Benefits of Electric Vehicles Essay Example for Free

Benefits of Electric Vehicles Essay 1: Problem Statement The market for plug in vehicles is growing more competitive since variety of manufacturers are increasingly offering plug in hybrid and battery electrical vehicle. However, the initially adopted two key drivers, lower operating cost and zero emission driving, are not proving to be as effective as expected. The market for Electrical Vehicle is still struggling to expand towards more mass-market. The purpose of this research is to acquire knowledge and get a better understanding of the cost- benefit of plug in electrical vehicles as well as its’ impact on environmental and financial policies. Questions!! What are the cost and benefits of Electric Vehicles? What is the environmental impact of electric vehicles? How can environmental and financial policies influence on consumer support? 2: Popular sources [IF USED—THESE DON’T COUNT TOWARD THE FIVE SOURCE REQUIREMENT] Write a brief summary of the key information found from your bridge sources and popular source phase of the research. Source cited Give the key points and issue that have broadened you understanding into the problem you are researching 1. Green vehicle. http://en.wikipedia. org/wiki/Electric_vehicle An electric vehicle is any motor vehicle that uses one or more electric motors or traction motors as a driving force. There are three main types of electric vehicle exist, those that are directly powered from an external power station, those that are powered by stored electricity originally from an external power source, and those that are powered by an on-board electrical generator, such as an internal combustion engine (a hybrid electric vehicle) or a hydrogen fuel cell. These vehicles are environment friendly as they release almost no air pollutants at the place where they are operated. They also have less noise pollution than an internal combustion engine vehicle. EV gives the greater degree of energy resilience as electricity is a form of energy that remains within the region where it produced. 2. Green Cars and Todays Economy. http://www. consumerenergyreport. com/green-cars-and-todays-economy/ According to this article, plug-in hybrid electrical help the economy and personal expenses can determine which green car to buy. The article specifies the pros and cons of having an electric vehicle. Among the advantages are low insurance cost, low gas cost, job creation and better air quality. The disadvantages include maintenance, initial cost and battery life. 3. Negative Environmental Impacts of Hybrid Vehicles. http://greenliving. lovetoknow. com/Hybrid_Vehicles_Negative_Environmental_Impact This article describes the negative environmental impact Hybrid vehicles. It defines different kinds of hybrids. It questions the source of electrical power for hybrids. According to the article hybrid cars are not emission free. The batteries contain nickel in them and are considered toxic. Two other negative aspects that are covered include the negative impact of high voltage wiring and the initial cost associated with the green Car. 3: Scholarly sources List of sources broken down by discipline: Source cited Research process Qualitative/quantitative Framing or norm/post/critical Key insights/theories/points How does this understanding conflict with any other insight/theory or concur 1. Ecology a) R. Socolow, V. Thomas (2000). The Industrial Ecology of lead and electrical vehicle. Journal of Industrial Ecology. Volume 1, issue 1, Pages 13-36, January 2000 b) Title, author? Journal of Environmental Planning Management; Jan 2009, Vol. 52 Issue 1, P79-96. According to this paper, a common risk analysis of electric vehicles is misguided, because it treats lead batteries and lead additives in gasoline on the same footing and implies that the lead battery should be abandoned. The authors stated that â€Å"The use of lead additives in gasoline is a dissipative use where emissions cannot be confined: The goal of management should be and has been to phase out this use. The use of lead in batteries is a recyclable use, because the lead remains confined during cycles of discharge and recharge. † Clean recycling of the lead batteries should be the goal.. A management system closely approaching clean recycling should be achievable. The lead battery has the potential to become a hazardous product managed in the world. The tools of industrial ecology are helpful in identifying the key criteria that an ideal lead-battery recycling system must meet maximal recovery of batteries after use, minimal export of used batteries to countries where environmental controls are weak, minimal impact on the health of communities near lead-processing facilities, and maximal worker protection from lead exposure in these facilities. This research paper explores quantitatively Californians interest in hybrid electric vehicles (HEV) based on a statewide phone survey conducted in July 2004 by the Public Policy Institute of California. The paper develops factors that summarize beliefs about energy and the environment using principal component analysis. This study result concludes that the Californians concerned about the environment, energy efficiency, global warming and recent increases in the price of gasoline state a higher interest in hybrids. Another important reason for considering hybrid electric vehicles, however, is the possibility of using high occupancy vehicle (HOV) lanes while driving alone, especially for people with potentially long commutes to work. The findings also suggest that beliefs about energy and the environment should be included in vehicle type choice models. First article is emphasizing on the negative impact that electric vehicle has on the environment whereas the latter one highlights on the eco-friendliness and the popularity of the EVs. Source cited Research process Qualitative/quantitative Framing or norm/post/critical. Key insights/theories/points How does this understanding conflict with any other insight/theory or concur 2. Technology. c) Systems for hybrid cars. Otmar Bitsche et. al. Journal of power sources 127 (2004) 8-15. d) The state of the art of electric, hybrid, and fuel cell vehicles. C. C. Chan. Proceedings of the IEEE, Vol 95, No 4, April 2007. The Otmar article gives us a detailed understanding of what plug-in hybrid electrical are and how their drive trains offer a wide range of benefits such as multifaceted performance improvements, reduced emissions and reduced fuel consumption compared to the internal combustion engine. It demonstrates how important the battery is in different hybrid cars for the right specific automotive application. It describes the cost and safety aspects in terms of battery type and performance of such vehicles. Competition alongside with legislation is pushing hybrid technology towards the future. The paper describes different types of hybrid vehicles and their advantages. It should therefore be considered to have a positive perspective to the reader. However one weakness to the article is that is is relatively technical and may not be appeasing to the general reader in order to understand hybrid cars in a nutshell. Also, the kind of hybrid that would be considered the best in terms of performance is not mentioned. The most significant aspect of the article is it describes all the different modes of hybrid operation and how regenerative braking affects the performance of the battery hence the author develops an important concept. The author approaches the subject matter through a unique method in which he describes stop-start hybrids followed by mild hybrids and full hybrids before focusing on purely electrical cars. The author argues while safety comes first, it is the cost that determines the most important factor to buying a hybrid. In contrast, the Chan paper describes the different state of the art hybrid vehicles in particular. These include Toyota Prius, Honda Civic, Ford Escape, Saturn vue, ISE transient buses and Honda FCX. Chan describes a detailed history of Evs, HEVs and FCVs which the Otmar paper tends to lack. The article describes the differences among Electric vehicles, hybrid electric vehicles and fuel cell vehicles and points out the advantages and disadvantages of each. The paper describes how a better understanding of control theory is essential for the future development of these vehicles. This article is useful in order to choose the right green car for ones individual needs. It describes the hybrid system car by car and is therefore very useful for understanding what is available in the auto market and what to expect from each individual model. The paper is more geared towards the general reader and offers a positive perspective. The most significant aspect of the article is that it is focused on individual car model. It is also in agreement with other sources on hybrid vehicles. The author makes a informative comparison in the form of a table where he compare and contrasts battery electric vehicles, hybrid electric vehicles and fuel cell electric vehicles in terms of propulsion, energy system, energy source and infrastructure, characteristics and major issues. These factors may arise to a debate on which type of green car is superior in overall performance. Source cited Research process Qualitative/quantitative Framing or norm/post/critical Key insights/theories/points. How does this understanding conflict with any other insight/theory or concur Economics. e) Fredrik Carlsson (2003) Costs and Benefits of electric Vehicles. A 2010 perspective. . Journal of Transport Economics and Policy, volume 37, part 1, January 2003, pp. 1-28. f) Consumer support for environmental policies: An application to purchases of plug-in hybrid electrical vehicle. Alex Coad et. al. Ecological Economics 68 (2009), 2078-2086. The Fredrick paper describes a social cost-benefit analysis with respect to the increase in electric vehicle number within the Swedish transport sector by the year 2010. According to the paper electric cars are socially unprofitable in spite of having a lower life cycle cost compared to their gasoline counterparts. This is due to government subsidies on electric cars which outweigh the benefits related to low fuel consumption. Despite the environmental advantages, electric vehicles are not very common and different means of financially supporting them is often subject to debate. The paper uses a cost benefit model to determine consumer welfare or utility and can be looked upon as having a normative perspective. The weakness of the paper is that it assumes too many assumptions which is not always realistic. It is a technical paper and therefore the mathematical section is not suitable for the general public. The most significant aspect of this research is to answer the question as to whether governments should subsidize electric vehicles and the conclusion is negative. In his conclusion the author states that due to too many uncertainties the case for public subsidies becomes uncertain. In contrast, the Alex paper describes how consumer motivation can be used to encourage the adoption of cleaner technologies. According to the author intrinsic motivation such as energy labels for cars and extrinsic motivation such as subsidies or fines can be used to encourage the adoption of cleaner technologies. The paper analyzes a survey data set of Swiss households. The results of this survey are of particular interest to policy makers who are keen on guiding consumers towards cleaner technology. This paper gives us a better understanding of intrinsic motivation which is the kind of motivation that comes from within ourselves and not from an outside source that rewards money or grades. Extrinsic motivation is guided by some type of external subject or reward. The paper analyzes to what extent consumers are willing to support public policies in order to promote energy efficient cars. The nature of the article is of normative perspective. The weakness of the article is that the survey was conducted on 1500 Swiss households. Nothing about the age or nature of these households are mentioned in the serve. The most significant aspect of the paper is that it gives one a better understanding of different motivation to get a job done. Although both these papers discuss about the economic perspective of plug-in hybrid electrical, they do so in very different way. While the former article is a cost benefit description of electric vehicles by utilizing an economic model, the latter can be considered as an article that describes the motivation that drives consumer support towards the purchase of a green car. 4: Disciplinary Overlapping: In all sources except for the Cost and benefits article it is mentioned that plug-in hybrid electrical are more cost effective than their gasoline counterpart. However, Fredrik Carlsson in his article mentions that electrical vehicles are socially unprofitable in spite of having a lower private life cycle cost and external cost compared to petrol cars. All six articles do however agree that plug-in hybrid electrical are more fuel efficient and environmentally friendlier than gasoline cars. give us a better understanding on what plug-in hybrid electrical are like and how they have evolved with time. mentions the different systems in hybrid vehicles while describes specific models helping us to choose which green car to buy. The cost benefits of buying a green car is discussed in, however, the source is based on many assumptions and the paper itself is very technical. focuses on intrinsic and extrinsic motivation that leads to support of environmental policies. The articles in general give us a better understanding of the problem statement. However one aspect that was overlooked by all the sources involves the environmental effect of different kind of battery systems, their waste and disposal. Category /Element Criteria Range: (Na)(No)(A)(M) Purposefulness (20) identifies a clear research problem and explains it; Readings chosen are relevant to the problem as defined (10-12),(13-15), (16-18),(19-20) 15 Grounding (40) identifies and adequately summarizes the constituent elements of each source: insights, theories or concepts, methodologies, sources of evidence; connects each source to a part of the problem that it helps illuminate (10-12),(13-15), (16-18),(19-20) 0 The selection of sources gives appropriate â€Å"coverage† of the problem (10-12),(13-15), (16-18),(19-20) 17 Critical Awareness (20). Student recognizes and explains how the different elements of each source affect the findings—methods, theories, concepts, assumptions; Student identifies meaningful conflicts or commonalities among different sources (10-12),(13-15), (16-18),(19-20) 17 Integration (20) Student makes intelligent comparisons between insights, theories, methods or data across disciplinary lines to support an improved understanding or cognitive advancement; explains how different ideas could be applied to an improved understanding (10-12),(13-15), (16-18),(19-20) 16 Total: 65.

The New Electronic World Essay -- Internet Technology Technological Pa

The New Electronic World Cyberspace has become a reality of everyday life. People across the world spend significant amounts of time and effort in the construction, maintenance, and innovation of the Internet. This advancement has created two classes: those who are in control of this new culture and those who are left behind. The fact also remains that there will always be a negative aspect for every positive one. The Internet has shown us technology at its zenith and at the same time, the perverted reflection of our society. The Matrix portrays the future of our world in the way of its innovators, one group abusing the power to enslave another. In this case, the Internet advances through the direction of people intending to utilize the power for self-centered purposes. The end result is a world in which a virtual environment was created within the minds of an imprisoned class of people. There are many theories regarding the Internet today and whether it is actually providing benefit to our world, or causing more problems than its worth. The more we progress the more others, it seems, are left behind. The Internet truly has its positive aspects. From instant information at ones fingertips to the ability to communicate across the world at the cost of a local phone call, one can easily argue that the Internet has improved our world. But as in many cases, the negative aspects of a modern innovation are more easily exploited by those who consciously or not, are destroying our environment. The access to pornography, the computer viruses damaging corporate business, and the hacking that virtual thugs find humorous are all examples of abuse that create a more negative viewpoint of the Internet. The Matrix takes this theory... ... An addiction rarely can be identified until it is too late. While the theory of The Matrix was a complex one, and at times, quite unbelievable, certainly there are those who have become too reliant on the Internet for the bare essentials of life. It is true the Internet is an incredible tool for sharing information, researching truths, and conducting business, however, it is also true that the Internet is often used as a replacement for reality. These groups of people are the ones who are in danger of becoming the drones as described in the movie. These are the people that are in danger of one day waking up and realizing that they live in a world they do not truly know. Works Cited Rheingold, Howard. The Heart of the WELL. Composing Cyberspace. Ed. Richard Holeton. Boston: McGraw Hill, 1998. Andy and Larry Wachowski. The Matrix. Warner Bros. 1999.

Tok Knowing a Friend and Swimmin

TOK 11 summative assessment quarter 2 Jacqueline Blok 21/11/11 Compare and contrast knowing a friend to knowing how to swim, knowing a scientific theory and knowing a historical period. What conclusions about nature of knowing can you reach? Thinking I knew how to swim I jumped into a pool and nearly drowned. The one friend who was always there for me, who I thought I knew, left me without a goodbye. Thinking that a light year was a measurement of time, until I had a physics class.I though Pearl Harbor was just a movie, until we were learning about World War 2 in humanities. With asking these questions, to be certain in the world we live in today might be a challenge. Knowing a friend would require a bond, which is created through experiences with each other, a perception of the feelings of that friend and thoughts that run in a deeper level. One might think he/she knows someone very well, because of a long-term close relationship or similar interests or tastes.However no one other t han himself or herself would understand their own way of thinking, the workings of their own mind, it is impossible to know why certain actions are performed by someone else. Only glimpses and insights may be picked up of the complexities of the mysterious mind and personality of oneself. My best friend dislikes exposing her legs, because she doesn’t feel confident enough to show them.This seems like a reasonable excuse, if she is uncomfortable with her body, it would be her choice to expose it or not, however deeper psychological factors are involved and countless other reasons which I would not be able to think of nor comprehend. The knowledge of another person would be mainly created out of language, perception and emotion. A knower’s perception of a friend’s action would be affected by emotions; hence the knowledge of a friend will be affected too.A perception of a friend may be altered when the emotions of a friend affects their actions in certain situation s. Language has complexities too, language can make an attempt at describing feelings, however this doesn’t provide a complete understanding of one and another. The best way to communicate feelings would be to let one experience another’s events and create their own feelings; an example would be the expression â€Å"you can’t possibly imagine what I have been through†, â€Å"Imagine yourself in some one else’s shoes†.Considering the history of one, would affect their ways of acting upon situations, all humans think and act differently according to personalities, which have been shaped by all sorts of experiences in their own past. Swimming is an action which requires a structured breathing pattern and a well timed combination of limb motions, allowing you to travel through water, the important key words here that I found through my observations are that knowing â€Å"how† is not the same as knowing â€Å"of† nor is it close to knowing â€Å"that†.Knowing how to swim is quite similar to knowing a friend. Because one cannot possibly learn how to swim by reading instructions, someone could read all the documents and articles available on how to swim, and jump into a pool and drown. For example at one particular time I developed liking in ‘parkour’ I watched all the youtube videos that I could find on ‘how to parkour, read many articles and tips and tricks. So one day I felt I gained enough knowledge about this acrobatic sport and decided to try it out. And what I learnt was that I could not even jump over a simple bench.I am able to read and apply concepts that I have gained through reading, however in this case I was not able to apply the information fast enough of â€Å"how† to parkour. Even though I had a sophisticated amount of knowledge on how to parkour, I was unable to convert this knowledge and understanding into reality. According to my research these two actions swi mming and parkouring require ‘bodily-kinesthetic intelligence’ which is the ability to control to control the movements of a body and skillfully interact with a variety of objects.Scientific theories have been made through observations of the world, creativity and of course imagination. They can be known through reason, language and perception. A scientist can propose a theory purely upon perception and reasoning and justify this theory with evidence that shows how this particular phenomenon follows the predicted theory. For example in chemistry we did a set of experiments on how different metals when heated in a flame would give out a color. A hypothesis was provided and from that I knew that the flames indeed would change color.I know for a fact that when Copper Chloride is heated it will give out a green color, I saw this through my own eyes and as the experiment was repeated several times with the same results. Seeing out of my own eyes is proof. Through being taugh t by my teacher means I am relying on a higher authority’s knowledge. Also the lack of a language can prove a theory, for example every one dies, this is a fact because by using deductive reasoning there is no one here to tell us otherwise.The problem with knowing a historical period is that it is in the past and we are in the present, the knowledge of a historical period is transferred from the past into the present through language and documentation. If we have not been informed about these periods, the present day people would never had known it existed. The knowing of a historical period is based upon accepting certain events through evidence from the past. It is unfortunate that historians cannot directly â€Å"test† the past whereas a scientific theory and swimming can be tested.This suggests that testing is thus an important factor in determining the nature of knowledge. The claim of knowing a historical period can be justified by looking at pictures or a docume ntary, technology over the years has improved significantly the knowledge we know today about the past. Unlike a scientific theory here we can rely on perception, observation and interpretations. To know a historical period we must have either been there or rely on a higher authority to inform us. I however ponder on the possibility of the authority being fooled by perception.This is where logic and reasoning comes in to decide whether or not something has happened. If something hadn’t happened, then why can we see evidence of the consequences, for example when I visited Cambodia the Angkor Wat temples I saw evidence of historical artifacts of the monks, and until the present monks still live among there. With this I can deduce that these temples must have come from somewhere, and it is definitely a sacred place. With this we are knowing â€Å"that† something happened instead of knowing â€Å"of† a friend.By identifying and considering the four concepts that wer e provided we can conclude that the main difference in the nature of the four knowledge claims are the way you know them; knowing â€Å"how to† and knowing â€Å"that something is† are completely different. A knower will never be able to know a friend than himself or herself, exact feelings and emotions cannot be communicated directly and as detailed through perception and language. Swimming can only be learnt through perception, this ability is not able to be transferred linguistically, but must be learnt first hand through training.A historical period in time can be known by a person who has lived through that time and has transferred the knowledge gained through linguistical means, however the knowledge could be misleading due to perception or the facts of the period are incomplete providing only one side of the story. A scientific theory may be discovered and proven through various tests and observations via perceptions and reason. However communication of this par ticular theory via language does not have the same effect as the perception of it.Emotions can affect perception language cannot transfer precise meanings and assumptions to generalize from specific points can be found through inception. Due to these ways of knowing being limited, complete knowledge is unable to be attained. Different claims requiring different ways of knowing to justify them, they have all have one thing in common; their nature: they are based on premises that we accept in every day life as being ‘true’ and therefore deduct that based on these premises, they are equally true. We know something as far as we are willing to accept it into our world.

The Impact of Workplace Bullying Free Essay Example, 500 words

The Impact of Workplace Bullying The Impact of workplace Bullying Workplace bullying can be defined in different ways since thereis no specific single conclusive definition. However, it can be expressed as persistent, abusive, offensive, intimidating behavior or abuse of power that makes the recipient feel vulnerable, humiliated or threatened and ends up reducing their self-confidence and may even result to stress (Caponecchia and Wyatt, 2011). Workplace bullying can result in different impacts on both an individual and the organization. This paper looks at these impacts and what the management should do in order to mitigate these impacts. The consequences of workplace bullying can impact significantly on both involved individual and the organization. An individual can be impacted in three major ways (Geldenhuys et al, 2014). These three ways are a person’s psychological wellbeing, performance at work, and physical health. Signs of psychological wellbeing consequences are suc h as an employee suffering lower self-esteem, anxiety, depression and reduced motivation (Oade, 2009). Most occasions an individual is inactive and does not seem to realize what is going on around him or her. Individuals can endure sleeping an eating disorders and stress related disorders which can affect their physical health. We will write a custom essay sample on The Impact of Workplace Bullying or any topic specifically for you Only $17.96 $11.86/pageorder now They may thus suffer from complications such as obesity or other cardio-vascular complications. Work related performance includes low work morale, intentions to leave the job, decreased performance and damaged reputation (Geldenhuys et al, 2014). Workplace bullying can also impact the organizations productivity through decreases in performance by affected employees, increased violence at workplace, hostile work environment that is characterized employees lacking trust in others, poor group communication, anger and suspicion, increased absenteeism cases, high employee turnover and this affects the quality of services and products, employees losing trust with the organization, high recruiting costs and increased medical costs (Geldenhuys et al, 2014). Practical workplace bullying can be witnessed in many different ways. An example is when a new supervisor was brought into an organization and because of his qualifications and employment terms, it was a greed that the supervisor will be earning more than some of the senior management staff who have been there before him. This caused hatred to develop between the supervisor and his colleagues in the senior management. They never coordinated with him and went to the extent of purposely withholding vital information from this supervisor thus making it hard for him to undertake his duties. They went as far as blaming him for things that he never did and this led him to resign. The management can adopt different techniques in order to provide a positive impact on workplace bullying. First the management needs to secure the commitment and involvement of the organization by attaining support from top management and the cooperation and participation of the employees. According to Caponecchia and Wyatt (2011) the management should ensure a workplace environment of zero tolerance to bullying by developing effective bullying policies and procedure that all employees should follow. The polic ies should clearly express what bullying is and the consequences of such behavior (Caponecchia and Wyatt, 2011). Another technique that the management can adopt in order to reduce workplace bullying is to raise awareness and provide training on issues dealing with bullying (Oade, 2009). The management should organize workshops where they can enlighten their employees on the importance of cohesiveness and good relationship with others in the workplace (Oade, 2009). In doing this, the management will ensure a positive work culture where employee correlates well with one another. In conclusion, workplace bullying can have adverse impacts on an organization if it is not identified and stopped early. For the organization to be productive, the management should ensure workplace do no encourage bullying. Organizations should instead create friendly working environment that discourages occurrence of bullying to all the employees. References Oade, A. (2009). Managing workplace bullying: How to identify, respond to and manage bullying behavior in the workplace. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan Caponecchia, C., & Wyatt, A. (2011). Preventing workplace bullying: An evidence-based guide to preventing workplace bullying for managers and employees. Crows Nest, N.S. W: Allen & Unwin. Geldenhuys M, Leo L, Reid R, & Gobind J. (2014) The Inferences of Gender in Workplace Bullying: a Conceptual Analysis Ife Centre for Psychological Studies/Services, Ile-Ife, Nigeria