Nursing and Diploma Program

A registered nurse is a licensed professional with a four-year nursing degree. Able to provide all levels of nursing care including the administration of medication. The job description of a registered nurse is to work to promote good health and prevent illness. They educate patients and the public about various medical conditions; treat patients and help in their rehabilitation; and provide advice and emotional support to patients' families. RNs use considerable judgment in providing a wide variety of services. They also develop the day-to-day nursing care plans both in hospital, and for care after discharge by families and visiting nurses. Advanced nursing practice is defined as the performance of advanced level nursing practice activities which, by virtue of post-basic education and experience, are appropriate to and may be performed by an advanced practice registered nurse My career goals are to maintain a comfortable salary to support my family in the future, and be able to afford the things I need and want throughout life and to live happy and comfortable. â€Å"Registered Nursesâ€Å" 2). Nursing is not necessarily an easy occupation to get into, there are certain requirements and qualifications. One of the most popular forms of education for registered nurses is an associate degree in nursing which takes about two years to complete. Other RN candidates may opt for a hospital diploma program where they take thirty to sixty hours worth of science classes and then take many more hours of classes which are heavily focused on nursing. The diploma program usually takes a minimum of three years. A diploma program meets the basic educational requirements to be a registered nurse. Another option is for the prospective RN to get a Bachelor of Science degree in Nursing from a university. Once a BSN degree is earned, it gives the person the opportunity to pursue higher education opportunities in his or her field such as a Master's Degree or a PhD. The registered nurse educational requirements can vary from state to state as each state has its own laws and policies that govern the nursing profession. However, all registered nurses most take some sort of licensing exam in order to become legally able to practice in the registered nursing profession. While 2-3 years of training is required, it is possible to make a good living from the salary that you can earn as a registered nurse. But be aware that the profession can be stressful. Some of the most stressful nursing positions are those in hospitals, particularly in the emergency rooms. Some less stressful jobs may include working in private practice where the hours will not be as long. There are many ways to advance in the medical career. In order to be a nurse you must start at the bottom and work your way to the top. Some jobs that share the same training or similar training of a registered nurse are nurse-practitioners, clinical nurse specialists, and midwives. The duties of a nurse practitioner include conducting physical exams; diagnosing and treating common illnesses and injuries; providing immunizations; managing high blood pressure, diabetes, and other chronic problems. Clinical nurses duties are to provide care in specialty areas, such as cardiac, oncology (cancer), pediatrics, and psychiatric/mental health. They work in hospitals and clinics, providing medical care and mental health services, developing quality assurance procedures, and serving as educators and consultants. Last but not least, a midwives’ duties are to provide routine health care for women, but their practices are focused on pregnancy and delivery of babies. They lead classes in childbirth, sibling preparation, and care of newborns. If pregnancies continue without complications, nurse-midwives provide all prenatal care, assist mothers during labor, and deliver the babies. Following the births, they make sure that mothers and newborns are well and provide follow-up care. If emergencies occur, nurse-midwives are trained to provide assistance until doctors arrive. All of these occupations in the medical field are just an example to show you the similarities in these careers. (â€Å"Requirements of registered nursingâ€Å"1). When people are considering a career, they often ask questions. Such as; Can I support a family on my salary? , Can I buy a house? , and can I pay for my kids college? A registered nurses salary starts around $56,225 and ends at $68,251. After conducting research I have come to the conclusion that you can indeed afford a small home or nice apartment on a registered nurses salary. You can also afford a used car or afford to have low monthly payment on a vehicle. However, you cannot pay for a child’s college and afford bills without extra help. (â€Å"Salary Wizard†3). In order for me to meet my goals in the medical field, I must be focused. First I must work hard to receive good grades in high school, especially in science and math. I must maintain a great attitude and never give up in order to reach my goals in life. After graduating high school I will enroll in the New Horizons School Of Adult Education. There I will get my LPN license. I will be attending that school for 36 months. After graduating the LPN program I will put in applications in the hospital for LPN’s. Then while I am starting out my career then I will go to school for Registered Nurses. ? ? ? ? ? ? Kayla Foster Gold 6 5/9/2010 English 12

Addiction in Adults and It’s Effects on Their Children Essay

When thinking about drug addiction in adults, one often thinks about and wonders how and when an adult starts or becomes addicted to drugs. Studies have shown that people who have become addicted to drugs from various causes of society. Daily stress of everyday life, some people are forced to start drugs in certain situations, the process and life of a person dealing with drug addiction during pregnancy, the use of drugs during pregnancy, and the effects of drug use during pregnancy; just to name a few. See more: Foot Binding In China essay According to Authors: Lawrence Robinson, Melinda Smith, M. A. , and Joanna Saisan, M. S. W. Last updated: January 2012, â€Å"Many first try drugs out of curiosity, to have a good time, because friends are doing it, or in an effort to improve athletic performance or ease another problem; such as stress, anxiety, or depression. Drug abuse and addiction is less about the amount of substance consumed or the frequency, and more to do with the consequences of drug use. No matter how often or how little you’re consuming, if your drug use is causing problems in your life—at work, school, home, or in your relationships—you likely have a drug abuse or addiction problem. † Drug addiction leads adult down the road of consequences, which such consequences could lead to pregnancy and childbirth. Some addicts may try to clean up during pregnancy however; there are plenty of people addicted to drugs so bad that it consumes their mind. Society has to take in account that there have been studies done on the effects of a parent addicted to drugs raising children. One can find facts that have found that there are parents that are considered functioning drug addicts. Some drug addicted parents are not involved in their children’s life. Now this leads society to wonder about some of the effects that the child may experience. Some children may have serious or several health issues when they are born addicted to drugs. Experts have also shown that some children may not have a medical issue but may experience mental and emotional issues at the same time. According to Lisa Levin, student of psychology, the University of Umea, Sweden, under guidance by Gunborg Palme, certified psychologist, certified psychotherapist, teacher and tutor in psychotherapy, â€Å"The American psychologist Janet G. Woititz was one of the first who paid real attention to the situation for adult children of addicts, with her book â€Å"Adult Children of Alcoholics†. In this book, she elucidated various characteristics that she found in many of these adult children. † Drug ddiction in adults can lead to a world of destruction for both the parents and children. Children can be removed from the home and placed in foster care. Sometimes these children experience terrible situations such as molestation and abuse. However, in other circumstances where some drug addicted adults willing give their children up to family members to rise. At times some of these children can lead down the path of drugs as well. It is being proven that some kids born addicted to drugs have also done drugs as a teenager and adult. In cases children will even sell drugs, work in adult clubs and entertainment, participate in prostitution, and even have children at early ages. But still one can find some of these children also can have a successful story and go down a completely different path, such as success, college, financial stability, or even religious background. The individual is the one that makes the choice on what path they will take in life. Lisa Levin also stated, â€Å"Children of addicts are more likely to develop their own substance abuse and social behavior problems than other children. According to certain researchers, the risk is twice as high, while others estimate the risk to be 4-9 times higher. † Personal thoughts on drug addiction in adults and the effects it has on their children would have to be so many that run through my head. I believe that children have the chose to make two options in their lives. Since dealing with family members who were and are addicted to drugs and their children have graduate from college, work a good job which pays good money, are married and have a family. I have at the same token had cousins that have also been addicted to drugs, prostitution, selling drugs, end up in jail, and have even died following the wrong path in their life. We all have to be responsible for ourselves and live life accordingly. I don’t believe that all children have bad effects of drug addicted parents. I believe they can choose to live a better life and change their situation for the better. One must always find the confidence, drive, and determination to want to make their life what they desire. When being a witness to both sides of the fence, bias is up in the air for now.

Article on issues addressing a contracting issue Essay

Article on issues addressing a contracting issue - Essay Example In this paper the study of Akintan & Morledge will be discussed with its potential use in the defense sector. In the particular sector the challenges for those involved in contracts can be many. By improving the relationship between contractors and sub-contractors in the above industry the risks related to the industry’s contracts would be significantly limited. For Akintan & Morledge (2013) the current structure of ‘traditional construction procurement’ (Akintan & Morledge 2013 p.1) favors main contractors. Sub-contractors, in opposition, are left with no particular power to intervene in the construction process, even if the development of construction projects is quite demanding and the non-involvement of sub-contractors increases the risks for failures (Akintan & Morledge 2013, p.1). After highlighting the particular problem Akintan & Morledge (2013, p.2) present the benefits that the effective collaboration between contractors and sub-contractors would have in the construction industry. These benefits could also refer to other industries where a similar problem, i.e. poor collaboration between contractors and sub-contractors, appears. At the next level, Akintan & Morledge (2013) try to analyze the potential causes for the conflicts developed between contractors and sub-contractors. Emphasis is given to the key criterion on which contractors tend to choose their sub-contractors: price (Akintan & Morledge 2013, p.3). Building a business relationship only on this criterion can result to many risks as no room is allowed for trust and communication to be developed (Akintan & Morledge 2013). Other practices of contractors that increase the chances for conflicts between them and sub-contractors are the following: a) too strict contracting terms, b) most of risks related to the contract are transferred to sub-contractors and c) the use of ‘professional stereotypes’ (Akintan & Morledge 2013, p.3); in the context of

What is the Communicative approach to Language Learning Outline the Essay

What is the Communicative approach to Language Learning Outline the learning theories on which it is based - Essay Example So, now learning English for any professional or a student has become mandatory to excel in the selected trade. There are a number of ways a language that is usually foreign to students is taught. Language expertise or even little knowledge to communicate properly or rather thoroughly express is the intension. It is well known that human psychologist say a topic or a subject is well remembered or understood when it is taught in an interactive format for that matter in a communicative approach. Students were previously taught with the aid of audio media such as cassettes which spell the language and some times even translate the grammar of the foreign language. They were known as audio lingual and grammar translation methods. These did not give learning an enough realistic feeling that is they could not teach real time usage that is appropriate social language, gestures, expressions and were not able to communicate in the culture of the language studied. Slowly a new approach to teach foreign language has mushroomed in 1970s and it was named communicative-style of teaching where usage of authentic language and classroom exchanges took place. Students here were made to communicate with fellow students and teachers with mock situations being created. Language interaction is explained asâ€Å"Language is interaction; it is interpersonal activity and has a clean relationship with the society. In this light , language study has to look at the use of language context, both its linguistic context(what is uttered before and after a given piece of discourse) and its social or situational, context (who is speaking, what their social roles are, why they have come together to speak).† (Berns, 1984) A teacher or an instructor would have already planned the schedule to follow and practice exercises. Here the focus is basically on implementing the procedures to learn the language rather than talking in it. The schedule scheduled needs to be practiced in pairs for the sake

Cyber Law Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Cyber Law - Research Paper Example 1. Cyberspace, cybercrime and cyber law: Before going any further, we have to know what â€Å"Cybercrime† and â€Å"Cyber law† really is and understand the concept of â€Å"Cyber crime† and â€Å"Cyber law.† â€Å"‘Cybercrime’ †¦ consists of engaging in conduct that is outlawed because it threatens order† (Brenner 10). Thus, cybercrime is something which has similarity to the term crime, as all crimes are illegal and all crimes threaten order. The term ‘cyberspace’ was first coined by William Gibson in 1982 which actually describes a â€Å"mentally constructed virtual environment within which computer activity takes place.† â€Å"Cybercrime† means the crimes that are committed within that space and it refers to the risks online (Wall 10). Thus, the term â€Å"cybercrime† indicates crimes that can be committed in a networked computer. It includes crimes like hacking, pornography, crimes related with online financial transactions, credit card frauds, email hijacking, cyber sabotage, virus attacks, etc. The definition of cyber law as given in the business dictionary states that cyber law is a â€Å"rapidly evolving area of civil and criminal law† which is applicable â€Å"to the use of computers, and activities performed and transactions conducted over internet and other networks.† (â€Å"Cyber law†). It includes laws related with electronic copyright, web image trademarks, software piracy, domain name disputes, electronic stocking, online business information, etc. (â€Å"Definition of cyber law†). 2. Different types of cyber crimes: 2.1 Offences against confidentiality, Integrity and Availability of Computer and System:1 It includes crimes that are against any one of the three principles of confidentiality, integrity and availability. The different crimes that can be included in this category can be offences of illegal access like â€Å"hackingâ₠¬  and â€Å"cracking.† â€Å"Hacking† means unlawful access to a computer. It includes offences like breaking the password of protected websites (Gercke 20-21). The second form of crime in this category includes â€Å"Data Espionage† which means accessing sensitive information without the permission of the host. The two approaches which are used to obtain information can be accessing a computer, and extracting information, and using manipulation to make users disclose their access codes, which is also known as â€Å"phishing† (Gercke 23-25). The other crimes coming within this category are illegal interception, data interference and system interference. 2.2 Content-related offences:2 The aforementioned category includes offences of publishing content which is illegal or obnoxious. It includes erotic or pornographic material excluding child pornography. Many countries criminalize access of pornographic content by minors. Secondly, child pornography is co nsidered as a criminal act and is also punishable (Gercke 32). The other types of offences included in this category are racism, hate speech, glorification of offence, religious offences, illegal gambling and online games, libel and false information, spam and related threats, other types of illegal content like unlawful sale of products, etc. (Gercke 34-40) 2.3 Copyright and Trademark-related

Ryanair the low-fares airline (Stratigic management) Assignment

Ryanair the low-fares airline (Stratigic management) - Assignment Example The balance sheet of the company shows that there has been a steady increase in the organisations net profit from 2006. The organisation is regarded as the world’s most profitable airline and this can be attributed to its strategic position in the budget airline industry. However, despite showing positive signs of growth in the industry, it has been recommended that Ryanair should embark on a drive to improve its marketing and communication strategies since it has been receiving negative media coverage. There is need to portray a positive image of and counter the negative publicity given to the airline by the media. It has also been recommended that the airline should strive to improve its industrial relations given that the employees are not fairly treated in this particular case. Employees should be treated as valuable assets in the organisation to ensure its viability. ... anair’s competitors-------------------------------------------------------------9 6.0 Strategic capabilities---------------------------------------------------------------9 7.0 Recommendations-----------------------------------------------------------------9 8.0 Conclusion--------------------------------------------------------------------------10 9.0 Bibliography------------------------------------------------------------------------11 Fig 1SWOT analysis--------------------------------------------------------------------6 Fig 2 Porter’s generic strategy model------------------------------------------------8 1.0 Introduction During the current period, it can be noted that organisations operate in an environment that is characterised by external factors of which in some cases, the companies have little control over them. Against this backdrop, this report seeks to critically evaluate the Rynair’s strategic position with regards to its external environment, competi tive forces, competitors, opportunities as well as threats. A SWOT analysis will be carried for the airline. The report will also discuss the company’s financial analysis, strategic capabilities, strengths and weaknesses. Recommendations about the measures that can be made to maintain the company’s success will be given at the end of the report. 1.1 Overview of the organisation Ryanair is a budget airline in Europe and it was modelled after the successful US carrier, Southwest Airlines. Ryanair was founded in 1985 by the Ryan family with the aim of providing scheduled passenger services between Ireland and the United Kingdom (UK). The aim was to provide an alternative to the then state monopoly carrier, Aer Lingus. Since its inception, the company went through a great deal of turbulence which resulted

UNCITRAL Convention on Contracts for the International Sale of Goods Essay

UNCITRAL Convention on Contracts for the International Sale of Goods 1980 (CISG), - Essay Example However, out of the seventy-eight member states that are part of the CISG, some leading economies such as India, Brazil, and the United Kingdom are yet to join (Borges 2008, pp. 333). The United Kingdom has its own reasons for not joining the CISG. We shall explore some of these reasons in the discussion. The CISG has experienced immense success since its formation, and its relevance has been felt in several countries due to its ability to provide modern, standardized legislation in the international sale of goods that apply whenever the contracts for the sale of goods have been completed between the parties with a place of business among the contracting states. According to Ferrari (2000, p. 120), one of the key reasons that led to the success of the CISG is that it was widely accepted by states from the entire geographical region, all the vital social, economic, and legal systems, and every stage of economic development. Its aim was that it was to be created in such a way that it w as going to be easy to understand and interpret by each member states. Honnold states that the United Nations Convention on Contracts for the International sale of Goods was written in an extremely straightforward and understandable language, which refers to the events and things for which there are words of universal content. The CISG is a significant legislative achievement because it has a massive influence on the worldwide trans-border business laws. Different countries have their own reservations for joining the CISG (Schelechtriem & Schwezwer 2005, pp. 45). The main reasons as to why the United Kingdom had refused to join the convention is that they lacked the time to ratify it, and at the moment it is already not a legislative main concern. The reason as to why it is not a legislative priority at the moment is because there has been slight interest shown by the United Kingdom businesses. These business entities seek to show partnership with the CISG. Unless more interest is s hown at this point, there will be no parliament action on the implementation of the act. The debate of whether the United Kingdom should join the CISG or not should be argued in both ways. In the previous years, the United Kingdom had seen it not necessary to amend its international sales regulation. However, the economic downfall the United Kingdom faced in the year, 2008, made it realize that it was time they made partnership with CISG legislation since it could be seen as denying its people of an extremely potentially useful option. Ratifying the convention so that it could be among many of the European Union nations, Africa, the United States, and the Latin American nations by the UK should also be a priority. However, there are some arguments that the Convention does not similarly benefit anybody. For this, we will also explore why there are such arguments. Countries that have adopted this legislation are capable of eliminating any vagueness in its domestic laws that deal with the international sale of goods. This has enabled the international trade to become hassle free and has also reduced dispute that may arise between trading countries. There are problems that are caused by the United Kingdom’s refusal to join the CISG (Rogowska 2007, pp.230). It has also caused troubles for the rest of the countries that trade with it because different arrangements have to be made. It is essential to realize that with the

The advertising of condoms Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 5500 words

The advertising of condoms - Term Paper Example Condom and pills are equally popular as methods of contraception as per data collected by the Office for National Statistics (Daily Mail, 2009). This was the outcome of a  £5.2 million campaign by the Department of Health conducted with the view of getting more women to carry condoms. Even in developing countries like Thailand condoms are 90% effective in preventing HIV transmission (Hearst & Chen, 2004). However, in countries such as Botswana and Cameroon the sale of condom rose but so did the incidences of HJIV transmission, thereby suggesting that condom use does not reduce HIV and AIDS transmission. No details were available of who used the condoms. Thus condom use might be high among the general public and low among those in high risk. Again, inconsistent use leads to higher risk of HIV transmission. Condom promotion can be successful among commercial sex workers although promoting its use to the general public is difficult. Several condom-promoting strategies have been employed such as free distribution among sex workers and lowering prices but the most successful strategy has been social marketing. In Uganda use of condom was very low until social marketing began in 1990s. The developed and the developing countries had the same response to the promotion of condoms – it would encourage sexual activity with condoms rather than encourage abstinence. This attitude affects advertisement design in this sector. 2. Social marketing Social marketing uses the four marketing Ps – product, price, placement and position – as is used for generic products. For a global strategy of the control of HIV social marketing of condoms has been adopted as the key element (Cohen, Farley, Bedimo-Etame & Scribner, 1999 ). In the US when condom was freely distributed and readily visible and accessible through health care facilities, the use of condoms increased particularly among those at a high risk of HIV and STIs. Condom social marketing in the US was found to be feasible, acceptable and a promising intervention that aided in reducing the number of incidences in STDs. There was relatively small opposition to the program from groups that were traditionally opposed to condoms. Social marketing for condoms is used both for HIV prevention and family planning. Selling condoms falls under social marketing which is not about coercion or inducement. The social marketers try to induce change by applying the principal of exchange (Stead, Gordon, Angus, & McDermott, 2007). It recognizes that the change must bring clear benefit to the customer. Social marketing also involves stages such as targeting, positioning and formulating the marketing mix as generic marketing. Social marketing is concerned with welfa re of the society and is not meant for the benefit of the organization. This is the essence of social marketing. Social marketing has also been defined as the systematic application of marketing concepts and techniques to achieve specific behaviour goals (Lefebvre, 2011). In developed countries social marketing takes the route of persuasive communications for

International Relations and Postmodernism Essay

International Relations and Postmodernism - Essay Example The essay "Postmodernism and Poststructuralist" discusses international relations and postmodernism. Post modernists believe that the previous theorists in this field are traditional and that a new conception of ideas in the field has to be embraced, if the theme has to achieve a form of reality. In the research conducted by Edkins, he indicates that the field cannot be based on theoretical factors that do not have tangible evidence and explanations of aspects that lead to making mere assumptions. In practical view points, assumptions must be intertwined by evidence, a vital aspect by of post modernists. It is vindicated to argue that, post modernists endeavour to merge the ideas of the previous liberalists and realists and come up with a workable solution on the basics of International Relations. This essay shall aim at highlighting the opinions and suggestions of the post modernists and the aspects that have created a lot of antagonism between them and the conventional theorists wh o have dominated the IR field for decades. In the research conducted by Jarvis, the concept of postmodernism in the field of International Relations will indeed cause a lot of hostility from the fact that this era of analysts and researchers are not bound by the theories, but will be quick to critique all forms of concepts and assumptions that have been previously made by theorists. Jones indicates that, in the quest to bring out their view points, the postmodernists have constantly evaded the aspects of realism.

Empirical Asset Pricing Theory Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Empirical Asset Pricing Theory - Assignment Example In other words, the paper will look at the negative covariance of SDF and excess returns. The paper will also outline the Fama-French factors. This will include entailing how these factors work, and the motives behind choosing or selecting of models. Finally, the paper will discuss how the technique used by Pastor and Stambaugh differ from the ones used by Fama-French factors. Stochastic Discount Factor Pricing Model SDF as a Factor Pricing Model According to Fama and French (25 - 30) this model helps in the formulating of n econometric analysis that is used in the pricing of assets. The methods included this model include the capital asset pricing model that was proposed by Sharpe in 1964 and other as well as the consumption based inter-temporal capital asset pricing models (CCAPM). Stochastic discount factor (SDF) uses both of the approaches that are used in asset pricing. This includes the absolute and the relative pricing of asset. The absolute pricing of asset involve the pricin g of an asset relative to the sources that expose it to the macroeconomic risks. The relative pricing of asset entails pricing assets according to how other assets are priced. The pricing equation that is used to estimate the stochastic discount factor is normally assumed. The limitations that are imposed on the behavior relating to the stochastic model are assumed to be standard. Based on the pricing equation assumptions the model, the price of n asset which is denoted as ‘t’ is calculated through discounting the value of the assets in the period of paying off. The equation for determining the price of the asset is: Pt=ET (Mt+sXt+s). The assets pay off is represented by Xt+s while the discounting factor is represented by Mt+s. the part denoted as ET represents the expectation given the information that is available at a given time t. The discounting factor represents the stochastic variable (Renault and Hansen 3-15). The assets that can be priced using this model inclu de a stock that pays a dividend of DT+1. This stock should also have a resale value and a pay off period. A treasury bill is also applicable if only it pays only one unit of goods or a good being consumed. This equates the payoff to 1. A bond whose coupon payment is constant and yet can be sold is applicable for pricing using this model. This model can also price bank deposits that pay the risk free return rate and equate the pay off period to 1+ rft. Finally the call option whose price is Pt and gives the holder of the option the right of purchasing any stock at the price exercised (Renault and Hansen 12-21). Assumptions Relating to the Form of SDF In the development of the stochastic estimator, there are four assumptions that are taken into considerations. The first assumption is that the pricing equation 2 always holds. This equation is equivalent to the law of one price. The assumption here is that all the securities that have the same pay off should bear the same price. There a re no choices of the preference. The second assumption states that the stochastic discounting factor labels Mt to be greater than zero. The same applies even to mimicking portfolio. The implication here is that no arbitrage opportunities exist. The third assumption states that the risk free rate exists. The risk free rate is measurable relative to sigma-algebra. The conditioning set that is also used in the computation of the conditioning moments generates this algebra. The existence of this rate allows for payoff space that is

Chinese culture Essay Example for Free

Chinese culture Essay Chinese culture is known to value education as one of the most important things that you can have in the world. This historical importance of education in the Chinese culture dates back from the teachings of Confucius. China is also rich in great thinkers and philosophers, all having important contributions for China and in the global scale. There philosophy was that they believe in achieving social harmony through freeing humans from deprivation and be given appropriate education and learning. According to Confucian teaching, all of us have the potential to be great, and that education is a way to achieve this. Also, educating a person can help in correcting him, if ever he has strayed as to what is known as ethical behavior. Confucius is a proponent of offering education to all the people from all classes. Education has been a driving force for success; people from low social positions could have the chance to rise and make their selves know through proper education. Confucius’ teachings have become a basis of the social norms of the country and a great aspect in the formation of the Chinese society. Everyone, even the penniless, strives hard to send their sons to school, in hope for a change in their way of life. Education does not only prove to be a source of knowledge but also a source of hope. Chinese education is very democratic in nature, wherein it is open for anyone, and that it promises to uplift him the society as long as he is able to survive the hardships that are brought about by studying lessons and arduous examinations. Chinese people believed in the teachings of Confucius and have used the hope of education as a motivation. They are all veered towards a life of memorizing the Classics and studying for exams in the hope of having a good position in the society afterwards. Some of them succeeded in doing so, and have found that their efforts have all been rewarded. They believe that if they work with their heads, they will be able to rule, being in the top brass of the society; as for those who work with their hands, they are meant to serve others instead. Education then became a mode or strategy in order to survive in the country which is plagued with poverty, a country so large that the government barely hears the calls of the people, unless you strive and make you known: the purpose of having proper education. This was reflected in Lu Xun’s writings, especially in the Preface to â€Å"Call to Arms. † Lu Xun tells his life story, how he started as a young boy raised in a poor family. When his father died of an illness without getting properly cured, he was set into achieving a life in medicine. He aims to do this with the help of education. Just like most of the people in China, he sees education as a way to uplift them of their social status. Even if they are living a poor life, they still have the chance to rise up from poverty. This is by sending him to study and get proper education, away from his family. His mother did everything in order to send him to school. Poverty didn’t stand in the way; she literally worked till her back hurt in order to support Lu Xun in his education. Lu Xun on the other hand did his part and went to a school in his search for education. He was more inclined with medicine, and he further learned that his father wouldn’t have died if he was given the proper treatment, not the old ways of treating such ailments. Families suffered because of false prescriptions, lives were lost without actually being able to give any possible solutions to ailments. He studied a lot, and got into an introduction on Western medical science to Japan. This has brought him somewhere farther away from home, in the provincial medical college in Japan in his search for knowledge. He was thinking of being able to cure patients just like his deceased father, so that patients will not be wrongly treated anymore in the hands of the false prophets giving medical aids. He all dream of doing so upon his return to China even with the increasing unrest and development of wars at that time. Even so, he didn’t lose sight of his dream. He thought that if ever war broke out, he could then serve his country by volunteering to be an army doctor, alongside helping to strengthen the faith of his people towards reformation. What changed him that time is when he saw a film about the execution of a Chinese man. This was done in Japan when they found out about a Russian spy in the person of a Chinese man. Other Chinese people gathered around the man being executed as spectators of what is happening to a fellow Chinese. This had opened his eye that even if he pursue medicine, this can’t prevent the deaths of people who belong to a weak and backward country, and dying from illness may be very less likely to occur. The health of these people doesn’t matter anymore, as long as they are bound by the hardships of the society, they will all end up getting killed or watching others getting killed. The most possible solution that he could turn to was to change their spirit; and this sparked his motivation to move on to literature. He could use up his skills in writing to end this problem, and probably be able to initiate a literary movement. He will pioneer a movement that could hopefully serve his people’s interest; since most of the students in Tokyo are taking up law, political science, physics, chemistry and more, but none of them are studying the arts and literature. There were but a few who has the same inclination as Lu Xun, and they have conglomerated in order to fulfill the same goal by turning to using literature as a weapon against the problems of the society. As their first step, they decide to publish a magazine, signifying a new birth. There are a lot of things that happened afterwards, but eventually led to his collection of various short stories, something that signify his success, maybe not totally, but in his self, he was able to fulfill his dream of affecting a large number of people through literature. Lu Xun’s experiences were but a manifestation of China’s enlightenment, wherein he was able to analyze the worth of his actions, how his futile attempts to lift his position in the society become a detrimental action for the country itself. Chinese culture offered education as a solution, but not all the time should people rely on it. This may cause their demise, if not the total destruction of their beloved culture. Education is really an important aspect to consider, especially for the part of the Chinese people. They give it great value, and they see it as a way to uplift the life they are living in. But during the May Fourth Movement of 1919, people have stood up to the test of time; education is not always the solution. From Lu Xun’s pint of view, his pursue of getting proper education in the field of medicine is not enough. His eyes were opened to the reality of the society; they are living in a hostile environment, that if they don’t take action, they will end up getting crushed. Investing in the minds is not enough, since they have other aspects to fill in. People from other culture undermined the Chinese people’s abilities to assess things in life in the sense of practicality. They have been engrossed in education that they were neglecting the actual concerns of the people. They were more on an individualistic perspective rather that the interest of their nation. Lu Xun has realized this, from the time that he wished to have proper medical education so that he will be able to cure the person, which has been deprived for his deceased father. His personal intention of redeeming himself from the reality that his father could be saved has clouded his mind. In the early years of his time, he was just concentrating on his personal growth, despite the fact that he could have already involved in enriching the Chinese people’s spirit though literature. He realized this in his late years, and has been a manifestation of enlightenment in his personal level. Lu Xun’s writings were really a call to arms, encouraging people to move, to take action so that they can avoid getting crushed. These are encouragements that he gives out to the people of China, an enlightenment that takes them to a transitional phase. The transition of these people is from self-centered efforts of education to the efforts which are more on the national interest. People who were just thinking about raising themselves from poverty are now encouraged to think on a national level; what can they do to improve their country? It is truly a manifestation of enlightenment, wherein the writings of Lu Xun was a call to arms which transformed self-centered Chinese people to a Chinese citizen concerned with the greater interests of the country. This is highly manifested in the May Fourth Movement of 1919, wherein thousands of students stood up and fought for the country, making their voices heard all over the world. It was basically a cultural and political movement of the early modern China, which marked the awakening of a national interest, a wake-up call for the individualistic people to take action to save their country from the clutches of oppression from other countries. It awakened Chinese nationalism and re-evaluated Chinese cultural institutions including the pioneering Confucianism. This is to answer the oppression that they received from the unfair settlements of the Treaty of Versailles, which is known as the Shandong problem, arousing national interest and awakening a movement inside every Chinese citizen. When the Chinese government embraced the intervention from foreigners and the interests of other countries, the Chinese people sensed injustice in their demands from the country. Nationalism was ignited in every heart of the Chinese people because of the unfair treatment being given by the present government who are getting help from foreigners in exchange of favors against national interests. The major proponents of these movements are the students, who stood up and took the streets so that their voices could be heard not only by the government leaders but also by the world. In the outbreak of the World War I, the Beijing government took the side of the Allied Triple Entente because they are pursuing the return of Shandong to China. Shandong has been under the influence of Germany at that time, and China wanted its return. Japan, a fellow Allied power then pursued an attack on all German installations and properties including Shandong when the war came to an end. In a peace conference in Paris, the Chinese government requested for the return of Shandong to China, ever since Japan took it from Germany at the times of the World War I. But at the end of the peace conference in Paris, France, all the Chinese requests have been totally neglected by the Western Allies, dominating most of the meeting and ignoring the sentiments of China. Even though these western countries advocated self-determination, it seems that they have betrayed the fellow Allied power China when they didn’t care to notice of their few requests and arrangements. These events have fueled the fire inside the hearts of the Chinese people, most especially the Chinese students, leading to the outbreak of what we know now as the May Fourth Movement, and event in history that marked the awakening of the Chinese minds towards the harsh reality that we have today; the cruelty of man. In the early hours of May 4, 1919, Chinese students from the local universities of China came and met in Peking to draft and create a few resolutions to answer the Shandon Problem that has aroused from the unfair treatment that they have received from their allies. This includes the opposition of the German concessions in Shandong that was transferred to the Japanese hands. Another is to make everyone in China aware of the position they are into. They want them to know what is happening in their nation today, and that they want to raise the people’s awareness. Another was a â€Å"call to arms,† requesting the people to hold a demonstration that will show their disgust and opposition to the results and terms included in the Treaty of Versailles. The Allied betrayal of China has raised the anger of the Chinese people which encouraged them to stand up and took the streets to hold a demonstration. Majority of these people are students, coming from the local universities of the country. They wanted to get rid of the â€Å"traitors† that has overlooked the interest of China for their own interests. They wanted to punish the political figures at that time which hold important positions as diplomats. The following days were all signs of demonstrations. People especially students from Beijing and other neighboring regions of the country rose and went on strike as a whole, encouraging other parts of the country to do so and follow what they have started. The movement went one, from Beijing to Shanghai to other parts of China, calling the people to take the streets, a true â€Å"call to arms† in order to fight oppression from other countries that opposed them. They have been deprived of their small requests, which mean that they were betrayed by their allies at one point of time. This event is comparable to Lu Xun’s â€Å"A Madman’s Diary, wherein he feature’s the accounts of a person who may not be in the right frame of mind, chronicling everything that he experiences in his day to day life as a â€Å"normal† person in his own point of view. This diary serves as an answer to the May Fourth Movement, which is out on a different context. The mad man’s views may be considered to be as China at that time, while the other characters could be considered as the close people in his life. The mad man views that he is the center of the attention of all the people around him. They look into him as something different, not as a person, but as something material in nature. He thinks that these people wanted to eat him that they see him as someone that can be considered as food, someone that can be cooked just like pork, or chicken, and then be devoured to satisfy the hungry mouths of the people. He fears that anytime he can be attacked, be killed, butchered, and finally be eaten. Every time he walks out of his house, he is always wary that people are looking at him differently, that they have other intentions in their minds. Even the neighborhood’s youngsters look at him differently, just like how the old ones look at him. This has caused him of the uneasy feelings which deprives him of sleep and a good meal, and thinks that anytime soon, people will come barging in and attacking him so that they will be able to devour his flesh. These thoughts were not limited to his neighbors only. He has been thinking like this even with his relatives. He is thinking that his older brother and their caretaker also wanted to eat him. He sees his brother as the biggest threat to his welfare, that he is also interested in devouring his flesh and organs. Because of this, he thinks that he is not safe even in his own house. He then confronts his brother and gets into an argument with him. In the end, he suspected his brother more, with the intentions of devouring his flesh growing as the time lengthens. This was a manifestation of the May Fourth Movement’s awakening. The mad man was China, wherein he is afraid of getting eaten by the people in the community. It reflects the significance of China in a global stature. Many pursue his flesh, and that is literally the territories of the nation. China is a rich country which makes it susceptible for the negative intentions that other countries have against it and its territories. He was trying hard to protect it, and even seek the help of his relatives. These relatives are the Allied powers, whom China gave their allegiance. They wanted to get Shandong back in their names, only to find out that even Japan, a co-Allied power was after it. And the worst part was that they were ignored by the other allied nations. What the Western allied countries did to China was a big slap in their face. They trusted them to help in restoring the territorial claims of Shandong along with a few requests, but none of these were answered. Japan took advantage of their alliance and acquired Shandong for themselves, just like how the madman perceived it to be, his relatives, or in that matter his own brother, devouring his flesh out of greed.

Overview of Culture in Taiwan

Overview of Culture in Taiwan The republic of China took over Taiwan and the surrounding islands from Japan in the year 1945. The official language used is Mandarin. Taiwanese people are all citizens of the Republic of China who hold the countrys citizenship and the people living in Taiwan. There are three paradigms that are used in identifying the Taiwanese people; self-identification, national criteria and the social cultural criteria. Taiwanese are popular for holding on to most of their traditions, customs and beliefs despite the influence of modernization and external cultural influence (Schubert 2011, p. 4). In this essay, we will look at cultural aspects that define the identity of the Taiwanese Chinese and the essence of being one. Values The Taiwanese people have a considerable diversity among them in regard to genetics, cultural and linguistic. This is as a result of the assimilation of various ethnicities and tribes within china and thousands of years of immigration (Immigrant adaptation, 2012). Confucianism has had much influence on the Taiwanese culture. Confucianism is known for shaping the thoughts of the Chinese and initializes the values of filial piety, which implied the conducting of certain shared rituals (Chen 2001, p. 45). The villagers in this society lavished on wedding and funeral ceremonies, imitating the Confucian virtues of the emperors. Most of the Taiwanese wear the Western style clothing with just a few wearing the traditional clothing on a regular basis. In terms of family matters, the Taiwanese have a family manager who is in charge of income and the family head that represents the family to the world. The families are run on set rules and the whole family traditionally stays in a large triangular house (Chen 2001, p. 48). The cross-cultural psychology makes an effort to understand individuals of different cultures and how they interact with each other. The implicit culture theory indicates that the underlying stereotypes, assumptions, beliefs, and schemas influence the way they relate with each other. The beliefs, stereotypes, and schemas differ across cultures, and given that Taiwanese is formed of different people, some assimilated immigrants who come with their own beliefs, then the implicit culture can help us as a society to understand each other (Hsiau 2000, p. 67). Literature and Art The Taiwanese have literature and art that defines their culture. Dancing is part of the community activity which started as early as 8000 years ago. A dance is the main component of Taiwan culture and involves worship and prayer. The community uses sleeves, long scarves and extensions to contribute to the unique forms of dances (Hua 2001, p. 84). Similarly, we use metaphors in this society to define peoples character traits. For example, the spider is used to represent varied things in society. In this society, the Spider symbolizes persistence and patience because of its hunting technique. The spider sets webs and waits for the prey to become ensnared. The Taiwanese use the spider web to indicate malice and mischief since the spider has poisonous venom that kills slowly (Eberhard 1974, p. 56). The onion metaphor has been used to describe the learning styles in Taiwanese culture. The external layers of the onion represent the peoples preferences with regard to where they wish to study. As one peel the onions, the inner part represent the way people perceive information differently and the inner part of the onion represents the cognitive styles of information processing. The core of the onion represents the personality traits of the people. The metaphors describe ones character and attributes as the onions metaphor can be used to describe an extrovert or introvert (Taiwanese Literature Movement, 2011). The five factor model of personality; extraversion, neuroticism, agreeableness, openness to experience and conscientiousness are used to explain the character traits of the people in different societies. The five factor model originated from two independent research traditions. The first research was that of the Lexis analysis of personality terms which occurs in Natural language. Lexis analysis insists that encoded language can be used to describe the individual differences in traits. The other approach is the factor analysis which is based on different theory-based personality inventories (Martin Gates 1981, p. 91). One of the researches based on the NEO Personality Inventory established that all the five factors had strong genetic bases. Despite the fact that individual differences are substantially stable, personality traits show modest maturational changes that are briefly summarized by noting that most people tend to decline N, E, and O and increase A and C in their adulthood. The model generalizes across cultures despite the differences in history, languages, political systems, religion and other cultural features. The model considers the age differences and the sex differences too (Martin Gates 1981, p. 93). The other forms of art found in this culture include the sculpturing, drawing and music. The society has beautiful patterns of ancient cooking utensils which are as a result of sculpturing. Using pictures and paints to express the imaginative thoughts is a common happening in Taiwanese society. Similarly, the culture has classic texts such as the Art of War and the analects of Confucius (Martin 2003, p. 23). Customs, Traditions, and Practices of Taiwan Culture The mainland China and Taiwan, the traditional Chinese customs and culture still hold sway. However, Cultural Revolution and political movements have contributed to the destruction of the culture and customs. The traditional religious beliefs are almost extinct. In addition, Taiwan members in the society rarely read the classics for themselves. The Taiwanese people have been able to absorb the western customs and cultures (Hsin 2012, p. 23). Taiwanese offer traditional cuisines whose richness surpasses that of Korea and Japan. The traditional festivals have been preserved, and people still do reunite with their families in these festivals. Among the festivals are the Lantern Festivals, the Chinese New year Eve, Dragon Boat Festivals, Chinese Valentine day and the Tomb Sweeping Day among others (Martin 2003, p. 23). The ancient Chinese did not celebrate their birthdays because it was seen as the day the mother to the child was suffering. After the Tang Dynasty, the Chinese started celebrating birthdays as a result of influence from India. The fusing of the Western and the Chinese tradition has made the celebration of birthdays more enjoyable than that of the decade. As we are not too bothered about the religious differences, we have different funeral practices in Taiwan. With the Taiwanese people having an open mind, it is easy to blend the traditional and the foreign customs. This has resulted into a diversified Taiwanese culture (Liao Wang, 2006, p.81). There exist harmful socializing practices among the Taiwanese youth. On normal family interactions, a caregiver spends time with children on a variety of playing and mundane activities. Research indicates that more than 300 events of shame are identified in over a hundred hours of video typed spontaneous home interactions (Katz Rubinstein 2003, p.19). Language and Ethnicity Taiwan is a multiethnic and multi lingual society. The majority of the ethnic groups are the Holos with 73.3%, mainlanders 13%, Hakka 12% and the indigenous 1.7%. The Holo, Hakka and the mainlanders constitute the Han people whose language is a contrast to the Abogriges. The Abogriges differ from the Han people by their ethnic language. Language and ethnicity are bound to change with alterations in the environment. Research has indicated that the Hakka are losing their mother tongue faster than their identity. The Taiwanese identity has been promoted through its language (Davison 2004, p. 45). Religion and Rituals Religion plays an essential role in the cultural identity of the Taiwanese. The Chinese folk religion has had a profound influence on the people. Taoism and Confucianism share aspects of a religion without a demand for exclusive adherence, which culminates to cultural syncretism and tolerance. In the 20th century, the Confucianism was a state official philosophy that governed the moral code with some religious elements like the ancestor worship (Davison 2004, p. 48). One of the ancient rituals is the Ji-tong ritual. It involves people hitting themselves on the head until a gush of blood comes out. Tainan and Lugang are the destinations popularly known for the ancient Chinas culture, old temples and the traditional religious practices. Probability of witnessing the Ji-tong ritual in these places is half given that the ritual takes place on the birthdays of the Chinese gods. As such, the people depend much on the spiritual communication (Davison 2004, p. 56). The Taiwans indigenous people ritual is often focused on the adulthood, good harvest, hunting and spirits rituals. The aim of these rituals is to request for good fortune, consolidating peoples hearts, thanksgiving and survival training. The rituals are considered the major spiritual symbols of the Taiwanese traditional culture (Davison 2004, p. 58). In-Groups According to Murray Hong (1994), the Chinese culture is more of collectivist than individualist. However, both the individualist and collectivist values are endorsed in this society. Two layers of personal relationship have been identified to distinguish how people conduct their social interactions. The in-group perceives others to be part of them while the out-group does not consider themselves as part. In Taiwanese culture, our immediate family members always constitute our in-group while our current and potential enemies constitute the out-groups. As much as we are collectivists, the world sees us as middle group because we do not view the people outside the in-group as totally out-group. We do not categorize them immediately as in-group or out-group when we meet people for the first time. Being a Taiwanese teaches one to be part a member of the larger society and not to be individualistic (Murray Hong 1994, p. 64) There is flexible acculturation during the transmigration process of the Taiwanese in China. The Taiwanese government has identified three strategies that enable flexible acculturation; reinvention of the ethnic identities, spatial movements and the graduated sovereignty. The different transmigration processes have been found to have influence on the Taiwanese women social image, ties to the children, careers, spatial relocation and self-perception. In the Taiwanese acculturation, we single out the extramarital affairs between the Taiwanese men and the Chinese women (Liu 2008, p. 70). Family Importance in Taiwan Culture Taiwan culture emphasize on familial bonds as it shapes the culture of the entire nation. Family plays an influential role in the Chinese culture despite the modernization role of family in China has shifted. The Taiwanese believe that the family membership is inherited through the father. This implies that families are normally headed by the Chinese male members in that family. The elders in the society command much respect and have the most authority (Lu 1997, p. 96). According to the filial piety rationale, the older people within the family have the prevailing will over the younger and inferior members of the society. The culture emphasizes on paying reverence to the ancestors that have passed on, especially the male with failure to do so attracts bad luck to the family. Families that lack the male descendants are thought to become volatile ghosts upon death. In the family set up, each position has its own name allocated to it. For example, fathers older brother is referred to as the Bo fu, while the younger one is shu fu. In the modern society, women are gaining more power in the family set-up which has challenged the traditional patriarchal set-up. The young ones have apparently been allowed to have a say in their future life unlike in the previous decades (Lu 1997, p. 96). The Chinese citizens of the Han descent had a child policy in 1979, which stipulated that a couple ought to only bear one child to themselves (Gu 2006, p. 21). The law was to help control the Chinese population boom. A couple faced a hefty fine on breaking this rule. A great number of cases of sterilization and forced abortions existed in this era. The policy was exempted for a family that bore male children as maleness is highly valued in the Chinese culture (Schubert 2011, p. 33). The relationship guanxi describes the basic dynamics in personalized networks of influence, in the Chinese society. In this relationship, the people are to be of equal social status. It refers to the social benefits gained from the school friends, extended family workmates and members of the same organization. The Guanxi relationship echoes the collectivism that is emphasized in this culture. The collectivism just as Guanxi relationship helps maintain the family and friend contacts and strengthen the bond between groups of people and family. The reciprocal favors are the ones that maintain this Guanxi web where failure to reciprocate is considered an unforgivable offense (Lin 2011, p. 42). In conclusion, being a member of the Taiwanese brings a sense of belonging. The cultures and traditions are friendly to assimilate. This has seen most immigrants being assimilated into this culture without much difficulty. The society is more accepting to the out-group than any other countries. We hold the family set up of importance to the image of the entire country. We uphold the cultural values emphasized in the Confucianism and classics. In addition, the people in this culture are allowed to perform their religious rituals in regard to their religion.

Strategies for Zero Carbon Homes

Strategies for Zero Carbon Homes ABSTRACT Anthropogenic climate change is a phenomenon that has received much attention in the last few decades, and for good reason. Since the renowned studies carried out by Dr. Rowland and Dr. Molina, which began in the 1970s on Ozone depletion, subsequent studies have revealed that human activity is causing the planet’s atmospheric and surface temperatures to rise and may also be a major contributor towards climate shift, due by and large by the release of carbon dioxide, methane and other greenhouse particulates and gases in to the atmosphere. The effects of climate shift include severe weather conditions, receding glaciers and ice caps, rising sea levels and drought, with the poorest countries being affected the most. Since the introduction of the Kyoto Protocol in 1997, the UK government is committed to the agreement to reduce UK carbon emission by 80% by the year 2050. It has been suggested that the 21 million homes in the UK account for around a quarter of the total carbon emissions into the atmosphere. With the current government’s indication to increase the number of dwellings to 3 million by the year 2020 due to the rising population, a greater effort is needed to reduce carbon emissions within the housing sector; a drive that will aid the UK Government’s long-term commitment to the United Nations Framework convention on Climate Change and Kyoto Protocol. The government is responding to the challenge quite firmly and has set out strict targets to reduce energy use in new dwellings. To implement such a monumental task, the government has put in place a scheme called the Code for Sustainable Homes (CSH), which sets out criteria for reducing energy for all new dwellings. Gordon Brown’s Governments’ main objective is for all new dwellings to be Zero-Carbon by 2016. The current research paper sets out to identify the impediments that may prevent Gordon Brown’s policy of achieving the zero carbon homes challenge and also to determine the drivers in achieving zero carbon homes across the board by 2016. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS The author would like to thank the individuals who have assisted in the production of this dissertation. A special thank you must go to my supervising tutor Dr. Michael Coffey, whose wisdom and guidance provided support and inspiration towards completing this dissertation. I would also like to thank all those persons who responded to the research questionnaire, which made a significant contribution towards the production of this dissertation. Finally I would like to thank my wife Uzma and children Saqlain, Aaliyah and Owais for their support and for putting up with my neglect towards them in the last few months. Thank you again! Section 1 – Introduction Nature of the Problem Since the Industrial revolution in the late 18th century, greenhouse gas emissions have increased considerably. Scientists have observed that a third of the Sun’s energy that is directed towards the boundaries of the Earth’s atmosphere is reflected back into space, whilst the remaining energy is absorbed by the surface of the planet and to a lesser extent by the planet’s atmosphere. Anthropogenic influence upon climate change is partly caused by the escalation of excess greenhouse gases emitted in to the atmosphere, such as carbon dioxide, principally influenced by the burning of fossil fuels. The effects of climate shift include severe weather conditions, receding glaciers and ice caps, rising sea levels and drought, with the poorest countries being affected the most. The problem scientists have determined is that the sun radiates tremendous amounts of light energy emitted in short wavelengths, however the heat energy released from the surface of the planet itself is released in long wavelengths. Whilst carbon dioxide does not absorb the sun’s energy, it does however absorb heat energy from the planet i.e. long wavelength energy. Therefore when a molecule of carbon dioxide absorbs heat energy, the molecule goes into an excited unstable state. The molecule becomes stable again by releasing the energy that is absorbed. Therefore much of this energy remains within the earth’s atmosphere, whilst the rest of the energy will go out into space. Carbon dioxide therefore allows the light energy from the sun to pass but does not allow all of the heat within the earth’s atmosphere to be released into to outer space, thus intensifying the greenhouse effect. Ultimately causing the temperature of the planet to rise. Illustration courtesy of www.dinosaurfact.net Pro-Active Response to the Problem In response to the Kyoto Protocol’s commitments to reduce carbon dioxide emissions, the UK must reduce it’s baseline greenhouse gas emissions by 12.5% by 2008 2012 from a baseline target set in 1990. Furthermore, the draft Climate Change Bill commits the UK to reductions of C02 emissions of at least 26% by the year 2020 and also to a long-term goal of an 80% reduction by 2050 (Energy Saving Trust) Housing within the UK contributes significantly to greenhouse gas emissions. The UK’s 21million homes account for around 27% of the overall carbon emissions released in to the atmosphere (Skandamoorthy, 2007) and with the current Government’s promise to construct 3 million new homes by the year 2020, the need to address the carbon situation within the housing sector is of paramount importance (BBC News, 2007. New agency to drive home building) Traditionally the construction industry has had little regard for the environment, which makes common ground for producing buildings without energy efficiency in mind. It is only until recent times has the consumption of energy been an important agenda in the house building industry, as advancements in energy efficiency playing an important role in the design of buildings built today, due partly to the crucial role being played by the stringent building regulations; pushing the boundaries further to make buildings more energy efficient. In response to the current situation with regards to reducing carbon emissions within the housing industry the government introduced in 2006 the Code for Sustainable Homes (CSH) scheme (a successor to the Eco Homes rating scheme). At the moment the code is a voluntary standard for energy efficiency and sustainability, applying to newly built homes in the private sector however, it is mandatory where public sector (Homes and Communities Agency) funding is involved. The code aims to deliver a standard guideline for house builders in the UK and addresses key areas of sustainability such as water use and C02 emissions in house building and use. A rating system has been developed within in the code, which measures the ability of the building’s efficiency in terms of energy use. The code’s rating system ranges between levels 1 and 6. Level 6 being the highest level of efficiency and is the level that is most appropriate and applicable to the current study, which is the attain ment of ‘zero carbon status’ (Code for Sustainable Homes Technical Guide, 2007) The Government has indicated that the code will become the single national standard for the design and construction of sustainable homes and is set to become a vehicle for the development of sustainable home building practice in the UK (Code for Sustainable Homes, 1997) The subject of interest is whether the government and the building profession can implement and administer an effective strategy that will allow all new homes to achieve the highly challenging standards of incorporating level 6 rating to dwellings across the board to allow zero carbon status of newly built homes by 2016. Why is there a lack of zero carbon dwellings in the United Kingdom? The problem that presents itself is that the conscious world has accepted that the global warming phenomenon is a serious threat to the planet. Up until recent times carbon emissions and the negative effects being imposed by them upon the environment were not clearly understood, or even thought about in many respects and therefore not a major issue in the housing industry. Recent studies have reported that homes contribute around 27% of total UK carbon emissions. For this reason the housing industry may not have grasped the technologies sufficiently to mass-produce zero carbon homes. Because demand may have been low for zero carbon dwellings it may indicate that there may be a premium cost to build zero carbon homes and therefore not in the best interests of financiers and developers, who may not receive healthy returns on assuming risk for building such assets. Lack of enforceability may be another issue why such dwellings have not been mass-produced. Maybe the supply of materials t o produce such assets may be lacking in availability; again this may be as a consequence of low demand, which may also contribute towards extra cost. It is not clear that any of these scenarios are either singularly or collectively responsible for the slow progress in developing zero carbon homes. Therefore the current study will examine the various drivers and barriers that influence the development of zero carbon developments such as cost, legislation, market demand, available technology and the supply chain. The identification of these factors will provide a basic analysis to determine whether the policy of achieving the zero carbon homes policy by 2016 across the board is actually feasible. Section 2 – Review of zero carbon homes legislation Few green policies have had quite such an impact on a sector as the zero carbon homes policy has had in housing says John Alker, Head of Advocacy at the UK Green Building Council. In December 2006 the government introduced a commitment plan which formulated a requirement that all new homes are to be zero carbon from the year 2016 onwards. The initial proposal was formally communicated via the Code for Sustainable Homes (CSH) technical guide, which is based on and replaces the Ecohomes national standard for sustainable design and construction for new housing in the UK in April 2007. The code stated that a building would emit zero net carbon emissions from heating, hot water, lighting, appliance use and cooking. All CO2 reductions had to be achieved by local off-site means connected to the building by a direct physical connection. However, more recently the government defined a zero carbon dwelling as one which generates 70% of the energy it uses for heating, ventilation and lighting f rom on-site renewable energy (The Energy Saving Trust). Meeting the criteria would enable the home to be rated as a code level 6 home; the highest star rating achievable in terms of the Code, thus certificating the home as a zero carbon dwelling. The acquisition of a code level 6 certificate will allow first hand purchasers of zero carbon homes up to the value of  £500,000 exemption from paying stamp duty land tax (SDLT). Homes above the  £500,000 threshold will enjoy a  £15,000 reduction towards the stamp duty bill (Section 58b, 2007 Finance Bill) It should be noted that the Code for Sustainable Homes (CSH) is currently UK legislation and its implementation is optional to use apart from developments funded by the government (BRE, EcoHomes, 2007). The government has indicated that home builders are encouraged to follow the guidelines of the Code now as adherence to the Code will become mandatory in the future for all new house building (Code for Sustainable Homes, 2006) The government has also provided an incentive for the installation of energy saving materials and micro-generation apparatus by reducing the VAT to 5%. This VAT decrease only applies to the UK however, â€Å"the European Commission is committed to bringing forward proposals for a change to the Principal VAT Directive to allow an EU-wide reduction in VAT for green products, particularly those aimed at improving energy efficiency in buildings† (HM Treasury, 2008) The UK government aims to reach their stated goal of 80% carbon dioxide reduction in the UK by 2050 through implementing progressive tightening of the building regulations. The tightening of the regulations is to be maintained in three phases in 2010, 2013 and 2016 (Building Regulations Energy efficiency requirements for new dwellings, 2007). The graph on the previous page shows the target reductions for each phase. These target reductions equate to the energy performance standards in the governments vehicle for reducing CO2 in housing; the Code for Sustainable Homes (CSH) Levels 3, 4, and 6 respectively; highlighting the governments progressive strategy to achieving carbon zero homes by 2016. Source: (Building Regulations Energy efficiency requirements for new dwellings, 2007). The primary method of measurement of energy efficiency for the Building Regulations is the dwelling Carbon Dioxide Emissions Rate (DER), which is an estimate of CO2 per metre squared of floor area. Currently (2010) the improvement in the DER is said to be 25% compared to the 2006 level. An improvement of 44% is required in 2013 and ultimately a 100% improvement which is incidentally zero carbon for all new homes built in 2016. An analysis of the Code for Sustainable Homes (CSH) The code seeks to make improvements in energy efficiency and water usage upon those required by the Building Regulations Part L 2006. The code will compliment the system of energy performance certificates that was introduced in 2007 by the Energy Performance of Building Directive (EPBD). At present the Code is voluntary, however house builders are encouraged to utilise the Code as a guideline for house building practice, as the government states that the code will be mandatory in the future. Energy efficiency is measured at every level of the code by assessing nine individual design categories, with higher level of sustainability performance achieving a high code rating. The Code measures the following design categories: The code implements a procedure which mirrors the BRE’s EcoHomes system in its method of assessment, which relies on trained and accredited independent assessors to inspect the homes. Design stage assessments are conducted by the assessors who on completion of the assessment recommend a sustainable code rating for the home being assessed and will issues an interim certificate. On completion of the development a post completion assessment is carried out by the inspector, who will on completion of the final checks issue a final code certificate which states the level achieved and therefore be given a CSH code rating. A home meeting any level of the Code will have to meet minimum standards for certain items depending on what Level is desired. For Level 6 this means: The home will have to be completely zero carbon (i.e. zero net emissions of carbon dioxide (CO2) from all energy use in the home). This could be achieved by: †¢ Improving the thermal efficiency of the walls, windows, and roof as far as is practically possible (by using more insulation or better glass for example); †¢ Reducing air permeability to the minimum consistent with health requirements (a certain amount of air ventilation is needed in a home for health reasons); †¢ Installing a high efficiency condensing boiler, or being on a district heating system; †¢ Carefully designing the fabric of the home to reduce thermal bridging (thermal bridging allows heat to easily escape between the inner walls and the outer walls of a home); †¢ Using low and zero carbon technologies such as solar thermal panels, biomass boilers, wind turbines, and combined heat and power systems (CHP). It would mean for example that energy taken from the national grid would have to be replaced by low or zero carbon generated energy, so that over a year the net emissions were zero. The home will have to be designed to use no more than about 80 litres of water per person per day. This could be achieved by fitting such items as: †¢ 6/4 Dual Flush WC; †¢ Flow Reducing/Aerating taps throughout; †¢ 6-9 litres per minute shower (note that an average electric shower is about 6/7 litres per minute); †¢ a smaller, shaped bath – still long enough to lie down in, but less water required to fill it to a level consistent with personal comfort; †¢ 18ltr maximum volume dishwasher; †¢ 60ltr maximum volume washing machine. To achieve the standard would also mean that about 30% of the water requirement of the home was provided from non-potable sources such as rainwater harvesting systems or grey water recycling systems. Other minimum requirements are required for: †¢ Surface water management – this may mean the provision of soakaways and areas of porous paving; †¢ Materials – this means a minimum number of materials meeting at least a ‘D’ grade in the Building Research Establishment’s Green Guide (the scale goes from A+ to E); †¢ Waste management – this means having a site waste management plan in place during the home’s construction, and adequate space for waste storage during its use. But to get to Level 6 you need a further 64.9 points. So the builder/developer must do many other things to obtain the other points. In fact they will need to do 90% of everything in the Code to achieve Level 6, including: †¢ Energy efficient appliances, and lighting; †¢ Supplying accessible water butts; †¢ Reducing surface water run-off as much as possible; †¢ Using highly environmentally friendly materials; †¢ Minimising construction waste; †¢ Maximum, accessible provision for recycling; †¢ Improved daylighting, sound insulation and security; †¢ Building to the Lifetime Homes standard; †¢ Assessing and minimising the ecological impact of the construction of the home Source of information: Code for Sustainable Homes – A step change in home building practice guide (2006) Section 3 Cost implications of constructing zero carbon homes During the last ten years house prices have continually increased due to the rising population and a slow response to the demand in terms of house building says Kate Barker in her 2004 survey on housing supply (Barker, K. 2004) See figures 1 and 4 below. It was the Barker report commissioned by Prime Minister Gordon Brown which gave recognition to the home building industry to investigate into improving the level of housing supply in the UK. The report concluded that the UK had a serious shortage of homes and was in much need of around 120,000 homes per year built by private house builders. The figures are in addition to the 150,000 homes which are currently being constructed per year by the house builders. The Barker report engaged the government to set an objective to increase the supply of houses being built in England of at least 200,000 per year by the year 2020. The housing market in the UK is considered by the UK government as an important arena in contributing towards regulating the nation’s economy. Putting this into perspective it is ironic that the Labour government since coming into power has changed housing ministers nine times in the last thirteen years. During the first year in office by the Labour government, it has seen a housing crisis which has seen a 190% increase in house prices with a house price to earnings ratio increase from 3.1 to 5.8. What this means is that whilst house prices have climbed dramatically, average salaries have not increased in proportion to the rising cost of house purchasing. The solution to controlling current house prices is to build more homes, however in 2009 only 118,000 new homes were constructed, which is less than half the annual amount required if the government’s target of an additional 3 million homes are to be constructed by the year 2020 (Alexander, 2010). How does this piece o f information relate to the cost of constructing zero carbon homes? Quite simply; the government has introduced a policy which aims to build an additional 3 million homes by the year 2020. The government is also pressing with the policy which aims to see all new homes constructed by the year 2016 to be zero carbon. The problem that presents itself is that the cost of building zero carbon homes includes a premium cost for building and subsequently purchasing such a property. If in the year 2009 only 118,000 homes were built, when quite clearly the government’s target is at least 200,000 per year to be in a position to meet the 3 million new homes target by 2020 and the cost of housing is already quite high, then how does Gordon Brown intend on maintaining the road map for two extraordinary targets which clash quite apparently. Last years figures prove that house building was at an all time low since 1946. These figures indicate that Gordon Brown’s government may have ov erlooked the situation and set a target which is perhaps extremely challenging if taking account of the current economic position of the UK economy. The Cyril Sweett Consultation In 2006 Cyril Sweett construction and property consultants were approached by the English Partnerships and Housing Corporation to report on the implications of the move from the Ecohomes standard of ‘Very good’ rating to the level 3 Code for Sustainable Homes. The research carried out by Cyril Sweett consultants reviewed six different types of houses which included four types which were constructed using traditional methods of construction and two with modern construction techniques. Cyril Sweett say that the findings of the research are not necessarily standard for all construction and consideration should given to project specific variables such as the area of construction, type of development, the supply chain etc; each having a variable effect on the cost of building in the stated methods of construction. Whilst the figures do not represent code level 6 developments, they do however give an indication of what the expected cost of building level 6 zero carbon homes ma y be if factored. The study made consideration to a whole host of construction methods and technological solutions to improve the performance of the home. The sole purpose of the research was to assess which methods of construction were the most economically viable to achieve the various code levels of the CfSH. However four scenarios were given in the report for expediency which are as follows: Scenario 1 Initial energy efficiency measures followed by the use of solar thermal technology, then photovoltaic and biomass systems. Scenario 2 Initial energy efficiency measures initially followed by the use of small scale wind turbines and then biomass systems. Scenario 3 Development with shared energy services, such as combined heat and power (CHP). For this scenario costs per unit are averaged for different infrastructure options for a theoretical 200 unit development. Scenario 4 Achievement of Code level 3 without recourse to renewable energies through the use of a whole house mechanical ventilation system with heat recovery and by assuming the use of proprietary construction details. The findings of the study found that projects which allowed for wind energy or site wide CHP technologies had scope for achieving the lowest costs. Again, it is stressed that projects are site specific therefore areas with low wind speeds may not be able to achieve satisfactory wind speeds to justify using wind energy technologies. The following tabulated data highlights the additional cost of achieving the code level 3 over the Ecohomes Very Good standard. The baseline cost for the abovementioned homes is  £92,107 for a 116m ² detached home and  £75,230 for a 101m ² end of terrace home, as specified or compliant with the 2006 building Regulations. It is an interesting observation that the implementation of Scenario 4 to achieve a code level 3 rating costs  £5,090 for a detached house and  £4,748 for a terraced house; an increase in cost of 5.4% and 6.2% respectively. What’s interesting about these figures is that Scenario 4 does not implement any renewable energy solutions such as photovoltaic cell technology but does make use of mechanical ventilation with heat recovery systems. Scenario 4 does in many respects mirror the PassivHaus dwelling or Scandinavian homes method of building. Scenario 4 combined with advanced micro generation technologies could achieve level 6 zero carbon status but to enable this industry would need to invest further in research and development of enhancing the micro generation technologies, however the cost will be greatly increased. As with anything that is new there is a premium cost to be paid. But as more efforts are made and competition increases due to demand the cost of such technol ogies should decrease in time. The costing data provided in the Cyril Sweett report (2007) went further to report on the cost of achieving a level 5 rating of the Code for Sustainable Homes (CfSH), which is incidentally the highest level of code attainment data provided in the report. The following cost comparison data only makes reference to detached dwellings as the costing data for terraced houses are not too dissimilar to the detached houses. Scenario 1 The table shown above shows the cost of achieving a code level 5 rating of the CfSH using scenario 1, which to reiterate includes the use of solar thermal technology with photovoltaic and biomass systems. The cost attached to upgrading to level 5 costs an additional  £20,270, as shown in the table. Therefore an 18% increase above the baseline cost of building a detached home with a 116m ² area to the 2006 building regulatory standard, which totals  £111,476. Scenario 2 Utilising Scenario 2, a 116m ² Home built with small scale wind turbine and biomass technology will achieve a CfSH level 5 rating at a cost of  £14,206 above the baseline cost. A 14% increase totalling  £106,146 Scenario 3 Utilising Scenario 3, a 116m ² Home built using site wide CHP technology will achieve a CfSH level 4 rating at a cost of  £2,622 above the baseline cost. A 3% increase totalling  £93,828 Scenario 4 Utilising Scenario 4, a 116m ² Home built with improved air tightening and mechanical ventilation will achieve a CHS level 3 rating at a cost of  £4,481 above the baseline cost. A 5% increase totalling  £95,687 The cumulative graph shown above shows the cost of achieving each level of the Code for Sustainable Homes (CfSH) up to level 5, in comparison to each scenario detailed on the previous pages. The interesting thing about the comparative cost data provided by Cyril Sweett consultants is that to achieve level 5 of the code using scenario one costs  £36,070, which is an increase above the baseline cost of 28.6%. Obtaining a code level 5 rating using scenario two is achieved by allowing for an increase in cost above the baseline of  £20,746 which is a 22.7% increase. These figures provide an indication of what the likelihood cost for building code level 6 zero carbon homes are going be. Therefore it is estimated that for a similar type of dwelling the cost will be in excess of 30% above the 2006 Building Regulations baseline cost. A 30% increase in cost is quite substantial considering a home built to the prescribed building standards would cost approximately  £92,107, thus around a  £40,000 increase to implement code level 6 to the dwelling is a substantial amount and therefore cost is going to be a major factor in determining the success or failure of achieving the z ero carbon homes by 2016 target. Clearly the figures shown in this report show that the cost of producing zero carbon homes across the board is going to be a major obstacle if drastic changes and new solutions to reduce the cost of zero carbon technologies do not surface within the next few years leading up to the year 2016. The situation appears to be quite discomforting as affordability is going to negate the possibility of achieving not just the 2016 target but may also interfere with the 2020 target of building an additional three million new homes in the United Kingdom as less demand due to affordability will result in less homes being built and therefore cause a stalemate situation if the government alongside industry does not take steps to resolve the situation fast. Reductions in cost for bulk purchasing As stated earlier in the report cost reductions can be made through advances in technology and through competition as demand for zero carbon homes increases. Whilst the cost of achieving zero carbon is quite high at the moment, cost will gradually subside. The Cyril Sweett consultancy further reported that the purchase of materials and technology in bulk order will reduce the cost of producing zero carbon homes. Cyril Sweett representatives approached a number of suppliers of water and sustainable technologies. It was found that for large scale procurement i.e. 5000 units plus reductions in cost were achieved for the following technologies. (Cyril Sweett, 2007) Section 4 Methodology This chapter focuses on the methodology used in the production of the current research paper and will highlight the various stages of the research method. The purpose of the methodology is to provide the reader with an insight into what is expected in the report and how the research is to be conducted. The current study focuses on the UK government’s policy of â€Å"all homes to be Zero Carbon† by the year 2016 and investigates into the feasibility of the policy and further considers the impediments preventing the policy to materialise. The study also aims to identify the key drivers and barriers of achieving zero carbon homes by 2016 across the board. The study will explore key areas in the Strategies for Zero Carbon Homes Strategies for Zero Carbon Homes ABSTRACT Anthropogenic climate change is a phenomenon that has received much attention in the last few decades, and for good reason. Since the renowned studies carried out by Dr. Rowland and Dr. Molina, which began in the 1970s on Ozone depletion, subsequent studies have revealed that human activity is causing the planet’s atmospheric and surface temperatures to rise and may also be a major contributor towards climate shift, due by and large by the release of carbon dioxide, methane and other greenhouse particulates and gases in to the atmosphere. The effects of climate shift include severe weather conditions, receding glaciers and ice caps, rising sea levels and drought, with the poorest countries being affected the most. Since the introduction of the Kyoto Protocol in 1997, the UK government is committed to the agreement to reduce UK carbon emission by 80% by the year 2050. It has been suggested that the 21 million homes in the UK account for around a quarter of the total carbon emissions into the atmosphere. With the current government’s indication to increase the number of dwellings to 3 million by the year 2020 due to the rising population, a greater effort is needed to reduce carbon emissions within the housing sector; a drive that will aid the UK Government’s long-term commitment to the United Nations Framework convention on Climate Change and Kyoto Protocol. The government is responding to the challenge quite firmly and has set out strict targets to reduce energy use in new dwellings. To implement such a monumental task, the government has put in place a scheme called the Code for Sustainable Homes (CSH), which sets out criteria for reducing energy for all new dwellings. Gordon Brown’s Governments’ main objective is for all new dwellings to be Zero-Carbon by 2016. The current research paper sets out to identify the impediments that may prevent Gordon Brown’s policy of achieving the zero carbon homes challenge and also to determine the drivers in achieving zero carbon homes across the board by 2016. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS The author would like to thank the individuals who have assisted in the production of this dissertation. A special thank you must go to my supervising tutor Dr. Michael Coffey, whose wisdom and guidance provided support and inspiration towards completing this dissertation. I would also like to thank all those persons who responded to the research questionnaire, which made a significant contribution towards the production of this dissertation. Finally I would like to thank my wife Uzma and children Saqlain, Aaliyah and Owais for their support and for putting up with my neglect towards them in the last few months. Thank you again! Section 1 – Introduction Nature of the Problem Since the Industrial revolution in the late 18th century, greenhouse gas emissions have increased considerably. Scientists have observed that a third of the Sun’s energy that is directed towards the boundaries of the Earth’s atmosphere is reflected back into space, whilst the remaining energy is absorbed by the surface of the planet and to a lesser extent by the planet’s atmosphere. Anthropogenic influence upon climate change is partly caused by the escalation of excess greenhouse gases emitted in to the atmosphere, such as carbon dioxide, principally influenced by the burning of fossil fuels. The effects of climate shift include severe weather conditions, receding glaciers and ice caps, rising sea levels and drought, with the poorest countries being affected the most. The problem scientists have determined is that the sun radiates tremendous amounts of light energy emitted in short wavelengths, however the heat energy released from the surface of the planet itself is released in long wavelengths. Whilst carbon dioxide does not absorb the sun’s energy, it does however absorb heat energy from the planet i.e. long wavelength energy. Therefore when a molecule of carbon dioxide absorbs heat energy, the molecule goes into an excited unstable state. The molecule becomes stable again by releasing the energy that is absorbed. Therefore much of this energy remains within the earth’s atmosphere, whilst the rest of the energy will go out into space. Carbon dioxide therefore allows the light energy from the sun to pass but does not allow all of the heat within the earth’s atmosphere to be released into to outer space, thus intensifying the greenhouse effect. Ultimately causing the temperature of the planet to rise. Illustration courtesy of www.dinosaurfact.net Pro-Active Response to the Problem In response to the Kyoto Protocol’s commitments to reduce carbon dioxide emissions, the UK must reduce it’s baseline greenhouse gas emissions by 12.5% by 2008 2012 from a baseline target set in 1990. Furthermore, the draft Climate Change Bill commits the UK to reductions of C02 emissions of at least 26% by the year 2020 and also to a long-term goal of an 80% reduction by 2050 (Energy Saving Trust) Housing within the UK contributes significantly to greenhouse gas emissions. The UK’s 21million homes account for around 27% of the overall carbon emissions released in to the atmosphere (Skandamoorthy, 2007) and with the current Government’s promise to construct 3 million new homes by the year 2020, the need to address the carbon situation within the housing sector is of paramount importance (BBC News, 2007. New agency to drive home building) Traditionally the construction industry has had little regard for the environment, which makes common ground for producing buildings without energy efficiency in mind. It is only until recent times has the consumption of energy been an important agenda in the house building industry, as advancements in energy efficiency playing an important role in the design of buildings built today, due partly to the crucial role being played by the stringent building regulations; pushing the boundaries further to make buildings more energy efficient. In response to the current situation with regards to reducing carbon emissions within the housing industry the government introduced in 2006 the Code for Sustainable Homes (CSH) scheme (a successor to the Eco Homes rating scheme). At the moment the code is a voluntary standard for energy efficiency and sustainability, applying to newly built homes in the private sector however, it is mandatory where public sector (Homes and Communities Agency) funding is involved. The code aims to deliver a standard guideline for house builders in the UK and addresses key areas of sustainability such as water use and C02 emissions in house building and use. A rating system has been developed within in the code, which measures the ability of the building’s efficiency in terms of energy use. The code’s rating system ranges between levels 1 and 6. Level 6 being the highest level of efficiency and is the level that is most appropriate and applicable to the current study, which is the attain ment of ‘zero carbon status’ (Code for Sustainable Homes Technical Guide, 2007) The Government has indicated that the code will become the single national standard for the design and construction of sustainable homes and is set to become a vehicle for the development of sustainable home building practice in the UK (Code for Sustainable Homes, 1997) The subject of interest is whether the government and the building profession can implement and administer an effective strategy that will allow all new homes to achieve the highly challenging standards of incorporating level 6 rating to dwellings across the board to allow zero carbon status of newly built homes by 2016. Why is there a lack of zero carbon dwellings in the United Kingdom? The problem that presents itself is that the conscious world has accepted that the global warming phenomenon is a serious threat to the planet. Up until recent times carbon emissions and the negative effects being imposed by them upon the environment were not clearly understood, or even thought about in many respects and therefore not a major issue in the housing industry. Recent studies have reported that homes contribute around 27% of total UK carbon emissions. For this reason the housing industry may not have grasped the technologies sufficiently to mass-produce zero carbon homes. Because demand may have been low for zero carbon dwellings it may indicate that there may be a premium cost to build zero carbon homes and therefore not in the best interests of financiers and developers, who may not receive healthy returns on assuming risk for building such assets. Lack of enforceability may be another issue why such dwellings have not been mass-produced. Maybe the supply of materials t o produce such assets may be lacking in availability; again this may be as a consequence of low demand, which may also contribute towards extra cost. It is not clear that any of these scenarios are either singularly or collectively responsible for the slow progress in developing zero carbon homes. Therefore the current study will examine the various drivers and barriers that influence the development of zero carbon developments such as cost, legislation, market demand, available technology and the supply chain. The identification of these factors will provide a basic analysis to determine whether the policy of achieving the zero carbon homes policy by 2016 across the board is actually feasible. Section 2 – Review of zero carbon homes legislation Few green policies have had quite such an impact on a sector as the zero carbon homes policy has had in housing says John Alker, Head of Advocacy at the UK Green Building Council. In December 2006 the government introduced a commitment plan which formulated a requirement that all new homes are to be zero carbon from the year 2016 onwards. The initial proposal was formally communicated via the Code for Sustainable Homes (CSH) technical guide, which is based on and replaces the Ecohomes national standard for sustainable design and construction for new housing in the UK in April 2007. The code stated that a building would emit zero net carbon emissions from heating, hot water, lighting, appliance use and cooking. All CO2 reductions had to be achieved by local off-site means connected to the building by a direct physical connection. However, more recently the government defined a zero carbon dwelling as one which generates 70% of the energy it uses for heating, ventilation and lighting f rom on-site renewable energy (The Energy Saving Trust). Meeting the criteria would enable the home to be rated as a code level 6 home; the highest star rating achievable in terms of the Code, thus certificating the home as a zero carbon dwelling. The acquisition of a code level 6 certificate will allow first hand purchasers of zero carbon homes up to the value of  £500,000 exemption from paying stamp duty land tax (SDLT). Homes above the  £500,000 threshold will enjoy a  £15,000 reduction towards the stamp duty bill (Section 58b, 2007 Finance Bill) It should be noted that the Code for Sustainable Homes (CSH) is currently UK legislation and its implementation is optional to use apart from developments funded by the government (BRE, EcoHomes, 2007). The government has indicated that home builders are encouraged to follow the guidelines of the Code now as adherence to the Code will become mandatory in the future for all new house building (Code for Sustainable Homes, 2006) The government has also provided an incentive for the installation of energy saving materials and micro-generation apparatus by reducing the VAT to 5%. This VAT decrease only applies to the UK however, â€Å"the European Commission is committed to bringing forward proposals for a change to the Principal VAT Directive to allow an EU-wide reduction in VAT for green products, particularly those aimed at improving energy efficiency in buildings† (HM Treasury, 2008) The UK government aims to reach their stated goal of 80% carbon dioxide reduction in the UK by 2050 through implementing progressive tightening of the building regulations. The tightening of the regulations is to be maintained in three phases in 2010, 2013 and 2016 (Building Regulations Energy efficiency requirements for new dwellings, 2007). The graph on the previous page shows the target reductions for each phase. These target reductions equate to the energy performance standards in the governments vehicle for reducing CO2 in housing; the Code for Sustainable Homes (CSH) Levels 3, 4, and 6 respectively; highlighting the governments progressive strategy to achieving carbon zero homes by 2016. Source: (Building Regulations Energy efficiency requirements for new dwellings, 2007). The primary method of measurement of energy efficiency for the Building Regulations is the dwelling Carbon Dioxide Emissions Rate (DER), which is an estimate of CO2 per metre squared of floor area. Currently (2010) the improvement in the DER is said to be 25% compared to the 2006 level. An improvement of 44% is required in 2013 and ultimately a 100% improvement which is incidentally zero carbon for all new homes built in 2016. An analysis of the Code for Sustainable Homes (CSH) The code seeks to make improvements in energy efficiency and water usage upon those required by the Building Regulations Part L 2006. The code will compliment the system of energy performance certificates that was introduced in 2007 by the Energy Performance of Building Directive (EPBD). At present the Code is voluntary, however house builders are encouraged to utilise the Code as a guideline for house building practice, as the government states that the code will be mandatory in the future. Energy efficiency is measured at every level of the code by assessing nine individual design categories, with higher level of sustainability performance achieving a high code rating. The Code measures the following design categories: The code implements a procedure which mirrors the BRE’s EcoHomes system in its method of assessment, which relies on trained and accredited independent assessors to inspect the homes. Design stage assessments are conducted by the assessors who on completion of the assessment recommend a sustainable code rating for the home being assessed and will issues an interim certificate. On completion of the development a post completion assessment is carried out by the inspector, who will on completion of the final checks issue a final code certificate which states the level achieved and therefore be given a CSH code rating. A home meeting any level of the Code will have to meet minimum standards for certain items depending on what Level is desired. For Level 6 this means: The home will have to be completely zero carbon (i.e. zero net emissions of carbon dioxide (CO2) from all energy use in the home). This could be achieved by: †¢ Improving the thermal efficiency of the walls, windows, and roof as far as is practically possible (by using more insulation or better glass for example); †¢ Reducing air permeability to the minimum consistent with health requirements (a certain amount of air ventilation is needed in a home for health reasons); †¢ Installing a high efficiency condensing boiler, or being on a district heating system; †¢ Carefully designing the fabric of the home to reduce thermal bridging (thermal bridging allows heat to easily escape between the inner walls and the outer walls of a home); †¢ Using low and zero carbon technologies such as solar thermal panels, biomass boilers, wind turbines, and combined heat and power systems (CHP). It would mean for example that energy taken from the national grid would have to be replaced by low or zero carbon generated energy, so that over a year the net emissions were zero. The home will have to be designed to use no more than about 80 litres of water per person per day. This could be achieved by fitting such items as: †¢ 6/4 Dual Flush WC; †¢ Flow Reducing/Aerating taps throughout; †¢ 6-9 litres per minute shower (note that an average electric shower is about 6/7 litres per minute); †¢ a smaller, shaped bath – still long enough to lie down in, but less water required to fill it to a level consistent with personal comfort; †¢ 18ltr maximum volume dishwasher; †¢ 60ltr maximum volume washing machine. To achieve the standard would also mean that about 30% of the water requirement of the home was provided from non-potable sources such as rainwater harvesting systems or grey water recycling systems. Other minimum requirements are required for: †¢ Surface water management – this may mean the provision of soakaways and areas of porous paving; †¢ Materials – this means a minimum number of materials meeting at least a ‘D’ grade in the Building Research Establishment’s Green Guide (the scale goes from A+ to E); †¢ Waste management – this means having a site waste management plan in place during the home’s construction, and adequate space for waste storage during its use. But to get to Level 6 you need a further 64.9 points. So the builder/developer must do many other things to obtain the other points. In fact they will need to do 90% of everything in the Code to achieve Level 6, including: †¢ Energy efficient appliances, and lighting; †¢ Supplying accessible water butts; †¢ Reducing surface water run-off as much as possible; †¢ Using highly environmentally friendly materials; †¢ Minimising construction waste; †¢ Maximum, accessible provision for recycling; †¢ Improved daylighting, sound insulation and security; †¢ Building to the Lifetime Homes standard; †¢ Assessing and minimising the ecological impact of the construction of the home Source of information: Code for Sustainable Homes – A step change in home building practice guide (2006) Section 3 Cost implications of constructing zero carbon homes During the last ten years house prices have continually increased due to the rising population and a slow response to the demand in terms of house building says Kate Barker in her 2004 survey on housing supply (Barker, K. 2004) See figures 1 and 4 below. It was the Barker report commissioned by Prime Minister Gordon Brown which gave recognition to the home building industry to investigate into improving the level of housing supply in the UK. The report concluded that the UK had a serious shortage of homes and was in much need of around 120,000 homes per year built by private house builders. The figures are in addition to the 150,000 homes which are currently being constructed per year by the house builders. The Barker report engaged the government to set an objective to increase the supply of houses being built in England of at least 200,000 per year by the year 2020. The housing market in the UK is considered by the UK government as an important arena in contributing towards regulating the nation’s economy. Putting this into perspective it is ironic that the Labour government since coming into power has changed housing ministers nine times in the last thirteen years. During the first year in office by the Labour government, it has seen a housing crisis which has seen a 190% increase in house prices with a house price to earnings ratio increase from 3.1 to 5.8. What this means is that whilst house prices have climbed dramatically, average salaries have not increased in proportion to the rising cost of house purchasing. The solution to controlling current house prices is to build more homes, however in 2009 only 118,000 new homes were constructed, which is less than half the annual amount required if the government’s target of an additional 3 million homes are to be constructed by the year 2020 (Alexander, 2010). How does this piece o f information relate to the cost of constructing zero carbon homes? Quite simply; the government has introduced a policy which aims to build an additional 3 million homes by the year 2020. The government is also pressing with the policy which aims to see all new homes constructed by the year 2016 to be zero carbon. The problem that presents itself is that the cost of building zero carbon homes includes a premium cost for building and subsequently purchasing such a property. If in the year 2009 only 118,000 homes were built, when quite clearly the government’s target is at least 200,000 per year to be in a position to meet the 3 million new homes target by 2020 and the cost of housing is already quite high, then how does Gordon Brown intend on maintaining the road map for two extraordinary targets which clash quite apparently. Last years figures prove that house building was at an all time low since 1946. These figures indicate that Gordon Brown’s government may have ov erlooked the situation and set a target which is perhaps extremely challenging if taking account of the current economic position of the UK economy. The Cyril Sweett Consultation In 2006 Cyril Sweett construction and property consultants were approached by the English Partnerships and Housing Corporation to report on the implications of the move from the Ecohomes standard of ‘Very good’ rating to the level 3 Code for Sustainable Homes. The research carried out by Cyril Sweett consultants reviewed six different types of houses which included four types which were constructed using traditional methods of construction and two with modern construction techniques. Cyril Sweett say that the findings of the research are not necessarily standard for all construction and consideration should given to project specific variables such as the area of construction, type of development, the supply chain etc; each having a variable effect on the cost of building in the stated methods of construction. Whilst the figures do not represent code level 6 developments, they do however give an indication of what the expected cost of building level 6 zero carbon homes ma y be if factored. The study made consideration to a whole host of construction methods and technological solutions to improve the performance of the home. The sole purpose of the research was to assess which methods of construction were the most economically viable to achieve the various code levels of the CfSH. However four scenarios were given in the report for expediency which are as follows: Scenario 1 Initial energy efficiency measures followed by the use of solar thermal technology, then photovoltaic and biomass systems. Scenario 2 Initial energy efficiency measures initially followed by the use of small scale wind turbines and then biomass systems. Scenario 3 Development with shared energy services, such as combined heat and power (CHP). For this scenario costs per unit are averaged for different infrastructure options for a theoretical 200 unit development. Scenario 4 Achievement of Code level 3 without recourse to renewable energies through the use of a whole house mechanical ventilation system with heat recovery and by assuming the use of proprietary construction details. The findings of the study found that projects which allowed for wind energy or site wide CHP technologies had scope for achieving the lowest costs. Again, it is stressed that projects are site specific therefore areas with low wind speeds may not be able to achieve satisfactory wind speeds to justify using wind energy technologies. The following tabulated data highlights the additional cost of achieving the code level 3 over the Ecohomes Very Good standard. The baseline cost for the abovementioned homes is  £92,107 for a 116m ² detached home and  £75,230 for a 101m ² end of terrace home, as specified or compliant with the 2006 building Regulations. It is an interesting observation that the implementation of Scenario 4 to achieve a code level 3 rating costs  £5,090 for a detached house and  £4,748 for a terraced house; an increase in cost of 5.4% and 6.2% respectively. What’s interesting about these figures is that Scenario 4 does not implement any renewable energy solutions such as photovoltaic cell technology but does make use of mechanical ventilation with heat recovery systems. Scenario 4 does in many respects mirror the PassivHaus dwelling or Scandinavian homes method of building. Scenario 4 combined with advanced micro generation technologies could achieve level 6 zero carbon status but to enable this industry would need to invest further in research and development of enhancing the micro generation technologies, however the cost will be greatly increased. As with anything that is new there is a premium cost to be paid. But as more efforts are made and competition increases due to demand the cost of such technol ogies should decrease in time. The costing data provided in the Cyril Sweett report (2007) went further to report on the cost of achieving a level 5 rating of the Code for Sustainable Homes (CfSH), which is incidentally the highest level of code attainment data provided in the report. The following cost comparison data only makes reference to detached dwellings as the costing data for terraced houses are not too dissimilar to the detached houses. Scenario 1 The table shown above shows the cost of achieving a code level 5 rating of the CfSH using scenario 1, which to reiterate includes the use of solar thermal technology with photovoltaic and biomass systems. The cost attached to upgrading to level 5 costs an additional  £20,270, as shown in the table. Therefore an 18% increase above the baseline cost of building a detached home with a 116m ² area to the 2006 building regulatory standard, which totals  £111,476. Scenario 2 Utilising Scenario 2, a 116m ² Home built with small scale wind turbine and biomass technology will achieve a CfSH level 5 rating at a cost of  £14,206 above the baseline cost. A 14% increase totalling  £106,146 Scenario 3 Utilising Scenario 3, a 116m ² Home built using site wide CHP technology will achieve a CfSH level 4 rating at a cost of  £2,622 above the baseline cost. A 3% increase totalling  £93,828 Scenario 4 Utilising Scenario 4, a 116m ² Home built with improved air tightening and mechanical ventilation will achieve a CHS level 3 rating at a cost of  £4,481 above the baseline cost. A 5% increase totalling  £95,687 The cumulative graph shown above shows the cost of achieving each level of the Code for Sustainable Homes (CfSH) up to level 5, in comparison to each scenario detailed on the previous pages. The interesting thing about the comparative cost data provided by Cyril Sweett consultants is that to achieve level 5 of the code using scenario one costs  £36,070, which is an increase above the baseline cost of 28.6%. Obtaining a code level 5 rating using scenario two is achieved by allowing for an increase in cost above the baseline of  £20,746 which is a 22.7% increase. These figures provide an indication of what the likelihood cost for building code level 6 zero carbon homes are going be. Therefore it is estimated that for a similar type of dwelling the cost will be in excess of 30% above the 2006 Building Regulations baseline cost. A 30% increase in cost is quite substantial considering a home built to the prescribed building standards would cost approximately  £92,107, thus around a  £40,000 increase to implement code level 6 to the dwelling is a substantial amount and therefore cost is going to be a major factor in determining the success or failure of achieving the z ero carbon homes by 2016 target. Clearly the figures shown in this report show that the cost of producing zero carbon homes across the board is going to be a major obstacle if drastic changes and new solutions to reduce the cost of zero carbon technologies do not surface within the next few years leading up to the year 2016. The situation appears to be quite discomforting as affordability is going to negate the possibility of achieving not just the 2016 target but may also interfere with the 2020 target of building an additional three million new homes in the United Kingdom as less demand due to affordability will result in less homes being built and therefore cause a stalemate situation if the government alongside industry does not take steps to resolve the situation fast. Reductions in cost for bulk purchasing As stated earlier in the report cost reductions can be made through advances in technology and through competition as demand for zero carbon homes increases. Whilst the cost of achieving zero carbon is quite high at the moment, cost will gradually subside. The Cyril Sweett consultancy further reported that the purchase of materials and technology in bulk order will reduce the cost of producing zero carbon homes. Cyril Sweett representatives approached a number of suppliers of water and sustainable technologies. It was found that for large scale procurement i.e. 5000 units plus reductions in cost were achieved for the following technologies. (Cyril Sweett, 2007) Section 4 Methodology This chapter focuses on the methodology used in the production of the current research paper and will highlight the various stages of the research method. The purpose of the methodology is to provide the reader with an insight into what is expected in the report and how the research is to be conducted. The current study focuses on the UK government’s policy of â€Å"all homes to be Zero Carbon† by the year 2016 and investigates into the feasibility of the policy and further considers the impediments preventing the policy to materialise. The study also aims to identify the key drivers and barriers of achieving zero carbon homes by 2016 across the board. The study will explore key areas in the