¶ … moriks58: Please Work on Chapter 1 and chapter 2 only "Management Strategy to utilize Meta-Analysis Technique for Nuclear Energy and Waste Disposal and create Social Sustainability

A Dissertation Presented using the Meta-Analysis Technique

Komi E Fiagbe

Christina Anastasia PH-D Chair

[Committee Name], [Degree], Committee Member

[Committee Name], [Degree], Committee Member

This research proposal explores the link between public perceptions of nuclear power, how those perceptions are formed, and what influence those opinions have on energy policy. These issues are important in light of two realities. First, nuclear energy is declining in its share of global energy. Second, nuclear energy offers what might well be the best solution to climate change. Given the threat posed by climate change, it makes sense that nuclear power would be increasing in share, not decreasing. This Research proposal seeks to look at some of the issues facing nuclear power, and how it can overcome these issues to increase share going forward.

[Add a Dedication, if desired [Add Acknowledgements]

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

Chapter One: Overview of Dissertation 7

Topic Overview 7

Problem Statement 8

Purpose Statement 10

Research Objectives 10

Hypothesis 11

Theoretical Perspectives 13

Assumptions and Biases 14

Significance of the Study 16

Delimitation 17

Limitations 18

Definition of Key Terms 19

General Overview of the Research Design 20

Summary of Chapter One 20

Organization of the Study 20

Chapter Two: Literature Review 22

Hypothesis #1: Public perceptions of nuclear energy are largely driven by disasters. 24

Hypothesis #2: Public perceptions can influence political decision making 28

Hypothesis #3: Unresolved technical issues contribute to policy 30

Hypothesis #4 Nuclear energy is not viewed as a viable solution to climate change 34

Chapter Three: Research Design 41

Research Traditions 41

Research Questions and Hypotheses 44

Research Design 47

Validity 48

Reliability 48

Ethical Issues in the Research 49

Summary of Chapter Three 49

Chapter Four: Findings 52

Findings -- Hypotheses #1 52

Findings -- Hypothesis #2 56

Findings -- Hypothesis #3 59

Findings -- Hypothesis #4 62

Findings -- Tying everything together 65

Chapter five: Conclusions 68

Limitations of the Study 68

Implications for Practice 70

Implications of Study 72

Recommendations for Future Research 73

Reflections 75

References 77

APPENDIX 84

Appendix A: Nuclear Energy Market Share Worldwide (source: IAEA, 2015) 84

Appendix B: Nuclear Reactors Operating Worldwide (source: IAEA, 2015) 85

Appendix C: Number of Nuclear Reactors Under Construction Worldwide (source: IAEA, 2015). 86

List of Figures

[Add List of Figures here

Note Comment from the professor:Komi: I want you to start working from the dissertation template. As we talked today, you have agreed that you will be focusing on a meta-analysis comparing studies on nuclear waste disposal. Be ready to follow this path in our upcoming course. Also for each of your hypothesis there needs to be an alternative or null hypothesis.Thanks Dr. A 50/50 Task Requirements 115/125 Content Construct a draft of 20-25 pages of the Chapter 2: Review of the Literature. You must incorporate your preliminary insights to your Problem Opportunity Statement, Purpose Statement, and Research Question(s)/Hypotheses found in Chapter 1. The References section for this should contain at least 40-50 journal articles. The document and References section must adhere to APA 6th-edition standards. 25/25 Academic Writing

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Chapter One: Introduction

Overview Comment by Owner: Komi, you will need to contact an editor before we can submit this for quality review.

Nuclear energy was first harnessed for power in 1954, at the Obninsk scientific city some 110km outside of Moscow (Josephenson, 2000, p.2). At the time, nuclear power was viewed as the energy of the future. Unharnessing the power of the atom, it was thought, was to provide a stable, reliable source of energy for the future. Even at the time, it was known that fossil fuels were not going to sustainable as an energy source. The use of atomic weapons at the end of the Second World War highlighted the value of harnessing the atom -- nuclear energy was essential in war, and to meet civilian energy needs. The most technologically advanced societies of that age, the U.S. and USSR, were the

Nuclear energy is derived from nuclear reactions, which are used to produce heat that is most commonly used in steam turbines to generate electricity, especially in a nuclear power station. According to Remo (2015), nuclear energy, which is utilized in weapons and for generating electricity, has the probability to destroy life and also save lives on Earth (p.38). As a result, the likelihood of effective use of nuclear energy to save lives as well as for producing a catastrophic thermonuclear war on Earth has contributed to a huge debate and controversy relating to nuclear energy.
Today, nuclear energy provides for roughly 10% of the world's energy needs. There are reactors in 31 countries, for a total of 427 reactors as of 2013 (Schneider et al., 2013). That is seventeen fewer reactors than there were in 2002, and the installed capacity of the industry is at 364 GWe, down from 375 GWe in 2002. Thus, the nuclear power industry is in decline. While some of this can be attributed to the Fukushima disaster that took some of Japan's capacity offline, the fact that nuclear energy is not growing is somewhat perplexing. Since 2002, the world's collective knowledge of climate change has increased substantially. Many nations around the world made commitments to reduce their carbon emissions in the Kyoto Protocol (UN FCC, 2014).

Yet, despite this, there has been very little new investment in nuclear power. Total capacity has declined as noted above, and given that overall energy production capacity has likely increased in this period, the market share for nuclear power has declined significantly in this period. Three quarters of the decline came from Japan, but the top five other nuclear power generators also decreased their output as well (Schneider et al., 2013). In 1993, nuclear power peaked at 17% of total global energy production, but now sits at 10% (Ibid, p.7). With no major new build programs, the average age of the world's nuclear reactors is at 28 years, with over 190 units having run for over 30 years, and 44 units having run for over 40 years (Ibid, p.7). There is some new construction, in fourteen countries, with one (the UAE) being a new member of the nuclear power club. There have been many delays that have stalled progress in prospective new members to the nuclear power club, comprised mainly of developing world nations (Ibid, p.7).

Problem Statement

There are a number of different issues that need to be examined to determine the future of nuclear power. First, there are the social and political dimensions. So many would-be nuclear powers have had trouble getting their reactors built, Bangladesh, Belarus, Jordan, Lithuania, Poland, Saudi Arabia and Vietnam among them (Schneider, et al., p.7). In established nuclear power countries, there is a lack of investment in adding new capacity. Where there is new construction, it is to replace aging facilities. Comment by Owner: I need for you to be more specific.The general problem is___The specific problem is

Secondly, nuclear power policy is in the political domain and in many countries public sentiment affects the political domain. So there are issues raised with respect to the perceptions that publics and governments have and whether or not those perceptions are responsible for the decline of nuclear power. Two issues in particular are whether disasters such as Fukushima impact public polic, and whether climate change and the need to transition away from fossil fuels is helping to change public perceptions about nuclear power, and its role in the power mix of a given nation.

The third issue that has risen in the course of researching the subject is the handling of nuclear waste. Public perception is not all that relevant to this issue -- while there are no studies on the subject, it seems reasonable to conclude that few members of the general public understand the science behind the generation and handling of nuclear waste. But public policy is often informed by the science, and the disposal of nuclear waste remains an emerging field, where scientists are still learning. There are many challenges associated with handling nuclear waste, and these may be playing a role in the diminishing importance of nuclear power around the world.

The opportunity presented by the current situation is to determine what the factors are that are constraining the growth of the nuclear power industry. Once these factors are understood, policy makers can have a better sense of how to work around these challenges. There remain a lot of compelling arguments in favor of nuclear power, for its efficiency, for its ability to mitigate the impacts of climate change and even for its safety. In order to restore growth to the industry, and the promise of atomic energy in general, the issues that have befallen nuclear power in recent years will need to be better understood.

The general problem is that nuclear energy has been declining in its share in the global energy resource. The decline in the share of nuclear energy has been influenced by various factors…