Gender Selection of Babies Essay -- Biotechnology Genetics Parenting

For centuries there had been one sex that dominated the development of society. Laws, religion and lifestyle all revolved around the idea that one sex, the male sex, was dominant. Oppressed and considered inferior, women would obey the men, forgo all rights and accept all responsibility. Only recently, with the emergence of the women’s liberation movement, have both sexes been considered equal. For the first time in human history, both sexes have been given the chance to fulfill their potentials without discrimination. Parents, despite preferences of having a girl, or a boy, have known that regardless, their child would have an equal opportunity at life. The cutting edge technology, however, means that all this could change. The ability of parents to actually select the gender of their child could have not only devastating effects on society, but on the lives of so many children and parents. Whether parents had a girl or a boy has always been left up to nature to decide. To da te, no-one has dared interfere with the genetic workings of the body, mainly because the technology did not exist to do it. Now, with the dawn of the twenty-first century, that technology has arrived and mankind is faced with a very important decision: whether or not to â€Å"play God† and manipulate the gender of their child to suit their preferences. The romance of having the perfect nuclear family, with two boys and two girls’ fills the heads of young couples everywhere, and when given the opportunity, m...

The Supply And Demand Of UK Energy Environmental Sciences Essay

The energy beginnings can be split into three classs: dodo fuels, renewable beginnings, and atomic power. To develop a better understanding about each beginning it is indispensable to discourse all of them individually. 1.1.1. Fossil fuels. They are called â€Å" fossil fuels † because they have been formed from the organic remains of prehistoric workss and animate beings. Although there are many different types of dodo fuels, three are particularly of import: coal, crude oil ( oil ) , and natural gas. The theory behind fossil fuels is rather simple – combustion of coal, natural gas, and oil releases energy stored in the fuel as heat. The released energy is so used to bring forth electricity. Coal is presently the cheapest fuel in footings of production. Harmonizing to The Coal Authority, there are 15 active belowground coal mines and 36 active surface excavation sites in the UK, doing it a sum of 51. Together they produce 16.7 million tones of coal end product ( twelvemonth 2009/2010, The Coal Authority, see Appendix 1 ) . Equally good as being the cheapest option of fuel it is besides the most polluting. â€Å" Coal is an highly soiled beginning of power, and imposes immense costs on people ‘s wellness, the environment and the economic system, † said Keith Allott, caput of WWF-UK ‘s clime alteration programme ( www.sciencedaily.com ) . First, acquiring coal from its beginning ( the Earth ‘s crust ) is harmful and fouling to the landscape. Second, coal ‘s combustion releases a toxicant cocktail of gases into the environment. Carbon dioxide, sulfur dioxide, and little airborne atoms of coal venture into the air and H2O supply ( www.associatedcontent.com ) . The UK is the largest manufacturer oil and natural gas in the EU. However, after old ages of being a net exporter of both fuels, the state became a net importer O natural gas in 2004. The Government estimations besides predict that the state will go a net importer of oil in the close hereafter. Production from the UK oil and natural gas Fieldss peaked in late 1990s and has declined steadily over the past several old ages due to an addition in demand for energy besides because find of new militias has non kept gait with the ripening of bing Fieldss ( www.doe.gov ) . Natural gas histories for over 40 % of electricity coevals in the UK while oil is to a great extent used by the industries and conveyance sector. At this minute, United Kingdom is extremely dependent on fossil fuels. Figure 1: Fuel used for UK electricity coevals on an end product footing in 2007 Beginning: Digest of UK Energy Statistics ( DUKES ) 1.1.2. Renewable Energy Sources. Renewable energy is the energy obtained from beginnings that are basically unlimited. Renewable beginnings of energy include air current, solar, biomass, hydro and geothermic energy ( www.business.qld.gov.au ) . Renewable energy became highly popular when the effects of fossil fuels to the environment and part to climate alteration became apparent. Their popularity is invariably lifting, particularly in states concerned about the environment. Wind energy is the most popular type of renewable energy in the UK. It is generated when the air current rotates a turbine ‘s blades which drive a generator to bring forth electricity. Harmonizing to BWEA, there are 260 operational air current farms ( 12 of which are offshore ) in the UK bring forthing a sum of 4,491.15 MW of electricity. There besides are 23 onshore and 3 offshore wind farms under building. Consented undertakings are to construct another 189 onshore air current farms and 9 offshore air current farms ( www.bwea.com ) . Solar energy is a photovoltaic consequence which happens when exposure cells convert sunlight straight into electricity. This beginning of energy is non as popular in the UK as air current energy. However, it is rather common to utilize the Sun for heating the H2O pipes. Painting the thin pipes black and seting them in a ‘greenhouse ‘ type dielectric can heat the H2O supply and hence cut down the cost of utilizing electricity to heat it. Photovoltaic cells can besides be used as roof tiles. They cover the roof of the edifice and take advantage of the Sun light coming from the Sun. This is trapped by the cell and turned into electricity ( www.bbc.co.uk ) . Biomass is biological stuff derived from life, or late populating beings. In the context of biomass for energy this is frequently used to intend works based stuff, but biomass can every bit use to both animate being and vegetable derived stuff. Five basic classs of the stuff are: virgin wood, energy corps, agricultural residues, nutrient waste and industrial waste and co-products ( www.biomassenergycentre.org.uk ) . Biomass can be used on a domestic or industrial scale.A For a biomass power works, the chipped, shredded and dried fuel is fed into a boiler or gasifier, from where the gas is collected and used to bring forth electricity and heat.A Biomass can besides be used at a more basic degree to bring forth heat for the place – this is done most expeditiously utilizing a wood combustion range which can besides be an attractive characteristic in any home.A It is possible with larger ranges to utilize a back boiler to supply all of the H2O warming and cardinal warming for a ho use.A Alternatively, a biomass boiler can be used for the same intent ( www.sundancerenewables.org.uk ) . There are many illustrations of energy crop/wood waste heating systems in Britain: In Ely, Cambridgeshire, a 31MW straw combustion works, the biggest and most effectual works in the universe, was commissioned late. A 350kW wood-burning boiler was installed at Weobley School in 1997.A Using locally adult wood, it heats the school itself every bit good as the secondary school on the bordering site. The National Botanic Garden of Wales and Singleton Park Botanic Gardens in Swansea are heated utilizing energy crops/wood waste. An increasing figure of farms are utilizing straw-fires boilers for on site warming demands in edifices and polytunnels. The Centre for Alternative Technology in Machynlleth, North Wales, are presently set abouting a undertaking to construct a Welsh Institute for Sustainable Education, which will include an advanced biomass combined heat and power micro turbine system linked to the territory warming system and grid. ( .sundancerenewables.org.uk ) Hydro energy or hydroelectric energy is generated by utilizing electricity generators to pull out energy from traveling H2O ( natural or manmade ) . Hydroelectric energy can be used in two ways: first manner is by constructing big reservoirs and dikes ( barriers build across a waterway ) to pin down H2O and command its flow ; 2nd manner is by leting H2O to run machinery as it flows from a high reservoir to a low one ( www.eon-uk.com ) . Some facts about hydroelectric power in the United kingdom: There are seven 50MW hydroelectric power strategies in the UK These workss need to be build near big lakes, reservoirs that are high above sea degree or where a batch of H2O can be dammed Hydro energy supplies 1.2 % of the UK ‘s electricity ( www.eon-uk.com ) Geothermal energy is the heat contained and produced by the warming of the Earth in two different ways. The more powerful geothermic energy comes from the nucleus of the Earth, where the temperature reaches 4000 grades Celsius. The 2nd beginning of geothermic energy is a consequence of the Sun rays crushing down on the land surface. A good and proved method to pull out geothermic energy from the Sun is through utilizing geothermic heat pumps. It is a really sufficient and environmentally friendly manner of heating the H2O ( www.clean-energy-ideas.com ) . 1.2. Energy Demand and Supply The appetency for energy is turning every twenty-four hours. UK, being the largest manufacturer of oil and natural gas in the EU, is still constrained to import fossil fuels in order to fulfill all energy demands. Harmonizing to a survey by the adviser Logica CMG, in merely eight old ages, demand for energy could surpass supply by 23 % at peak times ( information as of 2007, www.timesonline.co.uk ) . The loss to the economic system could be around ?108 billion each twelvemonth. The graduated table of the challenge is immense. By 2015, Britain ‘s bring forthing capacity could be cut by a 3rd as ageing coal and atomic power Stationss are closed. Britain is besides traveling from being self-sufficing in oil and gas as North Sea production started to worsen. In 2005, the UK became a net importer of gas. By 2020 imports could account for 80 % to 90 % of British gas demands ( www.business.timesonline.co.uk ) . Harmonizing to the White Paper, the UK faces two chief security of supply challenges: Increasing trust on imports of oil and gas in the universe where demand is lifting and energy is going more politicised Requirement of significant private sector investing over the coming two decennaries in gas substructure, power Stationss and electricity webs ( White Paper, www.berr.gov.uk ) Despite a batch of unfavorable judgment, UK which presently generates 20 % of electricity from atomic power Stationss will go on to utilize atomic power ( except the old atomic workss that are traveling to be closed down ) as the hazard of non run intoing the energy demand is even greater. 1.3. The Production and Import of Energy While the UK has benefited from autochthonal militias of oil and gas for many old ages, as the North Sea matures, the state will go progressively dependant on imported energy. By 2010, gas imports could be run intoing up to a 3rd or more of the UK ‘s entire one-year gas demand, potentially lifting to about 80 % by 2020 on the footing of bing policies. The UK is besides already a net importer of oil, and by 2020 imports could be run intoing up to around 75 % of the UK ‘s coal demand. Therefore UK has to do certain that the market for fossil fuels, supported by appropriate Government policies, continues to guarantee dependable supplies of these fuels at competitory monetary values to people and concerns. The starting point for turn toing these hazards must be to cut down state ‘s overall energy usage through greater energy efficiency. Beyond that the Government must besides back up the development and deployment of non dodo fuel energy within the UK to cut down the dependance on fossil fuels and to diversify the scope of energy beginnings available to the UK ( White Paper, www.berr.gov.uk ) Chapter 2: Hazards involved with Fossil Fuels There are a figure of hazards involved with fossil fuels. First of wholly, there is a fact that the fossil fuels are consuming in a rapid rate and are harder to recover. With demand for energy turning fast, there is a possibility that non merely the United Kingdom but the whole Universe might be confronting an energy crisis in the close hereafter. Energy monetary value volatility will ( and already has ) become inevitable. The 2nd job with fossil fuels is the injury they cause for the environment. The negative effects are already demoing as the clime is altering and the Earth is warming up. Another job lies in the development of the economic system. The state needs rough oil for bring forthing the electricity and for conveyance. When the monetary value of oil goes up, so make the monetary values of conveyance, family goods, and all basic merchandises. 2.1. Oil Price Volatility Oil monetary values have ne'er been stable since 19 1970ss. Due to some important historic, fiscal, and political events, the monetary value of petroleum oil has seen some crisp fluctuation over the old ages. The most eventful fact about it is that when the monetary value of oil goes up so make the monetary values of energy and even primary trade goods. With oil militias worsening in the North Sea, UK is forced to import oil from Figure 2: Crude Oil Prices, 1947-2009 Beginning: www.wtrg.com 2.2. Militias of Fossil Fuels Fossil fuels take 1000000s of old ages to organize. They form by a natural geological procedure from beings that died 100s of 1000000s of old ages ago. Today ‘s modern and industrialized society is hurting for energy, and most of the energy is still obtained from fossil fuels. It is hence obvious that if the ingestion continues at this or even higher rate, there is a hazard of fossil fuels being exhausted ( www.typesofenergy.co.uk ) . However, there is a dissension between scientists over the militias of fossil fuels. For illustration, Bjorn Lomborg in The Sceptical Environmentalist insists that â€Å" we are non headed for a major energy crisis † . Furthermore, he claims that â€Å" there is plentifulness of energy † ( MacKay, D. , 2009 ) . David Goodstein, a physicist, on the other manus, says that the energy crisis is coming shortly. In fact, every bit shortly as 2015 or 2025. He predicts that the crisis will get down when the energy supply will non be able to run into the demand ( MacKay, D. , 2009 ) . UK Government ‘s former main scientist, Sir David King agrees with D. Goodstein. In the article published by The Telegraph really late he claims that oil militias are ‘exaggerated by one tierce ‘ which means they are really much lower than we know. Besides a squad of scientists and research workers from Oxford University assert that official figures are overstated because OPEC states over-reported militias in the 1980s in order to derive a competitory advantage for a planetary market portion ( www.telegraph.co.uk ) . United Kingdom is non an exclusion. The production of coal has decreased significantly since around 1950s. Table 3: The Production of Coal, 1700-2025 ( predicted ) Beginning: www.claverton-energy.com Harmonizing to Dr Fred Starr of Claverton Energy Research Group, â€Å" UK coal militias are now given as someplace between 400-800 million of metric tons. Not the one million millions that everyone supposes. If the UK energy system was wholly dependent on coal, as it used to be, these stocks would last 2-4 old ages. † ( www.claverton-energy.com ) . Furthermore, UK ‘s oil militias in the North Sea are besides diminishing. Since the 1970s it has been a beginning of wealth for the British economic system. It besides meant that the state could cut its dependance on the Middle East oil. Despite the fact the country is one of the most ambitious for oil geographic expedition ( terrible air current blasts and 30 metres high moving ridges ) the North Sea has been a cardinal beginning of non-OPEC oil production over the last 20 old ages ( www.iags.org ) . While oil demand is said to increase in approaching old ages, North Sea end product peaked in 1999 and has been in diminution of all time since. However, oil manufacturers believe it is still possible to pull out 37bn barrels of oil from the North Sea. The job now is a worsening investing. With current investing merely some 11bn barrels could be extracted form the UK Continental shelf. Malcolm Webb, main executive of UK Oil & A ; Gas, said to The Telegraph in July 2009 that â€Å" last twelvemonth, we had the recognition crunch, following twelvemonth we are looking at an energy crunch † ( www.telegraph.co.uk ) . Talking about UK gas militias, the state of affairs is comparatively better compared to oil and coal. The militias are rather high with the potency for growing ( delight see Appendix 2 ) . Table 4: UK Gas Reserves, 1979-2008 Beginning: www.og.decc.gov.uk However, there is one unresolved issue refering gas – its storage. Colder than normal winter last twelvemonth caused record backdowns of natural gas from UK storage and resulted in increased demand replenishing storage installations in spring and summer. Therefore, UK marketable gas supplies so a lessening of 17 % on an one-year footing. Furthermore, diminution rate and colder conditions have contributed to a noticeable growing in UK LNG ( Liquefied Natural Gas ) imports and a diminution in natural gas supplies sent from the UK to Continental Europe. This form is expected to go on ( hypertext transfer protocol: //europe.theoildrum.com ) . 2.3. Environment and Climate Change Climate alteration is blamed on several human activities, but the biggest subscriber to climate alteration is the sum of nursery gases ( C dioxide emanations ) released into atmosphere. Most of these gases come from firing fossil fuels. How does climate alter impact the UK? In future, rainfall could significantly diminish in the summer ( peculiarly in the south E ) and significantly increase in the winter ( peculiarly in the north West ) . Heavier winter rainfall can to go more frequent, doing more flooding. The low-lying rise across the UK is projected to be between 20cm and 80cm by 2100. In the worst instance scenario, rises of up to 1.9 metres are possible. The summer heat moving ridge experienced in 2003 resulted in over 2,000 excess deceases in the UK. Such an event is likely to go normal by the 2040s or the 2050s. By the 2060s or 2070s, the intense temperatures of 2003 could go the mean temperature in summer. ( World Wide Web. actonco2.direct.gov.uk ) On history of the above mentioned facts it is perfectly clear that there is an pressing demand to happen other ways of fulfilling the turning energy demands of the United Kingdom. Even if it is non possible to retreat fossil fuels as a beginning of energy wholly there are other options of securing energy, e.g. Solar, air current or hydro power. Talking about nursery gases, The UK is already doing a important advancement. As the tabular array below shows, the strength of toxicant gas emanations is diminishing bit by bit since 1991. Table 5: United kingdom Greenhouse Gas Emissions Intensity, 1991-2007 Beginning: Office of National Statistics Chapter 3: Energy Debate Everybody agrees that there are a few jobs in the universe of energy today. Get downing with clime alteration and coating with possible long-run deficits and energy security. Something has to be done, but what? Not merely UK Government but the from many states in the World are now get downing to acquire serious about funding research into alternate energy beginnings, puting up power Stationss fuelled by renewable energy beginnings and promoting the development of vehicles that run on alternate fuels. However, there are still some unfastened inquiries that are non answered or there is some dissension traveling on about them. 3.1. UK Government ‘s Position UK Government is taking things really earnestly. The state has really about doubled the mark of 12.5 % decrease of nursery gas emanations agreed in Kyoto Protocol[ 1 ]( www.decc.gov.uk ) . This Protocol was followed by Copenhagen Summit[ 2 ]in December 2009. Although it was n't every bit successful as Kyoto Protocol, UK engagement was a gesture of attention and concernment. UK Government has made few other stairss towards sustainability. One of so is the White Paper. First introduced in February 2003 ( â€Å" Energy White Paper: Our energy future – making a low C economic system † ) and subsequently rewritten in 2007 ( â€Å" Meeting the Energy Challenge, A White Paper on Energy † , May 2007, BERR ) . The purpose of this paper is to be after a scheme on how to salvage energy, develop cleaner energy supplies, and secure dependable energy supplies at monetary values set in competitory markets ( A White Paper on Energy, www.berr.gov.uk ) . The cardinal elements of the scheme are: Establish an international model to undertake clime alteration. The thought buttocks is to brace the concentration of nursery gasses in the ambiance. Besides to beef up EU Emissions Trading Scheme ( EU ETS ) in order to present a market monetary value for C and to be the footing for the planetary C market. This should guarantee the decrease of C emanations in the most cost-efficient manner. Provide lawfully adhering C marks for the whole UK economic system, increasingly cut downing emanations. The purpose is to cut down C dioxide emanations released into atmosphere by at least 60 % by 2050, and by 26 % -32 % by 2020 against a 1990 baseline. This has to be achieved through both domestic and international action. The Government besides has to put five-year C budgets, and topographic point adhering bounds on compound nursery gasses emanations. Make farther advancement in accomplishing to the full competitory and crystalline international markets. Effective markets will guarantee that the universe ‘s natural resources are used in the most efficient manner. Further liberalization of EU energy markets is an of import portion of this. Promote more energy salvaging through better information, inducements and ordinance. The Government is traveling to work on taking barriers that would impact cost-efficient energy efficiency steps to lift. Supply more support for low C engineerings. As private sector entirely might non be able to put sufficiently in research, development, presentation and deployment of new low C engineerings, the Government demands to convey forward a planetary investing. Ensure the right conditions for investing. The Government has to present a clear and stable regulative government, including for valuing C, to cut down uncertainness for concern and aid to guarantee sufficient, timely investing. It besides needs to better the planning system and to supply better information and analysis of long-run energy market tendencies to inform energy buying and investing determinations. ( A White Paper on Energy, www.berr.gov.uk ) The last point summarises Government ‘s function in encouraging concerns and industries to put in renewable energy best. It is a fact that without aid, information, inducements, and fiscal support little to medium sized concerns ( perchance even big concerns ) would likely non be able to put the necessitated sum of attempt and money needed to go more sustainable in footings of energy. 3.2. Nuclear Power? Harmonizing to Nuclear Industry Association, there are 23 atomic power reactors in the UK, bring forthing electricity at nine sites. The electricity supplied by atomic power Stationss histories for over one fifth of UK ‘s electricity. The industry contributes about ?3.3 billion to UK Gross Domestic Product. It exports over ?650 million goods and services each twelvemonth. The atomic industry is an of import portion of the UK ‘s scientific discipline and engineering base. A major positive thing about atomic power is that it does non lend to climate alteration as it does n't bring forth C dioxide emanations. But what about atomic waste? Nuclear waste is excessively unsafe to be exposed and can non be destroyed nor recycled. It has to be stored in particular containers and placed in secure sites. In the UK, around 120,000,000 M3 of atomic waste is generated per twelvemonth ( www.world-nuclear.org ) . Compared to fossil fuels, it is really small. But excluding in head that this waste has to be stored and corsets active for 1000s of old ages, it all of a sudden looks like a immense sum. Other concern is the safety of atomic power Stationss. Even though UK ‘s power Stationss are rated as of first-class security degree, the universe has seen some major catastrophes. For illustration, when on April 26, 1986 the No. 4 reactor at the Chernobyl power works exploded in former U.S.S.R. doing the worst atomic accident of all time. The World Health Organisation found that the radioactive dust from the detonation was improbably far-reaching. For a clip, radiation degrees in Scotland, over 1400 stat mis off, were 10,000 times the norm. The effects are felt to this twenty-four hours ; there is an increased figure of people enduring from malignant neoplastic disease in environing countries and a mutant of workss ( www.wagingpeace.org ) . A batch of scientists are doubting towards atomic power. The chief constituent of production of atomic power is uranium, which is a radioactive metallic component, of course happening in most stones, dirt, and even ocean. Therefore it is a fossil fuel. Physicist David Goodstein, after warning about forthcoming oil crisis says that if all energy demands were to be switched to atomic power, the oil crisis would merely be replaced by a atomic crisis in around 20 old ages clip, as uranium militias besides became low ( McKay, JC, 2009 ) . However, in November 2009, the Government has approved 10 sites in England and Wales for new atomic power Stationss. Most of them will be located where there are already workss ( www.bbc.co.uk ) . The Government is certain that without energy generated by atomic power workss it will non be able to vouch adequate supply for turning demand every bit good as will non be able to run into its ain marks of cutting down the C dioxide emissions how it is stated in A White Paper. But environmental candidates say it is an expensive and soiled option and the authorities could be unfastened to legal challenges. 3.3. Clean Coal? With coal being the most polluting type of fuel, it is hard to take in such thing as ‘clean coal ‘ . However, the new engineerings are being developed to turn out that combustion of coal can really be clean. Clean coal engineering is referred to carbon gaining control and storage ( segregation ) engineering ( CCS ) . This engineering is said to cut down emanations of C dioxide and other nursery gasses that are released while firing the coal. The engineering works by pumping and hive awaying emanations underground while incorporate gasification combined rhythm gasifies coal to cut down CO2 emanations. Possibly the most popular illustration of a coal-based works utilizing C gaining control engineering is Vattenfall ‘s Schwarze Pumpe works in Germany. However, it has non yet been demonstrated that C stored resistance will be able to remain at that place indefinitely ( www.wikipedia.org ) . In April 2009 UK Government gas given the go-ahead to new coal-burning power workss equipped with such new engineerings. But on status that it can turn out it can cut down nursery emanations ( www.bbc.co.uk ) . Even environmental candidates welcomed the move but said any new Stationss would still let go of more C than they stored. On the other manus, Energy Secretary Ed Miliband says these new engineerings altering the manner of bring forthing the power from coal would let the UK â€Å" to take the universe † in the engineering – and maintain coal within the UK ‘s energy mix without abandoning clime alteration committednesss. He added that successful CCS development could cut C emanations from coal by 90 % and that â€Å" there is no alternate to CCS if we are serious about contending clime alteration and retaining a diverse mix of energy beginnings for our economic system. † ( www.bbc.co.uk ) . However, some concerns were raised that one million millions of lbs of taxpayers ‘ money was being spent on engineering that remains unprovenaˆÂ ¦ The inquiry stays unfastened in the average clip. Is it truly deserving puting one million millions of lbs ( allow entirely they are revenue enhancement remunerators money ) in a engineering that has non been proven yet? Should n't the Government be more interested in puting in energy beginnings that are 100 % emanations free? This inquiry is yet to be answered in the close hereafter. 3.4. The Position of Society UK is the state that is truly interested in its part to cut downing C footmark and to procure energy supplies in the hereafter. So are a batch of the persons populating in the UK ; they get involved in environmental runs, recycle their waste, want the Government to move faster on exchanging to renewable energy, and show their concerns over clime alteration. However, sometimes enthusiasm is taken over by wholly opposite feelings. Let ‘s take air current farms as an illustration. They are so a 100 % environmentally friendly beginning of energy. Equally good as that, windmills are immense buildings that stand tall and broad to capture more air current and are really noticeable. When the first air current farm was build in Delabole in Cornwall, an independent ‘before and after ‘ survey indicated that 80 % of the local people asked said it made no difference to their day-to-day life, 44 % approved and 40 % approved strongly. In the ‘before ‘ survey, 40 % of local people interviewed thought it was traveling to be visually intrusive, but this fell to 29 % after it was set up and running. Many expected there would be some noise jobs beforehand but after it was running 80 % of people felt the noise was n't a job ( NATTA ) . Even though the ‘after ‘ survey showed improved Numberss, there were still people ( 29 % ) that felt the position of the landscape was someway destroyed by windmills. And some of the people ( 20 % ) found the noise was an issue. Furthermore, there are web sites like www.bhats.co.uk which agitate for ‘saving the small towns from industrial turbines ‘ and conservationists like James Lovelock, who says that â€Å" air current farms will lay waste to the countryside pointlessly † ( www.bhats.co.uk ) . At the same clip, UK is a perfect topographic point for air current farms. Scotland entirely gets more air current than all of the Europe. The state could profit by constructing more air current farms but it will non be able to make so if local occupants will be against. Chapter 4: Future Outlook of Energy in the UK The hereafter of energy in the UK is controversial. Critics say the state will be confronting an energy spread in the close hereafter while others insist that everything is and will be all right. But with demand for energy turning quickly and with marks set by the Government are to be met, there is a inquiry arising: how and what beginnings of energy will rule in the hereafter? 4.1. Prospects for Fossil Fuels â€Å" Fossil fuels will stay the dominant energy beginning – there is no alternate † John Loughhead, Executive Director of UK Energy Research Centre Harmonizing to the panel of 150 experts, despite enlargement of renewable energy and the demand of atomic power, fossil fuels will stay the pillar of energy supply in the UK up to the twelvemonth 2050. The panel draw a decision: Generating capacity deficit of 7-16GW by 2015 Equivalent to about 20 % of current capacity Without demand to keep emanations, spread could be bridged easy Fossil fuels will stay the dominant engineering Nuclear is proven and dependable, but edifice takes at least a decennary – determination needed shortly Renewables could provide 40 % of coevals by 2050 ( www.bbc.co.uk ) This decision is non really optimistic nor is acceptable to conservationists. Even the White Paper states that fossil fuels like oil and coal will go on to play a cardinal function in the energy system hereafter. The Government hence plans to maximize the economic recovery of the staying militias of oil and gas by hiking investing in the North Sea. It besides plans to set up new substructure to the West of Shetland to enable extra gas and oil to be exploited. However, fossil fuels are merely one side of the decoration. There is besides a theory for the hereafter of renewable energy. 4.2. Prospects for Renewable Energy Renewable energy is playing a cardinal function in cut downing C emanations and accomplishing security of supply in the hereafter. Furthermore, the mark set by the Government is to accomplish 20 % of electricity coevals from renewable energy by twelvemonth 2020. It is non traveling to go on without Governments ‘ intercession or investing. It really all depends on how much attempt is traveling to be put in doing it go on. In 2002, the Government introduced a mechanism called Renewables Obligation[ 3 ]( RO ) . RO has been successful in stimulating investing in renewable energy undertakings. It does this by puting an Duty on accredited electricity providers to beginning an increasing proportion of their electricity gross revenues from renewable beginnings or to pay a punishment ( the buy-out monetary value ) . The RO ‘s purpose is to supply a model of fiscal inducements to put in renewables with the long-run end of back uping the passage of renewables into the mainstream of the UK ‘s competitory electricity market. The degree of the Obligation is presently set to increase in one-year stairss from 7.9 % in 2007/08 to 15.4 % by 2015, and to stay at that degree until 2027 when the mechanism will stop ( White Paper, www.berr.go.uk ) . However, harmonizing to greenpeace.org.uk, the marks of RO so far have been missed. Energy consultancy Oxera estimated that the RO in its current signifier will present merely 8.1 % of supply from renewables by 2010, 11.4 % by 2015 and 11.5 % by 2020 ( as of 2007, www.greenpeace.org.uk ) . Is the Government making plenty to back up the growing of renewable energy beginnings? The reply to that is likely no. Everyone agrees that it is a cardinal beginning of energy in the hereafter yet still more is being invested in oil development of gas and oil from the North Sea or C gaining control and storage ( which has n't even been proven to be effectual yet ) . Therefore the chances for renewable energy in the UK are a small fuzz. It does necessitate some immense investings, but is n't energy future and security priceless? 4.3. Possible Solutions There are rather a few solutions how the Government, concerns and persons could lend to pull offing the energy supply before the deficit appears. Possibly every individual 1 has already been discussed in the past by different panels but still deserving looking into. Possible solution 1: velocity bounds on the roads could be lowered. Cars and other vehicles are known as being the worst defilers. Reducing the velocity bound non merely would better the safety issue on the roads, it would besides intend that less toxicant gasses are being released into atmosphere. Possible solution 2: people should take to drive more energy efficient autos. There is a difference between a Smart auto with an engine of 0.7 litre and a Porsche 911 with an engine of 3.0 litres. If people chose to drive small-engine autos it would be good to the environment and the roads but it would besides intend smaller gasoline measures for the driver. Possible solution 3: addition in route revenue enhancements for autos with engines larger than 1.4 litres. Sometimes the lone manner to promote people to make something is via statute law. Possible solution 4: introduce an inducements strategy for purchasing a fuel efficient auto. Possible solution 5: Promote the use of public conveyance more. Buss are frequently running empty while the roads are full of autos. If more people used public conveyance, there would n't be as many autos on the roads. Possible solution 6: physique more energy efficient places and fit the old 1s with new energy efficient merchandises, e.g. Windowss. Last winter being colder than normally has caused some serious issues refering gas militias in the UK. It would non be such a large job if more houses in the UK were less dependent on states militias. Possible solution 7: promote electrical vehicles. Not merely should the Government advance electrical vehicles but besides introduce some inducements for people purchasing them. These vehicles are five times more efficient compared to petrol powered 1s and bring forth 0 % of C emanations. Possible solution 8: invest more in renewable energy beginnings. It has to get down some twenty-four hours and there is non clip to detain it. Not merely to better the quality of air but besides to go more independent. It applies to all: the Government, concerns, and persons. The list of possible solutions could travel on. But even if three of the above mentioned would be taken and looked at earnestly and followed by matching actions, the state of affairs would better slightly. 4.4. Why Should Businesses Invest in Renewable Energy? Before sing the benefits involved with concern exchanging to renewable energy it would possibly be interesting to happen out where should one start when believing about such move. First of all, in order to take the most appropriate engineerings, the concern should place and see such factors as its current energy use, overall ingestion, and fluctuations in demand. It should besides place the countries where it would be possible to cut down energy use. It is of import to place what energy mix would suite the concern best are some engineerings that can merely bring forth either electricity or heat, while others can bring forth both ( www.businesslink.gov.uk ) . The benefits are important. The chief 1s would include: The decrease of part to climate alteration Improved environmental certificates strengthen the trade name. More and more clients, stakeholders and investors are demoing an involvement in covering with concerns that are environmentally responsible Exemption from paying the responsibility under the clime alteration levy[ 4 ] Constructing relationships with concerns that have similar values Stabilise energy costs. Renewable energy monetary values will remain stable whereas monetary values of fossil fuels are fluctuating Future proofing. Renewable energy usage will go more widespread with clip. With statute law already puting marks for its usage upon certain new developments, exchanging sooner instead than subsequently would give the concern early experience of renewable energy It is indispensable to advert, that there is a fiscal aid available for concerns which invest in renewable energy. A scope of grants, loans and even awards introduced by the Government are available to assist concerns, e.g. Applied Research Grant, Woodland Regeneration Grant, Business Commitment to the Environment ( BCE ) Environmental Leadership Award – SME Award, Green Business of the Year Award, Carbon Trust Interest-Free Loans, Energy Efficiency Loans, and many others ( www.businesslink.gov.uk ) . The above stated list of benefits is rather extended. However, two of them truly stand out. First one is that the money that company is traveling to be salvaging on energy measures in the hereafter. That is because every concern, foremost of all, is about doing a net income. Second one is non being dependent on dodo fuels which monetary values are fluctuating invariably and, moreover, fossil fuels are a major cause of clime alteration.

My Own Personal And Theoretical Understanding Education Essay

The biggest development so far has to be my apprehension of English as an extra linguistic communication, non merely did I use to believe EAL pupils were portion of the Particular Educational Needs and Disabilities standards, I ever use to see pupils with EAL as a barrier, inquiring myself inquiries like, How would I get the better of the linguistic communication barrier? Making myself believe that EAL pupils are lower ability within all topics, but this is non the instance. Some instructors have small or no apprehension of a kid ‘s demands that does non hold English as their first linguistic communication. Sometimes this deficiency of apprehension and communicating between pupil and instructor can decelerate down the pupils ‘ advancement. Whether the kid is considered to be one of the followers: an Asylum-Seeker, Refugee, Isolated Learner, Sojourner, Bilingual or merely new to English, every kid affairs. EAL teaching method is designed to assist run into the linguistic communication and larning demands of pupils who have English as an extra linguistic communication. Successful EAL scholars will normally hold a good apprehension and a appreciation of their ain first linguistic communication, so while larning English they are able to develop their vocabulary in their first linguistic communication. In order for a pupil to develop cognitively and linguistically, they need to hold the chance to talk and compose within the English linguistic communication from an early phase of a lesson, assisting them to go more witting of their new linguistic communication, this is besides a good manner to measure the pupil ‘s demands, being able to see where they need more development. Student ‘s larning EAL need contextual support in order to do sense of new information and the new linguistic communication ; this can be developed through ocular cues, assisting the EAL pupil to acquire to footings with the undertakings presented to them though their cognition of English is limited. Standard five ‘Adapt learning to react to the strengths and demands of all students ‘ from the Teachers ‘ Standards provinces ; ‘Have a clear apprehension of the demands of all students, including those with particular educational demands ; those of high ability ; those with English as extra linguistic communication ; those with disablements ; and be able to utilize and measure typical instruction attacks to prosecute and back up them. ‘ ( DfE, 2012:8 ) After reading and re-reading the Teachers ‘ Standards and taking this subdivision of Standard five on board I have come to gain, that in order to learn EAL pupils you have got to be willing to larn to learn. No affair where you are within your learning calling you have to larn from the kids within you category. Jim Cummins developed a model, which shows how basic interpersonal communicating accomplishments ( BIC ) and cognitive academic linguistic communication proficiency ( CALP ) can be developed through planning and instruction. The model is helpful to place and develop appropriate undertakings for different pupils within different categories. Though it its believe that pupils need to be working from the high cognitive demand and high contextual support quarter-circle, Conteh explained the quarter-circles in Cummins ‘ diagram as the followers ; ‘Beginning with context-embedded activities and bit by bit traveling, with talk and action, towards less embedded activities means that kids are ne'er left without support, and at the same clip are being encouraged to travel to the new cognition which is the object of the activity. ‘ ( J.Conteh 2006:11 ) After reflecting on the point that Conteh made about how the model fundamentally helps to construct upon the pupil ‘s English cognition, through practical activities and a assortments of experiences within the schoolroom. The best manner to assist with a pupils ‘ cognition is through verbal communicating. Bringing me to submergences versus bilingualism, BIC and CALP are both needed to assist back up a pupils larning and understanding. Though bilingualism is good to pass on between the same linguistic communication and you can happen out more about this pupil within their ain apprehension of their first linguistic communication, submergence will assist a pupil develop quicker. By literately throwing a pupil into the deep terminal with a group of pupils who merely have English as their first linguistic communication the kid is so forced to pass on with these pupils assisting come oning with verbal communicating, this can besides assist with linguistic communication accompli shments through written pieces of work as the pupil is larning from equals who are the best instructors to pupils who are EAL. ‘Have high outlooks of behavior, and set up a model for subject with a scope of schemes, utilizing congratulations, countenances and wages systematically and reasonably ‘ ( DfE, 2012:8 ) Concentrating on standard seven of the Teachers ‘ Standards, behavior is all the clip non merely disputing. When inquiring myself what behavior was all I had in my head were the pupils who are disputing. Coming to gain that behavior is non merely those who like to dispute a instructor, but it is besides those who push to win as mentioned before behavior is all the clip. Within any school many pupils will move otherwise, within different scenes and with different instructors. Some pupils do non like alteration, so a alteration to a usual modus operandi can take to a alteration in behavior ; this besides happens when a pupil is faced with a different instructor to the 1 they are used to. Many instructors and pupils have a common consequence on one and other, when detecting a pupil ‘s behavior alongside the observation of the instructor, there was a direct nexus that you can see that it was every bit much the instructor ‘s behavior that contributed to the incident that go on within the category, whether triggered by a bad twenty-four hours or the features of that specific instructor. Though ambitious behavior is the chief obstruction to raising accomplishment, pull offing behaviour positively can travel a long manner towards cut downing emphasis degrees between staff and students, which helps to enable a safe acquisition environment. When supervising a pupil ‘s behavior I have come to gain that you have to take into history many facets that every kid is different, they all come from different backgrounds, with different degrees of societal and emotional development. Developing a relationship with all the pupils within a category is the key to a happy environment. Amy Demorest, 2005 explains Burrhus Skinner ‘s theory every bit behaviour as being a manner to avoid penalty but to win in accomplishing wages, believing that penalty was counterproductive. When taking this theory with me onto my recent pattern, it came to demo that Skinner ‘s theory was right. Student ‘s will move misconduct but one time the instructor has offered and inaugural for good behavior the pupil automatically stops, because they know at the terminal of the twenty-four hours they are being rewarded for something they would be acquiring into problem for. Though this theory does come with advantages, after a piece of the pupil being offered a wages in topographic point of misbehavior the pupil will shortly alter their ways and be cognizant they no longer have to move up in order to have congratulations and a wages. The idea of going a instructor is highly rewarding, but it is traveling to take tonss of work, clip and consideration on my portion. Planning, clip direction and administration play a critical function in pull offing a schoolroom. In order to pull off a schoolroom, I will necessitate to hold effectual outlooks, make usage of the resources available to me and hold good clip direction. Supplying a batch of work within the schoolroom is of import to supply a batch of engagement for the pupils, this will guarantee that pupils are focused and enthusiastic within the category. Having a set of schoolroom regulations and modus operandis will assist set up socialization within the schoolroom, constructing up guidelines that must be followed within the category environment. Though regulations and modus operandis are highly different, let go of the overarching rules by which your category is fun, these regulations within the category define the ethos of the schoolroom, they need to positively depict coveted behavior and properties and in the long term support the pupils developing self-regulation of their behavior and direction. Whereas modus operandis are the manner specific undertakings need to be carried out, in order to guarantee a safe and purposeful acquisition environment. Efficaciously pull offing a schoolroom is of import to hold the category laid out and arranged in a manner that makes larning easier. The layout will hold an impact on the manner you teach and the manner the pupils learn. For each lesson it is impractical to travel the schoolroom unit of ammunition, so acquiring a layout that can be used for all topics is the key. It is critical to see all the pupils ‘ faces, and you besides need to guarantee they can see you and the synergistic white board or any other resource you are utilizing within the category. There are a batch of ways in which a schoolroom can be laid out and organized but it ‘s the 1 that suits the instructor best. So for me it will be about test and mistake as this is the lone manner you learn what suits you. Whether it is: the horseshoe, a circle, rows or sitting in ability groups or friendly relationship groups, there are pro ‘s and con ‘s to all these siting agreements. The lone manner to see what will accommodate non merely myself but my category is to seek each manner until I have found the perfect manner for the pupils to acquire the best out of the ballad out and place of resource ‘s so my category will be managed to my best ability. Taking the above on board and believing about how I am traveling to win to go an outstanding instructor I need to hold a mark and program in topographic point in order to accomplish this. Reflecting on my professional pattern I can see that I need to concentrate in more on how the kids respond to behavioural techniques the instructor has in topographic point. Though I saw house points being used I did non see any other signifier of enterprise in topographic point for the category. Every Friday afternoon the pupils would acquire aureate though if they had warnings throughout the hebdomad they would lose at least five proceedingss per warning. Within my twelvemonth six category they all had occupations they carried out every twenty-four hours throughout the school, so when thought and reflecting I can see this was besides a privilege for good behavior and gave them duty within their school fixing them for the following phase of their instruction. I feel that when I go back into school for farther pattern I want to research schoolroom direction and administration more. Asking assorted inquiries on how the instructor ensures she gets the best usage of all her resources and how she gets the kids to behaviour as they are sitting within friendly relationship groups. I can see how this works as there is a mix of ability on each tabular array and the lower ability are supported by their higher ability friends within their surveies, but how does she controls the sum of work done and the less yak traveling on throughout the lessons. Though there is merely one EAL pupil within the school, I am traveling to supervise and research learning techniques with this pupil during my following pattern at the school. On my first pattern I spoke to the category instructor about assorted ways in assisting this pupil advancement within her acquisition of English, for case blending the ability degree she is in, puting the pupil in a higher ability group than the lowest to seek and act upon her to talk out more and contribute. The category instructor has invited me to fall in her category on the 2nd portion of my pattern to assist me derive more understanding and cognition within pattern with an EAL pupil. In decision I feel that I need to utilize my contemplations to put myself bigger challenges and marks to make within the hereafter. To derive more understanding and cognition of the primary school atmosphere and develop my ain techniques of instruction. I am trusting on the following portion of my pattern I am able to set some of the techniques I have discussed into action through the usage of my microteaching. Hoping to research manner in which I can organize my schoolroom to derive the best usage of resources and the best manner the pupils within the category will larn. Not merely am I be aftering on acquiring to cognize my pupils better but besides I am trusting to derive a better apprehension of myself. Reflecting and come oning this experience to see myself as non merely a pupil but, a trainee instructor, with the power over the pupils larning and assisting the following coevals to win into exceeding scholars and outstanding professionals.

Midnight Journal Entry

The Midnight Journal Entry Anne T. Lawrence, San Jose State University On an overcast afternoon in Portland, Oregon, on Friday, March 28, 2003, Richard Okumoto intently studied a set of hard-copy accounting documents called â€Å"adjusting journal entries† spread out on his desk. He had been appointed chief financial officer (CFO) of Electro Scientific Industries, Inc. (ESI), a multi-million dollar equipment manufacturer, just a few weeks earlier. Okumoto was in the midst of closing the company’s books for the third quarter of fiscal year 2003, which ended February 28.An experienced executive who had served as CFO for several other technology firms, Okumoto was familiar with the task, which normally would be routine. But this time, he felt that something was seriously amiss. When reviewing the company’s recent results, he had noticed a sharp dip in accrued liabilities between the two quarters ending May 31 (the last quarter of the 2002 fiscal year) and August 31 (the first quarter of the current fiscal year).Now, looking at the detailed journal entries his staff had provided, he noticed that several significant accounting entries had been made around midnight on September 12, 2002. The entries made that September evening had significantly changed the company’s results for the quarter ending August 31, 2002, a few days before they were reported to the Securities and Exchange Commission. He later recalled: The fact that the time stamps [on the journal entries] were midnight through one o’clock in the morning made me believe they were having difficulties closing the quarter.Not just because of accounting difficulties, but because they were having difficulties finding the right answers. My initial reaction was, even given a difficult quarterly close, if the team was working that late at night, that wasn’t typical. From the pass codes required by the accounting software, Okumoto could see who had made the entries. They inclu ded James Dooley, then the company’s acting chief operating officer and now the CEO, the corporate controller, and several senior members of the finance team. One midnight journal entry in particular drew the new CFO’s attention.The late-night team had wiped out an accrued liability of $977,000 associated with the anticipated cost of retirement and severance benefits to company employees in Japan, Korea, and Taiwan. That entry, and several smaller ones, all of which were favorable to net income, had the cumulative effect of permitting the company to report earnings of $0. 01 per share for the quarter ending August 31, 2002, rather than a loss. When he realized that, Okumoto recalled, he felt â€Å"a sinking feeling in my gut. † He asked himself, â€Å"What happened here? At that time of night?All of the changes in a single direction? What’s going on? † He was sure something was not right. RICHARD OKUMOTO Born in 1952, Richard Okumoto was raised wit h his four siblings in a Japanese-American family in a low-income, African-American neighborhood that bordered the Pepper Street Projects of Pasadena, California. He explained how his parents’ experiences had shaped their outlook: My parents grew up during the depression years. Dad farmed with relatives, and Mom grew up tending 3,000 chickens on a three-acre ranch in Gardena, California.Shortly after the Pearl Harbor attack by the Japanese, my parents were relocated under Executive Order 9066 [under which persons of Japanese ancestry on the West Coast were sent to relocation camps during World War II]. They met and married in a relocation camp. During their incarceration, their families could not make their payments. Dad and his relatives lost their land, and Mom’s parents lost their chicken ranch. After those experiences, my father was committed to having no debt. He built our family home in 1955, with the idea of paying off the loan in eight years.In 1962, Okumotoâ⠂¬â„¢s father, who worked as a gardener, landscaper, and salesman of Japanese mutual funds, was disabled in a serious auto accident. Fortunately, by then, he had almost paid off the loan on their home, so the family was able to survive financially. After the accident, Okumoto’s mother took a job cleaning homes to help support her five children. Okumoto described his relationship with his mother: She and I had an especially close bond. Shortly before my dad’s accident, both her parents had died. I was the one who supported her through a very difficult year.As a result, she always treated me differently from the other kids—almost like an adult. The Okumoto family’s financial situation after the accident was difficult. Okumoto had vivid memories of how they coped: Money was very short. We had to account for every penny. Every week, my mother wrote down in a leather-bound journal everything she earned and everything we spent in the household, down to the penn y. Every week, from the time I was ten years old, she went through that with me. We lived on a cash basis. There was no credit card, no second mortgage.In that situation, budgeting became extremely important. Her comment to me was, â€Å"You can’t complain [about what you don’t have] unless you understand what’s happening. † Those were her ground rules. He added this comment about his mother’s values: The ethics of doing the right thing become very important, because that’s really all you have. [My mother] instilled in me at an early age, regardless of what else you do, always take the high road, always do the right thing. That has influenced me throughout my career.After high school, Okumoto attended San Jose State University, where he completed an undergraduate degree in accounting in 1974 and attended the MBA program from1975 to 1978. He soon embarked on a highly successful career in finance. Over the next two-and-a-half decades, he held increasingly responsible roles at a number of high-technology companies in the Silicon Valley, including Fairchild Semiconductor, Novellus Systems, Measurex, Credence Systems, and Photon Dynamics. Okumoto admired a number of managers he had worked for, who had set high professional and ethical standards for him and his co-workers.He felt fortunate to have had three exceptional mentors: Woody Spedden, the CEO of Credence Systems; Jim Hefferman, his boss at Fairchild and later at Measurex; and Don Waite, the CFO at Measurex who later took over that position at Seagate Technologies. â€Å"All three individuals upheld the highest integrity,† Okumoto recalled. â€Å"Aside from the technical training I received from them, I got a strong ethical grounding. They would always tell me to ask myself—what are your obligations to others? † ELECTRO SCIENTIFIC INDUSTRIES, INC. Electro Scientific Industries, Inc. ESI), the company that Okumoto joined as CFO in early 2003, was t he second-largest technology company in Oregon, trailing only Tektronix in size. Based in Portland, the company was founded in 1944 as Brown Engineering to make test and measurement equipment. As technology evolved, so did the company’s products. In the 1960s, the firm—by then called ESI—moved into lasers, and later developed applications of laser technology for the emerging semiconductor industry. ESI went public on the NASDAQ exchange in 1983. In 2003, ESI’s core business was providing precision production equipment to electronics firms.The company manufactured equipment that was used in the production of a wide range of electronics products, such as computers, cellular phones, home entertainment systems, automotive electronics, electronic games, and personal digital devices. Its products included advanced laser systems, test equipment, and packaging systems, among others. The company’s customers included many leading electronics firms, including AMD, Ericsson, IBM, Samsung, Hitachi, Flextronics, Honeywell, and Lucent. Seventy percent of ESI’s sales were outside the United States, mainly in Asia and Europe.The company owned and operated manufacturing facilities in Portland and Klamath Falls, Oregon, and in Escondido, California, and operated sales offices in many countries. In 2002, it employed 875 people and reported sales revenue of $167 million (down from $472 million the prior year). Like many firms in the electronics industry, ESI was badly battered by the economic downturn that began in 2001. After achieving record sales and income in the fiscal year ending May 31, 2001, the company’s financial results declined precipitously in FY 2002, as shown in Exhibit A.Sales and profits had continued to decline in the first half of FY 2003. Exhibit A: Electro Scientific Industries, Selected Sales and Income Data, 1998-2002 | 1998| 1999| 2000| 2001| 2002| Net sales| 252,134| 197,118| 299,419| 471,853| 166,545| Net i ncome (loss)| 22,347| 7,528| 40,860| 99,933| (15,961)| Net income (loss) per share| 0. 89| 0. 29| 1. 55| 3. 71| (0. 58)| Data refer to fiscal years ending May 31. All data are given in thousands of dollars, except per share data. Source: ESI 2002 Annual Report. The company noted in its 2002 annual report:In fiscal year 2002, ESI weathered the worst downturn in the electronics industry in over 30 years†¦We are conducting a thorough review of our overall market strategy as well as product line strategies to assure that they will generate significant shareholder returns over the inevitable cycles in our industry. To cut costs, the company initiated a shutdown of its Escondido facility, consolidating its operations in Portland. It divested several underperforming lines of business and sought to invest in areas it saw as promising through partnerships and, potentially, acquisitions.It also informally explored a merger with another firm in southern California. In early 2002, Don VanL uvanee, the company’s long-time CEO, suffered a stroke and was no longer able to serve. The board appointed David Bolender, the former CEO of Protocol Systems and a director since 1988, to step in as acting CEO until it could find a permanent replacement. At that time, the board also elevated James Dooley, who had been serving as the firm’s chief financial officer, to the role of acting chief operating officer to run the company’s day-to-day affairs.In December 2002, the board promoted Dooley to the position of chief executive officer, and Bolender became chairman of the board. (Executives and directors of ESI named in the case, and their positions, are summarized in Exhibit B. ) [Exhibit B should appear about here; it is at the end of the file. ] CLOSING THE QUARTER Shortly after Dooley became CEO, Okumoto was recruited as chief financial officer. He started work on February 17, 2003. I was excited about the job. I thought it might be my last one in the industr y. The company, management, and employees—all had a long history of stability.To me, it was another walk down the path of hard work, a fresh chance to apply my skills in strategic planning and execution as well as to implement the new Sarbanes-Oxley compliance rules. His first task was to prepare for the FY 2003 third quarter close. In reviewing the company’s books for the past several quarters, he soon noticed a sharp downward spike in the balance of accrued liabilities. He noted that fact for further investigation. In addition to closing the quarter, several other items required Okumoto’s attention.Just one week into his new job, on February 24, he got an email from John (â€Å"Jack†) Isselmann, Jr. , the general counsel, asking him to forward to the manager of the Japanese office, Mike Tetsui, a set of revised work rules (terms of employment) for ESI’s Japanese employees. As a newcomer, Okumoto knew little of the background or why he had been as ked to do this, but complied with the general counsel’s request, sending on to the Japanese office manager the revised work rules. Okumoto received the following reply from Tetsui on March 2: I have read the proposed work rule and found no section of [sic] retirement fund.I do not know what is the intention of removing that section, but it is a huge impact on each employee we have†¦I do not think I can get concents [sic] from [ESI’s Japanese] employees without reasonable change in retirement benefit. Please let me know how you would like me to proceed. Okumoto recalled: My first response was, â€Å"uh-oh. † There was a big disconnect between what I had been told and Mike’s reply. I had assumed that the Japanese had already been informed of the cancellation of their retirement benefits and agreed to the changes. It was clear they had not.In a prior job at Novellus Systems, Okumoto had set up that company’s Japanese operations, and he was aware that Japanese work rules were normally filed with the government. Regulators were very strict about altering any documented benefits. Accordingly, Okumoto believed that ESI was obligated to pay benefits that had been promised to employees, and he told Isselmann this. Okumoto also expressed the opinion that employees, if dissatisfied with the revised rules, could take the matter before the Japanese labor board, and that this would be a â€Å"quantifiable event† that would have to be recorded on the books as a liability.Isselmann responded that he was unfamiliar with Japanese law. On March 4, Okumoto spoke with CEO James Dooley about his concerns that the reversal of benefits for Japanese, Korean, and Taiwanese employees might expose ESI to litigation, and this could affect the accounting treatment of the event. Dooley strongly disagreed. Okumoto recalled: He told me that everything had been cleared with everyone. He said there was full information. There was full disclosure. H e emphasized that KPMG [ESI’s external auditor], the company’s own legal staff, and the board had all signed off on it. He said I should â€Å"just get past it. Okumoto was concerned about this conversation, particularly because the CEO seemed so defensive. On March 11, Okumoto met again with Dooley, this time to discuss Okumoto’s upcoming presentation to the audit committee. The new CFO recommended that the company delay announcing its third quarter earnings and restate its first and second quarter earnings to report correctly the $977,000 in liabilities associated with the anticipated cost of retirement benefits for its Asian employees. Okumoto explained his view that not reporting these liabilities had violated Generally Accepted Accounting Principles.At that point, Okumoto recalled, Dooley became visibly upset. The CEO—all six feet-six inches and 280 pounds of him—turned an angry red and told me again to just get past this. That’s when I knew that this was going to be swept under the rug. It was clear I was not part of the club. Then Jim said, â€Å"If I’ve got to reverse this entry, I’ll quit. † THE â€Å"MOFO† MEMORANDUM On March 13, Okumoto attended a meeting of the board of directors’ audit committee. Also present at that meeting, in addition to the audit committee members, were Dooley, Isselmann, and several senior managers.At the meeting, Okumoto recommended that the company’s financial statements for the previous two quarters be restated, and that it hire an independent accounting firm to conduct an audit of the Asian benefits issue. Dooley countered that everyone had been fully informed of the reversal and had â€Å"bought off† on it. The audit committee declined Okumoto’s suggestion that an independent accounting firm be brought in, but it did direct Barry Harmon (formerly ESI’s CFO and a member of the audit committee), Okumoto, and Isselmann to lead an internal investigation into the matter.After the audit committee meeting, Isselmann came into the CFO’s office. Okumoto recalled: He closed the door and just broke down. He told me that after the benefits reversal in September he had asked MoFo [Morrison Foerster, an outside law firm on retainer to ESI] to review its legality. MoFo had advised it was illegal to cancel the retirement benefits without employee consent. He said he had immediately shown the memo to Dooley, who had brow-beat him, intimidated him, and essentially boxed him into a corner. I believed this, because in one meeting I actually saw Jim stand up and tower over Jack, who was only 5 feet-6.I watched Jim almost physically overtake him. Jack was a young guy, pretty inexperienced, and his job at ESI was his first in the industry. On his way out, Isselmann handed Okumoto some documents. From the documents, Okumoto learned that on October 3, 2002, Isselmann had written MoFo, asking for an opinion on wh ether or not it would be legal for the company to terminate the Asian employees’ retirement benefits unilaterally. In his letter, Isselmann had pointed out that the rules had been distributed to employees but had not been submitted to the relevant government agency.On October 7, Toshihiro So, a Japanese labor and employment attorney affiliated with Morrison Foerster, responded to Isselmann’s request. The MoFo memo, now in Okumoto’s hands, read in part: Retirement allowances are not a legal requirement [in Japan]. However, once the company agrees to pay retirement allowances in Rules of Employment (even though they have not been submitted to the relevant government agency), the company is obliged to pay them in accordance with the Rules and cannot remove them at the company’s discretion.According to Japanese case laws, as a general rule, †¦the deprivation of previously acquired rights by newly drawn up or changed work rules are [sic] not permittedâ₠¬ ¦[It] is required that before changing the work rules, the company should hear and consider the opinion of the related employees. Okumoto was shocked. â€Å"This is the smoking gun,† he thought. Investigating further, Okumoto learned that although private employers in Japan were not obligated to pay retirement benefits, doing so was considered a good industry practice, and since 1981 ESI had offered such a benefit to its employees there.Under the rules of employment established for ESI’s employees in Japan, any employee (except executives) who chose to retire after reaching the voluntary retirement age of 60 would be entitled to a â€Å"retirement allowance† of one month’s pay per year of service—in effect, a one-time severance payment. Workers who were involuntarily terminated and the estates of any workers who died before reaching the age of 60 were also entitled to this benefit. Similar rules were in effect for the company’s workers in Korea and Taiwan. At the time, ESI had 18 employees in Japan, 13 in Korea, and 23 in Taiwan, mostly in sales and customer support roles.On March 14, Okumoto called an â€Å"all hands† meeting to disclose his initial findings and discuss a path forward. Present at the meeting were Dooley, Isselmann, Harmon, and several other senior managers. The CFO asked directly if there had been full disclosure and review of all material facts with respect to the accrual reversal. Dooley confirmed that everything had been disclosed. Okumoto did not mention the MoFo memo, thinking that Dooley’s response indicated that he must have already disclosed it to KPMG and the audit committee. On March 20, Okumoto spoke by telephone with Mike Tetsui.The Japanese manager told the CFO that the employees had not yet been told that their retirement benefits had been terminated, and he—Tetsui—would resign before he would tell them that news, which he expected would be devastating. â₠¬Å"As head of the group,† Tetsui told Okumoto, â€Å"I will fall on my sword. † On March 21, Okumoto met again with Dooley to press him on how the reversal had happened. Dooley was initially â€Å"combative. † As the conversation went on, however, he â€Å"let his guard down† and began talking about what had happened on the night of September 12.As Okumoto recalled the conversation: Jim told me that he had sent a financial packet to the board of directors prior to their meeting on September 13. After he had distributed the packet, but before the meeting, he was contacted by KPMG, who told him there had been an error in the company’s calculations of its overhead costs, so the financial statements distributed to the board were incorrect. ESI’s reportable earnings were suddenly much less than they thought, by as much as a million dollars.Jim said this was particularly important because the company was in informal merger discussions with a compan y in southern California. Then he said, â€Å"No one was helping me, so I had to help myself. † When Jim made that comment, my first thought was, he was looking for revenue. He was hunting for credits. He was looking to manipulate earnings. That was a definite red flag. Okumoto walked out of Dooley’s office stunned. He called his staff together and asked them to assemble any documentation they had on accounting entries on or around September 12.He also began talking with the members of the finance team who had participated in the late-night meeting with Dooley and learned that a number of people on the finance staff had questioned the benefits reversal, but had not brought it forward. This was consistent with a negative tone at the top. I would almost characterize it as bullying. That’s one reason why no one stepped forward. That tone at the top created an environment where people really couldn’t speak out. It’s important to look at the people. Ità ¢â‚¬â„¢s similar to qualitative research. We all do that intuitively.When I looked at the body language of a lot of the people involved—the cost accountants, the financial analysts—it became apparent to me that they were scared. They knew something was wrong, and they wanted to say something, but something held them back. They reminded me of beaten animals. Growing up in the neighborhood I did, I knew what fear looked like. As part of his further investigation, Okumoto independently approached the audit team from KPMG. They told him Dooley had informed them that the company had received a legal opinion that the reversal was appropriate, and they had deemed that information sufficient.Okumoto observed: KPMG was new on the account, which they picked up after the collapse of Arthur Andersen. They didn’t have deep familiarity with it. They did not have all the information. Some of the partners were new. On March 28, a week after he had requested the relevant account ing entries for September 12, his staff finally produced the complete documentation for that date. Now, drilling down into the details, he saw the full scope of the midnight journal entries—and who had made them. WEIGHING THE RISKS Over the weekend, Okumoto considered his next moves. None of the ndividuals and groups from whom he had sought support—the CEO, the general counsel, or the auditors—seemed to share his concern about the seriousness of the issue. The audit committee had shown some interest, but had turned down his recommendation to bring in independent auditors and seemed to believe the matter could be handled internally. Okumoto was losing sleep, worrying constantly about what—if any—additional steps he should take. He had tried to warn the key players. From all, he had received the same message: We don’t see this as a serious problem. Let it go.Okumoto realized the risks of escalating the issue further. He was earning a base sala ry of $250,000, with the possibility of a 100 percent performance bonus. He reflected: I certainly realized the risks. I knew that if I brought this forward, there was a strong likelihood that I would either lose my job, or I would be in an environment where it would be difficult to operate, so I would have to leave. The idea also occurred to him that â€Å"I can leverage this for more money and stock if I look the other way. Plus, I can become invaluable to the company with this dirt.I can immediately become part of the established inside club. † He had also recently signed a contract to purchase a home in the nearby community of Lake Oswego, and wondered how he would make good on that commitment if he lost his job. However, he felt reasonably secure financially. Following the example of his parents, Okumoto had worked hard to avoid debt and to save for adverse times. He reflected: One of the first things I ask friends who are or would like to be CFOs or general managers, wh ere risks such as this can jeopardize their careers, is: Are you financially secure enough to make good decisions?Because if you aren’t, I can count on the fact that you will make bad decisions when times of adversity hit. We all talk about the value of making good decisions, but as we all know, life creeps in. There are economic commitments, family commitments, and people are sometimes moved to do the wrong thing. As the old adage goes, hire your sales people so they are hungry enough to get the deal done. Hire your finance people so they are not hungry enough to do the wrong thing. He added: Fortunately, I was financially in a position where I could afford to leave if t came to that. I was single, so I figured the only person I had to protect was myself. He also had a network of friends in the area he felt he could turn to for support. I had a number of friends in the Portland area, having worked there earlier. My prior company had a division of about 1000 employees in the area. Of these, 500 had worked directly for me. It might have been a false sense of security, but I felt I had a pretty good infrastructure of people that I knew. By this time, Okumoto was also becoming concerned about his personal safety.Several times, he received anonymous messages on his home answering machine. At the time, he was living temporarily in corporate housing while he shopped for a home, and he felt he was particularly visible there. But, he added that he was not easily intimidated. I felt that I could take care of myself. I had faced a lot worse threats than this one. As a teenager, I was robbed at gunpoint. I was stabbed in the back and left for dead. I was beaten so badly that my eyes were swollen shut. I grew up around a lot of physical violence. Although Okumoto saw risks in taking action, he also saw risks in inaction.He commented: I was concerned about my own legal liability if I did not take action. From the point of view of the DOJ [Department of Justice] and SEC [Securities and Exchange Commission], if you don’t fix the problem, you become the problem. I had potential legal risk. As Okumoto pondered the risks of both action and inaction, he reflected on the board of directors and what kind of response he might expect if he approached them directly. (See Exhibit C for a list of members of the board. ) [Exhibit C should appear about here; it is at the end of the file. ] Dooley was the only insider on the board.There were some old timers on the board—like Barry Harmon, who had earlier been CFO at ESI. But there were also a fair number of independents. Even though I was new at the company, I had a prior relationship with two of the directors. Jerry Taylor, the former CFO at Applied Materials, was a member of the audit committee. Jerry and I had worked together 25 years earlier at Fairchild. So, I had a long-standing relationship with him. Jon Tompkins, the former CEO of KLA-Tencor, was also on the board. I had known Jon from T encor days, where he had interviewed me for the CFO position.As he contemplated his next move, Okumoto thought back to an experience earlier in his career. As he told the story: I had been in a situation before where I hadn’t spoken up. I had been a CFO for another public company. I was in a situation in which I had questions on some of the accounting. But it was close enough, and I was concerned that I didn’t have enough evidence to support my reservations. I had only been with the company three months. Within four months, we had a major revenue shortfall. At that time, I made the decision not to try to cover up the revenue shortfall.But, because we had not called it to the attention of analysts earlier, we lost the confidence of the Street. At that point, the CEO and I both resigned. I made a decision then that if I ever again saw something that was close, I would act much faster. He also thought about his mother’s admonition always to do the right thing, and the advice of his mentors, who had counseled him always to ask the question—what are your obligations to others? Exhibit B: Executives and Directors of Electro Scientific Industries, Inc. Named in the Case and Their Positions (Listed in Order of Mention)Richard OkumotoChief Financial Officer (CFO) James T. â€Å"Jim† DooleyActing Chief Operating Officer (COO), early 2002 – December 2002 Chief Executive Officer (CEO), December 2002 – Don VanLuvaneeFormer CEO David F. BolenderActing CEO, early 2002 – December 2002 Chairman of the Board, December 2002 – John â€Å"Jack† Isselmann, Jr. General Counsel Mike TetsuiManager, Japanese Office Barry L. Harmon Former Chief Financial Officer (CFO) Director and Member of the Audit Committee Gerald F. â€Å"Jerry† TaylorDirector and Member of the Audit Committee Jon D. TompkinsDirectorExhibit C: Members of the Board of Directors, ESI Inc. , March 2003 David F. Bolender, Chairman of the Board Chairman of the Board and CEO (retired), Protocol Systems, Inc. ; President of Pacific Power and Light Co. (retired) James T. Dooley, Chief Executive Officer Barry L. Harmon (member of the Audit Committee) Senior Vice President (retired), Avocet Corp. ; formerly, Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of ESI Keith L. Thomson Vice President (retired), Intel Corp. ; Chair of the Board of Trustees, University of Oregon Foundation Jon D. TompkinsCEO and Chairman of the Board (retired), KLA-Tencor Corp. ; President and CEO of Spectra-Physics (retired) Vernon B. Ryles, Jr. President and CEO (retired), Poppers Supply Co. Gerald F. Taylor (member of the Audit Committee) Chief Financial Officer (retired), Applied Materials W. Arthur Porter (Chairman of the Audit Committee) Dean of the College of Engineering, University of Oklahoma Larry L. Hansen Executive Vice President (retired), Tylan General, Inc. —————————— ————– [ 2 ]. Copyright  © 2012 by the Case Research Journal and Anne T. Lawrence.The author developed this case to provide a basis for class discussion rather than to illustrate either the effective or ineffective handling of a managerial situation. An earlier version of this case was presented at NACRA’s annual meeting in San Antonio, Texas, October 2011. The author gratefully acknowledges the assistance of Richard Okumoto and the thoughtful comments of the editor, Deborah Ettington, and three anonymous reviewers. [ 3 ]. In 2002, average annual salaries for ESI employees were $68,000 in Japan, $27,000 in Korea, and $38,000 in Taiwan (in U. S. dollars).

Cisco Systems Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Cisco Systems - Essay Example Organization of interest Cisco faces unique opportunities to market itself as an agent of change, because the company re-engineered its IT infrastructure in both back office and front office applications, for the worker as well as for the customer. Change is often seen as positive by consumers in an economic crisis or bad situation. Back end and front end changes are visible in the company. The company used Microsoft and other programs, and in creating change went towards an open unitary architecture. Cisco’s financial success led the company to spend $100B, which the company put into IT changes which were generally successful. Much of the extant information available about successful IT companies like Cisco is biased towards the company as a strong leader, innovator, and survivor of the dot-com bubble, but there is still little mention of employee dissatisfaction on a mass scale that is organized, and this is another indicator that solutions based on customer attenuation are preferable in this enviro nment. One of the reasons for this could be that IT companies like Cisco tend to be very selective in accepting employees, hiring in many cases only about five percent of applicants. Another solution for proposal could be the company’s employee-centered human resources strategies, which can be integrated with the aforementioned focus on dynamism.

Corporations can never be moral entities Assignment

Corporations can never be moral entities - Assignment Example Other than this, the interest of the shareholders and stakeholders also need to be followed so as to improve the reputation and brand image of the organization in a market among others (Parker & Pearson, 2005). Not only this, if the business operations are maintained and controlled in an ethical way, only then its rate of sustainability might increase in the market. Side by side, its range of customers might increase thereby improving its profit margin and revenue as well. Thus, it might be stated that CSR is the procedure of continuous commitment over the issues of the organization, so as to improve the quality of life of the employees as well as the economic condition of the association. Only then, the level of conflict among the management and employees might get reduced resulting in improvement of the level of performance of the employees (Howell, 2010). The prime theme of this essay is to describe a brief understanding over the concept of corporate responsibility. It also focuse s on the fact that for what reasons an organization might never become a moral entity with the help of varied ethical theories in a vivid way. Discussion Meaning of Business Ethics Ethics is described as the set of rules and regulations, values and principles followed by an individual. These rules and regulations also help a human being to determine, whether the action is right or wrong. Other than this, ethics is also defined as the activities that might be accepted by the law as well as the other citizens of a country. Not only this, ethics is also recognised as the morals and beliefs that might be used to detect or interpret any specific situation (Wilkinson & Gollan, 2001). And when such types of legal behaviour or principles are utilized within organizational activities, then it is also known as business ethics. Business ethics play a vital role in maintaining the operations of an organization in an effective or positive way. Only then, the profit margin as well as the loyalty of the stakeholders or customers might get enhanced to a considerable extent in the entire market among others. However, in maximum cases, the corporations or organization fail to operate or maintain its functions in an ethical way. It is mainly due to faulty principles, rules and regulations and operations that reduce its chances to become a moral entity (Crane & Matten, 2007). Theories of Ethics There are many theories of ethics present but some of them might be described as below: Theory of Deontology According to this theory, the most vital aspect of human being is moral rules and regulations, which are unbreakable in nature. This theory states that, some of the individual do not think of the nature of the consequence, at the time of performing the activity. Although, the consequence of the activity may not be accurate, the individual would strict to his or her morals and values (Carroll, 2004). As a result, he or she would perform the accurate action, without thinking of the co nsequence. Such type of morals is extremely essential within the managers or leaders of the organizations operating in recent age.

E-Commerce Application Development Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

E-Commerce Application Development - Essay Example There are five types of e-business models that form the basic structure on which websites are based. These five models are vanity, billboard, advertising, subscription and storefront. Many sites also combine these basic models. All sites incur cost of development and maintenance, though they may not be deriving direct revenue from it. The five models of e-commerce have unique characteristics. The Vanity model, as the name suggests, cater typically to individuals who start it as an outlet for expression, to share a hobby, promote a cause such as an environmental or social agenda, etc. The site then acts like an online forum, to bring people together. A very good example for such a site is greenpeace.org. The site brings together people who are conscious about the degradation of the environment and helps raise a voice against issues such as climate change, endangered species, deforestation etc. The revenue models for such Vanity sites build up through advertisements of related organisations, services and products. In the case of Greenpeace, the site is maintained mainly through donations. The costs of vanity sites are either born by the individual or by philanthropic institutions such as associations, universities or may be businesses. This e-commerce model is designed to work like a billboard. Also called the brochure or information sites, Billboard models derive economic benefit indirectly through referred sales and reduced cost. The sites creates product awareness through the online medium, however, the actual buying and selling takes place off-line. Netizens surf and view the sites and the model functions in the same way as a billboard on a highway. The success of the site is measured according to the hits or viewership it gets. The site influences people to buy the product. The perfect real world example of this model is billboard.com. The site gives you music news, reviews, articles, information about live shows and more. You can listen to music, and download free music. The site also ranks music and ranks the best songs for any genre. The revenue model, what is apparent from the site, are advertisements related to the music world. For example you can buy Billboard magazine from the site. The Advertising model, in e-commerce, is similar to the model followed by radio, television and the print medium, among other things. The programme and the content are totally funded by the advertiser's money and the 'viewership' of the site decides the advertisement rate and volume. Surveys conducted by the websites can establish the 'viewership' of the sites and the advertising rates are decided likewise. The various forms of advertising for e-commerce are banners, sponsorships, ezine ads and other promotion methods. The Subscription model, though very well established in the 'real' world, has not become so prominent in the e-world. Consumers have not yet accepted the culture of subscriptions on the web. The subscription models, on the web, target particular niches of individuals with specific needs. These sites are often specialized with expert content and timely information. The subscriptions fund the development and