Monday, September 30, 2019

Person

What makes a person attractive to others? Looks and personality – these are the usual attributes which defines an attractive person. Most people have either looks or personality but not many people have both. I have a childhood friend called Julian Lee. He Is very good looking and he has a heart of gold. He is quite a heartthrob. With raven black hair, long eyelashes, an aquiline nose and a strong Jailing, It Is hard not to be mesmerism by his good looks. As added bonuses, he has a towering frame and a gentle voice.As the captain of the school basketball team, his skin spots a golden tan from the hours of tireless training under the sun. He exudes a boyish charm which makes not only girls fall for him but also a favored student among teachers. His looks aside, what makes Julian highly attractive is the fact that he has a superb personality. Julian is very kind and helpful. Whenever the teachers need help, he will be the first to render his assistance. When there are school ev ents, he will also be the first to volunteer his services. There was a time when there were a few younger boys torturing a hapless cat.They were tying its paws with rubber bands. Julian immediately went forward and stopped the boys. Frightened by his stern persona, the boys stopped what they were doing at once and ran away quickly. On another occasion, there was a group of students who were bullying another student. Even though the boys were older than Julian, he went up to them and chastise what they were doing. The boys threatened him to mind his own business and beat him up. However, Julian stood firm and replied calmly that he would report the matter to the teacher. The boys instantly backed away and left.He even helped the student who was bullied to the sickbay. Julian is also an exemplary leader. He is the chairperson of the class. During class work, he will organist everybody into groups. He ensures that no one gets left out and everybody gets a fair share of work. Our class enjoys working with Julian and we always give our best under his leadership. Last year, our school organized a carnival to raise funds for charity. Each class had to set up a booth. Being ever systematic and resourceful, Julian assigned work according to our strengths.He Is also someone who alas the talks – often doing more than his fair share of work. In the end, our Ice- cream booth raised the most money for charity. To me, this Is a fine example of an attractive person. An attractive person Is always humble and would never dream of relying on his looks, or anything short of hard faces) dirty and who treat others with kindness and respect are the beautiful ones. Some may be physically attractive, while some may not. But these are the people beauty does fade eventually but people who have been touched by our inner beauty will find it unforgettable.

Sunday, September 29, 2019

Genetically Modified Food and Crops Essay

Abstract Since the 1980’s scientists have been altering crops, including some of the food we eat (Fairly & Gaskins, 2000). Genetically modified food has always been a concern for many people. I find the concerns to be unwarranted because there has never been a negative health report due to the fact of consuming GM foods. Biotechnology gives us the best means for solving the world’s food shortage now and in the future. Genetically modified crop plants are now grown on nearly 150 million acres in the United States alone, helping farmers to increase yields, reduce pesticide spraying, and save topsoil (Conko & Miller, 2011). What are we actually eating? Looking at ingredients on the back of a product was almost considered out of the ordinary ten to fifteen years ago. But now it is one of the most important factors in the decision on whether or not a consumer will buy the product. In all the research I conducted there was never a proven harmful effect from genetic engineering. However, the benefits are scientifically proven which gives genetically modified crops the advantage over traditional farming. The proposed ideas and research by scientist show that a lot more can be done with GM food other than eating it. Globalization of GM crops is becoming apparent as well as GM crop commercialization. _Keywords: GM Food, GM Crops, Genetically engineered crops, Biotechnology, GM organisms._ â€Å"Genetically modified organisms can be defined as organisms in which the genetic material (DNA) has been altered in a way that does not occur naturally. The technology is often called â€Å"biotechnology† and it allows selected individual genes to be transferred from one organism into another† (World Health Organization, 2002). For more than twenty years of scientific,  humanitarian, and financial success genetic engineering has been applied to agriculture. This has been accomplished without injury to a single person or damage to the ecosystem. However, activists are still fighting the use of genetically modified crops (Conko & Miller 2011). Millions of people around the world suffer from malnutrition and with the steep projected increase of our world’s population in the next fifty years a change needs to be made. Genetically modified crops increase yield, nutrition and uses fewer pesticides all without proven negative effects. GM crops and all its benefits make it the gateway for the world’s agriculture success. Genetically modified crops are becoming the building blocks for agriculture advancements. Scientists are continually working to create more benefits for consumers as well as farmers. The main concern of GM foods is negative health risks however, they are actually more beneficial. GM foods have longer shelf life, contain higher nutritional value and are safer to eat. For example, â€Å"GM corn has lower fungal toxin content then non-GM corn, and farmers typically produce GM crops using fewer pesticides, herbicides and fertilizers† (Tyson, 2001). By drastically reducing the use of chemicals on the plants it provides a major improvement for the consumer’s safety and nourishment. Because scientists slightly tweak the DNA of the plants with other genes it is possible that food allergens may end up in GM products. Steve Taylor, a scientists at the University of Nebraska states that, â€Å"the food-allergy threat is small because food  engineers now avoid using genes from n uts and other common food allergens. The benefits of genetic engineering justify the risk† (Fairley & Gaskins 2000). Products from biotechnology are no less safe than traditionally bred crops. According to Dr. Prakash, â€Å"genetically improved products are subjected to intensive testing, while conventional varieties have never been subjected to any such regulation for food safety or environmental impact† (Prakash, 2000). Every GM food that is currently available on the international market has already passed risk assessments and is not likely to pose a risk for the consumers. No effects have been shown and GM foods will continue to be regulated in more and more countries (World Health Organization, 2002). GM crops are never expected to present a health risk  and therefore should reassure government officials worldwide in the use of this technology. Another concern of GM technology is the effect it has on the environment. The environmental risks of biotechnology are also unidentified just like the health trepidations. No scientific evidence proves that GM crops are harmful to the environment. â€Å"U.S. officials pointed out that scientists in Europe had been unable to find any evidence of added risk to human health or the environment from any GM crop variety developed to date.† In fact, none of the studies by Europe found any scientific evidence of added harm to humans or the environment (Paarlberg, 2003). GM engineering will actually help the environment rather than harm it. In the U.S. alone farmers annually administer more than nine hundred seventy million tons of insect and plant killers. Now GM crops have the ability of containing their own insect and plant killing gene which means the farmers can use fewer chemicals (Tyson, 2001). To ensure that the environment is remaining safe, risk assessments are conducted for the GM product as well as the area in which the crop will grow (World Health Organization, 2002). Furthermore, the United Nations Environment Program has used funding for developing countries to implement biosafety regulations for GM crops. The UNEP wants these regulations implemented before any crop is planted no matter the cost or delay (Paarlberg, 2003). Since 2011, The U.S. Department of Agriculture has approved seventy four different GM crops. In each case the crops data was reviewed for several years and each â€Å"concluded that they will have no significant environmental impact† (Conko & Miller 2011). These precautionary measures toward genetically modified crops allow the government to regulate farming actions and safeguard the environment. The initial reason GM organisms were created was to improve crop production. â€Å"The GM crops currently on the market are mainly aimed at an increased level of crop protection through the introduction of resistance against plant diseases caused by insects or viruses or through increased tolerance towards herbicides† (Tyson, 2001). Producers are getting a lot more for a lot less which translates to products with lower prices. The improved production of  crops and technology accounts for the lowered costs and have â€Å"forced tremendous competition in the herbicide and insecticide markets† (Prakash, 2000). This also helps traditional farmers because it now allows them to buy these products at a cheaper cost. In fifty years the world population could exceed eleven billion people unfortunately, the current food supply is not expanding at the same rate. Because of this, GM crops need to expand and gain popularity over traditional farming. Global GM crop farming in 1999 covered about one hundred million acres (Tyson, 2001). Now, genetically modified crop plants are grown on nearly one hundred fifty million acres in the United States alone (Conko & Miller 2011). These statistics show that GM crop farming is rapidly expanding and the benefits are obvious. Biotechnology and its productivity give us the best chance to safely solve the food needs of today and the future. Poor farmers in tropical countries face problems such as crop pests, drought and low soil fertility (Paarlberg, 2003). These are the people who annually struggle to produce enough food for their families. Bugs, drought and disease destroy many acres of farmland every year. Fortunately scientists are creating GM crops with built in resistance to insects and diseases. GM Crops are also being developed that can grow in deserts or near salt water which allows more area for farming (Fairley & Gaskins, 2011). Because GM crops are now being built in with these resistances farmers won’t experience huge financial setbacks caused by pests killing their plants. Since the majority of malnutrition people in the world live in developing countries this opens up the opportunity for them to increase crop yield and provide enough food for everyone. Also, in developing countries people often have to survive off a single staple that own its own doesn’t supply sufficient amounts of nutrient s. Food scientist hope to solve this problem by creating crops equipped with vitamins and minerals. According to Tyson, â€Å"one of the most promising is â€Å"golden rice,† which can stimulate our bodies to generate vitamin A. In the developing world, vitamin-A deficiency kills two million children each year† (Tyson, 2001). A development through GM foods may be able to save two million people which would be a life changing breakthrough. Scientists are also trying to perfect â€Å"eatable vaccines.† They are genetically adding vaccines to tomatoes and bananas, since traditional  vaccines are expensive to manufacture and require specialized storage. â€Å"Eatable vaccines,† will be easier to transport, store, and administer in third world countries (Tyson, 2001). Biotechnology holds unlimited potential for areas of the world where poverty and poor agricultural conditions make farming challenging. The U.S. needs to ensure the people of these countries that G M food is safe and will be nothing but beneficial to their people. Genetic engineering is a crucial factor in agricultural productivity and if it continues to safely expand it could help meet the problematic food challenges that have already started. Genetic engineering holds great possibilities that could change the world. Simply peeling back a banana infused with antibiotics could be the next breakthrough science has to offer. Biotechnology continues to show safety is not an issue. GM farmers are now administering fewer chemicals on their crops. This reduces the amount of air pollution and water contamination in the environment. Genetic modifications were being made since farming started. Farmers always crossed bred the most successful plants year to year and without any concerns from the public. Today, scientist have a better understanding of how genetic modifications work making it safer for the consumers. However, government regulations are still implemented just for precautionary purposes. The United States is fortunate enough to grow numerous varieties of crops and also have the ability to choose the method of how they are grown. Unfortunately, not every country has these advantages. Genetically modified products allow these developing nations to grow crops at a more productive rate. Commercialization of genetically modified agriculture needs to be strictly monitored to make sure regulations are followed. Over industrialization of farming today is negatively viewed therefore making it essential that a golden mean is set for genetically modified products. BIBLIOGRAPHY: Fairley, P., & Gaskins, P. (2000). Food Fight!. _Scholastic Choices_, _15_(8), 16. CONKO, G., & MILLER, H. I. (2011). The Rush to Condemn Genetically Modified Crops. _Policy Review_, (165), 69-82. World Health Orginization. (2002). Retrieved from website: http://www.who.int/foodsafety/publications/biotech/20questions/en/index.html Tyson, P. T. (2001, April 12). _Harvest of fear_. Retrieved from http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/harvest/exist/ Prakash, C. (2000). Genetically engineered crops can feed the world!. Retrieved from http://www.21stcenturysciencetech.com/articles/biotech.html Paarlberg, R. L. (2003). Reinvigorating genetically modified crops. _Issues in Science and Technology, 19_(3), 86-92. Retrieved from http://ezproxy.sju.edu/login?url=http://search.proquest.com/docview/195920735?accountid=14071

Friday, September 27, 2019

Product Development Process Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 5000 words

Product Development Process - Assignment Example The new vision of product development is that of an extremely disaggregated process with people and organisations spread throughout the world (Holmes 1999). At the same time, products are becoming increasingly intricate and multifaceted with typical electro-mechanical products requiring close to a million engineering decisions to bring them to market (Eppinger 1998). Even software products like Microsoft Word or Netscape require disaggregated, but coordinated processes involving hundreds of developers (Cusumano and Yoffie 1998). Competitive pressures mean that time to market has been projected as essential to new product success as has marketing's direction towards customer needs and customer satisfaction (Smith and Reinertsen 1998). Because products are marketed throughout the world, firms face the tradeoff between standardisation for cost reduction and variety for satisfying an extensive set of customers. This has stretched the need for marketing to look beyond the single product t o focus on the product platform (Moore, Louviere and Verma 1999). The Product Products are often referred to as anything -- object or service -- that can be offered to a market in order to satisfy a customer's want or need (Kotler et al. 1996; ENDREA 2001) and product development is made up of a wide-ranging and distinctive continuum of activities, which need to be cohesive and interrelated so as to achieve an adequate and an acceptable process. Ulrich & Eppinger (2003) stated it as the set of activities beginning with the perception of a market opportunity and ending in the production, sale, and delivery of a product. Aside from the activities, there are several components, such as design engineers or other practitioners, management and goal system, working means, tools and equipment, information system and environment, identified by Hubka & Eder (1992), which influence the product development process. However, product development work is even more complex, since there also are external aspects, facets that are not intrinsic in the organisation, to consider, like the market), legislation and society that affect the product development process (Blessing 2002). To support coordination and planning of all these activities and components, guarantee quality, identify possible problem areas or improvements, a suitable, well-defined product development process is needed (Ulrich & Eppinger 2003). Andreasen & Hein (1986) have inferred an ideal model for product development activities (Illustration 1). The Integrated Product Development model is based on the three elements -- market, design and production, and the results of their activities need to be unified. The market should be investigated and defined, and a product, which is intended to satisfy the market, should be designed and eventually manufactured by the second and third elements. Illustration 1 -- Model of Integrated Product Development (Andreasen & Hein, 1987) Ulrich & Eppinger (2003) likewise offered a model of integrated product development - a generic development process, which depicted the progression of activities or steps that marketing, design and

The changing market environment Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

The changing market environment - Essay Example The markets have transformed to international from local. With the increase in the exposure to masses and increased geographical market coverage, the need of quick and up to date information has also increased. With the changing business environment the buyers are also changing. With the increasing incomes the buyers have become more selective. For a company to launch its product in a new market it has become important to have the information from the buyer needs to buyer wants. On the other hand it is also important to have the knowledge of how to present the product in effective manner in order to reach the customer in an effective manner. With the changing business needs the new marketing techniques such as product differentiation, branding and advertising are also gaining immense importance. This paper is aimed at finding out the appropriate marketing communication strategy for Jalsberg cheese which is a famous branded cheese in American Market and ready to be marketed in new Eur opean market. Norseland Inc. was founded in 1978. The purpose of the company was to market and distribute Jarlsberg and other Norwegian cheese in United States. The Company is a 100% owned subsidiary of TINE Norwegian Diaries, which has the main responsibility for the production and marketing of Jarlsberg cheese. Introduction of Product: Jalsberg cheese has some snob appeal. Customers want to show they have 'good taste'. Without complaining they accept the higher price of Jalsberg compared to other competitive products. The mild and creamy taste appeals to Americans, and many think that the taste of the traditional Swiss cheese, Emmenthaie is too sharp Present market: Jalsberg cheese has a major supply share in the US cheese market. The characteristics of typical Jalsberg buyer are: Female Earning more than US$ 80,000 per year. Over 40 years Now the company is aiming to introduce its Cheese brand Jalsberg in the newly extended European market. In order to undertake successful brand positioning Norseland has to design a marketing communication strategy, which should be crafted according to the European market conditions and consumer behaviour. The successful product positioning and promotion is only possible if all the required information in this lieu is gathered and used in the right direction. In order to fulfil modern information needs, new information technologies have also been evolved. The information regarding the buyer preferences and behaviour plays an important part in helping the management to take important decisions regarding the product such as

Thursday, September 26, 2019

Marketing Management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words - 2

Marketing Management - Essay Example Now we shift to the methodology and rationale behind building competitive advantage. This is something that is built over time and requires synchronization between the tactics, activities and the overall strategy of the company which is producing the product(s). Competitive advantage is developed when there is a differential undertaking on the part of the customer. This could be in the form of lower prices than the competitors, better quality, efficient sales services and support and a number of other features. Thus customer satisfaction is something which cannot be measured by a standard set of parameters. It has to be experienced always with a different set of offerings that are made available. These offerings could be in the form of better quality products, higher and more efficient services or a bundle of both high-class product and state of the art service, in which case it would not be categorized under either of them rather as a mixture of both. It is pretty true that the market dynamics suggest that the competitive advantage can only be achieved when the customer is given what he or she wants but then again is there any limit to his or her wants? The answer would be NO and quite rightly so. The customer expects value for money and thus the best possible product at the most effective rate, thus it would be correct to understand his point of view and then go about changing the product offerings, prices and the value thus provided. Marketing concept has taken its basis from the selling concept.

Wednesday, September 25, 2019

Scenario Machine Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Scenario Machine - Essay Example The machine is majorly prosperous in raising internal awareness of the necessity for moving a computer-generated machinery administration. It is additionally responsible for moving the institution to awarding two of my models at a keynote address. Machine deliverables included a clickable model, a design description article, and a research outline. Detailed data and a research summary for the scenario machine and its prototype were provided and made confidential (Proctor & Kim-Phuong 327). Functionality in the high fidelity prototype for my scenarios was closely affiliated with the form of the design by-products. This affiliation will be impartially simple to find out if it has the opportunity of operating as an actual commodity. Objects in interrelation design depend mainly on the production of computer programs. There were numerous easy issues that were difficult or even impossible to crack with algorithms. This prototype and the accompanying models are the single signals to what might be. An unaware audience or users might be simply be fooled to believe it is the actual thing (Proctor & Kim-Phuong 328). The contrast amid low and high-fidelity prototyping is too unsophisticated to define the variety techniques being used currently. In my scenario machine, fidelity conflates five orthogonal sides being currently utilized. The level of visual modification had to be hand-sketched drawings and line edges against pixel-precise display models. The functional width and gravity represented the only success situations or tiring exposure and mistake situations (Proctor & Kim-Phuong 328). The productivity of the interaction involved paper page turning against wholly interactive, clickable linkages. Richness of data models are simply easy situations against the complications of real information and simple algorithms. In a similar manner, developments in â€Å"back stage† technology enable the simple creation of

Tuesday, September 24, 2019

History of Islamic Art Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

History of Islamic Art - Essay Example In this area they formed the Caliphate of Cà ³rdoba, which remained until 1031 before falling due to the Fitna of al-à ndalus. The Islamic art entails the visual arts that were produced by the people from 7th century and onwards. Thus, this art is tough to define since it covers various lands and diverse people for the time period of more than 1400 years. The vast capacity of Islamic architecture pertains to a distinctive article, belonging to various fields such as painting, textiles, calligraphy, ceramics, and glass among others. Some of the fields of art in the Umayyad dynasty are described below: Architecture: The building of the Umayyad dynasty is constructed with the local materials, generally of ashlars stone, which is usually combined with brick. The mosques and monuments with their austere exteriors provide the buildings a lavish interior decoration which is made of geometrically-patterned marble mosaics and revetment depict vegetal forms architecture, and objects with royal connotations such as vases and crowns. Carvings: The primary decoration components of the Umayyads art had derived from the late-classical customs of wall- and floor-mosaic, stone-carving and wall-painting. It also uses the plaster decoration, which was adopted from the Hellenised East. These designs are found across the complete range of mediums just like the geometrical deigns and vary from book illustration to plasterwork; in woodwork, ceramics, ivory-carving and metalwork, even in textiles and carpets. Metalwork: The art patronage has been a symbol of authority and kingship and has emerged as a theme from the creative appropriations from past and abroad (Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History). Numerous luxurious objects including the boxes of bronze animal statuary, gilt silver and carved ivory, and luxuriously figured silks had been commissioned for

Monday, September 23, 2019

Western Culture Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Western Culture - Research Paper Example Culture is inherent in a society, and that culture affects and influences the way that particular society conducts its business( Henry 1999 ). Due to the advent of globalization, companies have sought overseas operations to expand their market as well as gain from trade agreements. More so, the availability of cheap labor has attracted multinationals to invest in Southeast Asia ( Philippines, Thailand, Indonesia), especially in China. However, issues in organizational behavior always resurface as western methods of management are fitted into Asian culture. In order to prevent this misunderstanding, it would be best to identify critical issues in business culture. An important model in understanding business culture was developed by Geert Hofstede. He firmly believed that a misunderstanding of business culture can have tragic consequences for companies (which was the case of Wal-Mart ) resulting to great financial loss . Hofstede’s statement is clear â€Å"Culture is more often a source of conflict than of synergy. Cultural differences are a nuisance at best and often a disaster†. The case which I would present is about the reflections of a consultant of one of Ohio’s oldest manufacturer of metal parts. The American business owner established a small business in China along with a Chinese business partner. The case is not really about total failure of a western business in China, rather, a few adjustments have to be made to be able to survive within the Chinese business culture. One problem that was specifically observed by westerners is the Chinese optimist attitude of â€Å" NO Problem† which seems refreshing to a westerner. However, the westerner only realizes later that there is indeed a presence of seemingly insurmountable problems which should be resolved later on. To be more specific : One of the first American business owners whom the Cunningham’s met in Changzhou warned them to expect that at the

Sunday, September 22, 2019

The Ferocious creature Essay Example for Free

The Ferocious creature Essay The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, written by Mark Twain, takes place during the antebellum era, and revolves around a young boy, named Huck. The antebellum era was the years right before the Civil War, so Huck was living in a dark and murky time in American History. Huck starts off by living with The Widow Douglas and her sister, Miss Watson, who is trying to civilize him or make him to be what the perfect child should look like and make him act how a perfect child should act. Huck does not want that. He just wants to live how he wants, just like most youth want. In the novel, Huckleberry Finn befriends a runaway slave, Jim, and his adventures begin. According to Dennis Puopard, Mark Twain exposed many of the dark problems of antebellum United States. Some say Mark Twain wrote this episodic novel as a boys adventure story and that Huck is a character that children should look up to. (422) Modern readers do not see Huckleberry Finn as a childrens book because the book is racist, there a themes of lying, and characters object and criticize authority. Because, modern readers see the book as improper for children The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn is on the banned books list on many school in the United States. In The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn there are racial slurs, lies, and profanity. The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn is not a childrens book in todays society because of the prominent theme of race. The topic of race and racism is strong in todays society. If a modern American citizen uses racial slurs against another race in a hurtful way that citizen would be convicted with a criminal offense. A racial slur such as the word nigger is not tolerable todays society. The word nigger was used to belittle and dehumanize African American slaves, such as Jim, in antebellum United States. Through out the book, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, author Mark Twain includes racial slurs such as the word, nigger toward African American characters, such as Jim and other slaves. Good gracious! anybody hurt? Nom. Killed a nigger. Well, its lucky; because sometimes people do get hurt. ( Twain 109). This quote shows how the white society views Jim different then themselves. They view Jim as property rather than a human with a living breathing heart. This dialoged between two white characters just shows how hurtful and cruelly someone can sound just by taking. Barbra L. Jackson professor at Fordham University in New York City says, It is hard to teach The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn in a diverse class because of its racial views. (63). If a college professor has a hard time teaching the book, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, to her class, how can it be easy for high school students who are studding the novel, or even young boys whom pick up the book and start reading it? Also, Barbra L. Jackson says, I always see a lack in participation, when studying the book, the students do not want to read out loud, (64). The students do not feel right saying nigger out loud because they do not want to offend any of their classmates. The students know that the word, nigger is a taboo in modern society. The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn should not be taught or read to children because of the racial slurs. The type of racial language that Mark Twain uses in the book is offensive and crude. The exposure of the racial slurs to young children would be harmful. The young children will think it is okay to say the new words they discover from reading The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, which would get them into trouble in the future.

Saturday, September 21, 2019

Black Bourgeoisie Essay Example for Free

Black Bourgeoisie Essay E. Franklin Frazier’s Black Bourgeoisie was more prophetic than many realized. Frazier, who addressed the burgeoning black middle class, expressed concern about the intra-class conflict vis-a-vis socioeconomic status of black folks. Frazier notes that the black middle class was in a rush by the 1960s to assimilate. During the Harlem Renaissance, even W. E. B. Du Bois â€Å"strategically included white judges on panels for their black literary competitions, in hopes that white approval would add luster to black achievements. † This shift that occurred was not a mass or universal one. The black middle class was still small and would not be catapulted until after the advent of Affirmative Action. According to the perspective of E. Franklin Frazier, the â€Å"Black Bourgeoisie† played an important role among American Negros for decades. Frazier’s study led him to the significant of â€Å"Negro Business† and its impact on the black middle class. Education was a major social factor responsible for emergence of the Black bourgeoisie. By fact, the net total number of the free Negroes in the first generation topped out at 37,245 with an estimated accumulation of 50,000,000 in real and personal wealth before the civil war. Free Negroes in southern cities undertook businesses in skilled labor such as carpenters, tailors, shoemakers, wheelwrights, bricklayers, butchers, and painters. The failure of the Freedmen’s Bank contributed to the slow development of the black middle class when Blacks put all their money into the Black banks and when they went under only forty percent of deposits were returned. Occupational differentiation is the change in work field for the Black class. A small professional group making up three percent of all workers had gradually become differentiated from the majority of Blacks. Occupational differentiation had proceeded slowly because Blacks were accustomed to the agriculture field and not only until the migrations to the North were had had they introduced to the industrial centers. In addition the Depression played a role in slowing up the process. Black-owned businesses are primarily service establishments simply because of the refusal on the part of white establishments to provide personal services for Negroes. The debate over true liberalism among blacks still exists. I have found the upper black middle class to be far more conservative and less active towards civil rights and social policy of late. I am concerned that the black bourgeoisie is willing to shift its focus away from the liberalism that put them in their position for racial acceptance. I believe integration is vital to a liberal society as noted by my neighborhood, friends, and place of employment; however, I do not think the black middle class should play the conservative card that carries with it values, attitudes, and behaviors that do not represent progress for all minority groups. Sure 90% of blacks vote in a solid block for the Democratic Party, but that block is not as tight as it used to be.

Friday, September 20, 2019

Effects of Technology on Behavior

Effects of Technology on Behavior Technology: Changing Our Behavior and Relationships for the Better or Worse? Most of us are familiar with this scenario: A group of friends out on a lunch outing, each with their cell phones or laptops out, busily texting, catching up on the latest news, and surfing the internet instead of conversing with the people in front of them. Today, we are living in the era of digital technology where it is difficult to not be encompassed by the realm of digital world. More than two billion people use the Internet, and about five billion people are cell phone users. Technology is growing at an increasingly fast pace. It seems like everywhere we go, we are constantly surrounded by the presence of technology. In compliance with the increasingly advanced technology, our lifestyles are adjusting to keep up with it. In the increasingly technological society with new gadgets in the market, acquiring technological devices seems like the only way to fit in with the crowd. However, have you ever thought about the effects that heavy technology usage might have on your behavior and personal relationships? Overusing technology, such as cell phones and the internet, can cause us to neglect the people around us, and, ultimately, cause our behaviors and relationships to change detrimentally. It is of no doubt that technology is pervasive throughout our lives. A 2014 study done by Nielson reveals that the average American is digitally connected for approximately 11 hours every day (in-text citation). Social networking sites, email, online games, are among the most  popular interests of the digital world. Although young adults are the dominant group of internet  users, a study done by the Pew Research Center reveals, â€Å"Over the past year, the biggest growth in usage was among older users. Nearly half of Americans ages 50-64-and a quarter of those 65  and older-now use SNSs† (Clemmitt 5). For years, the heated topic of debate centers upon whether technology changes our lives for the better or worse. With the rise of smartphone users in the recent years, many have complained about being neglected by their family and friends, who are constantly engaged by social media networks, text messaging, and taking pictures of themselves. There is discussion on how the rise of social media sites invades our privacy and create a thin line between our private and public lives. As of this year, Facebook membership skyrocketed to over 1.35 billion users. Mark Zuckenberg, the creator of Facebook, argues â€Å"People have gotten really comfortable not only sharing more information and different kinds, but more openly and with more people† (Clemmitt 3). Along with the rise of Facebook and other social networking sites, the number of people sharing more personal information about themselves, and the time they spend on these sites has escalated. A Facebook account can surely reveal a spouse’s infidelity, a suicidal teenager’s thoughts, and much more than we are aware of. The internet is tool that we use to communicate with family and friends, as well as to  publish information on mediums to a large audience. A study done by Nielson, a leading  global information company whose primary objective is to seek understanding of consumer behavior, reveals that Americans spend approximately 23% of their online time on social media networks (Kessler 1). This number is on the rise every year, as more people are becoming exposed to the digital world. For many of us, it is extremely difficult to ignore the impulse to check our cell phones for a new update or an incoming text message. Some experts worry that soon social media will dominate face-to-face interaction, resulting in increased narcissism, decreased relationship quality, and lead to serious issues like cyberbullying. Many analysts argue that technology pushes our society to become increasingly impersonal and causes people to spend less time having face-to-face interaction. Thanks to technology, our society is relying more and more on text messaging, video chatting, and social media sites as means of communication. A survey conducted to find the preferred modes of communication discovered that people born between 1990 to 1999 prefer texting and social networking above all other forms of communication. For this generation, face-to-face interaction is the least preferred form of communication. In contrast, all of the generational groups born between 1940 and 1989 chose face-to-face interaction as their most preferred form of communication, and none of these groups listed social networking as a mode of communication. (Clemmitt 2). Today, many people forgo face-to-face conversation in favor of digital communication because it encourages more brevity and openness. Katie E. Davis, a professor at the Uni versity of Washington, asserts, â€Å"It feels much safer to broach uncomfortable subjects when you don’t have to look someone in the eye† (Clemmitt 5). In other words, digital  communication allows us to delge into topics that we are normally uncomfortable conversing. However, there are several issues that arise when technology is used as the primary mode of communication. First and foremost, technology doesn’t always enable people to express their thoughts and emotions without being misunderstood. When people communicate by text messaging or through social media sites, several nonverbal communication cues, such as body language, tone of voice, and body gestures are unavailable. As a result, it is easy to misinterpret an unintended message. Furthermore, it is often difficult to interpret face-to-face conversations that do take place without an adequate understanding of these cues. Some people argue that technology is a valuable asset to people who have trouble having face-to-face interaction with others, such as those that suffer from autism or psychological  disorders. They maintain that these people find solace in the digital world, as well as a place  where they can socialize without being ostracized. However, I beg to differ. Social media  sites create the illusion of companionship, and does nothing to help these people develop proper social skills. Many of these people suffer from depression and loneliness in the first place, and by solely interacting with others online rather than in real life, these problems will worsen and they will be further detached from society. Another crucial aspect of technology is that it affects our attention span, thus causing us to become ignorant of our priorities. Several studies and researchers point out that students have difficulty focusing in class and adults have trouble concentrating at work when their cell phones are nearby. Michael Suman, a professor at the University of Southern California, asserts that even with their phones off, students are unable to fully concentrate on their education because they are under the influence of technology. Technology is one of the leading influences in our relationships with our families and friends. By delging into our personal lives, technology changes how we interact with our loved ones. Although the digital world can be an asset in many aspects, it can also destroy relationships and trust. Steve Tucker, a relationship counselor, claims that many of his clients have come to him after they discover a racy text message, exposing their partner’s infidelity. Some of these affairs begin in online chatrooms, which proceed to flirtatious text messages. He insists â€Å"People have actually jumped out of a marriage and filed for divorce and never met the person who’s the new object of their romantic interest† (Newsome 3). Although most of these affairs are not even sexual, they ruin the arguably most important aspect of a relationship, trust. In addition to infidelity, online games and pornography are equally distracting and detrimental to establishing healthy relationships. Alot of people are so enamored with online video games that they spend hours in front of their computer screen, forsaking their jobs, education, and relationships. However, it is critical to note that technology has also opened the doors to happiness for many couples, who have found love online. Although this is true, there are several possible issues that arise, such as the possibility of identity fraud when finding a romantic partner online. Furthermore, in some incidences, a suicidal individual’s life is saved when someone reports their provoking thoughts and messages. Yet, it is often difficult to tell whether the person is authentic, or just trying to seek attention. Furthermore, technology also impairs relationships with its distractions and interferences. Technology has made it difficult for us to ignore the impulse to check for updates. A study completed in 2011 discovered, â€Å"Smartphone users are developing checking habits-recurring 30-second glances at social media such as Facebook- as often as every 10 minutes† (Clemmitt 5). Consequently, it makes us oblivious of others around us. Clifford Nass, a professor at Stanford University, states, â€Å"Today, people think it’s okay to text in the middle of dinner, at a meeting, in class, wherever† (Greengard 18). As a result of the society that is becoming more interdependent on technology, it is now not unusual to see a father more intent on texting at his son’s football game, rather than on watching his son play. Accordingly, family members spend less quality time with each other when they succumb to the addiction of heavy technology usage. For instance, in a technology dominated household, the father might spend all his time watching television, the mother could spend hours shopping for the latest fashion trends, and the children may perhaps endlessly play online video games. Although some people claim that technology connects family and friends across the globe,  many studies have pointed that even if our loved ones are around us, we turn a blind eye and retreat to our technological devices. Moreover, technology gives us the delusion of  Technology gives us the illusion of intimacy.   â€Å"Constant connectively offers the illusion of companionship without the demands of friendship.† Two educators at the University of Essex, Andrew K. Przybylski and Netta Weinstein, conducted an experiment that demonstrated cell phones do indeed affect relationship quality. The study divided the experimenters into two groups, one with their cell phones with them, and the other without. The participants were told to have a conversation. At the end of the experiment, the group with their cell phones nearby reported that they experienced a conversation with less empathy. which demonstrated that cell phones detrimentally affect relationship quality. Paragraph: Cyberbullying Cyberbullying is one of the few fundamental issues that arise from heavy technology usage. By definition, cyberbullying is the use of technology to threaten, defame, or harm someone. Every year, thousands of lives are claimed due to cyberbullying. According to a national study conducted by Jaana Juvonen, a psychology professor at the University of California at Los Angeles, â€Å"More than 70 percent of heavy Internet users ages 12 through 17 — mostly girls — said they had experienced at least one incident of online intimidation via e-mail, cell phones, chat rooms and other electronic media in the previous year† (Billitteri 2). Although  many cases are moderately harmless, some cases leave long-term effects. A study done by Justin W. Patchin, a professor at the University of Wisconsin, reports â€Å"Between 10 and 30 percent of children and teenagers report having been on one side or the other of an online bullying incident at some point† (Clemmitt 5). Works Cited Clemmitt, Marcia. Social Media Explosion.CQ Researcher. N.p. 25 Jan. 2013. Web. 25 Sept. 2014. http://mashable.com/2011/09/12/23-percent-online/

Thursday, September 19, 2019

The Power of the Atomic Bomb in Shaping the Post-War World Essay

The Power of the Atomic Bomb in Shaping the Post-War World There were few men in Washington who understood the role the atomic bomb could play in ending World War II and shaping the peace. Military planning focused on two options, conventional bombing accompanied by a blockade or an invasion of the Japanese home islands. Both options were so problematic politically and militarily that policymakers who were familiar with the Manhattan Project found it difficult to oppose the bomb’s use. There were also few men who knew the role the bomb could play in winning the peace. President Harry S. Truman, Secretary of State James F. Byrnes, and Secretary of War Henry L. Stimson saw the bomb as a way to shape the post-war world in the American image, without reliance on regional allies to maintain peace throughout the world. Thus, the question in 1945 was not why should the bomb be used, but rather, why should it not be used? The conventional bombing and blockade option was the less attractive option for ending the war. The Joint Intelligence Staff could not provide an accurate estimate of the time required to force Japan to surrender unconditionally through blockade and bombardment alone. Estimates ranged from two months to two years. The lower estimates counted on a clarification of surrender terms to induce Japan to surrender. It also required area bombing of Japanese cities. Advocates of the plan also called for the acquisition of more favorable bases surrounding Japan in order to consolidate the blockade and intensify the bombing. Doing so would have required additional amphibious assaults on the China coast and Korea. If such operations were to be undertaken, Army critics asked, why not use the same amphibious resources to d... ...Washington: Office of the Chief of Military History, Department of the Army. Offner, Arnold A. "President Truman, the Potsdam Conference, and the Origins of Atomic Diplomacy." Presented at International Conference: "Fifty Years After: The Close of the Pacific War Re-Examined" Sponsored by International House of Japan Inc., Tokyo, Japan, August 23-26, 1995. Sherwin, Martin J. A World Destroyed: Hiroshima and the Origins of the Arms Race. New York: Vintage Books, 1987. Sigal, Leon V. Fighting to the Finish: The Politics of War Termination in the United States. Ithaca: Cornell University Press, 1988. Skates, John Ray. The Invasion of Japan: Alternative to the Bomb. Columbia,SC: Univesrity of South Carolina Press, 1994. Stoff, Michael B. (et al, eds.) The Manhattan Project: A Documentary Introduction to the Atomic Age. New York: McGraw-Hill, 1991.

Wednesday, September 18, 2019

Write about the ways in which Charles Dickens presented the female :: Free Essay Writer

Write about the ways in which Charles Dickens presented the female characters in Great Expectations Charles Dickens was born on the 7th February 1812. He is known as one of the greatest writer of his time, creating classics that are still appreciated to this day. Surprisingly he had very little education and taught himself. At a young age Dickens was interested in becoming a reporter and writing and as well as writing fiction, he edited a weekly journal for twenty years. Dickens died on 9th June 1870, at the age of 58. The novel Great Expectations was first published in 1861. The novel was first published in a weekly magazine in several different parts and when finally finished it was published as a book. As it was serialised there were many cliff hangers leaving the reader wanting to read on. It is about Pip who is orphaned at birth, he lives with his strict sister and her husband, a blacksmith. His fate takes a new course when he is summoned to meet Miss Havisham, a rich lady driven to the edge of sanity after being jilted at the altar. Pip slowly becomes infatuated with Miss Havisham's adopted daughter Estella and his hopes of winning her are boosted when he learns that someone has left him a generous amount of money. The story takes some great twists; the three main female characters are Mrs Joe Gargery, Miss Havisham, and Estella, all which are portrayed differently in the novel. The Victorian period was extremely different; the hierarchical system was much more important, and at the time the novel was written there were many controversial political issues. At the time the novel was published rarely did women have an education or work. Charles Dickens depicted men and women as existing within different social spaces. With the exception of Estella, who travels from Satis House to London, all of Dickens's female characters are contained within the home. Women were stereotyped as housewives, and did not have much control over their own lives as women were seen to be owned by their husbands. In Great Expectations we can see how the women who fit Dickens' ideas were rewarded with happy lives, usually in the form of marriage, like Biddy. On the other hand, the women who did not conform to these ideas were punished in one way or another. Even though not all of Dickens' attitudes reflected what was typical of the period, many did. Great Expectations is a reflection of those attitudes that were most likely encouraged by the women in his life. The female characters physical appearance plays a big part, as it

Tuesday, September 17, 2019

Titus Salt and Saltaire

Titus Salt was born on the 20th September 1803 in the Morely area of Leeds. He came from quite a wealthy background and he had a very reasonable education. When he and his parents moved to Bradford, Titus' life in the textile trade prospered. Salts father was once a white cloth merchandise, so this helped greatly in the set-up of ‘Daniel Salt and Son' wool buyers, based in Bradford. As Titus was the eldest of Daniel Salts seven children he was expected to inherit and run the family business. Titus was a Sunday worker at the local church, and it was here that he met and fell in love with his wife Caroline Whitlam of Grimsby. There is a street in Saltaire that is named after his wife, showing true love and compassion for both his wife and Saltaire. Titus built Saltaire because he wanted a model village- at the time Leeds and the Bradford area were very polluted and dirty places to live in. At Titus' time Bradford was known as the ‘City of the Industrial Revolution.' It was acknowledged as the worsted capital of the world. Bradford was becoming a very wealthy city indeed. However behind the good reputation it boasted, the life was the worst they had had for years. Manual labourers became very poor as they were not needed anymore- machines were taking over. They were, in fact, poorer than ever. Bradford was a dirty city, sanitation was bad. People caught diseases more easily, making workers in factories die in their dozens. For example if one person in a factory caught cholera or the consumption, by the next week most of the other workers would have it. This meant that the production of work was not as good as it should be. The factories were grossly overcrowded; this was so that there were more product made. But this also had major disadvantages, such as contagious infections or accidents that happened in the workplace. Homes were also overcrowded. This was so that Landlords could get more rent. But, again, contagious infections were spread more easily and life, in general, was made more difficult and cramped. Ironically, it was Sir Titus himself who owned five of the major factories in Bradford. Some of the factories that he owned at the time had the worst working conditions around. So why did he want to build Saltaire? Some could argue that it was purely for the money. He may have built it because of his theory: ‘Healthy workers mean that less people are sick, more people come to work, more money is made, and so Titus will make more and more money.' So if everybody had a decent place to live, with a decent wage, then surely this will make their life easier and less complicated. People will want to live there and will enjoy working in the factory. This is because it is clean and healthy. This would mean that Titus makes more money and that he can expand his business further. Titus may have been Paternalistic, which means to exercise authority in a way that limits ones individual responsibility. Titus was appalled at the living conditions of the people of Bradford, he thought that his theory was very true. If Titus was already a very well off gentle man then why would he need to make even more money? Some would argue that he didn't do it purely for money but for care and compassion to those who were worse-off than he was. He may have really wanted people to have a good and healthy lifestyle. He may have really cared for the community, and observed the poor conditions that were such in factories all over Bradford and Leeds. Titus may wanted to give the next generation a life to look forward to and make sure that children got the education and homes that they deserved. Titus quotes: â€Å"†¦ I also hope to do good to my fellow men†¦Ã¢â‚¬  The site that he chose was that in Shipley, which was near the River Aire, hence the name Saltaire. It was also near a railway, canal and roads. This was the ideal sit for Titus to build on. Trading would be very easy, but that not near the dirty cities of Leeds and Bradford. Obviously, it needed to be relatively near so that trading could commence but far away enough so that his workers wouldn't have to put up with the pollution problems that they had to face in the city. Titus may have been a believer of ‘Megalomania' which means having mental delusions of power over something, he may have loved himself and his family so much that he would name a village after himself. If he owned a village with over 800 cottages with people living in them, that would surely mean that he had ultimate power over them. For example, he could sack a worker simply because he could. Titus had enough money already, even if he didn't make a model village. He didn't need it; maybe he thought that this village would be something to remember him by when he dies. If he was just another factory owner in Bradford, not a lot of people would have been sorry that he died, but if he built a perfect village for people to live happy care-free lives then that would be a very great achievement. People will love him for it, and give him respect. They would remember him and he may go down in history. I think that Titus built Saltaire because he genuinely cared about the people's health. Titus already had enough money to set him and his family up for life but he still carried on doing what he believed in- helping others who were worse off than himself. Q2) What do the streets and buildings in Saltaire suggest about Salts values and beliefs? To value means something that you regard as important, you think it improves things and you want others to have it. To have a belief in something it means that it is the central core, the platform underlining your existence. Beliefs relate to key things in your life, eg, Religion, Society, and Country. In Saltaire virtually all of the streets are named after either Royalty or his family. This shows what his values are. For example he has named a street after his wife, Caroline Street. This shows that he must have really cared about his wife, to name a street after her. This also shows that she must have had great faith in him, to have stayed with him for so long. He has also named streets after his wife's family, showing that he has thought greatly about his family during the building of the village. This suggests that he was maybe building the model village as something to pass on to his family when he dies as it really shows that they mean that much to him. There are streets named after Royalty, such as Albert Road and Victoria Road. This emphasises his beliefs and values in the Royal Family. He valued their strong and powerful beliefs in both religion and society. He wanted everyone to know that he was proud of both his family and the Royals. From going round Saltaire I noticed that the Mill was the heart of Saltaire. It was very large and looked very well patented from the outside. You could clearly see from the stern structure that Salt wanted it to be the main focal point of the village. When I looked around inside I saw that it was very tall and airy. This was probably so that the workers would have more space to work in. I noticed that the beams that are usually present on the inside of old buildings weren't there, which made it look even more spacious. The outside had a very nice looking pattern and this made it look pretty and most unlike the ugly factories that you got in Bradford. The hospital is quite a large building on one of the main roads of the town suggesting the importance of it to the townspeople, and indeed Titus himself. The building of this hospital suggests Titus' beliefs were kind hearted. He had a hospital built especially for the convenience to the workers. He believed a healthy workforce was a happy workforce, thus Titus would make more money. The United Reformed Church suggests a great deal to us about Titus' beliefs. It is situated nearly in the centre of the town, and is facing the most important building in the village- the Mill. The interior is decorated tastefully, with lots of patterns and dear looking artefacts. This is where Titus' family was laid to rest. This suggests that Titus had a great love towards the church and the beliefs behind it. The actual name of Saltaire suggests that Titus really did believe in himself. And also that he was quite bigheaded. Usually people only get named after things when they are dead but Titus was still alive when he gave the village that name. The ending ‘Aire' is after the River Aire, which was the main trading route from the village, this suggest how important is was to Titus and the rest of the villagers. Q3) Do you think Saltaire was a substantial achievement? At the time Saltaire was a breath of fresh air for workers. This meant clean air, a proper place to live, and a wage guaranteed every week. The new workers could hardly complain. In Bradford, living and working conditions were very poor. Life for them was harder than ever. Salt saw how poor they were and he decided to do something about it. Build a model village. He thought that if workers had better conditions in which to live and work then they would produce better work standards. It took just over twenty years to complete fully. But as the mill was finished in 1853, his fiftieth birthday, people started to move to Bradford. To say that he built a model village from scratch says a lot about what sort of man he really was- hardworking. At the time people thought Saltaire was a good idea, and with Salt in parliament, being a successful businessman, and a magistrate, he was the ideal man to do the job. People saw Titus as kind and considerate with a great public spirit, who else could fit the job description? Over they years Saltaire has changed a great deal. It has moved on with the rest of the world. Although it is still a relatively quiet little village. There are now pubs and other shops that weren't allowed back then, but since Titus' death in December 1876, things have changed, and different people took over the running of the village. Church going is optional and just about anyone can live and work in Saltaire. Nobody actually owns the village, and the mills have ceased trading. The cotton traders of the north no longer trade, making Saltaire just another normal village. I think that Titus Salt would not have liked the Saltaire that has become now. The Mills seemed like his livelihood, he was proud of them. There is also no particular order- anyone can live where they want and work where they like. He also hated pubs and other places where you could go to waste your money. Although Saltaire has grown and is an attraction, I don't think he would have liked what it has become. I do think Saltaire was a substantial achievement at the time because he managed to build a model village and create a model life. He had complete control over everything that went on in the village. It was kept clean and tidy, and he also made a lot of money in doing so. Titus has made this village a tourist attraction, because he designed it from scratch- and he made a model village. Everyone wanted to be there, and people gave him respect for his great achievement.

Monday, September 16, 2019

The Pre Combustion Capture Environmental Sciences Essay

Climate alteration is straight associated with increased atmospheric concentration of gases, and particularly of CO2 produced chiefly by fossil fuel burning. Therefore, accomplishing important decrease of CO2 emanations is pressing. Many different schemes need to be applied for this intent including the increased usage of renewable energy beginnings and atomic power, the betterment of energy transition efficiency and the usage of C gaining control and storage systems ( CCS ) . In planetary graduated table, energy production is extremely dependent of fossil fuels. Furthermore, the continuously increasing energy demand in combination with abundant and loosely distributed geographically coal, are factors that prohibit the decrease of conventional energy production ways. Therefore, CCS is the lone option to accomplish important CO2 emanations decreases. The C gaining control engineerings can be separated into three chief methods: pre-combustion gaining control, post-combustion gaining control and oxy-fuel burning. In this assignment, pre-combustion gaining control procedure will be examined. Basic Operation 2.1 Definition By definition, pre-combustion C gaining control refers to the remotion of C from fuel before its burning. Therefore, the burning generates zero CO2 emanations. This engineering can be applied in power workss which use hydrocarbon fuels in order to bring forth electricity. These fuels are coal, natural gas, oil but can besides be used in power workss which use non-hydrocarbon fuels such as biomass or waste. However, pre-combustion C gaining control engineering is more efficient and most developed for usage in Integrated Gasification Combined Cycle ( IGCC ) power workss utilizing coal fuel and in Natural Gas Combined Cycle power workss. Procedure The chief procedure can be divided into three stairss. Initially, the hydrocarbon fuel which is typically natural gas or coal ( oil or biomass ) is reformed or gasified severally into synthesis gas, known as syngas, incorporating H and CO. Then, the syngas is reacted with steam in a Water-Gas Shift reactor ( WGS ) and the C oxide is converted to carbon dioxide and produces more H2O. The resulted syngas after the transition of the C oxide is consisted of C dioxide and H2O and is known as shifted syngas. During the 3rd measure, CO2 is separated from H2 and the rich H gas is produced which can be combusted clearly in combined rhythm power workss. Separated CO2 is so compressed, stored and transported. Between the three basic stairss, described above, there is a figure of extra units for the optimal operation of the system. These units are gas cleaners and heat money changers. Depending on the fuel used, the place and the sort of these units may differ. Figure 1 depicts the basic units of a combined rhythm power works irrespective of the fuel used as input. The water-gas displacement reactor and the CO2 gaining control unit are the extra units used in an IGCC or a NGCC power works for C gaining control. Figure 1: CC power works with pre-combustion gaining control. Figure 2 depicts an IGCC power works with pre-combustion C gaining control. From this figure the extra units can be observed. These units are the Air separation Unit ( ASU ) , the atom and the S remover. All these units will be described exhaustively in the following subdivisions of this assignment. Pre-combustion Capture Process_Vattenfall.jpg Figure 2: IGCC power works with pre-combustion gaining control. The chief difference between the IGCC power works and the NGCC power works is that the IGCC uses a gasifier for the production of the syngas and the NGCC uses a gas reformist. 5 Reformer 5.1 Natural gas constituents In combined rhythm power workss which use natural gas as fuel, a gas reformist is used for the syngas production. At this point it is of import to be mentioned that natural gas is consisted chiefly of methane in a proportion about 94 % . Table 1 cites all the constituents that natural gas is consisted of and their proportion. Table 1: Natural gas constituents 5.2 Natural gas reformation Three different commercially available engineerings for natural gas reforming have been developed. Steam reforming ( SR ) , Non-catalytic partial oxidization reforming ( POX ) and Autothermal reforming. For the hereafter, reforming in a membrane reactor could be an option. 5.2.1 Steam Reforming In steam reforming, methane reacts with H2O ( steam ) ( 700 & A ; deg ; C-1000 & A ; deg ; C ) under 3-25 saloon force per unit area in a presence of a nickel-based accelerator to bring forth H and C monoxide. It is an endothermal reaction which frequently using a nickel-based accelerator. In order to avoid the taint of the accelerator, sulfur compounds from the natural gas demand to be removed before the reformation. The basic steam reforming chemical reactions are: Methane: CH4 + H2O ( +heat ) > CO + 3H2 -?=-206kJ/mol Propane: C3H8+ 3 H2O ( +heat ) > 3CO + 7H2 Ethyl alcohol: C2H5OH + H2O ( +heat ) > 2CO + 4H2 The chief drawback of this reformist is that demand a secondary steam supply. 5.2.2 Non catalytic Power Oxidation ( POX ) Partial oxidization procedure relies on an exothermal reaction between natural gas and a limited sum of O. The merchandises of the reaction are chiefly carbon monoxide and H. The O can be supplied as pure O either signifier air or via a conveyance membrane. The basic chemical reactions are: Methane: CH4 + ?O2 > CO + 2H2 ( +heat ) Propane: C3H8 + ?O2 > 3CO + 4H2 ( +heat ) Ethyl alcohol: C2H5OH + ?O2 > 2CO + 3H2 ( +heat ) Temperature of the reaction is about 1250-1400EsC. This engineering is much faster than steam reforming but increases the entire cost of the works significantly. However, it is a really simple system with small care required. 5.2.3 Autothermal Reforming ( ATR ) The reactor in the autothermal reactor is divided into two different zones, a burning and a thermic and catalytic zone. Oxygen reacts with methane and signifiers syngas. It is an exothermal reaction and the operating temperature is in about 850-110 EsC. CH4 + O2 – CO + 2H2O ( g ) -=519KJ/mol These reformer are more widespread and common used than the other two because of its flexible operation, its compact design, its low investing cost and its broad operating conditions. Furthermore, the fact that there is no demand of secondary fuel supply makes the reformer even more efficient than the others. 5.3 Water Gas displacement reaction in NGCC power workss with pre-combustion milliliter. The Water gas displacement reactor is one of the most of import units of the pre-combustion C gaining control procedure and will be examined exhaustively in subdivision 5555. However it is really of import to be mentioned at this point that in NGCC power workss with pre-combustion C gaining control, the H2O gas displacement reactor take topographic point into the reformist. 7 Water Gas Shift reactor The H2O gas displacement reactor ( WGS ) is one of the most of import parts of the CO2 gaining control system in IGCC and NGCC power workss. It converts about all the CO in Syngas, into CO2 and H with an exothermal chemical reaction. The input of the WGS reactor is syngas and steam ( H2O ) . CO + H20 – CO2 + H2 ?H= -41.1kj/mol In general, the H2O gas displacement reaction occurs in an adiabatic system with the presence of a accelerator which accelerates the reaction rate. Several types of accelerators are commercially available but three of them are the most of import. These three accelerators can be divided into two classs: the clean displacement accelerators and the rancid displacement accelerators.Clean displacement accelerators:High temperature displacement accelerators Active constituent: Fe3O4 with Cr2O3 as stabilizer Operating temperature: 350 – 500 & A ; deg ; C Sulphur content syngas lower than 100 ppm. Low-temperature displacement accelerators Active constituent: Cu supported by ZnO and Al2O3 Operating temperature: 185 – 275 & A ; deg ; C Sulphur content syngas lower than 0.1 ppm.Sour displacement acceleratorsActive constituent: Sulphided Co and Mo Operating temperature: 250 – 500 & A ; deg ; C Sulphur content syngas lower than 300ppm. In NGCC power workss with pre-combustion gaining control, clean displacement accelerators are used and the chief WGS operation takes topographic point into the reformist. IGCC power workss with pre-combustion gaining control usage either clean or rancid displacement accelerators but rancid accelerators are more widespread. In these workss, the WGS reactor is an independent unit. During shift reaction, the temperature rises and restricts the farther procedure. Therefore, the transition in a individual reactor is limited. This job can be solved by utilizing a two phase H2O displacement reaction. This reaction can be achieved with the combination of a high temperature and a low temperature displacement reactor operated in sequence. Consequently, in order to acquire a higher grade of transition of the CO to CO2, two reactors are favourable compared to a one-reactor apparatus. Between these two reactors, an inter-bed chilling is used in order to keep the temperature low in the 2nd reactor. The majority of C monoxide is converted to CO2 by the high-temperature accelerators and the procedure is fulfilled by the low temperature accelerators. Figure 2 depicts a High and Low temperature displacement reactor every bit good as the different temperatures for the different phases. Figure 2: High ( left ) and Low ( right ) temperature displacement reactors. Figure ten: WGS composed by two reactors. The WGS unit influences the entire efficiency of the power works. For standard design it is observed an efficiency loss about 3-4 % . The loss of efficiency caused by the WGS ‘ steam demands necessary for sufficiently high CO transition ratios. Sulfur Removal Unit Sulfur remotion is a critical portion in the pre-combustion C gaining control processes and it is used in both IGCC and NGCC power workss. Its chief operation is to take S from the input gas. Figure†¦ . Application in IGCC power workss with pre-combustion milliliter. Syngas produced by the gasification contains assorted drosss. Among these drosss, Ss have a large proportion. During gasification, S is chiefly converted to hydrogen sulphide ( H2S ) and to carbonyl sulphide ( COS ) in a proportion about 3-10 % . In IGCC power workss with pre-combustion C gaining control, in order to clean the gas from sulfur constituents, a Sulfur Removal unit is used which utilizes acid gas recovery processes ( AGR ) . These procedures can be either physical or chemical based and retrieve S either as sulphuric acid or as elemental S. However, AGR procedures are efficient merely when S is in H2S signifier, COS is highly hard to be removed in this manner. Therefore the sulfur remotion unit must be equipped with a COS hydrolysis unit ( before the AGR ) which catalytically converts COS to H2S. This units converts over 99 % of the of the COS to H2S with the chemical reaction presented below: COS + H2O – H2S + CO2 With the combination of these two units i.e. COS hydrolysis and AGR process the Sulfur remotion unit achieve about 99 % of sulfur recovery. In unit 7 it underlined that in IGCC power workss with pre-combustion milliliter the WGS reactor can be composed either of clean or rancid displacement accelerator. In instance of clean displacement accelerators, sulfur constituents must be removed from the syngas before the WGS reactor in order to avoid accelerator taint. Therefore, in this instance the S remotion demand to be placed before the WGS reactor as Figure 66 shows. Figure 66: WGS reactor with clean displacement accelerators In instance of rancid displacement accelerators, S is required in the provender gas. Therefore the sulfur remotion unit is placed after the WGS reactor. It is really of import to advert here, that in this instance the WGS reactor except from change overing CO to CO2, besides hydrolyses COS to H2S. Consequently, there is no demand of a separate COS hydrolysis system. Figure 67: WGS reactor with rancid displacement accelerators. In every instance, a gas ice chest is necessary to be used before the Sulfur remotion unit. Application in NGCC power workss with pre-combustion milliliter. In this instance, both the accelerators of the reformist and of the WGS reactor are clean displacement. Therefore, sulfur remotion is necessary to be placed before the gas reformist. Hence, in NGCC power workss, the input gas of the sulfur remotion unit is natural gas alternatively of syngas ( or shifted syngas ) which was in IGCC power workss. The first measure of the remotion procedure is the transition of sulfur compounds, such as COS and mercaptans, in the natural gas to gaseous H2S. This can be achieved by utilizing a catalytic hydrogenation. After the transition, the S is removed by fluxing of the natural gas through a bed of Zn oxide granules to organize solid Zn sulphide harmonizing to reaction H2S + ZnO ( s ) > H2O ( g ) + ZnS ( s )

Sunday, September 15, 2019

Nuclear Energy as an Alternative Source of Energy in Malaysia

Zaim Afiq Zaki Morad Public Utilities 325 – Prof. Rodney Stevenson Public Utility Paper Nuclear Power plant as a new alternative source of energy in Malaysia The first time the world was exposed the enormous potential power of nuclear was when the United States of America dropped two atomic bombs into Japan which effectively ended World War 2. Almost every country stood by and watched as the bombs made by the simple process of fission of two atomic particles produced enough power to destroy two big cities.The understanding of nuclear was not at a high level during the time but there have been experiments done by scientists all over the world and after witnessing the aftermath of nuclear bombs, along came the idea of applying the potential energy of nuclear for a better use. In 1954, the Soviet Union managed to produce the world first operating nuclear power plant in Obninsk and the plant was able to produce enough electricity to support a power grid. Two years after that, the British opened the world’s first commercial power station and the United States followed up with one of its own in Pennsylvania.As of the end of 2010, there are a total of 442 nuclear power plants spread over 30 countries, with the bulk of the nuclear reactors operating in United States, France, Japan and Russia. Although there have been many demonstrations and court cases asking for the proliferation of nuclear power plant and nuclear energy as a whole, a report done by the European Nuclear Society mentions that 65 new nuclear power plants are under construction in 16 countries. In Malaysia, the main source of energy comes in the form of natural gas and Malaysia has one of the biggest petroleum companies in Asia in the form of the Petronas company.The Petronas company is owned by the Malaysian government but is under the management and supervision of a private board with little interference by the Malaysia government. Other sources of energy in Malaysia comes from coal and f uel and Malaysia also depends on renewable energy sources through hydroelectric and solar powered energy. In recent years however, the supply of natural gas has been depleting and the government has been to find a better option in the form on renewable energy resources to try to spread the imminent case of osing fuel and gas as the main source of energy in the country. History of Public Utilities In Malaysia Before we move on to the main issue context of the article regarding the production of nuclear power plants in Malaysia as the best renewable energy option, we can get a bit more background to the history of public utilities in Malaysia and the current state of public utilities in the country. As of my knowledge, a large number of industries in the country are regulated by the government and can be out under the public utilities category.Most of these industries have monopolistic traits and are fully or partially controlled by the government of Malaysia. The reason why a large n umber of industries are under the monitoring of the government is probably due to the fact that Malaysia is a developing country and lack the experience to just allow some of the main public utility industries to float in the market. Some of the most common utility companies in Malaysia include Telekom Malaysia in the telecommunication industry, Tenaga Nasional in the electricity industry, Astro in the cable industry and Syabas in the water industry.Almost all of these companies are monopolistic and are partially or fully controlled by the government. The government subsidizes almost all the operational cost in these companies but regulates important matters such as pricing and coverage. The main concern with public utilities in Malaysia is the influence of politics in the industry. Since the government plays an important role in managing utilities, it is common for people to accuse the government of abusing its powers through the use of utilities.Some of the cases that have been br ought forward include bribing in some of the utility industries, government giving away contracts to cronies in order to get money for political campaigns, and also using public utility companies to try and influence elections. While some of these allegations might be true, I personally it is best for the government of Malaysia to keep being in charge of most of the utility companies because Malaysia is still lacking not just in terms of infrastructure but also in terms of education and thinking.Allowing for an industry such as electricity to just follow the market will probably result in catastrophe since the public will have no say at all to the way a company operates and are open to abuses by a small but influential number of executives in that company. While there are still a lot of improvements to be made by the Malaysian government, the way utilities are being handled regulated now works best for a developing country like Malaysia.Building Nuclear Power Plants in Malaysia Last year, the Malaysian government announced that two nuclear reactors will be built and is projected to be up and running by the year 2022 and that finalization on the project should be completed by 2015. The government said that the reason behind this decision is due to the lack of diversity in the country’s energy sources and the realization that natural gas and fuel will ultimately run out within the next few decades.No details have been given out as to how the project is going to be done with the most pressing question from the public being whether the government will hire outside help or use local minds to build nuclear power plants. Other issues being raised by the public include the factor of expense and safety, the latter coming from highly regarded leaders in the country who fear that Malaysia’s lack of experience and knowledge in the nuclear industry would mean that the government is taking a very huge risk in building nuclear power plants.Ever since the announ cement by the government to build two nuclear power plants in Malaysia, the public have been sporadically protesting the decision and not that many have come out to support the plan. This is perfectly understandable since Malaysia has no experience with nuclear materials, be it nuclear weapons or even nuclear experiments, and add to that the nearest country with nuclear power plant is Japan, which happened to suffer a nuclear meltdown just a few months ago.All the concerns being put forward by various are legitimate concerns but in my opinion the whole project would actually be good for the country and if takes a step back and just try to get different perspective to the case, a majority of the public would see that having nuclear power plant in our own backyard would be perfectly safe and this project could help propel Malaysia into joining the elite group that call themselves modern developed countries. Safety of Nuclear Power Plants To start off, many critics are leading with the argument that nuclear power plants are dangerous and could pose serious problems for Malaysia.It is a fact that nuclear power plants are open to accidents due to human error or even worse to natural disasters. We can point out to various incidents like the Chernobyl accident, the Three Mile Island disaster, and in recent memories the Fukushima accident. But these can be counted as isolated incidents due to unforeseen circumstances and given the fact that we have more than four hundred power plants running all over the world, these accidents represent little of the total amount of nuclear power plants that we have.The weak argument on the pro nuclear side is that accidents can happen anywhere and with anything. Some try to point out the BP oil spill disaster and the Exxon Valdez oil disaster as proof that accidents can happen to anything but what most people are worried about is that the effect of a nuclear disaster are definitely more costly in terms of human life and also in the e conomic perspective. However, while we cannot say for certain that we can ensure the safety of our nuclear power plants, we can set up regulations and laws that would make an accident less likely to happen.And since Malaysia is new in the industry, we stand to have the best chance of making solid regulations and laws. Given the fact that Malaysia has no prior experience in building and operating nuclear power plants, we can take this opportunity to choose the best of regulations that we can find from nuclear powerhouse like Japan or the United States. We can use the experiences of these countries in handling accidents and draw up our own safety plan that would bode well with the infrastructure and size of Malaysia.It will be expensive for us to gather information from other countries since the professionals of the nuclear industry will charge highly for the knowledge that they have attained but if the Malaysian government can show that it is serious in its plan to build nuclear plan ts and that the government is willing to pay for vital security information on nuclear technology, this will help to deflect most of the fears that the public has on nuclear power plants and maybe even instill some confidence as to the idea of Malaysia having her own nuclear power plants.Another main concern in terms of safety is terrorist threats. Nuclear power plants have been known by some as some sort of a pre-position weapons of mass destruction. Targeting missiles or jetliners on these power plants can definitely inflict unimaginable harm to any country. Some nuclear power plant engineers have pointed out that these nuclear facilities are built to withstand the impact of jetliners with the thick walls and various other measurements.But any decent educated person could guess that a fully loaded jetliner would at least crack some of the walls on the power plant and any explosion from the plane could cause fire and heat up the whole power plant. That is why countries have regulat ions regarding flying over nuclear power plant and if Malaysia is concern about it, we should start drawing up our own regulations regarding air traffic and making sure we put this regulation in place before we even start to think about building nuclear power plants. One other concern regarding the safety of nuclear power plant is on radiation and leaking of radiated nuclear materials.While studies done on radiation surrounding power plants have been inconclusive, with some suggesting that those surrounding nuclear will definitely get exposed to some sort of nuclear radiation while other studies suggest that no such effect is taking place, we can take precaution by installing the power plant at a strategic location that would ensure the safety of the public with or without any possibility of radiation. It is not reasonable to put a power plant in a place far from generators or cities but the government has found a few places of which are sparsely populated but are also safely locate d within range of electricity generators.Leaking of radiated materials is a topic that I did not get much chance to learn about but from what I hear, the public is worried that the lack of government supervision might result in radioactive waste being stolen by terrorist or even worse if they are accidentally lost by untrained employees. That might have sounded funny but only a few years back the government of Malaysia suffered a public embarrassment when the engines of two fighter jets were lost for a year before the engines were found in Uruguay of all places.But while this particular concern is perfectly legitimate and something that we should all ponder about, I am sure that the government can put certain procedures into place to ensure proper removal of radioactive waste are in place and we could even hire professionals from Japan or the United States to help out for a few years in order to gain the trust of the public before we go local with the handling of nuclear materials. Cost As A Major Concern Moving on, another major opposition of the power plant centers on the cost of trying to build a new power plant.The government of Malaysia has not put a specific cost on the table yet but approximate figures to build one power plant in the country would be at around 3. 2 billion U. S dollars with the cost of managing the plant coming up to a couple more billions of U. S dollars. It is definitely a costly amount especially for such a small country like Malaysia but the public has to remember that the product of nuclear energy could give us a return of more than five billion dollars.To add to that, the public will probably have to incur a lesser cost when it comes to paying electricity bills and the construction of two nuclear power plants would open up job opportunities for local employees. The accounting benefit of the project might be hard to be seen by the public but the total economic cost of building two new nuclear power plants will be massive to the Mal aysian economy. Another benefit that most of the Malaysian public cannot see is the fact that having nuclear power plant can actually propel Malaysia to become a leading industrialized nation in the region of Asia.One thing about nuclear power plants is that is symbolizes power. Similar to having an aircraft carrier demonstrates a country’s military prowess, having nuclear energy can demonstrate that a country is successful in the production section and that the economy of the country will continue to generate positive results in the future. Malaysia is still considered a developing country even with our massive economic growth and quality infrastructure but having nuclear power plant in our own backyard might give the impression that we are serious about moving forward and trying to be on par with nations such as China and France.Being the first country in South East Asia to have nuclear power plants will help Malaysia to move ahead of the group and put us under the impressi on that we have moved forward and not tagged along by some of the poor countries in that region. While some might argue that Malaysia can still move forward with the option of using hydroelectricity as a main source of renewable energy, they must also consider the strategic planning of building hydro electrical dams. Malaysia consists of two peninsular, one surrounded by natural habitat and rainforest and the other filled with cities containing high rise buildings.Malaysia has already built one of the largest concrete dams in the world to generate electricity through hydro-electric technology but what the public is not aware of is the fact that we do not have the spaces to build another large dam, especially since the peninsula most people are talking about is bustled with buildings. When the government made that policy decision to expand the country’s renewable energy to include nuclear energy, it did so at the consideration of the public. he decision made by the Malaysian g overnment can be considered as a social policy because in a way, they had to factor in all the needs of the public in terms of cost, location, distribution and many other factors and the decision they made was in the best interest of the public. Politics And Social Policies What the government has to worry about right now is trying to convince the public that there will be no politics when the nuclear power plant project starts and that massive regulation will be in order when the nuclear plants are up and running.One way of disseminating the problem is making sure due diligent is done before we even start to open bids to companies. When Malaysia announced that it was going to build two new nuclear power plants, companies from Russia, Japan and even China rushed to try and lobby the government of Malaysia into choosing their company as the preferred choice because they are well aware that Malaysia has no prior experience in building nuclear power plants and that the Malaysian govern ment will surely look for foreign help in the process of building those nuclear power plants.Since the public will have no knowledge of these foreign companies, what the government must do is ensure that highly qualified local companies must go through the process of thoroughly checking over foreign companies so that we will not get deceived in any way. This is an important issue because Malaysia has already suffered an unpleasant experience when trying to get their hands on navy submarines. It was a similar case of lacking experience in the industry and being lackadaisical when looking for companies to build us our first ever submarines.The cost was also in the billions and the government really got into trouble with the public when the first arriving submarine was not able to function and properly and had to be shipped back to France to be repaired at additional cost. While there was no evidence that the French company was trying to deceive anyone, it was clear that the company wa s not good at doing its job and that the Malaysian government could have saved a lot of money if it had gone through the proper process of picking out the best available company to do the job.With this experience in hand, the government should be more careful when doing business in uncommon territory and take all the precaution necessary in order to make sure it does not waste tax payers money again. Still on the social policy of the topic, one thing the government has to worry about is on who will get the most out of having nuclear power plant in the country. While the board in charge of overlooking the project has already identified some of the most strategic locations to be the bases of two huge nuclear power plants, what they did not mention was on who will be getting the most of the supply.The options given out by the government did not mention that some of the locations were nearer to residency areas, providing massive amount of electricity to some of the residential areas wou ld be a major boost to the real estate industry and will help increase the support from the public since they will be getting the most of having nuclear power plants. Another part of the option was located nearer to the industrial complex of the country, near enough to generate a large amount of power to help support factories and will probably help to increase production from those factories.This will generate the economy but the public will not get to see this even if the government can then create more jobs and reduce unemployment rate in the country. The government will be in a dilemma since both options differ in terms of public support and in terms of economic growth. But I mentioned before that having nuclear power plants will help boost Malaysia to join the developed countries category and if we really want to see that happen than the best option is for the government to locate the power plants near the industrial complex.Apart from the effects it will have on the Malaysian economy, this will also prove that Malaysia is serious in its efforts to become a major industrialized nation and that having nuclear power plant to support its efforts. The public might not see directly the effects of putting nuclear power plants near factories instead of residential areas which would be more beneficial for the public but if everybody can take a step back and really look at the larger picture, they will clearly see that having nuclear power plants will be a major boost to Malaysia’s effort of becoming an industrialized nation. Regulation and PricingA part of production commonalities mention on natural monopoly and capital intensity and it would be good for the government to approach this matter and inform the public of it. In the case of building two new nuclear power plants in Malaysia, it would probably not be in the best interest of the public for the government to make it a natural monopoly. This will be a new thing for the whole nation and these two nuc lear power plants will be some sort of a highly looked upon experiment and the best thing the government can do is to appoint two different companies to handle those two separate plants, be it local or foreign companies.Having two different companies handling two different nuclear power plants in the country will help in getting some sort of a check and balanced system. It will prevent one company from overcharging the government since the other company will also try to set a good standard and having two companies will help to ensure that there will be less political ploys and decrease the possibility of corruption.Having a small competition between these two companies will also help make sure that good service is going to be provided to the public and since the Malaysian public have no prior experience on nuclear energies, having two competitive companies will surely lead to more information being put out on the table for the public to see. Still with regards to competition, the go vernment should set up a structure to ensure that we have an effective competition in play.While it is best for a government not to get involved in an effective competition market, in this case, the public would benefit if the government can play some influence as to regulating the structure of the market. The government should regulate as to the entry and exit of firms in the industry and the government can always keep track of the market price to ensure no overcharging in terms of rate is occurring since the Malaysian public will have no idea on what the normal rate for nuclear energy would be.In terms of product differentiation, there is nothing much since the main function of nuclear power plants are to produce energy but the firms involved in handling these plants should not be allowed to expand and diversify their businesses for the first few years. The reason would be because Malaysia will be new to this industry and we are already taking a huge risk by building these power p lants and we cannot afford to spread our capital and attention as to diversifying products but stay focus to the main focus of having nuclear power plants which are to create renewable energy to support the growth of our economy.As for capital intensity, it is hard for me to delve into the matter since I lack the knowledge on the infrastructure needed to run a nuclear power plant but I think the policy the government should be going for here would be to ensure there is enough capital to support the nuclear power plants during the first few years since there will be a lot of mistakes and errors at the start of the process.The government should make a policy to ensure they have enough budget to support the capital needed to ensure the nuclear power plants are going to run smoothly. Revenues will probably be low during the first few years as we try to figure out the best rate and how we can effectively use all of the resources we have but it is of the most important for the government and the public for that matter to keep being optimistic regarding the project and to provide full support the original policies and not to alter anything halfway.Another important policy is to make sure that we get local engineers and other important players in the industry to get properly trained so that they will be well equipped to handle all the technical and logistical problems that we might have when running the two power plants. Since the government plans to get the two nuclear power plants up and running before 2022, the government should start implementing new policies that would create more opportunities for students in Malaysia to pursue degrees in nuclear technology or any other field related to running a nuclear power plant for that matter.The government should also start identifying workers for the nuclear power plants and start sending them to other countries like Japan and the United States for specific training. Working at a nuclear power plant will definitely requi re certain level of knowledge and skill and these workers should be immersed with all the experience they can get so that when the power plants in Malaysia are up and running, this group of people will be more than able to handle any sort of problems that might arise at the nuclear power plants.The issue mentioned above might be viewed as unimportant as compared to the issue of safety and cost but having locals to work on Malaysia’s very own nuclear power plants would be a matter of utmost priority for me. The main reason is that having nuclear power plants will definitely generate the economy but if we want to maximize our revenues from this nuclear power plants, we cannot expect to continue to get foreign help for free and that foreign expertise will definitely cost a lot especially in the niche field of nuclear technology. The government will have to seek out help from foreign sectors to help start f the program but the government should also set a dateline on when we can start to fully employ local contractors and local companies to manage our products because that will be the time when we are fully maximizing our use of building two nuclear power plants. Making this policy will help set the tone that the government are interested in not just finding out a new renewable source of energy but are also keen to delve into the nuclear technology world and put our own bright young talents to the test by teaching and letting local Malaysians to handle our own nuclear plants.Another question that should be raised is if building nuclear power plants in Malaysia is a necessity or if it is just a political ploy or maybe even an investment into the future. This would fall under the concept of demand commonalities. The fact is Malaysia needs a new alternative source of energy and even though we have many other options such as hydroelectricity or expanding our solar power abilities, we actually can consider building the nuclear power plants as a necessity because of various reasons.There is no need to repeat previous arguments on how having nuclear power plant would proper Malaysia forward so a fresh new idea would be that having nuclear power plants would actually help label Malaysia as a green country. Everyone knows nuclear power plants are considered to be green an environmentally friendly despite all the radioactive toxic waste they produce.While hydroelectricity can also be considered green, the vast amount of land needed to build a hydroelectric dam would cause disturbance to the natural habitat of various animals and plants because the only large land areas that can accommodate building a dam in Malaysia would be the rainforest and jungles. Nuclear power plants are definitely a better option when we put the environment into play and since all major countries are going green, building our own nuclear power plants would help put Malaysia on the map as a green country. Nuclear Power Plants as a â€Å"Green† Way ForwardThere are many doubts that nuclear power plants are truly green as the radioactive waste they produce are harmful to the environment and Chernobyl is an easy case in point where there are no living beings in the area due to continuing leak of radiation. However, with nuclear energy getting the attention of top scientists all over the world and getting the focus from premier academic institutions, there will be new technologies that can help to better secure radioactive nuclear waste. And while it may be expensive for the Malaysian government to acquire those technologies, it will definitely be a positive way to ease to worries of the public.The Malaysian government needs to make it a regulation to ensure we get the latest of technologies no matter how costly it could be because Malaysia has no experience in handling nuclear materials and we cannot accept the possibility of suffering a nuclear accident at the expense of a fraction of the country’s budget. In the context of legal foundat ion or constitutional foundation, there is not much to go on with. This will be a totally new path for Malaysia and there are no legal precedence for this matter.While there have been cases which directly or indirectly involved the utility industry, none have or will be similar as to the legal matters surrounding the nuclear industry. And this is a good reason why the Malaysian government will have to thread very carefully because any policies or regulations they set can be challenged by the public and even after the government announced its intention to build nuclear power plants, there were advocacy groups getting ready to challenge the decision under the legal context that it would harm the public and that a referendum should be held to find out the consensus on this issue.Legal and Constitutional Issues The constitutional powers of Malaysia is not as strong and tight as the U. S constitution because Malaysia is a relatively new country, gaining independence just over 50 years ag o. Any solid constitution will take hundreds of years of amendments and challenges in order to be a solid constitution and the loopholes in the Malaysian Constitution will ensure that there will be many groups ready to take action if the government slips up in any way.The Malaysian government will have to start drawing up legal process to add fundamentals into the constitution that would ensure the nuclear power plant project would not be halted by court processes. That might sound extremely harsh especially in this democratic world but sometimes tough decisions have to be made on order to get something started and since Malaysia is lagging 50 years behind other countries in the nuclear industry, we need to make sure we get through the project as smoothly as we can.One main concern regarding the judicial process that can be discussed now is will the state governments be given authority to regulate or even monitor the nuclear power plants or are the federal government going to take f ull control over the authority of the plants. Given that these power plants are going to be public utilities, this issue would be important to address and if a situation comes up within the nuclear power plants, which government is going to be held responsible for it.The most logical answer would be to put the federal government in charge of the whole thing and leave state authorities totally out of it. This would simplify the bureaucratic process that has been pretty common with Malaysia and it will also make it easier to oversee the project with just one authority on deck. The federal government should take full responsibility for anything that happens to the plants and this will help because the federal government would then need to do a better job since it will not have anybody to blame for if anything goes wrong with the project.Pricing would be difficult to touch upon now since we do not know how much the project will cost and how much of taxpayers money are going to be used. One thing for sure is that the government should make sure the cost of the nuclear power plant project should be distributed equally among all parties involved including the public. To add to that, the government should also make sure that it uses resources from Petronas, a large petroleum company owned by the federal government to try and subsidize as much as possible as to the cost of the project.This seems ironic since a petroleum firm would have to pay to help build another source of energy that would eventually take over the petroleum industry but the Petronas firm has been really successful with the support of the public, being one of the highest revenue making firm in Asia. Making sure that Petronas plays a huge role in the nuclear power plant building project would be like an effective social policy since Petronas have been playing a huge role for the Malaysian public in many other issues.Rate Structuring and Utility Commissions In terms of rate structures, it will depend he avily on the type of customers the power plant will be going for. If the government decides to generate power from the nuclear power plants for the residential areas, they are going to have to keep the rates low since the main consumer base would be the working class who probably will not be able to afford a high rate on electricity.If the government decides to go for supplying energy to the industrial complex, they can then probably charge a higher rate since their main consumer will consist of firms who can probably afford high rates in terms of electricity. Rate design elements do not really apply in the case of nuclear power plants since they are going to be producing energy day in and day out and also the fact that Malaysia does not have 4 different weather seasons, providing the opportunity for the power plant to function all the time.Since Malaysia does not have a public utility commissions with regard to nuclear energy, there should be foundations to start making plans to se t up a public utility commissions for nuclear energy. And as far as my knowledge goes, Malaysia does not that many public utilities commissions with regards to other industries as well, given that most prices and regulations are actually being done by the firms involved and the public has not had much to say about how most of the utilities in Malaysia are being priced.However, with nuclear industry it is going to be a whole new world and since Malaysia will be joining an elite group of countries in the world with nuclear power plants, the public will want to understand more on this particular issue and having a nuclear commission on the ready would help to strengthen the support from the public. The decision to start building Malaysia’s own nuclear power plant is a big decision, the kind of decision that will have a lasting impact on Malaysia’s social and economic policy.In order to make sure that the public will be along the same line, the government needs to appoint people who are highly respected and have some knowledge on this particular area to lead the project. The government cannot afford to choose base on political affections or even factor in cronyism because a project of this caliber will require the trust of the public and one of the most important aspects the public is going to look for is on who will be in charge for the project. If the government can play its cards right this time, it can also mark a change in a policy that has been known for so long to involve corruption, politics and cronyism.While the paper has discussed a lot on how much the cost of the nuclear power plant project, the regulations and policies that we need to put in place and even the environmental effect of nuclear power plants, we did not touch on the industry itself and how Malaysia is going to fit in into an industry worth billions. Getting foreign expertise during the first few years of operation is perfectly understandable and we already mentioned on getti ng the locals to come in so that the power plants can be totally domestic but what the government should consider is to try to delve into the industry while we are in it.We lack the experience necessary to just join the industry but while we start to get foreign help, what we can do is build contacts and start to expand our networking in the nuclear industry. It will definitely take decades for Malaysia to even be considered a player in the nuclear industry but since we are going to spend billions of dollars on building nuclear power plants, why not add a couple more and make it a long standing policy to push us into the nuclear arena.The government can start giving out subsidies to help support companies that are interested in field and make sure we are in constant supply of nuclear engineers and scientists. It might take us 30 to 40 years to start building our name in the industry but nuclear power plants have a life cycle of 40-60 years and there will be ample time for the govern ment to set and amend policies that will help to get Malaysia into the nuclear technology field. The most dangerous yet seemingly reasonable fear that we could have on the issue of building power plants in Malaysia was never put on the table by anyone.While we mentioned that we fear of terrorist threats and how we can protect nuclear radioactive waste, we never mentioned that setting policies on learning more about the nuclear weapon might lead to increase interest in building interest in acquiring our own nuclear weapon. Even worse, some of our future nuclear scientists might run of with whatever knowledge and materials they can get on nuclear and start building their own nuclear bombs. It might sound ludicrous but these cases have happened before and Malaysia is also located next to Indonesia, a country that has long been affiliated with terrorist groups in the Middle East.A small country like Malaysia getting its own nuclear material and located next to a known terrorist hub will likely make Malaysia a soft and viable target for major terrorist organizations who would want to acquire nuclear materials and knowledge. If this were to happen, it would a major disaster to Malaysia, and probably to the world for that matter and we do not want to put ourselves on the map for all the wrong reasons. What the government needs to start preparing is stringent laws that would scare off potential threats and the government also needs to start beefing up its police and military power in order for the country to be able o protect itself from terrorist threats. The bigger picture would be to toughen up our laws on the borders and start changing our policies with neighboring countries but that should fall under a completely different category under foreign policy and immigration. Securing our country should be a major policy before we start to worry about making it in the nuclear industry or what rate we are going to charge for our nuclear energy products because these terr orist threats are real and the government should be aware of that.In conclusion, the decision made by the Malaysian government to build nuclear power plants in the country by 2022 was a good decision but we need to make sure we cover all the important aspects before we start to step up our gears in the nuclear plant project. The government needs to win the support of the public and we cannot get it if we do not start to change our policies with regards to the safety of nuclear power plants.Our educational policy should be amended in order to equip ourselves with bright young minds and we need to start doing so as early as possible because the process does not just include education but training and working experience as well. Getting nuclear power plants of our own will make Malaysia a force in the industrialized country and we need to prepare to make changes in our social and economic policies as this will be a big transition for the country. Malaysia will also need to make some ch anges in its environmental policies since having nuclear power plants provides Malaysia with the opportunity to display that we are a green nation.It will be hard to change the mentality of Malaysians who are not as interested about the environment as people in other countries but we need this change and this will be the perfect time to do it. Getting Malaysia’s very own nuclear power plants will definitely mark a change in our history and if we want to make it a success, we need to make sure we get it right every step of the way and enjoy the interesting journey of building our own nuclear power plants at the same time.