Development system Essay Example for Free

Development system Essay Over much of the twentieth century, the foremost edges of economic development and growth were mainly identifiable with sectors distinguished by varying degrees of mass production, as expressed in large-scale machine systems and an unrelenting drive to product standardization and cost cutting. all through the mass-production era, the dominant sectors evolved through a progression of technological and organizational changes focused above all on process routinization and the exploration for internal economies of scale. These features are not particularly conducive to the injection of high levels of aesthetic and semiotic content into final products. Certainly, in the 1930s and 1940s many commentators with supporters of the Frankfurt School (Adorno, 1991; Horkheimer, 1947) being among the most vocal expressed grave misgivings concerning the steady incursion of industrial methods into the globe of the cultural economy and the concomitant tendency for multifarious social and emotive content to be evacuated from forms of popular cultural production. These doubts were by no means out of place in a framework where much of commercial culture was focused on an enormously narrow approach to entertainment and disruption, and in which the powerful forces of the nation-state and nationalism were bend in considerable ways on creating mass proletarian societies. The specific problems raised by the Frankfurt School in regard to popular commercial culture have in definite respects lost some of their urgency as the economic and political bases of mass production have given way before the changes guided in over the late 1970s and early 1980s, when the new economy started its ascent. This is not to say that the modern cultural economy is not associated with a number of staid social and political predicaments. Although it is also the case that as commercial cultural production and consumption have developed in the major capitalist societies over the last few decades, so our aesthetic and ideological judgments concerning their underlying meanings have lean to shift. The rise of post-modern social and cultural theory is one significant expression of this development. Creative Industries Policy and the Reason of Shift in Terminology â€Å"The idea that cultural or creative industries might be regenerative was the result of changes in the cultural-industries landscape that were themselves in part the product of cultural policy shifts – when cultural policy is understood in the wider sense, to include media and communications† . One other key aspect also goes unnoticed in Hesmondhalghs book, which is that the sector itself, the ostensible object of both academic and policy discourse does not distinguish itself in the term cultural industries at least not instantly. Some are simply unaware of how their activities relay to a range of disparate occupations and businesses. Some are clear in their refusal of the terminology and the company with which they are thus grouped. Certainly, one of the key arguments of the policy advocates is that this sector lacks a essential voice, it needs to convey its demands, needs to become self-conscious as a sector, needs to present itself with the consistency of other economic groups, needs, therefore, to co-operate in its own building as policy object (OConnor, 1999a). If an necessary part of this discursive operation is the dismantling of fixed oppositions between economics as well as culture then this has to be about the self-perception, individuality (and identification) of cultural producers the inculcation or adoption of a new kind of what Nigel Thrift calls embodied performative knowledge but can as well be seen as a form of habitus (OConnor, 1999a, 2000b). â€Å"The notion of culture is constructed through a number of intersecting discourses providing particular means of mobilising the notion and defining its object. These discourses are selectively emphasized to frame cultural (industries) policies† . The cultural industries discourse then is not just policy making but is part of a wider shift in governance, and needs a new set of self-understandings as part of the key skills in a new cultural economy (OConnor, 2000b). In this sense those apprehensive to advocate cultural industry strategies could be seen as a species of cultural intermediaries.

Comparing Criminal Justice Systems: US and China

Comparing Criminal Justice Systems: US and China The two criminal justice systems that shall be discussed in this paper are those of the United States and that of the Peoples Republic of China. When comparing and contrasting these two systems one should start with the premise that both are instituted in their countries in the attempt to curb the proliferation of crime, apprehend offenders and deter potential offenders. Both the U.S. and Chinas criminal justice systems make use of a court system, police enforcement organizations and detention/correctional facilities. However this is as much as similarities go as the two systems are radically different since they are based on ideologically opposing government structures. The U.S government is based on a free market capitalist economy supported by a representative democracy. On the other hand that of China is founded on a social communist ideology. As for demographic figures, the U.S. has roughly 355 million citizens while China has well over one billion, which makes up one fourth of the world population. Klaus MÃ ¼hlhahn (2009), in his book Criminal Justice in China, states that Peoples Republic of China (P.R.C.) was founded in 1949 under a socialist rulership. From that point onwards a push was made to establish basic legislation with regards the administration of the criminal justice and enforced nationwide. The U.S. government is hierarchally based on a unified organization where power is shared between the federal and state governments. Therefore this means that the political system secures autonomy of each state in the U.S. but at the same time adopting a centralized government (Gaines and Miller, 2006). The U.S. justice system is derived from the British common law tradition. Common law is the law that is agreed upon by the common people and exists in two forms, Lex Scripta (written law) and Lex non Scripta (unwritten law). On the other hand MÃ ¼hlhahn (2009), says that the Chinese justice system is quite difficult to put under one unitary system. This is due to the fact that the Chinese criminal justice system was repeatedly reorganized in the wake of political changes and internal party disputes since 1949, when the communist party took over. MÃ ¼hlhahn (2009) also notes that the Chinese justice system under socialism is not an independent administrative system but was integrated into a network of social control and political mobilization. The Chinese Criminal Law is based on the ideological precepts of Marxism, Leninism and Mao Zedong. Its tasks are to use punishments to resist against all revolutionary or criminal behaviour, for the sake of protecting the Chinese autocracy. Gaines and Miller (2006) explain that the police forces of the United States are the successors of Militias originally instituted in the early colonies to protect the population and control the Native Americans. The different forming States developed their own security forces and these operated autonomously. Major cities instituted their own police forces, which function under the control of a city government (Gaines and Miller, 2006). According to Gaines and Miller (2006) Currently the U.S. police forces are structured on local/city/county and federal/state levels, thus having a federal system. All local policing duties are shared between local municipalities and rural localities. Cities, towns and villages are able to institute their own police forces, while others, usually rural localities, rely on a county Sheriffs department for the task of enforcement and policing. Usually the size of police forces in the U.S. is directly proportional to the population of the area being controlled. The 50 States forming the U.S. also have their own police forces that are ascribed to different regions and often patrol undeveloped rural areas. The job of such agencies include investigating crimes against the state such as alcohol licensing violations or welfare fraud, fish and game violations, and highway traffic infractions (Gaines and Miller, 2006). According to a statistic of the U.S. Department of Justice (2008), on average the ratio of police to population in the U.S. is about 2.3 officers per thousand residents, however larger cities generate grater ratios. This police force ratio has stayed fixed around 2.21-2.34 police officers per 1000 civilian population for nearly 30 years. Next up on the U.S. hierarchal police system is the Federal Governments police force that subdivided into various other agencies (Gaines and Miller, 2006). There is the Federal Bureau of Investigation, which is independent of any administration. The F.B.I. intervenes when federal laws are infringed, an interstate crime is committed, or if national security is threatened. However the last case scenario has been taken over by the Department of Homeland Security established after the attacks of September 11th 2001. The U.S. has about 20 federal law enforcement agencies, which also include the Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation, U.S. Secret Service, Postal Inspection Service and U.S. Marshals Service. Further more there exist the Drug Enforcement Agency, the Treasury Department, the Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearm Agency and the Immigration and Naturalization Services handle illegal immigrants while the U.S. Customs officials deal with border infringements. However this specia lization of the different policing agencies has its drawbacks. Problems can arise due to jurisdictional issues, when what one should really take care of is the upholding and maintenance of the law (Gaines and Miller, 2006). According to MÃ ¼hlhahn (2009) the P.R.C. employs around 2 million police officers, of which most work is small offices that serve communities of roughly 10,000 citizens. The main policing agency in the P.R.C. is the Peoples Armed Police (PAP), which includes about 700,000 officers. This agency was instituted in 1983 and was formed by incorporating disbanded units of the Peoples Liberation Army (PLA) on domestic defence duty and armed frontier defence and fire fighting. The rise of the PAP shows how Chinese leadership is more concerned with domestic security than it is with foreign threats (MÃ ¼hlhahn, 2009). The PAPs main task is to deal with domestic disturbances, by acting as riot police, guarding government compounds and also foreign embassies. It usually handles border defence but in some cases it is requested to back up local police. Recently it has been employed to suppress anti-government protests. The Public Security Service (PSB) is both a local police and the Chinese equivalent of the Secret Service in the U.S. The P.R.C. justice system also employs paramilitary armed police and more than 1 million security guards. Quasi-police force known as cheng guan also operates in China (MÃ ¼hlhahn, 2009). These carry out tasks deemed unpopular by the citizens, such as collecting fines and tax money, often these are just thugs hired by the official police to carry out such tasks. The Chinese government introduced a new special unit in December 2008, to counter gun-related crimes and organized crime such as gambling rackets, organized prostitution, drug production and trafficking. By 2009 Chinas public security budget was increased by nearly a third, to $4.2 billion partly to tackle internal stresses related to the unrest in Tibet and western China. Also this increment in the public security budget came about as a result to unrest brought about by unemployed workers and other problems related to the global economic crisis (MÃ ¼hlhahn, 2009). In the past, police forces in the U.S. have been accused of corruption and the Good-Old Boy network of hiring practices. Also in recent years charges of racism, racial profiling, and use of excessive force have been reported by citizens and related organizations (Gaines and Miller, 2006). In China family members of victims of crime have often been criticised police for their incompetence and reluctance to make sensible effort towards solving cases that affect them. Another criticism directed to Chinese police forces is that these have a reputation for being corrupt and connected to smuggling. Also citizens, particularly in rural areas, regard these with suspicion. Chinese police have traditionally been more involved in maintaining government control than solving crimes, and this is directly related with Chinas political ideology. (MÃ ¼hlhahn, 2009). As for the US court system, this is a dual judiciary system, of which the two constituent parts (federal and state) function independent of each other. The federal judiciary system includes district courts, circuit courts of appeals, and the United States Supreme Court. The state system includes trial courts at the local and state levels, intermediate courts of appeal, and state Supreme Court (Gaines and Miller, 2006). The primary agents working along each other are the judge, prosecutor, and defence lawyers in the U.S. system. The U.S. law is derived from four main sources, which are constitutional law, statutory law, administrative regulations, and the common law (Gaines and Miller, 2006). The most important source of law is the United States Constitution, under which all other laws fall. No law can contradict the U.S. Constitution. As already stated the U.S. follows the principles of Common law that were inherited from English jurisprudence. This tradition holds that a decision taken in court is always made on the principle of precedent. This means that each case previously resolved serves as reference and guide for new cases. New aspects of law may be determined or discovered and thus a precedent arises. The U.S. justice system allows for presumption of innocence until proven guilty, plea-bargaining, trial by jury, and the right to a quick trial (Gaines and Miller, 2006). These features compose the U.S. justice system which is flexible and according to Gaines and Miller (2006) caters for the citizens ne eds in a batter way. Chinese Law is based on the Constitution, of which Article 28 declares: The State maintains public order and suppresses treasonable and other counter-revolutionary activities; it penalizes acts that endanger public security and disrupt the socialist economy and other criminal activities, and punishes and reforms criminals. According to an article by Jeffrey Hays (2008), the main task of the Chinese justice system has fundamentally always been to protect the interests of the state rather than the individual and to keep the population under control. There is no independent judiciary in China and courts are regarded as weak and subordinate to the Communist Party and the National Peoples Congress. The court system of the P.R.C. is divided into two types, Courts of General Jurisdiction and Courts of Special Jurisdiction. The first type consists of the Supreme Peoples Court and the local peoples courts. The second type includes courts of the first instance, intermediate courts that handle important local cases for the first instance and hear appeal cases from the basic courts and the high peoples court responsible for issues of provincial level. As for Courts of Special Jurisdiction there exist the Military Court of China, Railway Transport Court of China and Maritime Court of China (Hays, 2008), According to Hays (2008) Unlike in their U.S. counterparts, in Chinese courts unlawfully obtained evidence is not excluded in court and an accused person has no right to remain silent but has the duty towards the state to speak, often after administration of corporal punishment. According to Amnesty International, when the Criminal Procedure Law was revised and promulgated in 1996, commentators pointed to various articles, which although did not explicitly state that suspects were to be presumed innocent, when taken in unison the presumption of innocence could be inferred. The penal system of the U.S., like the judicial system, branches into federal, state and local levels. The prison system is supported by governmental funds, in the form of tax revenue from federal (corporate income), state (sales) and local (taxes) revenues. Is also receives funding through Inter-governmental transfer, in the form of federal grants and state grants. Gaines and Miller (2006) sentencing within the US judiciary system are considerably lengthier than those of other western countries and many states have endorsed a three strikes system which forces the judiciary to sentence a suspect to a life term in the case of a third offence (Gaines and Miller, 2006). The USs penal system has a huge problem because of overpopulation of convicts and thus in order to counter this many states have resorted to the privatisation of prisons. Other problems include the imprisonment of the criminally insane, increase of sexual offenders, dangerous offenders, gangs and drug smuggling in the pr isons. The aim of the penal system in China is to reform criminals, however this is carried out by means which in the west one might deem unacceptable. The USs penal system on the other hand is instituted to punish the criminal and protect the public. Both systems endorse capital punishment as their most extreme sanction and such actions have roused many heated debates within modern human rights exponents. Differences of Standard Profit and Actual Profit: Case Study Differences of Standard Profit and Actual Profit: Case Study Incognitos latest costume set is Meridas outfit in the Disney Pixar film Brave that sold through internet. The purpose of this report is to analyse and compare the differences of standard profit and actual profit. All calculations are available in the appendices. 1.1 Absorption Costing System Absorption costing system is used to cost Merida. It recognizes the importance of absorbing the fixed overhead on valuation of stock in calculating profit as fixed overhead is essential to incur to make product. All fixed and variable production cost is included in stock valuation in absorption costing while, marginal costing only include variable production cost in stock valuation5. It allocates portion of fixed manufacturing overhead to each unit of product and hence, it will be brought forward to next period in the closing stock5. Also, it avoids fictitious losses being reported. For instance, a company produces more on first few months to cater the sales for the next few months. In absorption costing, fixed production cost will only be expensed off when it is sold. While, marginal costing would expensed it off when it is incurred that may cause a huge losses at the beginning. The absorption of fixed overhead in stock valuation helps prices to be set with full knowledge of all costs. This is useful for decision making and preparing financial accounts. Additionally, absorption costing system is consistent with external reporting5. 2 1.2 Variance Analysis Standard costing is predetermined costs that assist in budget preparation and decision-making. It allows profit measurement and inventory valuation purposes. The variance analysis is applied to explain the deviations in the actual results from budgeted amounts8. The results of variance analysis is attributes to different elements such as material, labour, variable overhead and fixed overhead. These would provide a better understanding of the business performance and aware of any changes in the organization, economy, or sector. The variances might due to several reasons. This variance analysis segregates total variance into different element such as price and efficiency8. This sub-decomposition would provide more detail in explaining the deviations. It helps in performance evaluation that could motivate managers and identify areas of concern that enables managers to focus on the most critical areas8. It seeks explanation for variances and helps in planning activity by identifying the necessary early corrective action to be taken depending whether variance is favourable or adverse8. It would allow manager to generate more informed future predictions. Therefore, it acts as measurement system and controlling tool to supervise the progress of a project and controlling of future cost by understanding the present costs9. Key findings of the variance analysis 2.1 Possible reason of variances The most critical areas are adverse variances especially those with significant figures. The adverse variance of sales margin price might due to overestimation of standard selling price; higher quantity discount given by sales manager that result to lower actual selling price or bad response of the product that influences management to decide to lower the selling price. Adverse sales margin volume variance may due to overestimation of budgeted sales that is set without careful analysis of market condition. Also, inefficient sales force such as failure in advertisement (marketing) effort or customer dissatisfaction because of poor quality of costumes. Although the decrease in selling price by $4 should reflect an increment in sales volume, however, in this case, it is shown as adverse sales volume which might due to economic downturn as what happen to unexpected sales drop of Hennes Maurit (Fashion retailer) by 5% during Euro zone crisis6. The purchasing power of consumer will drop. Hence, despite the drop in selling price, the sales volume will decrease. Another possible reason for adverse sales price and volume is the escalating market competition in internet of selling childrens costume that affects both the sales price and volume to decrease by 4 and 190 units respectively. Adverse material price variance (Velour fabric and Metal poppers) may due to management careless in purchasing a batch of material with a higher cost without realizing it, ; general increase in price of the material (inflation) or the used of the improved quality of the material. Moreover, it can due to underestimation of material standard price; losing bulk discount as less has been purchased or inefficiency of purchasing manager in price negotiation9. The adverse material usage variances (Satin fabric, Polyester yarn and Velcro) may due to mistake by production department in allocating materials to jobs which causes wastage. Excessive usage may due to excessive wastage of materials by untrain workers, faulty machines, poor supervision or theft existence. Furthermore, purchasing department may obtain inferior materials where it may be unsuitable for use and causes excessive waste9. Also, it may have stricter quality control where, if any material does not meet certain standards in terms quality would be eliminated2. The adverse labour rate for skilled and unskilled labour may due to inflation or increase pressure by labour union for salary increment. Also, it may be the management strategy to increase workers morale by increasing the pay so to improve worker efficiency as where it is reflected on favourable efficiency of unskilled labour. There may be also payment of unplanned overtime or bonus where it has to pay more2. The adverse labour efficiency of skilled labour may due to error where the standard time were set too tight without careful analysis of operating condition and the employee skills4 or human resource error in employing inexperienced skilled worker and yet still paying high wages of the skilled worker2. Moreover, the usage of inferior quality material that leads to inefficiency where more time is needed to produce each costume2. Additionally, this adverse can result by poorly trained or motivated workers which require more time in processing; faulty equipment causing work interruptions; inefficient work schedule and poor supervision of workers2. Adverse variable overhead rate variance may due to underestimation of the rate by management. While adverse variable overhead efficiency variance, may due to adverse figure presented in skilled labour efficiency. The lower productivity causes more time needed for production. The possibility of factory breakdown causes variable overhead to increase, as a day production is lost. The adverse fixed overhead variance for supervisor and utilities may due to the general increase in market price due to inflation. This inflation resulted to escalated living expenses and hence, a pay increment for supervisor is necessary. While utilities, the possibility for wastage of electricity and water when machinery faulty or equivalent. Although the hiring of skilled labour should result to a favourable labour efficiency variance, this adverse variance is possibly due to insufficient demand to keep the workers busy. Hence, production is reduced from 7,500 to 7380 units due to just-in-time principle. Since workforce is fixed, skilled labour would need to produce less costume, and hence causes inefficient in work as they have more idle time, resulting to the rise of labour hours needed per costume from 1.25 to 1.5 hours. The adverse variance of postage and packaging may due to general increase of international shipping. Measure should be taken to control the escalating material, labour, variable and fixed overhead rate and decrementing usage efficiency as it would reduce profitability. It should also understand the reason for favourable variances, so these practices will continue and be used within the organization. Firstly, favourable material price variances (Satin fabric, sequins, polyester yarn, metal hoops and Velcro) may due to inferior quality material usage which incur lower price, changed to a lower-price supplier, obtaining bulk discount by buying in bulk, industry oversupply of those materials causes the price to drop or material standard price is estimated too low4. The favourable material usage variance (Velour fabric) may due to efficient usage of the material by labour. There may have existence of inter-relationship of material usage and price. The better quality of velour fabric used, the higher the efficiency of the material2. Hence, material wastage decreases due to lesser defective material. The favourable labour efficiency variance for unskilled labour may relate to ergonomics whereby work motivation arises when there is improved quality of equipment or materials, or better techniques of production. Also, it may due to salary increment. Hence, the productivity increases lead to higher efficiency. The favourable fixed overhead variance (rent) may due to market price for rent have reduced or it shifted to another venue with a cheaper rent. 2.2 Implication of variances The adverse variance indicates ineffectiveness and overspending by the business as compared to budgeted figures and vice versa for favourable variances. Adverse variances would have a negative impact to reconciliation statement that causes lower profit, as more have to pay (Higher expenses) and used (More time and material used). Also, the reputation would be affected as it is less efficient. Whereas adverse sales price and volume indicates lower selling price and volume sold which causes lower sales revenue. Favourable variances have a positive effect towards reconciliation statement that causes higher profit as less have to pay (Lower expenditure) and used (Lesser time used). 3.1 Comparison Incognito has a net profit margin of 2% as compared to retail clothing sector average of 7.86%. It shows that Incognito has a higher risk that a drop in sales would wipe off profits and cause net losses. This may due to inefficiency in controlling cost as shown in several adverse variance figure (Material, labour, fixed and variable overhead). Also, the recession and continuing uncertain economic climate became the greatest threat to sales over the recent years as what happen to HM with sudden drop of 5% sales and which believed has influenced Incognito with drop of sales from 7,500 to 7310 costumes6. It founds that fancy dress industry is competitive as there shown a growing number of fancy dress like companies and website retail sales exceeded 10 billion in UK alone1. This would limit Incognito growth opportunities and reduce its profitability. 3.2 Recommendation To improve sales, it is prudent to increase marketing (Advertisement) efforts during slower sales periods as there are more competition and fewer consumers especially during current Eurozone crisis. It should utilise social networking features such as Facebook to extend business coverage. Nonetheless, it should keep up-to-date on the costume trends so it would not be left behind by its competitor. If the adverse sales are due to quality issues, it may consider using better quality materials or purchasing new machine. New machine would improve quality, productivity (Efficiency) and less maintenance is needed in the long run. Also, it is recommended to develop maintenance schedule to avoid future machine breakdowns that affects efficiency and costumes quality. To reduce material price, it is recommended to purchase material in bulk which lower the overall material price due to bulk discount given by the supplier. However, it should caution of not causing excessive inventory4. Also, it can bargain with the current supplier for a better deal by ascertaining a positive relationship. Nonetheless, it should always monitor the market for other alternative supplier that offers a better deal in term of lower price without compromising the materials quality. To ease labour rates, it is advisable to hire part-timer rather than full-timer as they are paid according to the actual hours work. This can prevent money being wasted during the idle time and improve labour efficiency. It can consider outsourcing certain jobs to low-cost areas such as Vietnam which is highly productive with lower labour rates. If adverse variance is due to inflation, it is advisable to revise the standard cost regularly so that it will always reflect the current market rates. For utilities rate reduction, it is recommended to negotiate a deal (Lower utilities rate) with the utilities company or seek for alternative utilities companies that may provide a lower utilities rate. To strengthen online presence, it needs to continue develop its B2C websites to ensure it is user friendly; high security to build trust and provide sufficient information on products offered3. Nonetheless, interaction with customer and respond to their feedbacks is important3. Also, it should increase its product range of innovative new fancy dress costumes so it would have larger market1. Ethical issues are important for sustainability as UK adults claiming to have made purchase decisions for ethical reasons7. It should concern with the material used to ensure it is up to certain quality, environmental friendly and cruelty free; employee working condition and pesticide used7. Furthermore, issue regarding trademarks copyright. Incognito took design of Meridas costume, a character in the Disney film Brave without the consent of the original designer. This could be subject to copyright issues and can be liable for fine. It is unethical as it is consider stealing of others trademark. It should encourage employee personnel development by providing training and improve employee attitudes through motivation. Frequent timely non-financial performance measure is advisable for control purposes such as observing defect rates and number of costumes completed without rework4. Additionally, it should identify its market share and target for planning purposes such as expanding and determining quantity to manufacture. 4.0 Conclusion Precautionary action should be taken to prevent material price and usage; labour rate; variable and fixed overhead rises uncontrollably in the future which reduces profitability. Nonetheless, non-financial issues such as environmental, working condition and ethics should be taken into consideration. (2000 Words)

Analysis of G-Protein Coupled Receptor 12

Analysis of G-Protein Coupled Receptor 12 ABSTRACT: G-Protein Coupled Receptor 12 (GPR12) belongs to the orphan GPCR family which is the same of the GPR3 and GPR6. Homology model for the protein GPR12 was generated from the SWISS-MODEL website which showed an all alpha motif with seven transmembrane ÃŽÂ ± -helix interconnected by loops. GPR12 acts through the cyclic Adenosine monophosphate (cAMP) pathway and promotes neurite outgrowth in primary neurons which can be used to slow down the progression of neurodegenerative diseases. The gene of GPR12 is located in the chromosome 13q12.13 for human, 12p11 for rat and 5; 5 G3 for a mouse with the size of 5.6 kbp, 3.4 kbp, and 4.3 kbp. Four current ongoing clinical trials studies on GPR12 was found on clinicaltrials.gov. G-Protein Coupled Receptor 12 (GPR12) belongs to the orphan GPCR family which is the same of the GPR3 and GPR6 (Ignatov et al., 2003a; Ignatov et al., 2003b). GPR 12 family members are constitutively activated and initiate the cAMP signaling cascades (Ignatov et al., 2003a). It is reported that GPR12 promote neurite extension in primary neurons (Ignatov et al., 2003a). The sequence identity of GPR12 is similar to GPCR S1P5 by 34%, GPR3 by 57% and GPR6 by 58% (Ignatov et al., 2003a; Ignatov et al., 2003b). Hence, it is hypothesized that the orphan receptors might share common ligands and also have similar physiological functions (Uhlenbrock et al., 2002; Tanaka et al., 2007). GPR12 has a high binding affinity towards Sphingosylphosphorylcholine (SPC) (Uhlenbrock et al., 2002). GPR 12 also binds with Sphingosine-1-phosphate (S1P)   with low affinity (Uhlenbrock et al., 2002). GPR12 family members are constantly activated and cAMP downstream signaling cascades initiated (Uhlenbro ck et al., 2002; Ignatov et al., 2003a). This persistent activation promotes neurite extension in primary neurons (Tanaka et al., 2007). GPR12 belongs to the orphan GPCR family which is the same of the GPR3 and GPR6 (Ignatov et al., 2003a; Ignatov et al., 2003b). According to Horn et al., GPR12 belongs to the  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚   GPCRs, Class A Rhodopsin-like subfamily with all other Orphan GPCR receptors (Horn et al., 2003). 2.1. Structure: A search was conducted for GPR12 in the RCSB protein data bank to identify the protein structure of G-Protein Coupled Receptor 12. There were no matches found in the search which is shown in figure 1.   Hence, a Homology model for the protein was generated from the SWISS-MODEL website, 27.41% sequence identity was indicated for Cannabinoid receptor 1 (Flavodoxin). Flavodoxin, Cannabinoid receptor one was chosen as the template, and a 3D structural model was generated for GPR12 from the template which is shown in the figures 2a and 2b. The GMQE (Global Model Quality Estimation) and Q-Mean value for the generated protein 0.56 and -4.28. The generated protein showed an all alpha motif with seven transmembrane ÃŽÂ ± -helix interconnected by loops forming four extracellular topological domains and four cytoplasmic topological domains. The alignment of protein sequence between Human GPR12 and GPR12 of other species like mouse and rat showed very less variation which indicates the protein is conserved between these species(UniProtKB; UniProtKB; UniProtKB). The protein alignment is shown in figure 3. 2.2. Pathway: According to Horn et al., GPR12 belongs to the  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚   GPCRs, Class A Rhodopsin-like subfamily with all other Orphan GPCR receptors (Horn et al., 2003). GPR12 acts through the cyclic Adenosine monophosphate (cAMP) pathway (Tanaka et al., 2007). Since, GPR12 is an orphan receptor where its natural ligand is unknown (Ignatov et al., 2003a). When the ligand such as S1P or SPC binds to the GPR12, the G-Protein gets activated due to the binding of GTP (Ignatov et al., 2003a). Thus, G-Protein activates Adenylate cyclase which converts the Adenosine triphosphate (ATP) into cAMP, and the cAMP activates Protein Kinase A (Ignatov et al., 2003a). The Activated Protein Kinase A activates the cellular reaction such as neurite extension in primary neurons (Ignatov et al., 2003a). [Refer figure 4] 2.3. Gene and Evolutionary aspects of GPR12: The alignment of protein sequence between Human GPR12 and GPR12 of other species like mouse and rat showed very less variation which indicates the protein is conserved between these species (UniProtKB; UniProtKB; UniProtKB). The protein alignment is shown in figure 3. The gene location of GPR12 in the chromosomes locus is nearly the same for human and rat, but it is different in mouse (NCBI-Gene; NCBI-Gene; NCBI-Gene). The gene of GPR12 is located in the chromosome 13q12.13 for human, 12p11 for rat and 5; 5 G3 for mouse (NCBI-Gene; NCBI-Gene; NCBI-Gene). The GPR12 gene contains two exons in humans, three exons in rat and three exons in Mouse separating the intron sequence and the evolutionary association of the gene sequence of GPR12 between the species and between GPCR family is shown in figure 5a and 5b (NCBI-Gene; NCBI-Gene; NCBI-Gene). The GPR12 gene size for a human is 5.6 kbp, for rat it is 3.4 kbp, and for the mouse, it is 4.3 kbp (NCBI-Gene; NCBI-Gene; NCBI-Gene; Stevens et a l., 2013). GPR12 mutant mice showed an effect in their emotionality was affected due to the mutation in GPR12 which was no significant change   (Frank et al., 2012). GPR12 overexpressed in neurons upregulate cAMP levels and promotes neurite outgrowth in primary neurons which can be used to slow down the progression of neurodegenerative diseases like Alzheimers disease, Parkinsons   disease, Huntingtons disease, etc. (Tanaka et al., 2007). GPR12 is also involved in the regulation of cell survival and cell proliferation which may vary during the diseased condition which causes astrocytes to proliferate at a faster rate and results in inflammation (Lu et al., 2012). A search was done for G-Protein coupled receptor 12 on clinicaltrails.gov website which showed four current ongoing clinical trials studies on GPR12. The studies were different from each other such as Platelet reactivity (ClinicalTrials.gov), Stoke (ClinicalTrials.gov), Metastatic Lung Adenocarcinomas (ClinicalTrials.gov) and Migraine (ClinicalTrials.gov). GPR12 belongs to the  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚   GPCRs, Class A Rhodopsin-like subfamily with all other Orphan GPCR receptors. The gene coding for GPR12 is conserved between Humans, Rats, and Mouse which indicates the existence of similar roles and function in these three animals. GPR12 is still in the stages of primary research where its structure, signaling pathways, function, and roles are still waiting to be found. GPR12 has recently assumed to be associated with Neural disorders and diseases. Clinical trials have been successfully conducted for GPR12 for many diseases one of which is depression. References: ClinicalTrials.gov Is There a Transient Rebound Effect of Platelet Reactivity Following Cessation of Dual Antiplatelet Therapy With Ticagrelor a Single Center Prospective Observational Trial. Journal, https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT02808039?term=G-Protein%2BCoupled%2BReceptor%2B12recr=Openrank=1, January 25, 2017. ClinicalTrials.gov Platelet Reactivity in Acute Non-disabling Cerebrovascular Events (PRINCE). Journal, https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT02506140?term=G-Protein+Coupled+Receptor+12recr=Openrank=2, January 25, 2017. ClinicalTrials.gov Retrospective Analysis of the Expression of the Neurotensin Receptor by Metastatic Lung Adenocarcinomas (NTS). Journal, https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT02891733?term=G-Protein%2BCoupled%2BReceptor%2B12recr=Openrank=4, January 25, 2017. ClinicalTrials.gov Ticagrelor Therapy for RefrACTORy Migraine Study (TRACTOR). Journal, https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT02518464?term=G-Protein%2BCoupled%2BReceptor%2B12recr=Openrank=3, January 25, 2017. Frank, E., Wu, Y., Piyaratna, N., Body, W.J., Snikeris, P., South, T., Gerdin, A.K., Bjursell, M., Bohlooly, Y.M., Storlien, L. Huang, X.F. (2012) Metabolic parameters and emotionality are little affected in G-protein coupled receptor 12 (Gpr12) mutant mice. PLoS One, 7, e42395. Horn, F., Bettler, E., Oliveira, L., Campagne, F., Cohen, F.E. Vriend, G. (2003) GPCRDB information system for G protein-coupled receptors. Nucleic acids research, 31, 294-297. Ignatov, A., Lintzel, J., Hermans-Borgmeyer, I., Kreienkamp, H.-J., Joost, P., Thomsen, S., Methner, A. Schaller, H.C. (2003a) Role of the G-protein-coupled receptor GPR12 as high-affinity receptor for sphingosylphosphorylcholine and its expression and function in brain development. Journal of Neuroscience, 23, 907-914. Ignatov, A., Lintzel, J., Kreienkamp, H.-J. Chica Schaller, H. (2003b) Sphingosine-1-phosphate is a high-affinity ligand for the G protein-coupled receptor GPR6 from mouse and induces intracellular Ca2+ release by activating the sphingosine-kinase pathway. Biochemical and Biophysical Research Communications, 311, 329-336. Lu, X., Zhang, N., Meng, B., Dong, S. Hu, Y. (2012) Involvement of GPR12 in the regulation of cell proliferation and survival. Mol Cell Biochem, 366, 101-110. NCBI-Gene Gpr12 G-protein coupled receptor 12 [Mus musculus (house mouse)] Gene NCBI. Journal, https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/gene/14738, January/25/2017. NCBI-Gene GPR12 G protein-coupled receptor 12 [Homo sapiens (human)] Gene NCBI. Journal, https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/gene/2835, January/25/2017. NCBI-Gene Gpr12 G protein-coupled receptor 12 [Rattus norvegicus (Norway rat)] Gene NCBI. Journal, https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/gene/80840, January/25/2017. Stevens, R.C., Cherezov, V., Katritch, V., Abagyan, R., Kuhn, P., Rosen, H. Wuthrich, K. (2013) The GPCR Network: a large-scale collaboration to determine human GPCR structure and function. Nat Rev Drug Discov, 12, 25-34. Tanaka, S., Ishii, K., Kasai, K., Yoon, S.O. Saeki, Y. (2007) Neural expression of G protein-coupled receptors GPR3, GPR6, and GPR12 up-regulates cyclic AMP levels and promotes neurite outgrowth. J Biol Chem, 282, 10506-10515. Uhlenbrock, K., Gassenhuber, H. Kostenis, E. (2002) Sphingosine 1-phosphate is a ligand of the human gpr3, gpr6 and gpr12 family of constitutively active G protein-coupled receptors. Cellular signalling, 14, 941-953. UniProtKB GPR12 G-protein coupled receptor 12 Homo sapiens (Human) GPR12 gene protein. Journal, http://www.uniprot.org/uniprot/P47775, January 25, 2017. UniProtKB Gpr12 G-protein coupled receptor 12 Mus musculus (Mouse) Gpr12 gene protein. Journal, http://www.uniprot.org/uniprot/P35412, January 25, 2017. UniProtKB Gpr12 G-protein coupled receptor 12 Rattus norvegicus (Rat) Gpr12 gene protein. Journal, http://www.uniprot.org/uniprot/P30951, January 25, 2017. Figure 1: No structure was found for the protein GPR12 in RCSB Protein data bank. Figure 2a: Side view of the GPR12 structure which was generated by SWISS-MODEL. The protein is showing an all alpha motif with seven transmembrane ÃŽÂ ± -helix interconnected by loops forming four extracellular topological domains and four cytoplasmic topological domains. Figure 2b: Top view of the GPR12 structure which was generated by SWISS-MODEL. The protein is showing an all alpha motif with seven transmembrane ÃŽÂ ± -helix interconnected by loops forming four extracellular topological domains and four cytoplasmic topological domains. Figure 3: GPR12 protein alignment for the species Human, mouse and rat generated from ClustalW. * (asterisk) indicates positions which have a single, fully conserved residue, : (colon) indicates conservation between groups of strongly similar residue properties, . (period) indicates conservation between groups of weakly similar residue properties. Figure 4: GPR12 proteins complete intracellular signaling pathway Figure 5a: Phylogenetic/evolutionary tree of GPCR family members (Stevens et al., 2013) Figure 5b: Phylogenetic/evolutionary tree of GPR12 showing evolutionary difference between human, rat, and mouse   Ã‚   G-Protein Coupled Receptor (GPR12) Protein Agonist Antagonist Sphingosine-1-phosphate Suramin Sphingosyl-phosphocholine Table 1: GPR12 agonist and antagonist with structure and name

Risk Essay -- essays research papers

(1) The following study discusses the risk & resilient factors in the life of Pauline, a 16 year old NZ European/Maori teenager. These factors involve her family life and its importance to her: the value of education and the consequences of leaving school without qualifications; how activities such as church participation can be helpful and the problems involved with having nothing to do; the effects of substance abuse; early sexual involvement and its risks; the risk of suicide, suicide attempts & ideation. The likely impacts of all of these factors on her current & future health status will be considered. Key words or concepts: resilience or protective factors: is factors that buffer young people from risks & promote positive youth development. Risk behaviours: dangerous behaviour that involves a threat to health & well being adolescence: the developmental period between childhood and adulthood mentor: someone whom the young person can trust connectedness: feeling cared for, close to and enjoying either family, school or an adult mentor. The study will follow the format using the HEADSS framework. This was d evised in 1972 by Eric Cohen, a Specialist in adolescent medicine in Los Angeles. It is a method used to interview & assess young people & is an acronym for the following; - (H) home environment (E) education & employment (A) activities & interests (D) drugs (S) sexuality (S) suicide   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  (2) Home Pauline has a number of risk and protective factors happening for her in her home situation. Until the age of three years she was the focus of her own two parents. At the age of sixteen she is positioned between her Father’s new family of a partner & three very young children (who Pauline lives with) and her Mother, partner and their two young children. She has expressed dissatisfaction regarding her irregular contact with her Mother who lives in another town. Early attachment in childhood sets the stage for acting out behaviours in adolescence (Brennan 1993). Pauline clearly felt nobody cared for her, that her Father was more interested in her stepmother and children, she felt this so strongly it led her to running away from home. She was at risk... ...bsp;(9) Summary This study indicates risk factors for Pauline including an unhappy home situation with her Dad’s new family where she has felt nobody really cared whether she was there or not, her unsatisfying relationship with her Mother, her alcohol binging, cigarette smoking & marijuana use, her limited activities, dropping out of school at a young age, early sexual involvement and low mood. Protective factors bringing some resilience to her life include adult trust with her Aunt Sarah and Tutor, awareness of her iwi links and whanau contact, her enjoyment and regular attendance to at Alternative Education and her goal of wanting to stay there until she gets a job, recent enjoyable church involvement, her ability to learn from situations and wanting to make positive changes in her life. The likely outcomes for Pauline’s health are hopeful but the significant concerns that could tip the equilibrium are firstly the early onset in her life of a relationship with Jack and their sporadic condom use, as a probable outcome for Pauline is pregnancy and wanting to keep the baby, and secondly her alcohol, marijuana and nicotine use and the level of addiction that may have built up.

Digital Subscriber Line (DSL) :: essays research papers

Digital Subscriber Line (DSL) Digital Subscriber Line new technology that takes advantage of standard copper telephone line to provide secure, reliable, high-speed Internet access. DSL refers to the family of digital subscriber line technologies, such as ADSL, HDSL, and RADSL. Connection speed for DSL ranges from 1.44 Mbps to 512 Kbps downstream and around 128 Kbps upstream. Unlike traditional connections DSL such as analog modems and IDSN, DSL deliver continuous â€Å"always on† access. That means multimedia-rich websites, e-mail, and other online applications are available anytime. DSL makes it possible for you to remain online even while you’re talking on the telephone-without jeopardizing the quality of either connection. DSL is available in a spectrum of speeds. Some are best home use, while others are designed to accommodate rigorous business demands. Whether for business or the home, DSL, offers unsurpassed price/performance value compared to other online options. There are the five facts tha t one should know about DSL. It is remarkably fast. With DSL service, you can benefit from Internet speeds that are up to 12 minutes faster than a typical ISDN connection and 50 times faster than traditional 28.8 Kbps modems. This means that in the 12 seconds it takes to read this information, you could have downloaded a 2 megabyte presentation file or web photograph. It would take 10 more minutes (600 more seconds!) to download the same with a traditional 28.8 Kbps. It’s highly reliable. One can depend on DSL because its proven technology takes full advantage of the existing telecommunications infrastructure. It’s inherently secure. DSL network provides a dedicated Internet connection via private telephone wires, you can bypass dial-up intruders or shared network hackers. Unlike traditional dial-upp modems or cable modems. DSL protects your valuable data with the most secure connection available. It’s surprising affordable. DSL is widely recognized as the most cost-effective connectivity solution for small buisness. DSL delivers industrial- strength like speed to multiple users at only 25% of typical TI costs. There is no better price option available. DSL is also an exceptional value for home users. At about $2 a day for services that meets the needs of most people. The connection is always on. It’s ready to run every minute of the day. There’s no more logging on and off. No more busy signals or disconnects. This gives you the freedom to focus on what you want to accomplish on line rather than focusing on trying to get connected.

Caso Del Grupo Civsa

CUESTIONES PARA RESOLVER: 1. Las criticas al grupo CIVSA en cuanto a su responsabilidad social, se dirigen a los temas relacionados con las condiciones de trabajo del personal despues de la diversificacion. Esas criticas estiman tambien que las nuevas politicas de la empresa favorecen la temporalidad, las deslocalizaciones, una subcontratacion considerada como abusiva, cosa que influye en la seguridad social y laboral de los trabajadores. Por otro lado, la imagen del fundador en los medios de comunicacion, calificandole como un nuevo empresario a imagen frivola confirma la idea negativa hacia su empresa. 2. La decision del senor Vitrubio en cuanto a la operacion de † lefting† empresarial que inicio para limpiar la imagen de su empresa, es mas una tentativa superficial que no tiene nada que ver con el concepto verdadero de la RSE, y que cuyos efectos seran minimos a largo plazo. Las criticas hacia el tema de la responsabilidad social de CIVSA, le reprochan sus metodos poco honestos que perjudican la seguridad laboral. En este sentido, uno de lo grandes ambitos que cubre la idea de la RSE es la responsabilidad interna. Esta implica una inversion en el capital humano, teniendo en cuenta cuestiones de salud y de seguridad, la gestion del cambio, y las preocupaciones medioambientales en las la area de produccion. Asi pues, el compromiso de la empresa en cuanto a su RS le obliga a ser mas honesta, mas transparente en cuanto a su â€Å"contrato social† evitando el uso abusivo de la formula : Doing well by doing good, que supone que la empresa limita su responsabilidad social a sus participaciones en eventos sociales, culturales y creacion de fundaciones mientras que sus metodos de trabajo o mejor dicho sus politicas que influyen directamente a la vida de sus trabajadores, que son realmente su prioridad socialmente hablando, no corresponden a una vision etica coherente con los objetivos que pretende , con la imagen que quiere reflejar y desde luego a la confianza que quiere generar. 4. La RSE implica que la empresa tenga que incorporar todos aquellos grupos de interes afectados de forma directa o indirecta por su actividad: empleados, clientes, proveedores, consumidores, la comunidad y ONGs, el Gobierno y tambien el medio ambiente†¦ En este sentido es necesario proceder a la definici on de los grupos de interes mas revelantes, sobre los cuales la empresa dirigira sus esfuerzos para reforzar su imagen de empresa orientada hacia la RS. En el caso de CIVSA, los empleados constituyen un elemento fundamental en cuanto a los grupos de interes de la empresa. Efectivamente, muchas criticas preteden que CIVSA le da cada vez, menor importancia a su factor humano, dejando de ser una compania cuyos metodos de trabajo eran ejemplares†¦ Por otro lado, el tema de la subcontratacion y de las deslocalizaciones es de lo mas problematicos, como tiene generalmente efectos negativos sobre el empleo e indica en muchas ocasiones casos de fraudes sociales cosa que confirma aun mas esta imagen negativa. Debido a esto, la empresa deberia tener en cuenta su factor humano, ya que las relaciones con los trabajadores han de ser prioritarias para asegurar unas condiciones de trabajo mas saludables y una seguridad social, que en principio es un punto primordial en el planteamiento de la responsabilidad social. Tambien, CIVSA deberia sobre todo investigar las expectativas y necesidades de otros grupos de interes mas significados. En este caso, hablamos sobre todo de clientes, de socios e inversores, que condicionan su exito o fracaso. Las dudas que tiene las autoridades sobre algunas actividades de CIVSA, consideradas como sospechosas y poco leales, genera un ambiente de desconfianza e inseguridad, por lo cual a este nivel, la empresa tendria que optar por mas transparencia informativa. La imagen frivola asociada al fundador del grupo por los medios de comunicacion, calificandole como et prototipo del nuevo empresario espanol contribuye tambien en el deterioro de imagen. Se ve al Sr. Vitrubio como una persona muy rica y que dispone de una gran fortuna pero que no la usa para crear proyectos destinados a la comunidad social, cosa que empeora aun mas la situacion de la compania y su reputacion. 5. Cuando se trata del deterioro de la imagen de una compania y de reputacion, primero ha de buscar las verdaderas razones que la has llevado a esta situacion. En el caso de la empresa CIVSA, la falta de confianza generada por algunas politicas de la empresa en cuanto a temas como deslocalizacion y que afectan la seguridad social, plantean dudas sobre su nivel de implicacion social, y deja claro que el problema proviene de esos elementos que afectan a sus principales grupo de interes, como ya lo hemos senalado. Se trata aun mas de optar por metodos mas transparentes y honestos al momento de tomar decisiones estrategicas y de medir sus consecuencias y el efecto que tendra. Y desde luego poner en marcha acciones adecuadas para mostrar el compromiso de la empresa, su predisposicion a implicarse y a mejorar su imagen de marca frente a las criticas. A ese nivel, CIVSA deberia primero definir herramientas de desarrollo social a nivel interno y externo que refleje sus valores. †¢ Empleados: – Formacion continua – Transparencia y comunicacion interna. – Empleabilidad y perdurabilidad del puesto de trabajo – Procesos de reestructuracion – Seguridad laboral e higiene en el puesto de trabajo †¢ Accionistas : – Transparencia informativa Inversiones eticas a Largo Plazo – Gobierno de la sociedad †¢ Clientes y proveedores : – Consumo responsable de recursos naturales †¢ Comunidad local : – Aportaciones al desarrollo local – Accion social 6. La fundacion se basa en tres lineas principales: arte moderno con concesion de becas para la formacion de jovenes, otra colaborara con una ONG, en la financiacion de proyectos de salud publica o educacion infantil en paises pobres y la tercera patrocinio de equipos deportivos de elite. La eleccion de estas actividades parece poco credible ya que no responde a las necesidades de los grupos de interes vinculados con la actividad de la empresa. Es mas que esas actividades estan destinadas a una categoria social que no corresponde a la que normalmente se dirige esas acciones, y que en principio pretenden apoyar y financiar proyectos para el desarrollo local. Asi que ninguna de las actividades afecta directamente a los actores principales. Las actividades de colaboracion con la ONG, estan orientadas a nivel internacional, y las otras dos lineas de actividades se dirigen a una categoria de elite, y al final no son actividades que la gente normal y corriente practica. La empresa deberia mas focalizarse en actividades mas significativas a nivel local, y responder a las necesidades de sus grupos de interes que mas le interesan. 7. Los efectos que pueda tener este proyecto seria minimos y solo a corto plazo. Pude ser que la creacion de esa fundacion pueda limpiar la imagen de marca durante un periodo de tiempo, solo el tiempo de que la gente se de cuenta de que realmente nada ha cambiado, y que las cuestiones problematicas siguen las mismas. Ademas, las lineas de actividad de la fundacion con la que se pretende mejorar la reputacion esta destinada a un publico de elite, cosa que deja comprender que la responsabilidad social de la compania se limite a este aspecto y que el fundador vive en su propia burbuja, en su mundo ideal sin darle mucha importancia a las cuestiones de orden social que afectan a gente menos afortunada. RESUMEN Y CONCLUSIONES: Ambicion y capacidad de liderazgo. – Don Floreal Viturbio, Ingeniero industrial y Master en direccion de empresas. – Sus valores son tres: ampliar los limites al exterior, diversificar actividades, dotar al grupo industrial de un paraguas financiero fuerte, por parte de los bancos. – Busco clientes en el extranjero, y junto c on las herramientas, estructura y saber hacer de la empresa hizo de la empresa la tercera mas importante de Europa. – Llega a formar parte de la presidencia de un banco importante nacional. – Posee muchas propiedades, casas, obras de arte, caballos, yates†¦ – Se ha convertido en un personaje favorito de los medios de comunicacion. Tanta fama ha hecho que se empeore su imagen, dando lugar a una imagen frivola, despiadada lo que le quita importancia su esfuerzo a lo largo de su vida profesional. – Las autoridades economicas y los sindicatos ponen en mira a las empresas de este hombre porque consideran que no sean muy honestas. – Por ello, ha utilizado una operacion de lifting, creando una fundacion. – La fundacion se basa en tres lineas principales: arte moderno con concesion de becas para la formacion de jovenes, otra colaborara con una ONG, en la financiacion de proyectos de salud publica o educacion infantil en paises pobres y la terce ra patrocinio de equipos deportivos de elite. Conclusiones: En primer lugar hay que valorar las aptitudes del senor Floreal, por haber llegado a donde ha llegado, pues con su ambicion y su constancia se ha hecho unos de los empresarios mas ricos de Espana y ha colocado a su empresa CIVSA, en una de las mejores de Europa tanto por toda la cuota de mercado lograda como por la potencia de esta Corporacion Industrial. Cuando una persona empieza a ganar dinero, si se organiza bien y se administra correctamente, el dinero llama al dinero, queremos decir con esto, que cuando este hombre empezo a enriquecerse, todas las entidades bancarias lo reclamaban, como es una persona muy inteligente pudo llegar a formar parte de estas empresas, hasta llegar a participar en la presidencia de un banco importante nacional. Debido a todo esto, la fama y los medios de comunicacion se le echan encima, lo que da lugar a que las autoridades economicas, como Hacienda, vayan en busca de el a investigarlo, para ver si existe algun tipo de inversion en paraisos fiscales, o alguna operacion deshonesta†¦ Como solucion, decide crear una Fundacion, para limpiarse su imagen, aunque en realidad no lo ha hecho muy bien, pues es una fundacion un poco â€Å"pija†, sigue en paralelo con su actividad y su imagen. Los deportes de elite a los que va a apoyar, no son deportes corrientes que pueda practicar cualquier persona, y lo del arte moderno con exposiciones en el extranjero tampoco es muy normal. En este caso, la limpieza de imagen que pretende este empresario es algo â€Å"utopico† que dentro de su mundo esta bien, pero en esta sociedad actual no cabe, ni mucho menos.

Economical Analysis Essay

In this section, an economical analysis will be carried out to compare the generation cost of electricity from two different sources. The generation cost of electricity ($/kWh) from PV system as well as gas turbine will be considered. The computation for cost of electricity – irrespective of the source – depends on several factors such as the cost of capital, the productivity and the life of the plant as well as the fuel and operation and maintenance costs. Renewable sources have distinct characteristic of eliminating fuel cost and, as a consequence once the plant is setup, the energy costs are largely fixed and inflation has a slight affect. However, productivity is highly dependent on the site or location; hence the cost of energy cannot be uniquely defined. Generation of electricity by burning fossil fuels incurs elements of costs, which conventionally are not directly attributed to these processes. These costs are termed â€Å"External â€Å" costs. They originate, for example, in subsidies such as additionally provided infrastructure and Research and Development and environmental pollution. In contrast, renewable energy technologies incur marginal external costs. Generation costs may simply be evaluated as follows: G = C R + f + m E where G is the unit cost of energy ($/kWh) C is the initial capital cost ($) R is the annual charge rate (%) E is the annual energy yield (kWh/kW) f is the fuel cost per unit ($/kWh) m is the operation and maintenance cost per unit ($/kWh) The capital recovery factor varies according to the period over which the capital is to be recovered, n years, and the test discount rate, r, thus R = r / (1-(1+r) –n) The cost of electricity from a particular source of supply is therefore dependent upon the particular combination of value of these variables. Table (2) estimates the cost of kWh production from PV systems and Gas Turbine unit. To calculate the generation cost of the Gas Turbine, we assumed 25 years of unit’s lifetime, 8% discount rate, and the unit will operate at its rated power for 8 hours for 9 months a year (2,160 hrs). On the other hand, the generation cost of the PV cells was estimated using PV arrays with panels facing south (Tilt angle 25o), the yearly estimated generated energy was about 1964 kWh/m2/yr and the panel cost of $5/Wp. The calculations indicated that under the assumed rates of interest and capital cost the unit generation cost using PV cells is more than three folds the generation cost of the Gas Turbine. A sensitivity analysis was carried out by varying installation capital cost, and discount rate, Table (1). The results indicate that PV generation can be competitive to that from Gas Turbine when the capital cost drops to $2/Wp and at 8% interest level. The capital cost of PV generation is 30% higher than that of a gas turbine system for the specified parameters. This is contributed to the high installation cost of the PV system and the low conversion efficiency. Further sensitivity analysis of some parameters, namely, conversion efficiency and installation cost were carried out. The results are illustrated in table (2). The results suggested that a reduction of installation cost to 4 $/Wp the generation cost can be competitive to that of a gas turbine. Concluding that: 1. The mathematical modeling indicate that the optimum tilt angle for a plane facing south is 25oC in the State of Qatar, and the year average total daily radiation was a bout 5. 295 kWh/m2. day for 25oC compared to 5. 062 kWh/m2. day for a horizontal surface. 2. Using a photovoltaic system can be more expensive than buying power from the local utility, through the electrical outlet in your wall. However, it is dramatically less expensive than running a power line to a remote area that is currently with out service. 3. Finance rate and loan term are critical economic elements because photovoltaic is capital intensive. The formation of solar bank that makes capital readily available for solar energy systems and below market interest rates with more than 20 years terms should be pursued. 4. The basic economical evaluation of electricity generation in the State of Qatar suggests that photovoltaic technology is not far from being economically feasible. The advanced technology and wide market demand of photovoltaic systems result in improved conversion efficiency and lower unit cost. However, it should be emphasized that photovoltaic systems are clean source of energy and their positive impact on the environment should be taken into consideration. PV systems produce power intermittently because they work only when the sun is shining. More electricity is produced on a clear, sunny day with more intense sunlight and with a more direct light angle, as when the sun is perpendicular to the surface of the PV modules. Cloudy days can significantly reduce output, and of course no power is produced at night. PV systems work best during summer months when the sun is higher in the sky and the days are longer. Because of these variations, it is difficult for PV systems to furnish all the power you need, and are typically used in conjunction with utility-supplied electricity Renewable Resources In 1987, a United Nations commission chaired by Gro Harlem Brundtland, the then Norwegian Prime Minister, was formed to determine how to reconcile economic development with environmental protection. The term ‘sustainable development’ was first used in the commissions’ report, Our Common Future. The report recognized that renewable energy sources are essential for sustainable development because they provide us with constant sources of energy with fewer effects on the environment. It also identified that globally, there was the need for more efficient use of energy and that the industrialized world, especially, had to improve its conservation efforts to lessen the impact of economic development on the environment. Renewable energy sources have been used for centuries. Until the mid-1800s, most of our energy came from two biomass sources, wood and peat. The location of many large plants and mills during the industrial era in Europe and North America was determined by the availability of fast flowing streams to generate power. It was not until the latter stages of the Industrial Revolution, the mid-1850s, and following the widespread incorporation of the steam-engine into factories, that fossil fuel use, mainly coal and oil, became commonplace. By incorporating fossil fuels into the manufacturing process instead of using water, industrialists were not limited to locations by rivers or streams. Plants could be located closer to sources of raw materials, markets or major shipping ports Renewable energy sources has been constantly being sought upon to replace dwindling fossil fuel reserves. The main question is where to look for these renewable energy sources. Some of them, like biomass, have already begun to contribute significantly to power generation in several developed nations like the US. Photvoltaic cells are economically viable in some locations and wind energy, though so far contributing only a tiny fraction, is rapidly expanding in the US and several European nations. The search for renewable energy sources points to photovoltaics, wind, solar thermal electricity, and biomass-produced electricity. These are highly prized due to the ease at which electricity can be transported and converted into othe forms, with the none or low polluting energy that these bestow and because of the potential that these sources may contribute in the near future. The earth’s atmosphere acts like glass in a greenhouse: sunlight can pass through, but the resulting heat cannot escape. Gases, such as carbon dioxide, are particularly effective at trapping heat. When burned, coal, oil and natural gas increase the amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere and the earth’s average temperature is raised. Renewable energy initiatives will result in reduced demand for fossil-fuelled electricity generation, thereby reducing greenhouse gas emissions These renewable sources once proven to be technically practical and economically feasible to provide required quantities of power, then there is no doubt that they would be greatly preferrable replace existing energy generation methods. An energy source can be classified as renewable provided the passed the following criterias: 1. there should be and indefinite supply or at least can be harnessed for an extreme length of time. 2. there would be a great reduction in the world pollution. Or at least the pollution released by the manufacturing and generation of power using these resources would not add up to current contributors to pollution. 3. and lastly, the must be able to provide energy self-sufficiency or at the very least provide a great reduction in the energy dependency.