International Trade and Starbucks Essay

The original idea for Starbucks came from Howard Schultz after he took a trip to Italy. He was inspired by the coffee house experience and wanted to bring it to America. The lesson that can be drawn from this situation is that business formats in other countries can be translated successfully in other parts of the world. New opportunities can be taken advantage of internationally wherever there is a need for it. 2) What drove Starbucks to start expanding internationally? How is the company creating value for its shareholders by pursuing an international expansion strategy? The success that Starbucks was having in America drove the company to expand to other countries. In 1995 Starbucks had over 700 profitable stores across the U. S. and began exploring the international market in Japan. By entering the international market Starbucks is becoming a part of the global market. This brings value to shareholders because the world is moving towards globalization and it is necessary for companies to change their market strategy to meet the conditions of the global market. An international expansion strategy allows Starbucks to compete in the market more effectively and create more value for shareholders. 3) Why do you think Starbucks decided to enter the Japanese market via a joint venture with a Japanese company? What lesson can you draw from this? I believe Starbucks did a Japanese joint venture to help reduce the risk. Since the Japanese company Sazaby Inc. also had a 50% stake in the company it benefits Starbucks to have a partner who knows that Japanese market and who also has economical interest in seeing the company succeed. This shows that entering into joint ventures in international territories can help facilitate growth and lessen the financial burden if international ventures happen to fail. 4) Is Starbucks a force for globalization? Explain your answer. Yes, I believe Starbucks is a force for globalization. Starbucks is a multinational enterprise that has operations in countries all over the world like Canada, Japan, Britain, Thailand, and New Zealand. Starbucks empowers workers and farmers around the world and contributes to the economic growth of the global economy. 5) When it comes to purchasing coffee beans, Starbucks adheres to a â€Å"fair trade† program. What do you think is the difference between fair trade and free trade? How might a fair trade policy benefit Starbucks? Fair trade is a system that ensures that workers and exporters get a fair profit from the goods that the sell. Free trade is strictly based on the markets supply and demand for goods and services without regulation or moral implications. The fair trade policy that Starbucks adheres too will make consumers feel better about purchasing goods from their store. Many people are conscious about unfair wages and treatment of workers around the world and are more attracted to companies that do not follow the cheap labour trend.

Problem on Sexual Harassment

Sexual harassment is one of the biggest problems facing our schools and businesses today. A week rarely goes by without a reminder of the pervasiveness of sexual harassment as a social problem. Sexual harassment is a growing problem in the government agencies, schools, and the corporations of the world; however, many corporations are now adopting new anti-harassment policies. (Conta) The definition of sexual harassment is any unwanted or inappropriate sexual attention. That includes touching, looks, comments, or gestures. A key part of sexual harassment is that it is one sided and unwanted. There is a great difference between sexual arassment and romance or friendship, since those are mutual feelings of two people. Often sexual harassment makes the victim feel guilty, but it is important for the victim to remember that it is not their fault, the fault lies totally on the person who is the harasser. Many times fear is involved in sexual harassment because it isn't about physical attraction, it's about power. In fact, many sexual harassment incidents take place when one person is in a position of power over the other; or when a woman has an untraditional job such as a police officer, factory worker, business executive, or ny other traditionally male job. Typical victims of harassment are young, single, college-educated, members of a minority racial or ethnic group (if male), in a trainee position (or office/ clerical positions if male), or have an immediate supervisor of the opposite Presently, it is hard for courts and others to decide when sexual harassment has taken place because the definition of sexual harassment is much too broad. Clearing up the legal definition of sexual harassment would discourage and punish harassers and bring comfort to the victims. Here are some points to remember in deciding hen sexual harassment takes place: Sexual harassment is one-sided and * It is about power and not attraction. * Subtle sexual behavior is sometimes socially acceptable, but some would consider it offensive and want it stopped. * Moderate sexual behavior is not socially acceptable, reasonable * Severe sexual behavior is never acceptable. (Swisher 28) Sexual harassment is a major problem in public schools, colleges, and universities. Surveys on college campuses show the number of respondents reporting to have been sexually harassed ranging from 40-70 percent. Only two percent of campus harassment ases involve a professor demanding sex in return for a good grade. Most cases involve male and female students. In public schools current sexual harassment definitions are inappropriate, since bad sexual behavior of today's children isn't sexual harassment, but it is a reflection of the vulgar, violent, and the sexually explicit nature of our media and culture. When little six-year-old children get suspended from school for kissing girls on the cheek, it is not an example of sexual harassment but of political Sexual harassment is still a big problem in schools and every school district in Washington now has an antiharassment policy. Junior high or middle school has the biggest problem with sexual harassment mainly because of their immaturity and out-of-control hormones†. Says Viki Simmons of the YWCA. â€Å"Many times in high school, students don't think anything about it when harassment happens, but schools are now cracking down on it†. Simmons interview) In the business world employers are now on notice that sexual harassment will no longer be tolerated in the workplace. Claims brought against alleged harassers include wrongful termination, invasion of privacy, violation of due process and free speech rights, efamation, and intentional infliction of emotional distress. Sexual harassment usually happens to women in low-paying jobs, or women that have to have a job in order to support themselves and children. If sexual harassment happens at work, write down a detailed description of what took place, so that it is well recorded and you don't have to think back to the incident. You should keep a note pad handy for this purpose, or write it on a napkin to help you * What actually took place and what the offender said Another way to do this is to write a letter to the harasser. Be sure to keep a copy. Tell the person clearly in the letter that his behavior toward you is unwanted. Tell the person that he will be reported if the behavior doesn't stop (Kolbert). According to the research group Catalyst, recent studies have found that 40 percent to 60 percent of woman say they have been harassed sometime in their Employers have a duty to investigate allegations of sexual harassment, and their employees have a legitimate interest in knowing what activities could result in their termination. Ever clearer definitions of sexual harassment are being implemented by more and more corporations around the country. As this happens, an ncreasing number of companies are searching for new ways of protecting themselves against allegations, adopting their own anti- harassment policies to combat this growing problem. CEO's should do a variety of things to stop sexual harassment in the work place. The most important thing is senior management makes it clear to workers that harassment in any form won't be tolerated. If top managers don' take the issues seriously, employees won't either. Managers must also understand they are responsible for their Companies need an explicit written policy on sexual harassment that is widely available in the workplace. Most consultants advise companies to do more than just post the policy on bulletin boards. They should distribute it company wide, repeatedly. Copies should be included in new employee orientation packets. Employees should have clear definitions of what sexual harassment is Many companies are now offering employee training sessions on sexual harassment, and many say that follow up training is a good idea. Training programs should include all employees, rather than just managers. The tone should be gender neutral and avoid heavy discussions on male harassment that might cause some resentment among the male employees. Many times programs aren't effective because they spend a lot of time just attacking men and not the crime. Companies need a good system to deal with complaints. A clear process for handling complaints shows that a company takes them seriously. Until 1991 it was harder for woman to make allegations of sexual harassment, since woman felt like there was nothing that they could do about it. But the highly publicized hearings of Clarence Thomas and Anita Hill in 1991 changed everything. During the fall of 1991, the subject of sexual harassment grabbed news headlines. Everyone began discussing this issue and motions ran high. Judge Clarence Thomas was nominated to be a Supreme Court Justice, which is America's highest court, and Supreme Court Justices have their jobs for life. They cannot be fired. Before a person can be made a Justice, he or she must be questioned and Judge Thomas was ounce the head of a U. S. agency called the EEOC. The EEOC makes sure everyone is treated fairly when applying for a job. It also enforces laws against sexual harassment. Anita Hill is a law professor who worked with Judge Thomas at the EEOC many years ago. A few weeks into the Congressional Questioning she came orward and accused Thomas of sexual harassment. She claimed that he used to constantly ask her for dates and spoke to her about pornographic films he had seen. Anita Hill said that she was deeply offended by these remarks but felt that she could not complain. Clarence Thomas was her boss, and she thought that her career could be Anita Hill was a very believable witness. But Judge Thomas denied her charges in the strongest possible terms. Who was telling the truth? The country was divided. But the issue was being discussed everywhere. Women from all across the nation told of their experiences with sexual harassment. And many men admitted being Finally, the senate voted to approve Judge Thomas. But the vote was close. Many senators had doubts about Thomas's character. Others did not the, Thomas's career should be destroyed because of one person's story. They said there was not enough evidence to prove there was wrongdoing. In the end, everyone agreed that sexual harassment is a serious problem everyone must become more sensitive It's important to know that men have trouble too. Women are not the only victims of sexual harassment. More and more men are being harassed in the workplace, classrooms, and locker rooms. Whoever is in the position of power tends to be the harasser. Men can be victims of both woman and other men Sexual harassment is very wide spread, but there are ways of avoiding it, such as: Keeping everything strictly on a business level. If working in the same room as the harasser, create a barrier between the two work stations with a desk or file cabinet, etc. Do not ask for personal favors or special treatment from the harasser so that he won't feel he is owed anything. Do not talk about anything personal. Sexual harassment is always wrong. No one deserves it. And it is always hurtful to the victim.

Organisational/Individual Environment Essay

The relationship between individuals and their workplace is largely determined by their motivation, the driving force behind actions. Therefore motivation is defined as the process that accounts for an individual’s intensity, direction and persistence of effort toward attaining a goal (Robins,). Research conducted in this area has a subsequent effect on management styles. Motivation theories are basically divided in two basic categories. The earliest ones focused on content, what actually motivates people, were followed by process theories where the focus is on the actual process of motivation. Maslow(1943) introduced the hierarchy of need motivation theory which is the most widely established theory and it still influences management today. Maslow suggested that people have five kinds of needs namely physiological, safety, love, esteem and self-actualisation. People are trying to satisfy them following an ascending order. It is necessary to satisfy a lower ranked need in order to move to a higher ranked one. Maslow’s theory was been criticised as little evidence was in support of that theory. Most people tend to be partially satisfied at each level and partially unsatisfied. In early motivational research physiological needs were linked with money. Gellerman suggested that security safety needs can be provided through fringe benefits and as life insurance. Taylor (1911) placed great emphasis on money and argued that motivation comes from economic needs. He also proposed that a science should be developed for each element of a man’s work. However research has shown that for low pay workers money is not a good enough motivator. To what extend and how important depends clearly on personal circumstances Taylor tried to eliminate human mistakes at work. Taylor’s theory still influences production lines today. However in industry today workers are seen as humans and emphasis is given on their training and professional development. Smith (1999) conducted a study in order to evaluate the strength of financial incentives and the content of employment as motivators to work, in ancillary staff in the NHS and Hotel and Leisure industry. It was found that the rates of pay had very little influence on participants job satisfaction and subsequent work motivation despite the contrary belief of their line managers. This suggests lack of communication between management and staff and non-awareness of their needs. Training opportunities did exist for ancillary staff but there was little information on them. Farren recognised salry and fringe benefits as extrinsic motivation while as intrinsic motivation when the individual has the opportunity to use his own ability and appreciation. Money in the form of incentives is not an adequate motivator for people however Hersey & Blanchard (1982) recognised the symbolic value of money as the buying power they can attribute to individuals. In support of the abstract value of money McClelland suggested that there are four basic motives that drive individuals, achievement, power and affiliation and avoidance. It was observed that individuals, which are high achievers, prefer situations where they have personal responsibility for their performance, can receive clear and unambiguous feedback and the task is of moderate task difficulty. In this theory money were seen as symbolising successful task performance and goal achievement [cited in Mullins(2002)]. As far as social affiliation needs are concerned it is a common finding that people like to interact and be with others in situation where they feel comfortable. They tend to compose small informal groups in order to find support when they have no support over work. This can result in reduction of productivity in which management cannot have control over. However when strategic goals are in accord with individual ones then those informal groups can work to the benefit of management. Managers are then invited to find ways to attract employees in sharing company objectives. The need for esteem is associated with prestige and power that comes from the position that someone has or it can be personal. Lastly Self-actualisation refers to competence and achievement. Alderler condensed Maslow’s five needs into three and came up with existence which refer to physiological and safety needs, relatedness which refer to love and growth which refer to the higher ranked needs esteem and self actualisation. He suggested that they form more a continuum rather than being hierarchical in order. If satisfaction of needs at one level is blocked then attention should be focused on satisfaction of needs at other levels. Following the same example of ranking of needs Harberg developed theory X and Theory Y. Herzberg (1959) conducted a study of 203 Accountants and Engineers where he asked them to describe situations where they felt good or bad about their jobs. Findings have shown that people were dissatisfied with their jobs when hygiene factors (extra-job factors) like salary, interpersonal relationships, supervision, company policy, working conditions job security, status and factors in personal life were not satisfied. However when there was the opportunity for growth people were extremely satisfied with their jobs itself, thus when motivators where in place. . It is noticeable the opposite of satisfaction or dissatisfaction is not dissatisfaction or satisfaction accordingly but simply lack of it. When hygiene factors are satisfied for example it does not mean that workers will feel motivated. This study was replicated with different groups as well and similar findings were found Process theories that were developed later focus on the actual process of motivation. Hawthorne studies sponsored by Harvand University and directed by Elton Mayo signalled the need for management to study and understand relationships among people. It emphasised delegation of autonomy, employee autonomy, trust and openness, interpersonal dynamics, and co-operation instead of competition (Reis &Pena, 2001). Vroom(2000) has introduced the Expectancy theory. According to that theory effort, performance, reward and personal goals are inter-linked and interdependent. People are influenced by the expected results of their actions. The choice of behaviour is based on expectancy of most favourable consequences. To describe that feeling of anticipated satisfaction out of a specific outcome Vroom used the term ‘valence’. The Cognitive Evaluation theory, which was developed subsequently, could be applied to jobs, which are neither dull nor interesting. Here what is important is self-efficacy not job satisfaction thus setting and achieving goals. In that process self generated feedback is a more powerful motivator. In that process of setting up goals and achieving them Adams with the Equity Theory found that people tend to compare them selves with others and therefore concerned with fair treatment [cited at Anderson, 2002]. For example employees compare the rewards and promotional opportunities that they have with other employees, which can result in feelings of disappointment when they perceive their performance equal but the financial rewards unequal. As a result of feeling inequity individuals might change the inputs and outcomes or might even distort them cognitively. They might decide to leave the field or become aggressive and act on others unrelated to the subject of comparison. Finally they might decide to change the object of comparison. The individual thinks that he should be awarded in a certain way, what Porter and Lawler names perceived equitable reward. When the perceived equitable rewards are greater than the actual ones dissatisfaction occurs. That is a state of mind rather that a permanent condition. Farren suggests that when needs or expectations are hindered the individual can react with either a constructive behaviour or frustration. The outcomes of constructive behaviour leads to problem solving or restructuring while frustration can cause aggression, fixation, withdrawal or even displaced aggression where the person in question is directing his aggression to a colleague other than the one who is the source of frustration. Following on from goal setting as a motivator Thomas has developed the theory of Intrinsic Motivation were emphasis was placed on the source of motivation. Individuals have a motivation, which stems from them selves rather than imposed by managers when a) they have the right of choice and can select form different activities b) can show competence, thus that they can skilfully perform the chosen tasks. This adds meaning fullness to the task and the feeling that a worthy task purpose is created. As individuals advance in achieving the task’s purpose they can demonstrate some progress [cited in Mullins, (2002)] Douglas McGregor(1960)made a major contribution to the history of motivation theory with his Theory X and Theory Y. According to theory X, which is the one traditionally followed by managers, most people prefer to be directed. They are not interested in assuming responsibility, what they need is safety. Managers structure, control and supervise external control appropriate for immature workers. This theory is questioned because as we live in a democratic society, with an increasing level of education and standard of living people must be capable of a more mature behaviour. In Theory Y however it is suggested that people are not by nature lazy and unreliable but can be self-directed and creative if motivated. That creates an essential task for management, which is to unleash this potential in individuals. Properly motivated people can achieve their own goals best by directing their own efforts towards accomplishing organisational goals. Argyris(1993) was in support of that theory and argued that following bureaucratic or pyramidal values leads to poor, shallow and mistrustful relationships. Humanistic and democratic values can nurture an environment for trusting and authentic relationships. Argyris suggests that as people grow up and mature the same process take place at work. People develop from a stage of dependency upon others as infants to a state or relative independence as adults. Their interests are becoming deeper and stronger. Furthermore they move from being subordinate to being equal or at a superior position. According to Argyris’ theoritical findings management is challenged to provide a work climate where everybody has the chance to grow and mature as individuals while working for the success of the organisation. In the 1980’s in America a new movement was to be initiated, Total Quality Management, which influenced management style of the two following decades greatly (Reis & Pena, 1999). It supported employee empowerment and decent treatment of people. After that movement the idea of re-engineering was due to influence management until today. According to that, work processes are re-thought and streamlined. Work satisfaction was to be enhanced by the creation of multi-skilled teams who accepted considerable responsibility. However as it was later proved in times of recession re-engineering became the synonymous of downsizing in businesses. Management was more interested in cutting costs by reducing work force and not improving the work processes. According to Reis & Pena ‘Management forgot the employee, the customer, and quality’ p. 673. Alternatively Reis & Pena suggest that managers should try and understand the people they work with and vice versa. The key here is to remove barriers to motivation. Rabey (2001) is warning us that there are some limits as to how much managers can motivate employees as they can only create the right environment for individuals to respond to motivation voluntary. Rabey continues by making some more practical suggestions about how to achieve that motivating environment in the workplace at different stages of employees’ work history from selection to retention. At the stage of interview he suggests that the interviewers as well as the interviewee must have an honest approach and disclose any information about the company and the applicant accordingly so that to achieve the best match. According to Rabey surveys of employees in recent years have shown that a workplace should meet some certain standards in order to stimulate motivation. These include goal setting, participation, recognition, and communication fair wages, training, teamwork and innovation. These preconditions for motivation are also included in the latest content theories, i.e Theory Y, Intrinsic Motivation, Expentacy Theory. Rabey goes one and defines the golden mean for a manager/leader. He reckons that a manager should be something between a manager where he manages and gets results from planning, control and compliance and a leader who leads and motivated followers choose to give commitment. Managers can play a unique role in building trust and co-operation with employees, which is the foundation to success. Tietjen and Myers(1998) conclude that ‘it is the work itself that brings fulfilment and Maslow’s higher order of needs into being’p.231. For management this means that they are challenged to create the necessary conditions so that the fulfilment gained from doing the job is expected daily. In the lines of effective interpe rsonal relationships at work Orpen (1997) found in a study that mentoring can improve motivation. Motivational research and organisational history suggests that management should adopt a more customer-focused style. During the last century research as well as management practice has moved from recognising as money incentives as the strongest motivator to placing emphasis on the employee and the intrinsic motivation that he has. The focus is now on the actual process of motivation and managers are called to create the necessary conditions in the workplace for their employees to achieve common company objectives. The ultimate goal is to have empowered workers, able to take an active role in the pursue of their career oriented goals and his objectives are in accordance with the ones shared by management. References Anderson, N. (Ed); O., Deniz S. (Ed); et-al. (2002). Handbook of industrial, work and organizational psychology, Volume 2: Organizational psychology. (pp. 53-76) Argyris,-Chris (1993) On Organisational Learning. Cambridge, MA, US: Blackwell Business/Blackwell Publishers. Hesley, P. & Blanchard, K. (4th edition) Management of Organisational Behaviour: Utilising Human Resources McGregor,-Douglas (1960) The human side of enterprise, New York, NY, US: McGraw-Hill. Mullins (2002), Management and Organisational Behaviour, 6th Edition, Pearson Education, pp 418- 448 Orpen, C. The Effects of formal mentoring on employee work motivation, organisational commitment and job performance in The Learning Organisation: An International Journal, 1997 Vol 4, No 2 pp. 53-60 Rabey G. B. Motivation is Response in Industrial and Commercial Training, 2001 Vol. 33, No 1 pp.26-28 Robins S. R. Organisational Behaviour (10th Edition) Pearson Smith, L. An Evaluation of programmes for staff motivation in NHS and hotel ancillary staff Facilities 1999, Vol 17, No 7/8 pp.264-271 Tietjen M. A. & Myers, R. M. Motivation and Job Satisfaction in Management Decision 1998, Vol 36 No 4, pp. 226-231 Vroom,V. H. Leadership and the decision-making process. Organisational-Dynamics. 2000 Vol 28(4): 82-94 Bibliography Wetherell M. (1996) Identities Groups and Social Issues Sage Publications: London

Autobiography Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2750 words

Autobiography - Assignment Example This has given me a realization that it is better to have a whole account of my life so that I may reflect back on my achievements and failures. I am also privileged to write down my autobiography so that through it other people can get the bigger picture of life and life’s purpose. Life is significantly affected by the people around one and the environment. The character of people around you will have a great influence on the kind of person you become. This is, however, not a final development in life. With strong will and confidence, the influence of the environment and people around can be overcome and a new character built. This is the approach I took in life. That despite the negative implications that happened in my life, I always strived to become the person I wanted to become and overcome all barriers. Education has also transformed my whole life and made me and gave me a better understanding on why various things happen in people’s life. I have, over the past, grown from a young scared lady to someone with a better understanding of life, confidence, great personality and strong leadership skills. I was born in 1989 in Awassa, a town in Ethiopia. My father, Mr. Zaidi, was a renowned farmer and had a degree in Agricultural industry. My mother, Aynalem Markati, on the other side was a business woman. Both of them are from Ethiopia. Fighting for attention as a 5th born in the family was not that easy for me. However, right from childhood, I came to realize that I needed to earn attention and make the other family members notice me by the positive things that I used to do. This meant that I had to do extraordinary things that made me stand out among other siblings. For instance, I got so attached to my mother such that when I started Kindergarten, I used to insist on going to school with her. This behavior obliged my mum to accompany me to school for the first few weeks as

3d imaging using matlab Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 5000 words

3d imaging using matlab - Essay Example However, none of these algorithms succeed to process more than a few tens of images when the amount of missing elements reaches 90% of the measurement matrix and cameras have large field of view (Martinec & Pajdla 2005). (Martinec & Pajdla 2005) proposes an algorithm has the following advantages: First, it provides an overall scene structure in a single step without requirements such as linear ordering of images in a sequence. Second, the solution is obtained as a global optimum of a reasonable cost function defined on an approximation to the original SFM (structure-from-motion) problem. (Martin & Doerry 2005) modify the existing Polar Format MATLAB implementation utilizing the Chirp Z-Transform that improves performance and memory usage achieving near real-time results for smaller apertures. They also add two new image formation options that perform a more traditional interpolation style image formation. These options allow the continued exploration of possible interpolation methods for image formation and some preliminary results comparing image quality are given. In this paper we review the principles used in reconstruction of three dimension images from two dimension images from a digital camera. The reconstruction algorithm of Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) is presented and implemented in MATLAB in the following sections. This section overviews the process of representing a three-dimensional world into a two-dimensional representation. The projection process loses one dimension. This process is usually central projection in which a ray from a point in space is drawn from a three dimension world point through a fixed point in space, the centre of projection. This ray will intersect the chosen plane as the image plane. The intersection of the ray with the image plane represents the image of the point. This projection is similar to the camera in which a ray of light from a point in the world passes through the lens of a camera

The Internet In Everyday Life Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

The Internet In Everyday Life - Research Paper Example The United Kingdom also contributed to the development of the internet. No exact date is particularized when the internet came into being. It is estimated that from early to mid of 1980 internet was well established. From that point in time, the network of internet experiences continuous exponential growth with its connection with personal, institutional computer or mobile. The funding of many private organizations and U.S made the commercial backbone strong for the development of networking technologies with the merge of several networks. From the very beginning, the academic sector is widely using the internet. The commercialization of the internet resulted in incorporation and popularization of all the aspects of human life. Presently the use of internet has been so popular that more than 2.4 billion people of the world are experiencing these networking technologies. This case study is based on the research question that the use of the internet should be restricted or not. The thesis of this research paper is that internet is introduced for all people. It is made available to all. But restricting the internet, it creates barriers to the purpose of introducing it. The objective of this research paper is to focus on the advantage and benefits of the internet. The contribution of the internet in developing the world is also highlighted here. The Internet has numerous advantages with some major disadvantages. This research paper aims to establish the fact that restrictions of internet usage will hamper the growth and development of many things which are associated with various aspects of human life and professions. According to the authors Samuel J. Best, Andrew Smith, Clark Hubbard, Brian Krueger internet is very popular in data collection as it solves complex questions for making quick administration, flexibility.

Morality and Social Responsibility Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Morality and Social Responsibility - Assignment Example This shows that a person’s wrong behavior solely originates from himself and he bares the whole responsibility. This may be too hard on those who may not understand the rules and end up breaking them. Human beings have different reasoning standards. As others are keen to point out the limits of their actions, others may be slow at it. Actions play a big role in the definition of morality. The actions between two or more individuals define character. These actions originate from different or same habits that these individuals have. One’s action will influence the reaction of another, defining his character. This introduces a second party responsible for one’s action. Therefore, environment (culture) plays a role in defining ones morality (Peter & Nicholas, 2011) A person’s upbringing influences the virtues that he will have when he comes of age. Some virtues are inborn while others are acquired. Culture outlines the norms of one’s society. Many do see that abiding by these norms makes one moral. Culture defines people’s social responsibility, and it enables smooth co-existence among people (Scarlet & Arthur, 2011). This social responsibility can be seen as ones duty to morality. The actions that are done usually are of different purposes. An individual can do action because he needs to benefit by protecting his life. On the other hand, it can be done just for the respect of the law to avoid consequences. In the end these actions, regardless of the reasons for performing them, defines ones morality. Deontology helps to control individuals’ actions and the rights of others who interact. People should reflect on the consequences of their actions to others, before doing them. As people who co-exist, cultural laws outline the moral acts that all of them approve. This helps in the establishment of morality amongst them. Morality may be different in different cultures since the cultures tend to differ in

CIS 312 7,8,9 questions Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

CIS 312 7,8,9 questions - Assignment Example For systems administrators, the PsList tool is a useful tool for enabling greater control over both local and remote systems, a key function in system administration. A. Two methods for troubleshooting BSOD errors in Windows 8 are i. using safe mode, and ii, using Windows Boot Genius, a robust screen repair program. The Windows repair program is more useful to system administrators because it has over 20 OS repair tools that can help fix almost all boot issues including BSOD. Windows 9 xs/Me Resource Meter can also help in determining whether computer has sufficient FSRs (Soper, 2004). B. The two primary methods of BSOD troubleshooting in Windows 8 include the BSOD screen repair program and the utilization of safe mode repair. The former method is more suitable for systems administrator because it enables repair of virtually all boot issues in Windows 8. A. Networking components considered in home office to maximize functionality are the structure of management information (SMI), Management information base (MIB), and SNMP agents. SMI would help in defining data types allowed in MIB while the IB would help in holding value for managed objects based on packets that arrive from previous system reset. Lastly, SNMP agents components would help in executing all relevant MIB objects B. The best networking components for maximizing functionality are SNMP components: SMI, which describes MIB data types, MIB that stores clock ticks since system resetting, and SNMP agent component, which define information contained in MIB to help in the management of used applications. A. Various vendor support sites help in troubleshooting home internet connections. The most useful sites include the Network Diagnostic tool, Microsoft Automated Troubleshooting Services tools, as well as manual troubleshooting via http://www.microsoft.com, http://www.msn.com, http://support.microsoft.com/gp/vendors/en-us, and

Management Styles Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Management Styles - Essay Example Penalties such as fines are imposed in the negative style of management. These negative style managers dominate their subordinates by putting emphasis on the imposition of penalties and fines for substandard performance such as being fired or suspended from their present's jobs without pay, reprimand and even, in rare occasions, insults in front of their fellow workers. This style of management is very proper for some employees but may not be recommended for other employee types. The employee turnover will be higher than other management styles because the employees. This domineering management style results to lower job satisfaction because the some employees will prefer to resign than to be insulted or reprimanded in front of their workers. This is the autocratic management style. On the opposite end, some managers use the positive style of management. The managers will give better education benefits and offer rewards and even promotions for excellent and above par performances. This is the custodial management style. A third management power style occurs when there is a mixture of both the negative and positive style of management. ... imanding can be used and there is other situation, at work, when the positive style of giving rewards and bonuses will increase worker production outputs.Management's use of power to change organisational realities by getting others to do what they want done is further strengthened by the Protestant ethics during the Protestant Reformation that it is a MORAL obligation to work in order to have salvation. This ethic was one of the sparks that kindled the factory working procedures in the 18th century. Therefore, man felt that is a normal for a superior to order the workers to perform certain assigned tasks that will contribute to the accomplishment of over-all company goals and objectives Frederic W. Taylor (Waring, 1991) studied human behaviour ( Grandjean & Kroener, 1997) at work in his management science. He equates the organization as a cheap machine where the human workers, managers and supervisors are likened to its many parts or subdivisions. Each must coordinate and cooperate with each other for the smooth accomplishment of company goals. The human workers are treated just like cheap machine spare parts that can be replaced, transferred, mended and strengthened.Management has the power for the company to implement Frederic Taylor's work procedures such that each task can be broken down into its smallest unit and the best person to do a specific job should be selected so that there will more products manufactured in lesser time at a better quality standard for Frederic Taylor saw that the interaction of human characteristics, social environment, task and physical environment, capacity, speed, durability and cost contributes much to the speedy and quality accom plishment of company goals and objectives. Taylor's method has increased

Misconception about the corrections system Research Paper

Misconception about the corrections system - Research Paper Example The concern of the systems is care and custody of the offenders. Similarly, many people believe that people are taken to corrections system so that they can be punished. They think that random assignment corrections system place in any inmate in a program is a form of injustice to the inmates (Rosenblatt 1996). This results in the misconception that the officers at those facilities misuse the law breakers by giving them the harshest form of punishment. They fail to understand that there are rules guiding the officers on what form of punishment to impose on a certain crime. The effective punishment for an offender is imprisonment and if one commits a crime, they will pay by spending time in correctional facilities (Santos 2007). This is a misconception because law breaking is punishable before law. The offenders are forced by these systems into accountability for their actions. Misconceptions about corrections system result from lack of information about these systems (Santos 2007). These can be corrected by giving the right information about corrections system. This could be through holding seminars with prisoners or sticking posters in their premises conveying this information. Leaflets about the same can also be circulated for outside world to get to know more about corrections system. The central concern of the corrections system is to enforce punishment and rehabilitation to law breakers. However, there are misconceptions surrounding their way of operations. These misconceptions can be corrected by providing information about corrections

The soiling of old glory Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

The soiling of old glory - Essay Example At that time Attackers and victims seems quiet. April 5, Monday morning when students of South Boston and Charles town boycott of classes to participate in the rally against busing at City Hall Plaza and the Federal Building because from June 1974 Boston had deliberately maintained segregated schools, first step to raise a conflicts between Black and white people/students. The US District Judge and his companions ordered a program of busing which promotes more and more desegregation, boycotts in all over the city which disturbs the normal Life and violence had vexed the schools and city because of this the studies of students totally disturbed. Two hundred white students combined for the march to City Hall Plaza. Some students don’t know the reason of rally but they attended the rally for any reason and basically no reason of this rally. This rally just propagates the air of race and class. White students hated blacks they followed their parents; students enjoyed days off from school, students having immature minds just need a reason to hang out with their friends. This movement of anti-busing portrays that people filled with patriotism and defend their liberty against this cruelness of a judge. Southside people belongs to South Boston also participate in this anti-busing movement and a spokesman James Kelly the leader represents the South Boston and he is also the president of South Boston Information center. Kelly is an educated person and got his graduation degree in 1958 from South Boston High School and he had a keen interest in games he played a football. He was a sheet metal worker and belongs to a very poor family; he learned trade from his job experience and raising his family in South Boston. Kelly was a child labor he didn’t earn much money he said â€Å"We were renters all our lives. I understand what it’s like to live week to week†. (JAMES KELLY) Kelly becomes economically unstable in 1967. He also spent his time in jail because of his drinking problem Kelly words about him is that â€Å"I am not a very nice guy to my family†. Kelly stopped drinking and his last drink on March 24, 1971. In 1973 Kelly get injured during his job sheet of metal slide injured his right hand and he get compensation from his company. During these holidays the busing crisis starts so he takes interest in this movement. Kelly and City Council president Louise Day Hicks gets active and take action against the desegregation orders of Boston School Committee in 1960s because they were their neighbors and friends so Kelly had not much interest in politics but due to these issues he get involved in politics. He always support and helped the people in their efforts because he wants to defend his community against this busing issue and charges of racism Kelly became active and organized a committee in early September 1974 through South Boston Information Center and work on inaccurate press reports about opposing to busing in aspect of all these segregated issues Kelly organized the protest on April 5. So the relationship of class and race introduced the character Kelly from South Boston. Kelly invites a people, students to protest against and opposed to busing. Kelly wants to end these busing orders, wanted to accurate reporting of racial incidents and he supports the people who want that superintendent to resign. Hicks who support Kelly and these protestors help them when students, marchers arrived at City Hall.

Blood Diamond Essay Example for Free

Blood Diamond Essay The makers of â€Å"Blood Diamond,† an exceptionally thriller starring a most excellent Leonardo DiCaprio, want you to know there may be blood on your hands, specifically your wedding finger. The story involves so-called conflict diamonds, illicitly mined stones that have been used to finance some of the most vicious wars in Africa. If films were judged solely by their good intentions, this one would be best in show. Instead, gilded in money and dripping with sanctimony, confused and mindlessly contradictory, the film is a textbook example of how easily commercialism can trump do-goodism, particularly in Hollywood. The 2006 movie (Blood Diamond) was recently seen by me, this is an American political war thriller film produced and directed by Edward Zwick, starring Leonardo DiCaprio, Jennifer Connelly and Djimon Hounsou. The title refers to blood diamonds, which are diamonds mined in African war zones and sold to finance conflicts, and thereby profit warlords and diamond companies across the world. During Sierra Leone Civil War in 1996–2001, the film shows a country torn apart by the struggle between government soldiers and rebels. It also portrays many of the atrocities of that war, including the rebels amputation of peoples hands to discourage them from voting in upcoming elections. The films ending, in which a conference is held concerning blood diamonds, is in reference to an actual meeting that took place in Kimberley, South Africa in 2000 and led to the Kimberley Process Certification Scheme, which seeks to certify the origin of rough diamonds in order to curb the trade in conflict diamonds. In the face of the evidence, it is impossible to list any benefits for blood diamonds. They have been condemned by the United Nations. The sheer scale of the civil war in Sierra Leone they helped to fund, in which an estimated 120,000 people were killed from 1991 to 2001, proves that these illegitimate diamonds do nothing but cause human suffering. In February 2011, Charles Taylors trial before the Special Court for Sierra Leone heard that he received mayonnaise jars full of blood diamonds from the Revolutionary United Front, providing them with the arms they needed in return. The U. S. appens to be the largest consumer of conflict diamonds, purchasing over $33. 7 billion dollars’ worth of the rocks in 2005. Wondering what conflict diamonds are? I’m no fawning fan of DiCaprio, but the film â€Å"Blood Diamond† is nowhere near as fictional as we’d like it to be. Conflict diamonds involve abuse, corruption and death. There goes that gorgeous, shimmery, sparkling stone set in platinum I’ve been dreaming about. This movie and together with some other researches I did has made me to come into a conclusion and a question if I would ever wear a diamond. Here are important reasons, We’ve been conditioned to want a diamond. Who isn’t tired of the advertising and marketing ploys used to brainwash us into believing our value as women rests on the size of our†¦gem? (Toss that in with measurements and marital status and we’ve got an endless supply of not-good-enough. ) Marketers have thrown us a giant, glittering bone, and watched the profits pile up as we’ve chased, fetched and rolled over in order to conform to what we’ve been conditioned to believe is the only acceptable standard. Diamond prices have been artificially inflated by the diamond cartel. The average diamond sold in the U. S. has been over-graded in quality by 2 grades, and the average U. S. couple pays twice what they should for an engagement ring. Do i really want to enter into a lifelong commitment with a man who’s willing to waste his hard-earned cash on a diamond, especially when said diamond is ridiculously overpriced? Diamond mines damage the environment. This is important, even though it’s true of all types of mining, not just diamond mining. Mines are dangerous for workers (including children) and threaten our planet, too. I wish there were a way to dig that deep without so much damage. A diamond is not forever. Nothing is forever. Engagements, marriages, jobs, you name it. If they happen to last a long time, then you are indeed a very lucky person. Why do we kid ourselves into believing that a sparkling rock, delivered to us on the backs of the abused, purchased for more than it’s worth, marketed for more than it means and obtained at the expense of our own dear planet will keep love alive?.

Comparing Chinese Herbal Medicine And Modern Medicine Sociology Essay

Comparing Chinese Herbal Medicine And Modern Medicine Sociology Essay This project is to compare Chinese herbal medicine with modern (Western) medicine in terms of culture, sociological and human well-being effects. An online system has been created to showcase a number of popular Chinese herbals in order to gain better understanding on the way that these herbs keep body balance and harmony. The system also help people to check the translation of Chinese herbs Also the users can comment on the web site,and exchange their ideas with others. Also, some sociological and philosophical reasons that can affect peoples opinions are discussed in the research section of this report. 1. Introduction 1.1 Project background The background of this project can be thought asthe points shown below. At any time, healthy is an important element for a human well being. Especially at present, everyone is thinking more about their health while working and living under the pressure of economic recession. Research has shown that most people choose modern medicine, i.e., western medicine to cure diseases. But not only modern medicine costs too much but also it has side defects. In 2009, after the American singer Michael Jackson died, many people have realized that taking more medicines can get sometimes unpleasant side effect, and sometimes, fatal. Furthermore, because of the pandemic of Swine Flu, people have started to think more about disease prevention than just curing them. To this end, Chinese herbal medicine can help and has since become more popular than before, which is a very natural choice. So, more and more people are interest in Chinese Herbal Medicine (CHM). According to World Hearth Organization (WHO) webpage, the following description has been given: During its 3000-yea r history, traditional Chinese medicine pioneered interventions such as diet, exercise, awareness of environmental influences on health, and the use of herbal remedies as part of a holistic approach to health.(1). Chinese Herbal Medicine can be used as in evidence.However,, similar to any other medicine, CHM is complicated, even to Chinese people. To understand Chinese Herbal Medicine is not easy. So, a system thatcan provide the information of Chinese herbal medicine can help people who are not used to CHM in many ways. 1.2 Problem definition From the questionnaire conducted in this project and shown in Appnediex, more than 80% non-Chinese people heard about Chinese Herbal Medicine,.Whereas , more than a half of them prefer modern medicine. So, why donot they like Chinese medicine is the first question to ask. Secondly, According to the questionnaire, more than 60% people use Internet everyday, which means, with the development of e-commerce, Internet can be a tool that provides people with different views on Chinese herbal medicine. But, during the research, until now, just a few web site can support this, which are A) http://www.herbalmedicineuk.com/ B) http://www.holisticchineseherbs.com/ C) http://www.holisticchineseherbs.com/ On the other hand, there are some problems in these three web sites. Figure1: the first web site at http://www.herbalmedicineuk.com/ . The web page A can be used to purchase some herbs on line,i.e., it is a on-line shopping web site. There is not any information regarding the background of these herbs. From this web site, users only can buy the herbs, but can not learn the knowledge of Chinese herbal medicine. Figure 2: the second web site. Similarly, web site B can only provide general information on CM, but not information regarding each individual herb and its functions. Figure3: the third web site On the other hand, webpage C provides amount of useful information on CHM. However, again when it comes to each herb, the knowledge is not there with a number of translation errors. In summary, although there are a few web sites that provide information on Chinese herbal medicine, for people with little knowledge of CHM, a new web sited is needed to work as an educational tool as well as an online shopping site, which is what this project does. 1.3 Aims The aim of this project is to design and build a web site system that allows users with little knowledge of CHM to learn and understand Chinese herbal medicine. Another aim is to start an online discussion forum to find the reasons behind that why so many people dont know or dislike CHM. 1.4 Objectives Gather information on the knowledge of CHM based on questionnaires. Interview with doctors who practice CHM.Carry out research on these topics Design and build an online system. Evaluate the online website. Write final report on project. 2 Literature review This chapter will review three books on Chinese medicine, which include Chinese herbal medicine -A practical guide to the healing power of herbs by Guang Xu (Give reference in the end), Medicine East And West: Two Ways of seeing, two ways of thinking by Ted J.kaptchuk (reference), Chinese herbal medicine Formulas and Strategies by Dan Bensky and Randall Barolet (reference) and Chinese Herbal Legends by Zhu Zhongbao (reference). 2.1 The healing power of herbs In the book written by Guang Xu, the author tries to give a general overview about Chinese herbal medicine. The related chapters can be divided into two parts, one is Chinese herbal medicine history, another one is the elements of Chinese herbal medicine. Chinese herbal medicine has a long history of more than 5000 years. The history can go back to the time of Sheng Nong, when Chinese people used plants to treat the illness further than a few thousand years. As explained by the author, Chinese herbal medicine is rooted in the culture of centuries, it cannot be easily explained or measured by modern scientific language and methods. Without a total understanding of its background and its history, it is very difficult to understand. [reference] . According to Chinese Culture, basically, there are two different elements that can affect Chinese Herbal Medicine. One is Yin (darkness) Yang (brightness), another one is Five-Element Theory. By understanding these two elements, it is easier for people who dont know CHM to comprehend Chinese Herbal Medicine. 2.1.1 Yin and Yang (darkness and brightness) Yin Yang, which is from traditional Chinese philosophy, is the name of two related things that are opposite in the natural world, i.e., everything in the universe can have two opposite, such as sunshine, fire, light, which are Yang. On the other hand, grey, dark, cold, belong to the element of Yin. In Chinese Medicine, Yin-Yang theory is an important element through the whole medicine system and can be employed to explain the body system and guide the treatment. For example: Yin-Yang implies that everything in the world has an opposite, such as sky and land, sun and moon. Although they are opposite, they also can be an unity. Through this unity, the natural world can keep the balance well. Yin-Yang depends on with each other, meaning if there is no Yang, there is no Yin. When the balance of the relationship of the substance of Yin-Yang are destroyed, the life might reach its end. On the other hand, Yin-Yang has a special relationship. If one wanes the other will wax. For example, just as the four seasons, if winter changes to spring, the weather should be warm. It is the process of Yin waxes and Yang wanes. Five-Element Theory The Five-element theory includes fire, metal, water, wood and earth, as well as their motions. The ancient Chinese people found these five elements are the basic substances in universe. These five kinds of elements have relationship of generation and restriction, as found in Chinese Herbal Medicine, Chinese doctors use them to describe the problems of disease as explained in the following: Reinforcing the spleen (earth) to strengthen the lung (metal) ; Failure of water (kidney) to nourish wood (or failure of the kidney to nourish the liver) ; Five movements and six climates; Wood tending to spread out freely; Depression of the liver (wood) generating fire; Fire of the liver (wood) impairing the lung (metal); Fire tending to flare/flame upward ; Excessive fire impairing the lung (metal) ; Failure of fire to generate earth ; Coordination between water (kidney) and fire (heart); In coordination between the kidney (water) and the heart (fire) ; Being restricted and restricting ; Philosophical concept Traditional Chinese herbal medicine, however, can be based on two treatments which are on philosophical concept. 2.1.3.1 The Holistic Concept By this concept, there is a general meaning, i.e., the human body is a unity and a universe is within a body. On the other hand, it has a close interaction with the world. Traditional Chinese Medicine maintains that a human body is composed of different organs with each organ having its own distinct function, as a part of the whole body. Also, Chinese medicine regards the whole body as an organic body. Its constituent parts are inseparable in structure, interrelated and interdependent in physiology. Man has a nature life, and nature provides an environment for mans survival. So, human can be affected by nature. Traditions Chinese Medicine states Physicians have to know the law of nature and geographical conditions when diagnosing and treating diseases . That is the reason of Tradition Chinese Medicine not only stresses the human body is a unity but also regards the interrelationship between the body and nature environment. 2.1.3.2 Treatment by Differentiation of Syndromes Chinese herbal medicine, on the other hand, is also understood as treatment by differentiation of syndromes. The meaning of differentiation is to analyze the diseases by comprehensive, implying that the patients symptoms and signs collected by the following four diagnostic methods are analyzed and summarized in order to identify the etiology, nature and location of a disease, and the relationship between vital qi (air) and pathogens, thereby to determine what syndrome a disease in concern belongs to. According to the relationship between disease and treatment, traditional Chinese medicine is based on two different ways. One is to treat the same disease with different therapies. Whilst another one is to treat different diseases with the same therapy, i.e., different disease can be manifested in the same situation may be treated in the same way. In summary, using different methods for the treatment of the disease is the core of Treatment by Differentiation of Syndromes. 2.2 Chinese Medicine and Western Medicine The book by Ted J.kaptchuk discusses the difference between East and West medicines, such as why some westerners dislike Chinese Medicine? There is a philosophic reason, which is that Chinese culture is hard to understand. But, another reason is sociological. That is the way of western people thinking about Chinese Medicine. In this book, author gives two different views on seeing and thinking via westerners view, If a non-Chinese person can found these two ways, he/she might become interested in Chinese Medicine. The first one is concerned with treatment result. Many non-chinese have strange notions about Chinese medicine, Some of them see it as hocus-pocus-the product of primitive or magical thinking. If a patient is cured by means of herbs or acupuncture, they see only two possible explanations: Either the cure is a placebo effect, or it is an accident. To many people, when they heard about CHM, the first feeling in their mind is that, Chinese medicine is magical, but not science. The reason can be understood that Western medicine is based on data. Western doctors prefer using data to treat disease, whereas Chinese doctors are in favor of their experience. Another way of thinking, as described in the book, is Other Westerners have a more favorable but equally erroneous view of Chinese medicine. Deeply and often justifiably disturbed by many of the products of Western science and culture, they assume that the Chinese system, because it is felt to be more ancient, more spiritual, or more holistic, is also more true than Western medicine. In this way, some Westerners like Chinese medicine, but, because of different background, different culture, different history, their translate Chinese medicine of their own way based on their own culture. Also, they learn Chinese medicine through TV, Internet and some other media. In their mind, that is what Chinese medicine should look like. By and large, there are two groups of people. One group use Chinese medicine, but, think that Chinese medicine is less logical and is not based on science. It depends on a patients fortune. Another group of people think Chinese medicine through their own culture. Their minds are often mixed by this culture and other media. So, in their head, they have a different image of Chinese herbal medicine. But, many times, this image is incomplete. In Summary, the sociological reason that why westerners dislike Chinese medicine is based on a whole system. The Chinese method is based on the idea that no single part can be understood except in its relation to the whole. Understanding this overall pattern, with the symptom as part of it, is the challenge of Chinese medicine. The Chinese system is not less logical, just less analytical. 2.3 Formulas and Strategies The book on Formulas and Strategies by Dan Bensky and Randall Barolet has divided Chinese herbal medicine as Chinese herbal and Chinese medicine. Whereas the book by Zhu Zhongbao on Chinese Herbal Legends focuses on the use of herbs. Recently, more and more Chinese doctors found it hard to translate Chinese herbal names. Because, the herbal name is based on Chinese culture and history, and there are so many acceptable solutions. Since these books work as a reference text, for our project, our information is to reflect as closely as possible the meaning and syntax of the original CHM. We use anglicized Latin names for medicinal substances. The right translations of herbal can be found from these two books. The following examples are given in the webpage designed in this project. 1) Cang zhu Name English name: Swordlike Atractylodes Rhizome Pharmaceutical name :Rhizoma Atractylodis Nature and flavor: Pungent, bitter and warm Actions Dries dampness and strengthens the spleen Dispels wind dampness Induces sweat, releases the exterior Indications Syndrome of dampness stagnation in Middle Burner Impediment syndrome due to wind damp Exterior syndrome of wind , cold and dampness Chickenpox, mumps and scarlet fever Infantile rickets Night blindness and dry eyes Diabetes 2) Jin Yin Hua Name English name: Honeysuckle Flower Pharmaceutical name: Flos Lonicerae Japonicae. Nature and flavor:Sweet and cold Actions Clears away heat and resolve toxin Disperses wind and heat Indications External contracted wind-heat, the onset of warm disease Carbuncle and clove sores Bleeding due to heat toxin More information about translation will be given by chapter 3result and disscuess. Methodology Based on the study of literature review, two methods have been applied in the development of this project. One is to conduct questionnaire to gather information from the point of view of Chinese doctors. The other is to design and develop an internet based information site providing educational tool on the explanation of what each herb does and a prototype of potential online shopping site to deliver the herbs that people require. 3.1 Interview with a Chinese doctor Location: Brent Cross Doctor Herb Student Name: Yuanlei Wang Following the recommendation by the supervisor, Dr. Amaldi, this interview took place at Brent Cross Doctor Herb in order to gain insight useful information from a professional CHM practitioner. The Chinese doctor of the clinic described the changing of Chinese herbal medicine during the last 10 years. After recording, translating, and analysis, the main points can be summarized as follows. As discussed in Section 2, there are two main reasons that Chinese herbal medicine is not as popular as Western medicine. They are sociological and culture. Sociological In the past, because Chinese government had closed door policy, Chinese were hardly known to the other world. Nor was Chinese Herbal Medicine, which has led less people being interest in China culture, history, and Chinese herbal medicine. On top of this, Chinese government imposed a culture revolution and ignored CHM, leading to less and less people know this medicine, even in China. Culture In Europe, every medical practice needs license to ensure patients safety, which can only obtained by field trial through gathering large amount of data. As discussed in Section 2, CHM is mainly based on experience. Therefore CHM cannot be used in many hospitals, but can be used as additional therapy, such as acupuncture. Because the differences in culture, it is hard for non-Chinese people to understand this invasive technique, On the other hand, the UK National Health Service (NHS) has only introduced limited CHM. Many GPs (general practitioner) think Chinese herbal medicine is an accident not a science. Because NHS is free to the UK people, whereas CHM cost a lot, people will think twice before go to a CHM shop. Chinese herbal medicine (CHM) in the UK Since China started an open policy three decades ago, more and more people have visited China and are becoming more and more interested in Chinese culture and therefore CHM. Now, in the UK, there are over 3000 Chinese medicine shops all over the country, an increase by over 30% in the least 30 years. More and more people have started to take Chinese herbal medicine. Furthermore, the UK government has a plan to legitimate Chinese herbal medicine as part of NHS. So, CHM is getting more and more recognized in improving peoples well being and healthy life. (More information will be given in result and discussion ) 3.1.4 Media Effect British Broadcasting Cooperation (BBC) has also made huge contribution to introduce CHM to the UK. For example, in January 2006, BBC Channel 2 did a programme on Acupuncture Deactivates Brain and again on Back-pain Acupuncture Effective in Septmeber. In these programmes, doctors try to use the acupuncture instead the general anaesthetic. During the first programme, it is said: The pain matrix is involved in the perception of pain it helps someone decide whether something is painful or not, so it could be that acupuncture in some ways changes a persons pain perception. But he added: The thing about acupuncture is that it does not work on everyone. It is more likely to be effective if you believe it.I think it is a psychological manipulation technique, a distraction. We are not going to get to the stage where this could be used instead of a general anaesthetic. In the second programme, the message is that acupuncture for low back pain is cost-effective and works, according to medical researchers. According to the interview during the questionnaire time, the doctor remembered that after this TV programme, many people found that Chinese herbal medicine are useful for their body. More and more people have visited Chinese medicine shop. This example has shown that media can provide a good way to spread a news. Other means of media should also be applied in this regard. Design and Build an internet based Herbal Shop Although TV is a extremely useful way to broadcast a news, it has the limitation of time. Like the two programmes discussed in Section 3.1.4, they were shown near mid-night when most people are gone to bed and missed many viewers. Internet, however, is 24-7 and can be viewed at anytime, any location by using any means (e.g, mobile phone, computer, TV, etc). Therefore in this project, an online system has been created to introduce Chinese herbs plus their relevant information. The web page is at http://image.mdx.ac.uk/leilei. Figure 1 display a use-case UML (Unified Modelling Language) diagram showing the design. Figure 1. A UML diagram showing the developed Chinese Herb webpage (http://image.mdx.ac.uk/leilei). The system interface is consisted of three main parts, including product viewing page, search engine, input page, and guest book to send users feedbacks, and has client-server structure. In the server, the database is built using MySQL language, a rational database language. While the web interface is constructed using PHP (Personal Home Page) language, a c-like language. When users use this product, the process can be described as follows. Figure 2. System structure. When users enter data through internet interfaces which are coded in PHP. Then the interface through PHP sends/retrieves data to/from MYSQL database that is resided at the web page server at http://image.mdx.ac.uk . 3.2.1 Functions of the system This system has three parts, including Guest book, information, and history, which are describe in review. Homepage About Chinese herbal medicine Chinese herbals Guest book The history of Chinese herbal medicine. The first function is the information of Chinese herbal medicine., in this web page, users can know the history of Chinese herbal medicine, and other information. Guest book The second function is Guest book, in this function, the users can write some words in the browser. This part just provides a environment for exchanging ideas. Chinese herbal The last function is Chinese herbal to introduce its function, flavor, condition, and many more. 4 Result and Discussion This Section will discuss the results obtained from the interviewing with a Chinese medicine doctor and the developed prototype online CHM shop and information system. 4.1 Results from the interviewing Through the questionnaire and the interview with the Chinese doctor at Brent Corss Clinic, it can be concluded that nearly half of the population dont like to dont know CHM, as illustrated at Figure 6. A considerable number of people have not heard of CHM. And a quarter of people do not know the places to purchase CHM. Many people do even like the taste of CHM, which is similar to many Chinese people who take herbs. Figure 3. Pie chart showing the group of people thinking of CHM. These differences again can be associated to the issues of 1) Culture 2) Translation.3) Media 4) Government 5) The tastes of Herbal. In these data, culture belongs to philosophic reason, whilst media, translation, government and the tastes of herbal relate to sociological reason. Culture Chinese Medicine has following characteristics. Preventing is more important than treatment According to Chinese medicine book Yellow Emperor, people should treat disease before they have it, i.e., people should take care of their body before they have illness. Another book Hua inan zi (Chinese medicine) also claims that a good doctor often treats non-diseases, hence there is no disease. I.e., if a doctor can find a persons disease before this person get it, he will never get this disease. This prevention-oriented medical thought that people should take care of their health from an early age, can transform as a measure of dialectical philosophy, which is the essence of Chinese culture. Nature and Man should be together The overall concept of Chinese philosophy focuses on that human and nature world should be together, like a body. That the world and the human are not isolated, and they are interdependent, interacting, and interrelated. When it comes to Chinese Herbal Medicine, it also has the same pinciple. Chinese herbal medicine advocates astronomy, geography, and persons should be a whole entity. A nature human cannot leave the social world to survive. The factors that influence health and disease, are concerned with not only biological factors, but also social and psychological factors, So, Chinese Herbal Medicine also advocates treatment that should focus on the change of nature world. To adjust the balance of Yin-Yang (YY) Chinese Medicine mentions that the Yin-Yang is two sided, which is relatively representative of the body. The formation and growth is inseparable from the development of YY. In the bodys normal physiological conditions, the relative balance of YY is maintained, which is important. If one is changed, the mis-balance will cause the change/disorder of bodys normal physiological function. All the actions that a human is doing in the nature world are inseparable from the balance of YY. Therefore, the purpose of the coordination shows that traditional Chinese culture focus on symmetry, the bedrock philosophy of the balance. Static and dynamic idea of the constant combining From the early age, Chinese Philosophy already found the relationship between static and dynamic understanding , as stated in the Book of Change (Zhou Yi). The static and dynamic things are happening constantly. The substance in the nature world should keep moving and changing. In the whole human life, everything in the body, should keep changing until the end. Motion is the rule of nature world. It is the basic element of human health. So, Chinese Medicine stresses dynamics that can treat disease. Just as the same way that people know that sporting is good for health. On the other hand, comparing with dynamic view, Chinese Herbal Medicine also found that silence can also be a healthy habit. Qi Gong (i.e., marshal art) is based on this opinion. So, Static and dynamic element should be completed. Translation A good translation can help people with different culture background understand Chinese Herbal Medicine (CHM) better. Because CHM has its own culture and history , sometimes, it is difficult to translate the words exactly, which can cause frustration and lead more people lose their interest in CHM, which is explained below. The philosophic meaning in the medicine name. Some CHM names are based on their own philosophic meaning, such as Yin Yang, Yuan Qi and so on. If people do not know Chinese philosophic culture, it would be hard to translate. For some CHM doctors, when they translate medicine names, they sometimes copy some western medicine names. Whereas actually those medicines are completely different. Because of the long history of China, Chinese Herbal Medicine is based on an old knowledge system. Through more than thousand years, some of them have already lost their meanings with only a few people understanding. So, even to some knowledgeable Chinese people, translating medicine names is a hard job. Other factors include Media. According to data analysis from the questionaire, media is a very important means in order to let more people know Chinese medicine. However media can be limited, such as the wrong time of a TV programme leading to many people missing the show. Another factor is Governmental: In the past, Chinese Government had a closed door policy, which has limited knowledge of CHM. The questionnaire has also concluded that bad taste of herbs may also have some effect to prevent people taking them. Online shopping system Figures 3-6 illustrate the snapshots of web interfaces of the developed prototype online information and shopping system. Figure 4. The interface showing the Herb information. Figure 5. Input interface. Figure 6. Search engine. Figure 7. Guest book for sending users feedbacks. The system now contains more than 20 herbs information. System Evaluation The evaluation of the developed web site is based on heuristic evaluation. That can give a general overview of the web site, also, through this way, it can give a good idea for developers to improve the system design. The purpose of this evaluation is that, users have a task to browse the complete web pages. This task should start on the home page and finish when users get the feedback. Through this way, users can have a general view of the system by following the rules shown below. User control and freedom Users control and freedom can be understood that system can support users undo or do. Through the task we choose, users can find that it is not easy for them to control the web sites. ie, in the comment page, when users submit the words, they will find that there is a button for them to resubmit. Fun and enjoyment According the purpose of this web site, the web site should give the information of the Chinese herbal medicine to users. That means that the web pages should be fun, but these web pages are very plain, i.e., 1) All the background colours are white. 2) The web site is too simply , There is no enjoyment for users. Feedback Feedback is important for users to understand the information of the web site. In this web site, users can comment and see the other feedbacks. Provide short cuts Short cuts are easily for users to find what they want. In general, the web site is useful. Users can find the information regarding Chinese herbal medicine that need from the home page. Aesthetics and minimalist design Normally, users can have a good feeling with a good minimalist design. But, this web site is boring at this point. Through all web pages, there is no colour, no pictures, all the buttons are closed with each other. That might be caused some mistakes of users. On the other hand, there are some positive feedbacks. The users can find buttons easily, especially on the last page, where there is a comment page, providing a good interaction between users and the web site. In summary, this web site is fine, users can get some general information about Chinese herbal medicine from this web site, also, this web site has a guest page. Users can have a good interaction with the system. According heuristic evaluation, there are some negative aspects. Such as, 1)This system is very simply . 2) The colours are not very good. 3) It is boring for users 4) Some steps are not useful. All in all, this web site can give users a general opinion of Chinese herbal medicine. Recommendations There are some aspects which need to recommend. It should change colours of the web pages. The system should not be simple. The web site should increase some enjoyment. It should provide the search function for users. The web pages should give more freedom to users. Conclusion This project aims at introducing people Chinese Herbal Medicine and has developed an online system providing information on Chinese herbs. The design of the system applies client-server structure and employ

VarPhen: Web Based Tool for Genotype-phenotype Association

VarPhen: Web Based Tool for Genotype-phenotype Association Elsayed Hegazy1, Mahmoud Elhefnawi1, 2 1Nile University, Giza, 12588, Egypt. 2National Research Centre, Cairo, Egypt. Abstract Personalized medicine and the highly attention of next generation sequencing increase the demand of turning the genotype data into meaningful phenotype data. VarPhen is a web based tool used to do such thing. Its written in C# code its based on using RefSeq SNPs ID as a genotype to retrieve the relevant phenotype. VarPhen use ClinVar database as the source of clinical information and phenotypes relevant to specific variant. Introduction Next generation sequencing workflows and pipelines is now available for analyze all row data from quality control and mapping to variant calling but very few tools deals with vcf file to interpret to generate a meaningful reports with the common and rare diseases. One of the biggest servers regarding this issue is ClinVar (http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/clinvar/) which provides a freely available archive of the relationships among medically important variants and phenotypes. ClinVar is a huge database for reporting human variation, interpretations of the relationship of that variation to human health and the evidence supporting each interpretation. The database is tightly coupled with dbSNP and dbVar, which maintain information about the location of variation on human assemblies. ClinVar is also based on the phenotypic descriptions maintained in MedGen (http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/medgen). Each ClinVar record represents the submitter, the variation and the phenotype. The demand of vcf interpretation to valuable knowledge and phenotype increased day by day with the increasing of personal genome demand day by day. Here we will develop web based application that able to connect to CinVar and retrieve diseases associated with each variant listed in vcf file or sample. Availability and implementation VarPhen available for use on http://www.varphen.com as a web based tool written in ASP.Net with C# code behind using NCBI Database ClinVar API as a source of phenotypes. Review of literature Knowledge is more valuable when shared. By contributing these tools to the big spectrum which is the research community and healthcare as industry, we want to increase the quality and accuracy of genetic data analysis and interpretation available to all patients, physicians and researchers. OpenSNP is a Crowdsourced Web Resource for Personal Genomics. Its based on collecting users or patients vcf files from different sources like 23andme and decodeme plus the normal vcf file then detect variants and all relevant phenotypes. CLINVITAE is a clinically observation database uses the genetic variants aggregated from public sources. It is operated and made freely available by INVITAE which is a service like ClinVar. To make CLINVITAE as informative as possible, CLINVITAE aggregate the data from multiple public databases. CLINVITAE long term goal is to facilitate the search for clinically interpreted variants by creating a single unified resource for all interpretation results. CLINVITAE want physicians and researchers to save their time when comparing variants across multiple platforms and resources, and fully utilize the available data. GWAS Central or the Human Genome Variation database of Genotype-to-Phenotype information which is a database of summary level findings from genetic association studies, both large and small. GWAS actively gather datasets from public domain projects, and encourage direct data submission from the community improving the quality and accuracy of interpretation. Genome-wide association studies (GWAS) have been successful at identifying some of the variation in traits attributable to genetics. The National Human Genome Research Institute (NHGRI) has begun aggregating results of association studies into a master GWAS catalog. Also, INTERPRETOME is a freely available and secure personal genome interpretation engine analyze vcf file into valuable knowledge for diseases from GWAS. Another database from the big company QIAGEN is The Human Gene Mutation Database represents a good trial to collect the known published gene lesions responsible for human inherited disease. Also, The Diagnostic Mutation Database (DMuDB) is a secure repository of clinical quality variant data collected from diagnostic genetics laboratories. Access to DMuDB is available by annual laboratory subscription, and must be for diagnostic purposes only. Many of databases and tools do such analysis or job but very few tools and databases are freely available or accessible by programming inside your application. Aim Developing web based application for transforming variants from vcf into knowledge by identifying which variant pathogenic and what is the associated diseases with that variant. Methods Technically this web based tool developed straight forward by using one of the most powerful web technologies which is ASP.Net web forms with C Sharp back end code. User asked to upload vcf file then file processing done by manipulating file to discard vcf header and start reading vcf data after the header. After that VarPhen only read the third column which represent the RefSeq of the variant as ClinVar input. Also VarPhen detect if the SNP is novel or not this improve the tool performance because if VarPhen found a novel variant so there no web request created to ClinVar but if the variant not novel so VarPhen create a web request to ClinVar asking for full listed information associated with this variant. After the web request processed ClinVar web response retrieved by VarPhen as XML file. VarPhen start to parse and analyze the resulted XML file. Manipulation of XML file target is extracting the phenotypes which associated with the variant of interest. VarPhen uses C# data structu re Queue which help also to improve the performance of the VarPhen web requests to ClinVar API because its based on the concept of First in first served first out. All phenotypes saved in another C# data structure which is the List data structure as a series of strings. After that its the turn of the presentation layer by populating ASP.Net grid view by the list of phenotypes as a table in the user interface. Figure 1- VarPhen flowchart Figure 1 shows the flowchart of VarPhen tool as it indicated its start with vcf file the check if variant is novel or not. No web request created in case of variant novel. API calling starts only with known variants to retrieve the XML file containing the phenotype data. Conclusion VarPhen is one of the easiest ways to know what phenotypes associated with a specific vcf file is. VarPhen target users with no programming experience. No registration required to use it. So simple by its user friendly interface. Renewable Energy in the UK: Government Role Renewable Energy in the UK: Government Role UK Renewable Energy: Electricity Generation and the governments role in driving CO2 reductions. Business Management EXECUTIVE SUMMARY This dissertation will mainly concentrate on UKs efforts to increase renewables contribution to electricity generation in the UK, which are part of a broader range of government strategies to reduce CO2 to meet global concerns and international obligations. It will also examine the forces driving the development of renewable energy market in the UK, as well as the overview of the governments role in driving CO2 reductions. The governments strategy on renewables includes several different elements, each attacking the problem from a different angle: mandatory regulation, information and education, technology RD support, and establishment of market-based mechanisms. The main findings presented will be based mainly on the literature review, expert opinions and future forecasts. A review of recent literature on this topic highlights the risk of failure due to failure of coordination among the many initiatives and government bodies involved, and the dangers of insufficient data in measuring progress. Also, they reveal the practical limitations of reliance on renewable to fulfill future electricity generation needs. The first part of the main analysis will provide an overview of the renewable energy market in the UK; it will include a summary of the current renewable energy policy and the main instruments which act as a driving forces for the development of renewables in the UK, as well as electricity market overview; second part would specifically concentrate on evaluation of whether the policies and targets set by government are efficient and achievable, the conclusion will summarize the findings and elaborate on future prospects for the renewable energy market in the UK. The available data indicates that the UK is already falling behind on its original plans for the uptake of renewable. However, government policy suggests growing awareness of the limitations of most renewables; and a consequent shift in focus away from renewables towards easier ‘bigger solutions such as nuclear power and carbon sequestration for coal-fired power stations. CHAPTER 1 1.1 INTRODUCTION A sustainable energy future is possible, but only if we act urgently and decisively to promote, develop and deploy a full mix of energy technologies We have the means, now we need the will†¦Ã¢â‚¬  Claude Mandil, International Energy Agency (IEA) In the 21st century, there has been a significant increase in energy demand due to factors such as population growth and changes in our lifestyle. According to the International Energy Agency (IEA) today 86.5 % of total worldwide energy consumption is generated from fossil fuels such as natural gas, oil and coal; which are said to be non-renewable, and are the main cause for increase in green house gases and carbon dioxide emitted into the atmosphere. According to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), 2007, rising carbon dioxide (CO2) levels are the primary cause of global warming since 1950, and are expected to rise due to ongoing burning of fossil fuels and land-use change. As the worlds fossil fuels continue to diminish at an alarming rate, and global energy demand is forecasted to increase by 60% over the next 25 years (G8 Summit, 2005), alternative forms of energy must be developed that are economically cost effective, environmentally friendly, and easily harness ed. The development of renewable energy sources as a solution to these problems is expected to play a major role in the future energy supply and has developed a considerable interest within national government policies, environmental groups and the private sector. The term ‘renewable energy can be defined as â€Å"energy that is derived from natural processes that are replenished constantly† (Energy Statistics, 2004). The renewable energy sources are also covered by Europes climate change and energy policy. In March 2007, the European Council set a target of 20 percent of the total EU energy consumption to be generated from renewables by 2020. The policy also commits the EU Member States to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 20 percent by 2020 and by 30 percent globally (The EC White Paper, 2007 (BERR)). According to BERR renewable energy is an integral part of the UK Governments longer-term aim of reducing CO2 emissions by 60% by 2050. The Government has set targets of reducing CO2 emissions by 20% by 2010 and 10% of electricity supply from renewable energy by 2010 (Digest of UK Energy Statistics, 2007). This raises the main questions addressed in this dissertation: Can the UK expect to meet and exceed the existing targets? What measure will be required to realize this potential and to encourage further investment in renewables? Despite the fact that renewables are seen by many policy-makers as a solution for improving energy security and saving the environment, there is still some uncertainty whether renewables could compete with conventional energy sources. Supportive policies and heavy investments are still needed to promote further development and deployment of renewables in energy markets. The establishment of new renewable energy technologies and their efficiency will depend on the costs and effectiveness. As a result, in order to promote renewable energy technology into the market there is a strong need to identify and analyse the policies which have a direct effect on technology and market development. 1.2 Renewable energy in the UK The United Kingdom is one of the worlds most globalized countries with the second largest economy in Europe and a population of 60 million. The UK currently contributes about 2 percent to global emissions, which, according to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, were estimated to be 38 billion tones carbon dioxide in 2004. UK energy industries are the main contributors to UK greenhouse gas emissions; according to statistics CO2 accounted for about 85 per cent of the UKs greenhouse gas emissions in 2006. In order to reduce emissions, the 2007 UK Energy White Paper sets out an objective to cut the UKs carbon emissions by 60% by 2050, with real progress by 2020. One way of achieving those targets would be by generating our energy from sources that produce very low or zero levels of greenhouse gases such as renewable energy sources. Renewable energy is â€Å"an integral part of the Governments strategy for reducing carbon emissions as renewable energy resources produce very li ttle carbon or other greenhouse gases†. (Commission, 2006) In 2006, about 75 percent of UK electricity was generated from fossil fuels, about 19 percent from nuclear power, and the remaining 4 percent from other renewables (Digest of UK Energy Statistics (DUKES), 2007). The UK has one of the most suitable markets for the development of renewable sources of energy due to its geographic location; especially in wind, wave and tidal energy. However, the UK is also rich in fossil fuels and until the climate change issue became evident the successive governments have neglected renewable energy as an alternative source of our main energy supply. The UK Government initially started to show support for development of renewable energy sources in 1990, when renewables became a part of the so-called non-fossil fuel obligation (NFFO), originally set up to protect nuclear power. The issue of climate change and high levels of greenhouse gases has given a new drive to the development of renewable energy in the UK. As part of the Climate Change Programme, in June 2000 the UK government replaced NFFO by the Renewables Obligation (RO) in England and Wales with the main aims to encourage further the development of the UK renewable energy industry and to achieve a 10 percent share of renewables in electricity generation by 2010 (Environmental Policy Integration). Overall the renewable energy contribution is increasing. Total electricity generation from renewables in 2006 amounted to 18,133 GWh, an increase of 1,263 GWh (+7 ½ per cent) on 2005. The main contributors to this substantial increase were 1,072 GWh from onshore wind (+43 per cent), 248 GWh (+62 per cent) from offshore wind 134 GWh (+3 per cent) from landfill gas and 119 GWh (+12 per cent) from municipal solid waste combustion (UK Electricity Statistics,2007). One of the other main drivers for the development of alternative energy sources in the UK aside from climate change issues is the security of energy supply. The UK continues to heavily rely on the diminishing sources of fossil fuels, such as coal, gas and oil, which are increasingly sourced in geopolitically unreliable areas, such as Venezuela, Nigeria and Russia. According to the UK Energy Statistics 12 percent of the UKs gas supply came from gas imports (Digest of UK Energy Statistics (DUKES), 2007). Therefore further development of alternative energy sources in the UK will reduce the amount of imported fossil fuels, as well as have a key role in resolving the climate change issue. In order to maintain the UKs energy supply and to achieve the carbon dioxide targets set in the Kyoto Protocol under which the UK has committed itself to the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions by 12.5 percent by 2012 (Sustainable Development Indicators in Your Pocket, 2007), as well as longer term goal set out in Energy White Paper to reduce carbon dioxide emissions by 60 percent by 2050, it is vital to sustain further development of energy sources that produce low or zero levels of greenhouse gases, such as renewable energy. Figure 1, shows the Kyoto target and CO2 emissions, 1990 to 2012. Figure 1: Defra, BERR, â€Å"Sustainable Development Indicators in Your Pocket†, 2007 The Governments policies together with the White Paper made proposals to help increase the sources of renewable energy in the UK. The initial proposals set out in the Energy White Paper 2007, concentrate on three main areas: Electricity generation, by strengthening and modifying the Renewables Obligation, by reforming the planning system and by removing barriers to the growth of decentralised electricity generation; heat, by publishing a Biomass Strategy which identifies opportunities for increasing the use of renewables in energy production and by announcing further work to develop a more strategic approach to heat; and Transport, by requiring through The Renewable Transport Fuel Obligation Programme (RTFO) that an increasing proportion of our transport fuel should come from renewable sources. (Energy White Paper , 2007) According to the recent study undertaken by the Poyry Energy (Oxford) LTD, by 2020, renewable energy supply is expected to account for around 12 percent of EU total energy demand, where 59 percent of this volume will come from electricity generation, 32 percent from renewable heat and 9 percent from transport (Compliance costs for meeting the 20% renewable energy target in 2020., 2008) This paper will mainly concentrate on electricity generation through renewable energy sources, as consistency of electricity supply is fundamental to a robust UK economy, and renewables appear to be a suitable solution to improve security of electricity supply in the UK. The UK Government has set a target in order to promote the generation of electricity from renewable sources, by 2010, 10% of UK electricity should come from renewable sources (BERR, UK). The costs of electricity production from renewable energy sources presented in the figure below demonstrate that generation costs depend on the resource conditions in different countries or regions, particularly the EU Member States (Compliance costs for meeting the 20% renewable energy target in 2020, 2008). Therefore, in order to establish and sustain the competitiveness of renewable energy sources it is essential to analyse whether renewable energy technologies can compete with conventional sources. Figure 2: Electricity generation cost of renewable energy technologies (EU Commission 2005: 24, Support of electricity from RE sources). To support the new energy strategy there was a significant development to the UK Renewables Policy, the government has established key elements such as Renewables Obligation, which is driving force for the investment and consumer interest in renewables and it does so by obliging electricity suppliers to source a certain percentage of electricity from renewable sources. It has also launched strategies which allow UK to identify its main strengths and to develop world-leading capabilities in renewable energy sector. The main drivers of UK Renewable Energy Policy include: Renewable Obligation (RO) The RO is the main support scheme for renewable electricity projects in the UK. It places an obligation on UK suppliers of electricity to source an increasing proportion of their electricity from renewable sources. Suppliers are required to produce evidence of their compliance with this obligation to the Office of Gas and Electricity Markets (Ofgem). Evidence can be via certificates, referred to as Renewable Obligations Certificates (Renewable Obligation, 2008). UK renewable electricity has increased considerably since the introduction of RO. In 2006 electricity supplied from RO eligible sources stood at around 4% of the UKs total electricity, up from 1.8% in 2002 (Energy White Paper , 2007). Climate Change Levy (CCL) Exemption The Climate Change Levy (CCL) is â€Å"an environmental tax levied on the supply of certain taxable commodities, for example electricity, gas and coal, and charged by energy suppliers to final business consumers. Domestic, and most charitable, consumers do not pay CCL (Microgeneration and the Climate Change Levy, 2007). In order to support further development of renewables and to encourage consumers to use environmentally friendly sources of energy, renewable electricity supplied to non-domestic consumers is exempt from CCL. Research Development Programme The Government has constantly introduced programmes for renewable energy sources to remove obstacles which stood in the way of the development of renewables by furthering research and gathering information as well as assist industrial activities in the UK. Such programmes support the Renewable Obligation and the exempt renewable from Climate Change Levy. The programmes will also require cooperation with in the industry between the government and environmental organisations to maintain a steady approach to the growth of the renewable energy sources in the market. The programmes also set out plans to address the key issues together, with the concentration divided between technology development as well as non-technological issues, such as raising finance and obtaining planning permission. Each technology is set to be tested though several stages, which include assessment, RD, demonstration and market entry, full-scale industrialization and competition (Challenges Ahead for UK Renewable Energy Program, 2007). Strategies for individual technology programmes also include this operation at the different stages of technology development. An exit strategy will also contribute to the competitiveness of the industry without creating a subsidy. Green trading can play a major part in electricity generation strategy to move to a system of renewables which operates strictly in the commercial market. The Government will carry out several actions together with the industry in order to encourage the development of renewable technologies in the UK, such actions include technological and environmental assessment in addition to resource assessment ;demonstration; the industrialisation of the market; removing legal and administrative obstacles; dealing with planning and development control issues; promoting research and marketing and education. The set priorities for the development of renewable technologies depend on their cost effectiveness and the amount of greenhouse gas emissions that can be reduced on different timescales. The priorities for the development of the renewable energy sources are set in time scales and include: Near Term includes most competitive renewable technologies in the UK. (Geothermal (heating and cooling),waste and some biomass residues, landfill gas, onshore wind, hydro, passive solar) Medium Term (by the year 2010) includes renewables that show maximum contribution by 2010, as well as assist to achieve the target of 10 percent.(Some biomass residues, energy crops, offshore wind) Longer Term (after 2010) includes renewable technologies that show longer term potential under the RD programme. (Fuel cells, photovoltaics, wave) Very Long Term (after 2050) includes renewable technologies which at this stage are only worth pursuing through the basic research. (Tidal barrage, hydrogen, ocean thermal currents) (UK Renewable Eneegy Policy , 2007) The Department of Trade and Industry will divide the budget allocated for the development of renewables according to the priorities table set above, particularly between the short, medium and longer term periods. The renewable technologies which are included in short and medium term will benefit from the market simulation under the Renewable Obligation. 1.3 main aim: The mixture of the issues introduced briefly in the first Chapter leads to the overall aim of investigating the governments role in achieving the targets set and through analyzing the market and the economic forecasts concluding whether these targets are achievable. Following chapter will review the existing literature that has investigated UK Renewable Market and Policies, critically evaluated the UK performance in renewables sector and consist of relevant data in order to set out the specific objectives for this study. United Kingdom has one of the most suitable potential markets for the development of renewable energy sources and could act as a leading example for the rest of the world, but the main question remains whether the UK will adopt the right approach to support the new technologies or is it just an ambitious set of targets based on wrong evaluations? CHAPTER 2 LITERATURE REVIEW 2.1 Global Perspective Today, the rising issue of climate change can be identified as â€Å"the biggest challenge facing humanity† (International Socialist Group, 2006). The UK Prime Minister has said climate change is â€Å"probably, long-term the single most important issue we face as a global community†. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) has concluded that â€Å"global carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions must be reduced at least 70 percent over the next 100 years to stabilize atmospheric CO2 concentrations† Considerable technical change will be needed to maintain growth in economy combined with large CO2 emission reductions at a cost as low as possible (Grubb, 1997), however the timeframe is not clear as many ways lead to certain CO2 stabilization levels which correspond to fixed increasing amounts of CO2 that can be released during the target year. Furthermore, economic arguments were raised favoring deferred emission abatement pathways (Wigley, 1996). There is a possibility that unexpected political objectives may trigger the need of short-term investments in long life capital stock, this leads to high costs due to the early retirement of long life capital stock units. Additionally, there is a high risk of only focusing on short-term emission reduction targets while creating technical change policies in relation to climate change which may result in a framework unable to achieve long-term future targets (Sande ´n, 2005). The increasing concerns of climate change has played one of the key roles in supporting the development of renewable energy sources, which are environmentally friendly and impose low or zero carbon emissions released into the atmosphere. In order to sustain the development of renewables it is essential to meet the stabilization scenario for carbon dioxide reduction and show that they can be competitive in cost with energy from other sources (Houghton, 2004, p.306). Houghton also stated that â€Å"under some circumstances renewable energy sources are already competitive in cost (e.g. local sources of energy), however where there is a direct competition with fossil fuel energy from oil and gas, many renewable energies at present compete only marginally†. Conversely, fossil fuels such as oil, coal and gas have limited resources and â€Å"at some time between 2010-2020 the worlds supply of oil and gas will fall below the level required to meet international supply† (Oil and gas running out much faster than expected, 2003). As the result the costs of fossil fuels will increase which will unveil the opportunity for renewable energy sources to compete more easily (Houghton, 2004, p.306). A recent report from the UN environment programme said â€Å"investment in renewables such as wind, solar and biomass jumped 43% last year and may be about to increase by much more substantial amounts†. It also predicted that renewable energy sources could supply approximately a quarter of the worlds electricity by 2030. This fast development of renewable energy sources occurred as a result of rising demand for energy, security of energy supplies and the environmental and the dangers associated with the burning of fossil fuels (Sawin, 2004, p.5). The additional drivers for the rapid expansion of renewables incorporate the political support for renewable energy around the world, dramatic cost reductions and significant technology advances (Sawin, 2004, p.5). However, Karl Mallon in his book â€Å"Renewable Energy Policy and Politics: A Handbook for Decision-Making† has set out several challenges which can affect the development of renewable energy sources. Mallon mentioned that renewable projects usually have a long lifetime (20 years or more), but the investment and the main industrial activity occurs at the beginning. Therefore in order for investors to get a return on their investment, the developers on their end will try to make the projects as long as possible and try to establish capacity as early as possible in the scheme to yield the maximum return time (Mallon, 2007). As a result, generation schemes with targets that run less than 20 years will create a market with increasing activity and a massive industry growth for the first few years, and once a capacity meeting the long term target is in place downturn of activity will take place (Mallon, 2007). Mallon also stated that a â€Å"boom-bust† activity cycle is terr ibly inefficient form of industry development; if targets are used they must be dynamic to provide a constant but steady pull on industry. Another challenge which faces the development of renewables is the governments concentration on the economic side, namely where â€Å"the desire for economic certainty overrides the objectives of industry development or climate mitigation† (Mallon, 2007). Furthermore, according to Mallon, effective climate mitigation will require not less than 50-100 years transition to zero-emissions, therefore the schemes with deadlines ending 2010-2015 will make no contribution to solve in the climate change problem. Such schemes only provide economic certainty and tell investors that this is only a short term engagement rather than a long term, ignoring the fact that the prices of renewables and conventional energy change all the time. Finally, Mallon emphasized on the fact that â€Å"it is important to recognize that renewable energy policy consists not just of a driver but rather comprises a complete framework, ignoring or overlooking parts of that framework will undermine the entire vision†. 2.2 UK Perspective The energy policy of the United Kingdom fully supports targets for carbon dioxide emissions and is committed to achieve mandatory 60 percent cut in the UKs carbon emissions by 2050 (Carbon Abatement Technology for Fossil Fuels, 2005). The current interest in renewable energy in the UK reflects the global view in relation to the shortage of the existing energy sources and the necessity of finding alternative energy supplies to meet the future energy demand. The need for securing energy sources as an alternative to the current energy sources, mainly fossil fuels, lies in the uncertainty of such fuels which is diminishing over the years. This is particularly pertinent to the UK as it is estimated that by 2020 the UK could be importing 90% of its gas (which currently produces 41% of energy consumed) (DTI 2006). Additionally, the rising concerns over global warming and climate change also played a major role in ‘shedding the light on renewable energy sources. By 2050, global energy demand could double as populations rise and developing countries expand their economies (World Energy Organization, 2008). The UK Government started to tackle such concerns in 1999 when it introduces its first strategy â€Å"to help deliver a better quality of life through sustainable development† (Tony Blair, The UK Government Sustainable Development Strategy, March 2005). The Governments 2003 Energy White Paper sets a direction towards achieving low carbon economy, by attempting to resolve the issue on domestic basis first and to influence the major players in the global community to follow the same footsteps. The UK Government has committed itself to cut down greenhouse gas emissions, as mentioned above the government; according to its 2003 Energy White Paper, declared that its mission is to move to a low carbon economy and set out its target that by the year 2050 carbon dioxide emissions will be reduced by 60 percent in addition to the Kyoto Protocol target of reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 12.5 percent by the year 2012, and the ambitious national goal of reducing carbon dioxide emissions by 20 percent below the 1990 levels by the year 2010 (The UK Government Sustainable Development Strategy, 2005). However, the UKs CO2 emissions rose in the period 2002-04 (levels in 2004 showing a 1.5% increase over 2003) (DTI 2005a). These issues are arising at a time when large numbers of the UKs coal and nuclear-fired power stations are also reaching decommissioning age. This presents the UK with an opportunity to re-structure the fuels in its energy mix. According to the British Wind Energy (BWEA) the UK could face some challenges in meeting the renewable energy target of 20 percent by 2020 if it increases the amount of electricity generated under its Renewable Obligation, but puts on hold â€Å"financial penalties for utilities that help fund the program at 2015 levels† (Challenges Ahead for UK Renewable Energy Program, 2007). The BWEA Chief Executive Maria McCaffery has commented on reform proposal: The RO has been highly successful in bringing forward the cheapest renewables: onshore wind, landfill gas and biomass co-firing. The Governments plan to band the RO could allow more technologies to share in this success, particularly offshore wind but this cannot be at the expense of onshore winds current strong growth. Accommodating the more expensive technologies whilst trying to get to a 20% target in 2020 using the same amount of money as a 15% goal is like trying to extract a quart from a pint pot. It just doesnt add up. E ssentially, said BWEA, â€Å"the government is attempting to get a third more renewable power with a mix that includes significant quantities of technologies that are not economic under the current system for the same amount of money† (Challenges Ahead for UK Renewable Energy Program, 2007). John Loughhead, the Executive Director of the  UK Energy Research Centre  (UKERC)  said: Achieving these targets will be challenging, since the UK currently obtains less that 2% of its energy from renewable sources. It is probable that electricity production will have to bear a disproportionate share and initial estimates from the European Commission and others suggest it may need to produce about 40% of all electricity from renewable sources by 2020 if the overall targets are to be met. Additionally, the recent study â€Å"Renewable electricity generation technologies†, January 2008, issued by Institute of Physics (IOP) has outlined further barriers to the development of renewable energy sources. According to the study, one of the main challenges facing the renewables is â€Å"the liberalisation of the UK energy market, the current price of electricity is so low that it is not economically viable to develop and introduce new generating technologies to the market, unless they can be developed at a low cost and can provide electricity predictably at competitive wholesale prices† (Renewable electricity generation technologies, 2008) 2.3 UK Renewable Policy Targets Karl Mannon regards the renewable energy policy as a framework rather a single driver and emphasized that all the parts forming this framework must operate jointly in order for us to achieve the highest benefit of this policy (Mannon, 2007). As to the influence such policies may have on the market, Mannon added that there are unknown factors in these policies which can affect the size of the market, the prices paid for renewable energy or the duration of the scheme. Some of the factors which control the growth of the market include: the level of support, the duration of support eligibility, the duration of support schemes and the quantity of renewables required under the scheme. (Mannon, 2007, p.37) However, Adrian Smith in his report â€Å"Multi-level governance: Towards an analysis of renewable energy governance in the English regions†, December 2006, has identified challenges for governance in promotion of renewable energy systems. Smith, 2006, has outlined that â€Å"governments policy objective of transforming existing energy systems into ones with greater renewable energy content requires coordinated efforts and changes amongst many different actors, institutions and artifacts. Renewable energy systems are complex, and their construction is far from straightforward. It is consequently difficult to direct them into being exclusively through hierarchical government measures like planning† (Smith, 2006). John Sauven, the Executive Director of Greenpeace UK, in his article â€Å"Its rip-off Britain, even when it comes to climate change†, October 2007, has stated that the targets set by Renewable Obligation which were set for electricity suppliers have all been missed and â€Å"the governments own projections show that the final target of just 15 percent in 2015 will also be missed†. Additionally, Dave Toke, in his academic paper, has concluded that â€Å"RO is relatively inflexible in that it effectively sets a single level of payments for all renewable-energy generators, which is relatively generous for onshore wind power, barely sufficient (even with capital grant supplements) for offshore wind power, and not enough for much else. The target of supplying 10% of UK electricity from renewables by 2010 is not likely to be achieved some 7% is a more likely level† (Toke, 2005). Toke, D., also noted that â€Å"the more ambitious the targets are, the more expensive w ill be the incentives (or penalties) needed to ensure compliance with these targets†. The analysis of renewable energy policy carried out by the Carbon Trust, â€Å"Policy Framework for renewables†, July 2006, states that â€Å"overall, the existing renewable energy policy suffers from inefficiencies, resulting in a unit cost of renewable energy to consumers that is higher than necessary given the current technology cost†, as well as â€Å"given the renewable and carbon reduction targets and the 2015 gap, diversity of investment in renewable energy is needed†. The UK policies are not created to determine what a sustainable energy system i