Effects of Film on Driving Behaviour

Effects of Film on Driving Behaviour Mass Media Society Jeremy Philip Monteiro      Imbert Narumanan Sebastian Lim Jit Shern Contents page (Jump to) Introduction We conducted a study on college students here in Tunku Abdul Rahman University-College Penang to see if a movie could affect their driving behavior. We selected the movie, The Fast The Furious. The choice of movie is selected because the movie itself is involves high-speed chases and racing with vehicles that are modified to push itself to the limits. The movie itself is an action and also a thriller; it was released in 2001 and directed by Rob Cohen and distributed by Universal Pictures. The main cast of the movie are Vin Diesel and Paul Walker; Walker plays as an undercover cop who must stop a team of hijackers who are led by Diesel. Brian gets involve with the hijackers and falls in love with Diesel’s sister and must choose to be an accomplice in Diesel’s plan or blow it all over by arresting him and his crew. Throughout the movie there will be conflict, some family oriented scenes but its main focus are on the adrenaline-rushing fast cars. This research was done on college students, specifically in TARUC Penang. There were about 30 students who were asked to be interviewed using a prepared set of questions. The interview was conducted informally as it would make the interviewee more comfortable as well as to stimulate open ended answers rather than close ended. The idea is to see if these college students who have watched the movie affected in anyway in terms of driving. The title of our research is â€Å"Do movies affect students’ driving? A review on The Fast The Furious. Literature Review The theory that is used in this research is the Media Effects theory. Media Effect theory explains as how the media can affect the society and how the society can affect the media. The concept of this theory relies on both the media as well as the society. However there are several implications that are negative made of this theory which is saying that people try to follow exactly as to what they see. For instance, â€Å"copycat murder† that took place in 2004 when a boy was murdered by his best friend and the game ‘Manhunt’ was instantly banned due the style of murder was assume to be similar to the game. The theory defines moral panic in relation to representations of sex, violence and deviant behavior and its supposed effects on youth. Moral panic is the feeling that the situation is out of control in some way, and therefore represents a threat to the moral order. The media effects theory was firstly proposed by the Frankfurt School of social researchers in the 1920’s from people’s reaction to Nazi propaganda. The hypodermic model explains that the media is like a drug that society may be addicted to, stating that the audience are helpless to defend themselves against the media and just behave passively. This theory is quite similar to the Social Learning theory by Bandura where a studied made on 2 groups of children who are exposed to the violent content on television and the other group is exposed to the positive content. Later, both groups were given a doll and the group who were exposed to the violent content reacted violently towards the doll. This helps determine that children may behave according to what they see or exposed to. Research The purpose of this research is to find out if a movie such as The Fast The Furious may or may not be an affect or influence the driving in any way. In order to ensure that the information we use in this research is accurate and reliable, we decided to use a primary research method to obtain our results. Which is to interview our respondents face to face and gather their feedback. The idea of an interview is to obtain a qualitative research which is in hope to receive in-depth answers to the questions. The target audience were selected at random in college and most of them were from the Faculty of Social Science and Humanities. Based on the nature of the movie, we could assume that the producers of the franchise were targeting teenagers and young adults. Therefore we have decided to interview our fellow college-mates for this research. Moreover, most the students in TARUC have just gotten their driving license and are experiencing unsupervised driving for the first time. Our team has chosen 30 individuals within the campus grounds and approached them in the canteen, the library and the foyer. Below are the ten questions that were prepared for the interview: Have you watched The Fast and the Furious? Where did you watch the movie? What do you think of the movie? How many times have you watched the movie? Do you think the movie influences your driving style? In what way? After watching the movie, do you see yourself attempting to replicate the stunts you have seen? Which scene in the movie would you say made an impact on your driving? Do you think it is dangerous or safe to be mimicking the driving from the movie? After watching the movie would you say that your driving abilities have improved? Do you feel that the movie can play a role in how you drive? These ten questions are made specifically to understand how the student thinks or feel after watching the movie, especially to see if the movie has made a change on their driving abilities and if they are aware of it. We took note of what the 30 individuals had answered and evaluated them. Findings Based on the questions above, we have found that all 30 respondents have answered that they have watched the movie before. Since it being an old movie that was released in 2001, majority of students answered that they have watch the movie on television. However there were a minority that had answered cinema. Majority of students had answered that they think that the movie is a good and entertaining movie which falls as a positive review. However a minority of them had also answered that the movie comes off as an unrealistic and bad movie which implies as a negative review. To the question above, majority of students answered once and minority of them had answered twice. Based on the question above, all 30 students who have watched the movie claims that they are unaffected by the movie. To question 6, only 2 students answered â€Å"yes† where else majority of them answered that they will do not see themselves wanting to replicate the stunts they see in the movie. As to question 7, majority of students claimed the there is no scene applicable. However, a minority of 6% answered the racing scene made an impact on their driving. Based on the question, all 30 students have answered that it is dangerous to be mimicking the driving from the movie. According the chart above, minority of students claimed that their driving abilities have improved after watching the movie. However, majority of them said that the movie did not improve their driving abilities. Based on the final question, majority of students feel that the movie does not play a role in how they drive today and a minority of 23% said that it does. Conclusion We’ve learned that the conducting research isn’t an easy task and takes time to produce result. We also learn that most students find it hard to produce quality answers as they rather provide brief answers. From the findings above, we are able to deduce that the influence brought upon by a movie has not affected the driving style of college students in our campus. This is solely based on their answers of course; however we are unable to physically prove at the moment if it has taken an effect Most students found the movie to be fun and entertaining but however manage to realized that the movie is unrealistic and are aware of the dangers involve if they were to follow what they see in the movie. Despite having good overall reviews of the highly action packed scenes from the movie itself, students find that stunts coordinated in the movie is rather dangerous and definitely will not be attempted in their daily driving routine. In short, based on the majority of answers we gathered, after a watching the movie, The Fast The Furious, students at Tunku Abdul Rahman University-College are not affected by it. Bibliography/References Neal H.M (Producer), Rob Cohen (Director) (2001).The Fast and the Furious[Motion picture]. United States: Universal Pictures (Distributor). Martyn Shuttleworth(Jul 5, 2008). Survey Research Design. Retrieved Nov 22, 2014 from Explorable.com:https://explorable.com/survey-research-design Robson, C. (2002)Real world research: A resource for social scientists and practitioner-researchers, Oxford, Blackwell. Biagi, S. (2012). Media impact: an introduction to mass media (10th ed.). CA: Thomson/Wadsworth. Vivian, J. (2012). The media of mass communication (11th ed.). Singapore: Pearson. Burton, G. (2005). Media and society: Critical perspective. New York: Open University Press. Krish, S. J. (2006). Children, adolescents, and media violence: A critical look at the research. CA: Sage Publication. Appendix Survey 1 Have you watched the movie The Fast and the Furious before? Yes Where did you watched the movie? I watched it on TV, one of the Astro movie channels. What do you think about the movie? Very fast paced and entertaining action movie, But like all actions movies, it is filled with unrealistic action sequences, involving cars mostly, and violence. How many times have you watched the movie? Twice. Do you think the movie influences your driving style? In what ways? No, the move did not influence my driving style. After watching the movie, do see yourself attempting to replicate the stunts you’ve seen? No. What scene in the movie would you say made an impact the most on your driving? No scene in particular as I think the entire movie did not have any impact on my driving skills. Do you think it is dangerous or safe to be mimicking driving acts from the movie? It is dangerous of course, People have to know that Fast and Furious is a movie and the driving sequences are made to look unrealistic and dangerous to meet the criteria of an action movie. These sequences are mostly carried out by experienced stunt drivers. After watching the movie, would you say that your driving abilities have been improved? No, not at all. Watching the movie did not affect my driving skills at all. Do you agree that movies can play a role in how a person drives? Yes. Those who watch the movie and are into to automobiles might try to imitate the driving sequences done in the film, which depict illegal racing, speeding and reckless driving to be fun. Also, some people might get the idea that it is safe to do all those things and not get in trouble or get hurt as the characters in the movie remain unscathed and always get away with what they’re doing. Unfortunately, this does not apply in real life. Survey 2 Have you watched the movie The Fast and the Furious before? Yes. Where did you watched the movie? When it played on TV. What do you think about the movie? Good, quite entertaining. I thought it was very cool with the fast cars. How many times have you watched the movie? Once. Do you think the movie influences your driving style? In what ways? No. After watching the movie, do see yourself attempting to replicate the stunts you’ve seen? Nope, not at all. What scene in the movie would you say made an impact the most on your driving? No particular scene. Do you think it is dangerous or safe to be mimicking driving acts from the movie? Dangerous, of course. After watching the movie, would you say that your driving abilities have been improved? Nope, I was too young at the time when I first watched it. Do you agree that movies can play a role in how a person drives? Maybe. Sometime Maybe. Sometimes people will go too far and imitate their role models on screen without knowing the risks of actually doing so. Survey 3 Have you watched the movie The Fast and the Furious before? Yes. Where did you watched the movie? On the television. What do you think about the movie? Quite a cool movie. How many times have you watched the movie? Once but I watched it halfway through. Do you think the movie influences your driving style? In what ways? Nope. After watching the movie, do see yourself attempting to replicate the stunts you’ve seen? Not really, I wouldn’t dare. What scene in the movie would you say made an impact the most on your driving? No particular scene. Do you think it is dangerous or safe to be mimicking driving acts from the movie? Quite dangerous, After watching the movie, would you say that your driving abilities have been improved? No. Do you agree that movies can play a role in how a person drives? No. Survey 4 Have you watched the movie The Fast and the Furious before? Yes, unfortunately I have. Where did you watched the movie? It is quite an old movie, I think it was on TV. What do you think about the movie? It’s good but very unrealistic. How many times have you watched the movie? Once. Do you think the movie influences your driving style? In what ways? Absolutely not. After watching the movie, do see yourself attempting to replicate the stunts you’ve seen? No. What scene in the movie would you say made an impact the most on your driving? None in particular as I can barely even remember the movie. Do you think it is dangerous or safe to be mimicking driving acts from the movie? Very dangerous. After watching the movie, would you say that your driving abilities have been improved? Not at all. Do you agree that movies can play a role in how a person drives? Yes, there will always be some crazy sod out there who think they can pull of movie driving-stunts on an actual road an attempt to speed on the highway. Its ridiculous.

Nike and Child Labor

I. Identification 1. The Issue Nike has been accused of using child labor in the production of its soccer balls in Pakistan. This case study will examine the claims and describe the industry and its impact on laborers and their working conditions. While Pakistan has laws against child labor and slavery, the government has taken very little action to combat it. Only a boycott by the United States and other nations will have any impact on slavery and child-based industries. Futhermore the U. S constitution states that child labor is an illegal and inhumane practice and any U. S. company found guilty practicing and encouraging it will be prosecuted. GATT and WTO prohibits member nations, like the United States, from discriminating against the importation of goods made by children. Are dolphins becoming more important than children? A question making WTO to reconsider the children's appeal of the third world. 2. Description Brief about the tradition of child labor in Pakistan Pakistan has a per-capita income of $1,900 per year -meaning that a typical person survives barely on $5 per day. And that's nonot all, Pakistan has a traditional culture where earning of one person goes on feeding 10 mouths; and with the high rate of inflation it becomes difficult for a low income population to survive. Child labor is spread all over Pakistan but has the greatest impact in the north-west of punjab province, that is Sialkot. Pakistan has a population of approximately 1 million and is an important centre for the production of goods for export to international markets, particularly sporting goods. In 1994, exports from Sialkot brought income of almost US$ 385 million into the Pakistan economy. Sialkot is thus one of the world’s most important centres for production of sporting goods. Child labor exists in Sialkot both in the export sector and the domestic sector. This fact has been well documented and reported by the international media for several years but nothing has been done about it. In Pakistan it is clearly documented that child labor is against the law, but the government carries lack of willingness to do anything about it. Provision for education is very limited, due to the fact that very low priority is given to education in the national budgets. Education receives around 3% of he total gross domestic product when compared to over ten times of this amount spent on military. Gender and other forms of discrmination plus adding to the lack of political will, gives the clear picture of the existence of child labor in Pakistan. Nike as a helper or exploiter to IIIrd World Recently if you go to a shop to buy your child a new soccer ball. There is a good possibi lity that the ball has been made by someone your child's age or even younger. About half of the world's soccer ball are made in Pakistan, and each one of them passes through a process of production where child labor is involved. This problem not only pertains to Pakistan but is worldwide. More than 200 children, some as young as 4 and 5 years of age, are involved in the production line. Majority of these children work in Asia, e. g in the nations of India, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Indonesia. Nike is characterized of making its equipments in countries which are in the developing phase, having very cheap labor, authoritarian government and lack of human rights appeal and union movement. In doing this it has made greater margins on the cost of mere cents to its workers. So Nike success story is not based on good name and advertising alone but also attached to it is the tears of tortured workers and child labor. A columnist ‘Stephen Chapman' from Libertarian newspaper argues that â€Å"But why is it unconscionable for a poor country to allow child labor? Pakistan has a per-capita income of $1,900 per year – meaning that the typical person subsists on barely $5 per day. Is it a a revelation – or a crime – that some parents willingly send their children off to work in a factory to survive? Is it cruel for Nike to give them the chance? † (source: http://www. raincity. com/~williamf/words96. html) Stephen argues that the best way to end child-labor is to buy more of the products that children produce. This would increase their demand, and as they will produce more, they will earn more, hence giving themselves chane to rise above poverty level and thus also benefiting the families of the children and as well as the nation. However, the issue is not that simple. Increasing the demand of the products produced by child labor means encouraging more child labor, encouraging more birth rates, more slavery, increasing sweatshops and discouraging education – as parents of the children working in factories would want them to work more and earn more. If this happened to be the case, then more and more children will be bought and sold on the black market, leading no end to this problem. By encouraging more child labor, you are not only taking away those innocent years from them but also the right to be educated and the right to be free. Nike – a good chess player As a good chess player Nike always thinks ahead of its movement. It does not launch its production directly in to the developing country, such as Pakistan, but instead it subcontracts it to them by selecting a local firm. When doing this, the local firm, in this case SAGA sports, has to abide by the Nike's international rules and regulations when producing its goods. And it is the duty of the international firm (NIKE) to monitor its subcontracted production units and hold it to tight scrutuny. But this is not what really happens. Both Nike and the local production company aims to minimize cost and earn the highest amounts of profit thus involving themselves in illegal practices, such as child labor, a practice which is not so highlighted by the government of the host developing country. So what happens when you question Nike about its labor practices? An answer comes that it is not they who are involved in this illegal labor practices but it is the local subcontracter who is doing so. This is wrong to say as Nike and SAGA sports both benefits with access to cheap child labor in Pakistan. And if Nike cannot control its subcontracted plants, it means they have not implemented their rules and regulations effectively and is not abiding by the international standards which they have set for themselves. Nike's entrance in to the Pakistani markets was the part of its long term strategic planning. It is false to explain that Nike didn't knew that child labor is an ages-old practice in Pakistan. Nike went into Pakistan, having full knowledge of the favorable conditions prevailing in terms of child labor and has taken no precautions whatsoever to prevent the use of child labor in the production of its soccer balls. Instead Nike has made a profit from its Pakistani contractors who inturn has used bonded child labor in the production process. Critically analyzing the situation, â€Å"Why Nike always land up in places having cheap or bonded labors or in places where it can easily get away with illegal labor practices? † Examples incude: Vietnam, China, Indonesia, Pakistan, Bangladesh and India. Nike simply bases its operations on finding the lowest-cost labor to make its products. Twelve-year-old girls work in Indonesian sweatshops 70 hours a week making Nike shoes in unhealthy plants. According to a Foulball campaign report, Nike has refused twice to have a check in their Saga-managed center in Pakistan while on the other hand Nike's rival Reebok readily granted access to its Moltex-managed center in Pakistan. Nike has the habit of hiding behind its good public image and its effective means of promotions and advertising. Nike attempts to create a good public image by offering charity, donating equipments and never passing an opportunity to remind the public that it has set up stitching centers in places such as Sialkot, Pakistan. How it all started – Consumer awareness 1996 When the June, 1996 issue of Life magazine carried an article about child labor in Pakistan, Nike knew that it was in trouble. The article's lead photograph showed 12-year-old Tariq surrounded by the pieces of a Nike soccer ball which he would spend most of a day stitching together for the grand sum of 60 cents. In a matter of weeks, activists all across Canada and the United States were standing in front of Nike outlets, holding up Tariq's photo. And yet, Nike has not done an especially good job of scrutinizing the subcontractors with which it's working. Nor has it been open about its labor practices in the way public companies should be expected to be. Cameramen have been pushed out of factory floors. Supervisors at a plant in Vietnam apparently beat workers being paid 20 cents an hour and refused to allow them to leave their work posts. Indonesian labor organizers has been put behind bars. And, most troubling, nearly all the soccer balls made in Pakistan have been revealed to be made by young children getting paid just cents a day. Nike chairman Phil Knight also acknowledged that a shipment of soccer balls Nike purchased in Pakistan in the year 1996 was made by a subcontractor using child labor in â€Å"horrible conditions. † Although 1996 was the first year in which real public attention was focused on Nike's labor practices abroad, it's important to recognize that manufacturing shoes n low-wage countries was, from the start, a crucial part of Phil Knight's plan for his company. In other words, American jobs have not been shipped abroad. On the contrary, Nike has never made shoes in the United States. Its first factories, built in the 1960s, were in Japan, when that country was still a part of the Third World. And since thirty years Nike have migrating from nation to nation, arriving as countries install the necessary mechanisms for orderly business operations and leaving as living standards become too high to make manufacturing profitable. Nike â€Å"not Just do it but Do it right. † This is the first time that Nike has had to face real questions about its labor practices abroad, the first time that it has felt a public-relations impact. At this point, that impact does not seem at all devastating. While in the short run Americans are generally horrified by the issue of child labor and has expressed concern over the working conditions in foreign factories, Nike should take immediate actions in order to provide remedy to all the activism it faces, otherwise it can prove devastating for the company's image in the long run. The basic truth about Nike is that its only real strength is its good name. Nike rules because of all the good things people associate with the company: sharp ads, Michael Jordan, Tiger Woods, little Penny, and Michael Jordan again. If â€Å"beaten workers† and â€Å"child labor† get added to that list, then Nike's greatest asset will be lost. Now the burden is on the company both to do a better job of implementing company-wide global standards of conduct and also to improve its openness to the media. The more you hide, after all, the more people think you have something to hide. Every hand that goes up, hurts Nike in the public eye. And when you're a consumer company, that's the only eye that matters. Consumers — â€Å"Just don't do it. † When a person states that he/she is working for Nike, it gives a very good status symbol. But what if the person is a 9 – year old child? What image will it give you as a consumer when you buy ththose products or brands that employ child labor? Consumers should take an immediate action in order to eradicate child labor practices discharged by these multinational U. S corporations. This can only be done by not buying their products which are produced in the third world and which have suspicion of a child being involved in the process. Child labor is a human rights issue. What is more of a human right than growing up as a free person, attending school without being held in bondage? 3. Related Cases Nike labor practices in Vietnam Nike in Indonesia Nike labor practices in China 4. Draft Author: Faraz Azam (June 1999) Note Date

American Involvement in Vietnam War

The novel â€Å"Morning Glories among the Peas† was written by James D. Seddon, a mechanic and expert surveillance personnel of the US army. He was one of the US soldiers who was involved in the Vietnam War. In this novel, he wrote some of his experiences albeit fighting and surviving in Vietnam. Nevertheless, he also offered some political issues that he thinks should be addressed by the US government. The Vietnam War was both a military and ideological war. When Vietnam was divided into two parts: North and South Vietnam, tensions were rising between the two nations.North Vietnam had a Communist government supported by both the Soviet Union and Red China. It was headed by Ho Chi Minh who defeated the French during the Vietnamese war of independence. South Vietnam was democratic in government. A duly constituted government was elected by the South Vietnamese under the terms of its constitution. South Vietnam was supported by the United States. When the North Vietnamese army i nvaded South Vietnam, call for its defense was alerted by the United States. Allied nations of the United States responded and began sending troops to South Vietnam.The United Nations Security Council called for the deployment of troops in South Vietnam to relieve the pressure from the South Vietnamese army trapped in the invasion. The United States, under the presidency of Lyndon Baines Johnson sent troops to Vietnam without the formal declaration of War. Hence, the Vietnam War came to its early phase of battle. The book was about a Vietnam War veteran who saw the horrible events in the war: the bloody massacre of villages by US troops suspected of hiding North Vietnamese, the frequent ambush of US marines in the jungles of Vietnam, and many other events narrated in the book.Since the book is non-fiction, it guarantees a wide range of historical discourse on policies on war and political ideological struggles. Nevertheless, the wide array of schematic dialogues and conjunctures bet weens characters provide the audience the atmosphere of intense conflict, of which, the most pervasive is the reality of war as politics and of politics as war. The Vietnam War was the longest war involving the United States (1961-1975), yet it was only the war in which the United States was defeated.The intense realities of the war which the author was trying to convey in his novel was a blanch or result of ideological struggle between the US and the Communist bloc. It was often argued that the United States fought a war of non-sense, but policy-makers at that time were not concerned of practicality, but only of necessity. Vietnam was strategic since it holds the key to the numerous bodies of water surrounding the newly-born democratic republics of Southeast Asia. If Southeast Asia fell to the Communists, what are then the chances for the United States to maintain its ideological dominance?The implication of the author’s argument may hold the key to the very purpose of sendi ng expeditions to South Vietnam. Soldiers were sent to a land where they have no affinities. They were serving a war that does not suit their interests. Added to that, the war seemed to be a reflection of their nation’s stance to maintain world leadership at all costs, by all means. Hence then, the experiences of the veteran in the novel were a reflection of the credulity of the insistence of the United States to maintain its ideological dominance in the form of a genuine â€Å"defense of democracy.† It was in many ways irresponsible, unconcerned, and strategic from the point of view of those who fought in the battle fronts. As for the author, his experiences of senseless massacres of villages, poisoning of wells, senseless killings of soldiers, indiscriminate bombings of cities and towns, were the direct results of this desire: the desire for ideological and military dominance. It was even implied in the title of the novel. Do morning glories really found among peas?D oes this serves as an allegory of the conflicting conditions in Vietnam and the United States? Or does this indicate a struggle for ideological dominance? Or simply a way of reiterating the realities of war brought by the things mentioned above? It seems that the novel covered these issues presented, although some of them may be highlighted and some cast aside. The realities presented by the author (who was a veteran of the war) were, in my interpretation, the embodiment of the war policies of the United States.These were policies that prioritize ideology rather than human dignity. The novel also presented the decay of human dignity brought about by the Vietnam War. Human dignity is generally found in the ability of humans to live comfortably without the interference of foreign powers, that is, free development under the term of a just legal standard. The intrusion of the United States into the lives of the South Vietnamese brought them anguish and despair.The United States also suf fered because it lost almost 500, 000 men in the war. Nevertheless, it lost the pride and status achieved decades ago. It was generally an unwarranted war. The novel is generally a good source of historical information about the war in Vietnam. It also gives a thorough and clear description of Vietnam; its people, goals, and achievements. Nevertheless, it should be noted that there are some form of biases in the novel; sometimes favoring the United States; sometimes attacking its war policies.For instance, to describe the North Vietnamese as â€Å"senseless killing machines† is generally unacceptable especially for educated men who view these people as freedom-loving. Nevertheless, it can also be argued that the book also suffered from the credulities of a simplistic master piece. Although it accurately describes reality, the author was unable to highlight his literary style in the novel (novice). Reference Seddon, James D. 1990. Morning Glories among the Peas: A Vietnam†™s Veteran Story. Iowa State. e-bay bookstore download. http://worldcat. org//22181821?

Should We Use Nuclear Power as a Main Source of Energy - Free Essay Example

Sample details Pages: 6 Words: 1732 Downloads: 8 Date added: 2019/08/16 Category Energy Industry Essay Level High school Tags: Nuclear Power Essay Did you like this example? On April 20, 2010, the explosion of the Deepwater Horizon oil rig was watched by every nation as barrels of oil leaked into the Gulf of Mexico. This spill in particular was caused by a rush of natural gas that burst through the recently poured concrete which was used to seal off the oil well for later use. This caused the ignition of the rig (Pallardy). Don’t waste time! Our writers will create an original "Should We Use Nuclear Power as a Main Source of Energy" essay for you Create order Eleven workers were killed and seventeen were injured. An estimation of the amount of oil that leaked into the gulf is four million nine hundred thousand barrels, polluting one thousand miles of shoreline (Pallardy).The Chernobyl accident of April 26, 1986 occurred in a similar fashion. According to Greenfacts, a routine test one of the four nuclear reactors electric control systems caused a power surge. This caused nuclear fuel to overheat which then as a consequence, caused steam explosions, destroying the unit four reactor and building (Chernobyl). These explosions caused fires to spread along the roof of the machine halls as nuclear material came in contact with combustible gases (Chernobyl). Fires burned for ten days and large amounts of nuclear material was released (Chernobyl). It has been estimated that around three hundred and forty thousand people had to be relocated after the accident and one thousand first responders received the greatest amount of radiation (Chernobyl).In the process of obtaining both nuclear and fossil fueled energy, both present their own unique opportunities for danger. Supporters of power supplied by fossil fuels state that the investment and construction costs of nuclear power facilities are too high. Additionally, that the nuclear material produced by the process of nuclear fission-the splitting of an atom and the collection of the energy released, poses too great of a threat to civilians living near nuclear plants and a threat posed by terrorists who could potentially gain access to the nuclear material. Those who advocate the use of nuclear power emphasize the negative effects the burning of fossil fuels has on the environment as well as the danger of running out of the nonrenewable resource. Fossil fuel consumption has increased and nuclear power plants are reaching the age of retirement, and as of now, there are no new plans to build new facilities. This is where conflict seems to arise. Should countries continue to use fossil fuels as their main source of energy or resort to nuclear power generation?Ben Heard, a prominent advocate of nuclear power and an Australian environmentalist offers nuclear power as a realistic solution to climate change with todays technology (Scientists). The basis of his argument is the concentration of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere which started to increase when the industrial revolution began and it is in proportion with the burning of fossil fuels (History). Scientists such as the Columbian professor in the Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, Dr. James Hansen, has studied the effect climate change has had on the environment and the role power generation has played in the pollution of the Earth. Along with other scientists, he has stated that any power source used in the future needs to be easily expandable as the need for power will inevitably increase, as well as remain low-carbon emitting. Both scientists have advocated for the use of nuclear power but have acknowledged the idea that the manufacturing of energy cannot be solely reliant on nuclear power or renewable resources by addressing the worldwide problems of the cost and availability of the materials needed to run these power plants. As plutonium is the main material needed to manufacture energy at a nuclear power plant, and it is not accessible in some countries. Although this is a weakness of their argument though they still argue that the positive effects on the environment outweigh the cost of material needed to run nuclear power plants.According to the World Nuclear Association, nuclear power plants tend to have high investment and construction costs but are relatively cheap to maintain. The operating cost as well as the disposal of waste materials in nuclear power plants is lower than that of almost all fossil fuel competitors (Economics).Many factors contribute to the cost of a nuclear facility, such as if the project is completed on time and whether or not interest charges are applied during construction. The length of a project varies by country. Asias last two reactors that were built in 1992, were completed in four years while the newer South Korean reactors took an average of fifty-one months (Economics). This variation in the time it took to build these reactors suggests that they can be built quicker, which lowers the initial cost of building the facilities.The disposal of nuclear waste produced by nuclear fission has become a cause of concern after the Chernobyl accident. According to the World Nuclear Association, ninety-seven percent of the waste material produced is categorized as low or intermediate-level waste. In France, where fuel is reprocessed, radioactive material is classified as high-level waste (HLW) in only two-tenths of one percent of the material produced. After forty years, according to the World Nuclear Association, the radioactivity of HLW is about one thousandth of what is was before the process of nuclear fission. This information implies that the majority of the radioactive material produced by the power plants does not require shielding as the radioactivity of the material is low (Classifications). Countries such as Sweden, France, Finland and the USA all have well advanced p rojects to store HLW. This includes appropriate protection protocols to ensure that nuclear material stays in the hands of trained professionals.The World Nuclear Association was used to provide the information on the disposal of nuclear material as well as the information on the types and amounts of radioactive material released by nuclear power generation. The information provided by the source strengthens the argument because a majority of radioactive material produced by nuclear power plants is classified as low and intermediate level radioactive material. The dangers of radioactive waste classified as high-level is argued by fossil fuel advocates as a main reason why nuclear power generation is not a viable option for power generation. This strengthens the argument because low an intermediate level radioactive material does not require shielding during normal handling (Classifications). Because a majority of the waste produced by nuclear power plants is not classified as HLW, t he validity of the argument is minimized.While some bias is present, the information is well researched and displays a wide range of knowledge.An argument in support of using fossil fuels is their availability. According to the Institute of Energy Research, fossil fuels supply Japan with eighty-four percent and the United States of America with eighty-one percent of their national energy demand (History). The majority of fossil fuels burned today are natural gas, oil and coal (Fossil). Fossil fuels can be found in practically every part of the world, something that cannot be said about plutonium, which is used to power nuclear power plants (Gemma).Globally, an argument made is the economic benefits of fossil fuels. According to the U.S Department of Energy, six million four hundred thousand Americans are employed in the exploration, extraction and transportation of fossil fuels (Fossil). The world has relied on fossil fuels as a main source of energy since the eighteenth century dur ing the industrial revolution (History). This prolonged amount of time has allowed the fossil fuel industry to become efficient. New facilities can be built with minimal innovation and processes of extraction and transportation have been perfected. Coal can be transported by trucks over short distances and by trains and barges over longer distances (Coal). International trading companies ensure that trading between countries is efficient (Coal).Another argument in favor of using fossil fuels as a countrys main source of energy is improvements that have resulted in the reduction of environmental effects the operations have. In 2014, the World Coal Association released a document outlining their plans to reduce carbon dioxide emissions by two to three percent with the implementation of more effective plants (Platform). The average plant runs at a thirty-five percent efficiency and with the improvements that could be made, plants could run at forty-five percent efficiency (Platform).Th e Energy Policy Act (EPA) was passed in 2005 in the United States. The EPA guaranteed that companies who developed and used innovative technologies that aided in the emissions of greenhouse gases would receive loans for their efforts to try and lessen the effect energy production has on the environment (Summary). This law strengthens the argument that the fossil fuel industry has made efforts to reduce carbon dioxide emissions.The World Coal Association was used to find information about international trade and transportation of coal as well as the information regarding the document released in 2014. The source strengthened the argument that the transportation of fossil fuels is efficient and that the industry has made great strides in trying to diminish their carbon footprint by mentioning the Energy Policy Act and the document released in 2014. Some bias was present in the article as it was written by the World Coal Association detailing the coal industrys plan to reduce carbon di oxide emissions.After thorough research and evaluation of both sides of the argument for the question, Should nuclear power generation be a countrys main source of energy, I have decided that nuclear power generation is a viable source of energy and should be a countrys main source of energy. The argument that the nuclear power facilities cost too much to build is nullified by the argument that they are relatively cheap to maintain and maintenance. In addition to this, the positive environmental effect nuclear power facilities could have on countries with poor air quality is convincing. The argument about the possible dangers of nuclear material is also minimized in importance as ninety-seven percent of nuclear waste is classified as low-level waste (Radioactive).Nonetheless, it must be acknowledged that the topic if nuclear power generation encompasses many different aspects that were not discussed in this paper. Further research regarding the air quality of the areas surrounding f ossil fuel and nuclear power plants would be beneficial in the continuation of this paper. An addition of case studies regarding the air quality as well as the environmental status of the areas around fossil and nuclear plants would also be beneficial in further understanding the differences nuclear and fossil fuel plants impose on the air quality of the surrounding area.