs as a way of ensuring continuous professional development for its staff. According to Walcott, the chancellor of the New York City Department of Edu cation, mentorship means much to them, offering crucial support to new members of the profession (2013). At the commencement of each school year, teachers new to the profession would be assigned a mentor to offer personalized support through the first year of their teaching career. In fact, the organization has a system in place to track the mentoring process by matching and documenting all mentoring interactions between the teacher and the mentor. To have

The Israeli-Palestinian conflict Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

The Israeli-Palestinian conflict - Term Paper Example Eritrea relied on trade with Ethiopia whilst Ethiopia relied on Eritrean ports for shipment of its goods. Their nationals also enjoyed free movement between the countries and freedom of investment. The main question that lingers in our minds is how and why two nations who depend on each other for survival and economic prosperity would engage in a full-scale war due to a minor border dispute. This question is well answered by Abbink who argues that the border dispute was just a means to achieve wider ends and regional dominance by the Eritrean leader Isaias Afewerki and pressure from Meles Zenawi’s party, Tigrayans and the wider public.1 Other factors include personal arrogance of the two leaders, authoritarian disposition, political indecisiveness, and lack of clear-cut statesman-like agreements on mutual politico-economic relations of the two new states.2 Whatever the case, this behavior is in line with the realism theory of international relations that posits that states onl y act to increase their power relative others. This doctrine has been prevalent in previous major wars such as the two World Wars and Cold War. I will argue that this war could have been have avoided if only the two leaders engaged in diplomacy. The essay will be divided into six sections. The first section will discuss the roots and history of the conflict. Secondly, the attempts made by international community to avert the crises will be discussed. Thirdly, the current situation. Fourthly, lessons learned and prospects for constructive change and finally, a brief conclusion. Eritrea-Ethiopia War can be traced back to the era of colonization when the imperialists and colonial rulers engaged in â€Å"divide and conquer† policy.3The imperialists thus drew borders between countries wherever they colonized and this is how Italy ended up drawing maps in this northern region of Africa and especially Eritrea and Ethiopia.

Doing research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Doing - Research Paper Example A personal assessment of my skills and knowledge shows that even though I possess some level of competence to get the idea through, there remains a major aspect of my study that needs to be improved. This is because the need to go about this research and complete it according to the required objectives demand an interrelated level of skills and knowledge that are tied around a self empowered motivation to get an issue of concern, investigated to the latter. There will therefore be additional skills in interpersonal relation, communication skills, as well as data collection and handling skills to ensure that the project is carried out to its logical conclusion. I also need to revamp my knowledge in marine safety in general and boat yard safety in specific. Without an overall understanding of marine safety and boat yard safety to be specific, working on this research area will be like treating stomach ache by placing a plaster on the tummy. This is because the core or depth of the problem will not be reached. Most times, people working in the marine area have been identified to have their own peculiarities and depths of issues that affect and undermine their safety, security and general wellbeing. It is only when a researcher has an adequate level of knowledge on these that the best forms of interventions can be identified for them. As part of finding out about boat yard safety, specific aspects of learning such as causes of risk, risk factors, effects of risk, and solutions to marine risks must all be considered. The original idea of the research shall be changed significantly in this new project. It would be noted that the original idea laid emphasis on employee and employer forum. As far as the original ideas are concerned, there is one major deficiency that may hinder its feasibility. This is the absence of prove of

Research Proposal (300 words) and Lietrature Review (2200 words) Essay

Research Proposal (300 words) and Lietrature Review (2200 words) - Essay Example All of those perspective leaders, those with the most ambition will likely take the power. If the population is not educated they will not be able to differentiate among the perspective leaders, in order to choose those most likely to support the needs of the populace. Equally important is a free and open press, including all other mass media, such as radio and television and even the Internet. It is absolutely necessary that the populace have access to a free and open press in order to be able to follow and understand the news of what is going on within and without the country. Having access to what leaders do and what other countries do and what is going on in the world allows the populace to choose the direction in which they wish their country to go in this way they can choose the leaders that they believe will take them in that direction. Of course both of these are absolutely dependent upon a free and open and fairly honest system of election. Otherwise the people have no choic e at all. There has been a great deal of research done on the media over the past century, most of it during the past half-century. So one might say well why do we need to research the media then? The answer to this is that the media is constantly changing. Two things make major changes in media: technology and sociology. Technological changes, such as the advent of the Internet, accessibility of radio and television broadcast signals and the attendant lowering of costs for receivers, all make the media more accessible to the public and to those who would use the media to communicate with or influence the public. Sociological changes may be based in political changes, such as changes in the government or even the form of government, or changes in the dynamic culture of the society. Economic changes can influence both of these. Likewise, political and sociological changes can have powerful effects upon economical changes. In essence, a democracy, and most other forms of

My first car Essay Example for Free

My first car Essay So, this is freedom. That was the first thought that crossed, ironically, through my mind as I shook the empty gas-can back and forth, hearing the trickle of fuel inside slosh around the conspicuously light container. My car had glided that March morning, on empty, into a rest-stop just off the Interstate. The rest-stop was pretty much deserted, though I spotted a highway patrol car parked in on one of the slanted slots nearby. I decided that would be my best bet for getting immediate assistance. As I sat in the silent car, looking at the fuel gauge which dipped far beneath Empty I drew a deep breath and savored the pine-scented odor of air-freshener (a rectangular, green ornament that hung on the rear-view mirror) mixed with the smell of vinyl and the faint, teasing, scent of gasoline and I suddenly realized my former calculations had been dead wrong. For the longest time, since I first rode the go-carts at amusement parks or at county fairs as a kid, Id dreamed of the day that Id own my own real car. The association between freedom and cars in my mind was so strong that it was almost painful to me for those long, pre-license years. When I finally found myself behind the wheel of my own car, with the key in the ignition, car-stereo booming, and my foot on the accelerator, it was thrilling! But as soon as I pulled into traffic, or got stuck at a red light, or found myself cut-off by some idiot on the road, my dream of absolute freedom became a bit more tainted. By the time Id run out of gas at the rest-stop, Id reached the conclusion that despite the myth which is generated about cars in American society, cars do not represent freedom, individuality, or escape from everyday troubles. In fact, cars represent the exact opposite of freedom. As I sat there, out of gas, and rehearsing my self-introduction to the highway patrolman, I thought about the reality of cars and how that reality conflicted, very deeply, with my dreams. If I thought about it deeply, I realized that the dent in the dream had actually occurred much sooner than my disillusionment regarding traffic-jams and one-way streets. The problems started right from the beginning when Id taken the written-test and road-test to acquire my drivers license. The stench of freedom-killing beureuacracy could not have been any stronger. Standing in a long-line for hours, filling out forms in triplicate, having your vision tested, your picture taken, having everything right down to the disposition of your bodily organs in the event of your untimely death pinpointed and notated on a handy, laminated card which you were to keep upon your person at all times these aspects alone should have told me, as clearly as the bleached and stained floor of the Secretary of States overcrowded facility that freedom and cars were actually conflicting ideas. The destruction of my dream continued, after registering the car and paying for the outsized insurance policy which was afforded to people of my age and gender, I realized that, because the car was a used-car, and already had nearly 100,000 miles on it, that Id better be at least somewhat selective about driving long-distances. In fact, due to a couple of strange knocks and bumps that seemed to crop up whenever the car was going over 55 mph, Id decided that taking long road-trips in the car was probably a very bad idea. That ditched my dream of visiting the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in my own car, and my dream of taking a long trip to the coast of Florida or California. Id dreamed about all of these trips and many more in the years leading up to the day that I bought my first car. Realizing almost immediately, that my more flamboyant dreams were dead in the water, i consoled myself with happy thoughts of cruising around my town and the nearby outskirts with my friends. Unfortunately, this dream was also put to an early test when I realized that cruising costs quite a bit of money due to gasoline and other miscellaneous expenses like fast-food, sodas, snacks, and whatnot. The first time I went cruising with only a single dollar to put in my gas-tank, I actually paid that dollar in quarters, nickels, and dimes. Up to that point Id always envisioned gas-stations as friendly oasis that spewed forth fuel, snacks, and soda. Up to the point of paying for gas myself, Id always thought of gasoline pretty much as I thought of water: ubiquitous and unending. After only a week of car ownership, IU started to watch the gas-needle like a hawk and I got miffed if anyone asked me for a ride somewhere without also offering to pay for gas. Not only was it a hit to my wallet, but the expense of maintaining the car was embarrassing because I simply couldnt handle the expenses. Or chose not to handle them. Given the choice between a lube job and an oil change or buying a new video game or C. D. , I usually, if not always, chose the latter. If it was a choice between having the (retread) tires rotated, or going out to see a band, I always chose what was fun adn not what was practical. Eventually, the car became little more than a loadstone around my neck. The interior of the car became almost like a closet because I pitched a lot of my stuff in there and forgot about it; other people pitched stuff there and in the trunk. Most of the time, the car sat, gas-needle tipping toward empty and it usually looked like it needed to be washed. A couple of the service engine soon lights also blinked on at intervals and the knocking noises kept on knocking. I had descended from my dream of freedom into the reality of ownership. The car , as a dream, represented freedom and escape to faraway places; the car, in reality, represented a responsibility and expense which pretty much insured that the only use I would be able to get out of the car would be to drive it back and forth to work. IN fact, due to thee expense of the car, I was forced to take an extra part-time job, the following Spring, in order to have some work done on its transmission. As it happened, the job was in a town a few miles away from my home, but, because I had a car, getting there and back posed little obstacle. That is: until I ran out of gas in the rest stop. Sitting there in the mostly-empty parking lot, I contemplated the dissolution of my dream but comforted myself one small triumph. My car had run out of gas, but, steering into the rest-stop on fumes, Id guided my car into an empty parking slot. It was the first time I could remember not having to circle a parking lot searching for a place to park. Outline: Thesis statement: Cars represent not freedom but responsibility. 1. Cars are promoted in America as emblems of freedom. 2. Cars are actually part of a complex beureuacracy. 3. The costs of maintaining a car are high. 4. Mostly, cars are used to take people back and forth to work. To pay for their cars. 5. Rather than freedom, cars usually represent responsibility.

Palm oil biodiesel: A source of renewable fuel

Palm oil biodiesel: A source of renewable fuel The demand of increasing price in fossil fuel has prompted the global oil industry to look at the alternative sources of fuel from renewable energy source which is biodiesel. Biodiesel is considered as better option because of its environmental friendly characteristics while giving almost the same functional properties like fossil fuels. This paper will focus on the biodiesel produced in Malaysia. Since Malaysia is one of the leading palm oil producers in the world with palm oil was chosen as the raw stock for the palm oil biodiesel production. There are many advantages and disadvantages in palm oil biodiesel industry in Malaysia from the economy, social and environmental aspect. The aim of this paper is to analyze the past, current and future of palm oil biodiesel industry in Malaysia. This paper will include the technology aspect used in the palm oil biodiesel production and characteristics of pure palm oil biodiesel to meet the international market standard. Malaysia faces tough competition from other biodiesel producers like Indonesia and Brazil. The scope of this study covers the worldwide biodiesel development in brief in continuation with the challenges faced by Malaysia in becoming the top biodiesel exporter in the world with the advantages disadvantage of using palm oil as the feedstock. . Keywords: Alternative, renewable energy, palm oil biodiesel, technology, exporter List of Abbreviations ASTM American Society for Testing and Materials CPO Crude Palm Oil DBKL Dewan Bandaraya Kuala Lumpur DNA Deoxyribonucleic acid EU European Union IFC International Finance Corporation ISO International Standards Organization MPOB Malaysian Palm Oil Board MPOC Malaysian Palm Oil Council MYR Malaysia Ringgits NGO Non Government Organization OSHA Occupational Safety and Health Administration POIC Palm Oil Industrial Cluster POME Palm Oil Methyl Ester PRIME Rebuilding and Improving Malaysias Export of Palm Oil RSPO Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil UK United Kingdom UNFCC United Natons Framework Convention on Climate Change US United States USA United States of America List of Symbols CO2 Carbon dioxide ml milliliter NOx Nitrogen Oxide INTRODUCTION All energy used by humans originates from one of the following sources: radiant energy emitted by the sun (solar energy); geothermal energy from the interior of the earth; tidal energy originating from the gravitational pull of the moon; and nuclear energy. By far the largest source is solar energy, thousands of times larger than all the others and inexhaustible for as long the sun shines (approximately 4.5 billion years). Present energy system, especially based on the use of fossil fuels (not renewable), cannot handle the problem of guaranteeing energy security and that increasing the share of renewable energies is one of the best ways to addressing them. Increasingly, renewable energy in the form of biodiesel is getting attention from the world countries due to the environment friendly characteristics, while still be able to be used in diesel engine without any major modifications. Biodiesel also has its advantage of abundance of raw stock which confirms continuous raw material supply. Biodiesel is an environmentally-friendly, renewable energy source that could also produce cost savings for taxpayers and private businesses which is produced from farmers that grow various fuel crops. Given high gasoline prices and the negative environmental effects of burning fossil fuels, there is intense research on the alternative energy sources, including biofuel. Brazil and the US have been leading the way with ethanol production derived from sugar cane and corn. Recently, there has been increased interest in another biofuel (biodiesel) particularly in Europe (the leading producer). Biodiesel, a non-petroleum-based diesel fuel, can be produced from the transesterification of vegetable oils or animal fats. In the US, most biodiesel is made from rapeseed (canola) or soybeans. Other producers have different biodiesel feedstock such as palm oil and jatropha that have great potential as renewable fuels. Malaysia is a leading palm oil producer, therefore Malaysia in the past have focused on palm oil as raw stock used for biodiesel production. This paper takes an in depth look at the palm oil used for the production of biodiesel. 2.1 SCOPE OF THE PAPER Biodiesel production is facing several issues and challenges like tough global competition, feedstock issue, food versus fuel war, sustainability, and limited land for use deforestation. The scope of this paper is to collect and analyze the data of palm oil biodiesel in Malaysia to determine their performance and their position in the world biodiesel industry, the advantage disadvantage of using palm oil as the main feedstock for production, political economic barriers which needs to be overcome, competition between the major producers technological aspects. This study covers the biodiesel technology that is currently being used in Malaysia to produce pure biodiesel that meets international criteria, suggestions for improvements in implementing better method and technologies to be used in Indonesia and Malaysia. Overall, this paper analyzes the past, current and future trend of the palm oil biodiesel industry in Malaysia among world biodiesel industry. 2.2 BACKGROUND 2.2.1 Raw Stock for Biodiesel There are several sources used as feedstock for biodiesel production such as rapeseed and soybean oil. However, compared with other vegetable oil, palm oil has far better advantage and potential as feedstock for biodiesel production. Palm oil is a perennial crop, unlike soybean and rapeseed. Perennial crop means the production of oil is continuous and uninterrupted, though annual production has its seasonal peak and down cycle [6]. In terms of oil production per hectare of plantation, palm oil is the most produced oil seed. The yield of palm oil from palm is a factor of ten higher than oil yields from soybeans, sunflower or rapeseeds [17]. Palm oil production has higher production yield compared to soybean, sunflower seed and rapeseed as shown in Figure 1. Palm oil imports from Malaysia into EU are equivalent to having 4.9 million hectares of soybeans or 1.7 million hectares of rapeseed [17]. 2.2.2 Palm Oil as Raw Stock Palm oil is the most prospective biodiesel feedstock compared to other oilseeds. As discussed earlier, palm oil has higher production yield, low fertilizer, water and pesticide needed for the plantation. Palm oil production takes less sunlight in terms of energy balance to produce a unit of oil as it produces more oil per hectare. However, in terms of the basis of palm oil yield per man in a day, it is not as competitive as other oilseeds because of the difficulty of labor plantation management and harvesting of the fruit. Comparatively in Indonesia, it is less an issue because the extensive labor market readily available in Indonesia compared to Malaysia. Crude Palm Oil and Refined Palm Oil are the most traded vegetable oil in the world today [14]. Palm oils have been established as a dietary nutrient for nearly five thousand years. Palm oils are harvested from the mesocarp of the Elaeis Guineensis fruit, through a refining process that includes; cooking, mashing and pressing. In this process, the seeds are separated and after cracking and removing the shell, the kernel can be processed to yield palm kernel oil and palm kernel cake. Crude palm oil also referred as CPO comes from the mesocarp which is the fleshy portion of the fruit wall. Mesocarp is processed into CPO through refining and kernel processing in steps shown in Figure 2. CPO depends on the variety of the palm tree and the age of the palm. The CPO to bunch ratio is approximately 25 to 28 percentages. 2.2.3 Palm Oil Biodiesel The palm oil harvested and produced from palm trees is referred to as CPO. The crude palm oil is the transported to palm oil refinery to be refined. The factory output is the Refined Palm Oil which is suitable to be used as biodiesel fuel or blended with petroleum diesel. Palm oil converted into methyl ester which then can be used as fuel is called the bio diesel. Blending certain percentage of petroleum diesel with palm diesel is called Envo Diesel. Methyl ester from palm oil has low engine emissions, high oxidation stability apart from the high nitrogen oxide emission which is higher [2]. Refined palm oil; after crude palm oil is refined is referred as Refined Palm Oil and can be used for number of applications including as a substitute for petroleum diesel which is known as Palm Oil Biodiesel. Palm oil is processed into CPO, then into refined oil before being processed into palm oil biodiesel as shown in Figure 3. Palm Oil biodiesel can be blended with petroleum diesel. This type of diesel is known as Envo Diesel. This paper will discuss in detail the Palm Oil Biodiesel. 3. Analysis 3.1 Perspective on Indonesian versus Malaysian Palm Oil A significant change took place in palm oil industry in the year 2006 when Indonesia surpassed Malaysia in production of the palm oil as shown in Figure 4. Malaysia is currently worlds second largest producer of palm oil [6]. Looking at the Indonesias palm oil production rate compared to Malaysia in Table 1, there are high chances of Indonesia surpassing Malaysia and continue to be leading producer for the foreseeable future. In Malaysia, palm oil exports amount to 16.5 million tonnes, representing an increase of near 11 percent in year 2007. The total palm oil planted area in the country increased by 4.3 percent to 4.48 million hectares in 2008 [16]. The expansion in planted area in the country occurred mainly in Sabah and Sarawak with a combined growth of 7 percent compared to 2 percent in Peninsular Malaysia. Sabah remained as the largest palm oil planted state, accounting for 1.33 million hectares of 30 percent of the total planted area in the country. 3.2 Palm Oil Biodiesel vs. Other Feedstock In the year 2008, the government of Malaysia was looking at the possibility of using jatropha oil the raw material for the production of biodiesel in the future. However, this was still at the research and development stage and it has not reached the commercialization stage [2]. The government looked at other potential feedstock for biodiesel production due to the competition on the use of the palm oil either as food sources as fuel. Around the world biodiesel producers are now focusing on using non food based raw materials for the biofuel production. Currently, all the biodiesel projects in Malaysia are based on the use of palm oil as the raw material. During the surface of the reports indicating that EU might ban biofuel derived from crops grown on some sensitive ecosystems, Malaysian palm oil industry feared the worst. Malaysia; as the second largest palm oil producer in the world after Indonesia is the potentially largest palm oil biodiesel producer. Countries like Brazil and the US; biodiesel producer from ethanol are eyeing the EU market giving heavy competition to palm oil biodiesel producers. Biodiesel market are having large market competition after the 27 nation bloc suggested for biofuel to be used at least 10 percentage in transportation by year 2020 [17]. Jatropha is a promising second generation biodiesel feedstock. The government publicity on Jatropha as next potential biodiesel feedstock at the Sabah Development Corridor launch in the year 2008 gave competition to existing palm oil biodiesel. However, the use of Jatropha as biodiesel feedstock requires more research to develop its properties to acceptable level for mass commercial usage [2]. And currently, the research is still ongoing. 3.3 Palm Oil and Malaysia The palm oil industry is an important pillar of Malaysia economy. The palm oil sector have contributed significantly towards providing a continuous flow of foreign investments and earnings through the export of palm oil and its value added products to the global market. In the year 2008, palm oil industry contributed MYR 65.2 billion or equivalent USD 18.1 billion in the export earnings which proves to be a significant contribution from the palm oil industry to the economy [16]. The contribution of Malaysian palm oil to the worlds oils and fats market was very significant in the year 2008, where the palm oil production of 17.73 million tonnes was 11.1 percent of the global production of 160 million tonnes of oils and fats. The sustainable production of palm oil in Malaysia is overseen by the Malaysian Palm Oil Association. Malaysia palm oil production is estimated 18.3 million tonnes in 2009 compared to 17.73 million tonnes in year 2008 [17]. The global demand for palm oil has increased significantly over the last two decades, first for the use in food industry, consumer products and the most recent application for biodiesel. The growing market in India and China; which is the top two important nations, increases the demand for edible vegetable oil [14]. Another major factor in growth of palm oil production is its role in sustainable energy campaign around the world [14]. European countries have promoted the use of palm oil by investing hundreds of millions dollars into the national subsidies towards biodiesel. European countries are major importer of palm oil; subsidization of biodiesels by the European governments has accelerated the demand for the palm oil in Europe and as a consequence, this has increased the conversion of large areas of rainforest in South East Asia. Palm oil plantations are often built after clearing large area of forest land and draining peat swamps. As of the year 2009, the Malaysia palm oil had 26 percent share in the export of oils and fats. The palm oil also comprised 46 percent share of global palm oil and is being consumed in more than 150 countries worldwide [16]. All these were achieved by using 4.5 million hectares of land which is far more less than 1.9 percent of total area in the world utilized for oilseeds. The total area in the world used for oilseeds is 233 million hectares. Malaysia is currently focusing on increasing the productivity by increasing the oil yields from the current average of four tonnes per hectare to eight tonnes per hectare by using genome sequencing. Genome sequencing is a laboratory process that determines the complete DNA sequence of an organism [16]. Using this technique, scientific process and procedures can be done to the palm oil plant to produce more outputs. Using this technique, Malaysia is hoping to continue as the major supplier to global palm oil needs without the necessity to open n ew areas for plantation. The EU need a company to be legally certified to produce palm oil that can be used as an alternative fuel in a sustainable manner before the commodity can be shipped and used in the 27 member bloc countries. Restrictive policies implemented by EU created differences in the marketing of vegetables and grains oil that caused the decrease of the palm oil prices compared to soybean and rapeseed oil. Indonesia and Malaysia, the worlds two biggest producers of palm oil teamed up in November 2008 to reduce the output of the edible oil after he prices slumped. The two countries agreed to replant old plantation, cutting yearly production of approximately 800000 tonnes. In the year of 2009, during the global economic slowdown, Malaysia palm oil industry was facing issue of oversupply. To reduce the oversupply of palm oil and at the same time to support the palm oil prices, Malaysia launched the Palm Oil Replanting Incentive Scheme worth of MYR 200 million to reduce the nations high palm oil stock to ensure the stability of palm oil prices. The objective of this scheme is to chop 200000 hectare of palm oil trees aged 25 years and above, which will reduce the palm oil supply by 700000 tonnes per year in the short term. The government had approved 63000 hectare under this scheme which was closed in June 2009 [16]. Strategies like replanting palm oil tree schemes and impose of the mandate for the palm oil biodiesel use reduces the CPO inventory and helped to sustain its price at MYR 1400 per tonne in the year 2009 [14]. It is important to reduce the oversupply and maintain the CPO price above RM 1400 tonne as the producers will not be profitable in the trade below this price. In March 2008, the CPO prices soared up till MYR 4180 but the price plummeted to low MYR 1403 per tonne in November 2008 [16]. The inventory for palm oil rose to significantly high amount of 2.3 million in November 2008 but reduced to slightly more than 1.8 million tonnes in January 2009 as shown in the Figure 5. Palm oil is the major oil produced in the world; this indirectly helps to lower price of palm oil biodiesel but not significantly. The CPO price range between MYR 1400 and MYR 1900 per tonne in year 2009 was sufficient to sustain the export earnings. However, the earnings from palm oil exports in the year 2009 dropped compared to MYR 65.8 billion in the year 2008 because of the lower prices as well as lower exports. Late in the year 2008, MPOC launched PRIME program. This program is one of the MPOCs palm oil export promotion strategies to encourage exporters to explore new markets and introduce new products in order to develop new areas of business [22]. 3.4 Biodiesel Production Technology Before analyzing the infrastructure and technology required in converting Palm oil into biodiesel, the production process must be understood first. There are three general ways to convert vegetable oils and fats into biodiesel; base catalyzed transesterification of the oil, direct acid catalyzed transesterification of the oil or conversion of the oil to its fatty acid then to biodiesel [12]. Biodiesel producers opt for the option 1 which is the base catalyzed reaction because it is a low temperature and pressure. This method also yields high conversion ration of almost 98 percentages with minimal side effects and reaction time. Another advantage of this method is that it is a direct conversion to biodiesel with no intermediate compounds required and no exotic materials of construction are needed [18]. The chemical reaction for base catalyzed palm oil biodiesel production is shown in the chemical equation shown in Figure 6. Chemical Equation above shows transformation of palm oil into biodiesel which also gives another output; glycerin. The conclusion from the above chemical equation is that when one hundred pounds of fat or palm oil reacted with 10 pounds of short chain alcohol in the presence of a catalyst that has already been mixed with methanol, 10 pounds of glycerin and 100 pounds of biodiesel produced as output. The short alcohol chain is represented by ROH which means methanol or in some cases, ethanol that is used to quicken the conversion process. The catalysts usually are mixed with the methanol. R, R and R represents the fatty acid chains of the palmitic oil or fat [12]. The catalyst mixed with alcohol. The catalyst usually dissolved in the alcohol using a standard mixing machine. The mix is then put into a closed reaction vessel and the palm oil or fat is added. A closed system is done in the process to prevent the loss of alcohol to the atmosphere. The mix is kept at the temperature above the boiling point of alcohol at about 70 degree Celsius so that the reaction takes place. The reaction time varies from 1 to 8 hours and excess alcohol usually used to ensure complete conversion of palm oil into methyl esters. Once the reaction have completed, there will be two outputs which are glycerin and biodiesel. Glycerin and biodiesel output will not be in their purest form. Each has significant amount of excess methanol that was used earlier in the reaction. This is where the neutralization step takes place. The glycerin has more density compared to biodiesel and the two outputs can be separated using gravity by drawing off the bottom of the settling vessel. After the glycerin and biodiesel have been separated, the excess alcohol in each of them will be removed and the mix will be neutralized. The alcohol will be recovered in methanol recovery step using distillation equipment and it will be re-used. After separation from the glycerin, the biodiesel is purified by washing gently with warm water to remove the residual catalyst or soaps, dried and sent to storage. This step may be skipped when the output of the production process is a clear amber yellow liquid with viscosity similar to petrodiesel. Colorless biodiesel is obtained in an additional step of distillation to remove small amount of color bodies. For usage as an automotive fuel, the end product of biodiesel must be analyzed using international standard analytical equipment to ensure it meets specifications. For global biodiesel marketing, it is important for a biodiesel manufacturer to register the biodiesel product with the United Stated Environmental Protection Agency under 40 CFR Part 79 [18]. 3.5 Pure palm oil biodiesel characteristics Biodiesel is a biodegradable and non toxic fuel; free from sulfur. It is produced by transesterification reaction of vegetable oil with low molecular weight alcohol, such as ethanol or methanol. In the industry, biodiesel is produced using homogeneous reaction [10]. Important characteristic of oil to be used as fuel is the solubility of the oil in petroleum. Another way is to emulsify the oil or fat with the ethanol. Most of the vegetable oils are a mixture of different esters such as oleic acid (main portion from olive oil), ricinoeleic (main portion from castor oil) , linoleic acid )main portion from linseed oil), palmitic acid (main portion from the palm oil kernel) and many other oils. Palm crude oil is refined to make a useable automotive fuel that is useable in unmodified diesel engines. As discussed in earlier topics, biodiesel is a clean burning alternative to petroleum based fuel made from renewable energy source which is biodegradable and non-toxic. In recent times, biodiesel issues have drawn lot of interest as increase of depletion of petroleum source in near future is predicted. Biodiesel market is booming in Europe as fuel or fuel additive for most of the diesel internal combustion engines and turbine in Europe as fuel or fuel additive for most diesel internal combustion engines and turbine engines, and it is also available in the US and Asia, as well as in Canada, where it is in its early stages of development. Biodiesel is derived mainly from the byproducts of soybean and other oils, such virgin and recycled vegetable oils derived from crops such as canola, corn and sunflowers and animal fats or spent cooking greases, although it may be obtained from ethanol. Soy-based fuel is the most common used biodiesel in its pure form or mixed with a petroleum-based diesel as an additive to improve the otherwise low lubricity of pure ultra low sulfur petrodiesel fuel. Research was done in Bangkok where palm biodiesel was used for a motorcycle, the emission and engine performance was tested. Research found there was no significant difference in emissions between the biodegradable and the fossil fuel. Comparison of the engine performance and fuel consumption for both lubricants showed no significant difference either [8]. However, since palm biodiesel is a renewable source, it is a lower carbon source and that it offers superior tribological properties (wear scar, viscosity index, etc.) [8]. This is a promising alternative to fossil fuels. This fuel is also important from the economic point of view, considered as one of the possible candidates to replace petrodiesel as the worlds primary transport energy source thanks to its renewable condition and the fact that it can be transported and sold using todays infrastructure instead of old fossil fuels ducts. In fact, it is available to consumers in a growing number of fuel stations, but still makes up a small percentage of fuel sold. Biodiesel has been classified as a non-flammable liquid by the OSHA, although as with most fuels, it may burn if heated to a high enough temperature, but significantly reduced in toxic and other emissions when burned as a fuel. [20] 4. DISCUSSION 4.1. Past and Current Market trend of Palm oil Biodiesel The production of palm oil biodiesel in Malaysia is overwhelming. There are initial researches conducted for the production of biodiesel from waste materials including palm oil. However, this is still in early stage of research and development and so far; the researches shows that the production of biodiesel from waste materials is still very high and not viable for commercial use. Till the year 2008, Malaysia had about 91 percent of palm oil biodiesel projects approved with a total production capacity of 10.2 million tonnes a year [16]. Total of 12 biodiesel plants have been fully completed and are in operation with production capacity of one million tonnes a year [16]. Another two biodiesel plants have been also completed but the operations have not started. These two plants have production capacity of 160000 tonnes a year. According to MPOB, the existing biodiesel plants produces approximately 196363 tonnes for the period of August 2006 till March 2008 while 154791 tonnes were valued at MYR 411 million for the export to US, Europe, Singapore and Australia. Recently, the production cost at biodiesel plants have increased with the rising price of crude palm oil. The average cost of CPO in the year 2006 was MYR 1502.50 per tonne. This price has increased significantly within two years; in the year 2007, the price was MYR 2516.50 per tonne while in the early of 2008, the price was MYR 3433.50 per tonne. This has caused the cost to exceed the profit margin. In March 2008, production cost for palm oil biodiesel was MYR 4330 per tonne; whereas the market price for the palm oil biodiesel was MYR 3632 per tonne. The CPO prices are increasing rapidly as shown in Figure 8. The rising cost of biodiesel have prompted several palm oil biodiesel producers to temporarily stop producing biodiesel as the high producton cost has left an negative impat on their profit margin and the development and growth of the biodiesel industry. Till to date, the Malaysian government has given more than 90 biodiesel licences to various organization and companies which has production capacity of 10 million tonnes per year. However, it is reported in the Reuters survey that on seven biodiesel plants are currently running and most of them are operating well below the capacity. The survey also showed that there were 14 projects with their combined biodiesel production capacity of more than two million tonnes were shelved or delayed. The main reason for the delay is the high CPO prices, which encourages the palm oil industry to produce palm oil for more profitable business or industries instead of the biodiesel which has higher production cost compared to profit. The high cost of investment to setup the biodiesel facilities does not encourage the palm oil industry. It is said that for the priceof biodiesel at MYR 4000 per tonne, even conglomerates in Malaysia such as Sime Darby is not keen to plunge into the biodiesel industry currently [16]. Currently, the company is focusing on the palm oil downstream activities such as bulking and refinery process to be exported [16]. A report by Frost and Sullivan regarding biodiesel showed that the demand for biodiesel has increased in the Asia region over the past few years. For Malaysia, the demand for palm oil biodiesel would increase from current 110000 tonnes to 563000 tonnes in the year 2013. Asia region has a booming market for biodiesel as there are several strong drivers of growth; increased supply and increased demand. Many countries in the Asia region developed domestic markets and at the same time,producers like Malaysia and Indonesia targeted export markets. In several countries in the Asia region, the government introduced mandates for biofuels to develop the domestic market. On March 22, 2006, Malaysia Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi launched biodiesel called Envo Diesel. This type of biodiesel blends 5 percent of proccessed palm oil with 95 percent petrodiesel. In EU, there are B5 type of biodiesel that blends 5 percent methyl ester with 95 percent petrodesel. The manufacturers for diesel engine prefer the use of palm oil methyl ester blends as diesel engines are designed to handle 5 percent methyl ester meeting the EN14214 biodiesel standard [16]. In the year 2009, the Malaysian government reassured that there are no plans to remove the current biodiesel mandate of five percent despite high CPO cost. The government encourages the use of biodiesel in the country, although it is not have been mandatory use [5]. Malaysian government are encouraging the use of palm oil biodiesel as they are obliging to Kyoto Protocol. The use of palm oil biodiesel have not been made mandatory due to the fact that at the present,the raw material price is very high . Kyoto Protocol is a protocol of the UNFCC , an international environmental organization. This organization is trying to achieve the stabilisation of the greenhouse gas concentrations in the atmosphere at a level that would prevent the degradation caused by human that would disturb the ecosystem and the climate system. In October 2008, Malaysia put into practice the mandate of five percent biodiesel will be used in vehicles starting with the government vehicles in the year 2009 and planning to implement extensively to industrial and transportation sector in the year 2010. By early 2010, Malaysia is expected to consume 500000 tonnes of palm oil which is 3 percent of national CPO production. This will happen when Malaysia fully implements the blended biodiesel programme where B5 diesel will be made available througout the country through 36 depots [5]. The use of blended biodiesel has started with government agencies and will be extended to industrial and transportation industry in the future. The Malaysian government is working with nations biggest petroleum company; Petronas to enable some retail station to supply B5 to the agencies. I February 2009, Malaysia started the biodiesel programme with Kuala Lumpur City Council and the Armed Forces in the country [5]. The biodiesel producers and the petroleum companies are currently discussing the important aspects and critical issues to the implementation such as logistics and finance. As of the year 2009, the main challenges facing the biodiesel industry in Malaysia are the exports of subsidised US biodiesel to EU that is distrubing the prices and trade, the EU energy directive and overall global economic slowdown. The global economic crisis have caused a sharp drop in the CPO prices, together with global financial crisis had led the develoment of the biodiesel industry to slow down or to be exact halt new investments. The Malaysian biodiesel industry has the production capacity of 1.67 million and feedstock available to satisfy the demand in the domestic and world market. Malaysia and Indonesia has expressed concern over a plan by the EU countries to impose taxes on US biodiesel which potentially might slowdown the outlook for alternative fuels made from vegetable oils and grains. Almost half of Europes biodiesel Apple: A Multinational Corporation Apple: A Multinational Corporation Introduction Apple Inc. it is a well known American multinational corporation that designs most of the famous consumer electronics and widely used softwares. It was established on 1st April, 1976 at that time the company was known as Apple computer, Inc. the word computer was dropped after 30 years of its establishment on 9th Jan, 2007.To mark its expansion in consumer electronic market. Apple nearly has 35,000 employees worldwide and its sales recording nearly US$42.90 billion by 26th September, 2009. It came in a magazine named Fortune that Apple had been most appreciated company in United States in 2008 and worldwide in 2009. Objectives Apples motto, â€Å"Think differently†, a concept which Apple has been following since it started by creating state of the art products that. Other computer manufacturers have tried hard for decades to copy the ideas but none had succeeded as Apple did. It has always manufactured and designed products which no one has even imagined of. They provided the first ever user-friendly laptops and computers. Apple introduced iMac and iBook for the basic computer users such as students etc and Power Book and G series for advanced computer users for graphic designers, business man etc . Ownership Of Business As it is public owned company so it sells its shares. Currently there are around 1,441 shareholders, with total shares held are 652,325,642 and the total value of their holdings is around $134,501,972,866. The top 5 holders are: TOP 5 HOLDERS Shares held FMR LLC 45,173,344 STATE STREET COMPNY 31,980,670 Vanguard Group 31,216,671 Barclays Global 26,449,599 PRICE T ROWE 24,545,605 Board Of Directors: Steven P. Jobs Chief Executive Officer, Director Timothy D. Cook Peter Oppenheimer Chief Operating Officer Chief Financial Officer, Senior Vice President Philip W. Schiller D. Bruce Sewell Senior Vice President Worldwide Product Marketing Senior Vice President, General Counsel, Secretary Ronald B. Johnson Senior Vice President Retail Bertrand Serlet Senior Vice President Software Engineering Robert J. Mansfield Mark Papermaster Scott J. Forstall Senior Vice President Mac Hardware Engineering Senior Vice President Devices Hardware Engineering Senior Vice President iPhone Software Engineering and Platform Experience Stakeholders Consumers As there will be any kind of changes in Apple company itself consumers will be affected, as the price increases consumer wont be willing to buy apple products or if the price increases consumers will be buying to buy apple products Competitor The biggest example of competitors can be Microsoft, whatever Apple does directly or indirectly affect Microsoft or vice versa. For example if Apple releases any kind of new computer regarding business the result is some new firms might opt to adapt that new system or might go along with Microsoft, thus effecting each other by every means. Steve Jobs Apples CEO He is the co-founder and chief executive officer of Apple. He was the only one who introduced the bright idea to Apple e.g. iPod, iPhone etc. The whole company is affected by his decisions, as his health was affected the companys share lost its value. Stakeholders had a fear that if Steve Job isnt there it will cause Apples downturn causing a great loss. Apples SWOT Analysis Strengths Sales of its notebooks are very strong which represents a large portion of Apples income Apple is considered as one of the most established IT brand in the world. It not only attracts new customers but existing customers also come back for latest products as well as to take advantage of the services they are offering. Weakness Apple is making an end with IBM who was among Apples main chip supplier and switching to Intel for supplying chip which is thought to make consumers confuse as most of consumers have tend to use IBM chips which existed before Intel. It has its own software platform which doesnt allows users to have any kind of flexibility or to run Microsoft softwares on Apple OS which discourages consumers to buy Apple OS based consumer electronic. Opportunities Can offer some software flexibility by open source operating system so it would attract more consumers and making it more user-friendly thus increasing sales. Apple can step ahead by horizontal integration with some other major IT Company like Microsoft to expand its business to a completely new level. Offer Apple OSX to non Apple hardware which can turnout out to be a great advantage as more people will tend to use Apples OS as it is a completely different experience. Threats The biggest threat to Apple is its competitor Microsoft around 90% of the world-wide computers have Microsoft OS installed on them. This in long run can be very dangerous for Apples business. Global recession can likely reduce the sale of high priced consumer electronic; since apple is offering no cheap alternatives the consumer itself tend to switch to other manufactures for cheap prices. Market Research The most shocking thing about Apple Inc is that it never does any kind market research; they never hired any kind of consultants. They hired once in a decade which they considered later as there mistake. Apple itself figures out what people want and then work on it at the end the whole world is just amazed by that work and wants to include it in daily lifestyle. Marketing The marketing concept which Apple Inc uses and has been successful in long run can be divided into 3 categories customer oriented, organization objectives and coordinated market activities. The customer attraction is done by advertising through different media which is appealing to customers, moreover they provide good delivery services all this steps taken is to reach customer orientation concept. For organization objectives concept they set a target for its employees to reach, with that to even move closer to their ultimate goal they improve their quality of product. Apple does marketing management by acknowledging customers needs and wants. Market Mix Product Apple basically sells laptops, iPods, mobiles etc here we are going g to concentrate on their laptops. Apple has different kinds of laptops for different uses. They are quite light, slimmer and highly advanced which can make anyone stand alone in a crowd. It is mostly preferred due to its uniqueness and brand name. In their product range Mac book, Mac book pro which comes in different sizes 13†, 15† and 17† depending on users usage. As student s will prefer small n compact were as a graphic designer will prefer large screen display. Price The prices differs according to how basic or powerful laptop you are purchasing as for students small and compact can be bought cheaper ranging from $999-$1699, where as for high end user is around $2499 above depending on specification Place Apple has very good delivery service so you just buy it online from anywhere in the world the laptop will be delivered right at your door step which encourages most of the people to buy laptop with quality services. Else all famous electronic retailers sell Apple laptops around the world. Promotions Apple promotions are the best deals that can be found anywhere. Apple provides special student concessions and even low interest rate installment so that it is reliable from every aspect. Sometimes free deliveries offers are also available. External Factors That Can Impact The Business Activities: Economic: The economic factor plays an important role in the normal functioning of the business. The fluctuations in the economy directly affect the budget and Apple being a public business entity may face challenges to cope with the fluctuations. Social: Society also plays a major in the flow of the business activities. The customs and trends of a society do affect the way the business is functioning although these customs might be favorable to the businesses. Technological: Apple being major IT Company, has to provide the best services so it has to constantly upgrade its infrastructure and has to bring changes in its technologies.