Age assessments for unaccompanied asylum seeking

Age assessments for unaccompanied asylum seeking DISSERTATION Age assessments for unaccompanied asylum seeking children: Policy, law and implications for social work. Abstract Methodology Literature Review Chapter One – Introduction Chapter Two – Unaccompanied Asylum Seekers Chapter Three – Age Assessment Policy, Legislation and Practice Chapter Four – Conclusion and Recommendations. Unaccompanied asylum seeking children arrive in the UK seeking refuge from often-horrific events in their home countries. The response of both national government and local authorities to this influx has been largely unsatisfactory with campaigners arguing that the focus has been on cutting costs and removing young asylum seekers rather than providing them with the care that they are entitled to. This study suggests that policy and practice around age assessment is central to this argument. There is significant evidence that local authorities are pressurising social workers to age assess children as older than they are in order to save them money. The haphazard way in which age assessments have usually been carried out only serves to encourage this behaviour. Even without financial pressure, the lack of a standard approach to age assessment is also leading to inconsistencies when age assessments are put into practice The focus of this dissertation has been to analyse how, why and when age assessments are used in processing unaccompanied asylum seekers and examine whether the process is fair and consistent. The methodology has primarily to adopt secondary sources and evaluate evidence from as wide a range of viewpoints as possible. The dissertation has been aimed towards a conclusion that the current process is unsatisfactory and has attempted to deliver recommendations that could improve the process. Literature for this dissertation has been gathered from a combination of academic books and journals, government publications, reports produced by independent agencies and articles from newspapers and magazines including The Guardian and Community Care. One of the most detailed reports on the subject of assessment is the 2007, When is a child not a child? Asylum, age disputes and the process of age assessment by Crawley. Much of the factual detail about the actual mechanics of age assessment has been gathered from this source. Of academic journals, the articles written by Kohli have been most useful as they delivering the results and analysis from a wide range of studies around unaccompanied asylum seekers. Each year, approximately 3000 unaccompanied children and young people arrive in the UK to seek asylum.[1] Many of these are subject to age assessment to clarify that they are entitled to services available to vulnerable children in the UK. The age of people claiming to be children can be disputed by a range of professionals, from immigration officers to police and social workers. It is important to define what an age assessment actually is at the beginning of this study. An age assessment is he method used by either the UK border and Immigration Agency or local authority social services departments to assess the age of an asylum seeker.[2]There is currently no method that is capable of defining the exact age of a child and the accuracy of the assessment will often be produced within a range of two years over or below the assessment age.[3] Some commentators have argued that many local authorities have proactively looked to avoid the cost of looking after young asylum seekers in need and have set up control measures to keep children aged 16-18 out of the territory.[4] One of the mechanisms for doing this has been attempts by social workers to stop classifying unaccompanied minors as children. There have been suggestions that many social workers became preoccupied with attempting to assess the age of applicants rather than providing services and that such an assessment was crude exercise based on the individual opinion of a single social worker. As Kohli writes â€Å"studies reported a growing disbelief in respect of those claiming to be under 18 and the treatment of anyone over 16 years as a de facto adult allowed access to food and shelter but little else.†[5] Professionals working in the highest echelons of childcare have expressed similar concerns, for example the Children’s Commissioner Sir Al Aynsley Green has stated: â€Å"Although Home Office Policy is for the immigration officer to apply the ‘benefit of the doubt’ in favour of the applicant in borderline cases, the evidence suggests that in practice this is frequently not adhered to. The result is that a substantial number of asylum seekers who are in fact unaccompanied children are excluded from the protection of domestic care regimes†¦Ã¢â‚¬ [6] Government policy from the early part of the decade has been to work in partnership with local authorities and disperse asylum seekers of all ages around the country. The Home Office negotiated contracts with a number of authorities to receive and accommodate asylum seekers.[7] There also is evidence to support this. Central government has since 2005 looked to change the role of social work teams at ports of entry to work practically as adjuncts to the Border and Immigration Agency, deliberately narrowing the gap between immigration and social services functions. There is clearly a financial motivation for this – in 2005 the 6000 unaccompanied asylum seeking children offered services by local authorities comprised less than 10% of cases yet used up approximately 25% of the Home Office budget.[8]Social work teams have been set targets in terms of turning away age disputed asylum seekers and assessing clients claiming to be 15 as older.[9] This study looks at how the UK deals with unaccompanied asylum seekers and in particular examines policy and practice around age assessment. Chapter two focuses on the legislation in place and policy around it whilst chapter three looks more specifically at the age assessment processes and the general failings of the system in the UK. Chapter four concludes with recommendations on improving the system Unaccompanied asylum seeking children arrive in the UK for a number of reasons. A recent study of 218 arrivals found that half came from countries undergoing armed conflict or serious disturbances and over two fifths were victims of direct or indirect persecution. Deprivation, poverty or trafficking for exploitation were other primary reasons for seeking asylum.[10] Dealing with asylum seeking children, either with or without their families is a growing area of social work practice yet one in which there is relatively little understanding of the needs or circumstances of such children.[11] In legislative terms, legislation such as The Children’s Act 1989 and The Framework for the Assessment of Children in Need and their Families remain central to issues around assessment and care for asylum-seeking children and they should also be included under the remit of the Every Child Matters agenda. The Children and Young People’s Plan 2005 for example makes reference to joint working between housing and social care bodies to meet the housing needs of unaccompanied asylum seekers. [12] For local authorities, there is a duty to provide services necessary to safeguard and promote the well-being of any children deemed to be in need under the Children Act 1989. Due to the absence of their parents, unaccompanied children are classed as vulnerable and therefore in need. The Nationality, Immigration and Asylum Act 2002 also reinforces the local authority duty to support unaccompanied minors. It is helpful to have a clear definition of what an unaccompanied asylum seeker actually is. The Immigration and Nationality Directorate definition is a young person under the age of 18(or who appears to be if there is no proof); who is applying for asylum in his or her own right; and who has no adult relative or guardian to turn to within the UK.[13] The age of an unaccompanied asylum seeker has historically been an important factor in respect of the Special Grant that the Home Office made available to unaccompanied minors. Prior to 2004 there were two levels of support available, with those supported under the age of 16 receiving a higher level and those first supported at age 16 or 17 receiving half that amount.[14] However, a judicial review – the Hillingdon Judgement – carried out in 2004 has significantly increased the impact on local authorities. The judgement ruled that, except in exceptional cases, all asylum-seeking children must be treated under section 20 of the Children’s Act 1989 which classes them as looked after children. [15] There is clearly an impact on service provision for both national and local government. Watters writes that â€Å"the arrival of significant numbers of unaccompanied asylum-seeking children through the port of Dover thus presented very significant challenges to social care, health and education providers in the south east.† [16] Asylum seekers who after the assessment process became looked after children would be entitled to foster or residential placements, an allocated social worker and financial support. They may also have qualified for the benefits of leaving care status up to the age of 21, a further financial burden on local authorities. The question of age then is a crucial issue for local authorities. Many young people seeking asylum do not have official papers or documentation confirming their age so practitioners in both social services and immigration have difficult decisions to make. It can be difficult to draw information from asylum seeking children – research shows that when they are asked about reasons for their asylum request, they try and fit their stories into the narrow format that they believe are acceptable in their given country.[17]This in turn can lead to scepticism amongst officials and social workers, the same research reported instances of social services personnel being cynical about young Kosovan and African males claiming to be younger than they looked and thus worrying that their services were being exploited and their resources drained.[18] Ultimately, age assessment is a crucial tool for immigration officials and social workers. There are asylum seekers who try to abuse the system, so a method of asserting age is required. When the current practices serve this purpose will be discussed in chapter three. When and Why Most age disputes in asylum cases occur when an asylum seeker first applies for asylum, normally at their port of entry.[19]There is little in the way of formal assessment at this point, age disputes will be lodged primarily based on the basis of appearance, demeanour and documentation. Another issue of contention is the range of individuals or professionals that might dispute the age of an asylum seeker – this can include immigrations officials, social workers or police officers. Social workers may even dispute the age of a child who had not been queried by immigration officials. Age disputes may happen several months or even years after a child has entered the country. Crawley quotes a case study of a young girl who had been brought into the country at a young age to be used as a domestic slave. When immigration officials became aware of her five years later – still under the age of 16 – she was age disputed before eventually taken into the care of a social services department.[20] In contrast, many young people, perhaps some who are over 18, slip through the net and are classed as minors. Many social services departments simply do not have the resources to undertake formal age assessments and have concerns about the impact of multiple interviews and assessment on young asylum seekers. As such, decisions are made not to query age. Policy and Legislative framework Home Office policy in terms of unaccompanied minors is set out in policy documents including Policy bulletin 33, Guidance from processing applications from children and Guidance on age disputed cases 3rd ed which lays out specific procedures for professionals who dispute a claimant’s age and believe that it is an adult claiming to be a child. One of the most interesting aspects of policy and perhaps the most controversial in the light of what appears to be happening is that the INDs guidance on age disputed cases states clearly that when there is an age dispute â€Å"a claimant must be given the benefit of the doubt with regards to their age unless their physical appearance strongly suggests that they are aged 18 or over†.[21]It seems that this is not the case currently in practice – local authorities certainly are encouraging social work team to dispute age more regularly. Other aspects of the IND guidance can be confusing and it is not surprising that there are inconsistencies in practice. For example there is no actual duty for immigration officers to refer age disputed cases to the appropriate local authority, rather this is something that should be done in principle, a situation that can only complicate things for social workers further down the line. Overall, the current system seems disjointed and variable. As Crawley writes: â€Å"There is evidence of a significant gap between what is supposed to happen and to what happens in practice†[22] and some of the issues involves at age assessment units around the country highlight this: A general lack of care, including a lack of food and water, for young people waiting to be screened A failure to use the privacy of separate interview rooms Difficulties with microphones meaning conversations held through the glass screen in the public area are either overheard or not heard at all No responsible adult being present to support young person[23] Clearly age assessment is not a simple matter. All children vary in development, maturity and natural growth and there can be a wide range of supposed ‘normal findings’ at various ages. It is extremely difficult to accurately gather a young persons age and things such as race, ethnicity and local conditions such as disease and malnutrition have to be considered in any assessment. Whether children’s social workers are qualified to do this is questionable The organisation Youth Support which assists young refuges reports that in its own age assessment process it includes as many factors as possible including â€Å"height, weight, body mass, shoe size, developmental factors such as skin care and teeth, sexual development; mental and emotional age estimates including thought processes and general concepts. Also of great importance is the history and social milestones which the young person might have experienced – again talking culture and religion into consideration.†[24] There is clearly inconsistency in the process nationwide. Michie argues that one of the problems in the UK has been that a diversity of systems and guidelines has developed in assessing the age of unaccompanied minors, involving a combination of history collection, physical anthropometry and radiographs. He writes: â€Å"Their lack of uniformity identifies an underlying difficulty: there is no method by which chronological age can be precisely estimated in this age group. Paediatricians in the United Kingdom care for small numbers of individuals in late adolescence and early adulthood in graduate outpatient services, but often have little experience in this area.†[25] There are some success stories. At Heathrow Airport for example, Hillingdon Social Services have used a number of strategies to deal with large volumes of unaccompanied asylum seekers. These have included use of a dedicated police officer for child protection, a specific questionnaire for staff working at terminal 3 and the development of a specifics age assessment tool combined with specific training,.[26] Guidance for Social Work Practice Age assessment is clearly a difficult area for social work practitioners. There is little experience in this type of work and relatively little in the way of practice guidelines. The guidance drawn up by the Children’s Legal Centre is perhaps the most useful document for social workers to refer to when carrying out age assessments. Some of the points included are: Taking account of ethnicity, culture and customs of the person being assessed and well as the level of trauma, tiredness, anxiety and bewilderment present The asylum seeker may have had coaching prior to arrival. It is important for the social work to engage with the person in a process sometimes known as ‘joining’. The assessment framework should be led by open, non-leading questions The practitioner should note the verbal and non-verbal (body language) behaviour of the person A useful indicator is if the person seems uncomfortable talking to an adult A detailed family tree with ages of parents and siblings can help assessing likely age Questions about the activities and roles a person was involved in prior to entering the UK can be a good indicator Social workers may consider arranging for the person to be put in a social situation with people of the age stated and observing interaction Gaining detailed accounts of educational history can be a valuable source of information in making an accurate age assessment Assessment of life skills is useful – does the person have any experience of living independently, managing money etc[27] All of the above can be done in conjunction with opinion and input from other sources including foster carers, teachers, doctors, interpreters and residential workers. It is useful also to have input from paediatricians, dentists or optician although a social worker should take into account advice from paediatricians that there can be a five year error in age assessments.[28] Just as important is information and best practice sharing between professional involved in this type of work. A uniform approach to age assessment across the UK should be a shared objective. There are clearly huge improvements necessary in the way that social service departments across the country deal with unaccompanied asylum seekers. This includes both the process for age assessment and the subsequent services provided. Evidence shows that staff in the various agencies dealing with these children lack knowledge about the services available and how to deal with the emotional trauma that many of these children will have experienced.[29]Social workers dealing with age assessments are clearly lacking in the skills to do so accurately. One reported when surveyed: â€Å"We do them (age assessments) but we can be wrong five years either side – it matters a lot doesn’t it? They can end up with many dates of birth – social services, Home Office, their own..†[30] Practitioners need such understand the vulnerability of the young people they are dealing with and avoid taking a cynical approach. As Michie concludes: â€Å"The fairness, legality and ethical base of any national framework for age assessment has to take into account legal history, jurisprudence as well as the paediatric wisdom, â€Å"What if this were my child?†, Although it may be difficult to quantify the inadequacies of the current system, it clearly compounds abuse to a vulnerable group of children. We must do better.†[31] The are some positives in examining the UK response to unaccompanied asylum seekers . The more holistic approach developed in recent years seems to be more efficient are more aware of the sensitivities of the issues than for example the US and Australian governments. Bhaba et al write of the UK: â€Å"It has made extensive efforts to identify children in genuine need at the earliest possible stage and to institute programmes to target trafficking in children through training of in country border officials and the instigation of research. [32]This is a pleasing sign, yet problems still occur when age is disputed. Recommendations: There are a number of steps that can be taken to improve the way in which young asylum seekers are treated to ensure consistency. Protection of vulnerable children is crucial, yet it is also important that age assessments can be used to identify asylum seekers over the age of 18 who seek to abuse the system. The EU’s reception directive states that unaccompanied children seeking asylum should be appointed a legal guardian[33] and this should be adopted by the UK Helping vulnerable children through the process would be a welcome improvement. Trained, skilled age assessors should be employed at ports of entry. These may well be social workers, experienced in dealing with this age group, accountable to a child protection team with paediatric expertise open to them in some form. Another option would be to establish fully trained multi agency teams based in regional assessment centres, something that would produce holistic and better-informed outcomes. Ideally age assessors should be financially independent of local authority social services – this would limit the chance of pressure being put upon assessors to reach targets for the number of age assessments found to be 18+. The lack of statutory guidance on the process of age assessment should also be addressed – this would help alleviate some of the inconsistencies in the process. A final recommendation, supported by Crawley, would be for the age assessment process to be overlooked by an independent age assessment panel which could provide support and guidance, help with the auditing process and make it less likely that decisions could be challenged or influence by those holding the local authority purse strings. The most important thing is that age assessment is done fairly and consistently, and that young asylum seekers are treated in the same way, regardless of port of entry or the local authority overseeing them. At present this is not the case and there is work for legislators, policy makers and practitioners to do if this is to be rectified. Bibliography Bhaba J, Finch N, Crock M Schmidt S, Seeking Asylum Alone, Themis Press 2006 Chase e, Emotional Well-being of asylum seeking children, http://www.communitycare.co.uk/Articles/2008/07/29/108994/well-being-of-asylum-seeking-children.html accessed 15 October Children’s Legal Centre, Practice Guidelines for age assessment of young unaccompanied asylum seekers, http://www.childrenslegalcentre.com/NR/rdonlyres/BAA6E134-7810-42C1-9634-2AC500D326DE/0/PracticeNotesKarenGoodman.pdf accessed 15 October Crawley, H, When is a child not a child? Asylum, age disputes and the process of age assessment, Immigration Law Practitioners Association, May 2007 DFES 2005, Guidance on the Children and Young People’s Plan, Hayes D, Humphries B, Cohen S, Social Work, Immigration and Asylum, Jessica Kingsley Publishers 2004 Kelly A, Minors Conflict, The Guardian Jan 31 2007 http://www.guardian.co.uk/society/2007/jan/31/asylum.guardiansocietysupplement1 accessed 16 October Kohli R, The Comfort of Strangers: social work practice with unaccompanied asylum-seeking children and young people in the UK, child and Family Social Work ,vol 11 2006 Kohli R, The Sound of Silence: Listening to What Unaccompanied Asylum-seeking Children Say and Do Not Say, British Journal of Social Work vol 36 2006 Michie CA, Age Assessment: time for progress? Archives of Disease in Childhood, 90(6) June 2005 Mitchell F, The social services response to unaccompanied children in England, Children and Family Social Work, vol 8 August 2003 Watters C, Refugee Children, Routlege 2008 http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2007/jan/05/immigration.immigrationandpublicservices accessed 15 October Asylum seekers and unaccompanied minors, http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2007/jan/05/immigration.immigrationandpublicservices accessed 16 October http://www.ind.homeoffice.gov.uk/sitecontent/documents/policyandlaw/asylumprocessguidance/specialcases/guidance/disputedagecases.pdf?view=Binary accessed 15 October www.everychildmatters.com accessed 14 October http://www.ilpa.org.uk/infoservice/Info%20sheet%20Age%20Disputes%20%20Age%20Assessment.pdf accessed 16 October 1 [1] Chase e, Emotional Well-being of asylum seeking children, http://www.communitycare.co.uk/Articles/2008/07/29/108994/well-being-of-asylum-seeking-children.html [2] http://www.ilpa.org.uk/infoservice/Info sheet Age Disputes Age Assessment.pdf [3] http://www.ilpa.org.uk/infoservice/Info sheet Age Disputes Age Assessment.pdf [4] P2 Kohli R, The Comfort of Strangers: social work practice with unaccompanied asylum-seeking children and young people in the UK, child and Family Social Work ,vol 11 2006 [5] p2 Kohli 2006 [6] p4 Crawley 2007 [7] p85 Watters 2008 [8] p84 Watters C, Refugee Children, Routlege 2008 [9] p84 Watters C, Refugee Children, Routlege 2008 [10] p179 Mitchell F, The social services response to unaccompanied children in England, Children and Family Social Work, vol 8 August 2003 [11] p132 Hayes D, Humphries B, Cohen S, Social Work, Immigration and Asylum, Jessica Kingsley Publishers 2004 [12] p22 Guidance on the Children and Young People’s Plan, DFES 2005 [13] P179 Mitchell 2003 [14] p179 Mitchell 2003 [15] Kelly A, Minors Conflict, The Guardian Jan 31 2007 http://www.guardian.co.uk/society/2007/jan/31/asylum.guardiansocietysupplement1 [16] p85 Watters 2008 [17] p711 Kohli R, The Sound of Silence: Listening to What Unaccompanied Asylum-seeking Children Say and Do Not Say, British Journal of Social Work vol 36 2006 [18] p718 Kohli 2006 [19] p14 Crawley 2007 [20] p16 Crawley 2007 [21] p43 Crawley 2007 [22] p44 Crawley 2007 [23] p47 Crawley 2007 [24] Asylum seekers and unaccompanied minors, http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2007/jan/05/immigration.immigrationandpublicservices [25] p612 Michie CA, Age Assessment: time for progress?Archives of Disease in Childhood, 90(6) June 2005 [26] p613 Michie 2005 [27] Childrens Legal Centre, Practice Guidelines for age assessment of young unaccompanied asylum seekers, http://www.childrenslegalcentre.com/NR/rdonlyres/BAA6E134-7810-42C1-9634-2AC500D326DE/0/PracticeNotesKarenGoodman.pdf [28]

The Future Of Fuel Cell Technology Engineering Essay

In our current universe of planetary heating, clime alteration, fuel insecurity, and high energy demand and ingestion from developing states, it is perfectly necessary we started looking into how to bring forth the power of the hereafter. Through research, development, and promotion of engineering, several beginnings of alternate, clean renewable energy have been identified. One of the alternate beginnings of energy for the hereafter is â€Å" The Fuel Cell Technology † . This engineering ( fuel cell engineering ) has the possible to be the drift which will transform the manner in which industries of today will bring forth energy of tomorrow. Fuel Cell can merely be describe as a power bring forthing system made up of electrochemical cell that converts the chemical energy of H into electrical energy. The electrical energy is generated from the reaction between H ( which is the fuel ) an O ( which is the oxidizer ) . The history of fuel cells history can be dated back to 1939 when William Grove, a British scientist foremost discovered its rule. He demonstrated this by utilizing four big cells ( each incorporating H and O ) to bring forth electric power which was so used to divide the H2O ( in a smaller upper cell ) into H and O. The National Aeronautics and Space Administration ( NASA ) subsequently demonstrated their possible applications in supplying power during infinite flights. Since so, industry has been looking at the commercial viability of fuel cells engineering to bring forth energy in assorted applications in such a manner that it can vie with other sources/types of energy coevals.Fuel CellsTypesThere are several types of fuel cells being developed. The chief difference between fuel cells types is their electrolyte. The chief fuel cells types are listed below:Proton Exchange Membrane Fuel Cells ( PEMFC ) :This is besides called the Polymer Electrolyte Membrane Fuel Cell. It is the most favorable fuel cell engineering that offer alternate to the internal burning engine. The PEMFC uses a thin plastic membrane as its electrolyte. The reaction gases ( H and O ) are fed into the cell to respond with the anode and the cathode. The fuel H continuously flows to the anode. At the anode, H ions ( or protons ) and negatrons are produce from the H. Merely positively charged H ions pass through the membrane. The negatively charged negatrons flow to the electrical socket to bring forth electrical power. Oxygen continuously flow to the cathode. At the cathode the O combines with H ions and the negatrons to organize H2O which flows out of the cell. 2HA? a 4Ha + 4ea? » Equation for the reaction of the anode Oa‚‚ + 4Ha + 4ea? » a 2Ha‚‚O Equation for the reaction at the cathode 2Ha‚‚ + Oa‚‚ a 2Ha‚‚O Overall Equation Figure 1: How PEMFC works ( Beginning: hypertext transfer protocol: //altenergystation.com/fuel-cells.html ) The PEMFC has many advantages over all other types of fuel cell ; The PEMFC has a high power denseness and a low operating temperature ( of about 60-80 grades Celsius ) compared with other types of fuel cell. Its low operating temperature makes the fuel cell to warm up and get down bring forthing electricity within a short period of clip. Besides, the electrolyte is a solid stuff which makes it simpler to fabricate. The solid electrolyte of PEMFC makes it easier to orientate compared with other electrolytes. It is besides less caustic and has longer cell life and stack life. Other advantages of PEMFC are: It merely requires H and O as reactant. The by merchandise is H2O. It can be used as an option to internal burning engine. Although PEMFC has many benefits, it does hold some disadvantages excessively. The operating temperature is low ( about 80A °C ) ; which is non high plenty to execute utile cogeneration. It is an expensive signifier of electricity coevals. It cost about ?2500 – ?5000 per kilowatt. The control of wet in the cathode and anode watercourse is of import as the electrolyte is required to be saturated with H2O to run optimally.Direct Methanol Fuel Cells ( DMFC )These types of fuel cells are comparable to the PEMFC except that methyl alcohol is used as fuel alternatively of H. It works by oxidising of the liquid methyl alcohol ( CHa‚?OH ) in the presence of H2O at the anode. The DMFC uses the same type of electrolyte as the PEMFC, but with thicker membranes. The chemical equation ( reaction ) of the DMFC is as follow ; At the anode: CHa‚?OH + Ha‚‚O a COa‚‚ +6Ha + 6ea? » At the cathode: 3/2Oa‚‚ + 6Ha + 6ea? » a 3Ha‚‚O Overall Equation: CHa‚?OH + 3/2Oa‚‚ a COa‚‚+ 2Ha‚‚O DMFC engineering is really applicable for portable power devices like laptops, 2-way wirelesss, cell phones, PDA etc. This is due to the high energy denseness of the methyl alcohol fuel. The current DMFCs can bring forth power denseness between 300-1000mWcmA? compared to PEMFC power denseness of 300-1000mWcmA? . DMFC can run between 50A °C and 120A °C with an efficiency of approximately 40 % . The DMFC offers a batch of benefits compared with PEMFC ; nevertheless its development is still in its early phases. Some of its advantages are ; It uses a liquid ( methyl alcohol ) fuel for power. Methanol can incorporate efficaciously with transmittal and distribution systems that are already in being. It does non necessitate a complicated fuel storage system, as suppose to hydrogen fuel storage for PEMFC. It is simpler in its design, and has the possible for low-volume, lightweight packaging. Methanol is easier to transport and provide in commercial measures utilizing current gasolene substructure. The chief disadvantage nevertheless, is that the low oxidation of methyl alcohol to hydrogen ions and COa‚‚ requires a more active accelerator. The fuel stack requires big measures of Pt compared with the PEMFC. Due to the big measures of Pt requires, the DMFC are more expensive. Other disadvantages are ; methanol is extremely caustic and toxic, DMFC have low efficiency compared to PEMFC due to the high pervasion of methyl alcohol through the membrane.Alkaline Fuel Cells ( AFC )AFC were one of the first type of fuel cell engineerings developed and used in the United States infinite plan to bring forth electricity. AFC operates by utilizing a solution of K hydrated oxide ( KOH ) in H2O as the electrolyte. It can utilize a broad scope of assorted non-precious metals as a accelerator at the anode and the cathode. AFC operates at temperature between 100A °C and 250A °C, nevertheless, most recent design of AFC operate at lower temperature of approximately 23A °C to 70A °C. AFC have been proved to hold efficiency of stopping point to 60 % . Advantages of AFC are ; The costs of AFC are lowered compared to other signifiers of fuel cell engineerings because Alkaline engineering can work absolutely good without the usage of cherished metals. The AFC operates at a low temperature of about 70A °C. This lower its costs because the lower the operating temperature, the lower the cost of the stuffs needed to make a working and dependable system. AFC has the highest efficiency of all fuel cell type ( about 60 % ) . AFC nevertheless is susceptible to taint, hence requires pure H and O. Susceptibility of AFCs to taint besides affects the cell ‘s life-time, therefore extra cost.Phosphoric Acid Fuel Cells ( PAFC )The PAFC is one of the modern fuel cell and the first to be used commercially. PAFC can bring forth up to 200 kilowatt of power and is chiefly used to power stationary power coevals and besides to power big vehicles like coachs. The PAFC uses liquid phosphorous acid as an electrolyte. The phosphorous acid is contained in a Teflon-bonded Si carbide matrix and porous C electrodes incorporating a Pt accelerator. The chief feature of PAFC is the impregnation of the phosphorous acid aqueous solution as the electrolyte in the matrix. The efficiency of PAFC is approximately 40 % but can be increased to over 70 % with combined heat and power. One of the chief advantages of PAFC is that they are more receptive to drosss in fossil fuels that have been reformed into H than PEMFC, which are easy poisoned by C monoxide. PAFC are besides more efficient when used for the cogeneration of electricity and heat ( about 85 % ) . Other benefit of PAFC is its first-class dependability and long-run public presentation. The disadvantage nevertheless is that it takes longer to warm up because it operates at a higher temperature ( between 150A °C and 200A °C ) , therefore doing it unsuitable for usage in autos. It besides requires Pt as a accelerator like most other types of fuel cells, but provides low power and current. Another deficit of PAFC is its size and volume in relation to their end product compared with other types of fuel cell. Molten Carbonate Fuel Cells ( MCFC ) Solid Oxide Fuel Cells ( SOFC ) Hydrogen Electrolysis PEM Fuel Cell and Electrolyser Operating Principles Table Fuel Cell Development in Future: An Independent Opinion Experiment: How to Better Output and Efficiency ofaˆÂ ¦ Consequence: Calculation of Improved Efficiency/Performance Decision Glossary Appendixs

Ccot Essay

CCOT Essay: China 100 CE-600 CE China’s culture and it’s values have stayed as mostly continuities and few or little changes. The teachings and values of Confucianism that were so strong that they have lasted throughout the centuries of Chinese history and is still well-known today. These values included guidelines on respect. Chinese civilization during the classical civilization was a patriarchy and with the Confucius teaching which created the outline of how a good family should work like. Patriarchy was continuity for Chinese civilization.Many of Confucius’ beliefs and values will survive and withstand many potential changes to come. One of these changes were Buddhism, which came into China through many different paths such as the Silk Road. The Han Dynasty fell, causing China to go into a three year period of chaos. China’s cultural unity was threatened by the spread of Buddhism, though it was tone of the one ideas that was imported into China before the 20th century. Fortunately for China’s streak of continuity, the three century period of chaos would end which would also revive Confucianism.The rising and falling of dynasties were continuity. Confucianism took China’s social pieces and put them together. Even though China had many changes that took place from 100 C. E. to 600 C. E. , they always evened out culturally. They also remained in their streak of cultural continuity thanks to Confucius and his teachings. One of these continuities was the dynamic cycles, like the Zhou dynasty, the Qin dynasty, and the Han dynasty, because it had lasted throughout the Classical Era. Many things were changing around the time period.The first of these things was that the bureaucratic system. It was becoming more and more corrupt. Peasants and the regular people of China became poor. After germs and disease came, people started to die as well. Then nomads came, and due to the unstable government of China at the time, the army was not able to push them. Therefore, the Han dynasty was overthrown completely. The same sort of overthrowing by nomadic invasions happened in Rome as well. The Germanic invaders came in and broke Rome apart. Rome was then divided into three areas and was never completely revived ever again.After the three century period of chaos, the T’ang dynasty came later, in 618 C. E. to revive Confucianism and the bureaucratic system. During the classical era, the Chinese civilization underwent major governmental change. In China still physically remained strong and united. The reason for this is because China had a very solid social and political system that was based off of Confucianism. The cause of these major radical changes in China’s government is because of the weakened government; the nomadic invasions did not help either.

Jane Eyre A Deep Secret Rooted Within Its Very Foundation

Charlotte Brontà «Ã¢â‚¬â„¢s Jane Eyre is a novel that has a deep secret rooted within its very foundation. Jean Rhys’s Wide Sargasso Sea often seen as a prequel to Jane Eyre (as it is set a time that precedes the events of the novels) sets out to unearth the secrets that are hidden within Jane Eyre; it fills in the chasm that exists in Jane Eyre by providing the history of Edward Rochester’s Creole wife Bertha Mason nee Antoinette Cosway. In a 1979 interview with Elizabeth Vreeland Rhys explained her reason for writing Wide Sargasso Sea: I thought, why should she think Creole women are lunatics and all that? What a shame to make Rochester’s first wife, Bertha, the awful madwoman....She seemed such a poor ghost. I thought I’d try to write her a life. (235) Jean Rhys’s Wide Sargasso Sea is similar to Brontà «Ã¢â‚¬â„¢s Jane Eyre in that they are both novels made up of three parts; the novels both deal with issues of domination and independence that are influenced by the gothic .Wide Sargasso Sea gives an account of Rochester’s marriage in Jamaica; in doing so it reveals a complex web of relationships, social structures, and lives from the colonial island world that are overlooked and abandoned in Jane Eyre; as explained by Homi Bhabha the â€Å"histories we choose to remember and recount† (57) are often biased, thrusting aside cultures and people believed to be inferior and less important by the Eurocentric world view. Wide Sargasso Sea is a postcolonial Caribbean gothic novel that gives voice toShow MoreRelatedLiterary Criticism : The Free Encyclopedia 7351 Words   |  30 PagesAgathon, by Christoph Martin Wieland (1767)—often considered the first true Bildungsroman[9] Wilhelm Meister s Apprenticeship by Johann Wolfgang Goethe (1795–96) 19th century[edit] Emma, by Jane Austen (1815) The Red and The Black, by Stendhal (1830) The Captain s Daughter, by Alexander Pushkin (1836) Jane Eyre, by Charlotte Brontà « (1847)[21] Pendennis, by William Makepeace Thackeray (1848–1850) David Copperfield, by Charles Dickens (1850) Green Henry, by Gottfried Keller (1855)[22] Great Expectations