code: def get_element_attribute(elem_to_parse, attrib_name, default_value=u''):
      
  
      element = get_element(elem_to_parse)
  
      if element is None:
          return default_value
  
      return element.attrib.get(attrib_name, default_value)
docs: :return: an attribute from the parsed element if it has the attribute,
      otherwise the default value