Diversity in American Education Before 1960 Essay Example for Free

Diversity in American Education Before 1960 Essay The diversity in terms of the student population in American education before 1960 was largely dependent upon the issue of racial equality. The push for racial equality in the United States got a boost from the demands placed on all facets of society during World War II. The mobilization effort relied on the black race to win the war and once it was over, there was no turning back. Furthermore, the ideals of freedom and equality, which were the backbone of the Allied war cry and the foundation for the anti-communist Western movement, did not sit well alongside Jim Crow laws and public acts of racial discrimination. The Jim Crow System is also called â€Å"segregation†. It is a process in and through which Southerners may be said to legitimize their racial supremacy over the Blacks or Negroes. It is a system in and through which the central idea is â€Å"differentiation†. The aforementioned differentiation is done on the basis of ethnicity or race. It is therefore not difficult to see that such a system will encounter numerous criticisms due to the implications that result from it. Differentiation entails the recognition that races are different and as such, it creates a political setting that â€Å"separates† races such as the Whites from the Blacks. In addition to this, it also separates and ultimately, limits or confines races such as the Blacks to a social sphere with corresponding social functions that are imposed on them. In line with this, this paper will focus on the manifestations and effects of racial segregation on the American public educational system before 1960. It will do so since the end of racial segregation within the American public school system was largely determined by the effects of the Civil Rights movement as can be seen in the discussion of the Supreme Court Cases on educational and racial equality before 1960. The following cases will show the effects of racial inequality on the diversity of the population in the American public educational system prior to the aforementioned period. In 1954, the United States of America’s Supreme Court decided a landmark case concerning educational and racial equality. In Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka, 347 U. S. 483 (1954), the Court’s ruling is grounded on the principle that the doctrine of â€Å"separate but equal† [this doctrine is referring to the segregation policy, more specifically, the segregation policy in the schools in the U. S. ] will not and cannot provide Black Americans with the same standards and quality of education available for White Americans. The court thus, outlawed the â€Å"racial segregation of public education facilities† for the aforementioned reason. On May 17, 1954 the Warren Court handed down a 9-0 decision which stated, in clear and certain terms, that â€Å"separate educational facilities are inherently unequal†. Chief Justice Warren writes: Today, education is perhaps the most important function of state and local governments. Compulsory school attendance laws and the great expenditures for education both demonstrate our recognition of the importance of education to our democratic society. It is required in the performance of our most basic public responsibilities, even service in the armed forces. It is the very foundation of good citizenship. Today it is a principal instrument in awakening the child to cultural values, in preparing him for later professional training, and in helping him to adjust normally to his environment. In these days, it is doubtful that any child may reasonably be expected to succeed in life if he is denied the opportunity of an education. Such an opportunity, where the state has undertaken to provide it, is a right which must be made available to all on equal terms. (1954, np) Moreover, racial segregation, as the court sees it, is against the pronouncements of the Constitution; the segregation of students on the basis of race or ethnicity and the legalization of a segregated public school education through the enactment of certain statutes serving to legitimize the creation and operation of schools that are exclusively for Whites or for Blacks, is clearly, not justified. The Supreme Court’s ruling in Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka remains and is still considered as a turning point in the determination of racial diversity in the educational institutions within the United States. The second case involves an implication of the Brown Cases [Brown Cases since there are Brown I, II and III cases]. Due to the Supreme Court’s verdict that segregation is â€Å"unconstitutional† and of course, due to the increasing rallies, boycotts and protests conducted by the advocates of the Civil Rights Movement, issues regarding â€Å"busing† as an appropriate means by which school administrators may comply with the then seemingly constitutional requirement of â€Å"desegregation†. Swann v. Charlotte-Mecklenburg Board of Education, 402 U. S. 1 (1971) was an important United States Supreme Court case which deals with the busing of students to promote integration in the public school system. After the first trial’s decision in favor of the Board of Education, the Court held that â€Å"busing† was the appropriate solution to address the existing racial imbalance among schools at the time, even where the imbalance resulted from the selection of students based on geographic proximity to the school rather than from deliberate assignment based on race. Busing was done as in the cases of two Northern cities; Boston and New York to ensure that schools would be properly integrated and that all students would receive equal educational opportunities regardless of their ethnicity or race Milliken vs. Bradley 418 U. S. 717 (1974), just like the Swann n. Charlotte-Mecklenburg Board of Education case is also another case concerning â€Å"busing†. Specifically, the Milliken vs. Bradley case deals with the â€Å"planned forced busing† of public school students across district lines among 53 school districts in Detroit. Hence, the case is also a consequence of the Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka case. The Court held that â€Å"[w]ith no showing of significant violation by the 53 outlying school districts and no evidence of any interdistrict violation or effect†, the district court’s remedy was â€Å"wholly impermissible† and not justified by Brown v. Board of Education (Milliken vs. Bradley 418 U. S. 717, 1974, np). The following statement by Friedman echoes the ramifications of the Milliken v. Bradley case The world was made safe for white flight. White suburbs were secure in their grassy enclaves. Official, legal segregation indeed was dead; but what replaced it was a deeper, more profound segregation Tens of thousands of black children attend schools that are all black, schools where they never see a white face; and they live massed in ghettos which are also entirely black. (Friedman, 2004, p. 296) Another case set during 1974 shows the conditions of diversity in the American public school system prior to 1960. Morgan v. Hennigan is a class action suit on behalf of fifteen Black parents and 43 children which found the Boston School Committee guilty of maintaining a dual, that is, segregated school system. In a court order issued by Garrity, imposed or forced busing will be done on the city of Boston in order to achieve racial balance in public schools. The aforementioned court order was based on a complex system of racial parity and ignored previous busing solutions. The Boston School Committee, according to the ruling of the court, through various means and capacities violated the constitutional rights of the plaintiffs by imposing segregation in terms assigning students to other areas, segregating residential patterns, transportation and grade system policies, to name a few. The School Committee thus, violated the Fourteenth Amendment of the Constitution because instead of ensuring that Black children be given equal protection under the law, the segregation policies instead placed the Black children in an unfair disadvantage. The proper course of action that schools should take according to the court is to enact policies that will eliminate racial discrimination and not its converse. We will now discuss Boston Busing in the light of Ronald Formisano’s Boston Against Busing: Race, Class, and Ethnicity in the 1960s and 1970s. Formisano’s conclusion regarding busing was that it is a failure. The main aims of desegregation are supposedly, educational equality and racial equality. Both aims however, were never achieved. The desegregation and affirmative action policies were results of the Civil Rights Movement and the Supreme Court rulings on the cases discussed earlier. History reveals that the expedited implementation of these policies was not beneficial to the American society since it involves an overhaul of large areas of American civil society and political culture. This construal may be strengthened by the â€Å"White Backlash Movements† in Boston. Formisano sees the White Backlash [as in the case of Boston] as a reaction to the implemented â€Å"forced busing†. He further defines the White’s reaction as a â€Å"reactionary populism† involving the middle, working class moved by a sense of â€Å"threat† regarding the policies implemented during the time and the escalating number of White v. Black incidents in the community and schools. It is also interesting to note that the White Backlash, like the Civil Rights Movement of the Blacks lacked a unified reaction and stand on the issue. Whites responded differently, so to speak, on the issue of forced busing. Formisano’s analysis that the White Backlash is moved by a sense of threat is indeed a plausible idea. Other Whites actually support the anti-racial discrimination campaigns but the expedited implementation of desegregation, forced busing and affirmative action threatened their sense of security and their sense of community. In other words, it went too far. Given the aforementioned cases, diversity in American public education before 1960 was largely determined by racial stratification. This however was largely affected by the Civil Rights movement since the movement questioned the main assumption regarding the treatment of individuals with different racial backgrounds. References Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka, 347 U. S. 483 (1954). Friedman, L. (2002). American Law in the Twentieth Century. New Haven: Yale University Press. Formisano, R. (2004). Boston Against Busing: Race, Class, and Ethnicity in the 1960s and 1970s. Carolina: University of Carolina Press. Milliken vs. Bradley 418 U. S. 717 (1974). Morgan v. Hennigan, 379 F. Supp. 410 (1974). Swann v. Charlotte-Mecklenburg Board of Education, 402 U. S. 1 (1971). Warren in Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka, 347 U. S. 483 (1954).

Greenhouse Gas Emissions in House Construction

Greenhouse Gas Emissions in House Construction Background and Justification of project Buildings are climate modifiers which provide indoor environments. These are essential to the well being and the social and economic developments of mankind. However, they are also intensive resources consumers and hence, they require enormous amount of materials and energy in their construction and maintenance. During the construction period and while they are demolished at the end of their life, buildings generate huge amount of solid wastes and various types of emissions, such as particulates, noise and various kinds of liquid effluents. According to Hall (2003 ) and Anink (1996) the building industry accounts for around one-tenth of the world’s GDP, at least 7% of its jobs, half of all resources used and up to 40% of energy used and green house gas emission. Hill and Bowen (1997) discussed how the applications of modern technology, together with the increasing population, are leading to the rapid depletion of the earth’s physical resources. Hall (2003) also estimated that by 2025, the world population would reach 8 billion and 98% of the increase in the population would be in developing countries. With time, the construction industry is expanding and the rate of resource depletion is not sustainable. As it can be imagined, construction materials and products are essential to life – with respect to both buildings and infrastructure. Humans spend around 80% of their time (on average) in some type of building or on roads. Construction products play a major role in improving the energy efficiency of buildings and also contribute to economic prosperity (Edwards, 2003). On the other hand, construction products also produce a considerable impact on the environment. The Worldwatch Institute estimates that 40% of the world’s materials and energy is used in buildings. However, according to Anink (1996), the construction sector is responsible for 50% of the material resources taken from nature and 50% of total waste generated. Also, Rodman and Lenssen (1993) pointed that buildings account for one-sixth of the world’s freshwater withdrawals, one-quarter of its wood harvest, and two-fifths of its material and energy flows. The impact of construction products relative to t he overall lifetime impact of a building is currently 10-20%. For infrastructure this value is significantly higher, greater than 80% in some cases. In Mauritius, nearly all the main resources in a building are imported, e.g. steel and cement. An average of 600 000 tonnes of cement are imported annually in Mauritius. As our country is currently going through a boom in the construction sector, the figures are expected to increase. The price of crude oil has more than  doubled on the world market during the past years. This has had a direct impact on nearly all the construction materials which are imported and produced locally. While choosing for construction materials, many do not think about the impacts that the material have on the environment. The environmental impacts of building materials are increasing day by day. Therefore, environmental impacts have become an increasingly important consideration in selecting building materials for the construction. Consequently, life cycle assessment has become an important tool in analysing natural resources and emissions generated in manufacturing processes. Winistorfer and Zhangjing (2004) said that life cycle assessment refers to the analysis of the environmental impact of a product through every step of its life. It includes environment impacts while the product is manufactured, used and disposed. The objective of a life cycle analysis is to quantify environmental influences of a product through input and output analysis. Aim and Objectives The aim of the project was to calculate all the resource energy and associated greenhouse gas emissions linked to construction of a typical residential house in Mauritius. Simapro Life Cycle Analysis software was used to calculate all the resource energy and greenhouse gas emission from the building. The objectives were to: quantify all the resources required for the construction of the typical residential house estimate the weight of the building minimise the use of resources in building thereby reducing the greenhouse gas emission and ensuring a cleaner production. To satisfy the aim and objectives of the project, a virtual house was selected to carry out the analysis. The house used was obtained from the central statistics office. It represents the most common type of building in Mauritius. The size of the house is 128m2. All the quantities of materials used for the construction of the building were calculated. Using Simapro life cycle assessment software, the energy requirement and CO2 emission of each material was obtained. Also, the weight of the house was calculated using the unit weight of reinforced concrete and concrete blocks. Structure of Report A literature search was done and the findings were included in chapter 2. The latter describes how the building consumes all the different resources, energy requirements and the environmental impacts of building. Also, the benefits of sustainable building and of recycling waste, in order to recover the energy, were discussed. A detailed methodology, which was adopted to achieve the aim and objectives of the study, was described in chapter 3. The key results and discussions were presented in chapter 4. Finally, conclusions, recommendations and further works were dealt with in chapter 5. Literature Review Building: direct consumption of resources There is growing concern that human activity is affecting the global and local ecosystem severely enough to potentially cause permanent changes to some ecosystems  and potentially cause them to crash. Boyle (2005) suggested that there must be a reduction factor of 20 to 50 in resource consumption and efficiency in order to achieve technologies which are sustainable. Sustainable technologies will be particularly significant to the construction industry which is a major consumer of resources. The pie chart below gives a repartition of all the primary materials resources used in the construction industry in 1998. Figure 2.1 Repartition of primary resources in the construction industry (Source: Construction Resource Efficiency Review, 2006) Despite the fact that every house makes use of different quantity of resources, according to US DOE Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy Network, a standard wood-frame house uses 4047 m2 (one acre) of forest and produces 3-7 tonne of waste during construction. Lippiatt (1999) stated that building consumes 40% of the gravel, sand and stone, 25% of the timber, 40% of the energy and 16% of the water used globally per year. Boyle (2005) estimated that in UK itself, about 6 tonnes of building materials were used annually for every member of the population. Much of the waste and consumption of resources occurred during the extraction and processing of the raw materials. For example, mining requires water and energy, consumes land and produces significant quantities of acidic contaminated gas, liquid and solid wastes (Boyle, 2005). A second example which can be used is that of timber. The cultivation of trees requires significant space for cultivation and amount of fertilizers. Moreover, the harvesting and processing phases of timber make use of considerable amounts of energy. Trees are also grown in plantations which require old-growth forest and significantly reduce biodiversity. Energy is also used extensively in the transportation of raw materials. Fossils fuels are used for the transportation, extraction and harvesting of the material, thereby releasing greenhouse gases and a range of air pollutants. Processing of metals and mineral often results in major gas emissions. The concrete industry is a major producer of carbon dioxide whereas on the other hand, aluminium smelting produces perfluorocarbons (Boyle, 2005). These two are very powerful greenhouse gases. According to the Construction Resource Efficiency Information Review (2006), emissions to the air by the construction industry in 1998 were just over 30 million tonnes in total, of which over 97% was carbon dioxide. Of the 30 million tonnes of emissions, over 70% came from mineral extraction and product manufacture. The table below shows the total carbon dioxide equivalent emissions generated by the construction industry in UK. Table 2.1 Carbon dioxide equivalent emissions generated by the construction industry in UK (Source: Construction Resource Efficiency Information Review, 2006) Emission generated by: Tonnage (Kt ) Mineral extraction, product and material manufacture 19,817 Transport of product and material 2,543 Transport of secondary and recycled product 675 Construction and demolition site activity 3,764 Transport related to construction and demolition site activity 1,291 Transport of waste from product and material manufacture 20 Transport of construction and demolition waste 219 Total CO2 equivalent emissions to the atmosphere 28,327 As it can be seen, from Table 2.1, a total of 28 327 Ktonnes of CO2equivalent emissions were generated by the construction industry in UK and much of these emissions occurred during the mineral extraction and product and material manufacture. Over the lifespan of a building, the material will have to be maintained and stored in good condition whereas, in some cases, replaced. Every five to fifteen years, exterior coatings, guttering, piping, walls, and flooring will require repair or replacement. By effective maintenance, requirements for replacement are reduced by a significant amount. The decisions here are not taken by the builder or designer regardless of the original design. Concerning  the material used for the repair and the maintenance of the building, it is the owner who takes the decision. During the lifespan of a building, the overall investment of resources into the building needs to be considered (Boyle, 2005).  Buildings can be constructed and designed in such a way that they can last for more than hundred years. Additionally, many traditional buildings are designed in such a way that they can last beyond 200 years (Morel, 2001). However, many designers are now planning buildings for a lifespan of only 50 years or even less despite using durable materials requiring minimal maintenance. Such materials reduce the requirement for repairs or replacement. Hence, simply designing and maintaining a building for 400 years  rather than 50 can potentially reduce its environmental effect from material resources by up to a factor of 4 (Boyle, 2005). Energy requirements of a building Cole and Carnan (1996) found that the energy that is consumed during the life cycle of a residential building includes energy used in producing building materials and constructing the structure. Also, energy is used in occupying and maintaining the building, and in demolishing or deconstructing the structure at the end of its serviceable life. According to Cole and Carnan (1996), the energy consumed in building can be classified in three categories: energy to initially produce the building; energy to operate the building, and; energy to demolish and dispose of the building at the end of its effective life. During the extraction, processing and transportation of material as well as during the construction as mentioned earlier large amount of energy is consumed. Morel et al. (2001) found that costs could be reduced by more than a factor of 6 during construction by the use of energy of local materials. The local materials studied by Morel et al. (2001) included rammed earth, stone, timber which were compared to the use of imported concrete. Consequently, Morel et al found that the imported concrete required significant energy for processing. Treloar et al. (2001) found that, by using a concrete binder, rammed earth had an energy load equivalent to that of a brick veneer construction due to the energy  required in processing the cement. Boyle (2005) stated that energy is the major resource consumed in buildings and 90% of the energy consumption is over the operational lifespan of the building. Therefore, significant decrease in energy consumption assists in reducing the resource consumption and improving efficiency. Although a house can be designed to a totally self-sufficient condition for energy and water, much depends on the location, that is, the climate, the availability and potability of  local water sources as well as the attitude of the user. The designer or builder can incorporate some energy saving devices and design such a water heater, passive heating, and composting toilets, which are suitable for local conditions. Furthermore, such devices and designs will only be incorporated if a significant profit can be generated. Many developers resist including energy- saving measures unless they are required by local councils or are considered essentially by buyers in the local community. Cole and Kernan (1996 ) found that the energy used to heat, cool, provide artificial lighting, and power typically used appliances in buildings accounts for more than 30% of Canada’s national energy use. Approximately two-thirds of this consumption is attributed to residential buildings and the remainder to commercial buildings. The US DOE Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy Network estimated that, the annual average energy consumption for one story concrete building, the annual average energy consumption is 63GJ. However, Zydeveld (1998) pointed out that up to 80% savings in heating water and improving the indoor air quality and thermal comfort could be made in the Netherlands with the inclusion of passive solar design with an additional 10% cost in construction. Therefore, savings of 90% could be achieved. Four major design principles enabled architects and builders to incorporate passive solar design  into their buildings: solar  orientation; maximizing the solar gain through low surface loss and high internal volume; high mass within the insulation and avoiding of shading. The rise in use of material in the low energy building can, however, mean that there is an increased consumption of material and energy overall. Thormark (2002) discovered that up to 45% of the total energy used is in the embodied energy in a low-energy building and that such a building could have a greater total energy use than that of a building with a higher operating energy consumption. Besides, he also said that 37-42% of the embodied  energy could be recovered  by recycling of materials. Embodied Energy According to an unknown author (2007), Embodied Energy is the amount of energy that has gone into the making of a material or things made with materials. A very high percentage of the world’s energy is derived from fossil fuels which, when burnt, release vast amounts of CO2. As the production of energy from fossil fuels is environmentally unfriendly, materials and things that have a lower embodied energy are more sustainable than those with a higher embodied energy. On average, 0.098 tonnes of CO2 are produced per gigajoule of embodied energy (Sustainable built environment 2007). Source: Sustainable Technologies (1996) Figure 2.2: Embodied Energy of the different building materials The embodied energy per unit mass of materials used in a building varies enormously from about two gigajoules per tonne for concrete, to hundreds of gigajoules per tonne for aluminium.(Figure 2.2). The reuse of materials commonly saves about 95% of embodied energy which could otherwise be wasted (Sustainable Built Environment 2007). According to Fichtner Report (1999), in Mauritius, steel is the only waste material generated from the construction industry which is recycled, implying that most of the embodied energy of the materials is wasted. Resource Efficiency in a building According to the report â€Å"Construction Resource Efficiency Review† (2006), resource efficiency is about the sustainable use of resources. Indeed, there should be effective use and management of all the resources available to the industry while at the same time optimising output and profit. There is much emphasis on the use of all the physical resources (water, energy, etc) and materials used in the production and operation cycle. As minimum resource is used in the manufacture of the product, profits can be made by increasing productivity. Resource efficiency can also be achieved by reducing the wastes. As far as the construction industry is concerned, there is a need to focus on sustainable consumption of resources. Buildings can be built with fewer resources while looking at the same time at the impacts of the building on the environment. Sustainable Buildings Buildings have a tremendous impact on our environmental quality, resource use, human health and productivity. According to Nicholas S. (2003), sustainable building meets current building needs and reduces impacts on future generations by integrating building materials and methods that promote environmental quality, economic vitality, and social benefit through the design, construction and operation of our built environment. Sustainable building, also referred as green building, involves the consideration of many issues, including land use, site impacts, indoor environment, energy and water use, lifecycle impacts of building materials, and solid waste. Benefits of Sustainable Building There are a number of environmental, social, and economic benefits which we can enjoy from a sustainable building. Miriam L. (1999) gives some benefits of sustainable building to the environment, which are as follows: air and water quality protection soil protection and flood prevention solid waste reduction energy and water conservation climate stabilization ozone layer protection natural resource conservation open space, habitat, and species/biodiversity protection Also, sustainable building can have other benefits for designers, contractors, occupants, construction workers, developers, and owners. These benefits include: Improved health, comfort, and productivity/performance As mentioned earlier, people spend 80 % of their life in some buildings. It is reported that 30 % of new and remodeled buildings worldwide may be linked to symptoms of sick building syndrome (WHO 1984). Particular Symptoms are:- Headache Eye, nose or throat irritation Dry cough Dizziness Fatigue Sensitivity to odors Sick building syndrome (SBS) is normally caused by fungi and bacteria that build up because of inadequate fresh air ventilation in structures. Therefore, improving the indoor environment of the building can reduce the effect of SBS. Lower construction costs The cost of the building can be lowered by reducing the use of material and saving on disposal costs because of recycling. For example, recycled aggregate can be used as filler material. Lower operating costs As discussed earlier in chapter 2.10, the use of energy can be reduced in a building by designing the building such that it gets maximum sunlight, and in so doing, cutting down expenses concerning electricity. This has a great impact for people with low income, who spend much of their salary in paying utility bills. Life Cycle Assessment â€Å"†¦.Life Cycle Assessment is a process to evaluate the environmental burdens associated with a product, process, or activity by identifying and quantifying energy and materials used and wastes released to the environment; to assess the impact of those energy and materials used and releases to the environment; and to identify and evaluate opportunities to affect environmental improvements. The assessment includes the entire life cycle of the product, process or activity, encompassing, extracting and processing raw materials; manufacturing, transportation and distribution; use, re-use, maintenance; recycling, and final disposal†¦.† Guidelines for Life-Cycle Assessment: A Code of Practice, SETAC, Brussels (1990). There are four main components of LCA, which are as follows: Goal definition and scoping: Identify the LCAs purpose and the expected products of the study. Also, he needs to determine the boundaries and assumptions based upon the goal definition Life-cycle inventory: Quantify the raw material and energy inputs during each stage of production. Moreover, environmental releases are also taken into account. Impact analysis: Assess the impacts on human health and the environment associated with energy, raw material inputs and environmental releases quantified by the inventory. -Improvement analysis: Evaluate opportunities to reduce energy, material inputs, or environmental impacts at each stage of the product life-cycle. For this project, only the environmental impacts (carbon dioxide emission) and energy used from the manufacture of all the materials utilised in the construction of a typical residential house were considered. Construction Waste The construction energy generates an enormous amount of waste. Rogoff and Williams (1994) pointed out that in the USA, wastes from the construction industry contributed to approximately 20 %, in Australia 30% and in UK more than 50 % of the overall landfill volumes in each country. The Building Research Establishment (1982) has defined waste as the difference between materials ordered and those placed for fixing on building projects. Serpell and Alarcon (1998) defined construction waste as any material by product that does not have any residual value. But this is not true for the construction and demolition waste as much as the waste can be reduced or recycled. By reducing the level of waste in the construction industry, it benefits the environment and lowers the cost of the project. Bossink and Brouwers (1996) estimated that about 1-10% by weight of the purchase construction material leaves the site of residential projects as waste. However Guthrie et al. (1998) found that at least 10 % of all the raw materials which are delivered on most construction sites are wasted through damage, loss and over-ordering. A study carried by Dabycharun (2004), pointed out that a residential house in Mauritius generates about 0.2-0.5 tonne/m2 of waste. He carried out questionnaire interview in order to get this figure. However, the Fichtner report (1999) states that during the construction of an average private house of 140 m2, 8-10 tonne of mixed waste are generated. Skoyles and Skoyles (1987) identified two main kinds of building construction waste and finishing waste. Structure waste consists of fragments, reinforcement bars, abandoned timer plate and pieces which are generated during the finishing stage of a building. For example it comprises of surplus cement motar arising from screeding scatters over the floors inside the building. There are two distinct procedures in minimising the amount of in landfill sites through the construction process. The first one is to reduce the amount of waste generated through source reduction techniques both on site and during the design and procurement phases of a building project. The second procedure is to improve the management of the unavoidable waste generated on site. In managing the unavoidable waste, there are three options in order of preference. They are as follows: Reuse Recycling Disposal The balance between the three will depend upon the nature of the materials wasted, legislative requirements for the specific materials and the cost effectiveness of each option. The cost will in turn depend upon the availability of reusing and recycling options and the opportunities for reuse on a specific project. Recycled materials, while requiring transportation and reprocessing, consume significantly fewer resources compared to the extraction and processing of raw materials. This is particularly true for metal such as iron, copper and aluminium. These metals can be reproduced to a quality equal to that of raw material processing. Both concrete and timber can be recycled or reused but with the defect that the quality of the final product is often diminished. By crushing concrete, we can  reuse it as an aggregate for some purposes, particularly like paving (Boyle, 2005). But, it was found by Millard and al. (2004) that from the recycled aggregate found in the construction and demolition waste, concrete blocks can be manufactured. Also, coarse recycled aggregates can be used in new concrete (Limbachia, 2004). Good grade timber can be used in the making of furniture. It is strongly stated not to use supporting timber since it is difficult to determine whether a used timber beam has stress cra cks or other weak points. In other countries, plastics can be recycled into a number of construction products, including tiles, lumber, heating and wire insulation and carpet. According to Huang and Hsu (2003), each year in Taiwan over 10106 tonnes of construction material are extracted for their usage and more than 40106 tonnes of construction waste are disposed without recycling. Significant amounts of asphalt were present in the waste. However, if it was recycled, this would have decreased the amount of asphalt which was imported. Thormark  (2002) pointed out that recycled concrete, clay brick and lightweight concrete can meet the total need for gravel in new houses and in renovation. Materials and Methods The next part of the dissertation was the methodology. In this section, an analysis was carried out on the different resources used for the construction of a single-storey house and the CO2 emission from each of the different resources. Therefore, a house had to be selected to carry out the analysis Selection of a typical house The house model used for the analysis was basically a virtual detached house which occupied a space of 128.30 squares metres floor area. The floor area was measured at plinth level to the external face of the external wall. The plan of the typical house model was obtained from the Central Statistics Office which was originally provided by the Mauritius Housing Company Limited. The house represented the most common type of residential house in Mauritius. The plan of the house is found in appendix A. The building constitutes of two bedrooms, a living-dining room, a kitchen, a toilet, a bathroom, a verandah and an attached garage. It was assumed to be built up of concrete block walls, reinforced concrete flat roof, internal flush plywood doors, glazed metal openings, screened floor and roof, tiling to floor and walls of W.C, and bathroom and kitchen worktop; the ceiling and walls were rendered and painted both internally and externally. It should also be noted that in the event the single-storey building would need to be converted into a two-storey house, an additional provision of more substantial foundation and of stub columns of the roof has already been made. Calculation of different resources Various materials and other resources were needed during the construction of the house. These can be broken down in different input categories. The input categories (different components) for the construction comprised of labour, hire of plant, materials and transport. The materials were further broken down into hardcore fillings (remplissage), cement, sand, timber for carpentry and joinery, metal openings, ceramic tiles, glass and putty, plumbing, sanitary installation, electrical installation and other miscellaneous expenses. The weightage of the components, shown in table 3.0, was calculated by a private firm of Quantity Surveyors for the Central Statistics Office’s use. The firm had identified nineteen stages through which the construction of the house had gone through. The cost for each stage was calculated. Detailed cost of each inputs in terms of plant, labour, materials and transport that go into the construction of typical residential house were calculated. According to the Statician, Jagai D. (pers. Comm., 19 November 2007), the construction of the single storey building, in the year 2001, was estimated by the quantity surveyor to be Rs 550,000. the weight was calculated so that each input category represented a fraction of the price for the residential building. Table 3.0 Weightage of different Input categories (Source: construction price index,2007) Input categories Weight / % Labour Skilled workers Unskilled workers 16.8 17.7 Plant Mixer Breaker Metal plaques 0.7 0.9 1.4

Does Rehabilitation Of Prisoners Work Criminology Essay

Does Rehabilitation Of Prisoners Work Criminology Essay Does the rehabilitations works in prisons? And what is the effect of prisoners who have treated with rehabilitation system? There is no one has not done mistake in his life. Some of these mistakes are deserve the person to be arrested, whereas some of them are not. In addition, the prisoners are already paying from their fault by being in the prison. So, why do not we prepare and rehabilitate them to start better and new life when they finish their period of prison. Moreover, every country has its own rehabilitation system. In this project I will outline the rehabilitation system and what extend does the rehabilitation system help with reintegration of prisoners in to society. (Chris Sherwood , 2010) According to Princeton Universitys WordNet, rehabilitation is restoring someone to a useful place in society. As such, a rehabilitation centre is a location in which rehabilitation can occur. People get displaced from society for a variety of reasons. Some may experience an accident or i llness that temporarily makes them unable to function the way they used to. Others may have an addiction that handicaps them. A rehabilitation centre provides a support system to help restore people to their place in society. Nowadays, the prison is relatively social experiment which started in 200 years ago. Before that time it was not sentence of imprisonment. The prison is the place to hold the people who had been convicted. (DAVIES, 2010) basically, every country has their own treatment of there prisoners some of them treating aggressively whereas, some of them treating nicely which is followed by prisoners rights. In this essay I will investigate the prisoners in Egypt and Jordan and I will compare them with prisoners of United Kingdom. Nowadays, many countries are not follow the prisoners right in their prisons. The prisoners always treating violently and one of these countries that I have discovered is EGYPT. In 2008 more than twenty prisoners has died in town in Egypt called Assuit and mostly inmate have injured during unrest at a jail. Moreover, the violence continued more than three hours then the police used tear gas to get the control back of the jail. Nevertheless, the police punished all the prisoners and they decided to put him a lone in the prison. During the solitary the prisoner had died. (UNKNOWN,2008) in additions, the Amnesty international has received consistent report that these jails lack adequate medical care and the prisoners are held in cramped conditional and unsanitary and the food is absolutely horrible and its not sufficient for all the prisoners. Moreover, the police are treating them in violent way. Consequently, these poor conditional have led many detainees died and the diseases spread rapidly throughout prisons. Many illnesses were spread in the prisons. For instance, asthma, pulmonary pneumonia and skin diseases. (UNKNOWN, 1997) the principle reason is that they do not follow the prisoners rights. Furthermore, the prisoner became much more aggressive when he finishes his period. The prisoners right says convicted prisoners should have many things. For instance, visits, letters, newspapers and books, medical treatment (etcà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦.). (Prisoners Rights). The second country in the Middle East which is treating their prisoners in violence way is Jordan. In fact, in 2006 the human right in Jordan said we should stop what is happening in the prisons. The torture of prisoners is a routine phenomenon in these days. It was flagrant violation of human rights in Jordan prisons. In addition, the complains of torture and abuse increasing rabidly last few years and the most people who treating badly than other is MUSLIM people ((IRIN) Human Rights 2010).However, the go vernment of Jordan were looking to solve the entire problem regarding prisons so, beginning in April 2006 Management of Jordanian prisons undertook a plan to reform all the prisons in Jordan because of the what is happening in the prisons. Public security department haired firm from the United Stats TO help them to keep the control in the prisons and to training people who working in the prison. In addition, these reform efforts have received huge support from the citizens. King Abdullah called on the government to present a reform plan. In 2007 General Mazem AL Gadi was focusing in maintain to improve the process of the people who are working in prisons and in the centres of rehabilitation system. As a result, the improvement was clear. They opened new prisons. There is prison in Jordan which is has very bad reputation in terms of torture. Moreover, this prison became one of the best prisons in Jordan. Because they stop using torture in treatment. and the government started to sepa rating the detainees between convicted prisoners and the prisoners who might be innocent. The prisoners behaviour changed after using a new system which rehabilitate them and respect them and helping them to start a new successful life (Human Rights watch 2008). We can infer that the rehabilitation system works in prisons and it making a huge improvement in society because the number of prisoners in the world is so high so, if we treat them nicely we can make a huge improvement in our community. on the other hand, the prisons in Britain are much better than Egypt and Jordan. The prison service in Britain has the responsibility of working the prison system and the prisons worked by private companies (CRIMINAL JUSTICE). The purpose of the rehabilitations system is making prisoners better and gets them ready to start a new successful life. In addition, in 1964 the view of prison rules discovered that the purpose of treating and treatment of convicted prisoners is to encourage and assist the detainees to lead a good and successful life. In 1969 the people in prisons saw that the prisons as being hold people were acceptable to society as it is absolutely possible to encourage the prisoners to rehabilitate them to start a good and better new life. After a few years, the document was looking for dignity and respect for the detainees and they were still searching of hope regarding the idea of rehabilitations of prisoners. Moreover, the view had changed in 1977 it was started to give a small support for the view of imprisonment and how can we change prisoners behaviour. After two years more, the review of United Kingdom prison services we think that the rhetoric of treatment and training has had its day and should be replaced. In addition, it was suggested that the prisons should be involve positive custody and that the prisons should be helpful and purposive communities (home office in 1979) (CRIMINAL JUSTICE AND PENOLOGY 2004).One of the significant factors that to distinguish the situation in the UK is that intensity of media which is inform the citizens regarding what is happening in the UK prisons to get the feedback to improve any things that it should does. However, there is a disadvantage from the media from some countries because they often claimed that the UK send more of its population to prison that the other European countries. This propaganda leads some people to believe that the UK send more of criminal to prisons than other European countries. T hese country which claim that are not comparing the countrys prison population with its crime rate. In addition, the recent comparative data indicates that prison in the UK is underused. But we can see from the figure these comparisons show that the government of UK sends fewer of its offenders to prisons than the other countries(FRASER 2006). On the other side, UK has the highest prisoner in jail compared with the whole population, which is reflect its high crime rate. On the other hand, The family connection is absolutely one of the main factors to help prisoners to return in to society. For example, conjugal visits which are showed greater success in reintegrating prisoners back into their communities. (INSIDE TIME NEWS 20010) One of real example is English prisoner tells his story with the rehabilitation system. His name is Bob Turney and he grown up with his brother and his brother was criminal. So, when he reaches 18 he became professional at crime. One day when he was drunk s teal bank then the police arrested him. Moreover, he was arrested around 18 years and he attempted suicide. However, when he joined to the rehabilitation system everything was changed When he started to improve. There were many things in his life that the rehabilitation system supports him to address. Then he was placed in some hostel, and afterwards he return to his own place. He was absolutely exhausted on his past life that he had leading and he started looking for job on building sites to pay the rent. After that he attended a lot of self-help groups and got support with his drinking and drugging. Now when he put his head on the pillow at night he feels comfortable in his own skin. However he feel regret about crimes. The last one was 30 years ago and Ive spent the last 30 years trying to put things right. Rehabilitation is possible for anyone if they want to change (The in depended News 2007). From the statistic of crime it can be seen the percentage of prisoners who become change their life is increasing for the last few years (NATIONAL STATISTIC). However, there is overcrowding the prisons in England and Wales. Also, the case is clearly complex. However, the factors of overcrowding in prisons it can be investigated as firstly, the number of convicted who commit the number of imprisonment offences. Secondly, how long does the sentence take? In other word, the length of the sentence. Finally, the impact of early release system.(Michael Doherty 2004).In some prisons the Detainees are holding in place does not fit all of them. Moreover, the director of Juliet Lyon which is one of the biggest prisons in England and Wales said more prisons will generate high cost. So, the only way to keep for serious and violent offenders is to cut out everything that is not necessary use of violent of custody and the sentence dealing with inflation and the growth of unspecified penalties. Nev ertheless, England is one of the countries that have a bigger number of offenders compared with Europe countries. (Article history guardian 2009). As its written in population of prisons in custody in 2002 is increase five percent from the previous yeas. In this case the rehabilitation system is absolutely helpful to have a better community because this system will control a big proportion of people because from the statistic in 2008 there are 82319 in total. ( David Barrett 2008) The concept which is associated to rehabilitation is treating the offender and reintegration him into society. In 1970s the concept of rehabilitation has been opposed and designated to be failure. Martinson reports, analysed that 231 programs that involved evaluation of treatment methods that used a control group and that employed an independent measure of the improvement secured by the treatment method (Alexander B. Smith and Louis Berlin 1988). Moreover, the conclusion of his report is that there is no noticed effect in the program. However, from palmer evaluation of Martins report by saying Martins ignored the positive trend because he was searching for an across the board or rehabilitation for the offenders around the world. Palmer suggested that Rather than ask what works for offenders as a whole we must increasingly ask which method work best for which type of offenders, and under what conditions or in what types of setting? (Alexander B. Smith and Louis Berlin 1988) From the previous argument, we can reasoned that the rehabilitations and treatment as correctional goal to work and protect the offenders. In short, the rehabilitation system does works in prisons. As we can see from the evidence from people who was in prison and how can the rehabilitation system could change the prisoner completely in terms of behaviour and the way of thinking. So, in my opinion this system supposed to apply everywhere because its absolutely useful for the community, on the other hand, the people who think that is not working and we have to punish him as long as they are in the prisons, I can respond to them is that they are already buying from their mistake by being in the prison. In addition, the rehabilitation system is applied on the basis of rules and laws set by the government its not as arbitrary or randomly.

Protecting Yourself Online :: essays research papers

Protecting Yourself Online In this paper we will discuss some basic steps to better secure your system. We will discuss the following four (4) areas: v  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Email v  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Internet v  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Chat Programs v  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Virus Protection 1.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Email:  ·Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Do not open any email attachment that you receive from anyone without checking first - not even from your closest friends.  ·Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  If someone has to send you a doc file ask them to convert it into *.rtf or *.txt format and then send.  ·Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  If you must open any doc extension files, you can first use one of those doc file readers available free on the net.  ·Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Alternatively, you could convert the extension of the file (doc) to text (txt) and then open it with your text editor and see what the file is all about.  ·Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   If you do decide to open it as a doc file in MS Word ensure that the macro security setting is set to HIGH  ·Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In your email client turn off the 'receiving HTML mails' option. 2. Internet v  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Set Explorer to show file extensions. For this go to Windows Explorer/ My Computers > Tools > Folder Options > View (tab) > and uncheck the ‘Hide File Extension For Known File Type’ box. This will help you to avoid clicking on hoaxes. v  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Do not give out your information on the net. While surfing the web you will see that there are sites that will ask for your personal information. Do not give information about yourself and hide out information about yourself as long as you can. v  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Disable JAVA and Active X. To do this under MS IE, move your default-browsing zone to High security in Tools-Internet Options. This switches off 90% of MSIE exploits. You don't have to enter the sites that don't let you enter without Java and Active X enabled. Know how to read cookies and take a close look at them. Use software like cookie crusher and every time you log online crush all your previously received cookies. If you use IE then make sure that you run Windows Update at least once a week. v  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Use personal firewall software. Zone Alarm (ZA) is a good one but others are available and new ones are coming up everyday. Use at least one Intrusion Detection System; Visual Zone is a good one that is compatible with ZA. 3. Chat Programs Ø  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Beware when using chat programs like IRC, ICQ, Yahoo, etc. When using these programs, your IP address is exposed leaving room for the other person to scan your computer looking for ways to break in.

Essay --

STATEMENT OF PURPOSE I am very thankful for providing me this opportunity and it is with sincere sense of gratification that I do pen my brief statement of purpose. I completed under graduation in Computer Science Engineering from VNR Vignana Jyothi Institute of Engineering and Technology affiliated by Jawaharlal Nehru Technological University, Hyderabad. Being an undergraduate student, I stand at a point where I have to decide my future so as to enhance my knowledge and skills. At this point I have to take right choice of university to pursue a graduate degree. Graduate study helps me in sharpening my skills and quest professional exposure. Undergraduate program is a broad based structured course with strong fundamentals but offers limited scope of specialization. Thus, I feel that the graduate course would pave way to acquire specialization in my field of interest. In the following paragraphs I shall explain my interest in pursuing a graduate program in Computer Science. Through under graduate studies I have learnt many concepts and it gave me a firm grounding in number of Computer Science Engineering related concepts. During my schooling, I was introduced to computer basics and I also feel that one should have proficiency in more than one field. I found this computer knowledge coupled with my under-graduation background would be advantageous to pursue a career in Computer Science During my under-graduation, I was introduced to various subjects like Computer Organization, Computer Networks, and Operating Systems and programming languages like C,C++,JAVA. I am acquainted with operating systems like MS-DOS, WINDOWS. I developed interest in the field of networking from the time I started to learn about LAN and I... ...spirations I wish to pursue my education at a school renowned for its good research facilities, eminent faculty and good quality of student life. I feel that advanced graduate study at your university is best kind of education with the environment to achieve my goals because of flexibility in learning systems and sophisticated infrastructure available and the nature of research going on. Attending your prestigious institution would give me an opportunity to receive high-level education under the guidance of prominent professors. I would regard my admission to UNIVERSITY OF CENTRAL MISSOURI not only as a great honor but also as a great responsibility and challenge to prove myself. Hence, I request that my application be considered for admission with possible financial aid and assistantship. Thank you for your time and consideration. High Regards, VAMSHI NENAVATH.

A Streetcar Named Desire, by Tennessee Williams :: A Streetcar Named Desire Essays

Set in the French Quarter of New Orleans during the restless years following World War Two, A STREETCAR NAMED DESIRE is the story of Blanche DuBois, a fragile and neurotic woman on a desperate prowl for someplace in the world to call her own. After being exiled from her hometown of Laurel, Mississippi for seducing a seventeen-year-old boy at the school where she taught English, Blanche explains her unexpected appearance on Stanley and Stella's (Blanche's sister) doorstep as nervous exhaustion. This, she claims, is the result of a series of financial calamities which have recently claimed the family plantation, Belle Reve. Suspicious, Stanley points out that "under Louisiana's Napoleonic code what belongs to the wife belongs to the husband." Stanley, a sinewy and brutish man, is as territorial as a panther. He tells Blanche he doesn't like to be swindled and demands to see the bill of sale. This encounter defines Stanley and Blanche's relationship. They are opposing camps and Stella i s caught in no-man's-land. But Stanley and Stella are deeply in love. Blanche's efforts to impose herself between them only enrages the animal inside Stanley. When Mitch -- a card-playing buddy of Stanley's -- arrives on the scene, Blanche begins to see a way out of her predicament. Mitch, himself alone in the world, reveres Blanche as a beautiful and refined woman. Yet, as rumors of Blanche's past in Laurel begin to catch up to her, her circumstances become unbearable. Characters: Blanche Dubois: Blanche Dubois is the older sister of Stella Kowalski who visits them in New Orleans and stays throughout the summer. She was a schoolteacher of English in Mississippi and presents herself as very prim, proper, and prudent. Her name is French and she says, 'It [Dubois] means woods and Blanche means white, so the two together mean white woods. Like an orchard in spring!' (Act III, pg. 177). She was married to a young man named Allan, who committed suicide when she was very young. She drinks and smokes and tells lies. She suffers from continual delusions of hearing polka tunes and gunshots. Stella loves her dearly, but Stanley is in direct opposition to her false appearance and selfish attitude. Blanche cannot be around direct light and is overly concerned with her appearance, accessories, bathing, and age. She has a brief romance with Mitch and is later committed to a mental institution. Stanley Kowalski: Stanley is Stella's strong and good-looking husband.

Explore the similarities and differences Essay

Shakespeare’s original Hamlet was written in text, however Kenneth Branagh created a film version of the play as did Franco Zeffirelli. Firstly there are many advantages that film productions have over plays written in text only. For example, Shakespeare’s Hamlet cannot portray certain visual elements that can be vital in the understanding of a play – but film has that advantage and therefore can add such details as settings, characters and their costumes and body language. Even the way that a line is spoken can make a big difference in its portrayal to the audience. For example in Branagh’s version of Hamlet, whilst talking about the ghost he pauses before he says the word, â€Å"apparition,† which gives the impression he is confused as to how he will describe the spirit seen of King Hamlet. Film can use music in the background to suit the mood of the particular scene. For example in the opening scene of Hamlet by Branagh there is much imagery created even before any dialogue is used. There is an imposing view of the Kings castle at night whilst ghostly bells toll the midnight hour and you hear the crunching footsteps of Francisco guarding the gates. Just these few devices mixed together instantly create an atmosphere that cannot be recognised so easily in Shakespeare’s Hamlet. Instead, â€Å"Who’s there? † Barnado says. Starting off with a question like this immediately sets a mood of apprehension that Branagh captures when Barnado jumps on top of Francisco whilst shouting â€Å"Who’s there? † Also Shakespeare’s broken and short dialogue creates unease and confusion adding to the dark atmosphere. For example the first six lines are short and seem anxious and nervous – â€Å"Who’s there? / Nay, answer me. Stand and unfold yourself. / Long live the King! / Barnado? / He. / You come most carefully upon your hour. † Both Shakespeare’s and Branagh’s Hamlet are different in the way Branagh’s is in the format of film and Shakespeare’s is only text. However they are very similar in the way they both create a dark, corrupt atmosphere – Branagh with his dramatic imagery and Shakespeare with his broken, short dialogue. Also with Shakespeare’s Hamlet, Francisco says, â€Å"‘Tis bitter cold, and I am sick at heart,† just this single sentence adds to the atmosphere that something is seriously wrong in a very evil way. Another way in which Branagh used dramatic imagery – when the ghost appears for the first time in front of the men. The ghost is the image of the King in full battle armour floating towards them with dramatic music in the background. This imagery is clearly something that cannot easily be drawn from Shakespeare’s text on its own. A similarity between both Shakespeare’s and Branagh’s Hamlet is that Branagh’s version stays extremely faithful to the text in the original Hamlet by Shakespeare. For example, just after Horatio sees the ghost of old Hamlet he goes on at great detail about the ghost’s appearance as an omen of trouble brewing for Denmark – quite a long section of dialogue. However, Branagh’s film doesn’t cut out a single word and keeps the dialogue identical to the original text by Shakespeare. Zeffirelli’s Hamlet cuts out the whole of the original ghost scene completely substituting it with the funeral of old King Hamlet with emphasis on the King’s death rather than the ghost appearing. In this respect it loses a lot of the atmospheric effect that Branagh’s version creates. Hamlet should be portrayed in a dark, evil way to start off the play that Branagh’s does successfully. However, with Zeffirelli’s version there is no way of knowing that an evil deed has been done or that there is any corruption, guilt or suspicion of any kind. All you note is the negativity of the Kings funeral. Although both films’ opening scenes are very different in many ways they are both similar in another way. They both start with a negative theme. Branagh’s version shows the dead King Hamlet’s ghost haunting the troubled minds of the guards and this reinforces the sense of evil captured that night. Zeffirelli’s version shows the great castle and all the knights wearing black for the King’s funeral while Hamlet’s mother hysterically weeps over the still body of the King. Therefore in this way they are very similar. Another big difference is the running time of both films. Branagh’s film’s running time is 232 minutes, which is a long time compared to just 130 minutes of Zeffirelli’s version of Hamlet. This difference accounts for the fact that Zeffirelli cut out a great deal of the original Shakespearean text whereas Branagh included almost all of it in the entire film.