Latin American Politics - Effect of multiparty system in Colombia Essay

Latin American Politics - Effect of multiparty system in Colombia - Essay Example It also involves the distribution of power as well as resources in the most efficient manner at large for greater effectiveness. It will be crucial if politics or the approaches involved in it differ on the basis of nations and its various regions. The nation of Colombia follows diversified a governance approach, which will be crucial to obtain a comprehensive understanding. In this particular research study, focus has been levied on comprehending the prospect of multiparty system in Colombia. To what extent does multiparty system’s existence affect and contribute to political issues such as democracy and political violence in Colombia? The article intends to determine the impact of the transformations of multiparty system to democracy with a specific focus on Colombia. The main argument is that the multiparty system has aided in the development and growth of democracy in Colombia but it has also resulted into political instability marked by violence and deteriorating democracy. The political change that has been witnessed in Colombia with the transformation from a two party state to a multiparty state has yielded differences with regard to the democracy of the nation at large. It has been observed there are various prevailing studies that are centered towards understanding the relationship amid multiparty state with regard to the general political changes occurring. However, this particular research paper levies considerable attention on determining as well as ana lyzing the relationship between multiparty system and democracy of the nation i.e. Colombia. In addition to the same, the research study will also focus upon comprehending assumption that multiparty system certainly has negative influence on the democratic structure of a particular nation with due regard to the one, prevailing in Colombia1. Notably, though Colombia has remained relatively silent on global or

Rudi Volti's Definition of Technology (History Paper) Essay

Rudi Volti's Definition of Technology (History Paper) - Essay Example . The need based correspondence between knowledge, organizational forms and physical objects to develop innovations are evident from monarchial systems to the agricultural systems as explained in the Volt's theory. Motivated by the urge to irrigate the agricultural fields, the farmer uses his skills to operate the water screw where both knowledge and the organization form is represented. In this case farmer represents the sole operator and the farm fields symbolizes the physical product .By describing how the interconnectedness between the application of knowledge, organizational forms and physical objects pertain to technical innovation Judaeus satisfactorily depicts Volti's definition of technology. The methods for effective transfer of the information related to any technological component are the drawings .All the engineering drawings are considered to constitute a universal language uninfluenced by cultural and societal variations. It is expected that information contained in it need to be comprehensible to all. But the British policy makers had a different opinion to say. According to them even the engineering presentations like drawings and various visual matters were significantly influenced by "culture, values, institutions and social relations of creators and users" (Brown, 2000,1). The effect of the roles played by the drawings in improving the professionalizing the engineering activities are explained from examples from locomotive and car designs in Britain and America. Another reason that is identified for the better capacity in design drafting is the demand exerted by the markets in both Britain and United States. The need for custom based products with emphasis for individual needs is the prime reason for creation of such a demand. The literature available shows conversion of novel designs to drafting , the firms have reduced the risk of failure besides achieving better efficiency and order (Brown, 2000,1). This have helped in the mergence of newer drafting offices that supported the production process in different sectors. Also the regional variation in the technological development is also discussed in the literature. The American approach was by introduction of design elements that are standarized while the british counterparts often worked on design creativity that led to the product development that matched the customer demand. The philosophy here was to have high quality production with very low managerial cost (Brown, 2000,1). The spread of the technology was mostly due to the movement of people who had the information from one place to the other. It was mostly gained from the personal experience guarded by the individual interests. Thus the effective diffusion of technology is dependent on the movement and interaction with the people who possessed it rather than the wide publicizing of the literature related to it (Belfanti, 2004,1). Another important motivation for the increased mobility and assembling of skilled workforce was the institutional innovations proposed in the modern era. The State laws enacted by European countries proposed to "reward and safeguard" the inventions (Belfanti, 2004,1)

To what extent did domestic political considerations shape the Johnson Essay

To what extent did domestic political considerations shape the Johnson administrations conduct of the war in Vietnam, 196568 - Essay Example This rapid change of attitudes to the war raises a number of questions. The most important of them is, perhaps, how the USA domestic affairs affected the inclination of the war in Vietnam. Apparently, President's Lyndon Johnson decision to take the United States into a large-scale in Vietnam could not be completely understood without the assessment of domestic political issues and considerations in 1960s. In this project, I will examine all domestic sources of forces as well as forces themselves that shaped to one or either way, Johnson's administration conduct of the Vietnam War. Respectively, I will focus on the 1965-1968 period of the War known as "Escalation and Americanization of Vietnam"4. While analyzing this period of War, I will evaluate the influence of Johnson's administration that determined Presidents' decisions of deployment of combat troops in July 1965, escalation of troops' involvement in 1967, and Johnson's decision to limit the bombing of Vietnam as well as his later decision not to seek reelection. Historically, there are two dominant approaches in analysis of Johnson's administration decision making regarding Vietnam War5. ... Historically, there are two dominant approaches in analysis of Johnson's administration decision making regarding Vietnam War5. One approach emphasizes Johnsons and his administration's irrationality and isolation from critique that consequently resulted in disastrous decisions about Vietnam. This approach describes Johnson as a single-minded "hawk" and extremely ambitious President reluctant to listen to the experts' views6. The second approach implies that Johnson had an access to the full range of information about Vietnam from diverse points of view, particularly from his foreign policy advisers: McGeorge Bundy, Dean Rusk, Walter Rostow and Robert McNamara, as well as from more informal ones78. This view provides a more rational view of Johnson, though makes him a hostage of his informants9. Another question under concern is the extent, to which domestic issues determined Johnson's decisions about Vietnam. In the other words, how domestic economy ("economic crisis" of 1968), growing Congressional opposition, shaping of public opinion and public riots (pacifists' movements), rapid loss of Johnson popularity, etc. determined the way of Vietnam War conduct. As Barrett (1993) believes, this "Vietnam dilemma" has significantly influenced generations of historians and political scientists10. Gulf of Tonkin incident and beginning of Johnson's Vietnam War era Until the August of 2004 Vietnam War was rather a local conflict than an issue, which further preoccupied the minds of average Americans in late 1960s. However, the attacks of Northern Vietnamese on American navies on August 2-4, 1964 prompted the large-scale involvement of American troops in the country. It is still debatable, whether Vietnamese indeed attacked US

Neo-liberal Critique of the Welfare State Essay Example for Free

Neo-liberal Critique of the Welfare State Essay The welfare state refers to the initiative of the government in a country to take care of the wellbeing of the public. Under the welfare state, the government undertakes the responsibility of protecting and promoting the economic and social welfare of its people (Kuhnle 2000). The welfare state is based on the equality of all. In a welfare state, the government is involved in the lives of its people on all levels. The burden of providing for the physical and social needs of the people is almost fully placed on the government. The main objective of the welfare state is the creation of economic equability and striving to improve the standards of living. The government ensures fair distribution of resources, provision of equal opportunities, and provision of public services to those who lack the means to acquire them. The government in this case takes the accountability for the wellbeing of its people (Gooden et al. 1999). Hypothetically, the responsibility is supposed to be inclusive given the fact that the welfare of the people is generally considered as a right. This is to say that citizens are entitled to the welfare state. This can also be taken to refer to the establishment of â€Å"social safety net† (Rice, Goodin and Parpo 2006). Neoliberals have attacked the welfare state from different angles with some advocating for its complete abolishment and others claiming that it should be partially eradicated (Barrow 1998). They have given very many reasons as to why the welfare state should be reviewed and necessary measures taken. They have provided a number of reasons as to why the welfare state should be reconsidered. Neo-liberals are the advocates of economic liberalization as the means by which social progress can be achieved (Niggle 2006). This paper evaluates the neo-liberal critique of the welfare state. The neo-liberals advocate for a free and liberal economy where every person is involved. It is from this perspective that the welfare state is criticized for failing to give the citizens a chance to participate in the liberal market economy (Rice, Goodin and Parpo 2006). It is argued that the welfare state makes people reliant on the government and thus fail to labor for their own needs. Most developed countries have established welfare states for providing for the needs of their people. As a result, most people do not see the need to toil when their needs can be met freely. Nevertheless, there have been studies that have provided the claim that there is no connection between the economic performance and appending on welfare in the world economies. This means that there is no proof of the fact that the welfare state hinders social progress (Niggle 2006). When the progress of some of the developed countries that provide welfare is analyzed, it is clear that some of the countries that spend less on welfare are doing worse than those that spend more. For example, the US performs worse than a country like Netherlands. This is despite the fact that the latter spends more on welfare state than the former. This therefore shows that the welfare state could contribute, but is not responsible for uneven social progress (Gooden et al. 1999). The opponents of the welfare state claim that it tends to put the burden of providing for the citizens on some people while others sit back and enjoy. This is supported by the fact that the welfare state is financed through the taxpayers’ money (Kuhnle 2000). This is from the people who are employed and working hard to earn an income. Their income is taxed to provide for the people in the country who are not able to work through the welfare state. This can however be countered by the fact that there is a great income inequality in the society today. Inequality exists between executives and the average workers, between male workers and female workers and between people of different races. The welfare state is one way of ensuring that there is redistribution of resources and income for uniform development and also to take care of the marginalized groups in the society (Rice, Goodin and Parpo 2006). There has been criticism on the welfare state based on the dispensations made by the capitalists. This is done in the efforts to redirect the working class away from the need to follow an entirely socialist society and economy. This is what has been evident in a country like Germany. Additionally, the socialist class is a strong believer in patching up the inefficient capitalist economy and revealing the loopholes in the capitalist economy. They believe that the welfare system will not be necessary where government and ownership of the means of production is implemented (Kuhnle 2000). The critics also claim that the welfare state and the contemporary social democratic programs stifle the motivation of the market. This is so because of the provision of resources like unemployment insurance policies, minimum pay, profits on taxes, and reduction of the reserved labor. The result of this is that there is very little motivation to invest. Basically, the opponents claim that the welfare state demoralizes the capitalist economy and its incentive organization. There is no capitalist who will be motivated to invest his capital in order to feed the entire society (Itoh 1995). Another criticism views the welfare state as stealing of the wealth of slavery. This is based on the classical liberal fundamental right to obtaining and property ownership. From this point of view, it is a fundamental right of every person to be in ownership of his own body and thus be allowed to enjoy the fruit of the labor of that body (Cook 2001). This is where the transfer of money from one person to another by the state in the name of the welfare state is considered stealing. It is also a form of forced labor where some people have to work hard only for the benefit of others. Despite the fact that the welfare state is created by a democratically elected government, it infringes this fundamental right that every person is entitled to. This leads to less motivation to work, where one begins to view his or her labor as being for the benefit of others. The welfare state imposes what is referred to as Servile Law (Waarden and Lehmbruch 2003). This law shares the element of the ancient slavery. According to this law, positive law states that some individuals must toil for others, who in the same way must take care of them. This is unfair because one group of the public works for one that does not work. The group that is fed from the sweat of others is mostly comprised of people who have intentionally refused to work (Mendes 2003). Some other critics argue that the welfare state tends to offer its benefactors with the same rate of income as the minimum payment (Gould 1993). This has encouraged more people to sit back and wait for the welfare. The dependants of the welfare state do not find the need to work for minimum wage where even without working they will receive the same amount. This has led to the creation of a class of citizens that are fully dependant on the welfare state. This is despite the fact that the welfare is available only for the citizens who are not able to work. In the United Kingdom for example, the idea of the welfare state was aimed at poverty alleviation by offering certain individuals basic necessities (Niggle 2006). The state of affairs currently is that the welfare state has extended to provision of finances to a large number of individuals than the nation is able to afford. There is a feeling by some supporters that this argument is ideally untrue. They argue that in the United Kingdom, the welfare system offers people very little finances compared to the minimum wage in the country. However, the dependants of the social welfare in this country have the feeling that they need to access more benefits from the government. If the government bends to these demands, it is evident that the country could be in a very huge financial trouble. People have become so dependant on the welfare state until they feel that it is their right to make demands (Cook 2001). Neo-liberals criticize the welfare state for leading to increase in taxes. This criticism is logical because the finances for the welfare states come from taxes. Enough money has to be availed for the system to operate well and ensure that all the benefactors are covered. This can only be done through ensuring that enough money is obtained through taxation from those who are working. This leads to an increase in taxes. This is basically true from case studies like in Denmark, where the tax level went up to 48. 9 percent of the country’s GDP in the year 2007. Another similar case is Sweden where the tax level was as high as 48. 2 percent of the country’s GDP in the same year (Xu 2007). This however does not mean that there is a reduction in the income of the people in the countries in question. It is argued that this is so because the state taxes ideally return to the workers it is obtained from. This is from the fact that most of the money from tax is used in the provision of public amenities that are enjoyed by the same people who are the tax payers (Barr 2004). The opponents believe that the welfare benefits offered by the government are more costly and less effective than if the same were offered by the private sector. This is in line with a liberal economy where the private sector is offered an important part to play in the economy. In the year 2000, Louis Kaplow and Steven Shafell produced two articles with the argument that any social program founded on the elements of equality and impartiality would lead to an economical system that is Pareto inefficient (Barr 2004). It is obvious that every commodity that is offered free of charge at the consumption point would obviously be highly demanded. There would be efficient allocation of resources if stipulation reflects the charges (Mendes 2003). There have been arguments that the welfare system undermines the conventional family life. Dependence on welfare state encourages over-reliance on the government and increment of social evils. Single parenthood has been encouraged since people know that they will be taken care of by the state. It has been argued that the welfare state fails on moral, social and economic grounds. The welfare system has led many people to relax and wait for the free income. As a result, people have become reluctant to get education and employment. This has led to the increase of social evils as a result. This shows that the welfare state does the society more evil than good (Cook 2001). Conclusion The welfare state was established with the needs of the people who are not able to work in mind. It is a fact that most of the criticisms against the welfare state are true. The welfare state has led to over reliance on the government, making people less inclined to work. It is also true that they have tended to discourage capital investment where people will work to benefit those who are not working. The welfare state has also led to an increase in taxes, as more finances are needed to fund the welfare state. These are some of the neo-liberal criticisms of the welfare state. This does not mean that the welfare state should be completely abolished. As mentioned in the paper, there is great income disparity in the community today. This is not the fault of those who are unfortunate to have low income and those who are not able to access employment. There is dire need to redistribute resources and income in the society. There is no better way of doing this than taxation for provision through the welfare state. The welfare state was also created for a noble objective that is, benefiting those who are unfortunate and marginalized in the society. This group is still in the society and abolishment of the welfare state will be a problem to them. It is however undeniable that something needs to be done to make this system more effective and efficient for economical development. One of the ways forward is to restrict the spending on the welfare state. This will be achieved through restructuring of the policy and reviewing the benefactors. Neo-liberal critics agree that there is need for minimum provision for those in need. This means that the system cannot be entirely abolished, but there is need for serious changes on it. This way it will be able to meet its objectives to the society, while at the same time allowing for economical development. Studies need to be carried out to find the best way forward as far as the welfare state is concerned. Barr, N. 2004, Economics of the welfare state, Oxford University Press, New York. Barrow, C. 1998, State Theory and the Dependency Principle: An Institutionalist Critique of the Business Climate Concept, Journal of Economic Issues, Vol. 32. Cook, P. 2001, Discrediting Neo-Liberalism: The Social Democratic Welfare State Of The Netherlands. Available on May 12, 2010 from http://www. wlu. edu/documents/shepherd/academics/cap_01_cook. pdf Gooden, R. et al. 1999, The Real Worlds of Welfare Capitalism, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge Gould, A. 1993, Capitalist Welfare Systems, Longman, New York. Itoh, M. 1995, Political Economy for Socialism, St. Martins Press, New York. Kuhnle, S. 2000, Survival of the European Welfare State, Routledge, New York. Mendes, P. 2003, Australias Welfare Wars: the Players, the Politics and the Ideologies, University of New South Wales Press, Sydney. Niggle, C. 2006, â€Å"Neo-Liberal Economic Policy: Critical Essays,† Journal of Economic Issues, Vol. 40. Rice, J. , Goodin, R. Parpo, A. 2006, â€Å"The Temporal Welfare State: A Cross-national Comparison,† Journal of Public Policy 26 (3): 195–228. Waarden, F. Lehmbruch, G. 2003, Renegotiating the Welfare State: Flexible Adjustment Through Corporatist Concertation, Routledge, New York. Xu, Q. 2007, â€Å"Globalization, Immigration and the Welfare State: A Cross-National Comparison,† Journal of Sociology Social Welfare, Vol. 34.

Virtual Meeting Scenario Essay Example for Free

Virtual Meeting Scenario Essay In the past, a meeting for many global companies and organizations with largely distributed partakers was challenging. For example, previously if a company called a meeting and attendees were in different locations, the business would either fly those in attendance to a central location, or hold conference calls. Today companies take advantage of technology by holding virtual meetings. According to Educause Learning Initiative â€Å"A virtual meeting is Online virtual meetings are real-time interactions that take place over the Internet using features such as audio and video, chat tools, and application sharing† (Educase Learning Initiative, 2006). In other words a virtual meeting can link meeting participants without him or her ever leaving his or her workplace. From this new innovation businesses can expand businesses and make decisions faster; however, all meeting attendees should learn to respect each other, communicate, and appreciate each other’s differences. There are several types of teams, from sports teams to debate teams and workplace teams. Workplace teams is the focus of this paper, specifically virtual teams, the individual who are a part of the team must be there to create a cooperative effort for teamwork to be present. Different obstacles can be created by virtual meetings because the individuals involved in the meeting are not face to face and only have what each other say to make his or her impressions and perceptions. The teams involved in the virtual meetings have to be open to learn, share, discuss, and seek information and knowledge. The virtual meeting scenario with Pablo, Sam and Lifang Lin, they all are from different regions and cultures. The simulation is provided by University of Phoenix (2009). The obstacles and difficulties that each individual in the simulation endures include accents, stereotypes, culture, ego and gender. There are remarks made based on one’s culture and stereotypes brought up. In the simulation it is understood that because Lifang Lin is a female that the two males seems to leave her out of conversation and not recognize that she is a part of the team. Sam, an American, made offensive comments that are very derogatory and rude. He also made a prejudice comment to Pablo that he wants to â€Å"build a higher wall along the border there so y’all meaning Mexican don’t keep coming over into America and ruining things for the rest of us,† (University of Phoenix, 2009). Sam also talks about taking â€Å"siestas† and calling him â€Å"Senor Pablo† and that he â€Å"don’t hablo espanol or anything like that. † Even though Pablo is an educated man Sam comments still make seems like he is superior to Pablo and Pablo in inferior to him. Sam is an unethical, prejudice, self-absorb, and bias person. I would not have let it the conservation get far. I would have told Sam he was unprofessional and we are here to conduct business. Pablo is from Mexico and third world country. Pablo has a big ego and he always singing his own praises and building his self-up. He always wants to take the lead, talk about how handsome he is, talk about a lot about his accomplishments, and feel he is superior to everyone else. Pablo appears to be self-centered and arrogant just from his introduction. He did show have some hostility toward Sam regarding his remarks, Pablo told Sam the topic is sensitive to him. Pablo is an egotistical person despite the how Sam stereotyped him. I would have did the same with Pablo stopped him before he made everything about himself and not the business. Lifang Lin is from China. Lifang Lin is the most professional out of them all. She needs to talk up some to Sam and Pablo and not let them bully her. She is submissive, maybe because of her culture. She appears to be somewhat shy and laid back, but she is respectful of other. She tries to makes things peaceful between everyone. She is more of a peacemaker and leader than Sam and Pablo. If I was Lifang Lin I would have ask Sam and Pablo to conduct themselves professionally and treat each other with respect.

Life Cycle Analysis To Assess District Energy

Life Cycle Analysis To Assess District Energy Introduction Life Cycle Analysis is the method used by individuals working in procurement to assess District Energy. This is done so as to understand the amount needed to create cooling on the site; though this analysis is carried out for the duration of 20 40 years and then it is equated with district cooling proposal. The concept of Life Costing is being widely used because of the productivity associated with it. Practically, mechanical / electrical equipment live short lives, but energy consumption, maintenance and renewal programmes are expenses. Both present and future costs are genuine, Example, in a rolling maintenance programme for major installations capital comes from the same fund. If these situations can be met then whole-life costing is vital. (Ferry 1964) Use of Whole life costing methods within the mechanical and electrical installations s most profitable since the amount of money spent on these is always growing. Variances between expenditure and running cost are constant in evaluation of energy-consuming systems. Drawbacks affecting calculations for whole-life costing is unaccountable in building fabric, because, Firstly, running costs of energy-consuming systems equate to considerable sum of the total whole-life costs. Secondly, restrictions on life span of mechanical / electrical installations and since they become obsolete quickly imply these installations should be considered for shorter periods as compared to building fabric. Thirdly, assumptions are held over short period time frames, any hypothesis on cost, interest rates and taxation are possibly more legitimate. (Ferry 1964) Fig 4.1 displays the proportional values of the various life cycle costs that a building owner would need to consider in order to produce cooling on site. (Damecour 2008) As can be seen in the above diagram, there are 3 clear parts to manufacture cooling on site; Natural gas or electricity, Operation and maintenance and Capital. Capital costs Capital for equipment is a fraction of the total installation cost. It is critical to consider this when deciding on what amount can be reduced by using district cooling system. For example in chiller plants, the chiller and cooling towers make up 25% of total cost. [See fig4.2] (Damecour 2008) Operation and maintenance: To operate chillers and cooling towers there is a need for well trained staff and budget for wear and tear of machines. Chillers need water and chemicals to work accurately. It is mandatory for the owner to insure all heavy machinery such as boilers, chillers and cooling towers. Besides, heavy machinery is sold with warranty contracts. Details of Case Study This case study evaluates the capital connected with a district cooling plant and Air cooled chiller package, but over a time frame of 30 years. The particulars of both are below. District Cooling Plant Employer: Emirates Central Cooling Systems Corporation (EMPOWER), Dubai Engineer for the Works: Ellerbe Becket Inc and Tebodin Middle East Ltd. Scope of work: The capacity of the job involved supply, installation, testing and commissioning of a central cooling plant. The plant will have a capacity of 56,000 tonnes of refrigeration. The specification of the building is 135 metres long x 40 metres wide and 37 metres high from basement floor level to the top of the parapet wall. Transgulf Electomechanical LLC, are the contractor on this project and will perform all functions relating to mechanical, electrical, process, civil and architectural components, including supply and installation of machinery. The capacity of work extends towards supply and installation of the instrumentation and controls in two phases for up to 40 ETSs (Energy transfer stations) located in developers buildings around DHCC area and wiring them back to the central plant. It includes engineering as required, procurement and provision of manpower, materials, equipment and two years defect liability period. Project Time Schedule: In March 2008, the first 18000 tons of refrigeration has been connected to the pipeline network. The balance load will happen during part II of the work. The details of the equipment installed are indicated in the Annexure 4.1. District cooling system model Firstly, chilled water is scattered between DCS and buildings through a three-level chilled water piping system, which comprises of production loop with constant speed pump. Each chiller has a dedicated production loop pump, and the two are controlled together. Secondly, distribution loop pumps defeat pressure loss, as acquired by chilled water flowing between DCS and the buildings. Distribution is hydraulically separated from production loop by existence of separate bypass pipes between the loops. All distribution loop pumps have changeable speed. Thirdly, secondary loop in each building includes a number of changeable speeds, with variable flow chilled pumps, for distributing chilled water through the airside apparatus in the building. Heat exchangers are built-in to segregate distribution loop of DCS from secondary loop in each building, which keeps system pressure in the distribution loop at a low. Lastly, there are total 4 zones T1, T2, T3 and T4 as indicated in the drawing (Fig 4.3) which shows the location of the ETS stations and the load detail. The load details of Phase I are in Annexure 4.2. Air Cooled Chiller Package Transgulf Electromechanical has provided information on air cooled chiller package for comparison. Employer : Dubai World Trade Centre Engineer : RMJM consultants. Capacity of chiller : 275 TR Type : Air cooled chiller Information on machinery, model number and power consumption are in annexure 4.3. Factors considered for costing 1. The real cooling capacity that a building needs is a much lower number than the chiller capacity. On the basis of the design cooling loads predicted for the twenty one buildings in four building zone the connected load is 18000 TR and the actual load is 15738 TR. Accordingly the district cooling plant is designed for 8 chillers working (8 x 2000 TR = 16000 TR) and 1 standby (2000 TR). The connected load (17796 TR) correlates to sum of fixed capacity of the chiller plants needed by each building if each had a plant, but 16000 TR relates to the cooling capacity required of a DCS to serve 21 ETS stations. Outcome of diversity in cooling load among buildings can be taken advantage of by using district cooling plant to serve groups of buildings. Air cooled chiller packages are in multiples of 275 TR (66 chiller packages) as total load of 18150 TR to be fixed in 21 buildings. 2. Study is based on NPV (present worth value) and EAC (equivalent annual cost); across initial and operating costs. Choice depends on which requires least LCC (life-cycle cost) and can execute the duty for its life span. (Al Daini et al 2002). Comparisons are made only between co-terminated proposals, to guarantee comparable results. Co-termination means, lives of systems involved end at the same time, which is not the case in this work. When alternatives have unequal lives, time span for analysis can be set by common multiples of system lives or a study period ending with disposal of all systems. Common-multiple method is used to accommodate NPV for unequal-life systems. Like in this case study, least common multiple is 30 years for the district cooling plant. This means the air cooled chilled package has a lifetime of 15 years; and would be substituted once during the analysis period. The total NPV for analysis is derived by adding the NPV of single entity considered, both future single payment (i.e. replacement cost) items and series of equal future payment (i.e. annual operating cost). The value of money is the job of available interest rates and inflation rate. In equivalent annual method, all costs incurred over time are changed to an equal yearly amount. The EAC comparison method is most fitting, especially for systems that comprise of many subsystems with unequal life spans. In this case, there is no need to assume the replacement of a system. 3. Owning Costs: Economic analysis demands derivation of first cost and operational costs for every projected selection. It is significant in correctly assessing to reach a final decision, for overall approach and system choices. Life cycle cost evaluation comprises of first costs, utility costs, maintenance costs, operational costs, utility escalation rates and owners cost of money. (Richards et al 2000). There are four rudiments to calculate annual owning costs: Initial cost, Analysis or study period, Cost of capital and other periodic costs like replacement, refurbishment or disposal fees. These combined with operating costs, equates to economic analysis. (ASHRAE 2003) Initial costs A fair ballpark of capital cost of parts has resulted from cost records of installations of similar le design or quotations from manufacturers and contractors or referring market available cost- estimations. Analysis period Time span during which an economic analysis is carried out affects the outcome. This is decided by clear objectives, like length of planned ownership or loan repayment period. As the length of time in analysis period grows, the net present value decreases. The time period is not affected by equipment depreciation or service life, though it may be valuable for the study. In this study a single design life of 15 years was used to show a midway point between small and medium capacity equipment range for air cooled chiller package. Smaller equipment has a life span of 10 to 15 years while medium size equipment has 15 to 20 years. (Archibald et al 2002) In district cooling plants, machinery is all large scale and has a life span of 30 to 40 years as declared by district solution providers (Tabreed 2007). Though, in this analysis 30 years is considered to minimize the intricacy and work. Interest or discount rate Borrowed capital has high interest rates, albeit this rate is not apt enough to use in the study. Discount rate instead is used to give the actual value of money. This rate is affected by individual investment and profit, while interest rates are fixed. (ASHRAE 2003) Most establishments use WACC to calculate costs of capital as organizations can produce capital through debt or equity. Although return required for equity and debt is varied, debt holders have high risk as they access the organizations profits. Hence cost of the capital is calculated by taking a weighted average of both, and the weightings are introduced by level of debt and equity in the companys asset base, or the companys gearing. (EMA 2002) This estimation is from the hypothesis of cost of capital as 10% (as per break up in Annexure 4.4) to DCS by private sector. Operating costs Operating costs comprises of; cost of electricity, wages of employees, supplies, water, materials, chemicals and annual frequent costs associated with functioning of the system. For the vapor compression system, operating costs are subject to electricity needed to work the compressor. Extra electricity is needed to work the condenser water pump and cooling tower fans. This has been regarded in the calculation. DEWA tariff has also been considered. Wages are as per current UAE market rate. Maintenance Costs Maintenance cost is equal to final cost estimated for air-conditioning systems. Most frequently used maintenance towards building HVAC services are run-to-failure (unsuitable for the hospital), preventive, and predictive maintenance. Run to failure, capital is not spent until the machinery gives way. Preventive maintenance is planned by run time or calendar. Predictive maintenance is done by supervising machinery and using condition and performance indices to increase repair intervals. HVACR maintenance and utility costs form a high percentage of operating cost, hence it is critical to reduce cost on maintenance by managing the process well. Maintenance cost is hard to measure as it is liable on many variables like local labor rates, experience, age of the system, length of time of operation, etc. Although a fair prediction is derived from quotations for repairs and Annual maintenance contracts. Sensitivity analysis Most whole-life cost calculation includes a lot of suppositions and it is not probable to get the effect of change in these practically. One method of testing results attained from whole life cost calculation is to repeat the calculations in a methodical way, changing the value of a single variable (i.e. assumption) each time, and then one can see how sensitive results are to changes in the variable under consideration. Results if seen on a graph can show when; example, one component becomes more attractive than another. (Ferry 1964) Consequently, sensitivity analysis was done to learn the effect of change in DEWA tariff rate on life costs by keeping all parameters same and results are reflected in Figure I and Figure IV. Also the same was done by changing hours of operation; results are seen in Figure III and Figure VI. Explanatory notes to the costing Capital costs Air cooled chiller package 275 TR chiller package is used for contrast study as data of cost and power usage are accessible for a recent project completed in 2007 (Dubai World trade centre) Design fees are taken @ 4 % as per market trend in contracting business in Dubai. Total load requirement as per ETS integrator data is 18,000 TR which needs 66 number of 275 TR air cooled chiller packages. Hence cost as per 66 chiller packages was noted. District cooling plant The capital cost figures shown are for a recently executed project (Phase I completed in March 2008) at Dubai Health care city. Architect/Consultant fees are taken @ 8% as per market trend in contracting business in Dubai. Plant is constructed for 56,000 TR capacity. Civil cost should be allocated to 56,000 TR . Though this difference was not made in capital cost. Chiller cost is 18,000 TR (2000 TR x 9nos) in line with phase I ETS load. Land cost is taken from Dubai rent prices in 2006 in the Dubai Health care city. (UAE property trends 2006) Economic calculation requires consideration towards the space for the cooling machine which will be vacated for other purposes since the consumer is connected to the DC network (Soderman 2007). Although this was not considered in the calculation. Operating costs District cooling plant Power consumption for the plant is from SCADA reports as per annexure 4.5. The power consumption charges are assumed at 20 fils/kwh as per DEWA tariff rates from May2008. Sensitivity analysis by changing the rate to 33 fils/kwh is also done to learn the influence of revised rates from DEWA since June2008. Dubai health care city has residential, hospital buildings and office buildings and so has different running hours. Running hours are assumed as 4800 hrs per year (16 hours /day x 300 days working) and all calculations are based on 4800 hrs of operation. Results for operating at 3200 hrs and 6000 hrs are evaluated. Water costs are assumed as 4 fils/gallon as per DEWA tariff and run hours are 4800 hrs as per above. Air cooled package Power consumption is assumed as 20 fils/kwh as per DEWA tariff rate from May 2008. Since the start of slab tariff, consumption charges for each chiller package will be 20 fils/kwh as total consumption would not exceed the slab. Water and chemical requirements are not applicable for air cooled chiller package, since cooling tower is removed and chilled water system being a closed system the makeup water requirements are irrelevant to consider in costing. Life cycle costs are from budget costing figures formulated from basic equipment sizes, not detailed design solutions. This is supposed to be precise for comparison. 4.5 Inferences from cost comparison Figure I Figure IV District cooling plant has huge initial capital cost, though in the long term it is more advantageous. According to present worth method, district cooling is advantageous from 13th year when present worth becomes lower than air cooled chiller package, which is even before replacement of the chiller package. As operating and maintenance costs are sizably less with the same tariff for electricity as per before May 2008. Since the start of slab tariff rates for electricity from May 2008, air cooled chiller package NPV is lower than district cooling. As increase in operating costs of district cooling because of higher tariff (33 fils/kwh) when compared to air-cooled chiller package (20 fils/kwh) neutralises the advantage of less power consumption per unit of cooling produced by district cooling as compared to air cooled chiller package. Thus the massive disparity in capital costs of district cooling makes it not worth. Figure II In district cooling, capital cost is 56% while operation and maintenance is 44% of the cost. Compared to air cooled chiller package, initial capital investment is 30% while operation and maintenance is 70%. Hence throughout a life cycle of 30 years, OM costs for air cooled chiller package are much higher than the benefit of low capital investment. With equivalent annual cost method, district cooling plant is beneficial when weighed against air-cooled chiller package. Figure III and Figure VI 1. Operating hours of a cooling plant differ widely with use, example the chiller plant in typically HVAC equipment in commercial buildings run for a portion of 2,500 to 3,500 hours that the building is occupied. But in the industrial sector, commercial cooling systems are expanded to comprise of process cooling and function on two shifts or around the clock. Here it is possible to note that the plant runs for 8,000 hours per year. (Archibald et al 2002) Cost differentiation shows as operating hours lessen, differences in present worth between the DCP and ACC reduces. As hours of operation lessen, OM costs lessen and DCP loses the advantage to ACC. Although with more operating hours DCP becomes much more attractive than ACC. 2. As per the present worth method, DCP becomes productive from 15th year, the present worth becomes less than ACC because of substituting of the chiller package with 3600 hours of operation, in the 13th year with 4800 hours of operation and in 9th year of operation with 6000 hours of operation. Here it is visible how costs; except initial capital costs; can influence decisions. Figure V Comparison of DCP and ACC considering inflation is shown. Rates supposed for inflation the difference in costs of ACC and DCP over 30 years increases as compared to the cost comparison without inflation. District cooling system considerations and benefits. High cooling load demand and density are predominant reasons to select District Cooling. It is most commonly seen in universities, government facilities and hospitals, or in office and industrial complexes and high- rise urban districts. A high load density means a less extensive distribution system, which is very expensive. Shorter runs also minimize thermal and pressure losses and maintenance costs. A desirable companion to high load density is a favorable load factor. Means that the aggregate load over time tends to approach the peak block load condition. This analysis considers both factors, thus making DCP a better option. Infrastructure Requirements District Cooling Scheme needs a central plant and a central pipeline network to function. Consideration of these site necessities for district cooling facilities in planning and programming process for Strategic New Development areas in the beginning stage is priority to hold the master plans and certain easy execution of District Cooling Scheme. (Parsons 2003) Due to fast paced construction process any changes to the master plans and infrastructure corridors, can severely impact the completion of the district cooling project. Traffic Impact Review Since some of the pipelines laying works need to be on busy roads it is important to have an extensive Traffic Impact Assessment. For Dubai health care city careful notification was provided to the stakeholders to guarantee no inconvenience was caused due to pipeline installation. Under Ground Congestion These are higher than anticipated costs since there may be unexpected costs relating to congestion in underground services. These need to be overcome primarily in the planning process. (IDEA 2007) Chilled Water Temperature Differential Low chilled water temperature differential (Ά T) is a major district cooling weakness. Poor Ά T performance at cooling coils means lost cooling capacity, wasted energy, extra cost and added complexity for a thermal utility, its chilled water customers, or both. Health care city district cooling plant has power consumption of 1.12 kw/tr which is more than the desired consumption of less than 1 kw/tr due to low chilled water temperature difference. This increases operating costs. To encourage customers to invest in technology to improve Ά T performance in their buildings, an increasing number of utilities have established chilled water rates that vary inversely with Ά T . Figure 4.4 is an example of rates charged to customers from one prominent university in the United States. As can be seen, the lower the Ά T, the greater the rate. Conversely, customers that minimize their flow rate per ton cooling are rewarded. (Moe 2005) Risks and Uncertainties Faced By District Cooling Customers There is no bargaining power with the District Cooling Services Provider once a building is connected to District Cooling Scheme and Uncertainties over future tariffs. Risks and Uncertainties Faced By District Cooling Investors Demand is unpredictable, Uncertainty in dealing with building owners on District Cooling Supply Agreement (negotiations can be time consuming), Unpredictability relating to land costs for District Cooling plant room and distribution pipelines and High initial capital investments with long payback periods. (Parsons 2003) Strategic Environmental Assessment Noise The central chiller plant and pumps of the district cooling scheme are housed in underground plant rooms, this reduces the noise. As buildings connecting to District Cooling Scheme do not need to have their own chiller plant, the district cooling user building will have no noise. Appropriate techniques can be implemented to reduce the noise during construction stage of district cooling scheme. (Parsons 2003) Air Quality District cooling reduces electricity energy thus minimising carbon dioxide emission and will help improve air quality. Based on the case study for 4800 hours of operation the energy saving by using district cooling would be (1.91 -1.12)kw/ton x 4800 hrs x 18000 tons i.e. 68,256,000 KWh , which is equivalent to 104,772,960 lbs of CO2 (Electricity carbon emission factor 1.535 lbs CO2/KWh).(EPA 2006) Benefits of district cooling for project owners: A highly efficient solution: Given that this region has extreme heat, air conditioning can account for as much as 70% of the energy consumption in a typical building. Moving this load from individual houses to a central plant, the housing electric load is reduced considerably and along with it the number of electric substations and length and sizes of electric cables. District cooling requires far less electric power than multiple plant rooms or ducted splits. Also the plant room can house the electric substation, enormously reducing the electric works. Significant capital and O M cost reduction: Removing in-building or on-premise chiller plants by using district cooling schemes; means that availability of free land for other use. Also project owners do not need to buy more land to operate and maintain complex central air conditioning plants. They also need not have to replace expensive equipment. The industry has a two part tariff structure which is complex to understand. It is based on an Annual Capacity or Connection Charge for every ton committed to a property and also a Consumption Charge for the energy used measured through an energy meter installed for every end user. Palm district cooling has developed a new form of tariff structure that maintains the consumption charge but replaces the annual capacity charge or connection charge with a One Time Service Connection Charge (AED/sq ft) of the property. (Prashant 2007) Benefits of this tariff structure: Developer need not pay advance cost for DC, Developer does not need to pay for any air-conditioning chiller units during construction stage. The tenant or property owner contributes to the cost of the DC system at the time of purchasing his property [as he would do with conventional AC equipment]. When district cooling is an option, the building owner can invest capital towards amenities for tenants. Reduced project complexity means faster project completion: Dedicated experienced professionals take over the complex task of providing the cooling needs of the project, simplifying and expediting the project development cycle and expediting move-in dates and income generation Improved ROI numbers: Reduced initial up-front capital outlays for developers, faster move-in dates, reduced OM costs and the elimination of costs related to technical staff all translate into less financial risk for project owners, with improved return on investment and better project economies overall for developers and owners. No idle expensive capacity: District Cooling Solutions allow project owners to buy the capacity they need when they need it. Improved reliability and ease of operation: Economies of scale allow for sophisticated redundant systems resulting in superior 100% up-time performance and ease of operation for project owners. Units used are high-tech and industrial which dramatically decreases the failure frequency compared to commercial equipment. District cooling reliability is in excess of 99.94%. (Source: IDEA). (Papadopoulos et al 2006) The central chiller plant concept, almost by definition, is more flexible and more reliable and possesses a greater degree of redundancy than the concept involving individual cooling packages. Greater flexibility in design: Architects have more creative leeway due to the elimination of heavy machinery. Ecologically friendly: It provides for a noise free, clean environment for the tenants. The absence of tall towers allows for a clean environment.

Insight On Necrophilia,whats T Essay -- essays research papers

Insight on Necrophilia (1999)   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The author Barbara Gowdy has succeeded in “We so Seldom Look on Love'; to arouse our curiosity through a romanticized depiction of what most would consider a sin, necrophilia. It is most probable that society in the nineteen fifties influenced the style and choice of characters to explore such delicate and obscure behavior. Barbara Gowdy proved herself to be very clever by opening a passage through the soul of a young woman, in order to humanize the inexplicable lust for dead flesh. What better way to translate imagination in its purest form than through the soul of a young women: “When you die and your earthly self begins turning into your disintegrated self, you radiate an intense current of energy.'; (p. 1) Certainly the author wishes to offer an approach to necrophilia that defies the reader’s expectations. The idea that such a disturbing behaviour can evolve in the heart and body of a girl at such a young age, can alter the reader’s preconception on the necrophiliac’s physical and emotional profile: “Necrophiles aren’t suppose to be blond and pretty, let alone female.'; (p. 4) With this statement, Barbara Gowdy reinforces the contrast of the story versus the judgement of her society in the fifties. When the author decided to explore a controversial matter of sexual nature, such as necrophilia, she made a thoughtful decision by choosing ...