Can Jeffrey Sachs End Global Poverty Research Paper

Can Jeffrey Sachs End Global Poverty - Research Paper Example Global poverty is an issue faced by many nations and should be tackled with some of the recommendations that Jeffrey Sachs gives. 2. The policies of economic growth laid down by Jeffrey Sachs can prove to be beneficial if implemented by the richer nations. 3. The United States has a great role to play in eradicating the issue of global poverty from the world. 4. Yes, the U.S should promote global growth by providing the poor nations with the necessary financial aid. 5. Africa is suffering from extreme poverty and U.S should take a stance on tackling the issue of poverty there through which the threats of terrorism can also be decreased. Cons 1. No, the option of economic growth is not the only solution for global poverty prevailing in this world. 2. Along with economic growth it is also necessary that corruption and malice is eradicated from the governments. 3. No, the U.S alone cannot make much of a difference in eradicating the issue of global poverty from this world because of the role that the home government plays. 4. No, financial aid is not the only solution for the eradication and it should be backed by other reforms. Can Jeffrey Sachs End Global Poverty? The debates about poverty and its consequences are getting increasing attention from the authorities, law regulators, politicians, social welfare organizations, policymakers and the public at large. The reasons behind such importance given to the issues of poverty are the unhealthy, inconsistent and unwelcoming consequences of poverty. These consequences affect all areas from the social, psychological, mental and physical health to access quality food, shelter and other basic necessities for people’s lives. Poverty has turned out to be a global issue affecting a great part of the population living in this world. Jeffrey Sachs is a well qualified professor who has classified poverty into three major classes. He believes that individuals either live in extreme poverty, moderate poverty or relative poverty. Sachs put forwards that in the past 25 years economic growth has been witnessed all around the world but this economic growth has not been significant enough to eradicate poverty even from the developed nations. He believes that a balanced economic growth is necessary to eradicate poverty from the world. He has put several points which according to him are necessary to be implemented so that the global poverty can be ended. A question here arises though as to â€Å"if Jeffrey Sachs can end global poverty or not?†1 From the 1990s it has been seen that the role of international financial institutions have increased in the global politics. These IFIs are responsible on aiding the poor nations with money which they have to use for economic growth. This economic growth can help in eradicating the roots of poverty. Sachs believes that the rich nations have a special role to play in helping to cut off the roots of poverty. The richest countries of the world like United Sta tes can allocate 0.7% of their budget to the poorer nations so that they can prosper and make economic growth. Currently the United States only spends 0.15% in the aid which should be increased by cutting down the defence budgets2. He believes that the country who is participating for a change should make sure that the transformation is really occurring. Lack of commitment by the richer countries can become a hurdle to the progress of economic growth. His emphasis on commitment by the richer nations can be seen in these words â€Å"‘The U.S. lack of support for Bolivia was appalling’.3 Jeffrey Sachs blames the United States for the continuing global poverty in this world. He cites that the war against terrorism launched by the United States is a complete failure and can be tackled in other ways too. According to him the issue of terrorism can be tackled if the interest of US was shifted towards international relations rather than on military advancement. The roots of t errorism can be cut out by economic growth and by helping a poor nation to progress the war against

Overview Of The Water Purifier Industry Environmental Sciences Essay

Overview Of The Water Purifier Industry Environmental Sciences Essay Approximately 80% of diseases in India are caused by water borne micro organisms. This is true in rural as well as urban India. However, awareness of health risks linked to unsafe water is still very low among the rural population. The few who treat water resort to boiling or use domestic candle filters. In comparison, the urban Indian is definitely more health conscious and understands the necessity of purifying water before it is fit for consumption. Even so, it is estimated that roughly 7% of urban Indians use non manual water purifiers. More Indians need to become aware of the importance of installing drinking water purifiers. There remains a huge untapped market. Though quite a few city dwellers still boil water, many are switching over to modern domestic water purifiers. Electrical or chemical based home water purification systems are most suitable for urban households because they require little or no manual operation and depending on the technology can eliminate biological contaminants, chemical toxins and excessive salts. The main contaminants are, however, micro organisms. UV purifiers and advanced chemical based systems deal effectively with viruses, giardia and bacteria. This is one of the reasons why UV and resin based purifiers are the most widely used water purifiers in India today. It is estimated that around 80% of urban dwellers do not purify tap water. Many of them are from the lower income strata and cannot afford UV or reverse osmosis water purification systems. They are the potential buyers of economical but effective chemical purifiers. This is the market that Eureka Forbes and Hindustan Unilever are tapping aggressively. Chemical based purifiers, Aquasure and Pureit, together account for 20% of water purifiers sold. Both are becoming increasingly popular because they are effective and affordable. The two brands are reported to be growing at 100 percent per annum. Also, they do not run on electricity and are ideal for locations where power supply is unpredictable. Neither do they demand continuous water supply. Power and water are still scarce even in urban India. It is estimated that roughly two thirds of the existing water purification market belongs to UV water purifiers and one third is shared between reverse osmosis purification systems and chemical purifiers. In the UV purifier segment, Eureka Forbes Aquaguard is the clear market leader with approximately 68% market share. Other brands include Philips Intelligent Water Purifier and Kents UV purifier. The UV purifier market is estimated to be growing at a lower rate than the chemical based segment. Reverse osmosis purifiers, which are rather expensive and not the preferred option in many areas, have a smaller share of the market when compared with UV purifiers and chemical based systems. In the reverse osmosis segment, Eureka Forbes is again the major player with 60% share. A major portion of the remaining 40% belongs to Kent reverse osmosis Systems. That the Indian market has tremendous potential is evident from the fact that global majors such as Philips and Hindustan Lever have stepped in and are looking to increase their share of the market. The three principal players today are Eureka Forbes, Hindustan Lever and Philips. In the years to come, we are likely to see others entering the fray Water purifiers are one of the most used kitchen utilities Available in India. Water Purification and Backpacking is an industry in itself in India. Portable versions of Water Purifiers are available for Camping and Hiking. Water Purification Methods include the mechanized versions as well as the age-old and time-tested Water Purification Tablets. The Water Purification Process includes removing contaminants from the raw water source. Some of the home remedies for Water Purification are boiling or the use of the household charcoal filter. But these do not ensure the required standard of Water Purification thus a proper treatment is mandatory. Thats where the Water Purifiers For Home step in. treatment of water by ozone also provides certain levels of purity. Utilizing the advanced technology and machines, we offer water purifiers, which are widely used for the domestic water purification. It makes the water suitable for drinking and everyday usage like drinking, bathing, cooking and washing etc Features Low maintenance No Chemicals Compact Light Weight Eco Friendly Easy Handling Available 250 Liters per hour 500 Liters per hour 1000 Liters per hour Chapter 2 Various technology used by different water purifier Activated Carbon (AC). Activated carbon (AC) is particles of carbon that have been treated to increase their surface area and increase their ability to adsorb a wide range of contaminants activated carbon is particularly good at adsorbing organic compounds.   We will find two basic kinds of carbon filters Granular Activated Carbon (GAC) and Solid Block Activated Carbon (SBAC).   Contaminant reduction in AC filters takes place by two processes, physical removal of contaminant particles, blocking any that are too large to pass through the pores (obviously, filters with smaller pores are more effective), and a process called adsorption by which a variety of dissolved contaminants are attracted to and held (adsorbed) on the surface of the carbon particles. The characteristics of the carbon material (particle and pore size, surface area, surface chemistry, density, and hardness) influence the efficiency of adsorption. Reverse Osmosis (RO)- Diffusion is the movement of molecules from a region of higher concentration to a region of lower concentration. Osmosis is a special case of diffusion in which the molecules are water and the concentration gradient occurs across a semipermeable membrane. The semipermeable membrane allows the passage of water, but not ions (e.g., Na+, Ca2+, Cl-) or larger molecules (e.g., glucose, urea, bacteria). Diffusion and osmosis are thermodynamically favorable and will continue until equilibrium is reached. Osmosis can be slowed, stopped, or even reversed if sufficient pressure is applied to the membrane from the concentrated side of the membrane. Reverse osmosis occurs when the water is moved across the membrane against the concentration gradient, from lower concentration to higher concentration. To illustrate, imagine a semipermeable membrane with fresh water on one side and a concentrated aqueous solution on the other side. If normal osmosis takes place, the fresh water will cross the membrane to dilute the concentrated solution. In reverse osmosis, pressure is exerted on the side with the concentrated solution to force the water molecules across the membrane to the fresh water side. Reverse osmosis is often used in commercial and residential water filtration. It is also one of the methods used to desalinate seawater. Sometimes reverse osmosis is used to purify liquids in which water is an undesirable impurity (e.g., ethanol). For example Kent RO is present in the market Ultraviolet Radiation (UV)- Ultraviolet purification uses a UV light source (lamp) which is enclosed in a protective transparent sleeve (usually quartz). The lamp is mounted such that water passing through a flow chamber is exposed to the UV-C light rays. When harmful microbes are exposed to the UV rays, their nucleic acid absorbs the UV energy, which then scrambles the DNA structure of the organism. The cell is rendered sterile and can no longer reproduce. The cell is now considered dead and is no longer a threat. UV treatment is an excellent choice to eliminate biological contamination from most home drinking water, whether your home is on a municipal water system or untreated private system (well, lake water, etc.). Its sole purpose is to kill harmful biological contaminants, and therefore should always be combined with other forms of filtration (GAC / carbon block, KDF, or reverse osmosis) for reduction of heavy metals, chlorine, VOCs, and other chemical contaminants. Ion Exchange (IEX) -Most popular Ion exchange (IEX) media in POU for heavy metals reduction is ATS or ATC media, zeolite etc. Various IEX resins are often used for industrial processes for specific water use. Ion exchange theory in layman language is simply gaining and loosing atoms (swapping atoms). In drinking water for example soluble lead is a positive ion whilst chlorine is a negative ion (cat ions+, anions-). Most common ion exchange in rural area is Softener. Another popular often called redox technology. is IEX media used in POU is KDF 55 (copper zinc alloy in granule form) for its high chlorine reduction. By simply swapping atoms this metal alloy turns chlorine into harmless chloride. Many POU makers using this alloy claim soluble lead reduction, bacteriostatic proprieties, some go as far as cysts and bacteria removal and a host of other miracles. KDF 55 is widely use for shower and garden filters which are impressively compact and effective de-chlorinator Chapter 3 Water Purifier Companies in India The main Manufacturers of the water purifiers are following Eureka Forbes Philips Kent Usha Brita Jaipan Kenstar Maharaja Whiteline Orpat Zero B . Chapter 4 On the basis of Porter 5 force model we can analysis the water purifier industry Competition in the market Porters 5 force Model for water purifier industry Threat of new Entrants- High Market entry barrier is not high. Brand Identity. Low cost of capital imposes a Low entry barrier. High RD cost. Market Exit Barrier is also not so high. Intensity of Rivalry among existing Competitors- Very High Customer loyalty is very capricious. Entry level Advertisement war in water purifiers. Low profit margins. Perceived lack of differentiation in technologies by customer. Pressure from Substitute product Medium Packaged drinking water. Ground water / Municipal Supplies. Chemical distributed by government to clean water. Boiled water Bargaining power of Suppliers -High Suppliers product is an important input to the buyers business. Number of suppliers are also few. Supplier to buyer ratio. Bargaining power of Buyers-High Customers are price sensitive. Spreading towards rural areas with increased awareness and health Consciousness Chapter 5 Target Customers Water purifier industry is focusing on middle class of the society because this class is educated and enough money to buy the products. Companies have to work less to sell their products to consumers. If company starts focusing on rural area it very difficult to tell them what are the benefits of water purifier. Company have to do lots of effort to sell their products. by this way the sale will be very less. With increasing number of people becoming conscious of the risks of drinking contaminated water, the demand for water purifiers is rising rapidly. In the past few years, Indian water purifier industry has witnessed an exponential growth of 22% CAGR. The water purifier industry sales grew dramatically during 2009 as compared to previous fiscals due to improving demand and expanding production capacity. The industry saw high growth of rate 17% during 2008 due to the increasing awareness for safe drinking water. The UV segment, which constitutes more than 55% of the industry and is a key focus area for water purifier manufacturers, due to the higher margins it offers, is expected to continue its rapid growth. According to Research, Indian Water Purifier industry will continue its growth trajectory and is expected to witness a turnover growth of more than 22% CAGR during the period between 2011 and to 2014. To get high sales in market the companies have to differentiate their products from other products present in market. Lot of advertisement should be done to boost the sale of product. Free samples of water purifier should be installed in some houses to show the efficiency and effectiveness of product. CONCLUSION There are number of water purifiers players are present in the market. There is also huge rise in demand of water purifier in market because increase in awareness of general public. To grab the market, companies need to heavily advertise and make their product differentiate. So that general public can attract toward their product. From Proter 5 force therom, it easier to start company of water purifier. Target customers are the middle class of society. The industry should focus on the middle class of society to increase their sales and revenue.

The Power of Horace McCoy’s They Shoot Horses, Don’t They? Essay

The Power of Horace McCoy’s They Shoot Horses, Don’t They? Professor’s Comment: The premise of this essay is to highlight the capacity of Noir literature to defy Modernist values and pioneer later avant-garde literary movements. This student produced a focused, organized, well supported essay. Nearly half a century has passed since most films and texts in the Noir tradition were created, yet one may wonder how much is really known about these popular American products. Scholars remain fascinated by many aspects of Film Noir, yet it appears that its fictional precursors (such as the texts of Cain, McCoy and Hammett) may have been too quickly ignored within the canon. Many have enthusiastically studied, for example, Film Noir’s ground-breaking effects on lighting and acting techniques, as well as its value as a gauge of socio-political climate; couldn’t Noir texts, too, have initiated equally significant results? Whilst critics continue to dispute the categorization of filmic Noir, the very texts that spawned this filmic (r)evolution have been largely dismissed as predictable ‘junk’ for the plebian masses, unspectacular in their normalcy as standard Modernist works. So I wonder: what is it that makes these texts so plain and ordinary, and so Modernist that they require no further attention? Furthermore, in aligning these texts with one particular school (‘Modernism’), are we not limiting their potential to convey a marked unique or progressive ideology? These questions propelled my investigation into Horace McCoy’s novel, They Shoot Horses, Don’t They?. In the examination of this particular source, then, the premise of this paper is to highlight the capacity of Noir literature to defy Modernist values and pioneer late... ...ascinating questions: could Noir literature have pre-dated the onslaught of post-World War Two Post-Modernist fiction? My guess is McCoy, and other Noir writers, were inner Post-Modernists aching to break from Modernist convention, while still turning a profit on their ‘pulp’ fiction. WORKS CITED McCoy, Horace. They Shoot Horses, Don't They?. London: Midnight Classics, 1995. Mary, Klages. Postmodernism. 21 Apr. 2003. University of Colorado. 24 Apr. 2004 . "entropy †¢n." The Concise Oxford Dictionary. Ed. Judy Pearsall. Oxford University Press, 2001. Oxford Reference Online. Oxford University Press. McGill University (Nylink). 25 Apr 2004. Pynchon, Thomas. â€Å"Entropy†. The Crying of Lot 49. Perennial, 1999.

Music Is a Kind of Mathematics

â€Å"Music is a kind of Mathematics†. â€Å"Mathematics are a measure of beauty even when man is a measure of beauty†. I heard the professor saying these two sentences in class and it hit me hard. I remembered the teachers in lower classes telling us that Mathematics are the key for everything in life and we didn't believe them, protesting that â€Å"Art†, for example, has nothing to do with Mathematics. Apparently, they were right. But how come do Mathematics seem to be considered as a measure of beauty? Many philosophers have said and written about art's beauty and aesthetics, and it always included some kind of Mathematics in it. In 1150 AD, Acharya Hemachandra wrote about, what's now called Fibonacci Numbers (In Mathematics, Fibonacci numbers are specialized that the last number is the sum of the two previous ones, such as the following: 1,1,2,3,5,8,13,21,34,55,89,144,233,377,610†¦), in poetry lines, 70 years before Fibonacci published his own experiment in his first edition of Liber Abaci. In addition, Pingala seemed to have used them in 200 BC, by considering poetry patterns divided to two lengths of syllables; long and short. In 1, 2 and 3 syllables there's always matching ways to put them. But when it comes to 4 syllables there's 5 ways, just like for 5 syllables there's 8 ways and so it goes. And that's what's special and beautiful about poetry and more precisely rhythm. The Fibonacci numbers were also utilized by many arrangers when composing music, and many poets say that the Golden Ratio goes back to the time of the middle ages. The researches show that Stradivari knew about and utilized the Golden Ratio to put the f-holes in his famous violins. And then there's Baginsky's strategy for constructing violins which is in light of the Golden Section. Music made by Mozart, Bach and Beethoven seem to be based on the Golden Section too. Maybe this is the reason why their music is beautiful. Books about oil painting in all libraries will probably call attention to that it is better to use lines that divide the picture to thirds and to position objects on one of the sides or â€Å"around 33%† of the way across rather than in the middle of the picture. This appears to upgrade the photo to make it more satisfying to the eye and this idea depends again on the Golden Ratio being â€Å"perfect†, leaving behind what's called a beautiful masterpiece painting. Moreover, physical attraction relies upon proportions, and specifically symmetry. When someone else's body is in proportions and symmetrical, it's more likely for us to find it more attractive and beautiful. In the same manner, if a face is proportionate, we will probably notice it quickly and think that it's beautiful and perfect. Leonardo da Vinci's illustrations of the human body accentuated its ratio. Essentially, it is trusted that buildings might be more appealing to a number of people if the proportions used are based on the Golden Section. Therefore, the Golden Ration is taught to architecture students rather than civil engineering students, because architecture is more related to aesthetics which is globally based on Mathematics. For instance, Vitruvius had explained many artistic and architectural things based on proportions, and those are based on Mathematics: -Natural colors, which are found in specific places, and artificial colors that are combined in proper proportions.-â€Å"It is thought that the columns of basilicas ought to be as high as the side-aisles are broad; an aisle should be limited to one third of the breadth which the open space in the middle is to have. â€Å"(Vitruvius, The ten books on Architecture, Book V, p.132) Sizes, in this case, are also proportionate, which increases its beauty as much as it assures its stability. The Golden Section, widely the Fibonacci sequence, also happen in nature, in the patterns we sometimes find in pine cones, pineapples, artichokes, petals of flowers, the leaves of the plants†¦ Generally, because of the best approaches to efficiently pack things firmly together, using the Fibonacci sequence. (The plant needs to get sunshine on all its leaves without one getting in the way of another or else it would be bad for it, that's what it does without special intervention, as the plant doesn't do Mathematics, scientists considered the idea of the Golden Section as its natural growth.) And since God has created everything, some researchers and scientists tend to say that God is the greatest Mathematician such as the following list and many others:-Galileo Galilei who confirmed: â€Å"Mathematics is the language with which God has written the universe.†-That in addition the Euclid: â€Å"The laws of nature are but the Mathematical thoughts of God. â€Å"-And Paul Dirac said: â€Å"If there is a God, he's a great mathematician. God used beautiful mathematics in creating the world. â€Å"-To end this here's what Maulana Wahiduddin Khan believed: â€Å"The truth is that God is the greatest Mathematician, the greatest artist and the greatest genius.† Just like some people consider that beauty is based on Mathematics, â€Å"all mathematicians share a sense of amazement over the infinite depth and the mysterious beauty and usefulness of Mathematics† (Martin Gardner), in addition to other people who consider Mathematics as the queen of science (or not even a science, just a beautiful thing). They say that Mathematics is the only place where truth and beauty mean the same thing. And from their point of view, if it is correctly used, it has truth as well as preeminent aesthetics. And when someone asked him why he considered numbers beautiful, Paul Erdà ¶s said: â€Å"It's like asking why is Beethoven's Ninth Symphony beautiful. If you don't see why, someone can't tell you. I know numbers are beautiful. If they aren't beautiful, nothing is†?

Bromination of trans-cinnamic acid Essay

Abstract The bromination of trans-cinnamic acid was completed to determine dibromide’s stereochemical structure and its mechanism. After the addition of bromine to trans-cinnamic acid, the product was identified by its melting point and infrared spectrum resulting in erythro-2,3-Dibromo-3-phenylpropanoic acid after comparing similar properties. Introduction In this lab, the bromination of trans-cinnamic acid was completed to determine dibromide’s stereochemical structure, and from there determine whether the reaction is carried out by the usual bromonium ion mechanism or a different mechanism. This is important in the determination of dibromide’s stereochemical structure, as a mechanism can be affected by changing a reactant’s structure. Cinnamic acid was used in this lab because as a naturally occurring compound, it has many different uses. It is used as a flavoring, in perfumes, and is a source to a large number of other natural substances. Cinnamic acid is helpful in providing flowers with their bright colors, butterflies with their colorful wings, and gives fall leaves their distinguishable color. These examples reveal the day-to-day uses of cinnamic acid, and shows that the addition of bromide to this particular acid is nothing extremely complex or an uncommon chemical compound, it is easily obtainable. After the addition of bromine to trans-cinnamic acid, the product is identified by its melting point and infrared spectrum. The product could be erythro-dibromo, threo-dibromo, or a combination of both. Although obtaining a product consisting of both erythro and threo is possible, it results in an impure substance with a broad melting point range that contrasts pure dibromide. These particular compounds of erythro and threo are named as such to distinguish their two chiral centers, but no plane of symmetry. Both of these compounds are derived from simple sugars, erythrose and threose (Figure 1). Figure 1. Structures of Erythro and Threo Products Compared to Erythrose and Threose After completing the addition of bromine ion acetic acid to a solution of trans-cinnamic acid in the same solvent, the product that is obtained can be identified by comparing the properties of erythro-2,3-Dibromo-3-phenylpropanoic acid and threo-2,3-Dibromo-3-phenylpropanoic acid. Results and Discussion Melting Point: The melting point was determined to be 202 °C, which is extremely close to the literature value of erythro-2,3-Dibromo-3-phenylpropanoic acid, 204 °C. This is the first indicator that the product obtained possess a stereochemical structure resembling erythro-2,3-Dibromo-3-phenylpropanoic acid. Infrared Spectrum: The Infrared Spectrum’s collected from the starting material and the product look almost identical, with functional groups C=O(1700 cm-1), O-H(3300-2600 cm-1), and C=C (1680-1640 cm-1) present. Mechanisms: Although a variety of mechanisms can be suggested for the addition of bromine to an alkene, the addition of bromine to the C = C in our final product illustrates an anti-addition. Experimental The reaction was done in the fume hood with proper safety gloves on throughout the entire experiment. 10.0 mmol of trans-cinnamic acid was combined with 6.0 mL of glacial acetic acid with a stirbar in a 50 mL round-bottom flask. The round-bottom flask was placed on a magnetic stirrer with a separatory funnel over the flask with the stopcock closed. 8.2 Ml of 1.25 M solution of bromine in acetic acid was poured into the separatory funnel and stoppered immediately. After starting the stirrer, the bromine/acetic acid solution was added in 5 portions once the color had faded to a light orange, about every 6 minutes, totaling 30 minutes for this process. Once the last addition of the bromine solution was added, the reaction stirred at 50 °C for 15 minutes. At the end of the 15 minutes,  cyclohexenes were added drop wise while the stirring continued until the solution was colorless. To separate, the mixture was cooled in ice water until crystallization was observed. Through vacuum filt ration, the solid product was collected and rinsed with portions of ice cold water until the odor derived from the acetic acid had disappeared. The 2.3-dibromo-3-phenylpropanoic acid was dried in order to measure its melting point. References 1 Experiment is a modified version of an experiment found in: Lehman, J.W. Operational Organic Chemistry: a problem-solving approach to the laboratory course, 3rd ed., Prentice-Hall, Upper Saddle River, New Jersey, 1999. 2 www.sigmaaldrich.com 3. www.chemicalbook.com

Murderous Redemption in Flannery OConnors Short Story A Good Man is Hard To Find essays

Murderous Redemption in Flannery OConnors Short Story A Good Man is Hard To Find essays Flannery OConnors short story entitled A Good Man is Hard to Find tells the story of a rather unpleasant typical American family who meets their demise at the hands of a so-called Misfit or outlaw figure. The Misfit is clearly interested in religion, like many renegades. Before he enacts his revenge upon society, he speculates upon the morality of Jesus and the injustice of his previous confinement. This grotesque faith is not seen as hypocritical in the context of the tale, as it might in the eyes of another author. Rather OConnor sees The Misfit as injecting spirituality into an otherwise morally bankrupt clan through the example he presents of thwarted spiritual longing and the injustice of modern, secular America. Before The Misfit turns against the family, the grandmother seems to apprehend, however reluctantly, some goodness in the heart of The Misfit. Listen, the grandmother tells him, you shouldnt call yourself The Misfit because I know youre a good man at heart. I can just look at you and tell. (OConnor, 1955, p. 15) The grandmother learns from speaking to the man who will eventually murder her that The Misfit believes he was poorly treated by society during his early life, which is why he is determined to enact his revenge upon the world. Why youre one of my babies. Youre one of my own children, says the grandmother. (OConnor, 1955, p.21) OConnor seems to suggest that, as difficult as it may be to connect with other individuals, from other walks of life, right before death some spiritual insight or connection does become possible, even between individuals as different as The Misfit and the grandmother. This is what OConnor means when The Misfit speaks the grandmothers epitaph to his less astute accomplice after he has murdered the family: She would have been a good woman...if it had been someb...

The network society Essays

The network society Essays The network society Paper The network society Paper With this rise in the service sector employment there was an inevitable rise in stability in that sector. However this, lead to an increase in both upper and lower levels of the occupational structure. There was an upgrade of the occupational structure in terms of jobs that require increased skill and higher levels of information. (Castells, M. 1996: pp229) The dominance of service sector employment through information technology has lead to significant managerial developments. Call centres and telecentres are workplaces, which are designed and operate with the aim of providing telephonic customer service. These workplaces depend upon state of the art communication and information technology. (Wyatt et. al, 2000: pp184) By incorporating these technologies into the once purely human service the employer is able to monitor the agents efficiency and output in terms of customer interaction. The demand of for customer service outside working hours (Wyatt et. al 2000: pp185) has actually reshaped the working day of the call centres agents and in doing so they have reshaped and it could be said that they have taken control of their social patterns. The ambition to make every form of work controllable in order to gain a clear indication of efficiency, which can be accounted for on balance sheets, has been an ongoing process since the industrial revolution. This goal of achieving some sort of measurement system has always been achieved through technology. The question is can we attach any form of economic valuation system to a human service? The technology that is used in telecentres are being specifically designed to supply demands for technology which will be able to generate high levels of management information on performance of the individual telecentre agents (Wyatt et. al 2000: pp186) The unpredictability of the of human element in the workplace has been a taunting management ever since the workplace came into being and attempts of gaining control has been pursued ever since. Here again we see the controlling feature of a capitalist system. The question lies whether this was the reason for the transformation. Previous control of efficiency and output was gained trough the commitment of the worker which was determined by job satisfaction, in these call centres however the commitment toward the job is gained through control which is achieved by the monitoring which are common on a Fordist assembly line. In a common factory setting the worker is required to detach himself from his emotional state and attitude and adopt one that will allow them to perform the job most efficiently, this system is being brought into service sector employment by training the agents on specific techniques and attitudes in order to achieve maximum output. There isnt so much a move from manufacturing sector employment to service sector employment but merely a transformation of the service sector to ensure the control and output principals that the manufacturing sector works under. With this flexibility that the network society demands comes the issue of weakening of social intuitions and organisations that served to speak for the worker and even represent the worker. With outsourcing and contractual employment there has been a significant reduction of representation power. The fragmentation of work makes the worker to an extent expendable hence removing their control of the job itself. This fragmentation coupled with the outsourcing of labour renders unions and those they represent powerless. Castells also claims that the unions inability of unions to adapt to the changing worker and organisation has rendered them powerless. He goes on to emphasis that the new network technologies could be just as helpful the unions as it is to organisations in that they can organise labour anywhere and any time. (Castells, M. 1996: pp278). There is said to be strength in numbers, and the capitalist system has noticed this and adopted the warfare strategy of divide and conquer by this I mean there has been a polarisation of the individual in the work environment. With heightened surveillance options at their fingertips management has no need to have workers collectively together to ensure supervision hence work is organised to ensure greater autonomy. It is this transformation of work, the individualisation of labour that Castells (1996) underscores in his work on the Information Age (Castells, M. 1996: pp265). Castells emphasises that this technological transformation especially exacerbates the trend towards increased flexibility of labour. This flexibility is hidden behind the illusion of home-based work and the ability for a work environment to co-exist in a social environment. Capitalism deceptive nature is thus shown again. From control of the occupational environment capitalism goes to the next stage with an attempt to control the culture of society. Culture plays a vital role in the way we think which determines what we consume. The capitalist system has used technology of the Network Society to shape our cultures to suit their needs and objectives. It is an indirect way of shaping and directing our thoughts and emotions. According to Castells our culture is shaped by communication. Previously our languages were our form of communication in the written and heard form, however with the emergence of network technologies the earliest of which was the television (networked through the media channels) the heard written and seen are combined in order to grant the ability to convey views, beliefs and emotions (Castells, M. 1996: pp328-329). Through his writing on The culture of real virtuality Castells shows how communication technologies have become part of our lives (Castells, M. 1996: pp327-375). He however fails to address the avenue of the liberation of society due to the abundance of information and media avenue available. I on the other hand feel that it should be address due to the fact that people have that frame of mind instilled in them which is misleading. Sure there is the element of choice in the media and we choose what we watch, but the communication industry, mainly the media (which includes the internet) is a business like any other and it will broadcast what is profitable. This profitability is determined by information on individuals. It acts on human characteristics such as curiosity and amazement. So whatever amazes us and whatever we enquire about is always best for us. By feeding human character traits our thoughts and in turn our cultures are reshaped to that which exists in the virtual world and suits the capitalistic system. Pierre Levys book, Cyber Culture, (Levy,P : 1997) provides one of the most coherent and persuasive expressions of the contemporary technocultural vision. Levy argues that knowledge is no longer abstract but has become the visible and the tangible expression of the individual and groups who inhabit it; interactive networks work towards the personalisation or incarnation of knowledge (Levy, P. 1997: pp184). This ability to reshape our cultures in effect influences and affects our political ideals. The ability of the Networks and Society to be accessed by politicians has made it a vital breeding ground for election campaigns. The media space has become a battlefield for politicians with weapons such as negative messages, scandal, spin, political marketing and legitimacy (Castells, 1996 : pp362). The political struggle is dependent on the media to such an extent that the media determines consequences, actions and ideals. (Castells. 1996 : pp476). This leads me to the issue of access to the media; by this I mean that media campaigns cost allot money and if the outcome of a campaign is determined by the best media campaign, which in effect depends on the availability of capital, we can assume that those with the money determine political outcomes. We covered all the elements of the network society except for the concept of time which is linked to Castells theory of the space of hows. I have left these two aspects to the end because they actually reveal the capitalist ambitions for control through the network society. Time and space has always been factors of production, which have only been regarded as such fairly recently. New technologies and initially compressed geographical space by reducing relay time of communication. The whole ordering of meaningful events looses its internal chronological rhythm, and becomes arranged in time sequences depending upon the social context of their utilisation (Castells, M. 1996: pp462). Here we see that time itself, an uncontrollable element of human existence, which was thought to be uncontrollable is manipulated to suit consumer trends in order to achieve the ultimate goal of the capitalist system. The capitalist system has thus gained control of the time, which governed the consumers purchasing habits. With new network technologies there is now a twenty-four hour day, which does not consist of, designated times to do specific tasks (Evident in the flexible workers of the network society). This pursuit for control has lead to the relinquishing of control that space has over us. This has lead to the movement from Castells (1996) space of places to the space of flows (Castells, M. 1996: pp276). Space has been a concept, which has been used to emphasize time simultaneity which is based on physical distance between actions, which determine the ability to accomplish various tasks simultaneously. This concept however has changed with technology in the sense that the ability to accomplish more than one task at the same time is no longer bound by vicinity between tasks (Castells, M Inch. 2003: pp56). This space of flows is not just about telecommunication technology but also the pursuit of technology to link places together to achieve the common ambition (eg. Stock Markets). Castells argues that the reason access to this technology in order to form part of the network is not a matter of availability but a matter of choice (Castells, M Inch.2003: pp58). He emphasises the fairness of the space of flows by stating that the first is linked to the third world via the space of flows. This justification however is sceptical and contradicts with his theory of nodes (Castells, M. 1996: pp413). Castells space of flows is made up of nodes. These are information gathering, communication and analysis hubs. These nodes are dependant upon the Network and their inclusion in the network is determined by their value to the network (Castells, M. 1996: pp413). My argument lies in Castells (1996) mentioning the link between the first world and third world, if inclusion into the network is determined by the value to the network then it isnt a matter of fairness but a matter of exploitation, something that has been common in capitalist systems. Under ideals and principles of a capitalist system, from evidence throughout the essay we can see capitalisms fundamental tool, which is control, has been a result or cause for the various elements of the Network Society. So as a concluding point, I would say that the Network Society is a more advanced form of capitalism, which is international, and carefully hidden. IOLS 2B Technology and Work Essay Name : Kubendran Govender Student Number : 202522553 Topic : Castells Network Society. REFERENCE 1. Castells, M. (1985) High Technology, space and society sage publications, inc 2. Castells, M (1996) The rise of the network society Blackwell publishers. 3. Castells, M and Inch (2003) Conservation with Manuell Casteller- blackwell publishers.4. Levy, P (1997) Cyberculture Paris, Edisions Odile Jacob 5. Stanier, T (1983) the wealth of information: a profile of the Post industrial economy London Methusen 6. Susser, I (2002) the Castells reader on cities and social theory Blackwell publishers. 7. Sylvia Downs, (1982) who learns whom training and development 8. Visvanathan, S (2001) knowledge and information in the network society indiaseminar. com 15/09/03 9. Webster, F (2002) Routledge 10. Wyatt et al (2000) technology and inequality Routledge.