Ban Fire Crackers

Diwali is celebrated with great vigour all across the nation. Bursting firecrackers is a tradition on Diwali. Diwali is also known as Deepavali in India. Firecrackers! Just the term creates joy and excitement in one’s mind. The heart flutters with thrill and enthusiasm developed by the sight those colorful showers and sparkles from the fireworks in the sky. But is it all about fun? Have you ever wondered how many harmful effects and disadvantages do these fireworks create for the environment?. It is yours, theirs and everyone’s duty to take care of the environment, fellow humans and other living beings. You may wonder why and how.You may be having a great time celebrating and enjoying, bursting those boisterous fireworks. But it need not be the same for the others around you! What about your neighbors? Your neighbor could be sick, or many may have an important appointment the next day. He/she could also be having a test or an exam the next morning and they may need some rest. Burning firecrackers late at night at odd hours disturbs everyone living in that community and disturb their sleep and make them less concentrated in their next day.Firecrackers produce very high level of sound and the vibrations can travel over a long distance. These are sometimes over 140 decibels! A human ear can bear a maximum of 85 decibels. Sounds above this limit create disability in hearing and causes permanent damage to the ears. Firecrackers when burnt release a large amount of very tiny toxic particles that can easily enter our lungs and damage the respiratory system. The smoke from firecrackers contain sulfur compounds, heavy metals and other toxic chemicals and harmful fumes of gases such as sulfur dioxide, ozone etc,. People with asthma, multiple chemical sensitivity and other breathing problems suffer largely due to the toxic emissions from these fireworks.Crackers are unnoticeably affecting all of us. We should understand what it’s doing & how itâ€℠¢ll threaten our very existence in future. Governments should take it very seriously & should:†¢ban the production of crackers †¢enforce laws on its production, sales, use, & advertisement †¢popularize the idea of not using crackers among publicThere’re a lot of causes of global warming & pollution. All the other sources are important for our living despite their ill effects. But cracker is absolutely nothing more than garbage. Be smart, be civilized, use your knowledge, don’t worry about what others think, don’t care about society, & DON’T USE CRACKER.Let each one of us take a pledge this Diwali to say NO to firecrackers and invest in a safer and greener future. Diwali is the festival of lights and we must enlighten our lives with the sparkle of joy and goodwill, forget past grievances and look ahead towards a brighter and happier future.

Developing Cultural Flexibility

Developing Cultural Flexibility Portfolio| December 14 2011 | Contents Page Section| Page Number| Q1 – What is the significance of national identity as a source of individuals’ culture? | 2| Q2 -In what aspects of work and employee relations should international managers be aware of religious sensitivities? | 3-4| Q3 -What are Hofstede’s culture dimensions? What correlations does Hofstede make among groups of countries and how valid are they for you? | 5| Q4 – Why do firms’ internationalise’? What are the implications of doing so for their role as employers and how will it affect your role in the future as an employee? 6-7| Bibliography| 8| Q1 -What is the significance of national identity as a source of individuals’ culture? I begin with a definition of culture – ‘the ideas, customs and social behaviour of a particular society’ (Oxford Dictionaries, 2011). In terms of the question I am looking at how significantly ideas, customs and social behaviour of a nation’s identity affects that of the individual’s culture. It’s important to talk about stereotypes, they effect how people perceive the individual and their culture, also it can affect the individual as they may alter their culture to allow them to stand out from their national stereotype e. . people may stereotype Italians as loud and arrogant but some Italians may change their culture to quiet and well-mannered to make themselves more appealing for jobs abroad. Hofstede wrote that culture is ‘A collective programming of minds’, and to some extent I agree with him, people are proud of where they come from and like to promote their nation through their actions, this can mould their actions to some extent. An example is whilst I have been at university I have lived with a Chinese student, we have both said that we had expectations of each other before we had even talked. He expected me to be obsessed with football and beer, whilst I thought he would be a great cook and clever. This ability to anticipate an individual’s culture because of the national identity can be a great starting point for friendship, but it can have a negative effect. Observational learning plays a huge part in our development through child hood, we watch and repeat what our parents and family do. If we have a problem we deal with it how we see them deal with it, I think that this is how individuals develop their culture, not so much from their national identity. Edgar Schein’s belief is that culture is – â€Å"shared systems of beliefs and values†, that culture is the answers to problems. These answers can be learned as a nation, as part of a family or as an individual. It is how individuals deal with these problems that makes their culture individual to them. Although Schein’s 3 levels of culture can to some extent be related to national identity for example the ‘Values and Beliefs’ and ‘Artefacts and creations’. Individual’s belief can be down to their nation’s beliefs, although I think that would have been more applicable in the past. With the development of the internet and communication methods I think that individuals now have the media to find out and decide their own culture. People are travelling all over the world, picking up bits of other cultures and adding to their own. It was similar when America was discovered, people from all over the world moved there bringing their own culture, although there is an American identity, there are patches of America that retain the culture that their people bought with them all. To conclude I believe that national identity is fairly significant to individual’s culture, more so if the individual moves abroad than if they stay in their country. Q2 -In what aspects of work and employee relations should international managers be aware of religious sensitivities? Religion is important throughout the world, with countries becoming more multicultural different religions are clashing leading to war and strained international relationships. This can happen on a smaller scale within organisations. It is up to managers and employees to be aware of each other’s beliefs and respect each other enough to allow them to have their own beliefs. This can be a minefield for today’s international managers where equality is key to running an effective, productive place to work. Globalisation, development in technology, cheaper transportation and international bonds (e. g. European Union) has led to an increase in multi-religious staff, which if international managers are aware of and can work with, it has the potential to offer a lot to organisations, employees bringing different ideas and dvice to the table because of their different religions and knowledge. A difficult example of managing religious sensitivities is allowing Sikhs to carry their ceremonial knife known as ‘Kirpan’ with them at work. It poses difficult problems, one being that it’s dangerous and could create a lot of tension within an organisation. It is an article of faith for the Sikh bu t does that mean its ok to carry a weapon at work? I found an article on the BBC which was headed ‘Sikhs should be allowed to carry ceremonial knives in schools †¦ can religion ever justify loopholes in the law†¦Ã¢â‚¬â„¢ Although this is based on schools, it carries the same principle. Should religion be more important than the law of the country? International managers can experience culture shock on 3 different levels: 1. Emotions – e. g. euphoria to depression 2. Thinking – e. g. from stereotyping to culturally effective thinking 3. Social Skills and Identity – e. g. from national to transnational social skills and an international identity (Source Marx 1999) International managers need to master these 3 levels to achieve global management which Bartholomew and Adler (1996) define as ‘The need for a conceptual shift from a hierarchical perspective of cultural influence, compromise and adaption to one of collaborative cross cultural learning’. This is the aim of all global organisations, although it can be a very slow and hard process it is important and the end result would be a driven team of respected employees. International managers need to be aware of religious holidays, example Jewish festivals, Christmas etc. Should they allow every religious holiday or none? Managers need to prepare for religious holidays e. g. ensure that they have enough stock over the Christmas period when sales increase. A manager cannot be seen to favour certain religions as this could lead to discrimination and problems within the workforce. With globalisation comes an expectancy to work together as a team, not be seen as separate religious groups who are distant to each other. It is partly the manager’s job to ensure this happens but it’s also down to the individuals. We live in a global community, it is now time to start developing a multicultural organisational community. This will be a real test for international managers and organisations. Q3 -What are Hofstede’s culture dimensions? What correlations does Hofstede make among groups of countries and how valid are they for you? Geert Hofstede (b. 1928) carried out a cross cultural study of 116,000 employees of IBM in 40 countries. From his results he distinguished national cultures in terms of five orientations which are: (D. A. BUCHANAN, 2010): 1. Social Orientation – Cultures in the East e. g. India, China have a collective interest where the interests of the group are more important than each individuals gains or praise. Whereas the western counties e. g. UK, America have a more individualistic approach where the individual interests are seen as more important, this idea of personal gain above shared gain. 2. Power Orientation – The idea that some national cultures accept that some people are of a higher authority, they accept the hierarchical idea of power on levels, that some people are born into power whereas other cultures believe that you earn power, and that there should be minimum power difference as it exploits others. 3. Uncertainty Orientation – This describes how cultures react and adapt to change and uncertainty. He found that some cultures prefer structure and consistency and find the uncertain threatening whilst others relish change and new opportunities. 4. Goal Orientation – Also known as masculine and feminine culture orientation. This finds out what motivates people to try and achieve their goals. The masculine orientation is more aggressive assertive behaviour, where material possessions, power and money are motivators. The feminine orientation is the more passive side, where the wellbeing and quality of life of other people is a motivator. 5. Time Orientation – This looks at how different cultures work, is it with short term goals in mind or do they plan for the long term. Those that value long term planning, look forward to future market positions, they ensure that they are ready to meet future commitments. Dedication and hard work are essential. Whereas the short term outlook look for short term profits and value past traditions. Hofstede’s has been criticised over his work, he conducted his survey for IBM because they were concerned with declining morale, it wasn’t designed to distinguish ifferent ‘national cultures’. The use of a survey is also criticised, ‘Many researchers allude a survey is not an appropriate instrument for accurately determining and measuring cultural disparity. ’ (M. L. JONES, 2007) Another criticism is that Hofstede’s study makes the assumption that the population is a homogenous whole, whereas there are always ethnic units and subdivisions wi thin society. It seems to ignore the fact that communities can have very different cultures to the one that is seen as the national culture. It would be impossible to accurately represent all different cultures per nation. Hofstede’s is more of an overview of the national culture and should not be used to stereotype the whole population. Q4 – Why do firms’ internationalise’? What are the implications of doing so for their role as employers and how will it affect your role in the future as an employee? More firms are beginning to ‘internationalise’ and try their hand at the global market, with the goal of making a profit and increasing it year after year. This requires businesses to adapt to the changing times. It has and still is becoming much easier to internationalise, with the development of the internet, faster and cheaper transport overseas, vast improvements in infrastructure and if you are part of a trading power e. g. The European Union, the international trading laws are much more flexible than they used to be. More Benefits for firms to internationalise Location – Find a more attractive market overseas where they wish to operate. May find a central location for main distribution centre to save on delivery costs. Low cost and labour charges – Companies want to produce goods quickly and cheaply so that they can get the biggest return on them e. g. Nike has manufactured its products in sweatshops because people are so desperate for work that they can pay them very little. The BBC’s panorama found as recently as in the year 2000, 12 year old girls in Cambodia were working 16 hours a day for little pay because they were so poor. This can lead to implications for firms that do this, bad publicity, drop in sales and a tarnished global image. Less competition – Large organisations are always on the lookout for gaps in the market that they can exploit, this includes overseas markets. If they feel that they offer something new or of a better quality than anything in that country they will try to set up there to capitalise. The image below clearly shows the three stages of internationalisation, with many firms hoping to remain in stage 2 with the positive factors although on either side there are potential implications. Source: Contractor et al. 2003, p. 27 A good example of internationalisation gone wrong is when Vale from Brazil bought out Inco in Canada. It seemed a straight forward move, Inco and Vale had both been successful in their own markets. It turned out to be a bad combination because they didn’t understand or accept each other’s different culture on how they handled business and each other. It ended up costing Vale a lot of money and tarnished their image and reputation. I think that as a future employee internationalisation will affect me greatly, I chose this course because I think that understanding and respecting other cultures is very important, before any business is done it is important to learn what makes people tick, then you know how to motivate them to a certain extent. In my opinion it can be hugely overlooked, if it wasn’t I think that many disagreements could be averted. Dealing with people is a huge part of business whether its potential investors or a fellow employee, if you understand peoples cultures very often you can learn from them, leading to very clever organisational cultures that can motivate and inspire the majority of the workforce leading to a smoother internationalisation process. Bibliography D. A. BUCHANAN, A. A. (2010). Organizational Behaviour. Essex: Pearson Education Ltd 2010. Kenyon, P. (2000, October 15). Gap and Nike: No Sweat? Retrieved December 13, 2011, from BBC: http://news. bc. co. uk/1/hi/programmes/panorama/970385. stm Loerrach. (2003). The impact of internatioalization on organizational culture a comparative study of international US and German companies, 7-48. M. L. JONES. (2007). Hofstede – Culturally Questionable, 7-8. RICKY W, P. M. (2007). International Business 5th Edition. GRIFFIN. Roache, R. ( 2010, February 9). Should religion be an excuse for carrying daggers? Retrieved December 13, 2011, from BBC: http://news. bbc. co. uk/1/hi/magazine/8506074. stm Unknown. (2011, December 13). Retrieved December 13, 2011, from Oxford Dictionaries: http://oxforddictionaries. com/definition/culture

Should Prisoners be Treated as Humans

Some people believe that once a person commits a crime or breaks the law, they no longer get to exercise their human rights. In fact, they believe that prisoners do not deserve human rights. The treatment of these inmates come into question; especially when most facilities and prisons are overcrowded, receiving more mentally ill prisoners, and female incarceration is on the rise. The problem with some of society is they do not want prisoners to be treated with any common, human decency. They believe inmates have it great by eating healthy and receiving adequate medical care.Being able to work out and learn new trades for the future has some of society’s members upset with paying tax monies for these types of â€Å"amenities†. I believe that every human has the right to meals and preventive health care. People should not have to fear for their safety or health because they have committed a crime. I do not feel they should receive good treatment: punishment should be adeq uate for the crime committed, but the prisoner should not be in threat of starvation, abusive treatment from other inmates or staff, or fear of medical neglect.Prisoners are in fact human beings and of course punishment was much worse in ancient times. There would be severe physical punishment, and living conditions while incarcerated were much worse than conditions today. Let’s explore some of the treatment of prisoners and the and how they are sometimes affected by this treatment. I believe treating prisoners as you would any other person: with the most basic human rights. This is an ethical dilemma we as society are faced with. The world and the incidents that occur in it are very unpredictable.There are plenty of people who never expected or thought they would ever become incarcerated. I, personally, was incarcerated from age seventeen to age thirty-three. I have experienced quite a bit of unethical treatment, as well as been a witness to this treatment. There is no self- defense law here in California. I was attacked by a girl with a gun. We fought over this gun and she was shot once in the neck. During the time of the scuffle, she was wanted for an outstanding warrant for the murder of a pregnant woman. I was convicted for attempted murder and sentenced to fourteen years of incarceration as an eighteen year old.My incarceration was to take place in a California State Prison for Women. Upon my reception to state prison, I have been victim to and witnessed unethical behavior towards the prisoners. With prison overcrowding and an influx off inmates who are mentally ill. There are also the drug offenders. The drug offenders make up a large group of prisoners. There are a variety of ethnicities, backgrounds, and classes of individuals incarcerated. Prison overcrowding contributes to a lot of the unethical treatment of prison inmates. When the prisons are overcrowded, inmates are not segregated amongst other inmates of their same security levels or risks .Sometimes these conditions make it easy for crimes to be committed within the facility or institution. Many high risk inmates will make victims out of the less violent, vulnerable inmates. The prisoners can become victims of rape, theft, assault, and sometimes murder. Some prisoners have been known to commit suicide because the conditions in prison are too difficult to deal with. To report any crime committee against you while a prisoner, can lead to retaliation from the prison population; terrorizing one with fear.There is what is called â€Å"moral† intuition. According to Mosser (2010),  intuition is described as unexplainable feelings a person may have about something being â€Å"right† or â€Å"wrong†. My intuition tells me it is wrong to treat anyone with inhumane behavior. It is not correct to put an individual in harm way just because they have made a mistake to society. Yes, they should definitely pay the price for whatever crime is committed. Mental ly ill persons have also contributed to the prison population. Several inmates really just need to be placed somewhere that can provide the mental help needed to help rehabilitate them. With so few doctors and staff for the mentally ill, it seems rehabilitation is just an illusion.With mentally ill patients integrated into a prison population, there are bound to be conflicts, as well as abuse. Abuse occurs among the inmates as I have mentioned earlier. Although, half of California’s mental hospitals were closed by the late 1960s, Governor Reagan, during the late 1970s shut down the mental hospitals completely (Torrey, E. F. , M. D. , Kennard, A. D. , Eslinger, D. , Lamb, R. , M. D. , Pavle, J. , 2010). With overcrowding, and barely enough of a budget to care for the health of the inmates, how can a prisoner’s mental hygiene be taken care of?Most of these prisoners are forced to be confined in solitary confinement. Metzner (2010) states, â€Å"The adverse effects of so litary confinement are especially significant for persons with serious mental illness, commonly defined as mental disorder (e. g. , schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, major depressive disorder) that is usually characterized by psychotic symptoms and/or significant functional impairments (para. 4). Solitary confinement can do more harm than good. Inmates may possibly leave prison in a worse state than when they entered prison.People worry   about tax dollars going to prisoner’s food and shelter, but if a prisoner can be â€Å"corrected† by the department of corrections, that will lower the recidivism rate and less prisoners will return to prison. Earlier, I mentioned drug offenders making up a great deal of the prison population. Some people’s addiction does not stop because they are incarcerated. Male officers outnumber female officers by two to one. Male officers make up at least two-thirds of the officers and guards. There are times I have witnessed my cellmat e receiving drugs forsexual favors for the officer. The officer will come at a time when there are no there are no other people around and request these sexual favors. Some guards would even make a girl have sex with them. They would threaten to change the inmate’s release date, or cause the inmate to be placed in a position to be caused physical harm by other inmates. These unethical treatments should not be overlooked. Many women are victims of abuse and domestic violence. They have attempted to leave a situation with an abusive partner, and this leads to the homicide if the partner.Donna Hazley (2010) states, â€Å"The same legal system that fails or refuses to protect battered women prosecutes them vigorously when they fight back (para. 11). There are also women incarcerated with hopes of returning to society as a rehabilitated individual, and return to caring for their families. Not all people that are incarcerated always lose custodial rights of their children. They ho pe to return to care for these children. These children deserve a chance, if it is possible to rehabilitate their parents. Not everyone serving a prison sentence is an outcast, monster, or society’s reject.These are human people with human feelings, and emotions. Again, I say no one should be subjected   to these treatments because they have committed a crime. No one can truly know the remorse a person feels for the things they have done wrong, and therefore, should not impose upon them abuse. In approaching this issue of the unethical treatment of prisoners, I believe the classical theory of deontology could resolve this issue. Deontology is described as looking at the reason the act was committed instead of the consequences of an act (Mosser, 2010).It is a deontologist’s position that we treat everyone with respect, and consider each human being’s dignity when dealing with them. If it is considered why a woman has committed a violent crime against her spouse , then maybe she can be treated with ethical treatment, instead of what one feels is much deserved abuse because she is a prisoner. According to an article by the Human’s Rights Watch, A video tape at a California state facility showed two officers severely beating and kicking two inmates (2004). Deontologists theorize that no one should be beaten and kicked for no reason. It is unethical to treat a person with such excessive force.Virtue ethics is also an approach that can be taken to resolve the issue I have presented of unethical behavior of prisoners. Virtue ethics focuses more on the character of the person performing the act (Mosser, 2010). If we paid attention to the individual that performed the crime, we may better understand a way to effectively deal with the person without imposing any abuse upon the individual. Utilitarian’s ethical approach is basing a decision on the best outcome for the greater number (Mosser, 2010). It is likely to be beneficial to soci ety to treat prisoners with common human rights, and not subject them to inhumane behavior.If people can rehabilitate, instead of   become at risk for mental issues, high recidivism, and absence from the family, society will benefit as a whole. There will not be the need to spend so many tax dollars on prisons because so many prisons will not be needed. Families will be united and given the tools necessary to prosper and benefit, having a positive effect on children being raised with their parents. The problem with the deontologist’s theory is that a relativist will say that it is not their problem to concern themselves with how prisoners are being treated.Relativism is the values regarded by an individual based on their own ethical standards; usually based on their background and culture (Mosser, 2010). One will argue that it is what prisoners deserve because that is just what they believe. It may be acceptable in someone’s society to mistreat prisoners and the mist reatment not be considered unethical. Emotivism suggests that moral claims express an emotional response or attitude (Mosser, 2010). Mostly, people feel as if prisoners deserve unfair treatment. In fact, people feel as if they don’t deserve to be treated as human beings at all.Emotivism can reduce our moral judgment to something so simple like an emotional response; we may be robbing someone of a fair ethical decision. In my opinion, this can cause harm to the greater number of individuals effected by the decision, thus, presenting a challenge to the issue of utilitarianism. In this case the moral issue will not be examined because it is being responded to in an emotional way. Virtue ethics, I remind you, focuses on the virtues of the person performing the act. It is not an easy thing to do, trying to determine why a person made a certain choice.This person or group of individuals could have made this choice for a number of reasons. Sometimes, it is much more apparent why a p erson or group has done something. Other times, it is not.   Ethical egoism can be the challenge to virtue ethics. Ethical egoism argues that our moral decisions should be based on our desires and goals (Mosser, 2010). Our personal goals and desires are what motivate us make many of the decisions we make in our lives. If an outcome does not appeal to our goals and desires, we tend to find a way to dispute that.Finding a person’s virtue may conflict with our personal goals and desires. A person may have been robbed once before, and now has a biased toward anyone that has committed a crime, regardless of their motivation to commit the offense. If the victim’s personal desire is to see any person who commits theft to â€Å"rot† in prison, they will not consider the virtue ethics of a prisoner, therefore, the unethical treatment of prisoners seeming completely ethical to the ethical egoist. Having served so much time in prison, deontology is the closest view to my own.I believe that every action has a consequence and people need to suffer a consequence when they have broken the law. Respecting this theory, I still believe that everyone should be treated with respect and human decency. Although, I shot the young lady in the struggle over the gun, she was already wanted and convicted of murder. I feared for my life, as well as did not intend to cause great bodily injury; otherwise, I would have shot her repeatedly. Finances and social class had a lot to do with my conviction. I was unable to afford the best attorney and I was what was considered â€Å"at-risk† urban youth.Society did not care about the reason the victim ended up shot once. It was argued by strangers who did not know me that I deserved to serve fourteen years, and maybe even deserved to be shot myself. Either way, I am a decent human being, who wanted nothing other than to reintegrate into society and make a positive life for myself. People could never understand that un less they have been in prison, or have a family member who has spent time in prison. There are people who deserve to be treated fairly no matter whether they   have committed a crime or not.I am sure I can benefit from therapy. It feels as if sometimes, I am suffering from post-traumatic stress. I feel I didn’t deserve to receive some of the abuse that I have fallen victim to. Inhumane treatment in prisons should be investigated. Society should take time to weigh all the issues and realize heinous crimes are committed and one absolutely should pay their debt to society, but never at the cost of their basic human rights. â€Å"All persons deprived of liberty shall be treated at all times with humanity and with respect for the inherent dignity of the human person†, (OHCHR, 2005).

City Government Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

City Government - Research Paper Example Either of these statements makes Greater Los Angeles area the second biggest metropolitan area in the United States of America. The US Census Bureau indicated that the Los Angeles Metropolitan region covers 4,850 square miles, while the broader joined statistical region has 33,954 square miles thus making it the biggest metropolitan area in the US by land mass. However, almost three quarters of this region lies in sparsely populated Eastern region of San Bernardino and Riverside counties. Additional, Greater Los Angeles Area is an international center of education, tourism, trade, sports, transportation, fashion, and media (Haughton and Collin 56). Urbanization form of the Great Los Angeles Area Historically, the Greater Los Angeles has a reputation of spreading out in the sense that it has densely populated urbanized region with a population of 5,309 per square mile. The rapid sprawl in Greater Los Angeles is attributed to the decentralization structure of the area. It is known for its strong financial, cultural, and commercial institutions that are dispersed geographically rather than being confined in one central area. Within the urbanized areas of the Greater Los Angeles area, it has low-buildings due to regulations in Zoning. The urban form of the Greater Los Angeles is attributed to the first early years of the twentieth century when the region was marked by dense but split cities that were connected by rail. The emergence of automobile aided in closing the gaps between commuter towns with less dense populations. Development in Greater Los Angeles Area continues to take place in both the urbanized and central areas. For instance, there is a vigorous residential house development in downtown places with both renovation and construction of new building take shape. Greater Los Angeles identity The term Southland or Greater Los Angeles are used to refer to the metropolitan region. Employment is not enshrined in one area but it is widespread in the entire regi on. As such, people travel throughout Greater Los Angeles and its suburbs in diverse directions for the tasks and daily chores, with majority of these people going to the municipalities in the city outskirts of Los Angeles. Regional identity in the area is evident in that most residents do not acknowledge interacting and associating with the region in its entirety. For instance, orange county residents like to be recognized different from Los Angeles despite the fact that they share same metropolitan area with Los Angeles County (Census Bureau 41). Greater Los Angeles Boundaries Orange County Orange County in conjunction with Los Angeles County makes up Los Angeles Metropolitan area, a major region of the Greater Los Angeles Area. The development and change in Los Angeles influenced rapid growth in population in Orange County. The creation of tourism permitted it to become a significant economic area. Currently, Orange County is recognized for tourism attraction like Knott’s Berry Farm and its different beautiful coastline and beaches. Some cities such as Irvine and Anaheim developed because of cultural and business attractions in the area. Orange County is divided into the South and the North. The North is dominantly whites demographically and developed than the South. The division in Orange County is a result of demographic and cultural differences that has been there for many decades

Samsung Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Samsung - Essay Example From a small export business in Tague, Korea, Samsung has grown to become one of the largest multi-billionaire corporations in the world. Samsung electronics was established in 1969 in Suwon (South Korea)The products offered by the company are electronic and electrical appliances which include television, refrigerator, air conditioners, washing machines, calculators, semi conductors and digital media. Today Samsung products are recognized in terms of quality and unique technology all around the world. In 2007, the company exceeded the $100 billion mark in terms of annual sales for the first time in the history. This is the reason why Samsung is in the list of one of the top three companies in the electronics industry where only two other companies are Siemens and Hewlett Packard that have posted larger revenues. Samsung today owes much of its success to its value innovation program. With new technologies coming in the market speed and mobility is essential for remaining in the market and also to pioneering in new markets. With 42 research facilities around the world and 42 thousand people are working daily in these research facilities, Samsung is serious about understanding what the consumers need is long before considering the technologies required to deliver them for the fulfillment of that need. Samsung is aware of the fact that success is temporary in the field of electronics and there should always be a goal displacement policy going around. The company is always setting new targets, working hard and focusing on ways to achieve those goals. Though Samsung is achieving continuously and rapidly by sheer policy, hard work and competence the list of achievement is way to long some important and recent achievements are given below: In 2005 Samsung surpassed Japanese rival company Sony, for the first time to become the world twentieth largest and most popular consumer brand as per† Interband†. In 2006 Samsung comes second in the electronics industry as per â€Å"business week†. In 2007 another important achievement was made by Samsung mobiles, over throwing Motorola for the first time and as they became the second largest mobile phone maker in the world. In 2011 Samsung electronics sold its Hard disk drive (HDD) commercial operation to Seagate Technology for approximately $ 1.4 billion. And most recently in the first quarter of 2012 Samsung beats rival company Nokia in selling the highest number of mobiles 93.5 million as compared with 82.7 million. Samsung has expanded from a small company to the largest company in Korea and the second largest company in the world in terms of electronic divisions which is somehow the most successful around the world. Management accounting: Management accounting deals with providing accounting information to the managers within organizations to help them taking decision in business that will allow them to be better equipped in their management and control functions. This technique or pro cess focuses on effective and efficient use of organizational resources in order to support or assist managers to take decision in their task of enhancing both customer value and shareholder value. Distinguishing between Management accounting and financial accounting In contrast to financial accounting information, management accounting information is different in number of ways. Some are enlisted below. Management accounting deals with perception of forward looking; on the other hand financial accounting is historical and is based on the historical data. Models are based in terms of abstractions or possibilities in order to support decision making generally, whereas models are case based. Management accounting deals with the designs that are intended for use by managers within the organization; on the other hand financial accounting deals with shareholders, creditors and public regulators. Management accounting is usually confidential, whereas financial accounting is for public or is publicly reported. Management acco

Feminist Ethics (CAROL GILLIGAN) Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Feminist Ethics (CAROL GILLIGAN) - Essay Example th strangely different views considering the diversity in socio-cultural factors acquired from the environment which correspondingly reflect through their mental attitude and social behavior. Apparently, ‘perceptual organization’ in this regard serves as a crucial tool in determining a person’s moral orientation. In matters concerning law and order, a rigid set of standards is set and employed to call for a mandatory obedience yet proper legal execution as we see it, still relies heavily upon weighing of perspectives or possibilities. Since the exact image of truth is not available for the sight of everyone due to limitations in the scope of our senses and intellectual reach, we bear the capacity of depending on someone else’s trusted paradigm. At times, other people see what we don’t or cannot see and equivalently, we possess the ability to know something which others struggle to gain knowledge of. This is one concrete evidence of reality by which we may agree with Gilligan at depth as she delivers the premise that â€Å"there are at least two perspectives possible in analyzing any moral problem, and that these perspectives, far from being mutually exclusive or oppositional, are in fact applied or adopted according to varying circumstances.† Hence, I suppose herein that psychological components as such play a significant role in court proceedings or even in plain settings that exhibit sharp argumentations between people who take ample pride in individual reasoning due to rich past experiences in life. This is especially true on areas they have been well engaged so it would often seem pointless to bring to discussion subjects that are perceived otherwise in their context. When exactly can one be justified as ethically right or having a better perception and approach of evaluating objects of interest? Gilligan accounts for the ‘search for clarity’ and the ‘search for justification’ in a perceptual task of examining things whose meanings come with

Managing Business Organisations Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Managing Business Organisations - Essay Example Sexual harassment is an issue of grave concern and it is linked to unequal power distribution in the workplace. Cultures in which male and females are encouraged to work together and where male possess excessive power than women are a victim of this desperate plight. Robbins stated in his article that â€Å"Individuals who occupy high status roles sometime believe that sexually harassing female employees is merely an extension of their right to make demands on lower status individuals.† This shows that unequal power distribution in such culture is often utilized in a negative way. We can deduce from our discussion that organization culture is among the top most factors which overwhelmingly influence the type of politics played in organization and also the extent to which power is wielded. Cultures where individual are aggressive and confrontational and where power inequalities are accepted are especially vulnerable to inimical politics and illegal use of

Morality and Immorality and Holy Willie's Prayer and Tam O Shanter Research Paper

Morality and Immorality and Holy Willie's Prayer and Tam O Shanter - Research Paper Example There are two particular poems that he wrote which clearly exemplify the sarcastic and humorous tone of his style. These are Holy Willie’s Prayer and Tom O’ Shanter. What makes this poem important though is not just that these are prime examples of Burns’ humor-laden writing style. The said poems also provide proof of Burns’ personal perspectives on morality and immorality, as well as the role of religion these matters. The background of Holy Willie’s Prayer alone would already provide a glimpse of how Burns despised hypocrisy, especially if this is committed by men who belong to the church or the ‘kirk’ in 18th century Scotland. The poem is about a real character named William Fisher, a leader of the local church in Mauchline where Burns had stayed. Fisher, with whom Burns shared mutual hate, is described as a â€Å"bigoted elder of the Kirk, who with considerable eloquence and the conceit of the humorless, exposes himself as a cantin g hypocrite† (Head 527). The title of the poem dedicated to him by Burns is already one that actually reeks of sarcasm. The emphasis on the word ‘holy’ comes as a paradox because at the end of the poem, Fisher is portrayed to be asking God to punish his detractors with the lines that disregards the basic Christian concepts of mercy and forgiveness. Lord, in Thy day o’ vengeance try him, Lord, visit them wha did employ him, And pass not in Thy mercy by them, Nor hear them their pray’r, But for Thy people's sake destroy them, An’ dinna spare. Holy Willie’s Prayer actually paints a picture of a man, who is expected by many to set the example of how Christians should treat each other, turn out to be just as sinful and immoral as those he may have despised. It is clear that Burns disliked so much how Fisher had behaved as a churchman, whom the parishioners consider to be near infallible and holy when he is actually committing the same immora lities that he preaches against. There are lines in the poem that actually described Fisher’s own improprieties. O Lord! yestreen, Thou kens, wi’ Meg --   Thy pardon I sincerely beg --   O, may’t ne’er be a living plague   To my dishonour!   An’ I'll ne’er lift a lawless leg   Again upon her.   Burns, however, does not criticize Fisher for committing these human frailties. In a very sarcastic tone, he highlights the fact that despite these shortcomings, Fisher still managed to pray that he be forgiven for these ‘minor’ infractions. While he asks mercy, Fisher instead prays to God that his detractors are spared from it and are punished for persecuting him. As it turns out, Willie Fisher’s prayer is basically a portrayal of how a man of the church treats God as a superior that would listen to his pleas more because he is part of the church hierarchy and not for its merits or demerits. The poem provides a picture of Fisher â€Å"down on his knees, praying to his God, whom he addresses familiarly as if God were a senior official in the church† (Gerrard 384). Without putting it into words, Burns depicts a situation where the church is actually isolated from the rest of the people, including its laity. The isolation stems from the notion that those who are part of the church hierarchy are not equal with those outside of it, even if they are Christians too. The concept presented in the poem is that God is prone to be more

Deviant Behavior Homework Chapter 1 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Deviant Behavior Homework Chapter 1 - Essay Example Indeed, irresponsible owners of guns have caused much misery to loved ones of those who died from shootings like the Virginia Tech case. Firearms are sold and trade at local gun shows, flea markets, internet and even classified ads. These transactions do not require a background check; thus, a convicted felon or a mentally ill person can usually obtain firearms in this undesirable manner. This practice must be stopped. We must let our elected officials know the Brady law needs to govern all firearm sales for both licensed and unlicensed dealers. The waiting period should be ten business days which would allow local agencies to do the necessary detailed background check and to communicate with all other states before a purchase is made. Florida has some of the weakest gun laws in the nation. There is no state limit on the number of firearms that can be purchased at one time. As a consequence, a gun trafficker can buy large quantities of guns from a gun store and resell them to criminals from other states with tougher gun laws. An individual should not be allowed to purchase more than one gun in a six-month period unless such person is a state licensed dealer. Unfortunately Florida has no existing state licensing or oversight system which makes it very difficult for law enforcement to monitor illegal firearms. Each state must have a gun dealer regulation which would hold a gun seller accountable for their actions and help prevent criminals and other dangerous people from obtaining guns. For those whose lives have changed because of the reckless use of a firearm, no law is ever enough. The second website presents the justification for possessing firearms. Indeed, the Second Amendment protects the rights of all Americans to bear arms for self defense. So, why should this amendment change? The National Rifle Association has spent millions of dollars on

Sports team Essay Example for Free

Sports team Essay The sale of sports related memorabilia has become one of the biggest retail industries. However, it has also become one of the hardest to manage and control, legally and creatively (World Intellectual Property Rights Organization [WIPRO] 2007b). This has become particularly apparent in Boston, home of one of the most popular sports team, the Boston Red Sox, despite significant efforts to control the production and distribution of goods bearing their logos and trademarks. Some argue that the proliferation and sale of these items are self-expression and that they have contributed significantly to the popularity of the team (Grimaldi, 2007). However, this compromises the value of authentic memorabilia, the ability or government to protect consumer rights and commercial laws and the intellectual property rights of the teams. The protection of these stakeholders requires that vendors have the proper license both from the government and sports teams, which in the case of the Boston Red Sox, through Major League Baseball (MLB) authorities. In doing so both parties will be able to monitor the merchandise being commercialized and collect the taxes and royalties due them respectively (Tozzi, 2003). In turn, buyers are ensured of the authenticity, quality and safety of the products they are purchasing with full backing of civil and criminal statutes. WIPRO (2007a) notes that that this will also help alleviate the price of sports memorabilia because the price of genuine products will not be beefed up in order to compensate for unauthorized products. At the same time, the unlicensed vendors compromise the rights of legal retailers who bear the burden of licensure fess, taxation and regulation (Grimaldi, 2007). The effect of the lack of proper vendor licensing in Boston is not limited to commercial regulation. It also impacts the protection of consumer and intellectual property rights. It provides neither the movement the means to monitor or control the proliferation of knock-offs and consumers or sports organizations the means to bring action against violators. Thus, it is important that vendors have the proper license to sell so that all parties, sports teams, consumers and vendors alike, can enjoy full benefits of the law and not compromise each others rights. References Grimaldi, Paul (2007). The business of baseball. Projo Online, October 27. Retrieved November 6, 2007, from http://www. projo. com/business/content/BZ_MLB_GEAR_10-27-07_KF7L00S_v20. 2551554. html Tozzi, John (2003). Red Sox and BRA agree on Yawkey Way. The Daily Free Press, January 22. Retrieved November 6, 2007, from http://media. www. dailyfreepress. com/media/storage/paper87/news/2003/01/22/News/Red-Sox. And. Bra. Agree. On. Yawkey. Way-349123. shtml World Intellectual Property Rights Organization (2007a). Enforcement Advisory Body Examines Criminal Enforcement of Intellectual Property Rights. WIPO Press Room, November 5. Retrieved November 6, 2007, from http://www. wipo. int/pressroom/en/articles/2007/article_0082. html World Intellectual Property Rights Organization (2007b). International Conference Underlines Role of IP in the Creative Industries. WIPO Press Room, October 31. Retrieved November 6, 2007, from http://www. wipo. int/pressroom/en/articles/2007/article_0080. html

Case Study Of High Strength Concrete Construction Essay

Case Study Of High Strength Concrete Construction Essay In the text below I have tried my best and put in all of my efforts to create a document that might help other students even without any prior knowledge of the subject to understand the very important subject concrete with thorough understanding of the concrete. The text gives the basic knowledge of the lesser important concepts and has been written to depth for important and practical concepts. I have tried to create a document that shall be used to give lectures and cover the gap between a professor with in depth knowledge of the subject and a student who has just been introduced to the subject. I am also thankful to my professors and friends for their support in completing this work. I hope the document acts as a mode of information rather than being a jigsaw puzzle and fulfill all the requirements for the formal submission. Introduction: Civil engineering is the oldest and the most basic streams of engineering. When we think of civil engineering the first thing that comes to mind is cement and construction, when we come down to the more uses of civil engineering we think of concrete. Concrete is not such a simple thing as it may look down to a non construction related person, it is due to the fact that it has so many practical uses, more than any construction material that it has a specialization of its own. So the study of concrete is very helpful or may be considered the most necessary studies for a civil engineer. Nowadays the study of concrete is considered as the backbone of the construction industry. This subject has its own specializations available for study is such a vast subject that for a construction industry or company the success is decided by its concrete engineers. The modern industry of the todayà ¢Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¾Ã‚ ¢s world relies completely on the construction of concrete structures. Concrete has experienced this great variety of use due to its marvelous properties that completely distinguish it from any of the rest of construction materials. The history of construction traces back to the times of Assyrians and Babylonians who first made the use of clay as a cementing material. The ancient forts and military buildings, the defense structures have witnessed a wide use of the concrete made of aggregates and lime as a binder. Construction of the pyramids in Egypt has also proved the use of lime and gypsum as a binder in the concrete works. The prominent scientists of the concrete study are Vitruvius who is believed to have the knowledge of chemistry of the cementitious lime. One of the remarkable ancient works is the pantheon, which consists of a dome spanning 43.43m and is made entirely of concrete. The Romans also used suitable cements made of suitable limestone burned in kiln or were mixtures of lime and puzzolanic materials (volcanic, ash, tuff) co mbining into a hard concrete. Vitruviusà ¢Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¾Ã‚ ¢s work was followed by the researches made by M. Vicat of France. Joseph Aspedin of Yorkshire (U.K.) was the first to introduce Portland cement in 1824 formed by heating a mixture of limestone and finely divided clay in a furnace to a temperature high enough to drive off the carbonic acid gas. In 1845, Issac C. Johnson invented the cement by increasing the temperature at which the mixture of limestone and clay were burned to form clinker. This cement was the prototype of the modern Portland cement. From then onwards, a gradual improvement in the properties and qualities of cement has been made possible by researchers in U.S.A., U.K., France and Germany. What exactly is concrete: Concrete is a composite man-made material most widely used building material in the construction industry. It consists of a rationally chosen mixture of binding material such as lime or cement, well graded fine and coarse aggregates, water and admixtures (to produce concrete with special properties). In a concrete mix, cement and water form a paste or matrix which in addition to filling the voids of the fine aggregate, coats the surface of fine and coarse aggregates and binds them together. The matrix is usually 22-34% of the total volume. Freshly mixed concrete before set is known as wet or green concrete whereas after setting and hardening it is known as set or hardened concrete. The moulded concrete mix after sufficient curing becomes hard like stone due to chemical action between the water and binding material. It would be impossible to discuss all the aspects of this material in few pages and the discussion is confined to the general characteristics an d quality tests necessary for its use by civil engineers and architects. Most of the ancient structures and historical buildings had been constructed with lime concrete. With the advent of cement, the use of lime concrete has been confined to making bases for concrete foundations and roof terracing. The major factors responsible for wide usage of cement-concrete are mouldability, early hardening, high early compressive strength, development of desired properties with admixtures to be used in adverse situations, suitability for guniting, pumpability and durability. The simple reason for its extensive use in the construction of almost all civil engineering works is that the properties can be controlled within a wide range by using appropriate ingredients and by special mechanical, physical and chemical processing techniques Buildingsà ¢Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬from single storey to multistorey, bridges, piers, dams, weirs, retaining walls, liquid retaining structures, reservoirs chimneys, bins, silos, runways, pavements, shells, arches, railway sleepers are but a fe w examples of cement concrete applications. Concept of high strength concrete: Concrete due to its versatile properties is used for many heavy and medium or low cost constructions. So the concrete used in these works is not entirely same. Thus for more important and demanding works a concrete with higher strength is needed. This concrete can be given extra strength by various methods. Usually any concrete which falls in a grade over M65 is considered or called high strength concrete. This M65 signifies a compressive strength of 65N/mm2 after 28 days. This strength apart from other methods can be reached by REINFORCING the concrete with other materials of higher strength. Reinforcing means the mixing the concrete mix with other materials. The materials most commonly used are steel, bamboo, wire mesh, sticks etc. These materials provide those properties to the concrete that the concrete itself lacks. The concrete so reinforced becomes so strong that no other material can be compared to it. Also the strength to cost ratio of this is very less as compared to any other material available in the market. RCC and concrete: RCC and concrete are the same thing but for the fact that RCC has some reinforcement provided to the mix and the plain concrete is just a mix of cement sand and water along with aggregates. The reinforcement is placed where the structure has to be built and concrete is later put on it and both of these bond together to form a high strength concrete. The most common reinforcing material used is steel in the form of steel bars and wire mesh. So the wire mesh or the steel bars are easy to place and the main work then lies in properly preparing the concrete mix. So we shall now study the preparation of the concrete mix. Preparation of concrete: The concrete is fairly easy to manufacture. The preparation of concrete is a stepwise process. Its preparation involves storage of materials namely sand aggregate, cement, water. After that follows batching of materials which is a process of measurement of materials by different, convenient methods. Then falls the process of mixing which is a vital process; the most of properties depend on the mixing conditions and the type of mixing done. Mixing is the process of mixing the materials, batched before and preparing the final concrete mix or paste. The concrete so prepared is now needs to be transported to the site of use. This is done by using pans, wheel bar rows, transit mixers, chutes, bell conveyers, pumps, tower crane and hoists etc. Now that the concrete has been brought to the site it needs to be placed such that it gains maximum strength as easily as possible. So the placing is also a very vital process of the concreting operation. Now that the concre te has been placed we now have to make sure that no voids are left in the placed mix. Compacting the concrete mix makes sure that the concrete gains fullest of its strength. Then remains finishing of the concrete work done to make sure that it looks good aesthetically. Then the concrete needs to be cured to check the development of cracks and control the heat of hydration. The details of each of these processes are as follows: Storing of materials: Storing of materials is controlled so that the materials do not get deteriorated. The materials stored on sites are cement, aggregate, sand, water, steel and any other admixtures. The cement should be stored very carefully as the cement is the second most costly material after steel which is used in lesser quantities; cement easily attracts any moisture in the air and hardens and gets useless for the construction purpose. The cement should be stored in air tight rooms free of moisture and rodents. The bags of cement should be placed at least 30 cm apart from the walls and at least 20 cm above the floor level this is done by making a temporary platform of wood or other cheap material. The cement bags should be placed one over other to a maximum height of 1.5m. The cement bags should be used on the first in first out basis. These bags should be kept covered at all times with a suitable plastic cover. Then comes the aggregates, the aggregates should be so stored that these are distinguishly stored according to their size. These should either be kept completely moist or completely dry this helps to better understand the water cement ratio and provides a strict control over this vital ratio. Then comes sand, sand does not need much special attention while storing but sand so stored should be checked regularly for increase in the moisture content and hence bulking. The water used for adding to the cement or concrete is usually potable water and the water should be kept clean and free of any vegetation and any kind of visible materials and sand etc. Batching: The batching of materials is a simple process of measuring the quantity of the materials to be used for the concrete mix. This is done by two methods namely by weight and by volume. The materials while mixing need to be proportioned properly so that the desired strength and properties can be achieved. This has to be done strictly to ensure the desired properties. In the former category all of the ingredients are measured by weight. But this system has a drawback that the moisture content alters the weight of the materials and this has to be adjusted after experiments and mathematical calculations. The later uses the measuring the materials by volume and is less preferable to the above method. This is for the reason that the sand content varies greatly in volume by the moisture content. This variation is harder to account for accurate measurement. Mixing: The process of mixing of various ingredients of concrete in specified proportion is termed as mixing of concrete. Objectives of mixing: the quality and strength of concrete depends upon proper mixing. The object of mixing is to coat the surface all aggregate particles with cement paste and to obtain concrete of uniform color and required consistency. Methods of mixing: Hand mixing: the process of mixing the ingredients of concrete by manual labor is called hand mixing. It is adopted for small and unimportant and where quantity of concrete used is small. Hand mixing method requires more cement (10%) than machine mixing for obtaining the same strength of concrete. Machine mixing: The process of mixing the ingredients of concrete by a machine is called machine mixing. In case where a large quantity of concrete is to be produced, hand mixing becomes costly even if the labor is cheap. The machine maxing becomes essential. The concrete can thus be produced at a faster rate and at lesser cost. The quality of concrete by machine mixing is also better. Transportation of concrete: The process of carrying concrete mix from the place of mixing to the final position of deposition is called transportation of concrete. Transportation of concrete mix is very important because in transportation, time factor is involved. The mix has to be transported as soon as possible. Precautions in transportation: concrete should be transported as quickly as possible to the formwork within the initial setting time of cement. Efforts should be made to prevent segregation. Transportation cost should be as low as possible. The concrete mix should be protected from drying in hot weather and from rain during transportation. No water should be lost from the mix during transportation. Methods of transportation: -The following are the modes of transportation of concrete: Pans- in this method concrete is transported in iron pans manually. Wheel barrows- steel wheel barrows with 70L capacity with pneumatic tires are used for moderate distances. Truck mixers or tipping lorries- this is used for longer distances of travel. In this a truck or lorry having a mixer built into it is used to carry concrete. Other methods are: Chutes Belt conveyers Tower cranes Pumps Formwork: The temporary construction used as a mould for the structure for the structure in which the concrete is placed and in which it hardens is called formwork or shuttering. It includes all the surfaces in contact with concrete and all necessary supporting members. The part of formwork which consists of sheeting and its immediate supporting or stiffening members is called form. The part of formwork which supports the forms usually for a large structure is called false work. It is yet another important process for concreting. Compaction: Compaction of concrete is a process of eliminating the entrapped air in concrete and achieving maximum density. The importance should not be under estimated. The strength of concrete is reduced by about 40% by presence of only 5% voids. The compaction reduces voids to a minimum. The compaction is done by doing external work on the concrete. Finishing: finishing may be defined as the process adopted for obtaining a true, uniform concrete surface. The importance of finishing is inevitable. It is to keep the concrete surfaces free from undulations. The vibrating or hand tamping of a concrete leaves a slightly rough surface. Finishing of concrete surface is therefore important. The choice of concrete finishing depends upon the ultimate use of the component and desired aesthetic effect. Curing: The process off keeping the concrete moist to enable it to gain strength is called curing. It is name given to procedure used for prompting the hydration of cement. The concrete hardens because of hydration i.e. the chemical reaction between water and cement. This reaction depends on the presence of water. Although there is sufficient water at the time of mixing yet it is necessary to ensure that the water is retained to enable the chemical reaction to continue. Methods of curing: The various methods of curing are Shading of concrete work. Covering the concrete surface with gunny bags or hessians. Sprinkling of water. Ponding method. Membrane curing. Steam curing. Of these, ponding covering of concrete surface with gunny bags or hessians are the most commonly and very widely used. Proportioning of concrete mixes: Proportioning of a concrete mix means determining the relative amounts of materials required for batches of concrete of required strength. This process is generally called as design of mix. In proportioning a concrete mix, one has to choose suitable proportions of all the ingredients of concrete i.e. cement, aggregate and water so as to give concrete its desired properties both on the plastic as well as in hardened stage with the maximum economy. Grades of concrete: concrete id graded according to its compressive strength. As per IS 456:2000 the concrete mixes are designated into fifteen grades. The various grades of concrete are given in the table below: Group Designation Compressive Strength (N/mm2) Ordinary concrete M10 10 M15 15 M20 20 M25 25 Standard concrete M30 30 M35 35 M40 40 M45 45 M50 50 M55 55 M60 60 High strength concrete M65 65 M70 70 M75 75 M80 80 Concretes of compressive strength lesser than 20MPa may be used for lean concrete bases and simple foundations for masonry walls. Grades lower than M20 should not be used in reinforced concrete works. Grades lower than M30 should not be used in post tensioned prestressed concrete. Grades lower than M40 should not be used in pre tensioned prestressed concrete. There are two types of concretes based on the method of proportioning: Ordinary concrete (normal mix concrete) Controlled concrete (design mix concrete) Ordinary concrete (normal mix concrete): The concrete in which the proportions of cement, aggregates and water are determined by adopting nominal concrete mixes and no preliminary tests are performed is called ordinary concrete. It is only used when it is not possible to use controlled concrete. It may be used for grades M20 or lower if designed mix concrete cannot be used for some reasons. The proportions of the ingredients are specified by the engineer usually without testing the materials. There is no guarantee that a M20 nominal mix with adopted proportions (say 1:4:8) will have a 28 days cube strength of 20N/mm2. IS 456:2000 suggests the proportions of materials required for nominal mix concrete as shown in the table below: Grade of concrete Total quantity of dry aggregate per 50 kg of cement (kg) Proportions of fine aggregate to coarse aggregate by wt. Maximum quantity of water per 50kg of cement (liters) M10 480 Generally 1:2 but upper 34 M15 330 Limit is 1:1.5 and lower 32 M20 250 Limit is 1:1.25 30 Controlled concrete (design mix concrete): The concrete in which the proportions of cement, aggregate and water are determined by conducting preliminary tests for the design of mix is called controlled concrete. A design mix concrete is preferred over a nominal mix concrete for durability, strength and economy. Reinforced cement concrete: RCC or reinforced concrete cement is yet another type of high strength concrete. As explained when reinforcing materials of higher strength are added to the concrete it becomes reinforced cement concrete. The main feature of adding this reinforcement is that it makes the concrete very strong even in tension; otherwise in which concrete is very weak. This happens due to the bonding between reinforcing materials and the concrete mix. The concrete so prepared is used for many purposes such as piers, bridges, flyovers, dams, slabs, arches etc. The strength of same proportions of materials of concrete when reinforced yields more than twice the strength as it would otherwise. IS codes help us design structures of RCC by considering various norms and limits of safety and other factors. These tell us what extra provisions are needed to be made in certain conditions. The normally used reinforcements are steel bars which are explained in detail as under: Steel bars are available in the market in various sizes which are the measure of the diameter of the bar. These sizes range from 6 mm to 24 mm for general purpose. Other larger and specialized sizes are also available for special constructions. These bars are cast of steel formed by addition of about 1% of carbon content to iron while ità ¢Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¾Ã‚ ¢s manufacturing. This steel is very hard and is very ductile. Traces of other materials are also added to this steel to modify suitable properties. These bars are of two types based on the process of manufacturing or final properties: TMT- thermo mechanically treated bars Sal- ordinary ribbed bars. TMT: this is a product of the new age and has evolved as a result of scientific research over the years in the fields of metallurgy and other related field such as metallurgy and the properties of metals. These bars as the name suggests are mechanically treated to make stronger. These are first heated to a temp of 1400C (red hot) and then cooled suddenly which makes it stronger. Then these bars are also ribbed which makes them stronger at bonding. These bars are available in the market and are preferred over the other plain or ribbed or SAL bars. SAL: these are the traditional bars which were first tested by forming corrugations or ribs. The ribs on these are helical in shape. These are less strong than the other types of bars (TMT). These bars are manufactured from steel with 0.8-1.2% of carbon content in iron. These bars are brittle and less ductile. So these are nowadays moving out of market. These are not used in any of the engineering works. The cost of these is not considerably less than the TMT bars. These bars are available in sizes ranging from 8mm to 26mm. these bars make a weaker bond than TMT and should not be used for any important works. Design of RCC: RCC structures need quite a lot of mathematical analysis to be done before the values of final construction are received. The maximum amount of steel that can be added to the structures is 4% of the cross sectional area. The slabs and beams designed of RCC are categorized into two parts- singly reinforced structures and doubly reinforced structures. Singly reinforced structures are those in which the steel reinforcement is added to the lower side of the beam or the slab that bears tension. Doubly reinforced structures are those in which the steel reinforcement is added to both- upper and lower side of the structure for cases of variable tension and compression values; or extra strength is required for higher load values or when the dimensions of the member to be cast are limited due to some reason or other. These kinds of things make the RCC structures backbone of the construction industry. These RCC structures with steel are also very safe for shear and torsional forces too. Alterations of properties of concrete (Admixtures): The concrete has its certain properties that sometimes are needed to be changed, for this reasons other materials other than the basic ingredients are added to the concrete while mixing. These materials are called admixtures. These are categorized into several divisions: Accelerators Retarders Water-reducing admixtures Air-entraining admixtures Plasticizers Some common examples of admixtures are fly ashes, silica fume, rice husk ash, metakaolin. Now details of these types of admixtures Accelerators: Accelerators are the chemicals used to accelerate the setting and hardening of concrete. Accelerators are added to concrete to: Increase the rate of hydration and hence to increase the rate of strength development. Reduce the setting time. E.g. of accelerators- calcium chloride, triethenolamine etc. Retarding admixtures (Retarders): Retarders are the chemicals used to delay the setting and hardening of concrete. Retarders slow down the chemical process of hydration so that concrete remains plastic and workable for a longer time than a concrete without retarder. E.g. of retarders are sugar, calcium sulphate, skimmed milk, ammonium chloride, calcium borate, calcium tartarate, mucic acid etc. Water reducing admixtures: These are used to: Increase the workability of freshly mixed concrete without increasing water cement ratio. Maintain workability with reduced water cement ratio. Sugar in addition to acting as a retarder, improves the workability of concrete also. Carbohydrates and organic acids are other examples of water reducing admixtures. Air entraining agents: Air-entraining admixtures are used to entrain air in form of very small disconnected air bubbles in concrete. The air bubbles (approximately .01 to.25mm dia) act as flexible ball bearings and modify the properties of plastic concrete. It also modifies the properties of hardened concrete. Plasticizers: Plasticizing admixture is a substance which imparts very high workability with a large decrease in water content (at least 20%) for a given workability. It also permits the use of lower water cement ratio for the same workability. Materials used as plasticizers: Anionic substances such as lignosulphonates. Nonionic surfactants such as hydroxylated carboxylic acid. Other products such as carbohydrates. Calcium, sodium, and ammonium lignosulphonates are mostly used as plasticizers. Plasticizers are used in the amount of 0.1 to 4% by weight of cement. A 0.5% concentration of plasticizer by weight of cement can: Increase the 28 days compressive strength by 30% with 20% reduction in water cement ratio. Increase slump from 25 to 100mm. Require 15% less cement. Uses: these can be used where a high degree of workability is required in situations like: Deep beams. Column and beam junctions. Tremie concrete. Pumping of concrete. Thin walls of water retaining structures with high percentage of steel reinforcement. This was it about the case study of high strength concrete. I have tried my best to give the best approach possible to every aspect of any concept. Still humans will keep making mistakes so that they can learn from them. Thanks.

The Concept Of Balance Of Power Politics Essay

The Concept Of Balance Of Power Politics Essay When one state or alliance increases its power or apply it more aggressively, the balance of power theory is maintained. By forming a counter-balancing coalition, threatened states will increase their own power in response. The central concept in neorealist theory is Balance of power. Since Martin Wright said, the notion is notoriously full of chaos and confusion, it is difficult to provide exact definition to balance of power. The main difficulty prevails with the balance of power is that there are too many meanings associated with it. Nevertheless, the indispensable idea is very simple but when the principle is applied to the international relations, the concept of power means that with the help of shifting alliances and countervailing pressures, not a single power or mixture of powers will be allowed to become strong enough to threaten the security of the rest of the world according to Perkins and Palmer. In order to be more effective, identification and sensing of threats from th e neighboring countries and rebels is an essential need for applying the balance of power effectively. A balance of power can be formed by multiple states when alliances are fluid, for instance when they are formed easily or broken on the basis of practicality by not taking into consideration form of government, history, religion or values. Shifting its support to oppose whichever alliance or state is strongest, a single state occasionally plays the role of a balancer. In the 18th and 19th centuries, specifically in its relations with Germany, Russia and France, this role was played by Britain in Europe (Williams, Andrew 2004). By matching their increases in military capability, two states can balance against each other. Both the United States and the Soviet Union expanded their nuclear arsenals to balance against each other in the cold war. The complexity of measuring power is one weak point of the balance of power. From the size of its land mass, level of technology and population, the states power ultimately derives its power. Nevertheless, this potential power translates into mili tary capability in a flawed manner. There is a dependence on such elements of luck, geography, morale and leadership with the effective use of military force. Throughout history in various regions of the world, there are found some historical examples of power balancing. For instance, through a constantly shifting network of alliances, these Chinese states pursued power (China Superpower, 2010). (2) Evaluate how effective power balancing is, in practice, toward preserving peace. Without the Soviet threat, the United States, as the dominant world power, would face difficulties in its relations with such states as the European powers and china and the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991 left the United States as the worlds sole superpower (The Globalist: June 2, 2010). The ever changing nature of power, in the present-day international system further complicated the operation of the global balance of power. For the smaller states, the internet, Globalization, weapons of mass destruction and other developments of technology have made them acquire power in a significant manner. Even though, the balance of power is less applicable to conflicts involving other non state groups and terrorists, the balance of power may continue to operate among other states which are engaged in prolonged disputes in the future. In the present study of international relations for the past five hundred years, the balance of power played a prime role in achieving power and peace and for the past five hundred years, the balance of power has been a central concept and practice of international relations. Liberalism also plays an important part here and it carries a legacy of international imprudence (Hume, David. 1752). The purpose of the balance of power is to put in place to explain the situation where states will ally themselves to prevent the domination of one state upon others and peace will obviously be preserved by effective balancing of power and by matching their increase in military capability, two states can balance against each other. (Shubhya pandey, 16th March, 2009). Early intervention will often be more cheaper and effective than late intervention, if security is now better procured than defended. Before they have the time to gain momentum and focus, the threats to security should be addressed. References: 1. Williams, Andrew (2004). D-Day to Berlin. Hodder Stoughton. ISBNÂ  0340833971 2. . China Superpower (PDF). http://www.casaasia.es/pdf/9200595422AM1127202862621.pdf. Retrieved 2010-08-27 3. The Globalist June 2, 2010 cite: An Insecure Foothold for the United States; Russia is certainly still a superpower comparable only to the United States 4. Hume, David. 1752/1963. Of the Balance of Power, Essays: Moral, Political, and Literary. Oxford: Oxford University Press, pp. 346-347. 5.Shubhya pandey (16th March, 2009) Balance of Power in International Relations, article Student Semester IV, Hidayatullah National Law University, Raipur 7. List and describe some of the major multilateral attempts at arms control and disarmament. How effective have these attempts been in the past? How effective are they likely to be in the future? Do you believe that agreements of this kind will play a significant role in stemming nuclear proliferation to rogue states and terrorists? Why or why not? Arms control and disarmament are not the same. The objective of arms control is to limit weapons in certain selective and agreed methods with regard to certain aspects like transparency, lethality, range and quantity while the latter aims at the destruction of certain types of weapons capable of wreaking mass destruction. The entire globe sought to eliminate all types of weapons of mass destruction which are chemical arms, biological and nuclear and the use of multiple types of conventional weapons apart from their production and sale are sought to be controlled by the world after their bitter experience post the two world wars (Conventional weapons, 2004, p.36). The term general and complete disarmament means the elimination of all weapons of mass destruction or WMD along with the balanced reduction of conventional armaments and balanced reduction of armed forces which is based on the principle of undiminished security of the parties along with a purpose of promoting or improving st ability at a lower military level after taking into account the requirement of all States to protect their security and achieve peace and stability (Speech, 2002). Besides being supported by an implementing institution, a regime is a multilateral arrangement governing either the elimination or control of certain weapons. On the prohibition of bacteriological weapons and poisonous gas to which Canada became a signatory on 6th May 1930, the inter-war period was also witness to the Geneva Protocol, 1925 (Canadian Reference Guide to the United Nations. Ottawa, 1994). Until April 1975, the protocol introduced by the United States was not endorsed by the Senate of United States. The General assembly of the United Nations called for the total elimination of atomic weapons and use the atomic energy for peaceful purposes and it was the foremost resolution passed by the General assembly of the United nations (World Military Expenditures and Arms Transfers 1996). But all these attempts were not full effective as some countries of the world are still continuing to produce weapons of mass destruction under the pretext of security reasons and have not been fully cooperative in destroying weapons of mass destruction completely. Treaties were signed seeking to eliminate and prevent the production of weapons of mass destruction which include the treaty of Non-proliferation of Nuclear weapons and the Biological weapons convention and the Chemical Weapons Convention. In order to promote their WMD non proliferation goals which include the Nuclear Suppliers Group and the Zangger committee, Wassenaar Arrangement (for dual-use goods and conventional arms), the Missile Technology Control Regime and the Hague Code of Conduct (for missiles) and the Australia Group (for chemical and biological weapons), some countries of the world have decided to establish various non-binding suppliers regimes. How effective are they likely to be in the future? In the future, these measures are not going to be effective unless universal application of multilateral disarmament treaties are promoted and its awareness is created for both the Government and its citizens, improving compliance with the commitments of treaty, improving transparency (Some countries fear that reporting of possessions of WMD might compromise on their diplomatic goals or security, strengthening verification by effectively implementing intrusive inspections, vigorous accounting methods and physical security and at the same time not compromising legitimate defence secrets. The development of a politically binding code of conduct was proposed by Netherlands in 2002 when it chaired the Missile Technology control Regime. For this purpose, several international meetings were organized by the European Union (The Netherlands, Ministry of Foreign Affairs,ICOC Background information, 2002). In spite of all these attempts, the lack of public understanding of the contribution of treaties to international security makes non-proliferation education and disarmament a compelling priority. There is a concentration of specialized knowledge only in a very few ministries or in some governments lack the knowledge altogether. Preoccupations with other pressing issues and conflicting priorities faced by many developing countries in areas like internal conflicts, environmental challenges, economic development, health needs and poverty have reduced the effectiveness of these treaties and control and still a long way is to go in order to implement the measures effectively. Do you believe that agreements of this kind will play a significant role in stemming nuclear proliferation to rogue states and terrorists? Why or why not? I do believe that Agreements and treaties arms control and disarmament will play a significant role in stemming nuclear proliferation to rogue states and terrorists only if cooperation prevails among the nations of the world and by maintaining good relations and key contributions are made by the parliaments which has the prime major responsibilities for enacting implementing legislation under the relevant disarmament and arms control treaties apart from the effective role played by the United Nations as they face multiple challenges with regard to the promotion of is armament . Unless collective efforts are put forth by all the nations of the world, any treaty or measures of arms control will not work and remain a challenge and problem forever to be faced by all the countries over the globe. References: 1. Conventional weapons are weapons that are not WMD; see UNIDIR 2004, p. 36. 2. The Netherlands, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, ICOC Background information, http://www.minbuza.nl, 2002. 3. Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade. Canadian Reference Guide to the United Nations. Ottawa, 1994. 4. U.S. Arms Control and Disarmament Agency. World Military Expenditures and Arms Transfers 1996. Washington, 1997. 8. International relations theorists disagree about the propensity for states to balance versus bandwagon. On the one hand, some theorists claim that states form counter-alliances against the powerful to prevent any one state from achieving hegemony over everyone else. On the other hand, a second group of theorists claim that states tend to gravitate toward the powerful, joining the strongest rather than participating in a blocking coalition. Which claim do you believe is best supported by the historical evidence? Explain your answer. Striking an alliance with powerful nations to fulfill the concerns of security was followed by many countries since the North Atlantic Treaty Organization or NATO which is an intergovernmental military alliance based on the North Atlantic Treaty which was signed on 4th April 1949((The official Emblem of NATO,2008). A system of collective defence whereby its member states agree to mutual defence to an attack by any external party is constituted by the organization. Even though some theorists claim that states form counter alliances against the powerful to prevent any one state from achieving control over everyone else, the story has always been on the other side. The countries of the world normal strike alliances with the powerful countries for their own security reasons. For example, Israel always lean on the United States for its support instead of maintaining cordial relations with its neighbours. Even during the gulf war many European nations like the United Kingdom, France and Italy joined hands with the United states in waging war in the Persian gulf against Iraq which did not get any support even from its own neighboring countries. The second group of theorists who claim that states have a tendency to gravitate towards the powerful joining the stronger rather than participating in a blocking coalition and this claim is valid as a lot of historical data is available to support this kind of theory. For instance even during the post world war time, in 1954, South Korea formed an alliance with the United States of America and South Korea signed the ROK/U.S Mutual Security Agreement in which they agreed to defend each other in the event of aggression by outside nations (Manwoo Lee,1988,pp. 35-36). Even during the war waged in Afghanistan after the September 11 terrorist attacks on United States, Pakistan supported United States because of security concerns. The major reason why most of the nations of the world depend on the United States is that in recent years it has been the most formidable military power in recent years and its spending levels is the principle determinant of world military spending and recent increases are connected to the so-called war on Terror and the Afghanistan and the Iraq invasions. Japan struck an alliance with the United States of America because it feels that its presence in the western pacific is very much important to the regions peace and stability (Jusuf Wanandi, 1997). Rather than adopting leniency and initiating collective efforts to prevent the disaster of war in the gulf, numerous countries were on the side of the United States in its war against Iraq including Saudi Arabia. Many countries like the United Kingdom and France even went to the extent of spending huge sums of money for the military operations in the gulf. Many countries in the Southeast Asia feel that the transformation of Southeast Asia as a region of stability could not have been achieved in such a quick manner without the help of the United States (Straits Times,1997). Therefore the second claim of the theorists who stated that the states tend to gravitate toward the powerful, joining the strongest rather than participating in a blocking coalition were right in their perspective. Reference: 1. The official Emblem of NATO. NATO. http://www.nato.int/multi/natologo.htm. Retrieved 20 February 2008 2. Manwoo Lee, et.al. Alliance under Tension: the Evolution of South Korean-U.S. Relations (Boulder, Co.: West view Press, 1988), pp. 35-36. 3. Jusuf Wanandi, Time for Japan to rethink its regional and global role, Straits Times, 27 August 1997 4. Straits Times, 20 November 1997. 9. Assess the concepts of direct opposition and competition as described in the textbook. Do you believe that instances of either competition (which seems to approximate the situation leading up to both World Wars I and II) or direct opposition (which the textbook applies to the Cold War) are more preferable in terms of ensuring international stability? Are they equally useful (or useless) toward achieving this end? Do you believe that the future of world politics will be characterized more by competition of some kind (as suggested in the textbook) or by a renewed form of direct opposition (potentially between the United States and China)? Given your earlier arguments, what ramifications might this have for international stability? Support your arguments with evidence. Assess the concepts of direct opposition and competition as described in the textbook. Do you believe that instances of either competition (which seems to approximate the situation leading up to both World Wars I and II) or direct opposition (which the textbook applies to the Cold War) are more preferable in terms of ensuring international stability? The relationship that developed first and foremost between the United States of America (USA) and the Union of Soviet socialist Republic (USSR) was given the name cold war because the two was always at loggerheads with regard to the domination of international affairs (The origins of the Cold War, 2004). The term was used to describe their relationship from 1945 to 1980. They fought for their beliefs using client states who were fighting for their beliefs on their behalf because these two superpowers did not trust each other. Since times immemorial, the competitive rivalry among nations is largely attributed to the uneven distribution of resources across the world to a great extent. Nations have been working hard to control resources and not merely to develop their geographical extent of colonialism from the age of exploration to the two world wars and from the Middle East to the west. For the purpose of determining a nations strategic direction apart from helping the nation outperform its rival through gaining the competitive, geopolitics highlights about the spatial analysis in terms of social sciences, politics and geography. Due to healthy competition among the nations of the world, the importance of world resources have been highlighted by Mackinders Heartland Theory in the year 1904 (The Geographical Journal, 2004). Huge concentration is made on the co-existence of nations through their mutual economic interdependence by the modern geopolitics even though it does not necessarily talk about power shi fts. Healthy competitions therefore make the nations to realize their potential and awareness about their resources and this in one way can be utilized to maintain cordial relationship with other countries by helping the other countries by mutual exchange of resources. Are they equally useful (or useless) toward achieving this end? The outcomes or effects of competition of some kind will be favorable for international stability. This is supported by the fact that a favorable environment has been created for export diversification and competitiveness in sub-Saharan Africa and many African countries concentrated on getting the essentials economic management in the right way (Borner, S., Brunetti, A. and Weder, B., 1995). In order to reduce their debt and controlling inflation and putting in place sustainable fiscal policies, they worked together. All these happened due to the healthy competition which prevailed among these nations and fostered a good relationship between them (Sachs, J. and Warner, A., 1996). Do you believe that the future of world politics will be characterized more by competition of some kind (as suggested in the textbook) or by a renewed form of direct opposition (potentially between the United States and China)? I do therefore believe that the world of future politics will be characterized more by competition of some kind in comparison to a renewed form of direct opposition because in a direct opposition healthy competition can never take place. For instance when it comes to China and the United States of America, China always opposed the United States power politics, hegemonism and unipolar strategy and vice versa even though both of them have relatively mature ideas, tactics, policies and strategies on the global configuration of international order and power (Peter Grier and James N. Thurnman, 1999). On the other hand, if these two countries nurture a healthy competition and foster good relationship, it will be beneficial for them apart from the rest of the world. Majority of the other countries of the world also favour this. Given your earlier arguments, what ramifications might this have for international stability? Support your arguments with evidence. Right from the historical periods, economic inequalities have existed in a wide range of societies and the negative phenomenon arising out of economic inequality can be removed only with a healthy competition between the nations of the world. Healthy competition may also pave the way for the trade liberalization which will shift economic inequality from a global to a domestic scale where low skilled workers in poorer countries will see higher wages. Therefore international stability can be achieved globally by healthy competitions among the nations. International trade is promoted and significant benefits arise out of this. In concurrence with comparative advantage, it allows numerous countries to specialize. Considerable gains of efficiency may arise out of this. Severe competition takes place only out of trade which breaks down institutional impediments to change and promotes innovation. The advantages of the utilization of increased returns to scale is further provided by trade. A ll these facts were realized by many countries of the world after the post war era. Under the sponsorship of the GATT (General Agreements on Tariffs and Trade), numerous tariffs relating to international trade was introduced after several rounds of negotiations and it lead to successful trade liberalization in the developed nations (Jacob Kol and L.B.M. Mennes, 1990).

Around The World In Eighty Days: Summary :: essays research papers

Around the World In Eighty Days: Summary The title of the novel, Around the World in Eighty Days, is pretty much self explanatory. An Englishman, Phileas Fogg, places a wager that he can circumnavigate the world in 80 days. The events that occur throughout the novel describe his journey around the world.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Phileas Fogg, the protagonist, was a lonesome person who lived with his paid servant. Mr.Fogg was thought to be rich although no one knew where his riches came from.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Jean Passepartout, Fogg's paid servant. A strange fellow who had held many different jobs, such as fireman and gymnast.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Detective Fix, an English detective who followed Fogg around the world because he suspected that Mr. Fogg was a bank robber.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Aouda, a Parsee woman who was saved from a Setee by Fogg and Passepartout.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The antagonist of the novel was time, Mr. Fogg was pressured to arrive back in London within 80 days or otherwise lose his fortune.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  My favorite character in the novel is Passepartout. Passepartout was an innocent Frenchman that just after being hired as Mr. Fogg's servant was told to pack for a trip around the world. Throughout the entire novel the reader is informed of all the peculiar habits of Fogg that Passepartout had to support.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  My least favorite character is Fix the detective. He followed Fogg around the globe, he missed arresting him in India and Hong Kong through incompetence, and as soon as they arrived back in London, he did arrest Fogg but erroneously.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The main conflict of the novel was time. Time caused a lot of pressure on Fogg; he had to get back to London on time or he would lose the money he wagered. Mr.Fogg and Passepartout were confronted many times with the problem of lost time; when time was lost extra effort and work had to be put in so as to make up for the lost time. The incident that made me happy was when the real bank thief was caught and Fogg was let out of jail with exactly enough time left to arrive in London on time.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The one part that I would change is when Passepartout and Fogg are separated on India and then they meet up again coincidentally in Japan. I know that this is science fiction, fiction being the important word but still it is to something that is almost impossible to happen in real life.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  While Fogg and Passepartout were in the India jungle, they saw a woman, Aouda, who was going to be burned alive as a sacrifice. Fogg decided to attempt to save her.