Countrys I Will Visit

Someone ones told me if I planned to travel and I answered him â€Å"no†. So he just told me this â€Å"The world is a book and those who do not travel read only a page† (Mr. Sadeiki 9th grade). It kept me thinking and well I decided to travel. I believe traveling will make me a better person and give me different perspectives of people around the world. I made my bucket list and the three countries I would love to visit the most would be Mexico, The Bahamas, and Brazil. Let’s move on to why Mexico is my one of my chose in visiting. Mexico was the place where I was born and I only got to live there for three years.I have always wanted to go back but just to go visit. I want to visit it because most of my family lives there and I would like to meet them. I’ve heard and done some research on some of the beaches that Mexico has. They look very nice and clean somewhere that someone would like to go visit a lot, but not just its beaches but also the nice histor y that it has. Like the pyramids of the Aztecs and the courts of a sport they played called Ullamaliztli. After visiting Mexico I would love to go and visit the Bahamas. Imagine a world where you can’t tell where dreams begin and reality ends.These are The Islands of the Bahamas. And they're like no other places on Earth (www. bahamas. com pg1). The Bahamas are unique because they have super clear water that you could see your feet as if you are in a pool. There so clear that you could see 200ft down with no problem. The Bahamas have a lot of islands and beautiful sights especially the beaches. The people always have a lay back attitude (like leave the problems for tomorrow). They are very friendly and like to celebrate a lot. They also have a history and a lot of historical places that make it look like a paradise like its treasures.Talking about paradise, Brazil is the main place I would like to travel too. Brazil is a country of great natural beauty. Dazzling beaches and r ainforests are a few of the superlative attractions that await visitors. Brazil is also home to a people of great ethnic and cultural diversity, whose heritage is expressed in vibrant art and celebrations, historical cities and bustling urban centers. Here are some of the main reasons why I would like to travel to Brazil. Brazil has 62 national parks were you are able to see its amazing landscapes and ecosystem. I will visit all 62 parks.The amazing thing that Brazil has is its celebrations and events they have threw out the year. They bring lots of joy into life and color. Its history also attracts me a lot because it has temples and lots of other things. It will bring joy to me and make me a better person. Traveling to these countries will be a lot of fun. That’s why I will go and visit these places with the one I love or with a friend. If not I will travel them alone because it will probably be even more fun than with someone. I will get started by getting my passport and save some money.I hope to do this traveling by when I turn 25 years old. Let me leave you with this final thought what would you do read more pages or just read the first one? I hope you choose to travel like I am. Three Countries I will Visit (outline) * Intro: Hook- ‘The world is a book and those who do not travel read only a page’†¦ Thesis- I believe traveling will make me a better person and give me different perspectives of people around the world. a. Mexico b. The Bahamas c. Brazil Transition- Let’s move on to why Mexico is my first chose in visiting. Body Para A: Mexico was the place where I was born and I only got to live there for three years. a. Would like to visit my relatives b. They have great beaches. c. The historical places Transition- After visiting Mexico my third chose would be the Bahamas. * Body Para B: Imagine a world where you can’t tell where dreams begin and reality ends. These are The Islands of the Bahamas. And they're like no other places on Earth. a. They have clear waters b. People always have a lay back attitude. c. It looks like paradiseTransition- Talking about paradise, Brazil is the main place I would like to travel too. * Body Para C: Brazil is a country of great natural beauty. a. Amazing landscapes b. Celebration and events c. Its historical cities and its beaches Transition- Traveling to these countries will be a lot of fun. * Conclusion: That’s why I will go and visit these places with the one I love or with a friend. Call for action: I will get started by getting my passport and save some money. Let me leave you with this final thought what would you do read more pages or just read the first one?

Corwin Corporation Analysis Essay

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY The purpose of this of document is to analyze the factors that led to the Corwin’s project failure. Corwin Corporation’s relationship with a good customer, Peters Company was strained because of Corwin’s failure to follow their management policies. A fixed-price contract was signed without proper risk analysis, the was no evidence of a project plan and the situation was made worse by the lack of support from management. This report discusses the failures in project selection, lack of executive support and communication breakdown, all of which lead to the project being terminated by the client. INTRODUCTION Corwin Corporation accepted a project which was outside their scope of work from Peters Company to develop a specialty product. They accepted the assignment based on a rough draft and without analyzing the risks and thus  leading to the project being later terminated by Peters Company and jeopardizing their long-standing good relationship with the client. The project started before the contract was signed. Corwin’s failure could be attributed to a number of errors that were made on accepting this assignment. A number of important factors like the management policy, were completely ignored. Corwin agreed on a fixed-price 5-year contract based on a rough draft, no proper analysis was done and the scope was unclear. This meant that Corwin would be responsible for any cost overruns incurred. It is never advisable to accept a fixed-price contract without determining the client’s needs and whether or not they are achievable. Corwin failed to assign the right person to manag e the project. An inexperienced Project Manager was tasked to lead the project and although one of the senior managers had doubts about the project manager’s capabilities to lead such a project, his concerns were ignored. Effort Corwin allowed an in-house representative direct access to the lab which ultimately left the employees unhappy and disgruntled. The lack of management support also played a major role in the project’s failure. Management was dealing with the issues raised by the project manager passively and hoped the â€Å"situation would correct itself†. The requirements were poor and the schedule was unrealistic. Poor project selection, lack of support from top management, non-existent change management control and communication issues were identified as areas of concern within the Corwin Corporation. For the purpose of the case study, the researcher will be discussing how these project management principles/concepts, if followed properly could have prevented Corwin from accepting this project. CASE ANALYSIS 1. Project Selection Project Selection should not be perceived to be a tedious and unnecessary exercise but as an important exercise that would be beneficial for the customer and the contractor. A number of factors such as production consideration, marketing consideration, financial consideration, personnel consideration and administration consideration, need to be taken into  consideration to ensure that the project is in line with the organisation’s strategic objectives. 1.1 Poor Project Selection Corwin established a management policy that governed the project selection process for the evaluation of specialty product requests. (Burke: 67) states that â€Å"The selection of the right project for future investment is a crucial decision for the long-term survival of a company†. Frimel’s failure to follow the management put the company’s reputation at risk. Following the project selection process assists companies in deciding which projects to pursue and which to let go. Most of the executives were away on vacation which means that the project was not evaluated using the company’s selection method and without the executives’ consultation. It is important to note that during the evaluation process, individuals with different with backgrounds and subject-matter expects should been involved to make an informed decision whether or not to take on Peters Company offer. In this case, the major decision-makers were away on holiday. Peters Company came across as bullying and threatening in their requests thus this might have led to Corwin accepting the project to save their business relationship. This project was outside Corwin’s scope and should have never been accepted. It answered â€Å"NO† on the first criteria of the management policy therefore it wasn’t viable. 1.2 Proposal Preparation A proposal is a response document to the RFP (Request for Proposal), it includes a plan of action, states why the action is necessary and persuades the customer to approve the implementation of the recommended action. The proposal should also include a plausible management plan and technical approach. To create winning proposals, it is important to have resources with relevant skills and expertise e.g. subject matter expects, to help prepare a quality proposal. Royce used inappropriate and unskilled resources to prepare the proposal. He had reservations about selecting West; despite his lack of experience in dealing with external projects, as the Project  Manager without Dr. Reddy’s (R&D Manager) input but he ignored his instincts. The proposal preparation was conducted by contracts man who was not familiar with fixed-price contracts. Royce was overly optimistic in estimating the cost and didn’t include contingency to cover unexpected situations that may arise during the project. (Clements & Gido, 5th Edition: 69) states that â€Å"if the estimated costs are overly optimistic and some unexpected expenditures arise, the contractor is likely to either lose money (on a fixed-price contract) or hate to suffer the embarrassment of going back to the customer to request additional funds to cover cost overruns†. Corwin’s final proposal to Peters was a technical document as it contained engineering intent and cost summaries which were also not properly done. This later in the project resulted in scope creeps which saw Corwin’s profit on the project diminish. 1.3 Contract Negotiation Fixed-price contracts are beneficial to the customer but not the contractor. Before signing this type of contract, the customer should have a detailed scope work from the customer. There are risks associated with this type of contract for contractors, i.e. the customer is liable for any cost overruns should the project run beyond schedule, budget and time. Agreeing to a fixed-price contract was also one of the contributing factors that led to the project’s failure. Although the profit margins sounded appealing on the phone during Delia and Frimel’s conversation, they looked different on paper. The disadvantages of such a contract for Corwin far outweighed the advantages for Peters Company. (Clements & Gido, 5th Edition: 76) states that â€Å"Fixed-price contracts are most appropriate for projects that are well defined and entail little risk†. It is good practice to start working on a project after the contract has been signed. Corwin worked first and signed later . 1.4 Risk Management Ignored Royce made a commitment to assess the risks once he got hold of the specification sheets. Looking at the Cost Summary in the proposal, one can  conclude that he never kept to his commitment since it didn’t even include the contingency amount. â€Å"Some level of risk planning should be done during the initiation phase of the project life cycle to make sure, for example, that the contractor understands the risks involved with bidding on a proposed project† (Clements & Gido, 5th Edition: 270). Risk assessment therefore is an important aspect of project initiation because it helps the contractors make better decisions, negotiate fair contracts and create risk mitigation methods. A good risk assessment takes into consideration anything that could go wrong with the project and determines what it would cost. Accepting a project outside Corwin’s scope area of expertise was a risk, appointing an inexperienced scientist from the R&D department was a risk, agreeing to a fixed-price contract was a risk and procurement of all materials was a risk. Corwin resorted to risk aversion. 1.5 Project Kickoff Meeting West solicited support from other groups after sending the proposal to the customer. This left his colleagues unhappy because of the lack of communication about the project objective. It is the project manager’s duty to involve the project team at the early stages of the project to clearly define the project objective, gather support from the departments affected by and involved in the project and define each member’s role and responsibility. †The project manager spearheads development of a plan to achieve the project objective. By involving the project team (Clements & Gido, 5th Edition: 303) in developing this plan, the project manager ensures a more comprehensive plan than he or she could develop alone†. Project kickoff meetings provide a good platform for the project manager to deliver a presentation about the meeting and its importance to the organization. Clear roles and responsibilities of each project team member must be discussed. An understanding of each member’s role in a team reduces communication issues and late deliverables. This will not only help him gain commitment from the team but it will also assist in accomplishing the project objective on time, within budget and of the right quality. 1.6 Change Management At the start of the project, a change control system needs to be established to define how changes will be documented, approved and communicated† (Clements & Gido, 5th Edition: 320). The project manager did not have proper change control procedure in place. The in-house representative made changes to the scope, which resulted in scope creep. His changes were not documented and communicated and were not within the budget. When he requested an additional five tests beyond the agreed scope, the project manager should have evaluated the request and provided Peters Company with a proposal outlining the costs to add the tests to the scope. Uncontrolled change exposed Corwin to unnecessary risk. A change control process is significant to the successful delivery of a project and ensures that each change introduced to the project environment is appropriately defined, evaluated and approved. The project manager in this case struggled to control changes in the project because he didn†™t have proper process in place and that he lacked project management experience. 1 Lack of Management Support Top management support is the most important critical success factor for project success. Many projects fail because they have only passive senior management support. In mature organisations, executives act as project sponsors. In this case, Royce (VP of Engineering) should have been the project sponsor. The role of a sponsor is to â€Å"ensure that the correct information from the contractor’s organisation is reaching executives in the customer’s organisation, that there is no filtering of information from the contractor to the customer, and that someone at the executive level is making sure that the customer’s money is being spent wisely† (Kerzner, 7th Edition: 475). The project failed to achieve an enthusiastic approval from the president, there was little hope of it being successful. Projects need some involvement by executive management to allocate needed resources appropriately to the projects. The executives set strategic goal for organization and uses projects to meet those goals. They need to provide guidance to project managers that is in line with the organisation’s strategic objectives and track the alignment of those objectives to the  project objectives. Frimel, after initiating the project, distanced himself when he handed full responsibility over to Royce and went on vacation. Frimel had experience in these types of projects because his department was the decision maker for the specialty products. He should have acted as project sponsor and supported Royce but instead, left him to fail. During the first meeting in which the project was discussed, Dr. Reddy (R&D Manager) expressed his dissatisfaction about the choice of project manager Royce had made. 2.7 Organisational Structure and Culture â€Å"The organizational culture, style, and structure influence how projects are performed† (PMBOK, 4th Edition: 27). Corwin has maintained a functional organisational structure for more than 15 years. In functional structures, project managers do not full control over the project teams. One of the disadvantages with this type of structure is the competition among functional departments. Corwin’s Marketing department made almost all the decisions, project managers for specialty products came out of marketing. The Engineering department as stated in the case study, â€Å"was considered merely as a support group†. The Vice President for engineering mentioned at some point that his vote never appeared to carry any wait. The morale was very low in some departments as they felt that they were not as valued as the other departments. Reddy did not give much support to the project manager and later contradicted himself that the project manager â€Å"kept him in the dar k†. His unbecoming behaviour can be attributed to the fact that the Vice President failed to heed his call about his reservations towards the choice of the PM thus, he became so reluctant to assist the PM. A healthy organizational culture encourages accountability and personal responsibility. Denial, blame and excuses harden relationships and intensify conflicts. 2 Poor Communication The president’s reluctant authorization was interpreted as â€Å"the boss gave his blessing†. â€Å"†¦ phone conversations allow the listener to hear the tone,  inflection, speed, volume and emotion of the voice† (Clements & Gido, 5th Edition: 371). A reluctant voice sounds differently from an enthusiastic voice on the phone. The project manager failed to communicate timely to the executives about the representative’s interfering behaviour, he thought he could handle it. The situation spiraled out of control when the representatives started giving orders to the project manager about removing functional employees on the team. Providing the customer with progress reports frequently, keeps the customer in the loop and informed about the status of the project. Communication skills are one of the most important skills every project manager should possess, it very important that the project manager communicates with the stakeholders and project team. The project manager should have escalated problems as they occurred and scheduled meetings to resolve them. He should know what needs to be communicated to who and when. CONCLUSIONS Corwin Corporation failed to follow its own management policy, took on a project, and neglected to apply the proper management principles. The executives were not part of the contract acquisition and failed to develop and nurture the project manager. The organizational culture was such that all departments were equal but some were equal more than the others were. This resulted in people wanting to prove themselves worthy by taking on big projects even though they lacked experience. The project manager was set deliberately set to fail, the manager knew his strength and weaknesses but was unavailable to assist until the last minute. Corwin did not have a house rules in place with regards to in-house representatives. Corwin didn’t work the plan and therefore couldn’t plan the work. RECOMMENDATIONS * Top management need to educate employees on the management policy regarding new projects. Functional managers need to lead this drive. * The Engineering department plays as much a role in decision making as the Marketing and Manufacturing department. The R&D bring innovation of the products in the organization and thus should not be seen as a support group. * The project manager’s mistakes were attributed to his lack of  experience. The PM should continue to lead small projects and the organization must provide Project Management training for aspiring project managers within the company. * The staff’s morale is low at this point, management needs to organize team-building to boost confidence and foster and repair relationships * Create cross functional teams to function as self-directed respond to specific directives REFERENCES James P. Clements & Jack Gido. 2007. Effective Project Management. 5th Edition. South-Western: Cengage Learning. Harold Kerzner, PHD. Project Management: A Systems Approach to Planning, Scheduling, and Controlling. Seventh Edition. USA: John Wiley & Sons Inc. PMBOK ® Guide . 2008. A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge. Fourth Edition. USA: Project Management Institute.

Biodegradable Plastics Contribution To Global Methane Production Environmental Sciences Essay

Industry of biodegradable Plastics is a freshly emerged sector, which originated to plan degradable plastics by common biological beings such as, bacteriums, algae and Fungi. Invention of bioplastics specifically resulted to suppress the monopoly of petrochemical plastics in the market since ; petrochemical plastics have become a onerous issue due to economic emphasis, environmental impacts and resource deficit caused by use of non-renewable crude oil oil. Since biodegradable plastics are designed to degrade in the biological environments, the most common and executable method of terminal of life scenario is landfills. Objective of the present survey is to gauge maximal extra methane coevals via biodegradable plastics under landfill anaerobiotic conditions. Literature was reviewed on presently available types of biodegradable plastics, single polymers comprised, production capacity ( twelvemonth 2007 ) and methane production informations from single polymers. Empirical information fo r methane coevals were based on the published experimental literature on single polymers under research lab simulated landfill conditions utilizing thermophilic anaerobiotic sludge digestion. Methane coevals in organic molecules was theoretically calculated based on derived presently available chemical equations, presuming standard temperature and force per unit area conditions. Global methane part by biodegradable plastics was calculated merely utilizing theoretical values since no sufficient informations were available at experimental conditions. Study demonstrates 0.011 % of planetary part of methane by biodegradable plastics if full production capacity in twelvemonth 2007 is assumed to be landfilled and wholly biodegraded. 1.52 % of methane is contributed to planetary emanations, if 90 % of petrochemical plastics are substituted by biodegradable plastics, which the per centum of petrochemical plastics could be technically substituted harmonizing to the studies of PROBIP ( 2009 ) . In comparing of theoretical and experimental informations, experimental information was in the scope of 55.9- 68.84 % upon theoretical informations. The estimated values demonstrate a low degree of methane emanation compared with other anthropogenetic methane beginnings, showing a negligible impact to planetary methane emanation and/or planetary heating by biodegradable plastics. Introduction Plastics are man-made, typically long concatenation polymeric molecules. Substitution of natural stuffs by plastics came about to the scenario back in 1907 after innovation of man-made polymer â€Å" Bakelite † from phenol and methanal ( Thompson et al. , 2009 ) . Improvement of the synthesis methods and techniques have ameliorated the quality of plastics with more stable and lasting belongingss ( Shah et al. , 2008 ) . Today plastics have become an indispensable portion of the worlds ‘ life peculiarly due to their extended usage in packaging, cosmetics, chemicals, and detergents. Plastics we use today are synthesized stuffs extracted from rough oil, coal and natural gas ( Seymour, 1989 ) which is termed as Petroleum based plastics. Property of high doggedness ( really slow biodegradation rate ) of plastics have created being immune to environmental degradability which mounted social consciousness and concerns of proper disposal and direction ( Albertsson et al. , 1987 ) . Wide assortment of plastics are manufactured including polypropene, polystyrene, polyvinyl chloride, polythene, polyurethane and rayonss with estimated planetary production of about 140million dozenss per twelvemonth ( Shimao 2001 ) . Therefore inordinate utilizations of plastics have exerted a immense force per unit area globally in footings of salvaging of confined petroleum oil, waste disposal and direction, and environmental diversion. To get the better of the jobs related to petroleum based plastics attending of scientists have devoted their attending that lead to advance research activities to give rise to alternate stuffs, intended to degrade through biological procedures ( Shah et al. , 2008, Lenz and Marchessault, 2004, Amass et al. , 2001 ) . A new type of thermoplastic polyester was foremost produced by Imperial Chemical Industries Ltd- London in 1982, which was considered to be wholly biodegradable ( Anderson and Dawes, 1990 ) . The invented merchandise is known as biodegradable plastic since, it ‘s degraded by environmentally available micro-organisms. Term Bioplastic ( BP ) is perplexingly used today to construe bio-based and bio-degradable stuffs. However the survey will chiefly see on the Biodegradable plastics ( BDP ) , which is intended to utilize as a promising solution for the crude oil based plastics. Harmonizing to ASTM definition of BP, BP is a degradable plastic in which the debasement con sequences from the action of naturally-occurring micro-organisms such as bacteriums, Fungis, and algae ( Narayan, 1999 ) . Many different types of BPs have been successfully produced and have invaded the market during past few old ages. BPs are synthesized utilizing works extracted polymers or usage of growing of micro-organisms. Tailoring the belongingss of works extracted polymers via chemical alteration of the chief polymer by hydrolysable or oxidisable groups and utilizing polymer blends ( Amass et al. , 1998 ) have amended BP to utilize in a wide scope of applications contained with novel and good features. The primary end expected over innovation of BPs was the environmental concerns including waste direction, decrease of nursery gas release, and salvaging of non-renewable energy ( petroleum oil and gas ) . Apart from that secondarily, economic facets and new proficient chances came into scenario ( PROBIP, 2009 ) . Today BPs are popular compounds used in packaging stuffs, wetting agents, as biomedical stuffs ( eg: lesion dressings, drug bringing, Surgical implants ) , and agricultural compounds ( eg: command the fertiliser and pesticide release ) . BPs used as packaging stuffs has led to first-class direction scheme chiefly to forestall environmental accretion ( Amass et al. , 1998 ) . Merely 0.3 % ( 0.36 million metric dozenss ) of the world-wide production of conventional plastics has replaced by biodegradable plastics by the twelvemonth of 2007. In twelvemonth 2007 universe plastic coevals was reported as 205 million dozenss ( Gervet and Nordell. , 2007 ) . However 90 % of the conventional plastics are estimated the per centum is capable of technically substituted by BPs. There is an rush in coevals of bio based plastics globally that resulted in an estimated planetary growing of 38 % from 2003 to 2007 ( PROBIP, 2009 ) . Initially when BPs were come ining to the market ( 1990 ) no standard processs were existed to look into the biodegradability of the plastics. To forestall misconceptions with biodegradability of BPs, criterions have been developed by standard organisations to place the actual biodrgradability of BPs in trade good ( Mohee et al. , 2007 ) . At the terminal of the service life BPs wind up in landfills, anaerobiotic intervention workss or composting installations. Based on the degradable belongingss and the belongingss of the material terminal of life, the options vary. Landfill disposed BPs will finally undergo anaerobiotic biodegradation where, the stuffs are disintegrated to methane, C dioxide, H sulfide, ammonium hydroxide, H and H2O as a consequence of series of microbic metabolic interactions ( ATSDR, 2010 ) . Methane gas is a well-known and of import by merchandise which public attending has paid as a planetary heating gas and besides as an economically feasible biofuel. The surv ey is a preliminary effort to look into the degrees of extra methane gas released if terminal of life option is chosen to be a landfill utilizing normally available types of BPs globally, with different biodegradability degrees.Back landTypes of BPs Literature studies legion types of BPs in the market today, such as amylum plastics, Poly glycolic acid ( PGA ) , Poly lactic acid ( PLS ) , poly lactic acid-co-glycolic acid, poly 3- hydroxybutanoate ( P3HB ) , Poly 3- hydroxyl valerate ( PHV ) , Polyethylene succinate ( PES ) , Poly butylenes succinate, Poly propiolactone ( PPL ) , starch blends, etc ( Figure 1 ) ( Shah et al. , 2008, PROBIP, 2009 ) , derived from renewable resources such as amylum, works based oils, or cellulose ( Beta analytic, 2010 ) . The survey covers 5 major groups of BDPs presently available in the market with inside informations on different makers engaged in fabricating procedure ( Table 1 ) . Except these chief groups mentioned, chitin ( polyose ) , protein ( collagen, casein ) , and amino acid based BDPs are manufactured in undistinguished degrees, which are non covered in this survey. Main group of polymer contributes the planetary BP production is Cellulose plastics, which the production capacity is ab out 4000Mt per annum. To be considered as a bioplastic, it should be certified lawfully through criterions, EN 13432 or EN 14995 in Europe, ASTM D-6400, ASTM D6868, ASTM D6954, ASTM D7081 in United States, DIN V4900 in Germany or ISO 17088 in other states ( Beta analytic, 2010, ASTM, 2010 ) . As mentioned earlier all BPs are non biodegradable and the biodegradability is based basically on the molecular construction of the compound. ASTM D-6400 requires 60-90 % decomposition of BPs within 180 yearss in natural environment in order to be considered as a biodegradable plastic. ASTM has demonstrated both aerophilic and anaerobiotic criterion methods to place ( severally in composting environments and anaerobiotic digestion procedures ) the extent of biodegradability of BDPs ( Narayan, 1999 ) . Decomposition Degradation and possible degradability of a peculiar BDP varies depending on the environment exists: anaerobic or aerobic ( Ishigaki et al. , 2004 ) . Based on the debasement belongings of a peculiar BDP, terminal of life option should be chosen, whether it is to be disposed in a landfill or composting installation. Different types of dirt micro-organisms ( bacteriums and Fungis ) are responsible for the biodegradation of different types of BPs specifically ( Shah et al. , 2008 ) . Rate and procedure of biodegradation of BPs rely on the Soil belongingss, nature of the pretreatment, features of the polymer such as tactual sensation, mobility, molecular weight, functional groups present, additives, handiness and optimum growing of specific micro-organisms ( Artham and Doble, 2008, Glass and Swift, 1989, Gu et al. , 2000 ) . Initially biodegradation starts with decomposition of the polymer via physical and biological forces. Some fungous hyphae are able to perforate the polymer construc tion and cause clefts and swelling of the stuff ( Griffin, 1980 ) . Heating, chilling, stop deading melt, wetting and drying like physical forces besides contribute the mechanical debasement procedure ( Kamal and Huang, 1992 ) . By and large high molecular weighted polymers have a lesser possible to biodegrade than the low molecular weighted compounds. Broadly extracellular and intracellular microbic enzymes are responsible for biodegradation procedure, and so converted into oligomers, dimers and monomers which can be easy penetrable into bacterial cells. Therefore utilizes for bacterial energy production let go ofing CO2, CH4, and H2O ( Hamilton et al. , 1995, Gu et al. , 200 ) . Present survey will be given accent landfills, as the terminal of life clip option. Less information is available on the biodegradation of BDP in landfill anaerobiotic conditions than aerophilic composting. Thence more probes have to be implemented and few have been reported ( Yagi et al. , 2009 ) . In a l andfill high per centum is readily degraded by anaerobiotic communities in anoxic conditions. As a consequence of series of physical, chemical, cubic decimeter and biological reactions that take topographic point in a landfill, landfill gas is produced, with changing composings based on the type of waste contained ( Barlaz et al. , 1990 ) . Anaerobic debasement of C, Hydrogen and Oxygen incorporating substance is given by the Buswell equation as follows ( Yagi et al. , 2009 ) . CnHaOb + ( n- a/4 – b/2 ) H2O ( n/2 + a/8 – b/4 ) CH4 + ( n/2 – a/8 + b/4 ) CO2 ( A ) Anaerobic decomposition of Carbon, Hydrogen, Oxygen and Nitrogen incorporating substance is given as follows ( Behera et al. , 2010 ) . CaHbOcNd + ( ( 4a-b-2c+3d ) /4 ) H2O ( ( 4a+b-2c-3d ) /8 ) CH4 + ( ( 4a-b+2c+3d ) /8 ) CO2 + vitamin D NH3 ( B ) CO2 and CH4 are the chief gaseous substances released during anaerobiotic debasement of any compound. Methane produced in landfills is recovered as an energy beginning where provides an economic advantage. However if non recovered, methane would readily come in to the ambiance, which is listed as one of the major subscriber to planetary heating. Methane is an effectual heat pin downing agent in the ambiance and over 20 times more powerful than CO2 ( USEPA, 2010 a ) . Surveies have reported on methane outputs obtained via anaerobiotic biodegradation for few polymers ( Cellulose ester, Polycaprolactone and Poly lactic acid ) and most are yet to be studied.Methane as a potent planetary heating gasGlobal heating is understood as the chief causing of planetary clime alteration. Global heating is caused due to increase of green house gases in the ambiance such as Carbon dioxide, methane, Nitrous oxide, and H2O vapour ( US composting council, 2009 ) . Methane is considered as a green house gas with high heat pin downing capacity which lasts about 9- 15 old ages in the ambiance. Global warming possible ( GWP ) of green house gases are represented in relation to a mention gas, CO2, where GWP is considered as 1. Global warming potency of methane gas is 21 which infers, 21 times more effectual heat pin downing agent than CO2. Methane is emitted to the ambiance chiefly from anthropogenetic and natural beginnings. 50 % of methane in the ambiance is attributed to anthropogenetic beginnings such as fossil fuel burning, biomass combustion, rice cultivation, carnal farming, and waste direction. Contribution of anthropogenetic methane to planetary green house gas emanation was 282.6 million dozenss in the twelvemonth 2000 ( 22.9 % ) as declared by USEPA ( 2006 ) . Natural beginnings of methane emanations include emanations from wetlands, permafrost, white ants, oceans wild fires and fresh H2O organic structures. Degrees of methane emitted from each part or state depends on facto rs, such as climatic conditions, industrial and agricultural lands, energy type used and godforsaken direction processs. Largest methane emanation homo related beginnings in USA are landfills, carnal farming, and manure direction where the 2nd highest of the list goes to landfills. In the facet of planetary methane production, landfills attributed the 3rd highest beginning of emanation and globally methane part by landfills was over 12 % for twelvemonth 2000 ( USEPA, 2010 B ) . Organic compounds in a landfill, upon decomposition release methane as mentioned above and recent appraisal suggests that 72 % of MSW watercourse contained with organic substances: paper, nutrient garbages, yard dust, textiles/ leather, and wood. Percentages of each MSW constituent landfilled was severally, 34 % , 12 % , 13 % , 7 % , and 6 % ( US composting council. , 2009 ) . Thus methane coevals from each MSW constituent may be assumed being in the same order as above from each MSW constituent, since methan e production is relative to the C sum in an organic substance. Thus paper is the chief methane gas subscriber to the ambiance from a landfill while others play a minor function. BDPs is fresh emerging organic compound set in the landfills and besides a new planetary beginning of methane breathing from a landfill.Gas Generation theoretical accountLandfill gas appraisal is utile for landfill operators, regulators, energy users and energy recovery undertaking proprietors to look into how gas is produced and recovered in a peculiar clip period. USEPA has generated a Landfill methane gas appraisal theoretical account to imitate the gas production in landfills utilizing first order decay curve, which is written as, M ( T ) = M0 vitamin E -kt. Where M ( T ) is the mass of a batch waste staying at any clip, M0 is the initial mass of waste, K is the decay rate ( clip -1 ) and T is the clip since decay was begun. Gas production is straight correlated to mass doomed, which is termed as L0 ( M3 of methane per metric ton of waste ) . Entire Volume of gas ( G0 ) that can be produced by the debasement of mass of weight ( M0 ) is, calculated utilizing the equation, G0 = L0 M0. BDP is a freshly emerging landfill constituent which contributes the planetary methane coevals. The survey will supply an appraisal of extra methane produced upon this new reaching.MethodsStudy was based on appraisal of extra methane gas sum produced from landfills with subsequent outgrowth of BDPs to the market. Literature was reviewed related to trade name names, measure, polymer types incorporated and biodegradability ( particularly in footings of methane production ) of BDPs normally found in the planetary market ( Table1 and Table 2 ) . Manufacturer and measure informations obtained were associated with the twelvemonth 2007. This survey has considered merely biobased and non biobased BDPs and not degradable bio based or non biobased plastics have non been used for analysis as they are incapable of degrade in a landfill and release methane. Study was carried out in 4 stairss. Measure 1: Methane production per twenty-four hours was calculated utilizing published experimental informations on methane gas production in fake landfill conditions presuming entire manufactured BDPs were being landfilled ( Table 2 ) . Biodegradability of a peculiar BDP is likely to change based on the per centums of single polymers contained in the blend. Although production capacity was available in regard to a peculiar trade name name, no production informations was available for single polymers individually. Since a peculiar manufacturer industries different types of BDP stuffs related to fabric, agribusiness, biomedical points and packaging, per centums of single polymers used for blends vary mostly from each other even within the same trade name name. Therefore it ‘s hard to nail a distinguishable per centum for each polymer in a peculiar BDP being manufactured. Further information on per centums of each polymer are neither readily available from the makers ‘ web sites nor descriptive surveies have done sing per centums. Therefore trade name names with multiple polymer types were assumed to be every bit distributed, therefore manufactured capacity from each polymer was obtained by averaging the manufactured capacity of the peculiar trade name name. Most published literature was based on the biodegradability of single polymer types instead than the biodegradability of a peculiar trade name name except for Mater Bi amylum BDP ( Mohee et al. , 2007 ) . Measure 2: Methane production per twenty-four hours was calculated utilizing theoretical stoichiometric methane production informations presuming entire biodegradation of the compound and entire manufactured BDPs ( 2007 ) were being landfilled. Trade names with multiple Numberss of polymers, per centums of single polymers are assumed every bit distributed as mentioned in step1 ( Table 3 ) . Methane gas sum released is theoretically calculated utilizing the chemical equations ( A ) and ( B ) . Maximum biogas ( CO2, CH4 and NH3 ) sum produced by debasement of 1 kgs ton of Poly lactic acid ( ( C2H4O2 ) N ) was calculated to be 7.5 ten 10 5 M3 ( ( 106/60 ) x 22.4x 2 ) at standard temperature and force per unit area. CH4: CO2 ratio for poly lactic acid is 1:1. Theoretical maximal volume of CH4 produced calculated harmonizing to the combined gas jurisprudence was reported to be 3.73 ten 10 5m3, presuming entire biodegradation of the compound. Table 3 displays the maximal theoretical methan e volume produced at standard temperature and force per unit area for C, H, O and N related polymers intended to discourse in this survey. Measure 3: Maximal methane production was calculated sing the sum of BDPs being landfilled per twelvemonth when 90 % ( the possible sum that can be technically substituted by BPs from petrochemical plastics in usage today ) of petrochemical plastics were substituted over BPs. All BDPs produced are assumed to be readily ( during a period of twelvemonth ) biodegradable in this scenario. Measure 4: Contribution of landfilled BDPs to planetary methane emanation was calculated utilizing the entire methane emanation informations obtained from measure 3 and step 4.RESULTS AND DISCUSSIONDatas on methane coevals ( Table 2, step 1 ) was obtained from published experiments on anaerobiotic decomposition of single polymer compounds, imitating landfill, thermophilic conditions by utilizing anaerobiotic sludge as the medium in controlled research lab conditions. However, since different writers have used different conditions with different types of sludges and diversed microbic communities, ( affects diverseness of microbic communities ) ( Abou-Zeid et al. , 2004 ) would impact the dependability of the survey in using the values for comparing, due to debut of many prejudices. It was non possible to gauge planetary methane production based on published experimental informations since sufficient informations were non available to cover a sensible figure of polymers attended this s urvey. However, appraisal for planetary methane production from BDPs was able to obtained by utilizing theoretical computation to near the aims as showed in measure 2, Table 3 ( see appendix for computations ) . If assumed the full manufactured BDPs in twelvemonth 2007 were landfilled and entire landfilled is wholly biodegraded, the methane sum produced was calculated to be 8.31 ten 10 8m3. Global part resulted was 0.011 % in this scenario ( see appendix ) . MSW watercourse is declared to be composed of 205 million dozenss of petrochemical plastics in twelvemonth 2003 ( Garnet and Nordell, 2007 ) . The sum of BDPs that could perchance replace to petrochemical plastics was calculated to be 184.5 million dozenss. Assuming equal proportions of different BDPs tabulated in Table 2 are being landfilled, the sum of methane released is calculated to be 1.06 ten 1011m3 / twelvemonth. 90 % permutation scenario is an appraisal undertaken to understand whether methane released causes important part to planetary anthropogenetic methane gas emanation, in its maximal degree of BDP industry. The scenario is responsible for 1.38 % of planetary methane part. This was 116 % of entire landfill methane coevals based on the twelvemonth 2006 sum methane emanation ( USEPA, 2006 ) , which is higher than the entire current landfill methane coevals. The values were obtained on the footing of 2007 BDP industry informations nevertheless expected entire plastic production will besides be raised seemingly at the clip of 90 % permutation petrochemical plastics upon BDPs. Entire BP production capacity amounted to be in twelvemonth 2020 is 1.5-4.4 million dozenss ( PROBIP 2009 ) . In comparing of the methane outputs ( m3/kt ) from theoretical stoichiometric computations and research lab measurings ( Table 4 ) , extremely vary. It is obvious that, experimental methane production in laboratory conditions is lower than the theoretical information. Percentage of experimental methane emanation was in the scope of 55.9-68.84 % of the theoretical values, when compared the methane emanation degrees of available experimental informations ( PCL and PCL ) . Methane sums will be farther diminished if methane emanation is calculated sing the experimental information. Efficiency of biodegradation procedure occur in a landfill governs the rate and sum of methane generated into the ambiance. Numerous factors such as size of waste atom, composing of waste, pH, temperature, design of the landfill, foods and as the most of import factor wet control the methane emanation in a landfil ( Micales and Skog, 1996, Augenstein and Pacey, 1991 ) . Rathje and Murphy ( 1992 ) have demonstr ated mummification of garbage under degrees where, a landfill does non have optimal degree of wet hindering debasement or methane release ( Barlaz et al. , 1987 ) . Bogner and Spokas ( 1993 ) have shown that C transition value of 25-40 % for even readily degradable stuffs in a landfill and Aragno ( 1988 ) reported 35-40 % organic affair debasement to Carbon dioxide and methane under ideal laboratory conditions. However in the present survey Methane coevals resulted was higher than the published literature, showing higher methane emanations from BDPs than other beginnings such as wood, paper, etc. Therefore under existent landfill conditions released methane sums is lesser than the controlled research lab obtained values as confirms by published informations and informations from the present survey. Further debasement procedure in a landfill takes topographic point over decennaries of periods and even after 20-30 old ages of period big measures of non-degraded parts have been observe d even for readily degradable stuffs ( Micales and Skog, 1996 ) . Therefore methane outputs per twelvemonth should be more lessen than the quoted values in the survey. Efficient and effectual usage of landfill methane as a good fuel or enrgt beginning would farther relieve the methane release into the ambiance in landfills ( Gregg, 2010 ) .SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONSThe survey estimates maximal extra planetary theoretical methane resulted from decomposition of BDPs which is a fresh methane beginning emerged from landfills. Result suggest that the planetary part of BDPs to methane coevals is relatively less compared with other anthropogenetic beginnings. However in comparing of the methane emanation from BDPs, with other landfill constituents, BDPs are likely to lend a considerable sum of methane, which demonstrated the highest sum of methane emanation other landfill constituents. Experimental information groundss an overestimate of the theoretical estimations. Study has come across with many premises in each word picture scenario, which weakens the appraisal. However survey provides an appraisal of the extra methane gas released globally due to BDP landfilling, where no surveies or appraisals have done so far in a maximal possible logical and scientific manner using available informations. Further surveies on single polymer debasement are indispensable in order to beef up and verify the consequences obtained for sound actual appraisals.MentionsATSDR ( Agency for Toxic substances & A ; Disease Registry ) . 2010. hypertext transfer protocol: //www.atsdr.cdc.gov/hac/landfill/html/ch2.html. Accessed July 2010. Albertsson, A. C. , Andersson, S. O. , Karlsson, S. 1987. The mechanism of biodegradation of polythene. Polym Degrad Stab 18,73-87. Amass, W. , Amass, A. , Tighe, B. 1998. A reappraisal of biodegradable polymers: Used, Current Developments in the synthesis and word picture of biodegradable polyesters, blends of biodegradable polymers and Recent progresss in biodegradation surveies. Polymer international. 47, 89-144. Anderson. A. J. , Dawes, E. A. 1990. Happening, metamorphosis, metabolic function and industrial utilizations of bacterial polyhydroxyalkaonates. Microbiol Rev. 54:4, 450-472. Aragno, M. 1988. The landfill ecosystem: a microbiologists look inside a â€Å" black box † . In the Landfill. Lecture notes in Earth Sciences # 20, erectile dysfunction. P. Baccini. Springer Verlag. New York. 15-38. In: Micales, J. A. , Skog, K. E. 1996. The decomposition of Foresy merchandises in landfills. International Biodeterioration & A ; Biodegradation 39. 2-3. 145-158 Artham, T. , Doble, M. Biodegradation of Aliphatic and Aromatic Polycarbonates. Macromol Biosci 2008 ; 8 ( 1 ) :14-24. ASTM Standards and Engineering Digital library. 2010. ASTM international. hypertext transfer protocol: //www.astm.org/DIGITAL_LIBRARY/TOPICS/PAGES/section08_stds.htmHYPERLINK â€Å" hypertext transfer protocol: //www.astm.org/DIGITAL_LIBRARY/TOPICS/PAGES/section08_stds.htm Accessed October 2010 † Accessed October 2010. Augestein, D. , Pacey, J. 1991. Landfill methane theoretical accounts, Proceedings from the Technical Sessionss of SWANA ‘s 29th Annual International Solid waste expounding, SWANA, Silver Spring, MD. 87-111. In: Micales, J. A. , Skog, K. E. 1996. The decomposition of Foresy merchandises in landfills. International Biodeterioration & A ; Biodegradation 39. 2-3. 145-158. Barlaz, M. A. , Ham, R. K. , Schaefer, D. M. 1990. Methane production from Municipal garbage: A reappraisal of sweetening techniques and microbic kineticss. Environmental Science and Technology. 19, 6. 557-584. Barlaz, M. A. , Milke, M. W. , Ham, R. K. 1987. Gas production parametric quantities in healthful landfill simulators. Waste manag. And Res. 5, 27-39. Bertoldi. M. , Sequi, P. , Lemmes, B. 1996. The Science of composting. 1st edition, Glasgow. Chapman & A ; Hall. Beta analytic Corporation. 2010. & lt ; hypertext transfer protocol: //www.betalabservices.com/biobased.html. Accessed october 2010 & gt ; . Bogner, J. , Spokas, K. 1993. Landfill CH4: rates, destinies and function in planetary C rhythm. Atmosphere. 25. 369-386. Gervet, B. , Nordell, B. 2007. The usage of rough oil in plastic devising contributes to planetary heating. Renewable energy research group, Division of Architecture and Infrastructure, Lulea University of Technology, Sweden. Glass, J. E. , Swift, G. 1989. Agricultural and Synthetic Polymers, Biodegradation and Utilization, ACS Symposium Series, 433. Washington DC: American Chemical Society. 9-64. Gregg, J. S. 2010. national and regional coevals of municipal residue biomass and the future possible enemy waste-to-energy execution. Biomass and Bioenergy. 34. 379-388. Griffin, G. J. L. 1980. Man-made polymers and the life environment. Pure Appl Chem. 52. 399-407. In: Shah, A. A. , Hasan, F. , Hameed, A. , Ahmed, S. 2007. Biological debasement of plastics: A comprehensive reappraisal. Biotechnology Advances. 26, 246-265. Gu, J. D. , Ford, T. E. , Mitton, D. B. , Mitchell, R. Microbial debasement and impairment of polymeric stuffs. 2000. In: Revie W, editor. The Uhlig Corrosion Handbook. 2nd Edition. New York: Wiley.. 439-60. In: Shah, A. A. , Hasan, F. , Hameed, A. , Ahmed, S. 2007. Biological debasement of plastics: A comprehensive reappraisal. Biotechnology Advances. 26, 246-265. Hamilton, J. D, Reinert, K. H, Hogan, J. V, 1995. Lord WV. Polymers as solid waste in municipal landfills. J Air Waste Manage Assoc. 43. 247-51. Ishigaki, T. , Sugano, W. , Nakanishi, A. , Tateda, M. , Ike, M. , Fujita, M. 2003. The degradability of biodegradable plastics in aerophilic and anaerobiotic waste landfill theoretical account reactors. Chemosphere. 54. 225-233. Kamal, M. R. , Huang, B. Natural and unreal weathering of polymers. In: HamidSH, Ami MB, Maadhan AG, editors. Handbook of Polymer Degradation. New York, NY: Marcel Dekker ; 1992. p. 127-68. Lenz, R. W. , Marchessault, R. H. 2004. Bacterial Polyesters: Biosynthesis, biodegradable plastics and biotechnology. American Chemical society. 6:1. Micales, J. A. , Skog, K. E. 1996. The decomposition of Foresy merchandises in landfills. International Biodeterioration & A ; Biodegradation 39. 2-3. 145-158. Mohee, R. , Unmar, G. D. , Mudhoo, A. , Khadoo, P. 2007. Biodegradability of biodegradable/degradable plastic stuffs under aerophilic and anerobic conditions. Waste Management. 28, 1624-1629. Narayan, R. 1999. ASTM criterions aid define and turn a new biodegradable plastics industry. ASTM standardisation News. 36-42. PROBIP ( Product overview and market projection of emerging bio-based plastics ) . 2009. Europen polysaccharide Network of excellence and European Bioplastics. Rathje, W. , Murphy, C. 1992. Rubbish: The archaeology of refuse, new York: Harper Collins.250. Seymour, R. B. Polymer scientific discipline before & A ; after 1899: noteworthy developments during the life-time of Maurtis Dekker. J Macromol Sci Chem 1989 ; 26:1023-32. Shah, A. A. , Hasan, F. , Hameed, A. , Ahmed, S. 2007. Biological debasement of plastics: A comprehensive reappraisal. Biotechnology Advances. 26, 246-265. Shimao, M. 2001. Biodegradation of plastics. Curr Opinion Biotechnol 12,242-247. Behera, S. K. , park. , J. , Kim, K. , Park, H. 2010 Methane production from waste leachate in laboratory-scale fake landfill. Waste direction. 30. 1502-1508. Thomas, N. , Clarke, J. , McLauchlin, A. , Patrick, S. 2010. Measuring the environmental Impacts of oxo-degradable plastics across their life rhythm. Loughborough University. Thompson, R.C. , Swan, A. H. , Moore, C. J. , Saal, F. S. 2009. Our Fictile Age. Phil. Trans. Soc. 364, 1973-1976. United States Composting Council. 2009. USCC Position statement: Keeping organics out of landfills. USEPA ( United States Environmental protection Agency ) . 2010a. hypertext transfer protocol: //www.epa.gov/climatechange/glossaary.html # GWP. Accessed October 2010. USEPA ( United States Environmental protection Agency ) . 2010b. hypertext transfer protocol: //www.epa.gov/methane/ . Accessed October 2010. USEPA ( United States Environmental protection Agency ) . 2008. Municipal Solid wastrel coevals, Recycling and Disposal in the United States: Facts and Figures. USEPA ( United States Environmental protection Agency ) . 2006. Global Extenuation of Non-CO2 Green house gases. Office of Atmospheric plans, Washington, DC. EPA 430-R-06-005. Yagi, H. , Ninomiya, F. , Funabashi, M. , Kunioka, M. 2009. Anaerobic biodegradation trials of polylactic acid and polycaprolactones utilizing new rating system for methane agitation in anaerobiotic sludge. 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Fibre Taiwan Sodium Viscose Staple fibers Cellulose xanthate 140 Fully biodegradable 4 Kelheim Germany Danufil, Galaxy, Viloft Viscose Staple fibers Cellulose ester Cellulose ethanoate propionate Cellulose ethanoate butyrate 72 Fully biodegradable 5 Celanese United states Sodium CA flakes, tows and fibril Cellulose ester ( Cellulose ethanoate ) 250 Sodium 6 Eastman United states Sodium CA tows and fibril, CAB, CAP Cellulose ester Cellulose ethanoate propionate Cellulose ethanoate butyrate 200 Sodium 7 Rhodia Acetow Germany Sodium CA tows Cellulose ester ( Cellulose ethanoate ) 130 Sodium 8 Daicel Japan Sodium CA tows Cellulose ester ( Cellulose ethanoate ) 90 SodiumAOtherAA74ManufacturerState of productionTrade NamePolymer typePolymer NameWorldwide production ( kt.p.a. ) in 2007BiodegradabilityBacillus Polylactic Acid ( PLA ) polymers 151A9 PURAC Taiwan PURACAPolylactic acid ( PLA ) 75 Fully biodegradable 10 Nature Works United states IngeoAPolylactic Acid 70 Fully biodegradableAOther 6AC Starch blends 153A11 Novamont Italy Mater Bi Starch blends Starch/ Polycaprolactone ( PCL ) * 40 Fully biodegradable 12 Rodenburg Newzealand Solanyl Fermented amylumA40 Fully biodegradable 13 Biotec Danmark Bioplast amylum blendsA20 Fully biodegradableAOther 53ACalciferol Polyhydroxy alkanoates 2A14 Tianan Canada Enmat PHBV, PHBV and Ecoflex ( petrochemical polymer ) poly ( 3-hydroxybutyrate-co-3-hydroxyvalerate ) ( PHBV ) 2 Fully biodegradable Tocopherol Polyurethane from Biobased polyol 12.3A15 Dow United states Renuva Polyurethane 8.8 Fully biodegradableAOther 3.5AManufacturerState of productionTrade NamePolymer typePolymer NameWorldwide production ( kt.p.a. ) in 2007BiodegradabilityAF Other biodegradable polymers 140A16 DuPont Japan Biomax PBST/PET copolymer Poly ( butylene succinate terephthalate ) Poly ( ethylene terephthalate ) ( PET ) 90 Sodium 17 Novamont Japan EatBio Polytetramethylene adipate- co- terephthalate ( PTMAT ) 15 Fully biodegradable 18 BASF Danmark Ecoflex Poly butylene adipate-co-butylene terephthalate ( PBAT ) 14 Fully biodegradableAOther 21AData Beginning: ( PROBIP, 2009 ) , NA-Data Not Available * Data beginning: Bertoldi et al. , 1996.Table 2 Literature published on methane production, biodegradability of polymers incorporated to BDPs and calculated methane production degrees..PolymerInitial mass ( g )Methane volume ( L )Dayss of incubationMethane production ( % )BiodegradaBility ( % )Methane volume ( m3/ karat ) / L0*Global polymer production ( kt/annum ) M0Volume of methane gas ( G0 ) ( m3/day ) **MentionsPolylactic acid 10 2.57 22 53.8 91 257,000 151 3.9 x 107 Yagi et al. , 2009 Mater Bi ( Starch Blend ) 1.96 0.245 32 99.11 26.9 24,500 40 9.8 x 106 Mohee et al. , 2007 Polycaprolactone 10 6.59 22 65.8 92 659,000 20 1.3 ten 10 7 Yagi et al. , 2009 * Calculated methane volume ( m3/kton ) based on published informations. ** Calculated methane sums harmonizing to the USEPA gas appraisal theoretical account.Table 3 Maximum theoretical methane sums released during anaerobiotic biodegrdation of major polymer types in standard temperature and force per unit area conditions.Major polymer typePolymerProduction capacity ( kt/annum )Theoretical methane production ( m3/kt )Theoretical methane production ( m3/yr )Cellulose based Cellulose ethanoate 668.76 6.2 ten 10 5 4.1 ten 10 8 Cellulose ethanoate butyrate 448.76 4.0 ten 10 5 1.8 ten 10 8 Starch blends ( Mater Bi ) Starch 20 4.1 ten 10 5 8.3 ten 10 7 Polycaprolactone 20 7.36 ten 10 5 1.5 ten 10 7 Poly lactic acid Poly lactic acid 151 3.73 ten 10 5 5.6 ten 10 7 Polyhydroxy alkaonates poly ( 3-hydroxybutyrate-co-3-hydroxyvalerate ) 20 1.1 ten 10 6 2.2 ten 10 7 Polyurethane based polyol Polyurethane 8.8 5.5 ten 10 5 1.3 ten 10 4 Other Polyethylene terephthalate 45 6.5 ten 10 5 2.9 ten 10 7 Polytetramethylene adipate -co- terephthalate 15 1.47 x10 6 2.2 ten 10 7 Polybutylene adipate -co-butylene terephthalate 14 7.0 ten 10 5 9.8 x10 6 Entire theoretical Methane production due to C, H, O polymers in twelvemonth 2007 if assumed all manufactured polymers being landfilled 1411.32 7.0 ten 10 7 8.31 ten 10 8 Theoretical sum methane coevals per twelvemonth is estimated to be 8.4 x10 8m3 based on twelvemonth 2007 manufactured BDP capacity.Table 4 Comparison of theoretical and experimental methane emanation degrees.PolymerExperimental Methane volume ( m3/ karat )Theoretical methane sum ( m3/ karat )% experimental emanation in relation to theoretical emanationPolylactic acid 257,000 373,333.33 68.84 Polycaprolactone 659,000 1,178,947.37 55.9Figure 1 Molecular constructions of polymers involved in the production of common BDPs

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Juwan howard case study Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Juwan howard case study - Essay Example community and had a large number of fans. Because of Howard’s qualifications, when he became a free agent in July 1996, several teams became interested in recruiting him including Pat Riley of the Miami Heat. Howard was represented by David Falk of the Falk Associates Management Enterprises (FAME) and his partner lawyer Curtis Polk. The Bullets through its General Manager, Wes Unseld made an offer for seven-years for $78.4 million which amounted to $136,000 per game during the 2002-2003 season (Brubaker & Asher, 2007). Although Howard wanted to remain a Bullet, he was not happy with the offer because he knew that he was worth more than $78.4 million; thus, together with Falk they sought offers from the other NBA teams. The Miami Heat’s opening bid through Riley was $84 million over seven years which later increased to $91 million plus $3.5 million in bonuses and other perks. The Bullets then increased their bid to $84 million which was still unacceptable to Howard. At t his point, Howard admitted that his top choice was the Heat but he wanted to up their offer so he still was not accepting any deal. His move was successful because the final deal was closed at $100.8 million in cash plus perks. This contract however was voided by the NBA citing that the Heat exceeded its salary cap. The NBA also claimed that the Heat had signed an agreement with Alonzo Mourning before the contract with Howard and that the bonuses of two other players were excluded from the cap which should not have been the case. So on August 5, 1996 after several heated negotiations, Howard was back with the Bullets after signing a seven-year contract worth $105 million. There are several benefits, both tangible and intangible, among the players in the negotiation contract of Howard. For Howard, the intangible benefit of the negotiation of his contract was that it was a measure of his true worth as an NBA star player. He gained a sense of fulfillment and pride from just knowing tha t there are several teams interested in his services. A $205 million total contract offer from two top teams in the NBA was a real boost to his ego. Also, another intangible benefit for Howard was the fame he got from the negotiations. He was adored by numerous fans so the Bullets came up with an advertisement in the Washington Post which promised the fans that they will do everything to keep Howard in Washington. The tangible benefits that he gained from the negotiations are the financial rewards and other bonuses and perks that were offered to him including hotel suites and limousine service. If Unseld is successful at having Howard accept the Bullets’ offer, the team will benefit from the outstanding performance of Howard. Their fans will continue to support them, meaning more revenues for them. Howard can motivate again his other team members and hopefully lead them into winning more games that will bring them closer to the championship. On the other hand, the benefit for Riley if his offer is accepted by Howard is that the Heat will have another star player in the team which will make them the team to beat in the NBA. Riley will gain much publicity and will earn him the respect among basketball enthusiasts, being the coach of

Industral ergonomics Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Industral ergonomics - Essay Example The present study focuses on an ergonomic critical analysis of a health hazard evaluation report. The report that has been selected for the study is Health Hazard Evaluation Report, HETA-99-0283-2855, Yellowstone National Park, Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming. The evaluation of the Yellowstone National Park had been considered on the concerns arising from the riding snowmobiles to patrol roads and maintenance of the park that was known to cause injuries and pains in the muscles of those individuals who worked in the park. National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) was in charge of the evaluation of the health hazards in the area and they worked on determining whether the park workers had problems with the work and whether the work was causing health hazards to them. Also, there were measures on the part of the managers and the employees that had been suggested by the NIOSH in this regard (NIOSH HEALTH HAZARD EVALUATION REPORT, 2001, p. 3). The ergonomic evaluation of the case involved determination of the health hazards that could be associated with such park works. These included overexertion injuries and musculoskeletal disorders that may lead to pain in the lower back, tendinitis, and carpal tunnel syndrome. These symptoms are possible and need evaluation in this case that involved repetitive, stereotyped movement of the body joints, vigorous physical exertions, lifting, uncomfortable or fixed postures during work postures, nonstop pressure on nerves and soft tissues, working in uncomfortable environments like in the cold weather, whole body being exposed or segmental vibration. The evaluation included these ergonomic issues and conducted tests to determine the effects of the work on the workers (NIOSH HEALTH HAZARD EVALUATION REPORT, 2001, p. 5). The evaluation method included measurements of dimensions and adjustability ranges of

Analysis of a technology or a scientific development and its Essay

Analysis of a technology or a scientific development and its relationship to the values inherent in our culture and then compare this technology (scientific development) with the values of another culture - Essay Example Progressing skills also straightforwardly develops the everyday customs, like job, discipline, or just individual significance. In the current bureau, several citizens’ particularly younger citizens, go to their places of work listening to the songs with their headphones plucked in their ears. They frequently use their handset to embrace dialog with associates while performing their tasks. Several job givers think that this multi-task decrease work creation. Nevertheless, several students disagree that there are customs individuals can progress their capability to send a message while upholding the judgment contact among other individuals, but no inquiries have been done to confirm this situation. As know-how advances, individuals develop into extra reliant and devote much of their occasion on the newest communication gadgets to do much of the conversation and to flee away from conversing one on one with the individual nearby (Turkle 06-07). Know-how has altered the manner in which individuals convey messages. From my point of view, innovative know-how generates more resourceful habits of passing messages. In addition, everybody depends seriously on knowledge for communication further frequently than as was practiced in the past ten years. It is clear that our daily routine is affected by the use of these gadgets in that anywhere we go or whatever we do rotates on the phone. The manner in which people converse to each other has changed from script and transfer of corporal mail to a clack of a knob on an electronic mail. Since medieval era, Romeo and Juliet inscribed adorable letters as ways to show how much they loved each other. Uniting the internet with the mainframe, introduced the use of electronic mail. Moving the handset has developed into a customary routine for everybody since it is so simple to exercise, extremely suitable, and readily available whenever one needs it. The article discusses manner of

Russia's Afghan War Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Russia's Afghan War - Essay Example About 1,500 military advisers who worked in the country sabotaged equipment Afghan army and discouraged any kind of resistance by Afghan troops and officers (Hill, p.5). Discussion Preparation for Attack On Christmas Eve of 1979, the usually quiet airport in the Afghan capital resembles  Kabul  said a European metropolis.  The large machines with Soviet insignia, landing every three minutes, but have no regular passengers on board, but well-equipped soldiers, armored vehicles, weapons and ammunition. Observers suggested earlier, the company had long been part of the usual military support from  Moscow.  Two days later, on the evening of 27  December, a storm troop towards the city center is on the march, headed by units of the Soviet secret service  KGB  responsible under the leadership of Colonel GI Bojarinow, the head of the training center for special operations of the infamous Pay Department of the KGB, which stands for "wet stuff" (mokryje dela) is for assassinat ions and sabotage.  The military vehicles carry the Afghan national emblem, the soldiers hidden behind the closed hatches, Afghan uniforms.  First destination is the telegraph office, which can blow Bojarinow.  After then, the radio station has been occupied, the column continues to Darulaman Palace on the outskirts.  Despite fierce opposition from the guard of storm troopers penetrates rapidly.  In the top-floor bar the invaders find the one man they are looking for: President Hafisullah Amine, together with his mistress.  Both were shot in the melee. As far as the look, Christopher Andrew and Oleg Gordiewsky KGB in her book - the story of its foreign operations from Lenin to  Gorbachev  give.  The work is based to a large extent on the information and detailed knowledge of a party: Gordiewsky was KGB man in London, and in 1985 changed sides.  His report following prisoners were not made, there would be no witnesses.  Bojarinow also came at the storming of the palace killed. Presumably he was confused because of the Afghan Uniform and shot by his own people (Grau, p.129-145). Warfare and Combat This Hollywood mature coup began in December 1979, the war in  Afghanistan. From the point of view of the Kremlin, there had been a few good reasons for intervention in the Hindu Kush.  As they were aware that the country had been skeptical from the beginning, due to this they had discouraged the war which was a right act.  However, the war proved to be futile, it seriously damaged the reputation of Moscow and accelerated the implosion of the  Soviet Union.  Afghanistan had become "Moscow's Vietnam". Always the policy of the Kremlin had aimed to closely to tie the southern neighboring country itself.  A non-aggression and neutrality pact in 1926 was followed in the fifties and sixties, a broad-based policy support.  The Soviet Union gave large loans, sent millions of business and technology consultants, built roads to the north and b ought generously export goods.  They Willingly trained the officer corps of the Afghan army by the Soviet Army, so that Kabul fell into complete dependence on Moscow (Grau, p.129-145). After King Zahir Shah was deposed in 1973, the coalition process was continued and Prince Mohammed Daoud initially led a coalition with the Pro-Moscow

Oil and gas industry Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Oil and gas industry - Essay Example The environment is a crucial component for the survival of living organisms. To that effect, the paper will discuss the impact of the oil and gas industry on the environment. First, the operations in the oil and gas sector lead to water pollution by means of oil spills and by products. Spills can occur both on land and sea. As noted by Taylor (295), there has been evidence of oil spills on the American coastline and adjacent countries. Oil spills in the marine environment kills the aquatic ecosystem. Scholastic and Crane (6) claim that the Deepwater Horizon Spill at the Gulf of Mexico was the worst in U.S History where more than 250,000 barrels of oil spilled into the ocean. It affected a huge population of the marine life. The same applies for land spills. The oil damages the surface vegetation. Spills may take up from months to years to clean up. Second, the petroleum industry is the largest industrial source of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in the United States. As cited by Barker (45), these are groups of chemicals that form the ground level ozone. This results in global warming as the ozone reflects the heat from the earth’s warming up the earth because the VOCs lead to the formation of zone. Ozone traps heat in the atmosphere leading to global warming. Third, crude oil contains a mixture of numerous organic compounds that are extremely toxic and cause cancer. The presence of benzene in crude oil results in leukemia in humans. In the same way, the concentration of oil at 4000 parts per million promptly kills the fish (Prasad and Kumari 29). Next, the oil and gas industry pollute the air. The burning of the oil products produces greenhouse as well as other pollutants. Some of the air pollutants include nitrogen dioxide, sulphur dioxide, carbon dioxide, heavy metals, and VOCs. The incomplete burnt compounds results in fine particles of soot that have been found to cause respiratory

Public Relations in college Athletics Essay Example for Free

Public Relations in college Athletics Essay Public relations play important role in linking college athletics with other colleges and news media. It represents college athletics related issues to media level. Public relation is responsible for handling all communication and information exchange between the college and athletics and media. It also promotes and develop relations with other colleges and universities.   Public relations will also keep news site updated to keep inform the community about the current issues, updates and goals.   Public relation program will handled all media related inquires, it regularly updates about recent research carried out in the faculty, promote inter-colleges sports and workshops, other promotional programs in the community and many other activities on the campuses.   Public relation facilitates inter-departmental, inter-community and social relations.   Assessment:   College athletic public relations goal is to develop such programs to maintain good public relations with the community and to promote student athletics sports, moral, physical, social and emotional growth. Such programs will keep individuals involve with creative activities and simultaneously promote their social relations with the community, a sense of responsibility and increase their morals.   Plan or board policy in relation to an existing public relations/marking plan or program One of the main purposes of the public relations is to let the students and community learn college rules and regulations and respect it in all circumstances in order to provide well-balanced education and creative skills.   Public relations board will responsible for making new guidelines and policies for people especially parents and guardians to keep them update of regulations and procedures.   Public relations board will develop such policies in order to keep details of all programs and guidelines for the community, guardians and students. The policies must define and update the student’s and communities needs. It must also prepare information regarding programs to give student and guardians full information. Evaluation: According to a recent research (Parry and Hayden, 1993) postgraduate students benefit from the program only when these students are paid attention separately, faculty and departmental staff clearly verify the assistance these students should receive. For recruiting more students in postgraduate program following strategies are needed to be implemented in the new curricula. These strategies are formed after careful analysis of the problems that were faced by the students, which were causing decline in students’ strength in the university. Creative ideas were generated to find out various possible number of solutions for the prevailing problems.   Recruitment and selection of students   There is a need to develop a unique workable policy for accommodating minimum or maximum number of students in the postgraduate program on the basis of preferred recruitment practices and on the university standards to recruit students per class.   There is also a need to start scholarships for students who are unable to pay their full fee.   Technical expertise and competencies in their language should be considered mandatory prior to admission.   Apart from quantitative analysis of students’ recruitment, university should also consider the qualitative approach to recruit students. Thus, admitting those students who are skillful and eligible for the program. And who will prove to be good in giving out results, thus, improving the standards of university in terms of qualitative education.   Audit of an existing safety or crisis prevention plan Staff and supervisors All staff and supervisors should be highly qualified and experienced. Per supervisor and staff, students allocated should be evaluated. Number of supervisor allocated per faculty should be evaluated New developmental strategies for students, supervisors and staff For every student there should be a clear statement for the academic mission of the university and department, research achievements, focus of teaching at the university, discipline rules that are to be followed. Every student should have a clear idea about departmental activities, social and intellectual prospects, facilities, resources, services, support, research facilities, and other procedures. In addition, there should be accommodation facilities, offices for mail typing, laboratory space, technical support, research equipment, computerized infrastructure, photocopying, library facilities, telephone, email and facsimile facilities, research grants and paid work. All above mentioned facilities should be publicized among undergraduate students, who might get interested in taking admission in postgraduate. Recent research showed that postgraduate students find various elements useful such as outline of the research they are taking, opportunity to meet other postgraduates, academics, administrative, technical staff and faculty. Selection of topics should be made easy and should be in consistent with the research facilities and financial resources available in the department. Each student should be guided individually that how they have to conduct research. Each student should be encouraged to acquire specialist assistance in writing thesis, computing, analysis of data, researching in library and archives in the management database. Using recommended assessment techniques,    There should be regular meetings and discussions between the supervisors, other research students for keep check on the progress of work and new innovative ideas that research students might learn from each other. Each student should keep a record of his or her work. Similarly, each supervisor should keep record of their supervision to avoid any misunderstanding between student and the supervisor. There should be brief records of meetings, discussions, deadlines set for the accomplishment of certain task or research work, notes on advice provided to each student, photocopies of other important notes, drafts and student diaries. Working relationship with other students should be kept in harmony. Students should have opportunities to mix socially with other departmental students. There should be network of students to get mixed with each other and learn each other problems, research and learning abilities. Progress of each student should be completely checked. There should be a definite policy to monitor the continuous progress of students. There should be new developmental policies to provide financial assistance for research and other postgraduate students. Each student should keep participating in conferences, seminars and colloquia for sharing their knowledge with other research scholars of the same fields. Create an assessment tool to evaluate a program,    The program’s success depends on individual outcomes, hence, it is important to judge whether these outcomes are worthwhile or just achieved. The desired outcomes of this program are listed below. It will improve motor skills of a student and he would improve his locomotive and perceptual motor skills The program will enhance their learning and memorizing capability. A student will be able to give more attention to his studies. The student will develop better social relations. He would be better off in school and at home. Student’s emotional and psychological development will improve. Emotional problems are usually correlated with his physical, social and cognitive development. But as his cognitive, social and physical development enhances, his emotional development will improve. The program will improve quality of education at school. The student after being trained will have better skills to interact with his environment and will yield better results. The program is cost effective and will safe cost of future problems that may arise due to lack of education and training at this age. The program will speed up student’s cognitive development. The program is not offered for a specific need but it will improve overall development and generalized needs of a student. Teachers and trainers will find it easier to train through this program rather than typical way of teaching. â€Å"Building and modeling caring relationships is crucial to the preservice teachers capacity to receive curricular content and their ability to teach that content to young student.† (Lake, Jones, Dagli, 2004) The program would be able to preserve social and morel values through better education and training of a student. As student are major and most crucial beings in transmitting such values. The program protects student’s right to live and develop to their full potential while benefiting from the environment. References    Lake, Jones, Dagli (2004) Handle With Care: Integrating Caring Content in Mathematics and Science Methods Classes. Journal of Research in Childhood Education Vol. 19, Nos. 1 2, Fall 2004 and Winter 2004 Parry, S. and M. Hayden. 1993. Supervising Higher Degree Research Students. Canberra: Australian Government Publishing Service.

Gender Gap between Boys and Girls in Education

Gender Gap between Boys and Girls in Education There has been a lot of work done on boys and girls achievement in schools: narrowing down the gap. In 1960 young boys were 21 times more likely to attend university than girls. It can be suggested that the changing world is having an impact on boys achievement in terms of boys attainment in schools and that of girls success in schools. It was suggested that the equal pay act and that of the sex discrimination act (1970) changed the emphases of education policy and that can be noted as a key period of history that changed the objectives of girls in terms of careers and attainment. Girls had to achieve higher marks in their 11 plus examination than boys. Elwood J et al (1998, p.5) states that 11 plus examination à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ children used to be selected for secondary schooling, were deliberately skewed so that girls had t achieve better results than boys. The period 1950-1960 found the reasons behind this was because boys matured later than girls which would not have been fair to l eave out boys from attending grammar schools. But in 1990 their was concern over boys achievement in schools. It has been suggested that in societies such as the UK the socialisation process as it operated at least up to the 1970s meant that many parents socialised their daughters to show dependence, obedience, conformity and domesticity whereas boys were encouraged to be dominant, competitive and self-reliant. Also when young children saw their parents acting out traditional gender roles many would perceive these roles as natural and inevitable leading girls and boys to imagine their futures as fulltime housewives and mothers and as fulltime paid employees respectively. In schools teachers praised girls for feminine qualities and boys for masculine qualities; boys and girls were encouraged to opt for traditional male and female subjects and then for traditional male and female careers. Furthermore in certain sections of the mass media [and especially perhaps in teenage magazines] girls were encouraged to recognize the all importance of finding Mr. Right and settling down to a life of blissf ul domesticity in their traditional housewife-mother roles. Cole (2006, p.26) suggests that even before children go to school their parents will treat a boy and girl very different. Even in society throughout history this has occurred. A lot of research has gone into this; your gender is an issue from the minute you are born. Automatically society will say how a girl will behave and how a boy will behave. If it is a boy, oh hes like that because hes a boy and boys always take longer to grasp it. Girls, even in the late 1960s were more likely than boys to gain 5 or more GCE Ordinary Level pass grades. From the 1960s to the 1980s the percentages of girls and boys gaining 5 or more GCE Ordinary Level pass grades gradually increased but the so-called gender gap in educational attainment increased especially once the GCSE was introduced primarily because girls have maintained their traditional higher attainment levels in Arts and Humanities subjects but also reduced [and in some years overturned] the traditional attainment gaps in favour of boys in Mathematics and Science subjects. The GCSE was introduced in 1988 and from then onwards the female- male gender difference in educational achievement at GCSE level widened as differences between the [ higher] female pass rates and the male pass rates in Arts and Humanities widened and females narrowed or sometimes reversed the traditional higher male pass rates in Mathematics and science subjects. It has been claimed that the relative improvement of female educational achievements can be explained partly by the nature of the new GCSE courses .This has been disputed, however, on the grounds that several factors have contributed to these trends. By the late 1980s females were more likely than males to gain two or more Advanced Level passes and during the course of the 1990s they also became more likely to gain 3 or more A level passes. Females also soon became more likely than males to gain A grades in almost all Advanced Level subjects Nevertheless gender differences in examination performance at Advanced level are smaller than at GCSE level. In 2007-2008 69.3% of girls and 60.1% of boys achieved 5 or more GCSE Grade A*-C passes; 51.3% of girls and 42.0% of boys achieved 5 or more GCSE Grade A*-C passes including English and Maths. The gender difference in examination success varies considerably from subject to subject. For example girls in 2007-2008 girls outperformed boys by 14% in English, 16% in Design and Technology, 9% in Modern Foreign Languages, 17% in Art and Design and 12 % in English Literature but by only 1% in Mathematics, 2% in Core Sciences, 1% in Chemistry and 2% in Classical Studies. Although the data are not presented here Girls are now more likely to gain A* and A grades in most but not all   GCSE subjects. Other areas the research will focus on are schools too feminised, advantage for girls but disadvantage for boys. Hutchings (2002) states the phrase feminisation is used simply to refer to the fact that there are more female teachers than male, especially in the primary sector. (Biddulph, 1997 cited in Skelton et el, 2007) state that the current situation is often presented as one which is detrimental to the educational experiences and opportunities of boys with the implication that boys do better when taught by men teachers. (Skelton et el, 2007) suggest that Another use of the phrase feminisation of schools is in relation to the idea that the predominance of females has led to the delivery of the curriculum, assessment practices and the management and organisation of the classroom becoming more feminine in nature. Female teachers are more lenient on boys than male teachers also male teachers can be role models for pupils which will enable the child to be motivated to learn and succe ed in education. Role models it is argued that there are more positive role models for young girls than there are for young boys in terms of encouraging them to do well at school. Issues within the classroom the findings of  Becky Francis (2000) argues girls are improving more rapidly than boys , this is to be explained   primarily in terms of the processes affecting the social construction of femininity and masculinity. In relation to the social construction of femininity, she argues that many girls of middle school and secondary school age aim to construct feminine identities which emphasise the importance of maturity and a relatively quiet and orderly approach to school life. Girls certainly do take considerable interest in their appearance and may choose to rebel quietly by talking at the back of the class or feigning lack of interest but , according to Francis, not in a way which will detract from their school studies. Their femininity is constructed in such a way that if they choose to behave sensibly and work hard this, if anything, adds to their femininity. Findings have suggested that it is vital to keep the subjects taught in curriculum interesting for children to learn about in class. This may enable children to be motivated to learn and gets rid of the label of boringness of lessons. Jackson (2006, p.127) states that if students find the curriculum boring, it provides little incentive for them to counter the uncool to work discourse. Continued existence of laddish, macho anti- school subculture- these are groups of pupils in schools who have different norms and values to the rest of the school. Subcultures can be anti school where pupils are rude to teachers, dont do homework, truant and get into fights. Some sociologists argue that boys are much more likely to be in these groups and to think that education is a waste of time and that it is not macho to do well at school. Subcultures can also be pro school where pupils are very committed to school, they do all their work on time, or early, they are always on time for lessons and n ever truant. It is argued that girls are more likely to be in these subcultures than boys. Methods of assessment have been identified particularly frequently as a key factor in this bias against boys. An increased amount of assessed coursework has been suggested to explain boys doing less well at GCSE and A levels, with the argument being that boys do less well at coursework because of their preferred learning styles (Skelton et al, 2007). Girls do less well at sudden death exams (timed exams previously unseen by the candidate) which rely on last-minute revision and require self-confidence. This latter form of assessment has been argued to favour boys, and was the basis for O level exams (the exams that preceded GCSEs in Britain). Bleach, 1998, cited in Skelton et al, 2007 In fact, however, girls results were already improving before the GCSE assessment model was introduced. And further, Arnot et al. (1999) discuss how a reduction in the coursework component in public examinations in the 1990s did little to alter the pattern of gender achievement (Skelton et al, 2007). Another issue could be masculinity peer pressure from friends Jackson (2006, p.74) states that the uncool to work this statement is suggesting that if boys work hard at school they will not be cool. (Jackson, 2006, p.84) Those who seem to be most disadvantaged as a result of the discourse are those who attempt to balance academic work and popularity but can not manage to do both successfully. This is a powerful predictor in a lot of schools, this is seen as social status of pupils needs to be popular and be part of a group. A lot of pupils will feel being unpopular is not as good as anything else. Also it will lead to negative impact. Both girls and boys have to act as they are chilled, relaxed, laid back when it comes to the academic side of work. As the relative rate of female educational improvement increased it came to be argued that this might be explained to some extent by biological factors. Experiments investigating the brain activities of male and female babies suggested that differences in the structures of female and male brains respectively may mean that females have genetically determined linguistic advantages which would explain females especial facility with language based subjects. It was also suggested that girls earlier maturity means that they can concentrate more effectively and are better organised especially in relation to course work. This was considered to be a significant point because the relative improvement in female GCSE results was associated especially with the introduction of coursework-based assessments which had been absent from the GCE Ordinary Level examinations which the GCSE replaced. However in relation to these theories it should be noted that male-female differences in Advanced level lan guage examination results are small, that the relationships between physical and intellectual maturity are uncertain and that gender differences in examination results cannot be explained only by the presence or absence of coursework. Other factors that may affect attainment are different learning styles, both boys and girls learn differently, but we need to be careful we do not stereotype on gender. When looking at the gender debate it has been suggested by Coffield (2004) that consideration to learning styles is important when establishing the link as to why there is a gap between boys and girls due to peer pressure for the boys what their friends may think if they achieved well in school, the way boys are assessed in schools for instance boys do better in exams than coursework. Examples of these could be boys would prefer to learn kinaesthetically by doing things such as experiments or activities and girls would learn well visually by seeing. Interest in learning styles has grown rapidly in recent years and perceived differences in the learning styles of boys and girls are one of the most frequently expressed explanations for the gender gap in achievement. This argument is also based on the presumption that if boys are naturally different to girls because of their biological make-up, then it follows that they will have different approaches to learning (Noble and Bradford, 2000; Gurian, 2002). Studies have shown that the vast majority of boys and girls prioritise a teachers individual ability as a teacher, and their level of care for their students, rather than a teachers gender. Skelton et al (2009), Francis et al (2008). Boys to better in maths than girls research by Hargreaves et al into pupils stereotypical attitudes to mathematics and English has shown that stereotypes succeed among pupils, with most believing that maths is a boys subject where boys do better, and English a girls subject where girls do better. DfES (2007, p. 3) Boys outperform girls in Maths at Key Stage 2, and continue to outnumber girls at higher level maths. But there is a large gender gap favouring girls in English. On the other hand girls do better in English than boys On the other hand women do better on reading comprehension and vocabulary than men do. APA report state that some verbal tasks show substantial mean differences favouring females. Whitepaper on gender differences in achievement Social class and ethnicity according to Cole (2006, p.29) states that Gender is not the strongest predictor of attainment. Social class attainment gap at key stage 4 is three times as wide as gender gap. DfES (2007, p.3) Analysis of the attainment data shows that other factors or a combination of factors, such as ethnicity and social class, have a greater bearing on educational achievement than gender considered on its own. Gender differences in educational achievement are far smaller than social class differences in educational achievement. Students of both sexes who are eligible for free school meals are far less likely than students of both sexes ineligible to be successful at both levels of the education system. Some ethnic differences in educational achievement are also greater than gender differences in educational achievement. Statistics on the gender gap between boys and girls Attainment at each end of the distribution of grades also varies by gender. Girls are more likely than boys to gain an A* grade at GCSE. Boys are a little more likely to gain a G grade at GCSE or to gain no GCSEs at all. The largest gender differences (a female advantage of more than ten percentage points on those gaining an A*-C GCSE) are for the Humanities, the Arts and Languages. Smaller gender differences (a female advantage of five percentage points or less) tend to be in Science and Maths subjects. Some of these achievement patterns have been relatively stable over six decades of exam results, particularly in English Language and Literature, French, Art and Design and Religious Studies. There have been changing patterns over the years. In Maths, there has been a shift from a male advantage averaging 4 percentage points prior to 1991 to a slim female advantage of 1-2 percentage points in recent years. In Geography, there has be en a widening of the gap in girls favour, and in History, there has been variation but with girls now doing much better than boys. This research will explore possible solutions we can use to solve this gap such as single sex schools which may help girls to speak out. Times online (2004) Girls in mixed classrooms refrain from speaking up and answering questions. Another way of solving the gender gap is by having single sex classes in mixed schools so that teachers can meet different learning styles for boys. Research has shown that girls obtain better results in single sex schools in comparison to mixed schools Curtis (2009). Odone (2004) conversely, that boys do not want to study foreign languages or shine in English literature in case they are mocked as poofs. Garner (2008) Differences in how male and female brains work mean single-sex schooling will make a comeback leading head mistress in the Independent. However the disadvantages of sex schools Blair (2006) Girls schools feature highly in the league tables because they are highly selective, their children come from particular social backgrounds and they hav e excellent teachers. BBC News (2006) While both single-sex and co-education have passionate advocates, half a century of research has so far revealed no striking or consistent differences one way or the other. Odone (2004) Children, will inhabit a mixed society later, so let them start young, with mixed classes. Younger et al (2005, p.89) found that boys and girls may feel more at ease in single sex classes, feel more able to interact with learning and feel free to show interest in the lesson without inhibition. It was felt that there can be positive effects on achievement for boys in modern languages and girls in science and maths. (Dcfs (2007) Methodology The methods that will be used to gather research for this project will be as follows: the use of books to get information on issues affecting gender differences in achievement at schools and what theorist have already found around this agenda. The internet will be useful for this research project because you can research recent and up to date statistical information on the gender gap and get government published on this debate. Journals will be useful for the research project to collect recent data and changes in the debate around boys and girls achievement in schools and narrowing down the gap. These methods of researching are called secondary research. Secondary research is the use of material, which has been researched by someone else. The different research methods for secondary research are as follows: technology based research is to do with researching from the computer to get your information, which has a lot of benefits such as the internet provides online libraries; e-books, journals and encyclopaedias such as infed. The main electronic databases that will be used for this research are as follows education research complete, education online and SwetsWise. The key read that will be used will be based on gender differences and achievement in school also how the search found a number of journals, but some were irrelevant, to the research topic. Search engines help you through the mass of information on the internet two most popular search engines are Bing, google advanced search and google scholar also on the internet you can search for newspaper articles. However web sources may not always be reliable so researchers need to find out how accurate the information there are number of ways to assess the accuracy of the sites. According to Walliman and Buckler (2008, p.92) compare the data with other sources and is it biased many use the web to promote ideas. The reasons for choosing to do the research project as a desk study were as follows: to find out what has already been researched in this field and arguments that have already been produced around this agenda. However the reasons for not choosing the fieldwork approach method were because it will be time consuming and availability of schools to carry out the research is limited and difficult to get a place in schools to do observations. The advantages of the desk study approach are as follows; able to collect, understand and interpret data also to limit costs such as travelling costs. The disadvantages of desk study may be the availability of books from the library In contrast the advantages of the interview approach (structure and unstructured) advantages of structured interviews are time management can be controlled, results are simple to gather and the questions are securely set in advance. the disadvantages of structured interviews are there might be other questions to ask and you cant develop on questions. The advantages of unstructured interviews are there is a lot of time, you can develop questions and it is a relaxed method. Disadvantages of the interview approach are as follows: The disadvantages of unstructured interviews are the interview can simply be a chat, not all the participants are asked the same questions and only some of the questions are asked. Indirect observation is when a participant gets their information from viewing from far. Direct observation is when a participant obtains information by combining with the circumstances they are watching. Advantages of the observation approach (direct and indirect) the advantages of observations are actions can be seen in the normal surroundings and observations can both be direct or indirect. Disadvantages of the observation approach (direct and indirect) the disadvantages of observations are they are lengthy and not consistent. Qualitative vs. quantitative Analysis There was clear evidence that in the era of the 11+ pass marks were set higher for girls than for boys so as to prevent girls from taking a disproportionate share of Grammar School places. From the early 1950s until the late 1960s girls were less likely than boys to be entered for GCE Ordinary Level examinations. In any case in the 1950s and early 1960s many pupils left school at age 15 having taken no official national examinations. The candidate pass rate in GCE O Level examinations was higher for girls than for boys from the early 50s to the late 1960s so that despite the higher entry rates for males the percentages of male and female school leavers actually passing 5 or more GCE O levels were fairly similar although females did usually outperform males by 1-2% each year. This overall statistic masked the facts that girls outperformed boys by considerable margins in Arts and Humanities subjects and that boys usually outperformed girls but by smaller margins in Mathematics and Scie nce subjects. In order to analyse the relative educational improvement from the 1980s onwards we must distinguish between factors accelerating the rate of female improvement and factors restricting the rate of male improvement. Females and males educational achievements have improved but the rate of female improvement has been faster and this widened the female-male achievement gap especially at GCSE level. Remember, however, that gender, social class and ethnicity are interconnected. Girls are more successful than boys in all ethnic groups but middle class boys are still more educationally successful than working class girls in all ethnic groups. Gender differences in educational achievement are smaller than social class differences in educational achievement and some ethnic differences in educational achievement. Research has shown that Of the 71,286 girls who sat GCSEs in single-sex schools over the three-year period, on average all did better than predicted on the basis of their end of primary SATS results. By comparison, of the 647,942 who took exams in mixed-sex schools, 20% did worse than expected. This means that girls in single sex schools can be expected to do better in their school, in comparison to girls in mixed schools. Studies have shown that girls in mixed sex classes tend to refrain from speaking up and boys dont want to study English to avoid being mocked as poofs', therefore single sex schools would help to resolve this issue as they will remove this pressure between the genders and allow both boys and girls to participate freely. Also Single sex schools will benefit students as male and female brains work differently. Girls can relate to emotions more and are seen as caring and talkative they can sit and talk about emotions whereas boys are more likely to do practical things instead of talking of emotions, hence why boys fail in English. So perhaps, as this leading head mistress, quoted in the Independent suggests, single sex classes need to be implemented to meet the learning strategies of the different sexes. Mainly English and foreign languages is where I believe that pupils need a gender based curriculum as was suggested by the DFES (2007) report it remarks that of the core subjects, the gender gap is widest in English; overall, the differences in language and literacy skills are given as the main cause of the gender gap in attainment. It is suggested that there is around 10% children leaving education with 5 Cs and above girls since 1968 have been slowly achieving better than boys according to Dcfs report into gender. It is a step towards the well researched idea that genders learn differently therefore it is possible to suggest that gender specific learning amongst boys and girls will close the statistical gap of attainment. Although the dfes report suggest that is no substantial evidence to back this up I believe that children will benefit from this approach. Another issue that I found is that boys tend to do better on spatial skills; they find mathematics and science more interesting to learn about. But on the other hand girls to better on verbal, comprehension and vocabulary skills than boys do. This table shows the gap in 1989 was just 6% but 10yrs later it had increased to 10%. It is suggested by S. Ball (2008) that this gap is an overall statistic and not subject specific he suggests that in 2004 the deviations of this gap was just 1% and that in some subjects boys achieve better results than girls therefore it is not valid to say that all boys or all girls achieve less in GCSE levels Conclusions In conclusion doing this research project on boys and girls achievement in schools and narrowing down the gap. The research found that there is not as big as a gap as people thought. The main factors that affect boys achievement are peer pressure and schools too feminised. The research also found that single sex schools and classes do not make that much difference but it found that girls have more confidence to participate in class discussion. In conclusion, the history of the gender gap shows that the gender gap itself has always been present in education, but was hidden by the advantage given to boys in 1960s, and it was often harder for girls to progress into further education, since it was not expected of them, therefore affecting the gender gap in the sense that there were lower numbers of girls then boys progressing. Over the years boys have improved and so have girls, maintaining the gender gap but showing that boys are adapting to the changes and are working harder to keep up. The gender differences in boys and girls does show that they learn in different ways, and these differences are, now more then ever, taken into account in teaching methods, lesson planning and assessment methods, and there is evidence showing that Boys are fighting back at A levels, with their results improving more rapidly than girls (BBC, 2004),however, it is important to recognise that there are girls and boys who wont fit into these gendered patterns and therefore focus should still be placed on the individual and not the biologically predisposed expectations, (Phoenix, 2004, pg 34). We could also conclude that this improvement could be the first sign that boys are now realising they will have to fight to maintain their place in the workforce, as history shows women have been seen as servants to the state (Steedman, 1 985, cited in Arnot and Ghaill, 2006, pg 19). This oppression of women, like other cases where parts of society have been repressed (e.g. repression of the afro-Caribbean population), resulted in women fighting or rebelling for their place in society, which is not something the male population has had to do. Therefore acting as a source of motivation for women to make sure they are treated as equals and to progress in life, where as men have missed out on this and until recently, have lacked the motivation to fight for their place. Now men are in a place of competition with women and are now beginning to see that its not particularly clever to under-achieve (BBC, 2004).