Unit 7

Principal Sociological Perspectives P1 Unit 7 Functionalism This is the relationship between the parts of society; how aspects of society are functional (adaptive). A strength of Functionalism would be that it states that there are purposes for social conditions or facts. For example, under a functionalist point of view the newspaper deliverer and retail worker all contribute to the function of the entire unit–without serving these purposes, the social structure would not function properly. Also functionalism is considered vital for the smooth running of society, as Durkheim stated.A criticism of the functionalist approach would be it does not address areas of conflict, which undoubtedly characterise modern societies and in principle could be found in all societies. Functionalism assumes that there is consensus: that everyone in the structure holds the same norms and values; that we all essentially believe in and work for the same thing. Functionalism is a theory about the nat ure of mental states. According to functionalists, mental states are identified by what they do rather than by what they are made of. Functionalism is the most familiar or â€Å"received† view among philosophers of mind and cognitive science.Family Functionalists look at how the family as an institution, helps in maintain order and stability in society, and the significance of the family for its individual members. A well know functionalist who have written about the family is George. P. Murdock. Murdock carried out a study that included 250 families. From this he argued that the family achieves four basic functions for its individual members and society. He says these are ‘sexual’, ‘reproductive’, ‘economic’ and ‘educational’ functions. The sexual function refers to the sexual activity.Murdock argued that the family provides to the sexual needs of its adults and also limits sexual access of other member of the society there by maintaining stability. The ‘reproductive’ function is manner and raising children. The family provides the society with new members and assume responsibility for raising them. The family is an ‘economic’ unit, with a division of labour along gender. Murdock considers this division of labour as rewarding for the spouses and as strengthening the bond between them, as they are perceived as doing distinct but complementary work.The ‘educational’ function that Murdock refers to, can also be known as ‘socialisation’. The family has the responsibility of transmitting a society’s way of life, norms and values to the younger members. This function is important because without culture the society wouldn’t survive; too much deviation from the norm would disrupt the stability of the society. Marxism The sociological perspective sees society as structures with interconnected parts, and focuses on the structural features of soci ety, emphasising social differences and the conflicting interests and values of different groups in society.Proletariat – Class of poor people who work for wages. Bourgeoise – Class of wealthy people who have their own means of wealth. Strengths would be that it recognises the power interests of different groups and is good at explaining conflict and change in society. It stresses the role of class struggle (conflict) within society between the proletariat (workers) and the bourgeoisie (owners). Weakness would be that it doesn’t recognise that people are socially active, with some power and the ability to make choices and influence the direction of their own lives.It focuses on the economy as the driving force of social behaviour and ignores other important influences such as gender, ethnicity and religion. Marxism is a political and sociological perspective based on the work of Karl Marx (1818-1883) Marx provided an account of the new class based society that e merged after the industrial revolution. The Marxist perspective questions the functionalist idea that business owners and bosses are morally entitled to keep profits for they are part of the ruling ideology in capitalist society. Family Friedrich Engels is a famous Marxist.He believed that during the early stages of human evolution that property was collectively owned and that the family did not exist. The community formed the family and there was no restraint to sexual access. Although with the development of private ownership of property and the idea of having successors who were to inherit the property, the question of paternity grew in importance and the rules of monogamous marriage were created to control woman’s sexuality and assure the legitimacy of heirs. Feminism Capitalist – Another word for a member of the bourgeoisieFeminism is a movement for social, cultural, political and economic equality of men and women. It is a campaign against gender inequalities and it strives for equal rights for women. Feminism can be also defined as the right to enough information available to every single woman so that she can make a choice to live a life which is not discriminatory and which works within the principles of social, cultural, political and economic equality and independence. Strengths that the sociological feminist theorists had were on how their perception of womanhood was socially constructed and not even real.A weakness of it is that it felt as though the sociological feminists are very judgmental and it feels as though almost all men and most people looked down on women. There are 3 main types of feminist approach: * Marxist feminism * Radical feminism * Liberal feminism Marxist feminism Marxists feminists see woman as oppressed by capitalism and by men or the patriarchal society. They believe that woman produce the next generation of workers and those they provide all the key needs to meet for their children; and prepare them for the wo rk life.They support their partners and cook, clean, and care for the family. Radical Feminism Radical feminists believe that it is not capitalism that dominates woman, and that it is men. They see the woman as the housewife and mother. Liberal Feminism These feminists believe that changes have happened. They believe that since new legislations have been bought out that there is now more equality. Legislation and policy changing, leads to liberal feminists believing that improvements will always be made Family Feminists have sought to analyse the impact of family life on women.Regardless of the numerous differences in their approach and main concern, different feminists tend to agree that women occupy a subordinate position in the family and are exploited in various ways. The Marxist feminists consider capitalism as the main exploiter. This exploitation is seen in terms of the unpaid work they carry out at home. Like the Marxist, they believe that the family also serves capitalism b y reproducing the future labour force, but they also assert that it is not the family as such that suffers more, but the women.It is women that bear the children and assume the main responsibility for their care. Women are also exploited in that they are expected to provide outlets for all the frustration and anger that their husband experience at work and therefore prevent them from rebelling against their employers. Interactionism The interactionist’s perspective is a major theoretical perspective; it focuses on the concrete details of what goes on among individuals in everyday life. It derives social processes (such as conflict, cooperation, identity formation) from human interaction.Its focus is on small groups and how they influence individual behaviour in society. A strength of this would be that it takes into account an individual’s choices they make and how they behave (their free will). It cannot explain where people get the meanings to symbols and that it end s up drawing these answers from other sociological theories, and it doesn't explain social order and how it comes about; this would be a weakness. They do not study where the social roles come from. The evidence of symbolic interaction is that humans use symbols to understand and interact properly with the natural and social world.Symbolic interactionism is a theory of social cognition, which models human interaction among significant concepts like identity, language, meaning, labeling and roles. Family The interactionalist perspective looks at the family dynamics. This view explores the interaction of the family members; this is back and forth talk, gestures and actions that go on in families. The interactionist perspective refuses to identify a â€Å"natural family structure†. The family is not a stock social unit but the creation of its participants as they spontaneously relate to one another. PostmodernismThis is an approach that emphases on the quick changing and uncerta inty in our society. Postmodernists suggest that we cannot talk about well-known institutions such as the family, religion or the economy because nothing stays the same. Postmodernists think that because there is constant change you cannot use structuralist perspectives such as Functionalism and Marxism to understand society. Strength of postmodernism would be that it provides a good critique of modernism and helpfully stresses the use of the aesthetic. Weakness would be that Postmodernism, like modernism, is characterized by astounding arrogance. FamilyOther theories believe that nuclear family is dominant family type within society; postmodernists disagree with this opinion and have different views. Postmodernists argue that this structural approach ignores moral relativism of individuals that they always have a choice of family type and nobody can judge them. Also modernists ignore the increase of family diversity; however there is no ‘best' family type anymore. Collectivis m Collectivism is an approach to providing health and social care services that is reinforced by a government commitment to provide care and support for the vulnerable, funded through taxation and National Insurance.This contrasts with the ‘New right’ that consider welfare to be the responsibility of the individual and their family and believe that the state should play a minimal role. An emphasis is placed on unification and a common purpose. Families are considered very important for personal growth. An advantage to living in a collectivist society is that the group members are close-knit and care for and help one another, which is not always the case in an individualistic society.Another strength would be that communication is very important in a collective group. No one is left out of the mix, and everyone is involved in making decisions. A weakness would be that collectivism stifles individuality and diversity by insisting upon a common social identity, such as nat ionalism, racialism, feminism, or some other group focus. Also collectivism is linked to statism and the diminution of freedom when political authority is used to advance collectivist goals. FamilyFamily ties will be different in different cultures; they will be strong in a collectivist society, Collectivist societies will be more characterized by coexistence of several generations within the household and stronger ties towards the larger family clan. ‘New right’ This is political movement made up especially of Protestants, opposed especially to secular humanism, and concerned with issues especially of church and state, patriotism, laissez-faire economics, pornography, and abortion. They believe that welfare should be largely seen as the responsibility of the individual and their family. The New Right regarded tate support as intrusive and supporting a dependency culture. Mrs Thatcher thought the welfare state produced a society in which people relied on state benefits rather than planning for the future and taking responsibility for their own needs and responsibility. A Strength of this would be that it would get more people that can work but don’t, to go out and work. Also it would benefit people because they would be going out earning their own money and it would be a good social factor. A Weakness of this would be that how do you get the people that have been off work for such a long time back into education and work.Family The New Right Family Ideology is patriarchal, the family is male dominant. Feminists argue that this is negative for women. It ignores the dark side of the family e. g. domestic abuse, poverty, conflict. It is harmful, calling other family-types ‘inadequate’ – schools, advertisements and television reinforce this idea. It is anti-social – it stereotypes, labels and discriminates against other family-types; ‘inadequate’ and has a ‘Them and Us’ theory – Nuclea r families are the only family type, other family types aren’t families. Unit 7 Principal Sociological Perspectives P1 Unit 7 Functionalism This is the relationship between the parts of society; how aspects of society are functional (adaptive). A strength of Functionalism would be that it states that there are purposes for social conditions or facts. For example, under a functionalist point of view the newspaper deliverer and retail worker all contribute to the function of the entire unit–without serving these purposes, the social structure would not function properly. Also functionalism is considered vital for the smooth running of society, as Durkheim stated.A criticism of the functionalist approach would be it does not address areas of conflict, which undoubtedly characterise modern societies and in principle could be found in all societies. Functionalism assumes that there is consensus: that everyone in the structure holds the same norms and values; that we all essentially believe in and work for the same thing. Functionalism is a theory about the nat ure of mental states. According to functionalists, mental states are identified by what they do rather than by what they are made of. Functionalism is the most familiar or â€Å"received† view among philosophers of mind and cognitive science.Family Functionalists look at how the family as an institution, helps in maintain order and stability in society, and the significance of the family for its individual members. A well know functionalist who have written about the family is George. P. Murdock. Murdock carried out a study that included 250 families. From this he argued that the family achieves four basic functions for its individual members and society. He says these are ‘sexual’, ‘reproductive’, ‘economic’ and ‘educational’ functions. The sexual function refers to the sexual activity.Murdock argued that the family provides to the sexual needs of its adults and also limits sexual access of other member of the society there by maintaining stability. The ‘reproductive’ function is manner and raising children. The family provides the society with new members and assume responsibility for raising them. The family is an ‘economic’ unit, with a division of labour along gender. Murdock considers this division of labour as rewarding for the spouses and as strengthening the bond between them, as they are perceived as doing distinct but complementary work.The ‘educational’ function that Murdock refers to, can also be known as ‘socialisation’. The family has the responsibility of transmitting a society’s way of life, norms and values to the younger members. This function is important because without culture the society wouldn’t survive; too much deviation from the norm would disrupt the stability of the society. Marxism The sociological perspective sees society as structures with interconnected parts, and focuses on the structural features of soci ety, emphasising social differences and the conflicting interests and values of different groups in society.Proletariat – Class of poor people who work for wages. Bourgeoise – Class of wealthy people who have their own means of wealth. Strengths would be that it recognises the power interests of different groups and is good at explaining conflict and change in society. It stresses the role of class struggle (conflict) within society between the proletariat (workers) and the bourgeoisie (owners). Weakness would be that it doesn’t recognise that people are socially active, with some power and the ability to make choices and influence the direction of their own lives.It focuses on the economy as the driving force of social behaviour and ignores other important influences such as gender, ethnicity and religion. Marxism is a political and sociological perspective based on the work of Karl Marx (1818-1883) Marx provided an account of the new class based society that e merged after the industrial revolution. The Marxist perspective questions the functionalist idea that business owners and bosses are morally entitled to keep profits for they are part of the ruling ideology in capitalist society. Family Friedrich Engels is a famous Marxist.He believed that during the early stages of human evolution that property was collectively owned and that the family did not exist. The community formed the family and there was no restraint to sexual access. Although with the development of private ownership of property and the idea of having successors who were to inherit the property, the question of paternity grew in importance and the rules of monogamous marriage were created to control woman’s sexuality and assure the legitimacy of heirs. Feminism Capitalist – Another word for a member of the bourgeoisieFeminism is a movement for social, cultural, political and economic equality of men and women. It is a campaign against gender inequalities and it strives for equal rights for women. Feminism can be also defined as the right to enough information available to every single woman so that she can make a choice to live a life which is not discriminatory and which works within the principles of social, cultural, political and economic equality and independence. Strengths that the sociological feminist theorists had were on how their perception of womanhood was socially constructed and not even real.A weakness of it is that it felt as though the sociological feminists are very judgmental and it feels as though almost all men and most people looked down on women. There are 3 main types of feminist approach: * Marxist feminism * Radical feminism * Liberal feminism Marxist feminism Marxists feminists see woman as oppressed by capitalism and by men or the patriarchal society. They believe that woman produce the next generation of workers and those they provide all the key needs to meet for their children; and prepare them for the wo rk life.They support their partners and cook, clean, and care for the family. Radical Feminism Radical feminists believe that it is not capitalism that dominates woman, and that it is men. They see the woman as the housewife and mother. Liberal Feminism These feminists believe that changes have happened. They believe that since new legislations have been bought out that there is now more equality. Legislation and policy changing, leads to liberal feminists believing that improvements will always be made Family Feminists have sought to analyse the impact of family life on women.Regardless of the numerous differences in their approach and main concern, different feminists tend to agree that women occupy a subordinate position in the family and are exploited in various ways. The Marxist feminists consider capitalism as the main exploiter. This exploitation is seen in terms of the unpaid work they carry out at home. Like the Marxist, they believe that the family also serves capitalism b y reproducing the future labour force, but they also assert that it is not the family as such that suffers more, but the women.It is women that bear the children and assume the main responsibility for their care. Women are also exploited in that they are expected to provide outlets for all the frustration and anger that their husband experience at work and therefore prevent them from rebelling against their employers. Interactionism The interactionist’s perspective is a major theoretical perspective; it focuses on the concrete details of what goes on among individuals in everyday life. It derives social processes (such as conflict, cooperation, identity formation) from human interaction.Its focus is on small groups and how they influence individual behaviour in society. A strength of this would be that it takes into account an individual’s choices they make and how they behave (their free will). It cannot explain where people get the meanings to symbols and that it end s up drawing these answers from other sociological theories, and it doesn't explain social order and how it comes about; this would be a weakness. They do not study where the social roles come from. The evidence of symbolic interaction is that humans use symbols to understand and interact properly with the natural and social world.Symbolic interactionism is a theory of social cognition, which models human interaction among significant concepts like identity, language, meaning, labeling and roles. Family The interactionalist perspective looks at the family dynamics. This view explores the interaction of the family members; this is back and forth talk, gestures and actions that go on in families. The interactionist perspective refuses to identify a â€Å"natural family structure†. The family is not a stock social unit but the creation of its participants as they spontaneously relate to one another. PostmodernismThis is an approach that emphases on the quick changing and uncerta inty in our society. Postmodernists suggest that we cannot talk about well-known institutions such as the family, religion or the economy because nothing stays the same. Postmodernists think that because there is constant change you cannot use structuralist perspectives such as Functionalism and Marxism to understand society. Strength of postmodernism would be that it provides a good critique of modernism and helpfully stresses the use of the aesthetic. Weakness would be that Postmodernism, like modernism, is characterized by astounding arrogance. FamilyOther theories believe that nuclear family is dominant family type within society; postmodernists disagree with this opinion and have different views. Postmodernists argue that this structural approach ignores moral relativism of individuals that they always have a choice of family type and nobody can judge them. Also modernists ignore the increase of family diversity; however there is no ‘best' family type anymore. Collectivis m Collectivism is an approach to providing health and social care services that is reinforced by a government commitment to provide care and support for the vulnerable, funded through taxation and National Insurance.This contrasts with the ‘New right’ that consider welfare to be the responsibility of the individual and their family and believe that the state should play a minimal role. An emphasis is placed on unification and a common purpose. Families are considered very important for personal growth. An advantage to living in a collectivist society is that the group members are close-knit and care for and help one another, which is not always the case in an individualistic society.Another strength would be that communication is very important in a collective group. No one is left out of the mix, and everyone is involved in making decisions. A weakness would be that collectivism stifles individuality and diversity by insisting upon a common social identity, such as nat ionalism, racialism, feminism, or some other group focus. Also collectivism is linked to statism and the diminution of freedom when political authority is used to advance collectivist goals. FamilyFamily ties will be different in different cultures; they will be strong in a collectivist society, Collectivist societies will be more characterized by coexistence of several generations within the household and stronger ties towards the larger family clan. ‘New right’ This is political movement made up especially of Protestants, opposed especially to secular humanism, and concerned with issues especially of church and state, patriotism, laissez-faire economics, pornography, and abortion. They believe that welfare should be largely seen as the responsibility of the individual and their family. The New Right regarded tate support as intrusive and supporting a dependency culture. Mrs Thatcher thought the welfare state produced a society in which people relied on state benefits rather than planning for the future and taking responsibility for their own needs and responsibility. A Strength of this would be that it would get more people that can work but don’t, to go out and work. Also it would benefit people because they would be going out earning their own money and it would be a good social factor. A Weakness of this would be that how do you get the people that have been off work for such a long time back into education and work.Family The New Right Family Ideology is patriarchal, the family is male dominant. Feminists argue that this is negative for women. It ignores the dark side of the family e. g. domestic abuse, poverty, conflict. It is harmful, calling other family-types ‘inadequate’ – schools, advertisements and television reinforce this idea. It is anti-social – it stereotypes, labels and discriminates against other family-types; ‘inadequate’ and has a ‘Them and Us’ theory – Nuclea r families are the only family type, other family types aren’t families.

Othello and Family Guy

Othello Cast inspired by the characters of Michaela N Cleveland Brown as Othello Cleveland Brown is overall a kind person with a hot temper. He becomes jealous easily, especially in terms of his marriage and wife. Cleveland trusts his friends to a fault, and is dim-witted. All these traits strike a strong resemblance to Othello. Similar to Othello, Cleveland racially does not fit in among friends, and both are treated different as a result. Both men also are trusted by their friends, and care more about what is going to make them happy in the moment, rather than long term.Cleveland and Othello tend to speak coarsely and slowly, as opposed to those who they mingle with. Othello and Cleveland furthermore are laid back. The men usually are the puppets of their mates, going with the flow and believing the most ridiculous of things. Cleveland represents Shakespeare's Othello quite perfectly. Brian as Iago Brian is extremely intelligent, logical, and rational character. He is trusted, but not loyal to those who trust him. His motivations are not always clear or obvious.Brian is thought of as â€Å"man's best friend† but he doesn't act that way. He is generally mean spirited, quick-tempered, and has a sarcastic, dry, yet hilarious, sense of humor. These traits bear resemblance to Iago, Othello's enemy. Iago and Brian are also manipulative, deceptive, and untrustworthy. Both characters lack a sense of emotion and compassion, as they are willing to do things, like kill friends or a wife, easily. Brian has a crush on Louis, and Iago is taken by Desdemona.Together they have a love-hate relationship with women, enjoying them physically, but annoyed with femininity and emotional drama. Iago and Brian mirror each other perfectly. Lois as Desdemona Lois is a complex, sweet, yet dark, jealous, and somewhat cold-hearted woman. She is known to cheat, be devious, and be extremely flirtatious, which in turn gets her into trouble. She loves her husband, but doesn't have a pr oblem with being unfaithful to him. She is known to be a beauty, and to have left her father to pursue a crazy lifestyle.Lois is a strong, independent woman despite being a wife. She furthermore has a bewitching affect over men, and she uses this gift to get what she wants. Desdemona is very much like Lois in all this attributes. Desdemona seems innocent but is truly brilliantly mischievous. Both are smart, but don't always think before they act. They are both comparable, thus match beautifully. Joe Swanson as Michael Cassio Joe makes a perfect Cassio. Joe is a police officer, just as Cassio is a lieutenant.Joe is devoted, loyal, moral, masculine, buff, admirable, and honorable. Cassio in ‘Othello' is also very much like this. Glenn Quagmire as Roderigo Roderigo is rich, rather foolish, too trusting of Iago, and interested in Desdemona. Quagmire is also well off, acts unintelligently, and is interested in women to an extreme. Both men are so obsessed over a certain woman they will do whatever it takes. They trust their friends to a fault and lack compassion. Both men exemplify immaturity too. Therefore, Quagmire and Roderigo quite nicely pair up.Bonnie as Bianca Bianca and Bonnie were prostitutes, loved fame and a title. They spoke softly and meaningfully. ‘ Carter as Brabanzio Carter is fatherly, rich, over-protective of his daughter, self-important, powerful, devious, blustering, and gets angry with his daughter's husband numerously. Brabanzio is also fatherly, a senator, very protective of his daughter, devious, blubbering, self-intelligible, and is upset when his daughter leaves him for Othello. Both men hate their sons-in-law with a fiery passion. They are two of a kind.

Assess the Importance of Developments in Military Technology as a Factor in the Changing Nature of Military Strategy in the Period C1850 â€C1985.

Assess the importance of developments in military technology as a factor in the changing nature of military strategy in the period c1850 –c1985. The development of military technology can undoubtedly alter the way in which a war or battle is fought. Major military innovations have allowed for strategies to be adapted and refined. For example the invention of tanks allowed for strategic usage of movement to end the stalemate of World War One. The advances in technology have reformed the way in which a war is fought in the air as well as on the ground and sea. If one side was in control of more advanced technology, it could be said they had a greater advantage over the enemy, with increased military capability. However the relationship between the technology and the strategy behind its deployment is essential. For the technology to achieve its goal, the planning, conduct and organisation must be beneficial. Technology however is not entirely responsible for the changes in military strategy, Leadership and tactics also play a part, but which is ultimately the most accountable? The key technology that fundamentally affected the battles of the Crimean war was the invention of an effective rifle. Neil Stewart states that â€Å"The greatest change in land warfare was the substantial increase in the range, accuracy and firepower of the percussion cap rifles and the rifled artillery. † This resulted in the attacking force standing little chance of succeeding and enabled the British to fight from greater distances with a higher chance of hitting the enemy. The infantrymen no longer had to load one bullet at a time, as a magazine could now take up to nine bullets in their magazine. This meant loading time was reduced and the British were more likely to cause greater damage to the enemy over a shorter period. Furthermore Massie announces â€Å"The introduction of the Minie rifle and then the Enfield, revolutionised the battlefield. The ordinary infantry soldier now possessed a weapon long-ranged and accurate enough to enable him to operate it independently. † This shows that now lines of infantry were now not needed and concentrated fire was not used. From the Crimean war, it is clear one strategy should never have been used. The charge of the light brigade saw a cavalry charge against infantry and artillery. A report by Lieutenant-General Liprandi states â€Å"The English cavalry appeared, more than 2,000 strong†¦The enemy made a most obstinate charge†¦notwithstanding the well-directed fire from six guns of the light battery No. 7, and that of the men armed with carbines†¦In this attack the enemy had more than 400 men killed and sixty wounded, who were picked up on the field of battle, and we made twenty-two prisoners. † Thus by the First World War, the cavalry were no longer used to attack against enemies laden with artillery. The dominance of the machine gun in the First World War led to great strategic changes. Whereas a rifle could fire around fifteen rounds a minute, a machine gun could fire six hundred. The stalemate of the War meant that the guns could be set up in permanent positions resulting in the war becoming a defensive one. Stewart states â€Å"Unprotected troops could not expose themselves to this deadly onslaught of fire for long†¦and this meant digging into the ground. † This explains how trenches became a popular method of escaping machine gun fire. Trenches were not only a defensive method, but were ideal for launching an attack from within. The machine gun meant that military strategy was now in fact to keep killing until there was nothing left of the enemy, otherwise known as a war of attrition. The Battle of the Somme was designed to simply mow down as many of the German enemy as possible and try to break their morale. However this tactic proved to unsuccessful by Corporal W. Shaw. Shaw states â€Å"Our artillery had been bombing their line for six days and nights†¦the result was we never got anywhere near the Germans†¦they were just simply slaughtered. The stalemate of trench warfare leant itself for the reintroduction of mobile tactics. Stewart explains â€Å"By 1918 the British troops had moved away from the long linear advance; their attacking force was now built around a heavily armed, mobile, semi-independent platoon of 40 men. † It could be said that long range tactics were now used, making the attac ks depersonalised. The introduction of tanks meant that a preliminary barrage was no longer needed and attacks often now had the element of surprise. Their main tactic was to clear the trenches of the enemy and make a clear pathway for the infantry to follow behind. A report by the war office in 1918 states, â€Å"At the end of the campaigning season of 1917 we tried the experiment at Cambrai of using tanks in large number to take the place of artillery bombardment. † The use of tanks meant that there was a saving to be made in infantry, compared to that required to follow up an artillery bombardment. To finally break the Hindenburg line, the coordination of sophisticated artillery cover along with tanks, aeroplanes and armoured cars was used as the military strategy and according to Stewart â€Å"The battle tactics of the Second World War had emerged at the very end of the First World War. The tactics and strategies used in the Second World War were often based upon those used in the First World War. Many of the weapons used were simply the same but improved versions of those used before, thus you would think the same military strategy would be used. However the main military strategy of World War Two was to use the coordination of all available weapons and forces to strike the enemy at its weakest point instead of over a long front. The British and French went into the war believing it was going to be a defensive one; however the Germans were planning on it being an offensive one and to win it quickly. According to Foley â€Å"The Allied armies, completely unprepared for the rapid, mobile operations of the Germans, had simply been out-fought at every turn. † Stewart backs this up with his quote â€Å"A large part of the effectiveness of blitzkrieg was the panic and confusion produced by this unimagined mobility and advance. Opponents became quickly demoralized and surrendered rapidly. † It can be said that this strategy was only effective with the use of advanced technology. Stewart states â€Å"A number of strategists†¦had advanced the theories of rapid mobile attack based upon concentrations of tanks. Putting this military strategy into practice resulted in the success of blitzkrieg. For example the French and British may have a higher number of tanks than Germany; however they chose not to concentrate them into large masses. Therefore it was not am advance in technology that forced the military plan to change, it was in fact then way in which the leaders chos e to deploy it. Stewart also states â€Å"The intensification of the bombing offensive in 1943, however, had only limited results and incurred disastrous losses. This produced a change of strategy by the allies. This explains that perhaps Germany had superior technology in the air and therefore the Allies formed a military strategy which consisted of the total destruction of the German air force to achieve air supremacy. The commander in chief of the American air forces issued the instruction to â€Å"Destroy the enemy air force wherever you find them in the air, on the ground and in the factories. † This shows how the Allies military plan was adapted to fully concentrate on the effectiveness of how to attack Germany’s air force. Leadership could also be considered a factor as to why military strategy changes. For example Haig has often been criticised for the tactics he used in the First World War. Laffin says â€Å"A great commander knows exactly what he’s sending his men into but Haig didn’t. The principle which guided him was that if he could kill more Germans than the Germans could kill his men, then he would inevitably win. Now that is an appalling kind of strategy. It’s not a strategy at all, it’s just slaughter. † Therefore it could be said that others would have chose a different strategy to Haig and not risked thousands of lives, meaning different leaders would address situations differently. However on the other side many have argued that in fact Haig’s tactics did finally work in 1918 when he had more tanks and artillery to support him, perhaps making technology responsible. Furthermore Clarke tells of a conversation apparently held between Hoffman and Ludendorff. â€Å"Ludendorff: ‘The English soldiers fight like lions’ Hoffman: ‘True. But don’t we know that they are lions led by donkeys. ’ This shows perhaps if the leaders had provided a better military strategy, the brave soldiers could have been ‘lions’ which accomplished greater achievements. Moreover Spilsbury states â€Å"Raglan†¦arrived at the top of this elevation Raglan was now in one of the most extraordinary positions ever taken up by a commander on the battlefield†¦Calthorpe reported ‘Lord Raglan at once saw the immense importance of getting guns up here, where they could enfilade all the Russian guns†¦Ã¢â‚¬  This shows Raglan to be an intelligent leader who could formulate and execute military strategy well and therefore having considerable influence in the way in which the battle was fought. Logistics should also be considered. Johnson states â€Å"The logistical difficulties of the war prompted army reform in Great Britain. † Speaking of the Crimean War, this quote shows that military strategy had to be adapted to fit around these problems. He then goes on to say â€Å"The first, and most important was the rationalisation of the chain of command for organisation in the field. † This shows how rationalising as a strategy was bought in due to complications with logistics. Moreover Overy states â€Å"Yet an operation designed to move 4000 ships, 2 million men and 12000 aircraft to France, from a base only a few minutes flying time from German airfields, appeared an impossible secret to keep for six long months. † This is regarding the d-day landing of World War Two. A large amount of men and supplies had to be landed without being seen by the Germans, which would mean an excellent military strategy would be needed. The moving of these men and supplies resulted in a strategy being produced like no other. Overall the tactics in Second World War had changed dramatically from the First World War. The technology was present in the First World War however its full potential had not been realised until later. From that it could be concluded that it was in fact factors other than technology that changed the nature of military strategy, such as leadership for example. If the leaders in the Second World War had not realised the mistakes made in tactics of the First World War, then perhaps they would not have been successful with their military planning. However as technology progressed, its users were capable of achieving success in many different ways. In the Crimean War, due to the innovation of a successful rifle, strategy changed from fighting together to being able to fight independently. Tanks and armoured cars brought back mobility and therefore strategies changed to overcome the stalemate of trench warfare in World War One. A good leader could be assessed by the way in which he managed to supply his troops, in other words logistics. So therefore logistics itself may have limited effect on military strategy as it is in fact the way in which a leader uses logistics to their advantage which is responsible for the change. To conclude, technology is forever changing and will carry on doing so long into the future. As it does so, the strategy behind the way it is deployed will have to change with it if it is to be a success. However whether or not a leader produces a high-quality military plan that supports the deployment of this new technology will also play a role in the development of military strategy.

Analysis of the Theme for English B Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Analysis of the Theme for English B - Essay Example In similar situation where blacks were discriminated to a great extent, Hughes kept his spirit high for studying in good academic institutes, and moving on, and presently is studying in a college where all his fellows are white, and he is the only black in his class. The poet describes a day where the instructor asked the class to write a page on what the inner feel of the students is, as stated in the stanza as below: This is a clear depiction of how open ended the question was from the instructor, trying to understand what the students felt, and thought and to see their insight on things. The writer always had strong feelings about the issues related to racism, and therefore, had no option but to write on the same topic; the discriminatory feeling and the thoughts, all came out on that single paper, where by the writer illustrated the ideas associated with discrimination, feelings, experience, grudges, and finally, realizing the fact of equality. In clear terms, the writer stated that America is about equality to all, and no matter how much is disliked by black and/or the white, they are a part of each other since they are part of America. Towards the end, in a sorrow tone, the writer states that yesno matter how harsh it is but the fact remains that whites do have an edge over the blacks as he states: I guess you learn from me--- although you're older---and white--- and somewhat more free. 3. Research Question The underlying research questions for this analysis are as follows: i. What tone has been used in the poem and how is it justified ii. What role does the persona's sense of his race play in what he has to say about his paper iii. How does this persona seem to feel about education in general 4. Methodology The methodology adapted for this research includes primary and secondary research. Primary research constitutes reading the original poem and coming up with analysis of what I feel the writer is stating. Secondary research, on the contrary, implies that the existing research about the subject matter is studied, like books and articles. 5. Analysis & Discussion This section presents in-depth analysis and discussion about the poem. 5.1 A Generic Analysis of the Poem In Hughes' poem under consideration for this research, i.e. Theme for English B. there is heavy weight-age assigned to elements of literature such as the characters, the plot, the tone, symbolic representations, themes, view points, and the scenario set-up. The plot seems highly structured as it provides in depth background details, and is seamlessly associated to the scenario described as stated by the poet: "I am twenty-two, colored, born in Winston-Salem. I went to school there, then Durham, then here to this college on the hill above Harlem." This is a clear indication of the time period and the growing mode as the time moves on. The scenario setting initiates similar to the scenario whereby a student is direct to go

For and against Popular TV Shows and Media Essay

For and against Popular TV Shows and Media - Essay Example Sherry Turkle is also not happy about the manner in which cell phones and computers are undermining our public spaces and community. On the other hand, Steven Johnson argues that, though certain TV shows and video games do ‘dumb us down’ the sophisticated ones deepen our intelligence and even Amy Goldwasser has asked to broaden our negative mindsets on modern sources of information and communication i.e. the e-mail and internet. It is Gerald Graff, who concludes the debate by pointing out that it is not only necessary to consider what media texts the audience consumes, but what matters is the content that we absorb and the intellectual attention that we give it. In his words, â€Å"It matters less whether we read Marvel comics or Macbeth, as long as we theorize about it in analytical intellectual ways†. The dialogue from ‘The Sleeper’ stresses upon discerning subtle humor and the ability to analyze a complex social situation. Steven Johnson is arguing against the generalized view that television is encouraging violence and anti-social behavior. He tries to point out the merits of allowing children to watch popular TV shows like ER, Fear Factor, Law, and Order or Grand theft Auto and other reality or gaming shows that will develop the cognitive abilities in your child. The belief that acts of violence in Iraq and Guantanamo was mitigated due to the influence of hit TV series â€Å"24† which led to audiences either committing crimes themselves or causing them to tolerate acts of violence is not correct. We must keep in mind that Hit TV series like ‘24’ have multiple narrative threads and story-lines.. ‘24’ has twenty-one distinct characters, with, a clearly defined personality, who have motivations, obstacles and a specific relationship with other characters.  

Lissez-Faire Economy and Functions of Government Coursework

Lissez-Faire Economy and Functions of Government - Coursework Example Laissez-faire economy holds the characteristics of a free market economy which supports the idea of working for private interests. This creates a ground for innovation and creativity to blend into an economy and work in the most efficient manner. In a laissez-faire economy, since there is no government intervention, price determination is done by the market forces of demand and supply and there are no regulations to be followed which are set by the government in a command economy. In such an economy, the producers are profit motivated which boosts up entrepreneurial mindset (Sloman, 2007). The following diagram shows the market forces of demand and supply: Adam Smith, who is regarded as â€Å"the father of modern day economics†, supported the idea of a laissez-faire economy and boosted its importance and significance into the course of history. He referred to ‘the invisible hand’ that regulates the well being of an economy, and consequently, since everybody works for self interest, it benefits the economy as a whole. However, Adam Smith himself supported the idea of government intervention up to a certain extent. The United States of America is a good example where a â€Å"laissez-faire† economy was under practice for a certain period of time. â€Å"Laissez-faire† gained popularity in America because of Adam Smith’s opinions that the government should not indulge too much in the running of economic activities. There existed a greater quantity of conservatives who thought that when government intervened, it was imposing too many regulations. Except the help of government in establishing the railroad system in the 19th century, the state did not intervene much into the decision making of the country. There was existence of private ownership of businesses until the economic system of USA started altering after the Great Depression. There was a great incentive of innovation and people constantly worked in their self interest . The state started intervening to reduce the concentration of businesses and to eradicate monopolies. Before that the state did not interfere in resource allocation of the country and the matters did start deteriorating. Private businesses which were on a large scale started victimizing the small firms and created monopolies. There was a need for government regulation and thus government started stepping in the matters of decision making. Today’s economies have evolved from historical economies and differ in nature and characteristics. In earlier times, government intervened a little too less into how an economic system was supposed to be established. Today’s economies support government intervention and mixed economies have come into existence. A government has vital roles to play and has proved to be beneficial at certain times. A government aims to provide the basic necessities that people or a country require. Its primary aim is to provide security and defense to guard the country against external threat. This enables the people to live in peace and carry out economic activities in the most efficient manner. Also, the government is there to serve justice to people and prevent any illegal activities to take place. But sometimes it pays too much attention on providing security and defense which results in suppression of creativity or innovation that could have resulted in entrepreneurial activities. A government

Analyzing of an Adverstisement Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Analyzing of an Adverstisement - Essay Example This is a dialogue based advertisement that starts off with a question about what is technology. Then it shows an actual depiction of what one perceives of technology. It shows a series of technical binary, robotics and air browsing then moving on to the next question which asks what technology does for us. This is where the advertisement manages to connect with the audiences by adding a human emotional element to the whole depiction of technology. It shows moving images with a child who is able to walk with the help of an engineered amputation and how he can play and have his shot at normal life. Next it shows how the paint application enables an elderly to try his hand at art with the ease of mouse and various functions available. It then shows children being able to view 3D videos of outer space for better understanding. Lastly, as a part of the whole answer it shows video conferencing between two school classes and the happiness with which they can see children their age study th e identical subjects thousands of miles away. It also shows doctors benefiting from the 3D technology by better understanding the human body and structure and their power to gain precision in X-rays. The advertisement then shows words that say and highlight that technology unites people. As a depiction of this fact, they show emotional images of people connecting with their loved ones miles away. One frame shows a soldier who can view his new born and morally support his wife through child birth through video chat and another show a young girl dancing excitedly at seeing her father on a wide screen. The robotic voiceover is effective in connecting the whole technological aspect with a human one (YouTube, 2014). The advertisement then moves onto the inspirational aspect of technology that has enabled human beings to do the impossible. The visuals and voiceover complement this statement by showing innovative hand leg amputations that allow special people to function just

A personal military experience or Any personal experience Essay

A personal military experience or Any personal experience - Essay Example the neighborhood and I was always the commander of my group, the military was not just a dream but a lifestyle which reflected in my daily activities. Dad has always wanted me to take over from him and become a good doctor, he bought medical toys like ambulances, syringes and first aid boxes but I used them in my military games with other kids which we called â€Å"war start†. It will really break dad’s heart if he gets to know that medicine is not my thing, he did everything to make sure I become a doctor. My mind was a whirlwind, thoughts flinging themselves across the barren wasteland of my brain, how will dad feel if I get to tell him this? I pondered, will he stop fending for me? Will he love me less? I was totally imprisoned in my thoughts and the earlier I burst the bubble and break free the better it will be for me, after all dad always told me it’s better to be honest and bear the consequences than to be dishonest and reap from falsehood. I didn’t want to go to mum because she will summon a UN meeting with dad and such doesn’t usually end well. There must be an exit I said to myself, I logged in my facebook page and took a glance at my friend-list, I was astonished when I saw Martin in a military uniform on his profile picture and without hesitating I sent him a mail in which I explained my situation. Martin was once my neighbor for four years; he was a shy isolated gentleman who liked playing with girls and barbie toys, we made fun of him and always called him â€Å"cheerleader† who knew he would man up? I felt disappointed in self and with some understandable jealously sprinkled around my frustration.   I had a volcano of feelings and experiences bottled up inside me which was ready to let erupt but a sound popped up- it was Martins reply and it reads â€Å"Hey Man, calm down I assure you that everything will turn out well if only you will make up your mind and challenge yourself. My parents and almost everyone I knew objected my decision to

MidTerm American Presidency Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

MidTerm American Presidency - Term Paper Example In conclusion, the presidential powers should be used for persuasion and bargain purposes rather than command. According to him, there are only two types of presidential powers, which are to persuade and command, with the command acting as a dictatorial aspect whereas the persuasive type of power is for effective influencing (Neustadt 56). In order for one to maintain the power, one should engage all concerned parties in the governance. However, such powers also have a crucial barrier, which is the president making of personal decisions without engaging others. Currently, President John F. Kennedy is one who applied the shared presidential power other than its separation. This engages a number of people on board in the decision making process. President Bill Clinton had been worst in the application of Neustadt’s theory of presidential powers. Based on my opinion, Neustadt’s theory of presidential powers is effective in ensuring the shared delegation of duties, which brings all individuals on board in effective management. Despite the strengths associated with Neustadt’s theory of presidential powers, Skowronek tends to be of the contrary opinion in which he states that the presidential powers should involve the utilization of informal authority in ensuring that things are done in the most effective way as a contribution of modernity (Skowronek 318). On the two theories, the major difference is because according to Neustadt’s theory of presidential powers, power is for persuasion and not command while according to Skowronek, it is through the presidential command that things are

Internal Curing Concrete Essay Example for Free

Internal Curing Concrete Essay Early-age cracking, autogenous shrinkage and self-desiccation are almost inevitable problems for concrete, especially for mass high performance concrete, for the permeability of which is too low for external curing water to get in and fully hydrate the cement paste inside. The better hydration of the cement paste, the less and smaller cracks the concrete have, and the better durability and reliability the concrete structures do. In order to solve this problem, scientists have consider an unconventional methods to cure the concrete from the inside out so a better hydration can be achieved. As early as 1957, Paul Klieger[1] have mentioned how helpful the saturated lightweight aggregates would be to supply internal curing water and improve the long-term strength in his report. Nowadays, this method as internal curing has been fully developed and widely used to get low-cracking high-performance concrete with better hydration by replacing part of natural fine aggregates with saturated lightweight aggregates. The goal is clear and simple, but the ways to achieve the same purpose is various and have different advantages and disadvantages. In this report, several techniques and materials with different properties that could be used in internal curing, such as expanded shale clay or slate(ESCS)[2] and Superabsorbent polymers(SAP)[3], would be introduced and comment. Internal curing has a good performance especially in fields like mass concrete, or high performance concrete with low permeability. The properties why internal curing is a practical consideration for these instance s would be discussed in this report. 1 Introduction 1.1 Background Concrete has many good properties as modern building material. It has high compression strength, fire proof, and cheap to produce. Since the using of concrete has a long history, the techniques of concrete structure construction may be fully developed. However, there still are some problems that almost inevitable for concrete, such as self-desiccation, autogenous shrinkage and chemical shrinkage. All of these issues may lead to cracking of concrete, and the chloride may penetrate through the cracks easily and cause corrosion of the reinforcement. As we all know, most of the failures of concrete structures are due to the corrosion of the reinforcement. Hence, concrete with less cracks or later to have cracks may contribute to a longer service life of a concrete structure. What’s more, most of these unwanted cracks develop at the early-age of concrete placing. That’s why proper curing, which limits the early shrinkage and lowers the chance of early-age cracking, is so important to ensure the concrete develop the required properties and durability to reach their designed service life. Conventional curing uses methods to provide additional water to keep high relative humidity on the concrete surface, such as ponding and misting, or uses curing compounds, plastic membrane and evaporation retarder to slow evaporation. No matter water adding or moisture loss avoiding work mostly on the upper part of concrete, since the permeability of concrete is limited, the deeper inside concrete, the harder for water to penetrate. On the other hand, self-desiccation (the reduction of the internal relative humidity in the concrete due to hydration reaction) will lead to autogenous shrinkage (concrete volume change occurring without moisture transfer to the environment) even without external moisture loss. Concrete shrinkage over time , will induce cracking that can reduce the service life expectation of concrete structure severely. In short, even proper conventional external concrete curing cannot provide perfect environment for concrete to develop its durability efficiently. Since 1980’s, the production of high-performance concrete(HPC) became more common, and to achieve their much higher strength and durability properties, lower water cement ratio and lower permeability is required. The self-desiccation and autogenous shrinkage problem became even more severe a situation for HPC than for normal portland cement, because external curing water would be more difficult to penetrate deeply into the low permeable concrete to supply the loss water due to hydration and evaporation. When shrinkage happens, cracking is almost inevitable. Concerning a long time situation, internal relative humidity has a strong relationship with free autogenous shrinkage. 1.2 Internal curing Is there any solution that can settle down this problem? Or is there a way that can cure concrete more efficiently so can limit the cracks? The answer is yes. Since curing concrete from outside in has its limit, deeper part inside the concrete cannot be cured properly, how about cure concrete from inside out? As early as 1957, Paul Klieger [1] have mentioned how helpful the saturated lightweight aggregates would be to supply internal curing water and improve the long-term strength in his report. In 1991, Philleo [2] suggested incorporating saturated lightweight fine aggregate into the concrete mixture to provide an internal source of water to replace that consumed by chemical shrinkage during hydration of the paste. Nowadays, this method that use water-containing materials , replacing with normal aggregates to cure concrete, has been well developed and been named as internal curing. Such water-containing material could be saturated lightweight fine aggregates, sup erabsorbent polymers, or saturated wood fibers. Internal curing has been defined by the American Concrete Institute (ACI) as â€Å"supplying water throughout a fleshly placed cementitious mixture using reservoirs, via pre-wetted lightweight aggregates, that readily release water as needed for hydration or to replace moisture lost through evaporation or self-desiccation† 2 Benefits of internal curing Internal curing distributes the extra curing water throughout the 3-D concrete microstructure so that it is more readily available to maintain saturation of the cement paste during hydration, avoiding self-desiccation in the paste and reducing autogenous shrinkage. Along with this process, the main benefits bring about by internal curing may be concluded as below: 2.1 Reducing cracks due to shrinkage Concrete is susceptible to plastic shrinkage cracking at early age, especially when the evaporation rate is high. Right after placing, the concrete paste is still in a fluid state. The aggregates and cement particles tend to settle down due to gravity, while internal water is likely to bleed out onto the surface. Such layer of water will keep the evaporation of the concrete surface in a relatively constant rate. But this situation won’t last for a long time after the cement particles contact each other and start to develop strength. The rate of settlement will highly reduce along with much less water bleeding. During this period, highly tensile stress occur inside the concrete due to surface tension of drying out internal water. Because at this time, concrete is under a plastic state but having develop enough strength to resist this tensile stress, cracks will occur. For internal curing concrete, the pre-wetted aggregates will provide water to replenish the evaporation from the surface of concrete. It makes the pores within the hydrating cement pastes fluid filled and thus helps to reduce the tensile stress. Shrinkage will be much less sever and cracks will less likely to happen. Besides limiting the happening of cracking, internal curing also contributes to delaying the age of cracking. As the volume of pre-wetted aggregates increases, the age of cracking is delayed, until an asymptote appears to be reached when sufficient pre-wetted aggregates has been added according to the research done by Schlitter et al (2010).[3] 2.2 Long-term strength gaining Cement particles inside concrete finish most of hydration in the first 28 days, but the cement particles have not been completely hydrated after 28 days. Some unhydrated cement remain in the concrete and takes time to continue hydration. That’s the reason why as time goes by, the strength of concrete will increase even after a long period of time. For lower water cement ratio concrete, the required time to be fully hydration is longer. As to very low water cement ratio concrete, it may even be impossible for it to be fully hydrated. The hydration will stop when there is no longer capillary water available. In conventional curing, the capillary water inside the concrete will soon run out after early hydration, and the external water is not easy to penetrate into the concrete to hydrate the unhydrated cement particles. By using internal curing method, after most of the capillary water been used, the internal relative humidity drops, and the pre-wet ted aggregates will provide water for cement to keep hydrating steadily for a longer time. As for the using of light-weight aggregates to provide internal curing, the reduction strength due to the light-weight aggregates can be compensate by this long-term strength gaining. 2.3 Reduction of permeability The principal contribution of internal curing results in the reduction of permeability due to a significant extension in the time of curing. It was shown that extending the time of curing increased the volume of cementitious products formed which caused the capillaries to become segmented and discontinuous.Reducing permeability leads to less penetration of aggressive agents that accelerate corrosion of embedded reinforcement. This decrease in permeability results from internal curing could obviously enhance the durability of concrete structures. 2.4 Working well with SCM Environment problem have been paid more and more attention by people today. In order to lower carbon footprint for using concrete, replacing cement with supplementary cementitious materials (SCMs i.e., silica fume, fly ash, metokaolin, calcined shales, clays and slates) is suggested as a way to use substantially less clinker. SCMs (except for silica fume) take longer time to hydrate, therefore requiring water to be present for a longer time. While more than one research has shown both internal curing and SCMs improve long term durability performance. Luckily, recent work has shown that internal curing works particularly well with SCMs. Internal curing enables the SCMs in these mixtures to react for a longer time, since the higher water content needed to support the reaction of the SCMs can be maintained. 2.5 Improving behavior of the contact zone Contact Zone refers to two distinctly different phenomena: (1) the mechanical adhesion of the cementitious matrix to the surface of the aggregate; (2) the variation of physical and chemical characteristics of the transition layer of the cementitious matrix close to the aggregate particle (ASTM STP 169 D [2006] Chapter # 46 Holm Ries). In the contact zone, the C-S-H is not evenly distributed in the outer product, and porosity is greater at aggregate surface within 15-50 µm. What’s more, the obvious elastic difference between aggregate and the surrounding cementitious matrix make the transfer of stress from bulk cement paste to stiffer aggregate causes ‘softening’(microcracking) in interfacial transition zone. High incidence of interfacial cracking or aggregate debonding will have a serious effect on durability if these cracks fill with water and subsequently freeze. All of these factors make the contact zone a weaker location in the concrete. By using internal curing, more internal water can be provide around the aggregates and lead to a better hydration at the interfacial transition zone, which decrease the porosity and increase the strength. The lower permeability also contributes to the difficulty for the chloride to penetrate. What’s more, the lower modulus of the light weight aggregate and the improved transition zone around the light weight aggregate particles due to their generally vesicular surface, helped reduce stress concentrations between the paste and the aggregate and those reductions subsequently reduced the amount of early-age cracking in the concrete. 3 Material and methods for internal curing As long as the principle is the same, different ways can be applied to achieve internal curing. Besides of light weight aggregates, the properties of other techniques and materials will be presented in this chapter. And their advantages and disadvantages will be commented. 3.1 Bentonite clay Bentonite is an absorbent aluminium phyllosilicate. It has a high specific surface, most of which more than 100 m2/g, and this property enables them to adsorb several molecular layers of water between their platelet structures [10]. The absorbed water is held by secondary chemical bonds and the bentonite may swell up to 14 times as its original volume as a result of the water absorption. If the relative humidity in the surroundings is lowered, this water is reversibly released. Potentially, bentonite or other layered clay minerals may be used as a water reservoir for internal water curing. However, there still one important problem remain to be solved for the application of bentonite. In high ionic media, such as in cementitious materials, these clays agglomerate and form a compact structure instead of spreading out evenly [11]. And whether inducing same charge into bentonite as water reducer do to make the bentonite particles repel from each other could solve this problem remain to be investigated. Figure 3.2 Superabsorbent polymers A superabsorbent polymer, SAP, is a polymeric material which is able to absorb a significant amount of liquid from the surroundings and to retain the liquid within its structure without dissolving [12], SAPs are principally used for absorbing water and aqueous solutions. With the present polymer types the theoretical maximum water absorption is approx. 5000 times their own weight. However, the absorbency of commercially produced SAPs is around 50 g/g in dilute salt solutions such as urine, and in high ionic solutions such as cement paste pore fluid the absorbency may be below 20 g/g [13]. The absorption of water in the SAP is based on secondary chemical bonds, and the water is so loosely held that all of it essentially can be considered bulk water. Most SAPs are cross-linked polyelectrolytes. Because of their ionic nature and interconnected structure, they absorb large quantities of water and other aqueous solutions without dissolving. SAPs have found a wi despread use as a high-tech material e.g. for contact lenses, breast implants, fire fighting, drug delivery, in baby diapers and as soil conditioners. Today’s world production exceeds 500,000 tons per year of which about 85% is used for baby diapers [14]. Figure 5.1: Superabsorbent polymers are swellable substances which can absorb many times their own weight of liquids by forming a gel. The absorbed liquid is not released even under moderate pressure [12]. The picture shows a dry, collapsed and a swollen suspension polymerized SAP particle. A description of the use of SAP for internal water curing can be found in the literature [2,13,15]. Compared with lightweight aggregate SAP has some peculiarities. SAP can be used as a dry concrete admixture since it takes up water during the mixing process. Furthermore, the use of SAP permits free design of the pore shape and the pore size distribution of the hardening concrete, however, the pores introduced by the SAP in the concrete may preferably be selected in the range 50-300  µm. 3.3 Crushed Returned Concrete Aggregates Recycled aggregate consists of stone particles with mortar from the original concrete attached to them. The volume fraction of this mortar may amount to 20 to 60%, and results in a significantly higher water absorption of recycled concrete aggregates compared to conventional aggregates [8]. The relatively high water absorption of recycled aggregate, however, may be difficult to utilize for internal water curing. The cement paste fraction of recycled aggregate will, typically, have a fine and tight pore structure which cannot supply water to the coarse pore structure of a hydrating cement paste at early ages. For this reason, recycled aggregate may be less useful than normal aggregate for internal water curing. However, some experiments have shown promising results for recycled aggregate. By blending the crushed returned concrete aggregates with an appropriate lightweight aggregate sand, a substantial reduction in autogenous shrinkage will be a chieved, with minimal reduction in long term compressive strength. The mortars based on light weight aggregate sand substitutions alone provided the highest compressive strengths and the greatest reductions in autogenous shrinkage. But, blending the crushed returned concrete aggregates with the light weight aggregate sand may provide the optimum mixture in terms of material costs and sustainable development.[ICwCCA] 3.4 Artificial LWA Expanded Shale, Clay and Slate Lightweight Aggregate The Earth has been producing LWA from volcanoes since the beginning of time. This natural material, however, is inconsistent and very little is suitable for making concrete. ESCS is specially made for concrete and has been manufactured from surface†mined raw shale, clay or slate for nearly 100 years. (ESCS raw materials typically do not have any other conventional purpose in the construction industry because they are too soft.) The raw materials for ESCS production are placed into a rotary kiln at approx. 1200 °C until it turns into a strong consistent material which is called expanded shale, clay or lightweight aggregate or just ESCS for short. ESCS is a uniform, high quality, ceramic aggregate that’s about 1/2 the weight of natural aggregates. Pores are created in ESCS during the manufacturing process as gases escape due to the application of heat. The newly created pores are ideally suited to accommodate the absorption of water, much like a sponge. ESCS’s greatest contribution is its ability to desorb water. Unlike a sponge, it does not have to be squeezed for the water to be released. This characteristic naturally permits water to egress or be desorbed from the pores of pre-wetted ESCS when the cement demands more water during the hydration process. The physical ability of the pores to manage water movement is the key to internal curing. However, the manufacturing heating process of ESCS is relatively expensive. Moreover, compared with other lightweight aggregate, ESCS has a relatively fine and less continuous pore system, a large part of the pores are closed. Some of the pore water is held down to at least RH=70%. Consequently only a part of the water held in ESCS will be useful for internal curing [6]. 3.5 Natural LWA – Perlite and Pumice Perlite is a naturally occurring silicious, glassy rock which contains 2-6% combined water. When quickly heated to above 900 °C, the crude rock expands 4-20 times its original volume as the combined water vaporizes and creates countless tiny bubbles. This results in a bulk density in the range 30-400 kg/m3, and a water absorption of 200-600%. Perlite has found multiple uses such as for filtration, as an abrasive and within horticulture to provide aeration and moisture retention. However, perlite is primarily used within the construction area for example as concrete aggregate and as a cavity-filling insulation. Disintegration of perlite particles has been observed during mixing due to their high porosity and consequently low strength [18]. This may have adverse effects on the concrete. Fully saturated, the water content of perlite may be 4.5 kg/kg [18]. Pumice is a porous volcanic rock which resembles a sponge, see Figure 5.2. The porous s tructure is formed by dissolved gases which are precipitated during the cooling as the lava hurtles through the air. All types of magma may form pumice. The connectivity of the pore structure may range from completely closed to completely open. A representative value for the absorption of pumice is 0.27 kg/kg [18].

Fordist And Taylorist Production Systems Cultural Studies Essay

Fordist And Taylorist Production Systems Cultural Studies Essay Fordism, named after the Henry Ford from US, who refers to a variety of communal theories about production, assembling and related socio-economic phenomena  [1]  . Although Henry Ford was not the inventor of the automobile but he developed extraordinary methods of production and marketing that allowed the automobile to become reachable to the American working class. Ford always wanted to make cars that his team workers could afford easily. So, the mass production began in Detroit in 1914, when Ford discovered that a moving assembly line using interchangeable parts which could completely reduce the cost of making motor cars. After that he created the Ford Motor Company, which was one of a dozen small automobile manufacturers that emerged in the early 20th century. Mass production was really an unpleasant work, with high turnover because new production system must be oriented towards multi-skilling and rapid re-skilling workers; in order to hold the search for shifting a newly form ing market in a post mass production (cf. Piore, M. and Sabel, C., 1984). Just to retain his unskilled workforce, Ford doubled their wages to $5 per day justified by higher productivity  [2]  . After three years of production, he introduced the Model T, which was simple and light yet sturdy enough to drive on the countrys very elementary road system. He sold 18m Model T Fords, transforming to America into the first car-owning democracy, at a low price that dropped from $600 to $250 over 15 years. Henry Fords success and revolutionary techniques of production were then termed Fordism  [3]  . The scale of mass production is hard to understand. Fords River Rouge plant in Detroit, completed in 1928, he extended for a mile along a tributary of the Detroit River and employed 100,000 men workers. Raw materials like iron ore and rubber were unloaded at one end, and finished cars emerged from the other end, 72 hours later. But Fords system proved less efficient than GM  [4]  , which produced a range of models for different pocketbooks. Labour relations were troubled, sit-down strike, at the big automakers in the 1930s with layoffs and speed-ups, the end of organized capitalism has a tendency to become dis-organized in that the labour-employer relationships are fracturing (cf. Lash, S. and Urry, J. 1987) . GM was the first company forced to recognize the UAW  [5]  union after a sit-down strike closed its plants in Flint, Michigan in 1937. After more battles, the workers won higher wages and benefits, sharing in the American Dream. Unions also negotiated rigid work rules to protect workers from exploitation by foremen. Ford was even more determined to oppose unions than GM, and Henry Ford employed 3,000 service department personnel to prevent them taking hold. In 1937 they beat up key UAW union organizers attempting to hand out leaflets near the River Rouge factory. But in 1941, even Ford was forced to yield to union power, to ensure industrial peace during wartime. But the legacy of bitter industrial relations e ndured. The decline of mass production is due to Post Fordism; small scale batch production in small medium plants not mass production in large plant, only customized not standardized products, using multi-skilled workers with flexible work roles not fixed job descriptions, robots and computerized work teams instead of moving assembly lines (cf. Murray, R. 1989). Car manufacture ceased with the outbreak of World War II, but the auto manufacturers made good profits helping with the war effort, producing everything from jeeps to aircraft engines. The mass production helped the Allies win the war, and led to further consolidation in the industry. The war also brought new social groups, like women and black people, into the auto industry, but also increased social tensions in Detroit. Unemployment disappeared, and the UAWs power grew. The end of the war released an enormous surge of pent-up demand, especially for cars and houses, and Detroit boomed as never before. Car workers wages soared and many became homeowners. The Big three car companies dominated production as never before. In 1955 GM became the first company to make $1bn profit. Big cars predominated, promoted by sexy adverts  [6]  . The first signs that all was not well with Detroit was the 1973 oil crisis, when Middle East producers declared a boycott. Queues formed at petrol stations, and consumers for the first time switched in large numbers to smaller, more economical cars-often made by the Japanese; which they found more reliable. The Detroit-made cars had more defects, and Detroits attempts to build a successful small car failed. The auto industry now is much better prepared to withstand the effects of an oil crisis and meet consumer demand for highly fuel-efficient vehicles than it was during the Middle East oil crisis of the 1970s, Ford Motor Company Chairman Harold A. Poling said  [7]  . Imports of Japanese cars soared in the 1980s as consumers gradually grew to prefer the smaller, more reliable cars. The unions and the US companies reacted to the threat by trying to get the US government to block imports, and by the mid-1980s had succeeded in getting Japan to agree intended export chains (cf. Womack, J., P., Jones, J.T., Roos, D., 1990). But the move backfired as Japanese firms became more profitable and moved up market, launching cars like the Lexus. The US companies determined that they could make more money by selling sports utility vehicles, built on a truck chassis. In the 1990s sales of SUVs  [8]  and minivans soared. Imported SUVs attracted a higher tariff rate, blocking Japanese rivals. They were not very fuel-efficient, but with oil prices at $18 a barrel, no one seemed to mind. As imports flooded in, the car market became increasingly dominated by foreign producers, who imported millions of cars from overseas factories. Companies also increasingly relo cated production to Canada and Mexico after the Nafta free trade agreement. GM, Ford and Chrysler thought that the Japanese had an unfair advantage due to an undervalued (low) currency. They also believed that oil prices would return to lower levels. Lean production, Japanese manufacturers like Toyota and Nissan were also building more factories within the US to escape import controls, threat from Japan,(cf. Womack, J., P., Jones, J.T., Roos, D., 1990) in the response to eliminate waste by introducing this method. These factories were based on a new and more efficient production system, and they also allowed the transplants to develop new models more quickly. They also developed closer relationships with suppliers, using just-in-time methods. Soon they were competing across the whole range of vehicles, from trucks to compact cars. Green cars, in the last year many Americans have accepted the reality of global warming, and the demand for green vehicles has grown. Toyota sells 100,000 Prius hybrids a year and is rolling the hybrid technology out across its entire range. Both Ford and GM exposed electric-powered concept cars at the 2007 Detroit Motor Show, but they may be years away from mass production. Taylorism, a system of production devised by F. W. Taylor (1911), and characterized by the division of factory work into the smallest and simplest jobs while closely co-ordinating the sequence of tasks in order to achieve maximum efficiency, as, for example, on a production line. As a result, skilled managers and technicians oversee semi-skilled or unskilled workers who are engaged in simple, repetitive chores. This system of production has had profound spatial implications, as large firms often allocate skilled and unskilled jobs to different locations, creating a division of labour  [9]  . Taylorism is often mentioned along with Fordism, because it was closely associated with mass production methods in manufacturing factories. Taylors own name for his approach was scientific management  [10]  . Applications of scientific management sometimes fail to account for two inherent difficulties: Individuals are different from each other: the most efficient way of working for one person may be inefficient for another. The economic interests of workers and management are rarely identical, so that both the measurement processes and the retraining required by Taylors methods are frequently resented and sometimes sabotaged by the workforce. Both difficulties were recognized by Taylor, but are generally not fully addressed by managers who only see the potential improvements to efficiency. Taylor believed that scientific management cannot work unless the worker benefits. In his view management should arrange the work in such a way that one is able to produce more and get paid more, by teaching and implementing more efficient procedures for producing a product. Although Taylor did not compare workers with machines, some of his critics use this image to explain how his approach makes work more efficient by removing unnecessary or wasted effort (cf. Parker M. and Slaughter, J., 1988). However, some would say that this approach ignores the complications introduced because workers are necessarily human: personal needs, interpersonal difficulties and the very real difficulties introduced by making jobs so efficient that workers have no time to relax. As a result, workers worked harder, but became dissatisfied with the work environment. Some have argued that this discounting of worker personalities led to the rise of labour unions. It can also be said that the rise in labor unions is leading to a push on the part of industry to accelerate the process of automation, a process that is undergoing a renaissance with the invention of a host of new technologies starting with the computer and the Internet. This shift in production to machines was clearly one of the goals of Taylorism (cf. Berggren, C., 1989), and represents a victory for his theories. It may not be adaptive to changing scenarios; it overemphasizes routine procedures, i.e. strictly following a given set of rules and regulations, work procedures, production centeredness etc. However, tactfully choosing to ignore the still controversial process of automating human work is also politically expedient, so many still say that practical problems caused by Taylorism led to its replacement by the human relations school of management in 1930. Others (cf. Braverman, H., 1974) insisted that human relations did not replace Taylorism but that both approaches are rather opposite: Taylorism determining the actual organization of the work process and human relations helping to adapt the workers to the new procedures. However, Taylors theories were clearly at the roots of a global revival in theories of scientific management in the last two decades of the 20th century, under the moniker of corporate reengineering or business process re-engineering (cf. Milkman, R., 1997). As such, Taylors ideas can be seen as the root of a very influential series of developments in the workplace, with the goal being the eventual elimination of industrys need for unskilled, and later perhaps, even most skilled labor in any form, directly following Taylors recipe for deconstructing a process. This has come to be known as commoditization, and no skilled profession, even medicine, has proven to be immune from the efforts of Taylors followers, the re-engineers, who are often called derogatory names such as bean counters. A complex division of labour  [11]  and the expansion of economic interdependence accompanied the emergence of industrial capitalism. The division of labour reached its logical conclusion in the emergence of Taylorism and its mass production partner, Fordism. These had their weaknesses including high start-up costs and a relatively rigid production process. Such low-trust systems can be contrasted with high-trust systems, where workers operate with greater autonomy and cooperation. A whole series of techniques and initiatives are described by the term post-Fordism including group production and mass customization. These are epitomized by the Quality Circle, a concept alien to Taylorist assumptions that workers need to be stripped of opportunities for creative input. Such systems tend to be marked by high skill levels and rapid turnover of product designs. The decline of manufacturing industry as an employer can be explained both by competition from the Far East and the increasing rate of technological change. Global production systems have also contributed to the movement of industry around the world. These processes have led to a steady decline in trade union membership since the 1970s. The separation of home and work contributed to the marginalization of women from paid employment, a pattern gradually reversed during the twentieth century. Within the economy women remain concentrated in poorly paid routine occupations  [12]  . Either work becomes recreated as womens work, or heartlands of female employment slowly have their status eroded over time. Labour-force participation is higher among childless women, though many more females now return to their full-time jobs after childbirth than they did a decade ago. Women dominate part-time employment, though their reasons for remaining in such jobs remain the source of controversy  [13]  . The most notable change in working life in developed countries has been the expansion of female participation in the paid labour market and resulting erosion of the male breadwinner model within families. Among men, the trend has been away from manual work and currently also away from routine non-manual labour. These trends have levelled off in recent years, with women remaining over-represented in routine white-collar jobs and men over-represented in skilled manual work. Despite womens advances across the economy, the top posts remain the preserve of men. Women in the most recent generation have benefited from the legislation passed in the 1970s, but the pay divide remains substantial over a lifetime. Debates on skills in the workplace have tended to become polarized between those, (cf. Braverman, H., 1974), who see capitalism as continually deskilling the workforce as new machines and technologies replace crafts and creativity; who argue that it is not technology but the way this i s used that is most important  [14]  . Unemployment has a long history and has ebbed and flowed throughout the twentieth century. There are significant effects for individuals, communities and the wider society. These are disproportionately borne by the young and ethnic minorities. A key task for individuals will be to find ways of forging long-term life plans in a society that privileges the short-term. In 1990s the the new industrial relations associated with the introduction of HRM, also seeks to create an atmosphere and a framework for union-management collaboration (cf. Guest, D., 1989, Storey, J., 1992). From the above it is possible to deduce some conclusions. First of all, there are changes in the way by which work is done and controlled. The Fordism model is dictatorial, with rigid discipline, technical and specific personnel training, taking man as a simple addition of the machine and separating the intellectual from the manual work. Classical management control is performed by rigid supervision procedures. The number of problem with general post-Fordist paradigm has implication for the potential embedding (cf. Kelly, J., 1998) The post-Fordist model presents flexible authority and control systems by which conformism and passivity open spaces for dynamism and creativity (according to the management model established earlier). However, when this analysis is centred on the objects and ideology that guide the productive process, one can conclude that no evolution has occurred. Management, yesterday and today, aims toward maximum rationalization of the production system, greater increase in productivity, profitability and competition, maintaining together the older way of production (cf. Sparrow, P. and Marchington, M., 1998). When that concentration is measured in employment terms, aggregate data for the mid-70s to the mid-80s show that larger firms in all three societies have been shedding labour, even though disproportionately. This fact must be analysed also by the quality of employment, the quality of life and the security of economic recovery, and not just from the point of view of job creation in terms of head-counts. The de-centralization of decision-making and flattening of managerial hierarchies in post-Fordist has led to a de-centralization of managerial control, or whether Fordist centralized management control is being maintained, even in spatially decentralized units, through the development of new control technologies (cf. Lane, C., 1995). In fact, there is not, in either model, a proposal that guarantee the autonomy of the worker. In both, Taylor and Ford, task obligations are reached through rigid control and supervision concerning the worker. In the post-Fordism model, task obligations occur by way of a rigid management scheme. Direct supervisory control is inhibited, assuming either the form of auto-control or control by complex technological procedures; nevertheless, it continues to exist. Beyond the work strengthening and capital concentration, the post-Fordism model maintains the division of work, although on more ample bases. If in Taylorism-Fordism the tasks were broken down into simple and routine movements, in post-Fordism the division into fractions of work happens with the attribution of responsibility to the groups that fulfil a set of specific tasks (activities). There is widespread agreement in the literature that due to the need for more flexible and speedier reaction to changing market demands, de-centralization of decision-making and flattening of managerial hierarchies has occurred (cf. Lane, C., 1995). However, there is little systematic evidence as to what form that de-centralization has taken and which hierarchical levels have been affected. To the post-Fordism is like Fordism as well as post-modernism is like modernism. Postmodernism is another version of that historical amnesia characteristic of American culture the tyranny of the new. According to the Green (cf. Green, A., 1997), postmodernism should be seen not as a development beyond modernism but rather as a continuation of a certain idealist current within it. One can make the same statement about Fordism and post-Fordism. Finally, it seems opportune to repeat the words of Ford from back in the 40s (cf. Ford, H., 1991): We are not living in a machine age; we are living in the power age. This power age of ours has great possibilities, depending upon how we use it. Of course it can be mistreated. But, it can also be used greatly to benefit mankind. If this sentence were true during that period of time, today it seems even more adequate. References

Corruption And Integrity In The World Politics Essay

Corruption And Integrity In The World Politics Essay Corruption is defined as the impairment of integrity, virtue, or moral principle or as inducement to wrong by improper or unlawful means such as bribery. Corruption is defined by the World Bank and Transparency International (TI) as the misuse of public office for private gain. Corruption is generally considered to be a symptom and outcome of weak governance. Examples of corruption include bribery, extortion, cronyism, nepotism, patronage, graft, and embezzlement. While corruption may facilitate criminal enterprise such as drug trafficking, money laundering, and trafficking, it is not restricted to these activities. Stemming corruption requires strong oversight by parliaments, a well-performing judiciary, independent and properly resourced audit and anti-corruption agencies, vigorous law enforcement, transparency in public budgets, revenue and aid flows, as well as space for independent media and a vibrant civil society, said Huguette Labelle, chairwoman of Transparency International. Every year, Transparency International ranks 180 countries to create its corruption index. The least corrupt countries for 2009 are New Zealand and Denmark, respectively. The most corrupt countries are Somalia and Afghanistan, respectively. In comparison to Transparency Internationals 2008 ranked list, the least corrupt countries stayed the at the same ranking and the most corrupt countries only slightly changed- Somalia topped the list both years while Myanmar was the runner up in 2008. Somalia ended up as the most corrupt country on Transparency Internationals list for a variety of reasons. In 1992, most of Somalia was a disaster area. It was effectively destroyed. It had no government, no police force, nor even basic services. Murderous warlords battled savagely for control of the capital, Mogadishu and armed thugs and bandits roamed the country destroying and taking everything insight. The fighting and the drought claimed over 300,000 lives, and heartbreaking spectacles of emaciated bodies of famine victims were seen on a daily basis. Although droughts have played havoc with agricultural production, the food supply has been far more threatened by never-ending armed conflicts. It is true that external factors, including the colonial legacy, the Cold War, and other foreign meddling in African affairs, have played a role in creating the regions problems. However, the primary causes of Africas crises are of internal origin: misguided political leadership, corruption, capital flight, defective economic systems, senseless civil wars, and military vandalism. The basic problem here, besides a lack of competence, is total corruption. The top people line their pockets through political influence. It is difficult to prove the corruption, even when a top official speaks out about wrongdoing. Somalias problems could have been avoided if their leaders and elites had used their common sense. In Africa the people are the peasants the majority in every African nation. Some minimum level of stability, peace, order, civil society, and respect for civil liberties is necessary for productive activity. The principal beneficiaries of economic prosperity ought to be the peasants, not the elite minority that constitutes less than 10 percent. Another corruption-ridden country is Afghanistan. Corruption has multiple and severe adverse effects on Afghanistan. In addition to the direct financial costs of corruption (higher costs of contracts and public services, loss of public funds due to theft or misuse of government facilities and assets) there are substantial costs related to time devoted to corrupt practices by government officials, private businesses, and the public as well as, especially in the case of the security sector, the human costs (e.g. of threats, intimidation, victimization of people by security forces). Widespread corruption deters and distorts private investment. But perhaps most important, are the adverse implications of corruption, and popular perceptions of widespread corruption, for the effective functioning, credibility, and legitimacy of the state. A particular problem in this regard is drug-related corruption, allegedly involving senior Government officials, which interacts destructively with corrup tion in the security sector (especially the police) and justice sector. Not surprisingly, the basic forms of corruption in Afghanistan appear to be broadly similar to those found in other countries. These include petty corruption and bribery, extortion, outright theft of government assets, patronage, and corruption in government procurement. Examples of the former in Afghanistan include the apparently common practice of demanding money from the public for required forms and documents; bribery in return for obtaining an electricity connection, uninterrupted power service, or under-assessment of electricity bills; theft of fuel in municipal sanitation departments, etc. On the other hand, New Zealand is ranked the least corrupt country. Unlike much of the world, New Zealand is a nation where corruption is virtually unknown. It is unheard of to have to bribe public officials to do the jobs they are paid to do. Genuine wrongdoing is quickly exposed and offenders are dealt with in open court under fair and transparent laws. New Zealand has a zero tolerance policy on corruption and bribery, which means that it does not accept bribery within its own ranks or in cooperation with external partners. Not even a New Zealand police officer can be bribed. Anyone who tries to will be arrested on the spot. Everyone knows this, which is why nobody tries to, not even the worst, most desperate or richest criminals. While there have been a few instances of bribery among low-level public servants over the years, the offenders are caught and vigorously prosecuted. New Zealand has had their share of fraudulent businesspeople, but they are also prosecuted. Their justice system is a stiff and regimented one, with fiercely independent judges selected because of their legal abilities alone, not because of political views. Like New Zealand, Denmark has also adopted a zero-tolerance policy. The zero-tolerance policy means that anti-corruption clauses are now found in all Government Agreements and in all contracts with companies involved in preparing and implementing Denmarks development. All of Denmarks contracts include an anti-corruption clause, whereby companies will have to sign a declaration on non-bribery. Non-compliance with this clause might lead to a cease of contract and exclusion from future contracts. The common denominator for the least corrupt countries verses the most corrupt countries basically boils down to having an organized government and rules and regulations. In New Zealand and Denmark they clearly have a solid government with well-known anti-corruption policies. They enforce the zero tolerance level so that people realize that it isnt worth suffering the potential consequences of even trying to do wrong. Things tend to work progressively and smooth. Whereas, in the most corrupt countries the common denominator is chaos and disorganization. There tends to be no democracy or government (fair) to rule and control the citizens. And there tends to be much violence. The culture of the country does play a huge role in the countrys ethics. In the most corrupt countries, the people tend to be poor, uneducated, and live in extreme destitute conditions. There typically is no middle class only a small percentage of very wealthy and powerful and a large percentage of very poor and powerless. In the least corrupt countries, the people tend to be educated and live in comfortable conditions. Some possible ways to lessen the corrupt and unethical behaviors are to be clear and concise with anti-corruption policies. A good example is New Zealand. They have made sure that their laws are transparent and understandable. If someone does not follow the law they are prosecuted to the fullest extent. Having an enforceable zero tolerance policy is a huge step in lessening corruption. Some additional ways to lessen corruption are by improving public sector service delivery by focusing on public sector accountability and legal reform in order to re-introduce rule of law, building integrity by promoting governmental accountability and transparency; and building watchdog and enforcement agencies. Lack of accountability by national and international politicians and civil servants is probably one of the most important reasons why sustainable development has not occurred in most of the worlds poorest countries. The country needs to have an information surplus, control of the government, a nd eliminate opportunities and incentives for corrupt behavior. Social conditions such as increased literacy and education among the population can help curb corrupt behavior as well. My home country, the United States of America, ranked nineteenth on the Transparency International corruption list. US federal law prohibits bribery of both non-US and domestic federal public officials. The US federal anti-foreign bribery statute is the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act 1977. The FCPAÂ  applies to the people of the United States and companies, stockholders, officers, directors, employees, or agents acting on behalf of a United States company. The FCPA has anti-bribery provisions and prohibits indirect as well as direct improper payments. If someone has a conscious disregard, willful blindness, or deliberate ignorance, of culpable conduct or suspicious circumstances it may be adequate to support a violation of the FCPA. The penalties for violations of the FCPAs anti-bribery and corruption provisions are severe. For criminal convictions, companies could be fined the greater of $2 million for each violation or twice the gain earned on any business obtained through conduct that violated the FCPA. In addition to similar criminal fines, individuals can be imprisoned for up to five years. For civil violations, penalties of $10,000 for each violation may be imposed both on companies and individuals. Moreover, in recent years, SEC has insisted that companies forgo all profits earned through conduct that violated the FCPA. In several recent cases, the US Department of Justice and SEC have also required companies to engage for a three-year period an independent compliance monitor that provides periodic reports to the US authorities. The US federal laws also include various domestic bribery statutes, which prohibits bribery of US domestic public officials. This statute prohibits the giving of anything of value to a public official or person who has been selected to be a public official.