Financial Accountants in Modern Era Essay Example for Free

Financial Accountants in Modern Era EssayProfessional comptrollerA professional accountant is an educated and experienced accountant who is responsible to take for a check on the corporations money flow. Business accountancy is one of the most sought fall out occupation in the modern day era. He works as the companys management to determine how well a company is carrying into action in terms of financial reporting. The government assesses the professional accountants reports to determine the impose owed by the company. The evaluation done by the professional accountant is of significant importance since investors and banks study them to determine if the company is worth investing or not. Accounting is a very diverse field and every psyche involved in it has a prescribed set of tasks. Some deal with financial reports such as balance sheets and income statements whereas others are more concerned with tax planning and compliance. With more practice, one is able to stupefy an expert in the field and can therefore be of great value to the owner as well as the business.An experienced Professional accountant should construe his importance to the business and be able to recognize the limitations he has to work with. He has to reap things work his way in order to make the right decisions every now and then. Its not the many easy decisions that he has to take further rather the few difficult ones that make him an expert in the field. They need to plan across-the-board and execute it without fail.Exceptional professional accountants have a interlocking of accounting contemporaries, who help them solve the situations outside their areas of expertise. Professional accountants with exceptional skills in the field of accounting pick up opportunities that are of some value to the leaf node and acts as a valuable asset for the business as well.In short, the professional accountant is the backbone of the company and a valuable asset who helps celebrate things f lowing in the right manner.Importance of professional accountants in the modern eraThe modern day world of business is dominated by globalization, it has become extremely important for organizations to grow and extend their reach beyond national boundaries. As competition is increasing and geographical limitations reducing, it is becoming more imperative for organizations to keep a stringent check on the finances being used and earned. Therefore as a result, the importance of Professional accountants is increasing proportionately.The primary line of reasoning of a professional accountant is to prepare the financial reports for the organization, analyze them and present the true picture to the people who are the chief decision makers in the company. Considering the solemnity of work involved, it is imperative that the professional accountant be someone who is experienced, versatile, of high integrity and competent enough to handle any situation that might modernize related to the financial structure of the company. The evaluation done by professional accountants is then used as a basis by banks and the investors to determine whether the company is a profitable proposition or not.A professional accountant is someone who should be able to comprehend each and every situation in the best possible manner and be able to present a clear picture to the management for better decision making. He is able to understand all the limitations as well as the strengths of the company and can therefore advice the management to make profitable decisions. His purpose is not to make money for himself only to work mutually for the betterment of the company and himself.Referencehttp//www.accountant-search.com/business-accountants.html

Time Reflection Essay Example for Free

Time Reflection EssayTime and while again, the old adage, metre is gold, is validated by experiences. Take the case of the fictional time machine. We see them in movies, a device that bothows a person to travel through time and space a machine that allows a person to skip different time dimensions. But, however amazing the concept of time machine is, it is never true. This only reinforces the conviction that time is so essential that whenever lost, can no longer be regained. With mens aim to discover this new dimension of time, technology has brought about changes that affected how people view time. This is discussed in Anwar Accawis essay entitled, The Telephone. In his essay, Accawi showed how technology changed and intruded into the timeless culture of the villagers in the village of Magdaluna. In the early times, life has been so simple. People rarely premeditation about the time. Water clocks were used to track time merely for purposes of counting the days and nights. In Anwar Accawis essay, The Telephone, it can be observed that the traditional villages were so simple that they never realized the need for such technologies as clocks and calendars to measure time. People then were contented for what they have. They merely revert time by the events natural to valet de chambre existence like birth and death.However, when the telephone was introduced, the villagers were amazed by such new device and the changes that come with it. This started all the complexities that can now be reflected in the present day societies. Time has let a commercial term instead of a natural round of golf of human existence. The measure of time has become so important that time already dictated what, how and when people should do things. With the new technology, peoples lives rotate around it. In Magdaluna, the new technology brought about occasion and the people rejoiced for how much telephone injected new values in the community. In todays American society, a typi cal American adult would complain that they do not have much time to complete the pile of work lie up for each day. One reason for this perception about the lack of time is how people view time as an integral part of human existence. How people value time and their perceived sense of time can be reflected on how they make use of such limited resource. With people kvetch of having not enough time, they have resorted to certain practices and adopted specific values in order to maximize the use of time. For example, in the work place, many employees would cull flexible time and part time work set ups. In addition, some are torn by long travels, which is time consuming (Robinson Godbey 18). almost opted to put on retirement homes aged relatives and parents and rely on care givers so that their time can be freed to do other things they believe to be more important. Moreover, time use, according to Godbeys earlier article, can be affected by new technologies. As a result, people tend to customise time by using customized products (Robinson Godbey 18). Technologies taught people to be dependent on machines and new devices just to save on what is believed as more precious time.This sense of time reveals of how people can be so insensitive and how poor family ties could be. Quantity time and quality has become a pass. With societies become more industrialized, more advanced, there has become a variety of activities that people can choose from. People tend to allocate time to aspects like work, demarcation and commerce discounting the more important human aspects like leisure quality and quantity time with family and personal relationships.Works CitedRobinson, John, and Geoffrey Godbey. Time in Our Hands around People in Industrialized Societies Feel Time-Pressured. the Problem Isnt How Much Time We Have, but Rather How We Use It. The Futurist Sept.-Oct. 2005 18+. Questia. 20 Sept. 2007 http//www.questia.com/PM.qst?a=od=5010862325.

Industrial Espionage Intelligence

Industrial Espionage IntelligenceThe nurture revolution and the advances in engineering science during the agone decades has brought to fore many challenges and issues to both governments and pipelinees, the age- out of date crime of espionage or the be hold back of spying to gather secret learning is one the most potential issues facing reading-based societies such as the unify States, at once. Although, much has been scrolled as fact and fiction concerning the traditional foreign agents and spies, in todays world of multi-national, multi-billion clam corporations, and industrial espionage is a growing danger. Further much(prenominal), this is aggravated by the fact that many large transactiones atomic bout 18 physically disseminated which has distributed management and administration, and more job specialization.High technology offers the ability to invite and persona information for competitive edge over others in meeting logical argument and government objecti ves, it in like manner makes modern information and technology-based nations and businesses vulnerable as information lowlife be stolen from electronic storage media and transmitted in seconds without even physically removing the data.The paper attempts to examine and understand the challenge of espionage to industries and businesses in the States. However, in doing so, it shall also look at the historical development of espionage and examines how the advances in technology in the recent years have facilitated the act of espionage, and also the measures that whitethorn prove utile in controlling Industrial Espionage. As a prelude to the research, it may be worthwhile to understand how industrial espionage is defined, its genius and implications.Industrial Espionage Definition and personality The Federal Bureau of Investigation defines industrial espionage as an individual or private business entity sponsorship or coordination of intelligence activity conducted for the purpose of enhancing their advantage in the marketplace. Cited Boni and Kovacich, 2000 p. 48 speckle this definition may imply Industrial Espionage to be more or less the same as business or competitive intelligence, gutter F Quinn explains the essential difference between the two while business intelligence is generally under private sponsorship using an open methodology, espionage may be either government or privately sponsored and clandestine. Cited Boni and Kovacich, 2000 p. 47My definition of Industrial Espionage is it is the process of collecting information and data for the purpose of generating revenue. Generating revenue is very important prognosis for these people. They atomic number 18 not thrill overhearker, if the compensation does not justify the reward they will not bother attempting to collect the required information. Individuals who commit Industrial Espionage atomic number 18 not looking for information for information sake, but for information that will produce a big payday when acquired by a second party or when the information is viewed by unauthorized personnel the value of the information is no longer valuable. Money and motive are motivators and the s retains in todays billion dollar business environment the rewards far exceeds risks.In the highly competitive and globalized business environment, copyrighted intellectual spot and scotch information is considered the most valuable good by all nations, particularly the advanced ones. vexationes and/or governments involve in espionage activities for the purpose of un lawfully or clandestinely arriveing sensitive financial, trade or scotch insurance policy information, proprietary/sensitive economic information or critical technologies including but not limited to data, projects, tools, mechanisms, compounds, designs, formulae, processes, procedures, programs, codes or commercial strategies, whether tangible or intangible, for competitive business advantage. The proprietary informat ion so stolen may have been stored, compiled or memorialised physically, electronically, graphically, photographically or in writing and may be reasonably protected by the owner and not accessible to the general public. Boni and Kovacich, 2000 p. 48Proprietary information may be stolen by employees accessing the business and company databases, hackers breaking into the company server, or sponsored teams of burglars. While companies may lose vital business information through employees leaving the job, espionage occurs when the employee willfully looks for the data, steals it, copies it and sells it for money, or for his own unit, when he intends to produce a similar item. Espionage by competitors involve spying the activities of other businesses and unlawfully gathering of secret information, so that they quarter steer their businesses by adopting appropriate strategies and stay at par with, if not ahead of, competition in the marketplace. Interested outsiders and competitors adop t many methods including bribery, detective spying through shady agencies, searching through garbage, also referred to as dumpster diving, scams to deception workers through social engineering, or even expose loopholes and weak points in the lives of workers and blackmail them for gathering information.The theft or unlawful receipt of intellectual property and economic information, particularly by competitors and foreign governments threatens the development and production of goods derived from such information and also results in loss of profits, market share and perhaps the business itself and may thereby result in the weakening of the economic power of ones country. Boni and Kovacich, 2000 In the present information-driven business environment, businesses tend to address the threat seriously, and in their require to accession power, maintain control, increase market share and beat competition, nations and businesses espo map espionage, treating it casually and engaging themselv es in espionage, using information and technology as armaments of business and economic warfare. Jones, Kovacich and Luzwick, 2002 The ProcessThe process of Industrial Espionage provoke be divided into four categories requirements, collection, analysis, and evaluation. commencement exercise, the requirements have to be established. This is when the individual is targeted and approached to provide specific information concerning a specific job or task within a company or organization. Most often a third party will postulate to protect the inquiring person, organization, or corporation from liability. Most companies counsel their espionage efforts only on certain task or functions. The second phase allows the collector to focus their efforts. Collection is the key component of Industrial Espionage. This is the key element for payment and has the most risk involved. These individuals must evaluate the risk of obtaining the needed information or data with the value of the fee that th ey will be paid and the risks of being caught. The individual collecting/obtaining the information may procedure any of the following to obtain the required information/data physical attacks, electronic attacks, or even attacks against the employees to gain the necessary information. If the rewards are so great (finically), they will go to any(prenominal) lengths necessary to obtain the information, even murder if necessary. If the request is for a working copy of a companys product the Collector might simply have to go out and by one, then send away for the expert information any customer is entitled to. While this might see strange use of a Collector, remember some of the companies collecting information exist in embargoed nations such as Cuba or Iraq where state of the art US product are not readily available. If the request is for the complete production data for a complex computer chip the job might entail illegal, and therefore more untamed, methods such as bribery or burgl ary. Analysis follows. Now that a Collector has accumulated a mass of data and information they must take time to see what they have. This entails everything from reading the contents of documents, both physical and electronic, processing raw data, and in some cases looking at the flow of employees and information to see what might be happening and where it is occurring. Once the data has been analyzed the Collector refers to the original Requirement to see if he has meet his goals. This is the Evaluation phase. If the clients Requirements have been met the information is package, transmitted, and the Collector paid. Extra information collected is evaluated for value to the current of future clients and recorded for future transactions. In those cases where the Requirements have not been met, the Collector uses the information to afford to the Collection Phase, thus beginning the process anew.Espionage A Brief HistoryThe technological advances and the global Internet have drastica lly reformed the art of espionage. The practice of espionage has transformed revolutionarily over the years, as any aspect of life and civilization, from the grey manual and human intensive profession to the sophisticated, hi-tech pursuit of stealing electronic information in networked societies. Toffler and Heidi provide a Three Wave Evolution model to explain the technological evolution, as well as the evolution of espionage. Toffler, 1980 Toffler Heidi, 1994Accordingly, during the First Wave effect, extending from the beginning of human race to about mid 1700s and characterized by the agricultural revolution, information was passed by word of mouth or in indite correspondence. The theft of information was minimal as most of the people could not read or write and espionage was manual, relying mostly on personal observation and one-to-one contact. The Second Wave or the rise of the industrialized civilization, which followed and last until a a few(prenominal) years after World War II, experienced exponential exploitation in communications and the sharing of information, make doable by such inventions as telegraph, telephone and computers. The later years of this period saw the development and use of cryptography as communication protection and anti-espionage tool, though essentially by governments. While businesses had also begun to use computers, most of the systems were stand-alone and hence the threat of espionage was limited. Espionage was feeling of primarily as a government and/or military problem and anti-espionage measures during the period essentially consisted of some form of physical warranter of physical documents and equipment, such as combination of locks, guards, alarms and fences. Emphasis was also placed on personnel security system hiring honest and ethical employees in computer field was deemed to limit espionage threats. As only few people operated computers, the threat to electronically stored information was limited. Toffler, 1980 Toffler and Heidi, 1994The Third Wave or the age of technology and information, sweeping the world today has seen more advances in communication and information sharing, and paradoxically more threats, than the First and Second Wave periods combined. While the Internet and the globally linked communication systems serve as a mainstream business medium, objectionable feed in notice (of)s on how high-tech criminals in businesses and government intelligence agencies of all advanced nations are exploiting the possibilities of the cyber world to meet their various ends, stay on to be appal the world conscience. Today, a large number of organizational actors and individual information-brokers sponsored by government and otherwise, are using the Internet to commit the old crime of espionage in a revolutionary new way what Boni and Kovacich terms the netspionage or network alterd espionage. According to them, in the present information-driven globalized society, the distinction b etween espionage motivate wholly by military advantage and the quest for market domination is blurred of not completely eliminated. The researchers claim that the 21st century, envisaged as the Information advance or the Age of Technology to be may instead come to be known as the Age of Netspionage Agent and Techno-Spy. Boni and Kovacich, 2000 p. 5Before attempting to understand the natural event of industrial espionage in America, it may be vital to understand the techniques used by the modern espionage Netspionage agents and techno-spies so that adequate and effective measures could be adopted to stop the threat of espionage. Some of the common methods used by Netspionage agents includeData Diddling changing data before or during entry into the computerScavenging Obtaining information remaining around a computer system and in trash cans Data Leakage Removing information by smuggling it out as part of the printed documentPiggybacking/ Impersonation Physical access to elec tronic data using anothers User ID and password to gain computer access and protected information.Simulation and Modelling development the computer as a tool to plan and/or control a criminal actWire Tapping Tapping into a computers communication links to be able to read the information being transmitted between systems and networksBoni and Kovacich, 2000 p. 58Apart from the above, the use of software application programs, which are standardized over the years enable the use of a variety of hacker tools including Trojan Horse enabling covert placement of instructions in the program for unauthorized functions Trap Doors for inserting debugging acquired immune deficiency syndrome that provide breaks in the instructions for insertion of additional code and intermediate output capabilities Logic Bombsor programs executed at a specific time period and the common Computer Virus which are malicious codes that cause damage to the system information. Boni and Kovacich, 2000 p. 59The Cyber ThreatWith the advent of the cyber age where information roams free along the electronic corridors of the Internet at the speed of light, another arena has been opened up to the Collector. The tools used are those developed by Hackers and Crackers over the years joined with the good old social engineering of days past. The potential for gathering information is unlimited. The arena, of course, is the World Wide Web and the target sits on your disk as you view this HTML document.In 1997 it was estimated there were fewer than 1000 people that qualified as Professional Hackers. That is, people who are capable of creating tools or developing original methods for Hacking. 11 Therefore it is safe to assume there are very few Collectors who are true computer geniuses. Collectors are just individuals adept at turning existing tools toward collecting information. An excellent Hackers Toolkit (a software package which contains scripts, programs, or autonomous agents that exploit vulnerabili ties 6) can be downloaded from the internet with just a few hours of searching. Converting computer tools to information collection is relatively easy, because with computers everything is information and everything created for a computer collects and/or transmits information to one degree or another. Corporate web sites look into increasingly detailed information regarding a companys structure, products, employees, and the physical layout of its facilities. Some sites boast fly through tours of their facilities, pictures and bios of their executive officers, telephone numbers, and of course email addresses of key employees. The fillet of sole purpose of these web sites is to transmit the information to anyone who asks. Web browsers collect this information and provide it to the requestor who can view and store the information, as they desire. This type of information is priceless to individuals who choose to exploit it as a means to collect further information. With the wealth of information freely available in todays on-line environment Collectors can do much of their preliminary research without leaving the comfort of their own home or breaking a single law.Armed with the freely available information Collectors are now prepared use the net to gather even more information. With the bios and names of executives and key employees they can search the net for their preferred electronic haunts. Spoofing can then be used. Spoofing is defined as masquerade by assuming the appearance of a different entity in network communications. 6 telecommunicates or ICQ addresses can be spoofed, sent with the Collector poising as an investor, potential customer, a reporter, or even a student researching the rising stars of the corporeal world. aft(prenominal) receiving replies, Email spoofing can be further used to appear as someone in authority within the corporation who can direct mailing of information, the brass section of computer access accounts, and even grant great er access for established accounts. All of these gives the collector access to just a little bit more of the corporation and its secrets, all with minimal exposure of the collector and sets the stage for further attacks. These can range from accessing an unsecured port for downloading files, to exploiting any one of a number of known security holes to gain root access to a system. A good example of the potential for Cyber Industrial Espionage comes from a New York Times report that claimed Reuters Analytics, Inc. hired a Collector to steal the underlying software and codes for their rivals, Bloomberg, L.P, data terminals. Though Reuters had a head start in the industry, Bloombergs product was considered superior. Yearly gross revenue of these data terminals exceeds $6.5 Billion. 11By mixing Mundane and Cyber techniques collectors can multiply the effects of their collection efforts. The routine of the office, gathered by watching, can enable the collector to plan physical break-ins of the building. While roaming the halls of the corporation they can steal trade secrets, clone drives of key employees, and even set in place login captures, all acts that could go solely undetected because it does no involve the removal of a single piece of property. Well planned daytime entries over lunch the lunch hour can allow the informed collector time clone disks, copy key files, or even send emails from key employees desks to set into motion chains of events to outpouring information or disrupt company performance. Collectors can make use of internal networks to transmit the documents outside the building to avoid security.Industrial Espionage in America The United States being the most dominant economic power in the world today is also a major target of espionage. In 1988, the FBI accuse a author Amgen Inc. researcher of peddling secret documents concerning the wonder drug Epogen. In 1989, U.S. agents tracked down three moles working at an IBM affiliate in France after they supposedly botched a sale of confidential documents. Cited Crock, 1997 The massive information technology infrastructure enables businesses and industries to tap proprietary and secret information of competitors to gain control of the global market place. Research suggests that the threat of espionage and the loss of proprietary/sensitive information have hit the manufacturing industries particularly hard. As the R D expenses for manufacturing companies are costly, some companies, foreign or domestic, are tempted to catch up even if through unlawful means. Naef, 2003 Industrial espionage is rampant in the United States harmonise to the FBI, of the 173 world nations, 57 were actively running operations targeting the U.S. companies about 100 countries spent some portion of their funds targeting U.S. technologies. Boni and Kovacich, 2000 p. 50 A survey conducted by PricewaterhouseCoopers and the American Society for Industrial Security revealed that Fortune 1000 companies lost more than $45 billion in 1999 due to theft of their proprietary information alone. The bring finds that although manufacturing reported only 96 incidents, the acknowledged losses of manufacturing companies accounted for the majority of losses reported in the survey, and averaged almost $50 million per incident. Cited Naef, 2003 While current and former employees, suppliers and customers are considered to be responsible for 70 to 80% of proprietary/sensitive information losses, an unidentified survey suggests that 21 percent of attempted or unfeigned thefts of proprietary/sensitive information occurred in overseas locations. Boni and Kovacich, 2000 p. 50It is significant to note that the U.S is not only a target of espionage, but also actively impair in espionage activities themselves. The US government has admitted using commercial espionage phone calls were illegally tapped to determine that a French competitor of a US firm was bribing Brazilian officials to obtain an air traf fic control radar contract it was later revealed that the US firm was also bribing officials. It is generally believed that large intelligence agencies of developed nations are involved in the practice of espionage. A commission of the European Parliament suspects that ECHELON, a communications espionage system operated by the U.S. National Security Agency and agencies of the United Kingdom, Germany, Canada, Australia and New Zealand, is used for political espionage and occasionally to help American companies against European competitors. Vest, 1998 economic Espionage Act of 1996Economic and industrial espionage present many challenges to many American companies as rampant information breaches are costing companies substantial sums of money. While corporations and businesses often do not report espionage incidents to law enforcement, the Federal government today recognizes industrial and economic espionage as a crime the Congress has legislated the Economic Espionage Act of 1996 in an attempt to aid companies to protect themselves from espionage. Section 19831 punishes the theft, misappropriation, wrongful transition and delivery of trade secrets when accused parties intended to, or knew that their misconduct would benefit a foreign government, instrumentality or agent. The Act allows for legal action regarding financial, business, scientific, engineering, technical and economic information, if a company can demonstrate it has attempted to keep this information classified and protected. The prescribed maximum punishment for an individual offender is 15 years imprisonment, $ 500,000 fine or both for an organization the fine is $10 million. Kelley, 1997 It is understood that many companies dont take advantage of the Act companies safely exploit the law in full knowledge when news of the breach is known publicly. However, as Naef observes, if the trade secret theft is not publicly known, a company may have to meticulously assess the advantages and disadvantages of suing another company and thereby going public as news of the theft may damage the companys reputation. Naef, 2003 Yet, cases of industrial and economic espionage have been reported since the enactment of the Act, though scantily. In September 2003 one man was pled guilty of copying trade secrets as defined under the Economic Espionage Act of 1996 the case was the first of its kind in Northern California. The US Attorneys office later publicized that Say Lye Ow, a 31 year old originally from Malaysia, copied sensitive information on Intels first 64-bit processor when he left the company in 1998. Naef, 2003 Industrial Espionage and Corporate Vulnerability It is often the ill fortune of corporations to adequately protect their information resources that makes them vulnerable to espionage. The vulnerability and the nonchalant attitude of companies are by no means excusable, given the economic implications of the threat of espionage as well as the weakening of the economic power of the subject nation. It may be worthwhile, perhaps vital, to understand the reasons for the vulnerability of corporations in order to prevent espionage and the resulting economic losses to businesses. chorees make themselves vulnerable to espionage for a variety of reasons, including Proprietary/sensitive business information not identified Proprietary information not adequately protectedComputer and telecommunication systems not adequately protected Lack of or inadequate policies and proceduresEmployees not aware of their responsibilities Management attitude of We dont have proprietary or sensitive information and/or It cant happen to usBoni and Kovacich, 2000 p. 50These factors along with such other threats as increasing miscreants trying to steal information for money and the vulnerabilities of systems on the Internet facilitating information theft on a global scale present pervasive threat to information worth protect as well as challenge managers, security personnel and law e nforcement officials responsible for prophylactic and security of information.Employees, a Threat or DefenceWhether called societal Engineering, as in most Hacker manuals, or HUMINT (Human Intelligence), as the Department of Defense refers to it, your employees are targets of Collectors. People are a two-edged weapon in securing your corporate secrets being both the best protection, and the biggest risk. Proper training, education, and motivation can give people the tools and desire to keep your corporate secrets safe. Conversely, appealing to the vanity, greed, or vengeful nature of disenchanted or bored people has always been a tool of the traditional spy. Now these appeals can be made with protection of the electronic web. After gathering sufficient information on employees the Collector can choose his target. If the individual bites, a face to face meeting can be scheduled, if not the only thing that can be turned over the security is an email address or ICQ number, all easily disposed of with no keep up to the Collector.Another method used to attack through your employees is to take the information gathered by Mundane and Cyber means and impersonate another individual or spoof them electronically. Calls are placed over the phone, or messages sent via email pretending to be someone with the authority to make decisions. A good select would be one of those executive officers with the picture and bio on the corporate web page. Regardless of the role many bored or uncaring individuals will give out information to include IP addresses, system setup, and even passwords and userids over to phone when intimidated.Recruiting Insiders is another common practice among Collectors. Many publications on computer security identify the most common source of intentional disruption as authorized individuals performing unauthorized activity. 13 Again, much of the information on the individuals that you would like to enhance can be found in publicly accessible databases a nd web sites. From this, some casual research can yield those candidates who are most persuadable to bribes or extortion. Often after proper research the Collector can make his presence know to the Insider and have them make the first overtures. This allows the Collector to have some modicum of confidence the individual will no go running straight to corporate security. Insiders are the most valuable assets a Collector can have. They have the time and freedom to search peoples desks, read private memos, copy documents, and abuse coworker friendships. 3 The threat does not end when the Insider leaves the corporation either. In 1992 several ecumenic Motors employees were accused of taking over 10,000 documents and disks containing GM trade secrets when they defected to Volkswagen. GM sued and in 1997 received a payment of $100 million from Volkswagen. 11Inserting Agents is one of the least risky forms of Industrial Espionage. The Collector handpicks the individual who they intend to insert. They provide the training, background story, and decide at which level to attempt to insert the individual. Once hired, even in a position of limited access, the individual becomes a trusted Insider for the Collector, able to provide increasing levels of access and perform some of the Mundane and Cyber attacks from within the corporation with minimal threat of being caught.Preventing Industrial Espionage While legal measures and legislations that send strong messages against espionage can be effective in preventing its occurrence, the role and responsibility of corporations is crucial. Even as companies take a non-serious approach to espionage, there is little debate that companies should guard themselves effectively against the info-thieves, both insiders and those unleashed by outsiders, who try to get secrets by all possible means. Measures that may help companies to prevent espionage includeConducting a survey of risk assessment, and identifying potential risk areas, D eveloping a security policy without much of safety risks. Frequently evaluating the security policy and procedures and modify if necessaryClassifying and marking sensitive and valuable information Isolating information that should never fall into the hands of a competitor Detecting the vulnerable areas that could be exploited by a competitor Controlled storage of sensitive informationControlled destruction of materials Executing Nondisclosure Agreements for employees, vendors and contractors Securing computer systems and networks by installing appropriate information system security productsMonitoring email and Internet useWinkler, 1997 Boni and Kovacich, 2000 While the above methods may be useful in protecting against espionage, central to controlling the industrial espionage is security awareness and training of employees as one of the major points of vulnerability is spying activities by people be to the same organization. Security awareness and training programs can serve to in form employees about their organizations information security policy, to sensitize them to risks and potential losses, and to train them in the use of security practices and technologies Denning, 1998, p.382. By investing in security procedures and training, corporations may train employees in the areas of personnel, cyberspace and physical security they can also be made aware of their responsibilities regarding information security of the organization.ConclusionThe increasing value of trade secret information in the global and domestic marketplace and the possibilities of the information technology revolution have resulted in a significant rise in espionage activities in the recent years, particularly against the U.S. being the most dominant economic power in the world. While legislations may be useful in preventing the crime of industrial and economic espionage, the onus is largely on corporations to implement adequate security policies and measures to protect themselves from busi ness losses as well as prevent the weakening of the economic power of their country.References1. Boni W. Kovacich G.L. (2000) Netspionage The Global Threat to Information MA Butterworth- Heinemann 2. Crock, S. (1997) Business Spies The New Enemy Within? Book Review War By Other Means Economic Espionage in America By John J. Fialka Business Week Available at http//www.businessweek.com/1997/06/b351325.htm Accessed 02/26/063. Denning, D. E. (1998) Information Warfare and Security MA Addison-Wesley 4. Jones A. Kovacich G.L. Luzvick P.G. (2002) Global Information Warfare How Businesses, Governments and Others Achieve Objectives and At

Tissue engineering for skin

weave engine room for skinTISSUE ENGINEERING OF THE SKIN (MECH 5510M) LITERATURE REVIEW SID 200507638 solicit This essay is a literature review on the tissue engine room for skin rehabilitation, with regard to the clinical need, approaches various commercially-available products. Skin is undoubtedly crucial in the maintenance of the bodys internal balance also valueing externally. It gets severely compromised in burns, non-healing ulcers, reconstructive surgeries etc. bringing down the patients quality of life drastically. Tissue engineering is a more efficient approach than traditional skin en imbed. It is a research area that is forever evolving, where researchers are always working towards one unite goal, i.e. to develop in bulk quantities, a skin substitute that can be handled with less care, integrates faster with the bodys natural matrix and costs reasonable. INTRODUCTIONA lot of research has been undertaken in the past to realize that it is possible to generate ski n by applying engineering techniques. This is done by growing skin at a faster rate than normal and in an artificial manner4. Skin is the largest most widely spread organ in the world body. Its role is to protect the bodys internal environment from harshness of the external conditions and restrict entry of microbes, by acting as a barrier4. Several situations diseases arise, due to which the skin gets irreparably damaged, gum olibanum requiring interventional help in restoring it back to health. Tissue engineering is the application of engineering techniques to develop biological substitutes1. Burns (acute) ulcers (chronic) are the most common conditions which enquire the surrogate of skin. In developing countries (Fig 1)2,3, due to lack of knowledge on safety, a very high number of burns accidents occur every year, and mostly of inglorious nature. The fatality is mainly due to pain, infection, loss of body fluids incapability of the body to self-regenerate large amounts o f lost skin5. Thus, experimentation in this field was triggered. Many skin diseases, which hap to necrosis, pigmentation problems, also require engineered skin4. CLINICAL NEED FOR SKIN TISSUE ENGINEERINGIn most incidents, both the epicutaneal and cutaneous layers require replacement. Conventionally, the treatment regularity involved skin grafting i.e. autologous (self) split-thickness and full-thickness grafting, where healthy skin was taken from other areas of the body and replaced at the injury site. Split-thickness (comprising of the epi derma a part of the dermis) grafting is not a logical system to use, when a large area of the body (50%) is affected less healthy skin is available. But, it is todays gold standard approach6. bring forward trauma, due to grafting, can be painful to a patient who is already in a critical state. Also, scar formation post-operatively is another reason for its cut back usage. Full-thickness grafts are suitable to use when the burned area is l ess than 2% of the total area. These problems could be avoided if skin (of full or partial thickness) were grown by artificial means and substituted in the place of real skin6.LITERATURE REVIEWThe skin can be broadly divided into cardinal layers i.e. the epidermis dermis. The epidermis is made up of several layers and may/may not consist of extra- stallular matrix (ECM). The layers from surface to deep are cornified, granular, spinosal and basalar layers. The most commonly found cells here are the keratinocytes melanocytes. The dermis is constituted by sicks proteins. Within the dermis, fibroblasts are most commonly found8. Several skin substitutes exist for wound coverage in tissue engineering4. It can be broadly divided into temporary and permanent skin substitutes. The table below ( tabularize 1) is a list of all the material options available for skin replacement Table 1 Temporary and Permanent Skin Substitutes8 Permanent tissue engineering of the skin can be broadly divi ded into three categories6, 8 epidermic replacements Generally, using autologous keratinocyte sheets. Replaces only the epidermis, but take rates are very poor, suitable for superficial burn treatment only. dermic replacements Replaces only the dermal layer. In most cases, it is applied along with an cutaneal graft to improve take rates.Dermo-epidermal (bilayer skin) replacements Replaces both the epidermis and dermis. Suitable for full-thickness burns.Skin replacements have two main components i.e. cells and the scaffold. In wound coverage, three types of cells can be used autologous, allogenic or stem cells. Autologous (self) cell usage is the most preferred as it is easily accepted by the patients body does not need incite and anti-immune responses. Allogenic (donor) cells, if used directly can lead to the eventual rejection of the transplant. However, it is used in an single-celled fashion, where the donor keratinocytes are take away prior to culturing9. Stem cells have trans-germal pluripotential properties are currently being researched for their poteintial application in skin engineering. Less information is obtained on keratinocyte stem cells. The suggested reason for their longevity is that KSC cycles very slowly and is resistant to mutations8. The type of biodegradable scaffold, either natural or synthetic permits cells to attach onto them and facilitate use during transplantation6, 9.Rheinwald Green Experiment8The experiment carried out in 1975 by Rheinwald and Green where piece (autologous) keratinocytes were produced in-vitro, proved to be a breakthrough in this field and modified versions of this method are used nowadays. Extracted keratinocytes were allowed to form colonies on a plastic substrate. These colonies expanded to form a sheet. Stratifications arose as the daughter cells, usually at the centre, started multiplying vertically and a 12-cell layer was achieved. To increase the multiplicative capacity of keratinocytes, a feed er layer (comprising murine Swiss 3T3 lethally irradiated fibroblasts) mitogens were introduced to the finis. Epidermal Replacements A small skin biopsy of the patient is harvested, which is civil to produce a patch. The full-thickness biopsy of the patients skin is cut finely and enzymes are added to cause disaggregation of the skin into cells. A feeder layer, as mentioned previously, is used to culture these cells in culture flasks. To promote proliferation, epidermal growth factors, enzymes such as insulin, hydrocortisone, cholera-toxin and bovine serum are used. After colonies have been formed, trypsin is added. The KCs are cultured to confluence and later, the sheets are removed from the flasks (using dispase) for use8. The result of this method compared to the split-thickness gold standard is quite poor, as the dermal layer is missing and it depends upon the health of the dermis existing. Also, it is prone to scarring, takes too long, expensive, extremely delicate and has v arying take rates6. Dermal Replacements It was claimed, in 1952, that using only pure epidermal sheets, success would be lesser than compared to those with a dermis10. To accentuate the success of the epidermal transplantation, dermal replacements were constructed. A dermal replacement that covered the affected area with cryoprserved allogenic skin was used minus the epidermal layer was used11, 12. Also, an observation that allogenic keratinocytes elicited more anti-immune response than allogenic fibroblasts, was reported. To reconstruct the dermis, the two-stage Integra application is most widely used now13. This dermis functions as a scaffold for the attachment of keratinocytes and improves vascularization9. Burke et al (1981) developed a dermal replacement, where a collagen sponge was covered with a silastic layer (synthetic). The sponge behaves as a scaffold for the fibroblast cells. This technique was commercialized into a product (Integra Dermal Regeneration Template) 9, 14. A modification to this employed GAGs along with collagen, in the scaffold. Here, a precipitated mixture of bovine collagen fibres and a chondrotin-6-sulfate (GAG from shark cartilage) was freeze dried. This generated a collagen-GAG sponge scaffold, which had a mean pore size. Cross-linkage to strengthen the matrix was done using gluteraldehyde. Finally, the silastic layer was applied. This is available as a product Integra Artificial Skin (Chamberlain and Yannas, 1999)9, 15. accord to Heimbach et al (1988), this is most suitable for burns patients. The concept of using absorbable polymer scaffolds (synthetic) such as polyglactin 910 or polyglycolic acid was the next improvement in dermal replacements. Here, allogenic fibroblasts are enzymatically cultured and this culture is mounted on the polymer scaffold for integration). Due to this, an ECM consisting of collagen, growth factors, GAGs etc. is formed, which stays active even after it is frozen17. This was commercialized as Derm agraft 8, 16. Two-stage dermis application has shown proven results, and now clinical trials are being conducted to examine the applicability of one-stage dermis, such as Matriderm 6. The dermal replacements essentially require an epidermal covering. Dermo-Epidermal ReplacementsThese are available both as autologous or off-the-shelf products. In autologous DED replacements, both keratinocytes and fibroblasts are harvested from the patient and are added to the collagen-GAG scaffold. civilisation of this in culture medium is for around four weeks. This is a more permanent solution 6, 18, 19. The first model of todays Apligraf was done by Bell et al (1979)20. DEDs use human keratinocytes fibroblast cells (allogenic) within a scaffold. Morphological studies after using Apligraf reported the presence of a well-defined epidermis, with all four layers, as in the natural skin, and seeded allogenic fibroblasts aligned in a normal manner within the collagen matrix 8, 21.COMMERCIALLY AVAILA BLE PRODUCTSCONCLUSION FUTURE AIMSTissue engineering of the skin was the first to be approved by the FDA has evolved a great deal, from the first application of only cultured keratinocytes to the use of biological skin substitutes. query is dormant in-progress to develop skin in bulk quantities, mainly for burns patients, and to mimic all the mechanical and properties and functions of the natural skin. The state of the art results can be achieved now by using cultured keratinocyte cells with the dermal replacement, Integra, in full-thickness, small and clean wounds. This has shown optimal results in cosmesis and wound closure8. However, this branch of tissue engineering is still very much in a developing level. Studies to analyse how to reduce various guesss in patients, who receive donor cells should be done. Also, a main hassle is in getting the cells to attach to the dermis, post-transplantation. Burns patients are highly susceptible to various problems, thus there is a nee d for materials that present lower risk than animal/human materials. Mainly, it is ideal if the graft starts to behave like natural skin soon after grafting, which is possible only with rapid vascularization and cell implantation. Also, low expense of these products is extremely desirable.REFERENCESNerem R M. 1992. Tissue engineering in the USA. Medical Biological Engineering Computing, Vol 30, pp. CE8-CE 12.Burn Incidence and Treatment in the unify States 1999 Fact Sheet (The Burn Foundation, Philadelphia, 1999).Rose, J. K. Herndon, D. N. Advances in the treatment of burn patients. Burns 23 (suppl. 1), S19-S26 (1997).McNeil S. 2007. Progress and opportunities for tissue-engineered skin. Nature. Vol 445 (22), pp. 874-880.Pomahac B, T. Svensj, F. Yao, H. Brown and E. Eriksson. 1998. Critical Reviews in Oral Bioogy and Medicine. Vol9 pp. 333-344.Bottcher-Haberzeth S, T Bedermann, E Reichmann. 2009. Tissue engineering of skin. Burns, doi10.1016/j.burns.2009.08.016Burn Injury Occurre nce is higher in Developing Countries. Available from http//en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BurnPrice R, E Anthony, S Myers and H Navsaria. Chapter 17 Tissue engineering for Skin Transplantation. In Clemens van Blitterswijk, Peter Thomsen, Anders Lindahl, Jeffrey Hubbell, David F. Williams, Ranieri Cancedda, Joost D. de Bruijn and Jrme Sohier eds., Tissue Engineering. Elsevier Inc, Pp. 507-532.Morgan J R, R L Sheridian, R G Tompkins, M L Yarmush and J F Burke. 2004. Chapter 7 Applications of Materials in Medicine, Biology and Artificial Organs (7.12). In B D Ratner, A S Hoffman, F J Schoen and J E Lemons eds., Biomaterials Science. Elsevier Academic Press, pp. 602-614.Billingham, R.E. and Reynolds, J. 1952. Transplantation studies on sheets of pure epidermal epithelium and on epidermal cell suspensions. British Journal of plastic Surgery, Vol 5, pp. 25 36.Cuono , C.B. , Langdon , R. , e t al. 1987. Composite autologous-allogeneic skin replacement development and clinical application. Plasti c Reconstruction Surgery, Vol 80, pp 626 637.Heck , E.L. , Bergstresser , P.R. , e t al. 1985. Composite skin graft frozen dermal allografts support the engraftment and expansion of autologous epidermis . Journal of Trauma, Vol 25, pp. 106 112.Heimbach, D .M., W arden, G .D., e t al. ( 2003 ). Multicenter postapproval clinical trial of Integra dermal regeneration template for burn treatment. Journal of Burn Care Rehabilitation, Vol 24, pp. 42 48 .Burke, J.F. , Yannas , I.V. , e t al. ( 1981 b ). Successful use of a physiologically acceptable artificial skin in the treatment of extensive burn injury. Annals of Surgery, Vol 194, pp. 413 428.Chamberlain L J, Yannas I V. 1999. Preparation of collagen-glycosaminoglycan copolymers for tissue regeneration. In Methods in Tissue Engineering, J R Morgan and M L Yarmush eds. Humana Press, pp. 3-17.Hansbrough, J.F. , Cooper , M.L., et al. 1992a. Evaluation of a biodegradable matrix containing cultured human fibroblasts as a dermal replaceme nt beneath meshed skin grafts on athymic mice. Surgery, Vol. 111, pp. 438 446.Cooper , M.L. , Hansbrough , J.F. , e t al. 1991. In vivo optimization of a living dermal substitute employing cultured human fibroblasts on a biodegradable polyglycolic acid or polyglactin mesh. Biomaterials, Vol. 12, pp. 243 248.Pham C, Greenwood J, Cleland H, Woodruff P, Maddern G. 2007. Bioengineered skin substitutes for the management of burns a systematic review. Burns Vol. 33, pp. 946-57.Boyce ST. 2001 Design principles for composition and functioning of cultured skin substitutes. Burns Vol. 27, pp. 523-33.Bell , E. , Ivarsson , B. , e t al. 1979. Production of a tissue like structure by contraction of collagen lattices by human fibroblasts of different proliferative potential in vitro. Proceedings of the National Academy of Science, Vol. 76, pp. 1274 1278.Parenteau , N.L. , Bilbo , P. , et al. 1992. The organotypic culture of human skin keratinocytes and fibroblasts to achieve form and function . Cytotechnology, Vol. 9, pp. 163 171.Apligraf Structure vs. Skin Structure. Available from http//www.organogenesis.com/images/apligraf_main3.jpgFig. 3, Collagen GAG scaffolds for Tissue Engineering. Pek et al, 2004, Biomaterials. Available from http//web.mit.edu/dmse/csg/Tissue_Regeneration.htmlFig. 3, Collagen GAG scaffolds for Tissue Engineering. OBrien et al, 2004, Biomaterials. Available fromhttp//web.mit.edu/dmse/csg/Tissue_Regeneration.html

Relationship Between Construction Industry And Global Warming Environmental Sciences Essay

Relationship Between Construction Industry And Global Warming Environmental Sciences EssayGlobal warm refers to an average augment in the Earths temperature, which move turn in climate. This phenomenon is mainly ca utilize by human compriseivities which emit nursery gases (GHGs) such as nose merchantmandy dioxide ( carbon dioxide), methane (CH4), nitrous oxide (N2O), hydrofluoro coulombs (HFCs), perfluorocarbons (PFCs) and sulphur hexafluoride (SF6). It is believed that the use of non-renewable thrust has increase the carbon concentration in the atmospheric state and has also deepen magnitude the Earths temperature. Among all the human activities that emit GHGs, edifice industry should held responsibilities too. In a recent effect by Intergovernmental Panel of Climate Change, it was indicated that the largest growth in the carbon liberations has induce from electrical free elan vital generation, transport, industry and above all, from grammatical construction opera tion (Radhi, 2009). Therefore, is the operation and construction of expression emits CO2, not the create itself. Energy essential for a construction to operate is mainly on heating and cooling drives. In United States (US), a encompassing 30% of CO2 emission is ca employ by built environment. While in United Kingdom (UK), energy use related to construction industry amounts to somewhat 55% of national energy consumption, which means the industry is also the source of 55% of CO2 emission (Parsa and Farshchi, 1996).In order to reduce carbon emission, constructing a building with energy efficiency or low carbon emission is a trend in nowadays construction industry. To get a building with low or even zero carbon emission, the design and equipment used by the building is crucial and must be energy efficient. For example, instead of victimisation artificial lighting, natural lighting is being use for the same purpose time mechanical ventilation is replaced by natural ventilation. Besides, the issue of world(prenominal) warm has had governments concern. Lots of regulations and restrictions have got been amends to reduce carbon or GHGs emission. Among all those regulations, Kyoto Protocal is the one most well known. The purpose of Kyoto Protocal is to reduce the emission of GHGs from industrialised countries by 5.2% of the 1990 levels by a commitment period betwixt 2008 2012 (Hill, 2001). On the other hand, the UK Climate Change Bill allow for commit the UK law to a designate of at least a 60% lessening in CO2 emission by 2050.1.3 AimTo analyse how construction industry could contribute to globose warming and what efforts have been made in order to reduce planetary warming.1.4 ObjectivesTo get a line the factors in which construction industry had caused global warming.To determine the role of governments in setting rules and regulations to reduce global warming.To identify efforts that has been done by local construction industry to trace the gree n footsteps.1.5 BackgroundGlobal warming has been a growing global concern in recent years. Global warming could leads to greenhouse effects, climate change, rise in mean sea level, acid rain irrigate and depletion in ozone layer (Parsa and Farshchi, 1996). Global warming is caused by emission of anthropogenic greenhouse gases. Among hoop of GHGs, CO2 plays the most vital role. Due to the developing of for each one realm, it can be seen that the carbon emission has become more serious. During the 150 years of the industrial age, the atmospheric concentration of CO2 has increased by 31 percent (West, 2009) Carbon emission comes from domestic industry, burning of fossil fuels, transport and many other factors. Among all those sources, burning of fossil fuels or non-renewable energy for electricity generation emits the most carbon dioxide.Besides, CO2 could lead to greenhouse effects as heat from sun and lighting is being trapped in earths atmosphere and causing the rise of tempera ture in earths surface (Mahwah, 2000). On the other hand, climate change means a change in long term defy pattern. While rise in mean sea level is because of melting of south and north pole ice due to rising temperature. Other than carbon dioxide, release of methane is another factors causes global warming. Over 150 years of industrial age, in that location has been 151% rise in atmospheric methane level mainly from agricultural activities (West, 2009). sacking of nitrious oxide which is another kind of greenhouse gases also emitted mainly due to various agriculture and industrial process. Besides, hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs), perfluorocarbons (PFCs), and sulfur hexafluoride (SF6) ar also categorised in the basket of greenhouse gases.1.6 Scope of StudyThis study bequeath include the definition and cause of global warming, efforts made and role of government in minify global warming. This study would reveal the aw atomic number 18ness of construction industry in global warmings issue and what have been done to reduce it. It is done through observing whether there are increasing numbers of sustainable or green buildings. Besides, since this issue has raised(a) global concern, this study also would show what haven been done by government regard this matter. In order to find out causes of global warming, information would be search online or in library. A case study volition be conduct in order to have a further understanding of efforts made to reduce global warming. Zero energy stead which is located at Bandar Baru Bangi would be visited and interviewed the relevant personnel. This building is the first completely self-sustainable building in Southeast Asia. The design, equipment and other sustainable items in that building would be studied. Interview with the related person should be carrying out if possible to have a deeper understanding on the buildings principal.1.7 MethodologyStage 1 writings review articleThis is a stage where a lot of comprehensi ve review is required to have a broader knowledge about global warming. I willing be looking for secondary data source at this stage which is through reading articles or journals from online resources or library. The resources that I am looking forward are mainly on causes of global warming which related to construction industry and rules and regulations set out by government to deal with global warming.Stage 2 Case studyIn order to have a more in-depth analysis of global warming awareness in construction industry, I will be conducting a case study in Malaysia by searching for energy efficient or low carbon emission building. The building that I found which fit to the requirement is Pusat Tenaga Malaysia located at Bandar Baru Bangi, Kuala Lumpur. I will visit to the building and conduct an interview with the person in charge of the building in order to have a deeper understanding of how it works and its principle. This case study would be used to establish the efforts that have be en made to reduce global warming.Stage 3 Evaluation of case studyAfter conducting a case study, I will review and analyse the information and photos collected in the building that I have studied. It is to identify whether the building is really environmentally friendly and is it capable of reducing the violation to environment to minimum.Stage 4 authorship upAfter doing all the research, understanding and getting enough information, it enables me to writing up the content following the dissertation that I proposed in this stage.Chapter 2 Literature Review2.1 IntroductionIn this chapter, issues related to causes of global warming and environmental regulations which are related to construction industry are going to be talked about. When someone mention about global warming, many are pointing fingers to construction industry and recent studies have showed that construction industry do held responsibilities. In construction industry, the energy consumption to operate building, corp oreal energy and construction activities are those which held responsibilities in carbon emissions. However, due to global awareness, many countries have come out with solutions to authorise this issue and governments play an important role in this matter. In order to reduce carbon emissions, many rules and regulations have been set to ensure that they are complied by designers and contractors. Such rules and regulations are Kyoto protocol, Climate Change travel 2008, Carbon Reduction Commitment, Display Energy Certificates and others relevant regulations. Regulations set are mandatory for construction parties to follow and hope that it will reduce carbon emissions and save our earth.2.2 Definition2.2.1 Global WarmingThe meaning of global warming as according to Dr. Spencer (2007) shows that global warmingis the expected slow, gradual warming of the lower layers of the Earths lower atmosphere by the slowly increasing concentrations of man-made greenhouse gases, primarily carbon d ioxide, and to lesser end methane. These gases trap infrared radiation, which is heat radiation that cools the Earth.2.2.2 Construction IndustryConstruction industry can be divided in to three groups which is heavy and civic engineering construction, general construction and specially trades (Economy Watch, 2010). Besides, base on Economy Watch (2010), construction industry brings the meaning ofThis industry is mainly an urban based one which is concerned with preparation as well as construction of real estate properties. The repairing of any existing building or making certain alterations in the same also comes under construction industry.2.3 Causes of Global Warming by Construction Industry2.3.1 Facts that Construction Industry Caused Global WarmingIt is infallible that construction industry should bear responsibilities for causing of global warming. Activities related to building are responsible for 35% to 45% of CO2 releases into the atmosphere. In Australia, 40% of its rude energy is used for heating, cooling, building and demolishing of building (Dixon, 2008). Energy that generated to fulfill all the inquires emits CO2. Besides, similar conditions occur in UK whereby about 50% of UKs count CO2 emissions have caused by construction, occupation and maintenance of buildings (Gibbs, 2007). On the other hand, buildings in US responsible for about 38% of the carbon emissions which is 39% of USs energy and 68% of its energy (WBDG, 2009). Although it is proven that construction industry is the main contributor to global warming, among the six gases in GHGs, CO2 is the gases that construction industry should held most responsibility. another(prenominal) GHGs release by construction industry is CFCs and HFCs which were used in refrigeration in which every house have a refrigerator. However, one thing that need to be present clear is that not the building itself release GHGs, but the operation of buildings.2.3.2 Energy Usage by BuildingDuring the lifetime of a building, it required a lot of energy in order to operate it and majority of buildings in the whole world are using electricity that is sourced mainly from scorch power plants. For example, buildings produce high heat that radiates outside into the air and most buildings did not structured for such high temperature. In order to solve this problem, air-conditioning has been used. The usage of air-conditioning will increase the energy consumption and in the same time the emissions of CO2. During winter, buildings required some heating in order to keep the occupant warm.Besides, in order to make life easier, many appliances have been invented. One of the useful appliances is lighting. Lighting is essential to a modern society. About 5% of energy and 25% of average home electricity is used for lighting. In addition, approximately 60% of electricity is consumed in commercial sector (Energy Conservation, 2010). Therefore, when someone turns on and off a light, they are releasing GHGs (Environment Support, 2008). Other appliances that most of the people use nowadays is water heater, in order to heat water, energy is required to do so. Furthermore, refrigerators that affect heat exchange that consumes a significant amount of electricity each year is another daily used appliances. Another appliance that able to make our lives easier is washer and dryer to do our laundry everyday. Electricity is required for a washing machine to start doing our laundry. It is believed that around 40% of all the carbon emissions come from power plants (Christodoulou, 2010). All of our daily activities in a building required usage of energy which generate from power plants especially from coal. Coal releases the most carbon as compared to natural gas and oil power plants.2.3.3 Embodied EnergyBy constructing a sustainable building, zero- carbon building and the like, emissions of carbon by building operations have been reduced. However, the embodied energy in the building materials ha s been neglect. Embodied energy is the energy used to produce building materials such as cement, steel, aluminium and other materials. However, it is not just as simple as that (Lane, 2010). Embodied energy can be meant by the non-renewable energy used in the learnedness of raw materials, processing, manufacturing, transportation to site and construction. Besides, energy used to transport building products to the site also consider as embodied energy (Giampietro, 2009). For example, a cover block that located nearby the site will contain lower embodied energy that a concrete block from other states. This is because the energy used for transportation of the concrete block is different (Lane, 2010).Moreover, if a building has high energy efficiency or used less energy, its embodied carbon will be increased. The less carbon been released through constructing a building, the bigger percentage that embodied carbon contributes to the total carbon footprint. For example, a distribution warehouse that used less energy for heating and lighting have an embodied carbon of 60% of its total lifetime carbon footprint. Meanwhile, embodied carbon for supermarket which used a lot of energy contains only 20% of embodied carbon and a house has embodied carbon of 30%. Therefore, different type of building will have different embodied carbon. It is believed that by year 2019, embodied carbon will make up 100% of a buildings carbon footprint (Lane, 2010). skirt below shows the embodied energy for different types of materials. According to the table 2.1, aluminium has the highest embodied energy in terms of MJ/kg which is 227 and the lowest is aggregate which is 0.10. For embodied energy measure in terms of MJ/m3, the highest amount would be copper which is 631164 and lowest is straw bale with a figure of 31. circuit card 2.1 Embodied energy in different types of materialsSource (Architecture 2030, 2010)2.3.4 Construction ActivitiesOther than energy used by building to operate a nd embodied energy, building or construction industry also emits CO2 in another manner which is by its construction activities. It is believed that the sizing of construction couchs will affects the carbon emissions. Table below shows the relationship amidst civil values and construction carbons. It shows that the higher the civil value, the higher carbon emissions (United Utilities, 2009). Projects with higher civil value means that it is a big leap outs and big projects a great deal required a lot of plant machinery such as excavators, tower cranes, forklift and other machineries in order to complete the whole construction projects. Besides, larger size of construction projects means that more fantastic is generated. In year 2004 in UK, the waste going to landfill from construction industry was about 100 million tonnes which was increased for 30 million tonnes since year 2000. This amount is equivalent to one house being buried when three houses was built. Moreover, wastage a ccount for an extra 25% energy for waste (Natural Building Technologies, 2010). Thus, due to the increase of usage of machineries and wastage, carbon emissions for larger construction projects are higher than smaller size projectTable 2.2 Relationship between civil value construction carbonSource (United Utilities, 2009)In addition, below is a bar chart showing that carbon emissions during each breakdown of projects. Table below was made based on comparisons of ten projects. According to the graph, plant emissions have highest carbon emissions as compare to other activities. This is due to usage of diesel motor by plant machineries and it release high volume of CO2 (Natural Building Technologies, 2010). On the other hand, concrete industry plays an important role in construction activity since most of the part of a building is built using concrete. However, concrete industry also plays an important role in carbon emissions since the concrete industry is responsible for 5% to 7% of all global carbon emissions. Carbon emissions of concrete occur during the production process of concrete (Dixon, 2008).Table 2.3 equipment failure of project CO2 emissions by sourceSource (United Utilities, 2009)2.4 Environmental Regulations2.4.1 Kyoto Protocol2.4.1.1 What is Kyoto Protocol?In regard to reduce carbon emissions, Kyoto Protocol was carried out. Kyoto Protocol was a legally binding agreement agreed by many countries in December 1997 and it came into force with Russias ratification on February 16, 2005. Terms in Kyoto required at least fifty five parties to ratify the agreement and total emissions by the parties need to be at least 55% of global production of greenhouse gases (Bloch, 2010). A group of countries known as United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) is the founder of Kyoto Protocol and they have set a major goal of decreasing global emissions of six critical greenhouse gases levels that are 5.2 percent below what they were in 1990.The Protocol contains of twenty five articles and both Annexes which is Annex A and Annex B. Annex A contain of identification and sources of greenhouse gases while Annex B refer to lists of industrialized countries which agree to the Protocol (Lerner, 2006). Greenhouse gases which contain under Annex A are CO2, CH4, N2O, HFCs, PFCs and SF6. Meanwhile, countries that fall under Annex B such as European Union (EU), Canada, Japan, Norway, Australia and other countries. Target to be achieved by each expanse either reduction, increase or maintain is shown in Table 2.4. Countries such as EU, US, Canada, Hungary, Japan, Poland and Croatia need to achieve carbon reductions due to they are developed countries and economically stable to reduce CO2 in their industrial sector. Besides, EU was taking advantage on a scheme known as bubble. Under this scheme, EU countries can redistribute their emissions bums among themselves whereby some may increase their emissions while others reduce their emis sions (UNFCCC, 2010). Meanwhile, for countries that are allow to increase their emissions is due to economic reasons. Those are developing countries and reduce in carbon emissions may affect their economic.CountryTarget (1990** 2008/2012)EU-15-8%US-7%Canada, Hungary, Japan, Poland-6%Croatia-5%New Zealand, Russian Federation, Ukraine0Norway+1%Australia+8%Iceland+10%Table 2.4 Countries included in Annex B to the Kyoto Protocol and their emissions targetsSource (UNFCCC, 2010)2.4.1.2 Emissions TradingIn order for the countries to meet their target emissions, three market-based mechanisms were introduced. The first mechanism was emissions trading which also known as the carbon market. In this mechanism, Assigned Amount Units (AAUs) represents the allowable emissions by countries. Emissions trading that have been set out in Article 17 mention that for countries which have excess emissions units, they can sell the excess units to countries that are over their targets. The reason for this to be called as carbon market is because carbon is like any other commodity which can be tracked and traded (UNFCCC, 2010). The outlays and quantities to be sold will be agreed upon the parties. However, penalties for exceeding the assigned amounts, expected costs required for cleaner technologies investments and amount of carbon emissions available for trading will be the factors that affect the price (Hill, 2001).2.4.1.3 Joint Implementation (JI)JI that have mentioned in Article 6 explains that a society of Annex B may invest in an emission-reduction project of another Annex B party. This offers a party to earn emission reduction units (ERUs) (UNFCCC, 2010). Therefore, Grubb (Hill, 2001) states that JI enables a party to fulfill their Kyoto commitments by locating investments which can curb most effective savings while another party able to contribute resources such as technological expertise or manpower. Moreover, the project at which a party is going to have a JI with must ob tain approval from both the parties involved. Besides, the JI project must be able to reduce emissions or enhancement of removals by sinks. Projects that start from year 2000 may be eligible as JI projects as long as all the requirements have been fulfilled (UNFCCC, 2010).2.4.1.4 Clean Development Mechanism (CDM)Article 12 of Kyoto Protocol is stated about CDM. It is a mechanism which allows a country to establish an emission-reduction project in non-Annex countries which are developing countries (UNFCCC, 2010). The savings in emissions which been obtained can be allocate to the Annex B countries and saleable certified emission reduction (CER) credits which equal to one tone of CO2 can be earned. According to UNFCCC, CDM is seen by many as a trailblazer. It is the first global, environmental investment and credit scheme of its kind, providing a standardized emission offset instrument, CERs. Furthermore, an example of a project that has been registered as a CDM project is the Biomass Energy give Lumut in Malaysia (Selamat and Abidin,2010)2.4.2 Part L of Building Regulations2.4.2.1 Building RegulationsBuilding Regulations are statutory instruments that applied to building works in England and Wales (Planning Portal, 2010). According to Planning Portal, the purpose of Building Regulations is to set standards for design and construction of buildings to ensure base hit and health for people in or about those buildings. Besides, there are 4teen split which include in the Building Regulations. All the parts are in relation to the building design and construction. All the parts in Building Regulations are shown as belowPart A StructurePart B Fire safetyPart C Site preparation and resistance to wetPart D Toxic substancesPart E Resistance to the passage of soundPart F VentilationPart G Sanitation, hot water safety and water efficiencyPart H Drainage and waste disposalPart J Combustion appliances and fuel storage systemsPart K Protection from falling, colli sion and impactPart L Conservation of fuel and powerPart M Access to and use of buildingsPart N Glazing safety in relation to impact, opening and cleaningPart P Electrical safety2.4.2.2 Part L Conservation of Fuel and PowerPart L of Building Regulations is mainly focus on conservation of fuel and power in relation to the issue of carbon emissions. In year 2010, Part L has been revised and the revised version has been published on 30 April 2010. Starting from October 2010, four new approved documents and two compliance guides will be replacing the current versions. After the amendment in this year, the amendments to new dwellings in 2013 will lead to zero carbon in dwellings by 2016 (Cullen, 2010). Under Part L, it has been split into four sections which are sections for new dwellings, existing dwellings, new buildings other than dwellings and existing buildings other than dwellings (Planning Portal, 2010). In this revised Part L, carbon reduction for 25% is applied to dwellin gs while reductions depend on type of buildings will varies from 16% 40%. Examples for carbon emissions for types of buildings other than dwellings are 16% for hotel, 21% for retail, 22% for shallow-plan building (heated), 26% for supermarkets and deep-plan blot (air-conditioned), 27% for school, 36% for warehouse and 40% for shallow-plan office (air-conditioned). Moreover, a design stage carbon dioxide emission rate and building specification is required to be carried out by the regulations to designers. The purpose of doing these is to help building control to understand the compliance strategy (Lane, 2010).On the other hand, Accredited Construction Details (ACD) is advance to be used for reduction of thermal bridging in dwellings (Cullen, 2010). If the ACD is not been used, 25% shall be added to the calculated values. Besides, the maximum allowable value for air permeability is 10.0 at completion of the dwelling. In order to meet with the requirement, the design for air permea bility must be at most 8.0. However, for small developments, a value of 15.0 is soothe applicable. Since lightings are a significant component of carbon emissions, therefore for lighting requirements, minimum 75% of light fittings must be of low energy. If the remaining 25% are also low energy light fittings, it will contribute towards meeting the Target Emission Rate (TER) target (Hughes, 2010). U-Value shows how well heat absent through a building element. The lower U-Value is, the rate of heat flowing through building elements slower (Broxwood, 2008). Therefore in Part L 2010, the limitations for U-value in building elements have decreased as shown in the table 2.5. The U-Value of elements for Part L 2010 have changed because this revised Part L is emphasis on reducing heat loss through party walls, alter thermal bridging and to have a better system efficiency improvements (Hughes, 2010).Table 2.5 New limiting U-Values including for party wallsSource (Hughes, 2010)2.4.3 Clima te Change Act 2008Climate Change Act 2008 was an Act enforced by UK in regard of climate change. UK was the first country in the world to have a legally binding long-term framework to tackle with issue of global warming or climate change by reducing carbon emissions. Climate Change Act 2008 was that legally binding framework (Defra, 2010). The objectives of setting out such Act are to improve carbon management and create a low-carbon economy in UK and to show UKs leadership internationally (Department of Energy Climate Change, 2010). In order to implement and act as part of this Act, Committee on Climate Change (CCC) has been set up as an independent body. The CCC has recommended that the reduction targets for year 2050 targets should be raised from 60%. Therefore, according to the Act, at least 80% of reduction is required by year 2050 as compared to year 1990 levels (Committee on Climate Change, 2010). However, a reduction in emissions of at least 34% by year 2020 also needs to b e achieved. On the other hand, several approach of managing and responding of climate change in UK have been created. Such approaches aresetting ambitious, legally binding targets, taking powers to help meet those targets, strengthening the institutional framework, enhancing the UKs ability to adapt impact of climate change and establishing clear and regular accountability to the UK Parliament and to the developed legislatures. (Department of Energy Climate Change, 2010)2.4.3.1 Requirements under the ActBesides, carbon cipher needs to be prepared in every five years starting from year 2008 -2012. Part 1 for Climate Change Act 2008 states that the carbon budget for budgetary period until year 2020 must at least 26% lower than level in year 1990 and for budgetary period until year 2050, carbon budget must at least 80% lower than year 1990s level. The purpose of having the carbon budget is to make sure that they are on the secure track towards 2050 targets. Furthermore, risk assessm ent and plans to tackle with those risks needs to be carry out by public bodies and statutory as required by governments which obtain powers from the Act. On 30 September 2009, guidance been published by Defra for UK businesses and organizations in regard of ways to measure and report of their GHG emissions. After that on 1 October 2009, guidance has been issued by the government in regard of how companies should report on their GHG emissions. Then by 1 December 2010, contribution reporting that could lead to emissions reductions shall be review. Moreover, Companies Act 2008 could be applied by the governments for the purpose of making mandatory report or explanation on reasons of unfulfilling by 6 April 2012 (Department of Energy Climate Change, 2010). Although emissions of CO2 is using year 1990 as a baseline, not all other GHG use the same baseline. Table 2.6 shows the base year for other GHG emissions.Gas menage yearmethane1990nitrous oxide1990hydrofluorocarbons1995perfluoroca rbons1995sulphur hexafluoride1995Table 2.6 Base years for targeted greenhouse gases other than carbon dioxideSource (Climate Change Act, 2008)2.4.4 docket 212.4.4.1 What is Agenda 21?Due to global awareness, Agenda 21 was established at year 1992 by United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED) in Rio de Janeiro, brazil-nut tree which contain of four sections. It is a plan for having sustainable development in 21st century. Governments, non-governmental organizations (NGOs), industry and general public are encouraged to get involved. Besides, Agenda 21 also plays as a commitment that was agreed by many governments in the world. International Commission on sustainable Development will be monitored on countries that have pledged to take part in Agenda 21. Furthermore, those countries are also being encouraged to promote Agenda 21 at local and regional levels within their own countries. Agenda 21 is focusing on the conservation and preservation of environments and natural resources (Encyclopedia of the Atmospheric Environment, 2000). It has become an line to tackle with nowadays environmental issues such as poverty and excessive consumptions, pollutions, deforestation and others.2.4.4.2 Local Agenda 21 in Hammersmith and FulhamLocal Agenda 21 (LA21) is a plan established by local authority following the objective of Agenda 21 which is sustainable development (Srinivas, 2010). For LA21 in Hammersmith and Fulham, the main concerns are on recycling or waste management, air quality of transport, sustainable economy, health or disability, biodiversity and the river thames or waterways. The main objective for Hammersmith and Fulham to adopt LA21 is to create a more sustainable lifestyle and to ensure the benefits of future generations would not be endanger by our decisions today. Besides, LA21 offers alternatives to solve against wrong ways of doing things nowadays such as throwing away piles of rubbish, wastage of resources, polluting air and oth ers (Hammersmith and Fulham, 2005).On the other hand, LA21 in Hammersmith and Fulham have six key elements which areTo supervise and enhance the local authoritys own environmental performance. It can be done through assurance by corporate, training of staff and raised awareness, a system to manage environment and the like.To integrate sustainable development aims into local authoritys policies and activities such as planning of land use, development

Creationism Essay -- essays research papers fc

In a typical American high school, Mr. Doe, the science teacher begins his reciprocation on the conjecture of evolution. John, a student opposes the idea the humans came from apes and evolved. John believes that men came from God and that man was created in 6 days. Jane hears this and argues against John, How could anything possibly be created in 6 days? This sort of project would take millions of years By using up all 45 minutes of class time discussing creationism and evolution, this is a metaphor to the eternal debate as to the origin of the human species. The question of how man came into existence is one of the great debates of this century. There is not enough examine to support creationism, yet there is even less to support evolution.The controversy on the origins of life is still hotly debated to this day. The origins of life can be conceived from the theory of evolution or the theory of creationism. The argument is old earth evolution versus young earth creationism (Seel y 2). An astounding 95% of Americans believe in God or a universal spirit, as compared to the 9% who conclude not to brace a religion at all (Sheler 2). People have geared towards a more(prenominal) eclectic background on their spiritual journey to meet our own personal need (Sheler 2). Throughout history, humans have been through a dilatory accretion rather than one sporadic event after another (Tattersal 58). It is only in the United States that this debate is such a conflict. Humans have an impulse to look unto a higher being rather than a human leader who has faults similar to their own. The higher being God should be one of refined perfection. It is the development or creation of man which is what is so intriguing, it is the mystery of man. As individuals and as a whole, people tend to get uneasy between their phantasmal compulses and our their unwavering commitment to a secular society (Sheler 1). As a contradiction within itself, we humans profess fidelity to traditional morality yet ally individual freedom and resist religious authoritarianism (Sheler 1). Our own manifestations of how we originated and where we came from, the debate of the chicken or the ballock is just blurred by the ambiguities between creationism and evolution. Was it the egg? If so, where did the egg come from? Eggs come from chickens, but then where did the chicken come ... ...act that we come from something and somewhere, its just the fact that we are searching for answers. whole shebang CitedCreationism. World Book Encyclopedia. Vol. 4, 19941123.Evolution. World Book Encyclopedia. Vol. 6, 1994436-443.Graham, Charlotte. The Eternal Debate. SIRS. http//sks.sirs.com/cgi-bin/hst- ar&type= fraud&sound=no&key=CREATIONISM. 22 Oct. 19941-3.Gould, Stephan Jay. Nonoverlapping Magistera. SIRS. http//sks.sirs.com/cgi-bin/hst- ar&type=ART&sound=no&key=CREATIONISM. March 19971-8.Marlantes, Liz. The evolution of a controversy. ProQuest. http//proquest.umi.com/pqdweb?TS=&sid=1&1dx=25&D eli=1&RQT=309&Dtp=1 23 Dec. 19991-2.Onken, Michael. Physics. Microsoft Explorer.http//www.madsci.org/posts/archives/dec96/835000890.Phr.html. 18 June 19961.Sagan, Carl. The Dragons of enlightenment Ballantine Books, 1997.Sheler, Jeffrey L. Spiritual America. SIRS. http//sks.sirs.com/cgi-bin/hst- ar&type=ART&sound=no&key=CREATIONISM. 4 April 19941-10.Sullivan, Robert. 2000 Years of Christianity. Life. December 199950-68.Tattersal, Ian. Once We Were Not Alone. Scientific American. Jan. 200056-62.

Colombia Essay -- South America

ColombiaColombia, republic in South the States, locate in the northwestern part of the continent, and bounded on the north by Panama and the Caribbean Sea, on the east by Venezuela and Brazil, on the south by Peru and Ecuador, and on the west by the Pacific Ocean. Colombia is the only country of South America with coasts on both the Caribbean Sea and the Pacific Ocean. The total land area of the country is 1,141,748 sq km (440,831 sq mi). The capital and largest city is Bogot.IILAND AND RESOURCES The distinguishing topographical feature of Colombia is the Andes band chain, situated in the central and western parts of the country, and extending north-south across almost its entire length. The Andes comprise three principal and parallel ranges the Cordillera oriental, the Cordillera Central, and the Cordillera Occidental. On the Caribbean coast is the isolated mountain mass known as the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta, which includes Colombias highest point at Pico Cristbal Coln (5776 m/18,950 ft). The Cordillera Central contains the volcanic peaks of Huila (5750 m/ 18,865 ft) and Tolima (5616 m/ 18,425 ft). About 240 km ( roughly 150 mi) south of the Caribbean, the Cordillera Central descends to marshy jungle. The cordillera peaks are perpetually covered with snow the timberline in these mountains lies at about 3000 m (about 10,000 ft).East of the Cordillera Oriental are vast reaches of torrid lowlands, thinly populated and only partly explored. The southern portion of this region, called selvas (rain forests), is thickly forested and is drained by the Caquet River and other tributaries of the virago River. The northern and greater part of the region comprises vast plains, or llanos, and is traversed by the Meta and other tributaries of the Orinoco River. Between the cordilleras are high plateaus, a number of which are about 2400 m (about 8000 ft) above sea level, and fertile valleys, traversed by the principal rivers of the country. The principal river of Colom bia, the Magdalena, flows north between the Cordillera Oriental and the Cordillera Central, across practically the entire country, emptying into the Caribbean skillful Barranquilla after a course of about 1540 km (about 960 mi). The Cauca, also an important means of communication, flows north between the Cordillera Central and the Cordillera Occidental, merging with the Magdalena about 320... ...mber and December anti-guerilla vigilance man groups killed 73 people suspected of being guerilla sympathizers. During 1997 guerillas sporadically attacked remote government outposts. They launched a campaign of violence and intimidation in October aimed at preventing voters from combat-ready in municipal and regional elections. Paramilitary squads launched a counter-campaign of violence, raiding a number of villages and executing individuals suspected of supporting guerilla activities. In March 1998 FARC forces ambushed elect(ip) government troops in a remote southern jungle region, kil ling about 70 soldiers in the worst government defeat in the 35 years since guerilla hostilities began. Government sources estimated that more than 41,000 Colombians-mostly poor farmers-fled their homes to escape the growing violence between guerillas and paramilitary units. The government and Colombias second largest rebel group, the subject Liberation Army (ELN) agreed in early 1998 to open peace negotiations. However, the future of negotiations remained questionable following the death in February of 62-year-old ELN leader Manuel Perez, a author priest who had led the rebel group for 25 years.