Females Computing Industry

An Investigation into the Decline of Female Participation within the Computing Industry (2015)

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In today’s modern world, gender equality is battled for and we strive to ensure the sex of a person in no way obstructs their aims and goals in life. Wages for men and women are on their way to being equal, sexist behaviour is frowned upon and no longer do we live by the stereotypical nature that a man earns the living and the woman makes a home. So why, in this apparently modernized world, do women still remain the minority in STEM based subjects such as, mathematics, science and computing. In a world where more females attend university than males, women still continue to only make up a disproportionately small segment of Computer Science majors. Many factors have been attributed towards the shocking decrease in both women achieving degrees in Computer Science subjects and then continuing to work in those Computer Science subject areas; lack of female role models, gender stereotypes, peer pressure and general lack of interest in the STEM subjects.

Females Computing Industry
Females Computing Industry

The aim of this project is to gain a deeper understanding into why women still steer away from working in Computing. How the idea that a women is incapable of achieving in a Computer Science subject is seen as normal and socially acceptable in the 21st century. To actually listen to women and their experiences of how they were influenced into choosing their career path/degree specialism. To gain a better understanding to why a social stigma still revolves around Computing and why this continues to disenchant females.

The report consists of a background into the research area, primarily focusing on literature review of other similar studies, including specific studies into girls and computing. The different forms of methodology intended to be used to gain more knowledge about girls who study STEM subjects such as interviews, surveys etc. and then how this data will be analysed and then linked with previous studies and research, to show common themes and areas of importance.

The aim of this dissertation project is to build a greater understanding into why this fear of going into the industry still remains strong. Why it still remains normal to go into an A Level ICT class and expect to see a large amount of boys with a scattering of girls to balance it out. To not only understand from females why they either chose to pursue a STEM subject or decided another path in their lives, but to also see the other side, why males feel their female counterparts feel disillusioned towards the degree subject.

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Marketing Fashion Dissertation

An Investigation into the Effectiveness of International Marketing Strategy Among UK Fashion Brands

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International marketing strategy includes detailing showcasing system over a scope of nations. Various distinctive methodologies have been taken in examining worldwide promoting method, including the exchange cost viewpoint, institutionalization / adjustment, arrangement/coordination point of view, worldwide incorporation point of view, and the transformative viewpoint. Commonly, every spotlights on diverse choices or parts of worldwide promoting method and relates in numerous regards to contrasts in the experience of the firm in global markets. Contingent upon the level of involvement in universal markets, the firm must manage issues identified with starting operations in worldwide markets, refining and creating worldwide showcasing method, or merging/incorporating worldwide procedure. In this dissertation, the proponent intends to evaluate the effectiveness of the international marketing strategies being used by various fashion brands in UK.

Fashion-Dissertation
Fashion-Dissertation

In this study, the researchers used survey questionnaire focusing on the respondents profile such as age, sex, educational attainment, and employment status. The chosen respondents accomplished documentation by answering all the questions posted in the questionnaire. The researchers followed the step by step gathering procedure in conducting the study. First, the title was formulated and then approved by their adviser. Second, the researchers asked the approval of the professor for the research to be conducted. Questionnaires were then distributed which was immediately followed by the collection of data. The data were tallied, analyzed, and interpreted using the appropriate statistical treatments. Through these methods, the researcher was able to see that the international marketing strategies being made by the observed fashion brands were performing effectively.

Research Objectives

  • To investigate the group of writing identified with international marketing procedures and practices
  • To investigate British Fashion brands regarding international marketing methods viability
  • To conduct a near study with respect to the benefit of diverse international marketing methodologies
  • To conduct an interior and outer industry examination of British Fashion brands and its vicinity in today’s globalized economy
  • To make suggestions for British Fashion brands through compelling internationalization exercises in today’s very focused environment

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Dissertation Referencing Styles

Dissertation Referencing Styles

Throughout your life in the academic arena, you will be required to provide a proof of your writing. One such useful technique is to provide references for the other people’s work from which you have borrowed their ideas.

What is referencing

Referencing is a system that allows you to acknowledge the sources of information you use in your writing. If you do not reference your sources you are plagiarizing. Direct quotations, facts and figures, as well as ideas and theories, from both published and unpublished works must be referenced.

When to Reference

You must provide a reference whenever you quote, paraphrase or summaries someone else’s ideas, theories or data. You must also reference any graphic information you use. Some of the sources you will need to reference include:

  • books or chapters in books
  • journal or newspaper articles
  • conference papers
  • films or television programs
  • personal communications like emails, interviews or letters
  • electronic sources such as web pages, journal articles from online databases, or usenet groups.

The importance of accurate citation and dissertation referencing

  • To prevent plagiarism-If you draw upon other people’s work in your writing and research and do not acknowledge those sources, you can be accused of plagiarism.
  • To enable you quickly locate information you have already cited
  • To enable your supervisor or instructor to check the veracity of the information quoted
  • Correct citations allow others to follow up sources you have referred to, so citing is in the interests of scholarly investigation and the sharing of ideas.
  • Moral Rights – The Copyright Act includes a section called “Moral Rights” which applies when you reproduce works such as text or images that are subject to copyright. This section protects the moral rights of an author to have their work accurately acknowledged and treated with respect.
  • An author/artist/creator can take legal action if their work is copied without due acknowledgement or if it is incorrectly attributed to someone else. Furthermore their work must be treated with respect and not subjected to any prejudicial treatment. Hence due acknowledgement of an author’s work can now be seen as a legal requirement as well as good academic practice.

Which dissertation referencing style should I use?

There are number of referencing styles available for use. Your college or instructor will provide you with guide on which referencing style you need to adapt. Some of these referencing styles are listed below:

  • Harvard (also called the Author-date style)
  • Numeric (also called the Numbered List or Vancouver style)
  • MHRA (Modern Humanities Research Association) for literature and the Humanities
  • APA (American Psychological Association) for Psychology
  • AIP (American Institute of Physics) for Physics.

Whatever style you use, it is very important to be clear, consistent and correct, making sure you include all the relevant details.

When do I need to give references?

You need to give a reference if

  • you quote the exact words of another author
  • you paraphrase or summarize a passage by another author
  • you use an idea or material based directly on the work of another author

The Harvard style of referencing

As pointed earlier, Harvard style of referencing is just of the many styles available. However, this style is the most common used in the arts and social sciences. One might find other systems in other disciplines because the things they reference have different requirements (e.g. legal or political documents). Some of these referencing systems use footnotes. However, the

Harvard System does not use footnotes. Again, in the Harvard system, there are varying versions of it. You might find other that this manual provides a slight different version from the one you have been taught in class. We are not looking for something perfect, but a real attempt in using the system. Kindly check with your supervisor or institution you are studying to confirm the acceptable version of the Harvard style of referencing.

How does it work?

The Harvard system consists of two parts:

In-text citation

This is done within the body of your work. In making reference within the body of your text, you generally provide the name of the author(s) and the year of publication in the text.

References (List of references)

This involves providing the name of the author(s), the year of publication in the text and giving the full details of where to find the reference at the end of your report. This section is called references or list of references. Only those sources you have used in preparing your work and cited directly in the text need to be included at the end of your report.

In-text citation

As pointed earlier, in-text citation is accomplished by providing the name of the author(s) and the year of publication the main body of your text.  As a result the general rule is to give the surname of the author or organization name in the case of the companies followed by the year in which the source was produced.

Below are different variations of in-text citation

Referring to an author’s viewpoint in your text

Author(s) for books and reports

Again there different cases, but the basic format is Author (Date).

If the author’s name occurs naturally in the sentence

If the author’s name can be incorporated sensibly into the text, the year is followed in parentheses

e.g. suppose you have read a book written by Adisai Jones in year 2008, then you have to cite inside your main body of the research document as follows:

Jones (2008) argued that all organizations need to adapt the new accounting standard for their final reports to make sense.

If the name does not occur naturally in the sentence

In this case, both the author’s name and year are given in parentheses e.g.  Following a study on new accounting principles auditing focus has also shifted (Jones 2008), from…

If there are two or more authors

In this case the surnames of both authors are given.  e.g. In a study of auditing and investigation, Jones and Evans (2008) established… e.g. In a study of auditing and investigation (Jones and Evans 2008), the results showed that…

If there are more than two authors

If there are more than two authors the surname of the first author is given, followed by et al. This is a terminology meaning and others. e.g. Smith et al (2007) concluded that marketing research … e.g. Marketing research is core to the existence of the business (Smith et al 2007) such that….

If you have two authors with the same surname </DIV>

When you have two authors with the same surname, then Initials are included to distinguish. <DIV align=left>e.g. The ERP model was suggested  by B.A. Morgan (2003), with some modification later by C.H. Morgan (2006).

If the author(s) has more work published in the same year

When a author has published more than one cited document in the same year these are distinguished by adding lower case letters after the year within the brackets. e.g. Jones (2008a) argue that… However, Jones (2008b)….

If you refer to an author of a chapter in an edited book

Suppose you refer just to one chapter in a book within a collection of chapters coming from different authors, provide an in-text citation fro the author of the chapter you want to cite, but give the date of the book. e.g. David (2003) provides a general model for portal organisation in a higher learning institution.

If you are citing a series of reference at the same place in the text

In this case the references should be listed in chronological date order, with the earliest first. e.g. Morgan (2008), Jenkinson (2006) and Smith et al. (2004) argued that…

Summary, paraphrasing and quotation

If you are summarizing or paraphrasing a specific page or section, then you start with the author, year of publication, colon followed by page number(s). e.g. Smith (2007:37) showed that… e.g. Marketing research is core to the business (Smith et al 2007:89) such that…. If you are summarizing the entire book, you do not need to provide the page numbers. For quoting work of a given author(s), the same technique is applied. However the exact words are placed between double quotes. e.g. “The number of users determines whether the database is classified as single-user or mult-user” (Rob and Coronel 2007:8).

When Author is an organisation

Some sources may be produced by organizations and not individuals. In this case you should use the name of the organization in the author’s place omitting  any leading article (e.g. A, The). In the same manner, if a publication is produced by an organisation and no individual is credited as the author, treat the organisation as the author. e.g. IAA runs postgraduate diploma in accountancy and finance as well as certificates programs in accountancy, information technology and computer science (IAA 2006).

Author’s name not given

When the author name is not given, use Anon in place of the author. The number of entrepreneurs is increasing in Tanzania (Anon 2003) Note: the keyword Anon stands for anonymous author.

If there is no date on the publication

If you do not know the date of publication, use “n.d.” (which stands for “not dated”) in place of the year. e.g. VfM Steering Group report (n.d.) identifies a number of challenges facing management of student record systems in higher education.

Secondary referencing – Authors quoting other authors

Coventry (2007) refers secondary sources as “second hand sources”. Therefore, try to find the original source before you make us of the secondary sources. If you find the original source, cite it as explain above. However, if you do not find the original source, cite it by giving the author’s name, then write ‘cited in’ and give the author of the book or article you have actually read.

e.g. (Smith 2007: 65 cited in Jenkinson 2008: 89).

Citing a journal article

In citing a journal article follows the same procedure by providing the author(s) of the article and the year in which the journal was published.

e.g. Zastrocky and Yanosky (2002) proposed integrated…

Referencing figures, diagrams, tables and graphs

Tables, diagrams, graphs and figures should be referenced if they are based on another’s work. The reference would normally be given after the title of the diagram or table. These references for diagrams etc. must also be included in the list of references.

Example

reference-example
reference-example

  Figure XXX ERP architecture (Zastrocky and Yanosky 2015)

Electronic Sources

Information taken from the Internet should be cited in a similar fashion to its printed counterparts. Therefore, for any source accessed online including electronic journal, electronic book, e-mails, electronic figures, tables, pictures just to mention a few; give the author’s surname or the corporate author and the data in brackets.

Note:  For website and other electronic sources, do not give the full web address as this will be included in your list of references.

e.g. Tzonline (2015)

e.g. (IFM 2015).

e.g. IAA (2015)

Compiling List of References

Harvard style of referencing requires each source cited inside your text to be full referenced at the end of your work. This is well placed in a section called the List of References or simply References. Normally this section is after conclusion and recommendation chapter. The full references should be in alphabetical order arranged by surname.If you do not have an author then list the item alphabetically by title. If an author has more than one publication, list the publications chronologically with the earliest first. It is important to remember a list of references contains details only those works cited in the text and not everything you have read for your work. On the other side, a bibliography includes all sources you have read and which are relevant to the subject. Harvard style of referencing requires one to use List of References and not bibliography.  Kindly check with your supervisor to see which one you should use.

Below are the different styles for writing list of references

A book by a single author

For a book with a single author, the format is Author’s Surname, first name initials. (Year of publication) Title.  Edition (if not the first), Place of publication: Publisher. The following example shows how this format works:

Morgan, B. (2007) Managing IT for Information Age. Arusha: Oxford

The explanation for the above citation is as follows:

Morgan, B. (2007) Managing IT for Information Age. Arusha: Oxford

[Author] [Year] [TITLE (Italicized or underlined)] [Place of Publication] [Publisher]

Some more examples are given below:

Munguatosha, G. (2007) MS Word 2007 for beginners. London: Macmillan.

Mwaitete, C. (2005) Economics for beginners. 3rd ed. Nairobi: Towson

A book by two authors

In this case follow the format given below:

1st Author’s Surname, first name initials. & 2nd Author’s Surname, first name initials. (Year of publication) Title. Edition (if not the first) Place of publication: Publisher.

Examples for two authors are as follows:

  • Bird, P. (2002) Understanding Company Accounts. 3rd London : Pitman Publishing
  • Johnson, G., Scholes, K. and Whittington, R. (2004) Exploring Corporate Strategy: texts and cases 7th London: FT Prentice Hall
  • Shirima, L. & Shasha, S. (1998) A first course in accounting. Arusha: Levi Press.

A book by more than two authors

All authors need to be listed in your list of reference. A common mistake by most of the writers is to use “et al.” in the list of references.  The keyword et al should only be used in the in-text citation and not the list of references.

The suggested format is:

1st Author’s Surname, first name initials, 2nd Author’s Surname, first name initials. and nth Author’s Surname, first name initials. (Year of publication) Title. Edition (if not the first) Place of publication: Publisher.

Examples

  • Saunders, M., Lewis, P. and Thornhill, A. (2003) Research Methods for Business Students.3rd London: FT Prentice Hall
  • Tessa, M., Ruzegera, L. & Hansi, W. (2006) Tanzania Election 2005 Dar Es Salaam: UDSM Press.

Multiple works of the same author

Where there are several works by one author published in the same year they should be differentiated by adding a lower case letter after the date. Remember that this must also be consistent with the citations in the text.

For multiple works the required format is:

Author, first name initials. (Yeara) Title of book . Place of publication: Publisher

Author, first name initials. (Yearb) Title of book . Place of publication: Publisher

Author, first name initials. (Yearc) Title of book . Place of publication: Publisher

And so on, depending on the number of sources taken from the same author

Examples

Deshler, C., and Lincoln, Y. (2006a) A framework for human resource management 4th ed. Upper Saddle River, New Jersey: Pearson Prentice Hall

Deshler, C., and Lincoln, Y. (ed.) (2006b) The Sage Handbook of Qualitative Research 3rd ed. Thousands Oak, CA: Sage

When you have both an editor and author

If the book you are referring to has both editor and author(s), then give the author’s surname as usual and the date in brackets, then write éd. by’ and give the editor’s surname and initials, followed by the title in italics then full stop. Finally give the place of publication followed by colon then the publisher.

Some examples include:

Denzin, N. (2005) ed. by Lincoln, Y. The Sage Handbook of Qualitative Research. 3rd ed. Thousands Oak, CA: Sage

A chapter from an edited book

Sometimes you need to reference only one chapter from a book which contains many chapters which are written by different authors. In this case adapt the following format:

Chapter author’s Surname, initials. (Year of publication) ‘Title of the chapter.’ followed by In Title of book.  ‘ed. by’ Surname, Initials of editor(s) of publication Place of publication: Publisher: Page number(s) of the chapter.

Examples

  • David, E. (2003) ‘Campus portal strategies.’ In Designing Portals: opportunities and challenges. by Jafari, A. and Sheehan, M. London: Information Science Publishing: 68-88
  • Bantz, C. (1995) ‘Social dimensions of software development’ In Annual review of software management and development by Anderson, J. CA: Sage: 502-510.
  • Weir, P. (1995) ‘Clinical practice development role: a personal reflection’ In Innovations in nursing practice by Kendrick, K., Weir, P. and Rosser, E. London: Edward Arnold: 5-22.

A book produced by an organization (a corporate author)

For a book with a corporate author, the format is Corporate name (Year of publication) Title.  Edition (if not the first), Place of publication: Publisher e.g.

NBAA (2007) Financial Accounting Manual Dar Es Salaam: NBAA

A printed journal article

When citing a printed journal article in the list of references, use the following format:

Author’s Surname, Initials. (Year of periodical issue in which article appeared) ‘Full title of article.’  Full Title of Journal  volume, (issue if available) page numbers of whole article including its notes and references

However, some journals do not specify an issue number. In these cases use the Volume followed by the date shown on the journal. Here are the examples on how to cite an article on the printed journal:

  • McClea, M. and Yen, D. (2005) ‘A framework for the utilization of information technology in higher education admission department.’ International Journal of educational Management 19, (2) 87-101
  • Morgan, N. (2001) How to overcome ‘change fatigue.’ Harvard Business Review 79(7) 1-3
  • Pearce, L. (2003) ‘Our stakeholders: requirements for institutional portals.’ The Journal of Information and Knowledge Management Systems 33, (1) 11-16

A Report

For a report follow the format below:

Surname, Initials or Corporate author (Year of publication) Title of publication Report Number (where relevant) Place of publication: Publisher.

Example

Ministry of Health (2005) Choice and opportunity: primary care: the future no.245. Dar ES Salaam: Government Printing

Wangwe, S.(1988) Industrial Property Protection and Technological Innovation: A Case Study of Tanzania  Geneva: UNCTAD

Newspaper articles

For newspaper articles the required format is as follows:

Author, Initials. (Year) ‘Title of article.’ Full Title of Newspaper,

Day and month: page numbers

Example of how to cite the newspaper in the list of references is given below:

Danda, K. (2008) ‘Forensic audit unit must be effective.’  Daily News 16 March: 7,9

Dissertation-Referencing
Dissertation-Referencing

A conference paper within conference proceedings

For a conference paper within conference proceedings, the format is as follows:

Author, Initials. (Year) ‘Title of the paper.’ In Surname, Initials. (ed.) Title of the Conference Proceedings, ‘Title of the Conference.’  Held Full Date at Location of the Conference. Published location: Publisher: Page numbers

Example

Brown, J. (2005) ‘Evaluating surveys of transparent governance.’ In Smith, A. (ed.) Proceedings of the UNDESA Conference on transparent government,     ‘ 6th Global forum on reinventing government: towards participatory and transparent governance.’ Held 24-27 May 2005 at Seoul, Republic of Korea. New York: United Nations: 67-72

Conference proceedings

Here, give the organization as the author then the date in brackets. Put the title of the conference followed by the full stop within single quotations marks. Give the conference location and then the title of the conference proceedings in italics then a full stop. Give the surname and initials of the editor or organizer followed by ‘ed.’ in brackets. Finally, give the place of publication followed by a colon then the publisher.

Example

ACM (2007) ‘Conference on Network design and analysis.’  Durban(2007) Use of IPVer6 in network design.  Lawton, D. (ed.) Nairobi: Moi University Press

Thesis, dissertation or research report

The required format is:

Author, Initials. (Year of publication) Title of dissertation. Unpublished Level thesis or dissertation or report, Name of the higher learning Institution

Example

Morgan, B. (2007) Analysis of the Network traffic of IAA LAN. Unpublished MSc dissertation, IAA

Annual report

The required format is:

Corporate author  (Year of Publication) Full title of annual report Place of publication: Publisher

Example

Shoprite (2007) The annual report 2006-2007 Johannesburg: Shoprite

List of references for electronic sources

The principles of referencing information found on the internet and electronic sources are basically the same as for other material. However, for the web based sources, you will also need to include the uniform resource locator (URL), or web address. Make sure you write down the URL exactly as even the smallest mistake in the punctuation can mean that it is not possible to retrieve the site.

It is also important to include the exact date on which you accessed the web site to find the information you are using to support your work. This is because, unlike books and journal articles etc, web sites are updated or change frequently and you need to indicate which version you used.

This section presents different forms of electronic sources and how to write the list of references at the end of your report.

CD-ROM, DVD or video

The required format for referencing is given below:

Corporate Author (Year of publication) Full title of DVD or video. [Medium e.g. CD-ROM] Place of publication: Publisher [Accessed Date of Access]

Example: Mwananchi Films (2008) Great films from the 90s. [DVD]. Dar Es Salaam: Mwananchi Films [Accessed 4 March 2008]

Journal articles from an electronic source

For journal articles from an electronic source the format is as follows:

Author, Initials. (Year) ‘Title of article.‘ Full Title of Journal  [online] Volume number, (Issue/Part number) Page numbers if available.

Available from <full website address> [Accessed date]

Example

Feld, C. and Stoddard, D. (2004) ‘Getting IT right’ Harvard Business Review 82, (2) 72-79 [online] available from

<http://search.epnet.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=buh&an=12109042> [Accessed 27th July 2006]

E-version of annual reports

For an e-version of an annual report (or other document) the required elements for a reference are:

Author or corporate author (Year) Title of document or page [online]

Available from <full website address> [Accessed date]

e.g. Marks & Spencer (2004) Annual report 2003-2004. [Online]  Available from: <http://www-marks-and-spencer.co.uk/corporate/annual2003/> [accessed 4 June 2005]

Online newspaper articles

For newspaper articles found on line newspapers the required format for a reference is:

For newspaper articles the required format is as follows:

Author, Initials. (Year) ‘Title of article.’ Full Title of Newspaper,

Day and month: page numbers [online]

Available from <full website address> [Accessed date]

Example of how to cite the online newspaper in the list of references is given below:

Danda, K. (2008) ‘Forensic audit unit must be effective.’  Daily News 16 March: 7,9 [online] Available from <http://dailynews.habarileo.co.tz/editorial/?id=3556> [Accessed March 24, 2008]

For websites the required elements for a reference are:

For a normal website, whether belonging to the individual or corporate, the following format is adopted:

Author or corporate author (Year) Title of document. [online] Available from <full website address> [Accessed date]

Example

Oracle (2015) PeopleSoft Enterprise Portal [online] available from <http://www.oracle.com/applications/portals/enterprise/enterprise-portal.html [5th September 2015]

IAA (2006) About IAA [online] available from <http://www.iaa.ac.tz/pages/iaa/about_iaa.html>[13th July 2015]

E-book

For e-books the required format is as follows:

Author (Year) title of the book [online] Place of publication: Publisher

Available from <full website address> [Accessed date]

Example

Shaman, R. (2005) Commuting in the dark [online] Chester: Castle Press. Available from <http://www.freeebooks.com / E-books> [Accessed 5 June 2005]

An online conference paper within conference proceedings

For an online conference paper within conference proceedings, the format is as follows:

Author, Initials. (Year) ‘Title of the paper.’ In Surname, Initials. (ed.) Title of the Conference Proceedings, ‘Title of the Conference.’  Held Full Date at Location of the Conference. Published location: Publisher: Page numbers [online]

Available from <full website address> [Accessed date]

Example

Brown, J. (2005) ‘Evaluating surveys of transparent governance.’ In Smith, A. (ed.) Proceedings of the UNDESA Conference on transparent government,     ‘ 6th Global forum on reinventing government: towards participatory and transparent governance.’ Held 24-27 May 2005 at Seoul, Republic of Korea. New York: United Nations: 67-72 [online]

Available from <http://webapps01.un.org/pubsCatalogue/browse.do?by=category&code=9 > [Accessed March 24, 2008]

Online information for Conference proceedings

Here, give the organization as the author then the date in brackets. Put the title of the conference followed by the full stop within single quotations marks. Give the conference location and then the title of the conference proceedings in italics then a full stop. Give the surname and initials of the editor or organizer followed by ‘ed.’ in brackets. Finally, give the place of publication followed by a colon then the publisher. Then provide information for the online source as shown on the previous cases.

Example

ACM (2007) ‘Conference on Network design and analysis.’  Durban(2007) Use of IPVer6 in network design.  Lawton, D. (ed.) Nairobi: Moi University Press [online] Available from <http://doi.acm.org/10.1145/1027802.1027891> [Accessed March 24, 2008]

Online thesis, dissertation or research report

The required format is:

Author, Initials. (Year of publication) Title of dissertation. Unpublished Level thesis or dissertation or report, Name of the higher learning Institution numbers [online] Available from <full website address> [Accessed date]

Example

Morgan, B. (2007) Analysis of the Network traffic of IAA LAN. Unpublished MSc dissertation, IAA numbers [online]

Available from < http://myweb.polyu.edu.hk/~lbaho/Library/Writing.pdf> [Accessed March 24, 2008]

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Dissertation Writing Tips

Dissertation Writing

  • Clear and explicit about the subject
  • Objective and detached about the arguments and conclusions drawn
  • Rational

Before you submit your dissertation in, check the following

Content

The text answers the central question posed by the title The main line of argument is clear, not lost in a sea of detail
Sufficient space (words) has been given to the most important points There is sufficient evidence to support the arguments
All of the information included is relevant to the question The dissertation contains evaluative comments as well as description
Style and Presentation
The dissertation is written in the third person (not ‘I’, ‘me’ or ‘my’) The language is clear and straightforward
The dissertation is presented with the correct font, font size and line spacing Sentences are of reasonable length and are uncomplicated
Spelling, grammar and punctuation are correct Technical vocabulary is used correctly
Each paragraph is well structured The words used are my own (there is no plagiarism)
Ideas are presented in the right order and there is no repetition There is nothing the reader will find confusing
The text is not too chatty or flippant and is free of slang and colloquialisms The dissertation is within the word limit
The introduction summarises the argument/ approach that will be taken The assignment front sheet has been completed
The conclusion sums up the main points The conclusion does not introduce any new material
References
Appropriate references have been used All sources have been acknowledged correctly and included in the reference list
Have you taken account of any feedback you have been given for previous work?

Dissertation writing uses:

  • Evidence (correctly referenced) to support the arguments or question perspectives
  • A critical approach to the subject

Introduction: should:

  • Contain a brief explanation of the topic and context
  • Identify the main themes or concepts
  • Outline what the topic means – its relevance
  • Describe the approach to the topic
  • Set a clear direction and structure to the dissertation

Main Body

Contains all the points to be made in the argument and presentation of the material in a series of paragraphs

Conclusion

Contains no new material. It:

  • is a reminder of:
    • the question posed in the dissertation title
    • the important features of the argument main themes

Is a summary of:

  • The main points
  • The specific evidence presented
  • Explains the significance of the conclusions
  • What general points can be drawn from the writing as a whole?

The conclusion should clearly signal to the reader that the piece of writing is completed and leave a clear impression that the purpose of the text has been achieved. Remember to refer back to your title – you could use words from the question to prove that you have answered the whole question.

Think about the lasting impression your reader will have.

What is a paragraph?

A paragraph is series of sentences;

  • The first sentence introduces the main idea of the paragraph
  • The other sentences develop the topic of the paragraph: use relevant definitions, examples, details, evidence, quotations, citations
  • The final sentence leads up to the next paragraph – use transition words (see handout on the Study Skills page on Moodle) to indicate to the reader the ‘route map’ of the dissertation.

NB a paragraph is longer than one sentence and shorter than a whole page.

Tips for Good Dissertation Writing

Use source materials – you do not have an opinion – you must remain emotionally neutral and use evidence (all referenced) from lecture notes; reading, case studies. Avoid writing in the first person. This means avoiding the use of phrases like ‘I think’ or ‘I agree’. Instead use the third person, ‘It can be argued that’ for example, sounds more academic. Other useful phrases might be ‘It can be seen that’, It has been found that’.

Be cautious. Academic writing generally sounds cautious in drawing conclusions. For example a writer might say ‘the evidence suggests that’ rather than ‘this proves that’. Use the full form of words and phrases, not contractions like ‘don’t’ or can’t’.

Be precise. Avoid phrases like ‘some people disagree’ and ‘some psychologists agree that’. Give the reader enough detail for them to know exactly what you are talking about.

Avoid ‘lazy’ words such as got, did and nice.

For example, rather than saying ‘a lot of research was done’ say ‘extensive research was conducted’. Rather than saying ‘Smith did a study’ say ‘Smith conducted research’.

Avoid slang and colloquialisms.

Avoid unnecessary words and phrases such as ‘a man called Smith (2015) …’

Simply say ‘Smith (2015) found…’

Develop an academic vocabulary. You will already be coming across new terms in your course. Don’t use these terms without understanding them but if you do use them appropriately your writing tends to sound more precise and hence more academic.

If you use someone else’s ideas then you should reference them. To try and pass ideas off as your own is called plagiarism. Even if you put the ideas into your own words they still belong to the original author and this should be acknowledged. You can do this as follows: ‘as Smith (2015) argues’ or you can give a direct quote followed by the author’s name, date and page number of the quote. Use quotes sparingly.

Proof read your work. Reading it out loud is an excellent way to check the style.

Finally – a dissertation needs a final draft.

Dissertation Writing Tips
Dissertation Writing Tips

Prompts to Support Critical Evaluation of the Literature

This resource first lists general questions on this page, and then more specific questions on the following pages. Please browse the entire list for prompts on what to think about while you are evaluating the literature.

Where is the author coming from?

  1. Who is the author?
  2. What is the author trying to convince you of?
  3. Is the author objective/neutral or subjective/biased? Are statements facts or opinions?
  4. Does the author have any vested interests (conflicts of interest)?

Where are you coming from?

  1. Recognize your own viewpoint.
  2. Remain open to consider the viewpoints of others.
  3. Consider how your prior knowledge and understanding relates to what the author has written.
  4. Following evaluation, clarify your own (possibly new) viewpoint and its social significance; ask yourself ‘so what?’

Evaluation of argumentation

  1. Are the arguments logical or flawed?
  2. What assumptions are made and are they valid or flawed?
  3. Are other counter-arguments omitted?
  4. Are there any inconsistencies in the author’s arguments?
  5. What evidence is provided and is it valid?
  6. Is any counter-evidence omitted?
  7. Are any authorities referred to and are they reliable?
  8. Are alternative perspectives and interpretations considered? Can you think of any others, e.g. ‘What if…’
  9. Is the writing style analytical or descriptive? Is the language used appropriate?
  10. Are any comparisons or analogies made appropriate?

Examples of More Specific Questions

  • Publication
  • Subject matter field: e.g. health, engineering
  • Credibility: peer reviewed/scholarly, reputation
  • Geographical location: scope

Authors

  • Who is the author?
  • What is their subject matter expertise?
  • Affiliation / roles / qualifications / reputation?
  • Geographical location: scope?
  • What is the author trying to convince you of?
  • Is the author objective/neutral or subjective/biased? (facts or opinions?)
  • Does the author have any vested interests (conflicts of interest)?
  • Funding / Acknowledgements?
  • Are any conflicts of interest apparent from the funding source?

Introduction and Literature Review

  • Does the introduction provide a sound rationale for the research?
  • Is the research question identified clearly?
  • Is it a significant question? Do you think that the research is useful?
  • Does the research question follow from the information given in the introduction?
  • Is the hypothesis a testable one?
  • What theory (if appropriate) is discussed and is it relevant to the main theme?
  • Are other relevant theories omitted?
  • Might there be any problems actually doing this research?
  • Is the literature review critical with strengths and weaknesses of previous work?
  • Are works cited relevant to the research question / topic?
  • Are the references recent?
  • Are the references primary ones?
  • Are there varied sources (peer reviewed articles, books etc.)?

Methods

  • What is the overall methodology and is it appropriate for the research question?
  • What methods were used, why and were they appropriate?
  • Are there any other methods which might be more appropriate?
  • What are the strengths and weaknesses of the chosen method?
  • Who or what were the participants or objects of focus for this research?
  • How was the sample selected and might there be any bias?
  • Was the sample relevant to the research?
  • Was the sample size representative of the population?
  • How was the independent variable manipulated?
  • Are there any problems with this?
  • Are there any possible confounding variables?
  • How was the dependent variable measured?
  • Is the data likely to reliable (repeatable) and how was reliability optimized?

Results

  • Recording: How was the raw data recorded?
  • Analysis:
  • Has the raw data been translated, reduced or manipulated in any way?
  • How has the data been analysed?
  • What statistical analysis has been chosen? Is this appropriate?
  • Is there any other form of analysis that could have been done?

Presentation

  • Are data presented in prose, tables, graphs, charts?
  • Is the presentation appropriate?
  • Is the presentation easy to interpret?
  • Are the scales or emphases appropriate?
  • Are all data shown, or only parts and why?
  • Are any data missing?
  • Interpretation
  • Do the results help to answer the research question?
  • Are there any other possible interpretations?
  • Do you agree with the conclusions drawn from the data?
  • Are there any other factors that could have influenced the results?

Ethics

  • Are ethical considerations reported?
  • Did the research conform to ethical guidelines?
  • Did the research risk harming any participants, researchers or anyone else?
  • Can you think of any ethical issues which have not been addressed?
  • Did participants (if appropriate) give their informed consent?
  • Were any other relevant permission provided?

Discussion / Conclusions

  • Are conclusions logically drawn from the results?
  • Are the conclusions stated clearly?
  • Are the conclusions sufficiently cautious?
  • Are conclusions generalized (assumed to apply elsewhere or more broadly)?
  • Are any other conclusions possible?
  • Have the researchers succeeded in their aims?
  • How does this research compare / contrast with previous research?
  • Do the researchers address the limitations of their research?
  • What implications does the research have?
  • What further research could be conducted?
  • Does this article raise any further questions that the author doesn’t address?

References

  • Are the references recent?
  • Are the references primary ones?
  • Are there varied sources (peer reviewed articles, books etc.)

References

Bailey, S. (2011), Academic Writing. A Handbook for International Students.3rd ed. London and New York: Routledge.

Blaxter, L., Hughes, C. and Tight, M. (2007), How to Research. 3rd ed. Buckingham: Open University Press.

Connors, K. and Seifer, S.D. (2005), Reflection in Higher Education Service-Learning,

Cottrell, S. (2008), The Study Skills Handbook.3rd ed. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan.

Gillett, A., Hammond, A. and Martala, M. (2009), Successful Academic Writing. Harlow: Pearson Educational Limited.

Greetham, B. (2008), How to Write Better Essays. 2nd ed. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan.

Hart, C. (1998), Doing a Literature Review: Releasing the Social Science Research Imagination. London: Sage

Kirton, B. (2010), Brilliant Study Skills: What you need to know and how to do it. Harlow: Pearson Educational Limited.

Moore, S., Neville, C., Murphy, M. and Connolly, C. (2010), The Ultimate Study Skills Handbook. Maidenhead: Open University Press.

Neville, C. (2009), How to Improve your Assignment Results. Maidenhead: Open University Press.

Page, M. and Winstanley, C. (2009), Writing Essays for Dummies. Chichester: John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Useful Dissertation Writing Links

Dissertation Help | Dissertation Introduction | Dissertation Literature Review | Dissertation Methodology | Dissertation Data Analysis | Dissertation Results and Findings | Dissertation Discussion and Conclusions | Dissertation Bibliography | Dissertation Appendices | Dissertation Plagiarism | Dissertation Ten Top Tips

Nuclear Power Dissertation

The Potential for Indigenous Power Generation From Below the Ground for Nuclear Energy

This is a brief content analysis of the potential of nuclear power in UK. We are greatly concerned with nuclear power and some of its renewable alternatives. We shall discuss how Nuclear energy contributes as one of the components used to supply electricity in the UK and in other countries. We will also take a look at some of the pros and cons of nuclear power. Is there a way to dispose of its waste products? If so then what are the levels of nuclear waste products and how do they affect the environment. The essay also has an extensive coverage of the technologies as is compared to dimensions found to characterize energy issues (environmental, economic, technological, psychological risks and future/political). We also take a look at how the last four decades has seen the world come a long way in learning how to dispose nuclear waste, how to release nuclear energy, how to make use of it and how to control it. We also take a look at the theoretical comparison of all costs and benefits arising from alternative development patterns and which one would be the ideal method to use while estimating the potential role of nuclear power in meeting electric energy requirements in UK/oversea countries. In addition, we have defined both reactors Magnox and AGR noting in particular that some of the environments are in areas ‘threatened’ with the potential sitting of a new nuclear power station and that in ‘unaffected’ areas. In a more in depth perspective, we find that nuclear power was evaluated as alternatively positive and overwhelmingly negative. Further discussions of this pattern in particular showed a degree of consistency irrespective of the dimension of evaluation. These findings are related to people’s attitudes towards nuclear power, and the growth of antinuclear feeling from environmentalists and other sectors. In general, we have broadly discussed how nuclear power as the expansion programme with the least cost would definitely yield maximum net benefits. Though this fact if debatable, it has yet to be proven otherwise as nuclear power is sourced as a carbon free source of energy.

Introduction

Nuclear energy is a one of the most highly concentrated energy available that is made accessible by nuclear reactors. It is low carbon, dependable, affordable energy that also increase the diversity of energy supply. It was clearly stated in the Nuclear White paper in 2008 that the along other carbon sources, the nuclear power stations also have to play their vital role in country’s better energy development. The energy produced by the fission process is being generated in nuclear power stations. This energy is also produced by the splitting of uranium atoms in nuclear reactor. 50 million times energy is produced and generated in this process as compared to the carbon consumption. Total 441 powers stations are producing and generating nuclear power in a capacity of 375GW in all around the world (Meeting Energy Demand).

The constructive possibilities of uranium were identified some time back during the development of nuclear energy, even as plans were being made to release nuclear energy explosively. The post war decade was mostly dominated by the awesome destructive power of nuclear weapons. In the mid 1950s engineers and scientists started harnessing nuclear power for other purposes that mostly involved peace. This prospect looked brighter and brighter. A surge of euphoric predictions that was there in the aftermath of the two nuclear explosions in Japan ended the 2nd world war. The atomic power is considered so powerful that it could run a car on an engine that was the size of a fist (Walter C Patterson, 1982).

It’s also considered powerful enough to keep ‘atom powered’ aircrafts aloft for an indefinite period. People who understood the powers of nuclear energy choose to be more realistic and choose applications for nuclear development that would lead to development rather than fiction (Popular Mechanics, 1957, pg. 258).

The term atomic energy originated back in 1903. It is energy produced by atoms or from a nuclear reaction.

Uranium ores are very economical recoverable concentrations of uranium found in the earth’s crust. Uranium is one of the most common elements present in the earths crust. Uranium ores are even more common that both gold and silver (Enrico Fermi 1938). Uranium ores can be found in rivers, oceans, rocks and in the soil.

It’s important to note that when dealing with nuclear atoms, energy is only released when there is a change in an atom’s nucleus. There are two types of nuclear change namely nuclear fission and nuclear fusion. Large atoms in nuclear fission are split into two so as to release energy. New elements are often formed as a result of nuclear fission reactions. There is always loss of mass during nuclear fission. This is because the missing matter has been converted into energy that can be used to generate electricity. Uranium is one of the isotopes used to start nuclear fission chain reactions (Michael A. Seeds & Dana E. Backman, 2010, pp 119).

Nuclear fusion when a new element is formed. It often occurs in small atoms such as hydrogen. It has the capability of releasing much greater amounts of energy as compared to nuclear fission. Nuclear fusion reaction is also referred to as thermonuclear reaction. A great example of such energy can be found on the sun where hydrogen atoms join together to create a new element known as helium. This type of reaction not only releases energy, but also light, heat and radiation. The hydrogen bomb is also another great example of nuclear fusion energy (Joseph A. Angelo, 2004, pp. 156).

In general, nuclear fusion energy has with time proved to be among the countries cleanest energy source (Jonathan Fildes, 2005). The only disadvantage it has is that it’s hard to control nuclear fusion reaction. If this can be achieved, then there would be enough time for governments and organizations to set up energy plants to supply to the large population.

History of Nuclear Power in the UK

The economical issue surrounding energy varied in the ensuing years as the cost of coal increased, while that of oil remained low. The balance remained uncertain as some of the nuclear costs increased. Public concern started building up in the late 1960s as attention was drawn to problems arising from the large scale use of fuels. This included the air pollution from the burning of oil and coal, ecological damage from surface mining and health hazards from underground coal mining. The increase of oil prices in the late 1960s plus the increasingly uneasy labour relations in the coal field increased the attraction towards the use of nuclear power. This factor tentatively and gradually accelerated industrial commitment to nuclear power. It also accelerated nuclear component of the total electricity output (Roy M Harrison & R E Hester, 2011).

The availability of nuclear energy saw electricity supply systems lessens their dependency on coal while governments reduced their dependence on petroleum exporting countries. Generation of electricity using nuclear power obviously seemed as the best alternative. Coal and oil were seen as irreplaceable raw materials for the chemical industry that should be reserved. Meanwhile nuclear energy was to be used to generate electricity which was seen as a premium form of energy that is high grade, clean and versatile at the point of use. The use of energy worldwide continued to rapidly rise as more and more people were exposed to the use of technology. Experts predicted that the worldwide consumption per person would grow to be twice as that used. Glasstone (1979) argued that this energy would only be provided by some 4000 clusters of nuclear power stations with each cluster having enough reactors to produce at least five times the output of the largest power station today. This requirement of high energy for use by humans thus made the future role of nuclear energy very crucial. This created the vigorous growth of nuclear capabilities since all these energy requirements had to be met (Walter C Patterson, 1982).

The civil nuclear power programme in the UK grew out during the post – war military imperative that produced plutonium for nuclear weapons. The UK only had two plutonium producing reactors known as the Windscale piles. They started work in 1947 under a labor government (Rebecca Morelle, 2007).

The reactor’s design comprised of a large composite clock of graphite which ran horizontal cooling holes into the uranium metal fuel. The reactor core was enclosed into a concrete box that provided a biological shield, and was cooled by air that was blown into it through powerful pumps. There were chimneys capped with filters that were used to discharge the heated air. It was later realized that changing the design would allow the heat to generate steam that would later drive the turbines to produce plutonium and electricity. This resulted in three major changes in the design which saw an increase in the heat removal capability. It was a very important step to increase thermal efficiency so that the conventional steam turbines could be used effectively. The second changes saw a move away from using air as a cooling agent. It was necessary since the major component of air is nitrogen, and in its compressed form would prove to be too great a neutron absorber for the reactors to operate with natural uranium. In its place, carbon dioxide was chosen since it’s a more reasonable heat transfer medium which has lower neutron absorption. The third and final change made was to use magnesium alloys to clad uranium bars and engineer them into the cladding radial cooling fins. This design led to the generic name of Magnox for the reactor type (Thomas Telford, 1995).

In August 1953, work on the construction of Calder Hall began. The plant was later opened by Queen Elizabeth in October 1956. This was almost 14 years down the line since the first man-made reactor was assembled by Enrico Fermi at the University of Chicago. The opening of Calder Hall was greatly appreciated since the country was experiencing oil and petrol rationings. This was a remarkable solution to the current shortage of energy that the country was experiencing (Thomas Telford, 1993).

Social and Environmental Issues

There was a turbulent period experienced in the UK from the 1990 – 2006. This was because a lot of nuclear fortunes were seen to rise and emerge from ruins. Some of the events were self made while others were entirely as a result of outside developments. There were a lot of personalities involved in the development of this industry. They did this by developing the philosophical and political rationale for privatizing the industry. Most of these personalities made the industry more competitive while others provided the determination and energy to drive the industry side through to floatation. There were very many fundamental changes in almost every dimension that greatly affected nuclear power in the UK in way or another. Some of the phases include

  • World oil prices leap 100%, gas prices soar, electricity market prices recover
  • Weakening pool prices
  • British Energy in crisis seeks government aid
  • Market introduction – the pool
  • Dash for gas
  • Break-up of the nationalized electricity industry
  • Gas linkage to Europe
  • Major external companies act as predators on smaller UK companies
  • Strengthening pool prices
  • Privatization of British Energy

(Adrian Ham & Robert Hal, 2006)

Nuclear Waste Disposal

This is by far one of the most controversial topics that will continue to haunt generations to come (Robert C. Williams and Cantelon, P 1980). This is because a clear cut solution has not yet been formulated on how to properly dispose of some of the nuclear end products such as radioactive waste. Radioactive waste is the gaseous, liquid or solid waste produced by nuclear fuel production, nuclear power stations, nuclear plant decommissioning and weapons manufacturer and reprocessing of spent fuel. There are three basic types in which wastes are categorized. This is according to the type and the amount of radioactivity it contains. They include:

  1. LLW (Low level waste): this consisted of lightly contaminated paper towels, clothing and laboratory glass ware. Land allocated for such type of disposals should be restricted for at least 300 years to allow for the radioactivity to wear out.
  2. ILW (Intermediate Level Waste): they consist of heavily contaminated material such as parts of decommissioned reactors, used fuel rod casing and used ion exchange resins. Disposal of this level of waste products requires heavy shielding so as not to expose any living thing to some of the harms caused by radioactivity.
  3. HLW (High Level waste): this consists of highly radioactive reprocessing liquor and spent nuclear fuel: this is the most radioactive and concentrated of all the three categories. Wastes of this intensity therefore require intense radioactive decay processes where a large amount of heat is generated so as to facilitate the decay of the waste products (Royal Society of Chemistry, 1999)

Potential of Nuclear Power in the UK

Although the nuclear power industry can employ people directly at power stations, in the bigger picture this can boost the economy and businesses locally and throughout the supply chain. It is estimated that 56,000 jobs are dependent on the UK civil nuclear within the UK alone. Many more thousands of jobs will be created if more power stations are proposed and created.

Most of the UKs current nuclear plants are due to close by 2023. To maintain the current flow of nuclear power in the energy it is estimated 10 million kilowatts (kW) of new nuclear capacity will needed to be added to the UK’s supply. This works out to be about six to eight new nuclear plants being built. Due to UK having gained nuclear experience both in Britain and abroad, UK is in a position to take advantage of these opportunities.

In a study it was indicated that British industry could potentially have 70% of the skilled workforces necessary within Britain already. EDF is already investing in training. Edf is working hard to train more people to be necessarily skilled for working at the nuclear power stations. EDF are proposing to open 4, which they will secure 700 permanent and 200 contract positions for more than 60 years. (EDF energy.com). Below is an image showing EDF’s current nuclear sites.

Future developments of nuclear energy prospects saw various programmes launched as competition costs between other fossil fuels increased. One of the programmes launched was the ‘Programme of nuclear power”, government established white paper in February 1955. Some of the things proposed included

  • The construction of a twin reactor power station. This was to be started in mid 1957 and to be operated in 1960 – 1961
  • Construction of a further twin reactor power station that was of the same design as the latter but more improved in terms of performance. It was to start in 1958 – 1959 and start operations in 1963.
  • A construction of four other power stations that were envisaged as being a developed design.

 (Royal Society of Chemistry, 2011)

Currently, close to one sixth of UK’s electricity is generated by nuclear power. This is done utilizing 16 operational nuclear reactors at 9 plants. You should note that out of this nuclear reactors, there are 14 advanced gas cooled reactors, one pressurized water reactor and one Magnox. This show how much the UK greatly relies on nuclear power so as to produce energy. This also brings out the huge capability of nuclear energy as a potential force that the UK can’t live without. Picture the country without at least one sixth of a power source. This would be disastrous for not only the countries economy, but also on its development. Nuclear power in the country has also shown tremendous signs of growing and producing an even bigger share of UK’s power source. This will also be heavily facilitated by the fact that the government gave the go-ahead to permit private suppliers to construct up a total of 8 new power plants. This was done back in October 2010. The only set back experienced was that some few member countries refused to back this proposal and therefore refuted the construction of any nuclear power on their soil. One of these countries was Scotland. However with the groundwork already started in several areas, there is simply no stopping the momentum made to increase UK’s reliance on energy generated from nuclear energy (Manasi Karkare, 2008).

Nuclear power is not only an alternative source of energy that is clean, but it’s also a cost effective way to produce power (Felix A Ferrit, 2006). The UK stands to benefit greatly through any findings our of nuclear power research. However, there are some few problems that need to be addressed before this can be achieved. They include:

  • Nuclear waste disposals
  • Nuclear power use and control (I.e. weapons of mass destruction)

Tony Blair (2006) argued during his speech at the CBI annual dinner that once these two issues are addressed, the country can march forward and explore other potential advantages that they can get from nuclear power. Otherwise, they have no choice but to stall any development since each move should be monitored to ensure whether it’s constructive or destructive. These issues bring out to light the fact that this country still has a very long way to go because we have yet to achieve any mature technology that can handle such immense potential of power. There is no need for alarm since there are several proposals being brought forward to help improve the sector (Patrick Wintour & David Adam, 2006).

Even though its waste products are harmful to the environment, it’s still wise to say that nuclear power has the capability to become the largest source of carbon free electricity. This however can only be achieved if the country steps up its current economy and meets its carbon targets. This source of energy is also seen as a way out of global warming and meet UK’s target on reducing emissions of gases responsible for this. It’s assumed that using nuclear power will help the country attain its ambitious target of cutting emissions by 80%. The concentration of the government on this source of energy has with time proven that nuclear power has the potential of also undermining any other attempts of finding a cleaner, greener, secure and more sustainable source of energy. This fact can be blamed on the heavy reliance of the country on nuclear power to produce their electricity (Making It, 2011).

Currently UK has 17 reactors that generate about 19% of its electricity. The country has a number of full fuel cycle facilities that include major reprocessing plants. The shut down of some of the power plants has greatly reduced the power contribution from nuclear plants that were experienced back in the 90’s.

Below is a table of nuclear reactors operating in the UK

Plant

Type Present Capacity (MWe net) First Power

Expected Shutdown

Wylfa 1 Magnox 490 1971 Sep 2014
Dungeness B1 & 2 AGR 2×545 1983 and 1985 2018
Hartlepool 1 & 2 AGR 2×595 1983 and 1984 2019
Heysham I – 1 & I – 2 AGR 2×580 1983 and 1984 2019
 Heysham II-1 & II – 2 AGR 2×615 1988 2013
Hinkley Point B 1 & 2 AGR 2×610 (but operates at 70% 430 – MWe) 1976 2016
Hunterston B 1 & 2 AGR 2×610 (but operates at 70% 430 – MWe) 1976 and 1977 2016
Torness 1 & 2 AGR 2×625 1988 and 1989 2023
Sizewell B PWR 1188 1995 2035
Total: 16 units 10038 MWe

(World Nuclear Org)

Magnox: currently, it’s one of the obsolete types of nuclear reactors which was designed and still is in use in the UK. The name Magnox originates from the alloy used o clad the fuel rods found inside the reactor. They are carbon dioxide cooled, pressurized, graphite moderated reactors that use Magnox alloy as fuel cladding and natural uranium as fuel. The design for the civilian Magnox power station was created with on-load refueling as a consideration since the government wanted to maximize the power station’s availability by eliminating refueling downtime.

Nuclear Power Dissertation
Nuclear Power Dissertation

AGR (Advanced Gas-cooled reactor): this is a type of nuclear reactor that uses carbon dioxide as coolants and graphite as moderators. It was developed from the Magnox reactor requiring stainless steel fuel cladding to withstand high temperatures and operating at a much higher gas temperature for improved thermal efficiency. Enriched uranium fuel is needed due to the fact that the stainless steel fuel cladding has a higher neutron capture cross section than Magnox fuels (World Nuclear Org).

Conclusion

Nuclear power as a sustainable source of power has yet to be fully explored in terms of its prospective. There is no lucid motive about the Fukushima events’ impact on the development of the nuclear power industry internationally as well as national. However, logically protection will be highlighted on the schema. Since nuclear power is one of the most important entity all around the globe, but UK efforts to maintain its carbon emission level and increasing demands for energy supplies. To develop nuclear energy, the government, semi government and private/public authorities, operators, and contractors must have to consider the importance of developing nuclear energy by focusing on it as an industry. They should measure up the safe and improve the nuclear energy development at industrial levels. The UK Government has pressurized the third party liability on operators, industrial contractors, and suppliers, due to which they are well experienced to increase intention towards industrial development of nuclear energy. To meet with liabilities and demands, the UK companies are in a state to take improvement of these opportunities as they have attained nuclear skills in Europe as well as on international levels. In 2009, a research done by the NIA (Nuclear Industry Association) demonstrated that British industry could better supply the experienced labor force obligatory to manufacture and preserve a new nuclear armada. The industry of nuclear power hires workers openly on industrial levels and can enhance the cutback and businesses in the vicinity and right through the supply procession. Anticipated thousands of jobs are reliant on the national nuclear industry in the United Kingdom. Furthermore, several jobs would be increasing during the building and maneuver of projected innovative nuclear power stations. Opportunities included the mechanized of apparatus, site setting up, preservation, servicing, plan, and engineering mentoring, authorized and monetary services, and jobs on position once the power stations are prepared. The UK’s existing nuclear plants are schedule to end up their operations in 2003. Just to sustain the current divide up of nuclear power in the energy combine about 10 million kW of new nuclear plants which are in progress.

2003 Energy White Paper

The Government’s Energy White Paper, published in 2003 and titled “Our Energy Future – Creating a Low Carbon Economy” concluded that:

Nuclear power is currently an important source of carbon-free electricity. However, its current economics make it an unattractive option for new, carbon-free generating capacity and there are also important issues of nuclear waste to be resolved. These issues include our legacy waste and continued waste arising from other sources. This white paper does not contain specific proposals for building new nuclear power stations. However we do not rule out the possibility that at some point in the future new nuclear build might be necessary if we are to meet our carbon targets.

Bibliography

Angelo A Joseph. (2004). Nuclear Power Technology. Westport (Connecticut); London: Greenwood Press. pp. 156-300.

BBC (2010) News Politics 2010 [Online] Nuclear power: Eight sites identified for future plants.

EDF energy (2012). What nuclear power energy means for UK economy.

Everett Bob et al. (2011). Energy Systems and Sustainability nuclear power for a sustainable future. Oxford: oxford university press. pp 395 – 455.

Fildes Jonathan. (2005). Science & Environment 2012 [Online] Man-made star to unlock cosmic secrets.

Ham Adrian & Hal Robert. (2006). A Way Forward For Nuclear Power. 2006 Energy Review Submission.

Harrabin Roger (2012) Treasury messing with UK clean energy policy, say MPs.

Joy. D.S. & Jenkins. R.T. (1974). Wien Automatic System Planning Package (WASP): An Electric Utility Optima Generation Expansion Planning Computer Code. Washington, D.C: Ernst & Whinney.

Karkare Manasi. (2008). Nanotechnology: Fundamentals and Applications. pp. 104.

Mark Tran (2007) The Guardian (London)[Online] Government nuclear power talks pointless, say green groups.

Morelle Rebecca. (2007). Science & Environment 2007 Windscale Fall Out Underestimated.

Making It. (2011). [Online] Is nuclear power necessary for a carbon-free future?

Royal Society of Chemistry. (1999). Environmental impact of nuclear power generation. Cambridge: Royal Society of Chemistry. 3.5 in. pp. 83.

Royal Society of Chemistry. (2011). Nuclear power and the environment. Cambridge: RSC Publishing. pp. 8.

Seeds A Michael. & Backman E Dana. (2010). Belmont, CA: Thomson Brooks/Cole. 11th ed. pp. 119.

Telford Thomas. (1995). Radiation Dose Management in The Nuclear Power Industry: Proceedings Of The Conference Organized By The British Nuclear Energy Society And Held In Windermere, Cumbria. London: the society. pp. 65.

Telford Thomas. (1993). Remote techniques for nuclear plant: proceedings of the conference organized by the British Nuclear Power Energy Society, held at Stratford-upon-Avon. London: British Nuclear Energy Society. pp. 83.

2007 [Online] Available at; Energy White Paper Supporting Documents, Department of Trade and Industry

2007 [Online] Available at; The Future of Nuclear Power: Consultation Document, Department of Trade and Industry

Hearst Magazines (1957). Popular Mechanics. Vol. 107. No. 4. pp. 258.

Meeting Energy Demand. Nuclear Power.

Walter C Patterson. (1982). Nuclear power. 2nd ed.

Roy M Harrison & R E Hester. (2011). Nuclear Power and The Environment. Cambridge: RSC Publishing.

Felix A Ferrit. (2006). Integration of Alternative Sources of Energy. Hoboken : John Wiley & Sons

Patrick Wintour & David Adam. (2006) The Guardian. Blair presses the nuclear button.

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