Tuesday, December 24, 2019

Imaginative Play - 9679 Words

sychChildren’s Imaginative Play: A Descriptive Psychology Approach Charles Kantor, Ph.D. Abstract The signiï ¬ cance of children’s imaginative play is presented from the perspective of Descriptive Psychology and in particular Ossorio’s Dramaturgical model of persons. The ï ¬â€šuidity of imaginative play, the imitation of and creation of social practices and options within play as well as the opportunity to switch roles and act according to reasons of another, contribute to the development of judgment. The observer-critic role emerges during imaginative play as children produce, direct, and enact their dramas. Within these scenarios, children develop competence and eligibility to be not only status assigners but also self status assigners. During†¦show more content†¦The self and self concept The psychoanalytic theorists (Freud, Erikson) see children playing out negative emotions in a safe context. Children are attempting to regain control in situations of conï ¬â€šict. Mead stresses the importance of role playing in children’s play, which activit y contributes to a child’s sense of self (Verenikina et al, 2003). Erikson (1963, p.240) in describing a young client struggling with the wartime death of his father, a pilot, illustrates the healing value of play: â€Å"†¦he was observed swooping down a hill on a bicycle, endangering, scaring, yet deftly avoiding other children†¦. In watching him, and hearing the strange noises he made, I could not help thinking that he again imagined himself to be an airplane on a bombing mission. But at the same time he gained in playful mastery over his locomotion; he exercised circumspection in his attack, and he became an admired virtuoso on a bicycle.† 259 Advances in Descriptive Psychology—Vol. 9 This description of a young boy playing imaginatively illustrates elements that theorists over the years have attributed to the value of play. His role play was distinctly social as others witnessed his attack, and his actions increased his stature, his prestige among his friends. His ability to handle the bike, his cognitive strength, â€Å"circumspection in his attack†, as he swoops down the hill, is noted as well. His self esteem increased to the extent that heShow MoreRelatedImportant Aspects Of A Functioning Classroom904 Words   |  4 Pageseducation system today, but I believe most of the theories we discussed could be accorporated much more in the classroom. John Dewey, Friedrich Froebel, Maria Montessori, and Lev Vygotsky all understood the way children think and the importance of imaginative play. They also understood that children need to be active in nature. Also, we have discussed different forms of learning, such as project based learning, and outdoor classrooms . In my opinion, the education system should have minor changes that benefitRead MoreSocial Learning And Teaching Play Essay1382 Words   |  6 Pagesteaching play. Play involves the holistic child, from the physical, psychological, intellectual, social, and emotional. Either by working independently or group work. Play is now a big part of the curriculum as doesn’t just help with the teaching side, but it also gives the children a way to relax and be themselves, and to express their feelings or what is going on in their life through play. (http://ccea.org.uk accessed on 29th November 2016) Tina Bruce would also be a big influence on play, creativityRead MorePlay Education Essay1082 Words   |  5 Pages Play Education is the most important activity in the lives of children. Play is the foundation of learning for young children. For children play, is how they begin to understand and process their world? The best part for children is that play is fun and this keeps them always wanting more because they enjoy participating in it. Play education is for children up until age 12. And different ages are broken down into groups. Giving the child time and some few basic toys can provide them with a varietyRead MoreChildren’s Care, Learning and Development Essay666 Words   |  3 Pageslearning. 1.2. Describe how creative development links to other areas of learning and development within the framework related to own work setting. Creative development can link to many other areas of development. For example, through sand play the children are developing a whole range of skills, they are using their physical development to manipulate and mould the sand, they are developing their personal, social, communication, language literacy skills through playing together and chatteringRead MoreAnand Smilansky : A Developmental Theorist Who Has On Children s Learning1524 Words   |  7 PagesTheorist who has identified four types of play: Functional play, Constructive play, Dramatic play, and games with rules. Smilansky says that Dramatic play is the most mature type of play because this is the time where children start to understand their surroundings and imitate what they see others doing. The research on play focused on sociodramatic play and the impact it has on children’s learning. In Smilansky’s book ‘The Effects of Sociodramatic play on Disadvantaged Preschool Children’, she saysRead Mor eThe Act Of Playing And Learning1010 Words   |  5 Pages â€Å"Play is often talked about as if it were a relief from serious learning, but for children, play is serious learning.† (Mr. Rogers) Children love to play with toys because it is an important form of communication. It is through this act that children can create a life in a world of fantasy and imagination. They can have an enjoyable relationship between playing and learning. The act of playing enables the process of the child s learning since it facilitates the construction of physical, cognitiveRead MoreThe Play Heratbreaker875 Words   |  4 Pagesanalysis of the play Heartbreaker Name Institution Date Introduction The play Heartbreaker is a fictitious story done by Michael Golamco. It features two main characters, Vithy, who is a sixteen year old teenager and her elder sister Ra who is aged twenty two years. The play takes place in a solemn setting down in a small apartment bedroom. The room does not contain a lot of things; it is empty except for some few basic properties that make a bedroom. They events of the play take place atRead MoreThe Article Learning Through Play : Portraits, Photoshop And Visual Literacy Practices `` Written By Michelle A1020 Words   |  5 Pages The article â€Å"Learning Through Play: Portraits, Photoshop and Visual Literacy Practices† written by Michelle A. Honeyford and Karen Boyd,is about learning literacy through imaginative and visual play. The article gives a detailed look at an afterschool program that lets students learn about literacy while using creativity. Throughout this critique, areas of the article will be discussed that were successful and some that need improvement. One area of success is keeping creativity in education. ButRead MoreA Critique On Human Development Research870 Words   |  4 PagesArticle: The Need for Pretend Play in Child Development Author: Scott Barry Kaufman PH.D. (co authors: Jerome L. Singer and Dorothy G. Singer) Source of Article: https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/beautiful-minds/201203/the-need-pretend-play-in-child-development The article I chose to critique for my paper is focused on early childhood development, starting around age two to about age seven. The article focuses on research that has been done about pretend play, and how necessary it is for aRead MoreCritique of a Toy1020 Words   |  5 Pages it allows for free play and helps children to be creative, it helps develop their learning skills and is good for their hand to eye co-ordination which also which also increase their physical and intellectual development ( Ellis flood 2010 Child Development for students in Ireland Dublin Gill Macmillan ) Margaret Macmillan approach to the curriculum was designed around toy which develops a child’s fine and gross motor skills and manual dexterity and she regarded free play as an important aspect

Monday, December 16, 2019

Ui Mechanism Free Essays

Date: 26th December 2005 Action Plan for Implementation of Intra-state Availability Based Tariff (ABT) 1. Introduction For the purpose of transmission of electricity, India has been divided into five regions namely, Eastern, Western, Southern, Northern and North-Eastern Regions. These regions have been interconnected to form a â€Å"National Grid† with a view of bringing reliability and stability in power transmission across the nation along with efficient usage of available resources. We will write a custom essay sample on Ui Mechanism or any similar topic only for you Order Now Prior to introduction of inter-state ABT, there was a lot of indiscipline in the grid operation in these regions resulting in frequent blackouts and islanding. There was lack of balancing between generation and demand for power on real time basis. This was mainly due to excessive generation in the northern and northeastern regions resulting in higher frequencies in these regions and over loads in western and southern regions resulting in lower frequencies in these regions. In this context M/s ECC, USA, after a study in 1993-94 recommended to GoI to introduce Availability Based Tariff (ABT), in all the regions to bring about grid discipline. However after the constitution of CERC in 1998, the matter came under the purview of the CERC. In 1999, the CERC issued necessary orders and regulation for implementation of Inter-state ABT in India and ABT has been implemented region by region during 2002 and 2003. ABT was implemented in the Southern region with effect from 1st January 2003.The implementation of inter-state ABT has brought about substantial improvement in the grid operation resulting in Grid discipline and optimal utilization of the generation capacities. The implementation of Inter-state ABT has brought about the following improvements in the operation of the regional grid as indicated in the FOIR sub-committee report: a) Grid frequency has dramatically improved from 48 – 52 Hz range to 49. 0 – 50. 5 Hz range for most of the time. b) A higher consumer demand is being met, due to built-in incentives to maximize generation in peak-load hours. ) Generation stations are being operated according to real merit order, on region-wide basis, through decentralised scheduling. d) Hydro-electric generation is being harnessed more optimally than done previously. e) State’s share in central generating stations have acquired new meaning and grid discipline is encouraged. f) Open access, wheeling of captive generation and power trading has been enabled by placing in position the mechanism (UI) for handling deviations/ mismatches. ) States meet their occasional excess demand by over drawing from the regional grid and paying applicable UI charges to the under-drawing states. 2. Intra-state ABT Keeping in view the advantages of ABT, the National Electricity Policy issued under the provisions of the Electricity Act 2003 envisages introduction of intra-state ABT. The said policy, under clause 5. 7. 1(b) states as follows: â€Å"The ABT regime introduced by CERC at the National level has had a positive impact. It has also enabled a credible settlement mechanism for intra-day power transfers from licensees with surpluses to licensees experiencing deficits.SERCs are advised to introduce ABT regime at the state level within one year†. The Forum of Indian Regulators (FOIR) constituted a sub-committee to recommend measures for implementation of intra-state ABT and the said sub-committee included Sri Bhanu Bhushan, Member, CERC and Sri S. D. Uklkali, Member, KERC amongst others. The FOIR sub-committee has furnished its recommendations to the FOIR in Nov 2005, a copy of which is enclosed. KERC is bringing out this Action Plan for implementation of intra-state ABT in the State. . Status of energy allocation to ESCOMs Since KPTCL has been barred from engaging in trading electricity with effect from 10. 6. 2005 in terms of section 39(1) of the Electricity Act 2003, GOK in GO No EN 131 PSR 2003 dated 10TH May 2005, has allocated the PPAs of KPCL, VVNL, Central Generating Stations and conventional IPPs to the ESCOMs on the basis of share of each ESCOM in total energy consumption in 2004-05 and the PPAs of renewable sources to the respective ESCOM based on geographical location of the project.KPTCL has indicated the ESCOM wise allocation of the installed capacity of conventional sources as follows in its letter dated 13. 7. 2005: |ESCOM |% Of capacity allocation | |BESCOM |45. 9492 | |MESCOM |9. 0908 | |HESCOM |20. 3598 | |GESCOM |15. 2678 | |CESCOM |9. 3324 |In the ERC for FY06, the projected energy availability has been allocated to the ESCOMs considering demand forecast made by each ESCOM, growth rate etc. Regarding power purchase cost from conventional sources, a uniform per unit rate has been worked out considering entire power purchase cost (fixed charges + energy charges + UI charges) from all the sources i. e. from CGS, SGS, IPPs etc and the same has been applied to the ESCOMs uniformly. (Power purchase cost from non-conventional sources vary amongst ESCOMs in view of allocation of PPA to the respective ESCOM),The estimated power purchase from conventional sources in FY06 includes drawal from UI source to an extent of 1062 MU as indicated by KPTCL/ESCOMs in the ERC. The UI charge has also been included in the total power purchase cost and a uniform power purchase rate has been worked out for the ESCOMs. While one ESCOM may be responsible for causing the UI due to overdrawal, the UI charges are being met by all the ESCOMs since a uniform power purchase rate has been worked out. (It is also true that if one ESCOM is saving the UI charge by efficient management, the benefit is being shared by all the ESCOMs).Therefore in the present system there are no incentives for the individual ESCOMs for efficient management of the demand, nor there are penalties for inefficiency since the state as a whole is considered in the inter-state ABT and all the UI charges are being shared by them. As indicated by KPTCL, the above capacity allocation is in proportion to the actual energy drawal by the ESCOMs in 2004-05. Considering this as a transition arrangement, the capacity allocation should be made to each ESCOM after a systematic study considering various param eters including demand/peak load requirement, consumer profile etc in each ESCOM.Thereafter, the capacity charges (fixed charges) of the generating stations have to be allocated to the ESCOMs according to the capacity allocation and energy charges in proportion to the actual energy drawal in order to provide economic signals and efficient management of power purchase by the ESCOMs. 4. ABT, Intra-state ABT and its benefits: a) What is ABT: What is ABT and the mechanics of its operation are adequately explained in the premier â€Å"ABC of ABT- A premier on Availability Tariff† written by Sri Bhanu Bhushan, a copy of which is enclosed for reference. b) Intrastate ABT Components:Intra-state ABT is a techno-economic tool for bringing rational tariff structure for supply of electricity from State generators to the distribution Licensees apart from the fact that it is a mechanism for enforcing discipline in the Grid. The generation tariff under the ABT regime has three components namely the fixed charge, the variable charge and the Un-scheduled Inter-change charge (UI Charges) as follows: (i) Fixed charge covers capacity charges of the generators, which is payable by each beneficiary on the capacity allocated to them, irrespective of the amount of power they draw or scheduled to draw. ii) Variable charge (towards fuel cost/variable expenses of generation) is p ayable by each beneficiary on the scheduled energy irrespective of actual drawal. (iii) UI charge is payable by the beneficiaries/ generators for the deviations from the schedule and is dependent on the frequency prevailing at that time. c) Benefits of Intra state ABT: Intra-state ABT has the following benefits: †¢ Benefits to the Power System: I. Brings about grid discipline by maintaining frequency in technically feasible narrow band. II.Ensures optimal utilisation of available resources and generation capacities. III. Enhances opportunities for Open access, Captive generation wheeling and Trading of electricity. IV. Scope for encouraging competition among generators. †¢ Benefits to Generators: I. Encourages maximization of generation during peak hours with incentives and discourages the same during off peak hours with penalties. II. Compels drawal of power by the utilities as per the scheduled drawal failing which Generators stand to gain by applicable UI charges. III.Enables systematic scheduling in terms of long term, short term as well as day ahead, duly considering plant availability and maintenance. IV. Ensures better life of equipments due to efficient management of Demand Vs Supply. Thereby the ‘Hidden Costs’ due to damage is avoided. V. The three-part Tariff under ABT provides for proper recovery of fixed and variable costs of Generator. †¢ Benefits to the Licensees: I. Economic efficiency dictates that the least cost power should be dispatched in preference to costly power (Merit Order Dispatch). ABT provides for the same. II.Licensees can plan their requirement, both for peak and off peak demands. III. Enables efficient Load Management through their own Area Load Dispatch Centers. IV. Provides for economical power and better accounting procedures. †¢ Benefits to End Users: I. Enables open access, captive generation, wheeling and trading of electricity. II. Ensures better quality and reliable power supply. III. Scope for reduction in cost of power due to licensees opting for merit order dispatch in their scheduling. 5. ABT Retail Power Tariff: The Commission had also proposed introduction of differential tariff, i. . separate tariff in each of the ESCOMs area to reflect the cost of supply in each ESCOM duly considering the consumer profile and revenue stream in such ESCOM. However, considering the suggestions received from the stakeholders, the Commission has introduced separate tariff for urban and rural areas in the Tariff Order 2005 and intends to move towards ESCOM-wise differential tariff in future. Cost of power purchase being the major input cost (more than 75% of the cost of supply), implementation of intra-state ABT may have substantial impact on cost of supply and the tariffs in each of the ESCOMs.The operational efficiencies in each ESCOM including efficiency in power purchase management under ABT would get reflected in the tariffs when such differential tariffs are determined. In view of the established benefits that have accrued under inter-state ABT, the question whether intra-state ABT is required does not arise since the same benefits as in inter-state ABT are expected to accru e to the ESCOMs/consumers. The question is only how soon intra-state ABT can be implemented. The general consensus/ recommendation is that the methodology adopted for inter-state ABT should be replicated for intra-state ABT with modifications as may be required. No doubt, implementation of intra-state ABT is a complex exercise involving a number of ESCOMs, a large number of generating stations, a huge number of interface points, etc, but the exercise must begin. {{ 6. Mechanism of Intra-state ABT Under the intra-state ABT, all the State generating stations (which are subject to scheduling by SLDC) shall declare their 15-minute schedule of expected output capability for the next day to SLDC.Based on the information available to the SLDC in respect of all sources of power viz , i) Expected output capability from CGS as furnished by RLDC ii) Expected output capability from State Generating stations iii) Other sources, if any (CPPs) and iv) Losses in the system, The SLDC conveys the entitlements to each of the ESCOMs for the next day on the basis of allocated capacity. Immediate ly thereafter, the ESCOMs considering the entitlement and the forecasted demand would convey to SLDC their schedule of power drawal for the next day. The ESCOMs shall prepare their forecast for the next day systematically after considering the demand in the previous year, previous month, previous day etc duly considering changes in demand, seasonal variations, weather conditions etc. ). SLDC will aggregate the requisitions from the ESCOMs and prepares the dispatch schedule keeping in view the merit order and how best to meet the schedule given by the ESCOMs. After the exercise, the SLDC will issue, i) Dispatch schedule to RLDC for communication to the CGS ii) Dispatch schedule to the state generators ii) Dispatch schedule to others (CPPs) and iv) Drawal schedules to the ESCOMs. These schedules issued by SLDC will become the basis for ABT. In case of any contingencies, both the generators and ESCOMs can revise their requisitions and schedules and the same shall be revised correspondingly by the SLDC within the stipulated time. The schedules form the basis for payment of energy charges and any deviations from the schedule would attract frequency dependent UI charges. A typical flow diagram under the intra-state ABT is given below: INTRASTATE ABTINDEX: Flow of Confirmed Day ahead Dispatch schedule for Generators / IPPs / CPPs Day ahead Drawal Schedule for Licensee s / Open access consumers by RLDC/SLDC/ALDC. Flow of Day ahead Availability of Generators/ IPPs / CPPs Day ahead Requirement of Licensees/ Open access consumers to ALDC/SLDC/RLDC. (On similar lines long term and short term scheduling is also prepared. ) 7. Applicability of Intra-State ABT: Intra-State ABT shall be applicable to all generators that are connected to the Grid and are scheduled and dispatched by SLDC.As per the Grid Code being issued by KERC all Generators [excluding wind and minihydel] with installed capacity above 25 MW need to be scheduled and dispatched. All such generators shall come under the purview of ABT. It is to be noted here that FOIR has recommended generators of 10 MW above to be scheduled. Intra-state ABT shall be applicable to the following: i) All ESCOMs and Hukeri Society ii) All State owned generating stations iii) IPPs iv) Bio-mass and Co-generation plants above 25 MW. ) CPPs supplying power to the grid 8. Issues for implementation of Intra-state ABT: i) Metering: FOIR sub-committee has rightly pointed out that for implementation of ABT and Ui mechanism within the state, the activity on the critical path would be installation of special energy meters on the periphery of all entities which are to be covered by ABT and UI. The meters should be capable of recording all the parameters such as demand in MW, reactive power, power factor, frequency etc in a 15 minute block.The status of metering at interface points as indicated by KPTCL is furnished below: †¢ No. Of interface points of ESCOMs with KPTCL: 1276 †¢ No. Of inter ESCOM interface points: 50 †¢ Auxiliary: 592 †¢ Total: 1918 †¢ Metered procured [0. 2 class]= 1650 †¢ Balance required= 268 †¢ Metered so far installed: 829(as on 30. 09. 2005) †¢ As per the current status, 268 meters are yet to be procured and 1089 meters need to be installed at interface points. DETAILS OF INTERFACE POINTS (as at the end of Oct-2005) | | | |Interface Points |Voltage |BESCOM |MESCOM |GESCOM |HESCOM |CESCO |HUKKERI |TOTAL | | |(KV) | | | | | |SOCIETY | | |ESCOMS with KPTCL |11 |464 |81 |116 |159 |148 |4 |972 | |   |33 |4 |27 |46 |101 |5 |3 |186 | |EHT |66 |32 |0 |2 |1 |14 |0 |49 | |   |110 |0 |6 |9 |2 |0 |0 |17 | |   |220 |6 |1 |2 |1 |0 |0 |10 | |IPP |11 |5 |2 |4 |1 |10 |0 |22 | |   |33 |0 |0 |9 |10 |0 |1 |20 | |Total No. of |   | |117 |188 |275 |177 |8 |1276 | |Interface Points | | | | | | | | | |AUXILARY |   |267 |56 |69 |108 |89 |3 |592 | Since the required number ABT compliant meters have already been rocured by KPTCL for interface metering with ESCOMs and already 829 such meters have been fixed, it is expected that a ll the other interface points would be fixed with ABT compliant meters quickly. This should be completed before the end of March 2006. All the Grid connected generators that are scheduled and interface points of ESCOMs shall be provided with ABT compliant meters latest by 30th March 2006. The respective Generating stations and KPTCL shall take action accordingly. Regarding metering of EHT/open access consumers including Captive users, the same shall be taken up by respective ESCOMs and completed before the end of March 2006. i) Communication facility: For effective implementation of intra-state ABT, metering data should be transferred form the ABT compliant meters to ALDC/SLDC on a real time basis. Hence adequate reliable communication facilities should be established. ESCOMs have stated that the communication facility will be established by KPTCL. While KPTCL has stated that there is no communication link at present to acquire data on real time basis and hence new leased lines are required. Since ALDCs have to be established by the respective ESCOMs in order to provide load forecast to the SLDC on a daily basis, communication facility from the ABT compliant meters at the interface points to the ALDC/corporate office of the ESCOMs should be established. When such facility is provided, the same linkage could also be extended to the SLDC parallelly for monitoring. iii) Finalisation of Capacity allocation to each ESCOM: As discussed earlier, the capacity allocation from various generating stations including CGS to the ESCOMs shall be made in a systematic manner. This requires a detailed study and careful analysis as this is being attempted for the first time in the state. KPTCL/ESCOMs shall take up a joint exercise in this regard. iv) Tariff: The basic requirement for implementation of ABT is a three-part tariff comprising of fixed charges, variable charges and UI charges in comparison with the existing single/two-part tariff. FOIR has also recommended adopting this tariff structure.As already stated, the fixed charge would be linked to availability and variable charges to the scheduled energy. The UI charges shall be applicable for the deviations from the schedules. A three-part tariff for the central generating stations is already in force under the inter-state ABT. When the intra-state ABT is implemented, the fixed charges of the CGS have to be allocated to the ESCOMs according to the capacity allocation, energy charges according to the scheduled energy and UI charges for variation in the schedule given by each ESCOM. Regarding the tariff for the generating stations in the state, the position is as follows: The Commission has already approved PPAs as follows: ) A two part tariff for KPCL thermal station (RTPS) comprising of fixed charges based on normative PLF, energy charges for actual generation and incentive for actual generation beyond normative PLF. ii) A two part tariff for all KPCL hydro stations comprising of fixed charges linked to normative station availability, variable charges (only water royalty) for actual generation and incentive for higher availability o f the stations. iii) A two part tariff for VVNL diesel station (Yelahanka Diesel station) comprising of fixed charges based on normative PLF, energy charges for actual generation and incentive for actual generation beyond normative PLF. However, the tariff approved by the Commission in all the above cases are yet to be implemented since the generating stations have appealed against the orders of the Commission. As indicated by KPTCL/ESCOMs in the ERC for FY06, a two-part tariff is being followed only in respect of RTPS units 5,6 and 7 as per the draft PPA and in respect of all other units/stations cited above, a single part tariff is being followed. 2) Regarding IPPs in the State, a two-part tariff is being followed in respect of all the three IPPs (Tanirbavi, Tata and Rayalseema). 3) PPAs of VVNL hydro stations have not yet been placed before the Commission for approval. As indicated by KPTCL/ESCOMs in the ERC for FY06, a single part tariff is being followed at present. Therefore, in order to implement intra-state ABT, a two-part tariff should be implemented for all the generating stations within the state. KPTCL/ESCOMs shall take action accordingly to convert the existing single part tariff to two-part tariff in respect of all the stations. Regarding the third part of the tariff i. e.UI charges, the UI rate determined by the CERC is already in force for inter-state ABT and it has been recommended by various experts including the FOIR sub-committee to adopt the same UI rate for intra-state ABT also. The Commission endorses this view and considers it appropriate to adopt the same till UI rate is determined by the Commission for intra-state transactions separately. Accordingly, UI rates and threshold frequencies for UI rate as determined by CERC shall be adopted for the present. The FOIR sub-committee has recommended that incentives for generating stations shall be linked to higher availability instead of to PLF. At present, the incentives in respect of CGS are linked to actual PLF and not to availability as per the existing CERC norms.KERC while welcoming the suggestion of the FOIR sub-committee to link the incentive to station availability so that the generating stations are better available for generation, it is of the view that during this transition period, it would, perhaps be better to continue the incentive to actual PLF achieved only as otherwise, the ESCOMs may be required to pay higher amounts even when the station availability is not fully utilized. If incentive is provided to the generating companies linked to availability, the generators may recover incentives by declaring availability even without generating a single unit, specially so in the case of high cost energy sources. Therefore, the Commission would continue the incentive linked to actual PLF for the present. ) Setting up of Area Load Dispatch center (ALDC): Each of the ESCOMs have to set up an Area Load Dispatch Centre to monitor and control the drawal of power within the ESCOM, as per the schedule. As discussed earlier, real time communication from the ABT compliant meters to the ALDC/corporate office of the ESCOM is crucial for implementation of the ABT. These ALDCs shall be established before September 2006. vi) Up-gradation of SLDC: In order to handle the increased volume of data under Intra-state ABT and also to perform the functions of monitoring and energy accounting, the state load despatch centre needs to be up-graded suitably by providing necessary softwar e, hardware, human resources and other infrastructure. ii) Scheduling Energy Accounting: The ESCOMs, the generators within the state and EHT/open access consumers should make day ahead forecast for every 15 minutes time blocks under the ABT schedule, which requires expertise. The schedules would be finalized by SLDC for ESCOMs and generators and by the Concerned ALDC’s for EHT/Open access consumers. viii) Gaming: Generators may overstate their availability under ABT regime as the recovery of fixed charges is linked to availability. Similarly, the generators may under declare the capacity to take advantage of UI charges. In either case there would be gaming by generators which need s to be avoided. Availability tests needs to be conducted through third party. If the units/station fails to demonstrate the declared capacity, penalty needs to be imposed.Further, the capacity charges should be reduced to the actual availability until the generator demonstrates higher availability. Similarly, if availability is under-declared, the UI charges due to the generator has to be credited to UI pool. In addition, a penalty shall also be levied. In addition to the penalties, officer in charge of the generator shall be made responsible for misdeclaration. SLDC shall prepare a standard procedure for availability testing and maintain record of all such tests carried out. Regarding time block for UI, FOIR sub-committee has recommended a 15-minute time block. However, FOIR has stated that as an interim arrangement UI charges can be on 30-minute block. 9. Training and Familiarization: Under intra-state ABT, energy accounting would be complex and requires computerization and trained human resource for efficient data management. For effective implementation of the intra-state ABT, the staff of SLDC and the ESCOMs need to be trained extensively. The staff of SLDC have already gained experience in operating the inter-state ABT, but they have to be further trained on intra-state transactions. KPTCL and ESCOMs shall send their concerned staff for appropriate training. This activity needs to be prioritsed and completed as per the time schedule indicated in forthcoming paras. 10. Responsibility for implementation:It shall be the joint responsibility of KPTCL and ESCOMs for implementation of intra-state ABT as it involves fixing ABT compliant meters at interface points, establishing communication facilities and monitoring and control of the operations under ABT. As discussed earlier, KPTCL has already procured ABT compliant meters and installed a large number of them. Since KPTCL is exclusively in the business of transmission of electricity and SLDC being continued under KPTCL, KPTCL is in a better position to take care of the activities required for implementation of ABT because of its vast experience. Therefore, KPTCL shall take the responsibility to complete the interface metering with all the generating companies, with the ESCOMs and also inter-ESCOM metering irrespective of voltage level, with due coordination with the concerned ESCOMs.The ultimate responsibility for implementation of intra-state ABT shall be that of the SLDC. 11. Cost Sharing: As far as the costs involved are concerned, the cost of interface metering with the ESCOMs shall be borne by KPTCL only since KPTCL has already procured the meters and is in the process of its installation. Similarly the cost of up gradation of SLDC, upgradation of SCADA, requirement of hardware and software at SLDC etc shall be borne by KPTCL only. However, the cost of providing real time communication of the interface points with the ALDC/ESCOMs (corporate office), along with required hardware and software, establishment of ALDC etc shall be borne by the respective ESCOMs.The cost of providing interface metering at inter-ESCOM points shall be borne by the ESCOM, which is feeding the other ESCOM. In the case of exchange of power between the ESCOMs, the ESCOM that has supplied a higher quantity in the preceding 6 months shall be responsible to install ABT compliant meter and shall bear the cost. The cost of providing ABT compliant meters at the generating stations shall be borne by the respective generating companies only. In a nutshell, it would not greatly matter who bears the cost of various activities under the ABT since ultimately, all the expenses are passed on to the consumers through tariff. 12. Phase-wise implementation of intra-state ABT:In view of the constraints in implementation of the intra-state ABT, it is propos ed to implement the intra-state ABT in the following phases: First Phase: The Commission expects that the ABT compliant meters at the interface points before end of March 2006 and the required real time communication facility shall be in place before the end of May 2006. From 1st June 2006, a proxy intra-state ABT shall be implemented for a period of six months. In this phase the generators and the licensees would participate in a proxy implementation of ABT. In this phase the existing meters available as on 1st June 2006 should be used and the data would be considered for half an hour period.The generators and ESCOMs would furnish a day ahead schedule to SLDC, which will finalise the schedule duly matching the generation and drawal schedule. It will also carry out energy accounting and would also compute the UI charges on a weekly basis. These charges are computed only notionally and ESCOMs/generators need not make any payment for violating the schedule. All the Generators, KPTCL and ESCOMs should make necessary arrangements to implement the same from 1st June 2006. Second Phase: In this phase, the same procedure as in the first phase would be followed for period of next six months effective from 1st December 2006. However the generators/ESCOMs shall have to pay the ABT charges for the generation/drawal of power on half hourly basis.Third Phase: In this phase the Generators and ESCOMs would implement the Intra-State ABT in Toto, duly facilitating all the requirement of implementation of intra state ABT, with effect from 1st June 2007. The monitoring, energy Accounting and billing would be on a 15 minutes basis. In all the above phases, finalization of schedule, monitoring and energy accounting would be carried out by SLDC. Intra-state ABT for Hydro-stations The Commission notes that the average power purchase cost from hydro sources in FY06 from KPCL is about 54 paise per unit as per the ERC, which is far less than the energy charges from thermal sources. Therefore, the hydro sources are not generally under the merit order. Further, FOIR sub-committee has pointed out that certain issues have come up recently in ABT for hydro stations particularly in North Eastern Region and have suggested that SERCs may exercise caution while extending ABT to intra-state hydro stations or wait for resolution of these issues issues by CERC for central stations. In view of these factors, the Commission proposes to postpone implementation of intra-state ABT to hydro stations for a period of one year. However, such stations shall complete all preparatory work for implementation of intra-state ABT as per the Action Plan and also provide day ahead availability / output schedule to SLDC. 13. How to cite Ui Mechanism, Papers

Sunday, December 8, 2019

Global Comparative Law Practices of the Western Legal system

Question: Which is the National Advertisings Most important stakeholder, business or consumers? Answer: In my opinion I agree that the Global comparative law practices of the Western Legal system is ethical as it follows the standards of the Global business codex (Paine et al 2005). The arguments which are going to be discussed throughout this essay are Human Rights, Bribery and Monopolisation of industry The Western Legal system complies with the dignity principle b using human rights to ensure Business should support and respect the protection of internationally pro-claim human rights with their sphere of influence. In my opinion I agree that the Global comparative law practices of the Western Legal system is ethical as it follows the standards of the Global business codex (Paine et al 2005). The arguments which are going to be discussed throughout this essay are Human Rights, Bribery and Monopolisation of industry. The Western Legal system complies with the dignity principle b using human rights to ensure Business should support and respect the protection of internationally pro-claim human rights with their sphere of influence. Growth of Global comparative law has been seen in the Global comparative law and the main reason behind the same has been the growth both Global comparative law independent brands and in house store brands of the super market itself. In case one can see the example of a survey which shows that in European countries search was done on 78,900 global comparative law point of sales points and among the same around 56,700 points were in the form of supermarkets. With a topic like ethics being fuzzy, there are no clear checklists to fall back on. What is needed is principles, guidelines and your own organizationally-agreed-upon moral compass of what constitutes "the right thing to do." Introduction This is where a code of conduct comes in. The core idea of a code of conduct to promote a commitment a moral obligation to "do the right thing" and place that commitment higher than a commitment to "get a job done" while meeting the needs of an employer or client. Which is the National Advertisings Most important stakeholder, business or consumers? The main stakeholder for the company as of now is to the consumer as the Global comparative law practice suggests that it the consumers right which needs to be protected. A code of conduct usually has the following goals: Describing principles that people that subscribe to the code hold dear, to help in practical decision making. Holding professionals accountable and protecting employers and client from unethical behavior, while at the same time protecting professionals from undesirable requests. Helping to counter unethical behaviors, and offering a process for calling out violations (such as striking professionals from a certain certification). Promoting self-regulation instead of imposed regulation. There are common themes that emerge from these codes of conduct. They point out that Global comparative law must work in a transparent way, being able to show what data they used, and how conclusions were derived. They should provide various options to management, and a clear analysis. Global comparative law should respect the privacy of people when handling personal data. They should assure they are using the right analytical techniques when tackling specific problems, be aware of the limitations of any technique and be certain they are qualified to perform a certain Global comparative law practises in Supermarket. They should respect the opinion of other point of sales in Western Legal system, but be prepared to call out the misconduct of other professionals or clients. In many cases, there simply are no rules. Customers may have differing opinions on how to define the relationship between privacy and value. Ethics determining what is "right" and "wrong" is fuzzy. A different compass is needed. Ultimately it's your organization's and your own personal compass that sets the direction. If you believe business is amoral (that ethics don't apply) then the measures you take to govern analytics are aimed at risk mitigation (and you can stop reading this research note). If you believe that ethics do apply, then they are based on what you believe is the right and the wrong thing to do. Global comparative law practises in Western Legal system services often represent an organization's largest indirect spending category, amounting to hundreds of millions or even billions of dollars for large organizations with more than 10,000 employees. White-collar industries, such as financial services, insurance and consumer software, spend the highest percentage of their budgets on complex services, with as much as 60% to 70% going to Global comparative law practises in Western Legal system services contracts. Improving the governance of and compliance for Global comparative law practises in Western Legal system services procurement spending is of growing interest to buying organizations. No given the current situation the transparency is something which can be compromised an hence partiality of BBB is in question. Most large organizations claim to have Global comparative law practises in Western Legal system services spending under management, but, in terms of robust governance, most merely have a collection of incomplete or insufficient solutions in place. The issue is a chicken-and-egg problem. Accounting system purchasing modules and catalog-based e-procurement solutions provide little support for Global comparative law practises in Western Legal system services spending, and most procurement teams are unaware that there are specialized Global comparative law practises in Western Legal system services procurement solutions. Solutions and best practices for automating direct materials and catalog items are readily available, so procurement teams focus on these work streams first. General ethics through the judgment and actions of people are somewhat fuzzy. Everyone's frame of reference is slightly different, so everyone makes slightly different judgment calls, which are often based on implicit considerations. Although not very reliable on a case-by-case basis, it works out in the larger scheme of things (being fully respectful to any personal impact). One border security officer doing an extra pat-down based on a profile of how someone looks is a nuisance, but with limited exposure. One soldier killing a civilian accidentally is a tragedy, but will not be repeated endlessly. Individual questionable decisions often have a limited reach, and limited consequences. In fact, the different frames of reference mean that ethics evolve based on (hopefully) continuous discussion. The evolution is slow but reliable because of the many points of view that average each other out. Throughout the history of philosophy, many influential philosophers have created or contributed to ethical systems sometimes flat-out contradicting each other, sometimes building on each other. Because there is no single set of rules or principles, you should study the basics of ethical theory in order to understand your own often implicit thinking, as well as to understand the positions that others take. This will help you to take a stand in digital ethics yourself, as guidance in your decision making. Consider this short summary of useful ethical theories for further study: Utilitarianism aims to create the maximum amount of good for the greatest number of people. It focuses on results and consequences of actions more than on rules and intentions. Duty ethics takes an opposite approach and determines and examines rules that people should follow as an obligation to others and to society. The framework of the ethical decision making process in business consists of four factors; namely, Ethical Issue Intensity, Individual Factors, Organizational Factors and These four factors together define and influence the intentions which make a person decide on his/her ethical unethical behavior. Because business practices affect everything from the global economy to the state of the environment, business ethics have never been so widely analyzed, questioned, debated, and reported as they are today. Business ethics relate both to the conduct of organizations as a whole and to the individuals within those organizations. The media has played a significant role in revealing ethical violations committed by both large and small companies over the years, but governments and public initiatives are expected to play the largest roles in combating unethical practices. The framework of social responsibility or the four steps of social responsibility are: Philanthropic: The first step of social responsibility talks about sharing organizations wealth and achievements with society by plough it back in the welfare of society. PETCO has established PETCO foundation to fund establishment of educational and charitable institutes. This foundation has risen over $49 million donation, and supports more than 10,000 animal welfare agencies, since its inception in 1999. Ethical: PETCO has been following ethical issues with grace and dignity. In 2000 and 2005, PETA accused PETCO of being uncaring and cruel towards the pets in their custody. The issue was primarily concerned with the health of large birds. Resolving the issue ethically, PETCO agreed to the terms of PETA and stopped selling large birds and rather began its Think Adoption First campaign to provide shelter to homeless birds of all sizes. Thus, though PETCO is philanthropic and ethical yet it needs to put more efforts in being legally more sound and answerable. In most cultures, the boundaries between right and wrong are established at an early age. We're taught not to lie or steal, to respect other people and their property, and conduct ourselves appropriately. Yet the person who would never dream of stealing merchandise from a retail store might not even think twice about copying a computer game found online. Why the disconnect? Over the past hundred years, the main areas of concern in terms of ethical conduct of organizations have included fair and humane treatment of workers, respect for the environment, honesty in financial reporting, and product safety. As Europe and the United States industrialized rapidly beginning in the middle of the nineteenth century, men, women, and children flocked to growing cities hoping for better futures. They often found, however, that they had traded the hard labor of agricultural life for even more dangerous and difficult labor. The urban poor in England, including very young children, worked in factories and mines for up to 16 hours a day and were often badly mistreated by supervisors. The British government intervened with a series of laws in the mid-nineteenth century, including the 1842 Mines Act, which made it illegal for women and children to work in underground mines; the 1850 Factory Act, which limited working hours for women and children; and the 1878 Factory and Workshop Act, which established rules for government inspection of factories. Conditions in factories in the U.S. were similarly poor. In 1906, American journalist and novelist Upton Sinclair published his groundbreaking bookThe Jung le, an expos of worker exploitation and unsanitary conditions in the meatpacking industry in Chicago. This widely read book horrified the public and resulted in the passage of the Meat Inspection Act and the Pure Food and Drug Act in 1906; the latter ultimately led to the creation of the Food and Drug Administration. The environmental movement was born with the publication of Rachel Carson's 1962 bookSilent Spring, which accused the chemical industry of poisoning the environment with pesticides. Businesses around the world found themselves under public and governmental pressure to adopt environmentally friendly practices. Companies that engaged unrepentantly in actions harmful to the environment risked public condemnation and serious financial consequences. In the 1970s, Japan passed some of the most stringent antipollution laws in the world, making polluters liable to their "victims" under civil law. Throughout the 1980s and 1990s, various oil-related environmental disasters and scandals sparked public outrage, lawsuits, and boycotts around the world. In 2003, Freeport McMoran, a major copper and gold producer, became embroiled in an international scandal over its mining operations in Indonesia. Critics accused Freeport McMoran of bribing government officials, sanctioning numerous human rights a buses, and causing massive environmental damage. Questions about Freeport McMoran's ethics were serious enough to prompt the managers of the government pension fund of Norwaybelieved to be the largest in the worldto divest from Freeport McMoran. Conclusion Business ethics includes both corporate actions and those of individuals within a corporation. In order to ensure the acceptable behavior of employees, many companies develop and distribute codes of ethics to their staff. During the 1980s and 1990s, as women entered the workplace in increasing numbers, many companies scrambled to implement and enforce appropriate policies forbidding sexual harassment, generally defined as unwanted sexual advances by a supervisor toward an employee. In the United States, sexual harassment is considered a form of sexual discrimination, which is illegal under the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Many larger U.S. companies enforce strict sexual harassment standards and require their supervisors to go through specific training to heighten their awareness of actions, both subtle and overt, that might be regarded as harassment. Many other nations have adopted laws specifically addressing sexual harassment, although definitions vary from country to country. In Indi a, for example, any unwelcome sexual gesturewhether verbal, nonverbal, or physicalis forbidden. In Russia, sexual harassment is more narrowly construed as direct pressure or intimidation by a superior seeking sexual contact with an employee. References For Love or Money? Global comparative law Business Models in the UK Supermarket Sector Author(s): Sally SmithSource: Journal of Business Ethics, Vol. 92, Supplement 2: GLOBAL COMPARATIVE LAW IN DIFFERENTNATIONAL CONTEXT (2010), pp. 257-266 Sustainable Development Sust. Dev. 13, 190198 (2005) Published online in Wiley InterScience (www.interscience.wiley.com). DOI: 10.1002/sd.277 Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (2002). Report to the Senate on Prices Paid to Suppliers in the Australian Grocery Industry. ACCC, Canberra. Cotterill, R.W. (2006). Antitrust analysis of supermarkets: global concerns playing out in local markets, The Australian Journal of Agricultural and Resource Economics 50, 1732. Evans, S. (2005). Retail giants hit local growth limits, Australian Financial Review , 24 May, 22. A toothless chihuahua? The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission, neoliberalism and supermarket power in Australia CAROL RICHARDS, GEOFFREY LAWRENCE, MARK LOONG AND DAVID BURCH University of Queensland, Brisbane, QLD, Australia Informa Ltd Registered in England and Wales Registered Number: 1072954 Registered office: Mortimer House, 37-41 Mortimer Street, London W1T 3JH, UK For Love or Money? Global comparative law Business Models in the UK Supermarket Sector Author(s): Sally SmithSource: Journal of Business Ethics, Vol. 92, Supplement 2: GLOBAL COMPARATIVE LAW IN DIFFERENTNATIONAL CONTEXT (2010), pp. 257-266 Sustainable Development Sust. Dev. 13, 190198 (2005) Published online in Wiley InterScience (www.interscience.wiley.com). DOI: 10.1002/sd.277 Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (2002). Report to the Senate on Prices Paid to Suppliers in the Australian Grocery Industry. ACCC, Canberra. Cotterill, R.W. (2006). Antitrust analysis of supermarkets: global concerns playing out in local markets, The Australian Journal of Agricultural and Resource Economics 50, 1732. Evans, S. (2005). Retail giants hit local growth limits, Australian Financial Review , 24 May, 22. A toothless chihuahua? The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission, neoliberalism and supermarket power in Australia CAROL RICHARDS, GEOFFREY LAWRENCE, MARK LOONG AND DAVID BURCH University of Queensland, Brisbane, QLD, Australia Informa Ltd Registered in England and Wales Registered Number: 1072954 Registered office: Mortimer House, 37-41 Mortimer Street, London W1T 3JH, UK For Love or Money? Global comparative law Business Models in the UK Supermarket Sector Author(s): Sally SmithSource: Journal of Business Ethics, Vol. 92, Supplement 2: GLOBAL COMPARATIVE LAW IN DIFFERENTNATIONAL CONTEXT (2010), pp. 257-266 Sustainable Development Sust. Dev. 13, 190198 (2005) Published online in Wiley InterScience (www.interscience.wiley.com). DOI: 10.1002/sd.277 Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (2002). Report to the Senate on Prices Paid to Suppliers in the Australian Grocery Industry. ACCC, Canberra. Cotterill, R.W. (2006). Antitrust analysis of supermarkets: global concerns playing out in local markets, The Australian Journal of Agricultural and Resource Economics 50, 1732. Evans, S. (2005). Retail giants hit local growth limits, Australian Financial Review , 24 May, 22. A toothless chihuahua? The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission, neoliberalism and supermarket power in Australia CAROL RICHARDS, GEOFFREY LAWRENCE, MARK LOONG AND DAVID BURCH University of Queensland, Brisbane, QLD, Australia Informa Ltd Registered in England and Wales Registered Number: 1072954 Registered office: Mortimer House, 37-41 Mortimer Street, London W1T 3JH, UK

Saturday, November 30, 2019

Research Proposal Global Warming and Western United States Wildfires Essay Example

Research Proposal: Global Warming and Western United States Wildfires Essay Over the recent years wildfires have been rampant phenomena in the Western United States of America. One thing as been noted about the trends of the wildfires, that they are more intensive during the hotter seasons, when the spring temperatures come earlier and the summer temperatures get hotter. The purpose of this research paper is to conduct a study that will provide data showing the link between increase in temperature due to global warming and the occurrence of climate driven fires. The paper will provide scientifically-backed evidence from books, renowned journals, and other reliable sources to show that the increase in wildfires in the Western United States is as a result of global warming. Statement of the Problem or Research Questions(s) In order to provide a factually backed argument that will support the purpose statement the study will seek to answer a number of questions that includes; Are wildfires considered a natural disaster or are they a product of man made disasters? How do the yearly snowmelts affect seasonal wildfires? Data observation of seasonal temperature changes, what is the scientific link between changing and the frequency and intensity of wildfires? What are the significant changes that make conditions favorable for wildfires? What models of predictions exist that causes conditions for wildfires? What are the economical losses due to the wildfires? How has the wildfires affected the environment and are there a negative or a positive effect on the ecosystems? In order to provide an argument that can be defended, sufficient data will be collected that will be comprised of vital information about the research studies used such as the duration of time covered by the data collected, methods used in ana lyzing the data, and findings. We will write a custom essay sample on Research Proposal: Global Warming and Western United States Wildfires specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now We will write a custom essay sample on Research Proposal: Global Warming and Western United States Wildfires specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer We will write a custom essay sample on Research Proposal: Global Warming and Western United States Wildfires specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer Theoretical Framework Theoretically, this paper will oscillate within the boundaries of the theory of Complex Self-organizing Systems. According to the theory, things do not happen on their own, they happen because someone or something has made them to happen. This is an indicator of a reflection of a fantasy of power over life and the world. The theory holds that most systems consist of interacting parts and behavior of the system as a whole, and that no part controls the whole or even another part.   Such systems are referred to as â€Å"Self-organizing† and the behavior of the components referred to as â€Å"emergent.† [Lemke (n.d.)] Similarly, this research study’s hypothesis holds that wildfires do not just occur as a result of dropping of flammable materials in the forests but they occur as a result of global warming. Hypothesis (Statements of the Hypothesis) Wildfires may be caused by both manmade and natural factors. For instance, man can accidentally start a fire by unknowingly throwing flammable objects on dead and dry trees and shrubs, the work of arsonists is also another manmade activity. On the other hand natural factors such as lightening and global warming have been noted to contribute immensely in the increase of the frequency of wildfires. For purposes of this paper’s research study scope, a narrowed down approach will be adopted, that: global warming will be discussed as the main factor behind the frequent wildfires in the Western United States of America. Sufficient evidence shows that, global warming that brings about extreme climatic changes is the cause for wildfires that have been on the increase in the Western region of the United States. According to Running, (2006), the escalation of wildfire activity in the western United States is directly linked to the increase in temperatures (global warming). He contends t hat â€Å"Higher temperatures and earlier snowmelts are extending the wildfire season and increasing the intensity of wildfires in the Western United States.† (pp. 927-928) Significance of the Study Natural hazards cause hundreds of deaths and cost billions in disaster aid, disruption of commerce and trade, destruction of homes and critical infrastructure.   Wildfires are an example of such growing natural hazards that poses a threat to life and property. Despite themselves causing numerous deaths and loss of property directly, they are indirectly equally disastrous, in that, they increase the potential for flooding and landslides. The smoke and other gaseous emissions that emanate from wildfires contain pollutants that can cause significant health problems. The more the emission of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere the more the increase of the risk of wildfires occurrences. It is hoped that the study’s findings and recommendations will help impart the much needed knowledge about the causes of the wildfires that have been a menace to in the western United States. This knowledge will help to clear some notions that people may have been holding in regards to the causes of wildfires. More importantly, if people acquire the knowledge on the causes of the wildfires then they will definitely put measures in place for fighting them. For instance, it is known that the United States of America is one of the greatest emitters of green house gases into the atmosphere which end up contributing to global warming; therefore this will be used as a good reason for need to enact policies that will restrict the emission of the greenhouse gases. Research Design and Methods The nature of this research study demands for an approach that will employ theoretical knowledge proposing a generalization between the two key variables.   This approach will enable the researcher to take an objective position to treat the phenomena hard and real. In light of this, then the most appropriate approach for the study is quantitative approach. This approach will allow for the use of empirical evidence gathered from other related studies and attempt to test hypotheses or statements in regards to this evidence with view to making a generalization between the key variables. Further, this approach involves the measuring, counting, collecting and analyzing of numerical data and application of statistical tests to the collected data. Research Design and Instrumentation Definition of key Variables Wildfires: According to Blaikie et al, hazards such as hurricanes, typhoons, earthquakes, tsunamis, volcanic explosions, flooding, wildfires must interact with social systems and human vulnerability to qualify the status of â€Å"disasters†. The definition of a natural disaster is pegged on the hazard-vulnerability interaction. This is to say that a natural hazard will never result into a natural disaster if it occurs in areas without vulnerability e.g. strong earthquakes happening in uninhabited lands. However, the most sensitive issue is establishing the cause of disasters. For instance, whereas some disasters are directly caused by mans activities others are caused by natural factors such as global warming, lightening, earthquake, etc. Wildfires for instance, are an example of natural disasters that are mainly caused by changes in climatic conditions. A wildfire, also known as, forest fire, vegetation fire, or bush fire, is an uncontrolled fire in wild land that are caused by both man activities and natural factors such as global warming and lightening. A fire requires three basic things to burn: fuel, oxygen, and heat. In the case of wildfires the fuel is trees, shrubs, and grasses, especially those that are dead and dry. The air in our atmosphere which is made up of 21% of oxygen, supplies the oxygen that the wildfires needs to burn. On the other hand, the high temperatures supply heat. [Blaikie et al (2003)] Global Warming: Global warming is the increase in the average temperatures of the earth near-surface air and the oceans since the mid-twentieth century and its projected continuation. It is believed that the major cause of global warming is the excess emission of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere. This causes the depletion of the ozone layer which protects the excess penetration of strong radiations from the sun. A slight increase in global temperatures can cause ice sheets to melt, rivers to dry, deserts to encroach, trees to dry and shed leaves, and other forms of desert like situations. There exists sufficient researched evidence that indicates that these desert-like situations are responsible for the increase in the frequency of wildfires. [Climate Change (2007)] Research Study Sources This research study involves two variables (global warming: independent and wildfires: dependent) which are directly linked to one another. In order to investigate the interrelation between these two variables, findings of various articles that describe research studies carried out by other researchers on the issue will be studied. This paper will utilize findings from reliable research studies only. In ‘reliable research studies’ it is referred to those studies whose findings were published in reputable journals, have been peer reviewed, or were presented in global meetings on climate as compiled reports. Only those articles that are published in journals such as Science Express, Climate Change, National Wildlife, and PNAS will be utilized. Each article’s findings and other relevant data will be treated independently in order to have an independent comparison at the end of the study that will lead to. There are many articles that discusses the issue of wildfires as a natural hazard caused by natural factors such as lightening, however, in order to offer tangible support to the study’s purpose statement and hypothesis, major emphasis will be put on those articles that discusses global warming as the core factor to the increase in wildfires on the Western United States (as the purpose statement boldly states). Sampling Procedures The research study will not involve the visiting of sites where wildfires have been experienced as there is enough empirical information in journal articles, books and other publications that discusses more about wildfires. However, only empirical evidence that supports this research study purpose statement will be sampled. Justification of Case Studies Selected In this study a total of six research studies carried during different times by different researchers will be used as the primary sources of information. The selection of the case studies was based on the fact that they dedicate a larger part of their finding in acknowledging that global warming is the main causal agent of wildfires. Again, they are all peer reviewed journal articles which published in renowned journals or were presented to national or international climatic change forums. The case studies are: Running’s (2006) Climate Change: Is Global Warming causing More, Larger Wildfires, published in Science Express journal; Tolme’s, (2004) Will Global Warming Cause More Wildfires? Published in National Wildlife journal; Marlon’s (2009), Wildfires responses to abrupt climate change in North America. Published by PNAS; Westerling et al (2006) Warming and earlier spring increase western U.S. Forest fire activity, published in Science Express Journal; Fried et al (2004) The Impact of Climatic Change on Wildfire Severity: A Regional Forecast for Northern California, published in Climate Change journal, and; Kitzberger et al (2007) Contingent Pacific-Atlantic Ocean influence on Multi-Century Wildfire Synchrony Over Western North America, published in PNAS. Data Analysis Data collected from the findings of the case study will be subjected to content analysis. This method of data analysis suits the nature of this study and the nature of the resource materials used in the study. The approach allows for the scrutinizing at documents, text and speech and takes only the major themes of such texts. It is theory driven (i.e., what the researcher is interested in).The method will involve the reading of the whole research studies and then more emphasis will be put on those areas of the study that talks about the theme of this study. After that the collected empirical data will be subjected to further analysis in order to point out unique aspects of every research study that are related to this study’s hypothesis. These unique aspects will then be compiled together to form a strong claim that can support the purpose statement of this study. Big chunks of information will be tackled first then the small chunks will follow afterwards to avoid duplication of efforts.

Tuesday, November 26, 2019

An Analysis on Religion, Healing and Death Essays

An Analysis on Religion, Healing and Death Essays An Analysis on Religion, Healing and Death Paper An Analysis on Religion, Healing and Death Paper The attitudes of religion are more towards health and methods to gain health after the individual are sick. When death takes place, the question of ever gaining health is over, and in that respect, death has put an end to all religion. On the other side, when a man regains his or her health, the religious practices are recalled and it is said that they have succeeded in gaining health back for the man, and then death just has to walk away from the scene. Analysis: Let us look at the way different religions look at the essential requirements for regaining health. Starting with Judaism, we know that there are three groups among them Orthodox, Conservative and Reform. The differences among the sects depend on their strictness of adherence to ancient laws and practices. The first point is that among all Jews, there will be attention paid to a sick person and family members will ensure that someone stays with the patient. In general, Jews are very interested in diagnosis, treatment and personal care for the patient and thus health is though to be very important by them. At the same time, they observe certain restrictions and these are like not accepting surgery or medical procedures on Sabbath or holy days which begins at sunset on Fridays and ends at sunset of Saturdays; some Jews of the orthodox group will not touch money, will not sit down to write, make use of electrical appliances like hospital bed controls, elevators, call buttons, automatic door openers, cars, light switches, etc; most also fast on Yom Kippur, bit it can be explained that fasting is not required on Yom Kippur for sick people; and shaving of facial hair is also not done by the orthodox group. (Multicultural Health Generalizations) Thus it is clear that along with regaining their health, a Jew would still like to observe certain religious matters. However all this observance will naturally end when death would arrive. If on the other hand, with health, all this will be felt to have contributed to the recovery from sickness, and thus healing will convince that death is not essential. Looking at Buddhists, they think of good health as a balanced interaction between the mind and body as also life and environment. When the balance is lost, according to Buddhists, sickness comes, and the efforts of their theory and practice are to restore the balance. When there is a treatment of any illness, Buddhism does not avoid the available modern medicines along with its array of diagnostic and therapeutic methods. Their explanation is that these can be best used for treatment of all illness, while at the same time; there is a requirement for a deeper understanding of the inner and subjective procedures in life. Thus one can say that the central attitude is a stress on spiritual strength along with a feeling of the requirement of a sense of purpose in life and this is best achieved through compassion for others. The science of medicine does not accept that these have anything to do with recovery from sickness, but according to the religion, these help individuals to recover from difficulties that one faces due to sickness and also provides a chance for developing personal qualities during the period of sickness. (Multicultural Health Generalizations) We know that this is also an old religion; the effects here stress more on the mind than on physical actions. It is also known that about half of our diseases occur from the mind, so in certain cases, these attitudes can help. On the next item is the attitudes of believers in Islam, and one of the oldest practitioners of that religion are the Arabs. Their attitude is a lack of patience and even on the first visit a patient may expect to receive medication and immediate relief of pain. If they are not given medication or asked for laboratory tests, they may need an explanation. When the patients are suffering from mental distress they would not describe the matter fully but give only vague explanations. Often they would like somatic treatment as leaving a patient in a hospital is viewed as abandonment. The sense of their privacy is high and they do not like to provide any detailed information about themselves, and this is worse with women who do not like to talk about their private lives, but are easier when they talk with female doctors. (Multicultural Health Generalizations) It is clear here that the attitude to sickness comes from the area of origin rather than any specific religious taboo. This is clearer when we see the attitude of Hindus and they are ready to accept sickness without any feeling of guilt, and the entire family is ready to assist and they relieve the individual of responsibilities for that period. At the same time, they have strong family relationships and this stops them from using long term facilities. Since the religion involves a lot of stoicism, the exhibition of pain is low and it is also felt that pain is due to the wrath of God. This gives them the concept that pain has to be endured with endurance, and thus to really understand the real amount of pain, the treatment has to be carried out based on direct examination. There is also a high practice of self medication and these cover up the symptoms of the disease till health conditions deteriorate and make treatment more difficult. The providers of healthcare are viewed as elders in the family and though the general attitude is fatalistic, the details are generally stated. (Multicultural Health Generalizations) Here again there is a certain amount of acceptance of death being an inevitable conclusion, yet when the person regains health, there is a feeling of happiness. In a way, regaining of health puts death a couple of notches down. Getting back to Western beliefs, death is not faced up to. There is a general tendency to hide the fact of death from ourselves and children. No one likes to tell children how items like fried chicken, hamburgers and bacon are made. When the family has an old dog, it is put to sleep, and not put to death. This makes death a very difficult experience, though it will come to everybody. We try to have the funeral homes turn the occasion into one of reunion of family and its friends. The event is not given any religious colors, and this concept is also passed on to children. There are many religious stories where even virtuous people are called home with the meaning that they die. (Aging and Death in Folklore) To a certain extent this is different from the attitudes of the Chinese who feel that healthcare providers are authority. It is their duty to decide on the methods and types of treatment, it is the duty of the family to ensure that it is carried out. Even when they do not agree with the doctors decision, they generally do not argue, but just do not follow the instructions. The main reason for this is that they feel when the medical provider is contradicted, the person will lose face. In general when Western practices are carried out, they do not like the pain of treatment and direct invasive nature. (Multicultural Health Generalizations) Yet, they also come for treatment with the expectation of regaining health, and when death loses out, it loses face. Some sections among Christians like Jehovahs Witnesses do not accept blood transfusions and always ask for alternative forms of treatment. They carry with them a durable power of attorney for heath care document that clearly states their choice and wishes. Regarding even auto-transfusion techniques like hemo-dilution and cell salvage are decided by individuals. (Multicultural Health Generalizations) Their attitude towards accepting blood is difficult and often causes a lot of difficulties in their treatment. On the other hand they believe a lot on prayer, and some say that it helps in healing. In spite of all the claims, there have been no cases where this has reached a level of confidence to show that a real effect is being seen. Many of such studies have been affected due to defects in their organization and the results have been stated to be due to the bias of the researcher or the subject. Independent studies have only shown that prayer neither helps nor hurts healing. (Effectiveness of personal prayers: Used in addition to medical treatment) This shows to an extent that religion probably does not have a role to play in the process, yet when healing takes place, it is an occasion of joy. At the same time, in many instances, it has been seen that the religions of the world have caused a lot of violence, and are causing it even today. At the same time, individuals feel very secure within the realms of their religion, and when any threats are seen to it, they take up the matter as an affront to the group. (A Look at the Future) These cause more deaths and resultant unhappiness. Death is the ultimate form of lack of health and such wars stop us from putting death in its place using the weapon of health. Conclusion: While death is inevitable for all of us, and one of the promises of religion is that the particular religion will lead us to a place of everlasting happiness if we follow the religion, it should not be the cause of death, as that will harm our existence in this world which requires health. Bibliography : Ashliman, D. L.  Aging and Death in Folklore. Retrieved from pitt. edu/~dash/aging. html Accessed 9 December, 2005 Effectiveness of personal prayers: Used in addition to medical treatment. Retrieved from religioustolerance. org/medical4. htm Accessed 9 December, 2005 Keating, Thomas. A Look at the Future. Retrieved from centeringprayer. com/better/better07. htm Accessed 9 December, 2005 Multicultural Health Generalizations. Retrieved from med. umich. edu/multicultural/ccp/bmhg. htm Accessed 9 December, 2005a

Friday, November 22, 2019

Quotes From The Stranger by Albert Camus

Quotes From The Stranger by Albert Camus The Stranger is a famous novel by Albert Camus, who wrote about existential themes. The story is a first-person narrative, through the eyes of Meursault, an Algerian. Here are a few quotes from The Stranger, separated by chapter. Part 1, Chapter 1 Maman died today. Or yesterday maybe, I dont know. I got a telegram from the home: Mother deceased. Funeral tomorrow. Faithfully yours. That doesnt mean anything. Maybe it was yesterday. It had been a long time since Id been out in the country, and I could feel how much Id enjoy going for a walk if it hadnt been for Maman. Part 1, Chapter 2 It occurred to me that anyway one more Sunday was over that Maman was buried now, that I was going back to work, and that, really, nothing had changed. Part 1, Chapter 3 He asked if I thought she was cheating on him, and it seemed to me she was; if I thought she should be punished and what I would do in his place, and I said you cant ever be sure, but I understood his wanting to punish her. I got up. Raymond gave me a very firm handshake and said that men always understand each other. I left his room, closing the door behind me, and paused for a minute in the dark, on the landing. The house was quiet, and a breath of dark, dank air wafted p from deep in the stairwell. All I could hear was the blood pounding in my ears. I stood there, motionless. Part 1, Chapter 4 She was wearing a pair of my pajamas with the sleeves rolled up. When she laughed I wanted her again. A minute later she asked me if I loved her. I told her it didnt mean anything but that I didnt think so. She looked sad. But as we were fixing lunch, and for no apparent reason, she laughed in such a way that I kissed her. Part 1, Chapter 5 I would rather not have upset him, but I couldnt see any reason to change my life. Looking back on it, I wasnt unhappy. When I was a student, I had lots of ambitions like that. But when I had to give up my studies I learned very quickly that none of it really mattered. Part 1, Chapter 6 For the first time maybe, I really thought I was going to get married. Part 2, Chapter 2 At that time, I often thought that if I had had to live in the trunk of a dead tree, with nothing to do but look up at the sky flowing overhead, little by little I would have gotten used to it. Part 2, Chapter 3 For the first time in years, I had this stupid urge to cry, because I could feel how much all these people hated me. I had this stupid urge to cry, because I could feel how much all these people hated me. The spectators laughed. And my lawyer, rolling up one of his sleeves, said with finality, Here we have a perfect reflection of this entire trial: everything is true and nothing is true! They had before them the basest of crimes, a crime made worse than sordid by the fact that they were dealing with a monster, a man without morals. Part 2, Chapter 4 But all the long speeches, all the interminable days and hours that people had spent talking about my soul, had left me with the impression of a colorless swirling river that was making me dizzy. I was assailed by memories of a life that wasnt mine anymore, but one in which Id found the simplest and most lasting joys. He wanted to talk to me about God again, but I went up to him and made one last attempt to explain to him that I only had a little time left and I didnt want to waste it on God.

Wednesday, November 20, 2019

Course Project Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words - 1

Course Project - Essay Example When demand and supply situation in a country is unfavorable to the employers, they would prefer to compromise and give training to the available personnel rather than spend time and resources in search of ‘ideal match’, to avoid production loss. Gronau stated: â€Å"Since the length of service is directly related to the level of unemployment, one would expect wage demands (and hence the change in general wage rate) and unemployment to be inversely related† (290). If the pace of economic growth is robust, the increase in demand mitigates the effects of frictional unemployment in general. Development of transferable skills by a person could ensure transfers within the same company to other departments or make change of job easier and counseling facilities need to be strengthened. Uniformity in dissemination of information with regard to the jobs available, the attributes necessary and the experience required in relation to them is very important for proper understa nding in identifying the appropriate opportunities without any difficulty. Though the standardization could not be achieved completely in this respect in view of multiplicity of disciplines, grades and specialization, common parameters relating to jobs in a particular category acceptable to most of the employers or industry associations and understandable by majority of the workers would improve the situation considerably. In most of the cases relocation choices are not fully explored both by the employers or employees to the disadvantage of both. Moving cost to the employee and recruitment and training cost to the employer play an important role in making strategic management decisions. If the views of the employer and employee converge in this respect, solution could be reached easily. Diamond stated that â€Å"[t]he rate at which workers are offered jobs with different moving costs depends on the decisions of other workers as to which

Tuesday, November 19, 2019

Environmental Scan Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Environmental Scan - Assignment Example The program is solely responsible for health services and training opportunities, along with valuable educational programs. Regina Food Bank has been sustaining its operations from past many years. However external forces tend to affect operations of this charitable organization. There are four major forces in external environment as per PEST model such as political, economic, social and technological forces. This project has been incorporated in Regina located in Canada. Political power is in favor of Regina Food Bank. Its main aim is to eradicate any form of hunger issues from the country. The government had recently announced a lump sum amount to be donated to Regina Food Bank. This kind of investment would be done in terms of capacity building in community and voluntary sector. Political conditions at times are not stable due to frequent elections and this in turn proves to be a threat for charitable organizations. Economic factors mainly comprise of effect of recession on charitable organization. This encompasses various phenomenons like lower income of donor, increased service demand and stiff competition in context of declining funds of government. Job security is a vital issue for donors and this affects operations of charitable organizations. When disposable income is low then it negatively affects donation habits of individuals. Reduction in interest rates is good for businesses and home-owners but it has adversely affected charities. Market volatility reduced overall income from investments and reserves for many firms. The charities usually are dependent on investment factor. This kind of dependency will be influential since larger portfolio portion is held in shares. Market volatility also plays a major role for charities in context of pension funds. Pension funds are usually bounded within equities and hence declination in stock value creates large deficits. Financial instability and low interest

Saturday, November 16, 2019

I Will Survive Essay Example for Free

I Will Survive Essay Since I was young I was told not to ever judge a book by its cover, up until a few weeks ago I believed this was complete bull but a series of uncanny events insisted on changing my mind. This chain of unforeseeable circumstanced began a few weeks ago where . . . The sounds of keyboards was almost deafening, the constant click blurred into a humming drone which one could debatably compare to the fog horn of a light house warning helpless ships away from there watery grave. I stare a little dazed but unfazed by the bright light of the computer screen, flashing uncountable numbers and words which I’m supposes to make some kind of sense of if I am to continue with this curse most people call being an accountant. I feel some what contained in this shit tip excuse of a cubical, but to be honest the only thing caging me is the confines of my on reality. Closing my eyes I open them to this dark fantasy of a world plagued with zombies which are swiftly breaking down and tearing apart the countries of the world. But then a unexpected hero named Lorry strives to find a cure and against all odds saves the human race from absolute extinction. â€Å"Lawrence order these files and crunch these number by the end of the day or your fired! † Just so where clear my names Lawrence but my friends call my Lorry, okay no one calls me Lorry, I don’t have any friends, or family for that matter. I live alone in this crumby apartment building in room 147. To be fair I get it on good rent but I think that because someone got murdered here. I try to be optimistic about it an say its just a rumour but between you and me the smell of death still lingers. You could say I’m just your usual nerdy 19 year old boy who loves his movies and video games and especially zombies. I mean zombies and I go together like peanut butter and jelly like a hero and his side kick, I love zombies. I often wish for a world in strife due to an out break of zombies where I save the world and get the girl, okay I may have prayed to god once or twice for that. It’s a little funny when you wish for something and at the time it sounds like such a good idea. Lawrence order these files and crunch these number by the end of the day or your fired! † said the floor manager with a high pitch squeal piercing the flow of my train of thought. â€Å"Righteo will do† I said back with a smile as fake as fairy tales. I began to digress as soon as the managers eyes were off my back, surfing websites until something very captivating caught my eye. A breaking news bulletin streaming live showed footage which looked like the street in front of the building, I mean facade looks identical but that wasn’t the most alarming part. Apparently they were reporting an incident about a man who tackled another individual to the ground and started to devour another man living body and I quote â€Å"tearing flesh from bone with nothing but his teeth. † That’s when my semi attractive but still way out of my league co-worker Jazz leaned over, â€Å"ahhh your always looking at zombies you freak. † All though Jazz was a complete mess and frankly a female dog I had an odd some what mercurial attraction to her. I mean I’m not one of those superficial shallow guys . . . Okay I’m tend to take what I can get. As these thoughts raced through my mind at million miles an hour suddenly it hit me â€Å"Zombies! The people on the news their zombies† I nervously said as my voice broke multiple times. â€Å"what? I was joking† Jazz naively replied. â€Å"Are you even watching what I am watching? We have to get out of here! † It was at that moment the sound of shattering glass filled the room followed quickly by melody of foot steps thunderously increasing in speed and sound, mirroring my heart almost beating out of my chest. I watched as this man who looked drunk, uncontrollably sprint towards Jazz, teeth gnashing finger nails gashing at thin air. I could see the blood lust in his eyes. Now it was like time stood still, screams seemed to become silent but my other sense seemed to heighten. I noticed a foul stench so thick in the air you could cut it with a butter knife. Through the chaos and the haze, something deep down with in began to stir. A hero was being born. With out hesitation or mare thought I pulled the pen from my shirt pocket bounded over the desk. I held my pen like a blade an with all my strength I trusted pen into the temple of the crazed man right before Jazz’s eyes.

Thursday, November 14, 2019

Reaction to Mean Streets ::

Reaction Paper to Mean Streets Mean Streets' greatest influence in American cinema was not on directors or scriptwriters (though its influence there was considerable) but rather on actors. The film has Harvey Keitel (as Charlie) at its center, whose solidity and slight dullness as an actor keeps the film from spinning off into total anarchy; but it is Robert De Niro's Johnny Boy (Charlie's wild, self-destructive friend whom he looks out for with all the obsessiveness of an older brother) that gives the film its charge. Johnny Boy dances and gyrates and leaps and spins about the edges of the film, continually threatening to take it into and out of chaos (which he finally does). De Niro's performance, which remains as hilarious and breath-taking as ever - was a revelation at the time. De Niro took naturalistic, "method" acting to new highs, and his Johnny Boy is possibly the very first performance of its kind. It's a genuine portrayal of a street punk whose charm and obnoxiousness are almost uncannily intertwined - you can't despise Johnny Boy, but you can't respect him much, either. You just have to love him. It's easy enough to imagine Charlie's frustration over this kid - De Niro's work here adds depth and veracity to Keitel's, and the two actors work so well together that some of their scenes ? like the one they have together in Taxi Driver - have an almost hallucinatory buzz to them. Aside from its acting, the other major influence which Mean Streets had upon American film-makers was through it's use of a rock n' roll soundtrack (almost perfectly integrated with the images), and in its depiction of a new kind of screen violence. Unexpected, volatile, explosive and wholly senseless, yet, for all that, undeniably cinematic violence. The way in which Scorsese blends these two - the rock and roll and the violence - shows that he understood instinctively, better than anyone else until then, that cinema (or at least this kind of cinema, the kinetic, visceral kind) and rock n' roll are both expressions of revolutionary instincts, and that they are as inherently destructive as they are creative. This simple device - brutal outbreaks of violence combined with an upbeat soundtrack - has been taken up by both the mainstream cinema at large and by many individual `auteurs', all of whom are in Scorsese's debt - Stone and Tarantino coming at once to mind. Reaction to Mean Streets :: Reaction Paper to Mean Streets Mean Streets' greatest influence in American cinema was not on directors or scriptwriters (though its influence there was considerable) but rather on actors. The film has Harvey Keitel (as Charlie) at its center, whose solidity and slight dullness as an actor keeps the film from spinning off into total anarchy; but it is Robert De Niro's Johnny Boy (Charlie's wild, self-destructive friend whom he looks out for with all the obsessiveness of an older brother) that gives the film its charge. Johnny Boy dances and gyrates and leaps and spins about the edges of the film, continually threatening to take it into and out of chaos (which he finally does). De Niro's performance, which remains as hilarious and breath-taking as ever - was a revelation at the time. De Niro took naturalistic, "method" acting to new highs, and his Johnny Boy is possibly the very first performance of its kind. It's a genuine portrayal of a street punk whose charm and obnoxiousness are almost uncannily intertwined - you can't despise Johnny Boy, but you can't respect him much, either. You just have to love him. It's easy enough to imagine Charlie's frustration over this kid - De Niro's work here adds depth and veracity to Keitel's, and the two actors work so well together that some of their scenes ? like the one they have together in Taxi Driver - have an almost hallucinatory buzz to them. Aside from its acting, the other major influence which Mean Streets had upon American film-makers was through it's use of a rock n' roll soundtrack (almost perfectly integrated with the images), and in its depiction of a new kind of screen violence. Unexpected, volatile, explosive and wholly senseless, yet, for all that, undeniably cinematic violence. The way in which Scorsese blends these two - the rock and roll and the violence - shows that he understood instinctively, better than anyone else until then, that cinema (or at least this kind of cinema, the kinetic, visceral kind) and rock n' roll are both expressions of revolutionary instincts, and that they are as inherently destructive as they are creative. This simple device - brutal outbreaks of violence combined with an upbeat soundtrack - has been taken up by both the mainstream cinema at large and by many individual `auteurs', all of whom are in Scorsese's debt - Stone and Tarantino coming at once to mind.

Monday, November 11, 2019

The Digital World

The twenty first century marked the start of a new era of technological advancements. Although technology has evolved through the ages, the new developments have certainly brought technology unto a higher pedestal, creating more and more opportunities for people all over the world. The world went back to its usual state- borderless. Communicating with people in other parts of the globe has been made easy with a simple click of the send button. The internet has also certainly provided students with other avenues to obtain information for their school work.Not only that, editing pictures, videos, music, etc. has also been possible through the different advancements developed. Years ago, we were so used to using hearing our favorite music from cassette tapes placed inside portable cassette players. But nowadays, digital music, Ipods, mp3 players, and the like have been introduced. True enough; a digital world has been created together with the coming of this millennium. Widespread Use o f Internet Appliances The introduction of internet appliances in the market is seen to be another avenue by which producers could increase their revenue (Mandelstam, D. , n. d.)According to the study made by Hambrecht’s and Quist’s Internet Group, the development and production of internet appliances shall increase in the 2000s (Pastore, M. , 1999). As a means for increasing their revenue, the producers of internet appliances have connected their products to the internet to be able to receive positive feedback, knowing how popular the internet is nowadays and of course, the fact that these appliances could be accessed even from a distance. More or less, we should be expecting more internet appliances in the near future as anything is possible in the modern times through technology (David Strom Inc., 1999).Digital Counterfeiting Digital imaging is another technological advancement brought about by the twenty-first century. The editing of pictures through a program such as Photoshop has somehow evolved to the forgery of Identification cards (csrc. nit. gov, n. d. ) as well as the faking of US dollar bills (books. nap. edu, n. d. ). Obviously, digital counterfeiting is continuously being used as another way to commit crime by those who have continuously abused the benefits being brought about by the advancements in technology (Miller, 2000).Benefits and Risks of New Wireless Technology Wireless Technology, as its name implies promises one thing: internet connection without the wires (hp. ca, n. d. ). Wi-fi enabled hotspots are seen in every part of the country, in coffee shops, malls, airports, schools, etc. allowing people to check their emails or access the internet wherever they are, thus cutting the possibility of failing to read a very important email message or failing to attend to something important.Just like mobile phones, sending messages over the World Wide Web and researching would be hassle-free and very easy. In the office setup, manag ers would have an easier time in setting up networks without moving wires (hp. ca, n. d. ). It would help in lessening the rigidity of the office environment that often leads to the raising of IT costs and reduction in productivity (hp. ca, n. d. ). In summary, wireless technology offers an efficient, effective and convenient way of accessing the internet, for companies and for individuals.Unfortunately, disadvantages come with these benefits. In a report published by BBC news (April 28, 2007), the head of the government’s committee on mobile phone safety research Professor Lawrie Challis released a statement with regard to the potential health risks that wi-fi internet could bring (bbc. co. uk). Research shows the dangers of pollutants such as lead and UV radiation when using wireless internet. In addition to this, wireless technology is constantly becoming a threat to security and privacy as well.The Ernst &Young survey showed that most companies do not have protection agai nst intrusion from third parties, seeing the wireless technology as another avenue to commit internet related crimes (Beckley, 2005). Computer Gaming One of the causes of internet addiction is internet gaming. As the gaming culture continues to arise, these games become more and more addictive because of the use of the stereotype of the game player (Cover, R. , 2006). Although internet addiction is one of the many disadvantages of computer gaming, violence is yet another negative value planted in the young minds of children (Myclopedia, 2004).The violence being taught maliciously by these computer games could affect our society as this may release the aggressive behavior within us (Harris, J. 2004). The addiction of the people in these computer games would help in further deteriorating the values which should be considered as more important such as socialization with real people. Spam and its prevention and ramifications The direct effects of spam could include the consumption of co mputer and network resources, which could again, lead to the congestion of mail servers.It is also costly for individuals who devote much of their time and attention in canceling and disregarding unwanted messages without deleting the important ones. Spam comes from different senders. One of the most common brought about by spamming then is the impossibility to disregard these kinds of messages without ignoring the valuable ones. Because of the many emails an individuals usually receive, and because most of them are spam, they tend to delete everything including those that of vital importance to them.The simplest way to avoid this problem is through filtering. Popular email hosts nowadays offer filtering as one of their services. If a certain individual receives too much mail from a certain sender, all she/he has to do is block that certain address. Thus, all email messages that would come from that particular sender would not be delivered to his/her inbox (Gnus Manual, 2003). One w ay of discouraging spammers is through charging each and every mail being sent all over the world (Boushka, 2006).Also, new filtering systems should be developed that could help in slowing down the servers of these spammers as well as helping in bouncing back spammed emails to their senders. Although the Bayesian way of filtering is considered to be the most effective way to combat SPAM (Graham, 2003), new efforts must be done in order to enhance this considering the flaws present in the system. The development of new email protocols should be given importance- protocols that would no longer be susceptible because of spam (Boushka, 2006).Electronic Surveillance and Personal Privacy Wiretapping and electronic eavesdropping has been two of the most popular methods being used in criminal investigation (Landesman, n. d. ). These new forms of technology are being placed secretly to monitor the activities of criminals, and hopefully catch them in their act (Maclin, 2007). Aside from these , new surveillance videos have been installed to monitor employees’ work in a certain company to ensure that they are doing what is expected of them, and are not committing any felonies (Sinrod, E.J. , 2001).Though these may be advantageous to some, the increase in the production of electronic surveillance poses a threat to the privacy of the people being placed under these surveillance systems. In the next five years or so, more and more electronic surveillance devices could be developed that would not be noticed by the general public but could actually monitor their personal lives (Kaplan, C. S. , 1990). Ethical Use of Computer Information from Data MiningData mining is the extraction of protected information from larger databases that definitely helps companies in their gathering of very important information (Anderson. ucla. edu, n. d. ). It is of course, very useful for the science professionals and even for the businessmen as they do get their profits from the vast amou nts of information that they obtain. Data mining tools do predict trends and behaviors that could be of great help to anyone in research. However, some businessmen take advantage of data mining and even go beyond as online marketing which is not very different from SPAM (Exa, 2002).Somehow, these profit oriented individuals have violated the ethics of data mining by advertising online, spamming the accounts of people holding email accounts, and even sending out copyrighted information (Thearling. com, n. d. ). Health Dangers of Using Computers and the Internet The computer can be seen as one of the causes of many accidents. Usually, small kids could cause fire and get badly wounded for spilling a drink on the computer. Thus, children should be taught on how to properly use the computer to avoid accidents such as this (allpctips. com, 2006).In relation with this, too much use of the computer could affect the health of its users. These health related problems, cited by the Royal Socie ty for the Prevention of Accidents are the following: Repetitive Strain Injury, Strained Eyes, Stress and the worst, Epilepsy (RoSPA, 2007). In order to prevent these, one must be able to organize his or her work properly to minimize his or her time in front of the computer. Also, users must know when to take their short breaks in order to relax themselves during long periods of being exposed to the computer (Herbert, 2006).Environmental Impact of Widespread Computing Widespread computing requires a lot of energy and somehow contributes to the pollution of the environment (Kohler and Erdmann, 2004). It is also very damaging when a certain place does not have proper waste disposal (Bolton, 2003). Widespread computing could lead to problems that could contribute to the pressing problems that our world is facing nowadays, on the account of the threats of global warming, brought about by the pollutants that harm our ozone layer.The chemicals emitted as waste from pervasive computing cou ld even add on to this problem. In the same way, the increasing consumption of energy, could be tripled just because of widespread counting (Williams and Kuehr, 2003). Internet Addiction Internet addiction ruins real-life relationship and could bring about personal, family, academic, occupational and financial problems as being too engrossed with the internet puts people in seclusion, making them more and more distant to real people (Illinos Institute for Addiction Recovery, n.d. ).The reason why most people tend to be so addicted to the internet is because they find it as an extension of their social life- through the different chat soft wares, social networks such as friendster. com and myspace. com, etc. (Grohol, J. M. , 1999). Obviously, internet addiction has been more common to the children and teenagers who are so enthusiastic towards the new world that was opened to them through the World Wide Web (bewebaware. ca, 2007).