Sociology Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words - 2

Sociology - Essay Example An Industrial Breakthrough: Taylorism After having worked in the steel industry and noticed a pervasive culture of purposeful inefficiency and underperformance of workers called ‘soldiering’, Frederick Winslow Taylor (1856-1915) was motivated to scientifically investigate the causes and solutions to the said problem. The outcome of his investigation -- a comprehensive work which received both commendation and criticism upon its release -- was encapsulated in The Principles of Scientific Management (1911). In his unorthodoxly treatise, Taylor greatly emphasized the need to employ scientific methods in improving the occupational operations of industries to combat workers’ sloppiness and unprolificacy. He also advocated for the division and simplification of job routines and for the optimisation of specialised responsibility (Kanigel 5). In his ‘time and motion studies,’ Taylor sought to determine the fastest way to complete a specific task and the best possible way to conduct it. After several experiments, Taylor was able to propose monumental scientific management principles to maximise efficiency and profit that would also benefit not only the owners, managers and workers of a particular industry but also the whole economy. Interchangeably called Taylorism, the school of thought revolves around the belief that the scientific study of the whole gamut of occupational tasks is key in the success of the business; that the systematic selection, training and development of each worker is important in ensuring higher productivity values; and that division of work between management (planning) and workers (execution) should be implemented so that focused attention is rendered towards their respective duties (Taylor and Epley 45). To be sure, Taylorism is a management system that aims to guarantee maximum prosperity for the owner and at the same time, considerable material improvement for the worker -- higher wages, better working condit ions and higher productivity. In the words of Pugh (1997, p. 275), â€Å"maximum prosperity for the owner meant the development of all aspects of the business and the achievement of good financial results. Benefits for the worker meant offering relatively high salaries and more efficient utilization of labour, that is, the attribution of higher level tasks according to their present manual skills.† Moreover, the payment-by-result method of wage determination in Taylorism implants the bonus piecework scheme, rewarding the employee per work done rather than his or her skill level. Although rightly denounced by individual laborers and labor groups for trying to alienate them (indirectly but substantially) and treating them as mindless, emotionless, and easily replicable factors of production, Taylorism was a critical factor in the unprecedented growth of US manufacturing output that catapulted Allied victory in Second World War, and the subsequent US domination in the industrial world. The said management practice and industrial protocol has also been tremendously emulated in some other parts of the industrialized world, thus changing the face of work and the entire landscape of the industrial sector (Tickell and Peck 358). A Fresh Perspective: Fordism The criticism against Taylorism based on the grounds that it dehumanises the workforce by treating the members as machines and by looking at them as ‘

The challenge for a self regulatory organization arbitrator Essay Example for Free

The challenge for a self regulatory organization arbitrator Essay An effective arbitration system requires competent, impartial and just arbitrators who will discharge their duties with great care. It is essential for arbitrators to realize that the disputing parties consider them to be akin to judges and that their power in some respects exceeds that of the judges in the sense that with the exception of a few causes, their decisions cannot be reversed. Arbitrators should not only be impartial but they should also appear to be so. â€Å"In arbitration, even more than in court, not only must justice be done, but justice must also be seen to be done . † Ethical Responsibilities. Sometimes, the arbitrator’s position in respect of a dispute could lead to a conflict of interests. Whenever such an event occurs, the arbitrator has to appraise the Director of Arbitration in this regard or in the alternative the arbitrator may decline to sit on the arbitration panel. The reason for such stringency is that arbitrators, in the course of their work, decide on issues that are of immense importance to the disputing parties, who must at all times be assured that their dispute has been accorded the fairest hearing possible and that justice to the fullest extent possible has been rendered. Independence and Impartiality The concept of independence and impartiality occupies a central place in civil justice and both the Online Dispute Resolution or ODR service provider as well as the individual arbitrator must not only be independent and impartial but must also appear to be so. Further, they should not have any vested interests. Moreover, it should be necessary for individual arbitrators and mediators to strictly adhere to a code of professional ethics. Such a code of professional ethics should ensure that arbitrators and mediators reveal personal interests in the dispute. Further, it should ensure that the arbitrators and mediators avoid conflicts of interest. The extent of the job security and remuneration of third parties should be adequate to ensure neutrality. The ODR user should be granted access to information in respect of the compliance of the arbitrators and mediators with these requirements. Moreover, third party arbitrators and mediators should be allocated on a strictly random basis and no single party should be permitted to select a particular arbitrator or mediator . It is important to note that the rules of international arbitration require the arbitrators to be invariably impartial in their reasoning. Further, these arbitrators have to be independent of the parties involved in the arbitration. The rules however do not specify this applicability in practice and in this respect, Article 7 of the American Arbitration Association’s International Rules allows this impartiality to vary if the parties involved have agreed to so. This Article 7 states that â€Å"Unless the parties agree otherwise, arbitrators acting under these rules shall be impartial and independent. † In an inflexible manner, the ICC Rules provide that â€Å"every arbitrator appointed or confirmed by the Court must be and remain independent of the parties involved in the arbitration† and that they shall make disclosures accordingly . The London Court of International Arbitration makes it mandatory that arbitrators â€Å"be and remain at all times wholly independent and impartial, and shall not act as advocates for any party† . The UCITRAL states that â€Å"Any arbitrator may be challenged if circumstances exist that give rise to justifiable doubts as to the arbitrator’s impartiality or independence† . The process of arbitration entails an impartial, independent third party that considers the statements of the disputing parties prior to resolving the dispute by issuing a decision that is binding on all the parties involved in the dispute. This process is utilized in a wide range of disputes. Arbitrators are required to have better knowledge and better focussed expertise on the subject matter in comparison to the ordinary judges or jurors. Moreover, they should deal with the disputed matter with greater efficiency and logic. Due to these requirements, arbitral firms generally maintain information about prospective arbitrators and such information includes the specialised expertise of these arbitrators. However, in cases involving intellectual property, technical know-how though helpful may not always be desirable. Disputes arising out of contractual terms could differ and arbitrators having legal knowledge invariably have greater expertise than arbitrators without such knowledge. This explains the reason why parties always prefer a lawyer to be their arbitrator. In intellectual property matters the chances of a non legal person becoming an arbitrator are remote . In general, arbitration is characterized by parties who consent to use the process, privacy, the determination of the outcome by a third party, a legally binding and absolute process and the existence of narrow grounds on the basis of which an appeal can be made. Such hearings are usually less formal than court hearings and some forms of arbitration are conducted solely on the basis of documents and do not involve hearings . In A. S. M Shipping v. T. T. M. I it was held that in accordance with the precedent set by the European Court of Justice, the English law required the determiner of a bias to be fair minded and knowledgeable. In the case of Porter v. Magill the court created a test whereby it could be ascertained whether a fair minded, informed observer, â€Å"having considered the facts, would conclude that there was a real possibility that the Tribunal was biased. Trade Arbitrations, like the London Maritime Arbitrators Association of the LMAA, the Grain And Feed Trade Association or GAFTA, the Federation of Oils, Seeds and Fats Association or FOSFA, the London Metal Exchange or the LME, etc, constitute a major characteristic of London arbitration. A sizable amount of the world’s shipping and commodities trading utilize contract forms that specify London as the venue for trade arbitrations. The persons who are members of these arbitral bodies are required to possess widespread experience in the trade and at times they have to be active traders. Accordingly, in Rustal Trading Ltd v Gill Duffus SA one of the consultants of Rustal was being censured for his commercial character. The facts were that previously, one of the arbitrators had been embroiled in trade arbitration against him. While setting aside the challenge to this arbitrator, Moore-Bick J held that it could fairly be assumed that one of the reasons why the parties have agreed to trade arbitration is that they wish to have their dispute decided by people who are themselves active traders and so have direct knowledge of how the trade works. However, if the arbitrators themselves are to be active traders there is every likelihood that at least one member of the tribunal will at some time have had commercial dealings with one or both parties to the dispute. That is something which the parties must be taken to have had in mind . Conclusion The past two to three decades have been witness to the fact that disputes in international business have been resolved by international commercial arbitration. The success of this system is reflected in the resolution of important disputes that had their origin in the nationalization of oil concessions in the 1970s and 1980s, mammoth international construction projects such as the subterranean tunnel under the English Channel and crises brought about by incidents like â€Å"the French sinking of the Rainbow Warrior on its green peace mission. † Moreover, its success has been proved by the tremendous growth â€Å"in the number of arbitration centers, arbitrators and arbitrations . † The world of business has been subjected to tremendous growth with the result that it has become imperative to have in place a reliable and competent business disputes resolution mechanism. In general, businesses are partial to settling their differences in a manner that does not create animosity with the resultant hampering of their business relationship. Thus, arbitration, which entails rapid, pragmatic and efficient dispute resolution, is uniquely suited to such an endeavour. The process of arbitration differs from the usual judicial process as it is carried out by neutral arbitrators who are chosen by the disputing parties. Arbitration involves either one or three arbitrators and the particulars of the arbitration, like organization, arrangement, location and extent are incorporated in their contract. The arbitration clause, which contains these particulars, is in general agreed upon at the time of formulating the initial contract. The process of arbitration consists of a voluntary method of settling disagreements by obtaining a concluding and obligatory verdict from an unbiased third party regarding business disputes between parties. The value of this method is immeasurable in international business transactions which involve business parties who are on several occasions ignorant of the foreign legal systems . This essay examined the role of arbitrators in international trade disputes. The requirement that arbitrators should be impartial and independent had been analyzed by resorting to the decisions in relevant cases, scholarly journals and the United Kingdom’s Government’s Websites, which revealed that in the majority of the cases these arbitrators were functioning in an impartial and independent manner. The challenges faced by arbitrators and the court’s decisions have been discussed at length. International arbitrations are beset with a host of problems that are unique to such arbitrations; this situation arises due to the fact that opinion regarding what is deemed to be acceptable commercial practice differs from country to country. Due to the proclivity of the domestic courts to adopt a more or less laissez faire attitude, international arbitrations are to a large extent self-regulatory. In general, international arbitrations entail commercial disputes in construction, international sale of goods and commodities, and shipping . From the foregoing analysis it can be concluded that in the majority of the cases international arbitrators are impartial and independent. ? Bibliography 1. Arbitrator’s Manual. Available at http://www. nasd. com/ArbitrationMediation/ResourcesforArbitratorsandMediators/GeneralInformationandReference/ArbitratorsManual/EntireDocument/index. htm 2. A. S. M Shipping v. T. T. M. (2005). EWHC 2238. 3. Bank Mellat v Helleniki Technik (1984) QB 291. 4. Bank Mellat v GAA (1988) 2 LI 44. 5. Bazerman, Max H. , Farber, Henry S. Arbitrator Decision Making: When Are Final Offers Important? Industrial Labor Relations Review. Ithaca: Oct 1985. Vol. 39, Iss. 1; pg. 76. 6. Bremer Handles GmbH v EtsSoules e Cie (1985) 2 IR119. 7. David L Dickinson. A Comparison of Conventional, Final-Offer, and Combined† Arbitration for Dispute Resolution, Industrial Labor Relations Review. Ithaca: Jan 2004. Vol. 57, Iss. 2; pg. 288 8. Dezalay, Yves and Garth, Bryant. G. Dealing in virtue: International Commercial Arbitration and the Constitution of a transnational†¦1996, University of Chicago Press. ISBN: 0226144224. 9. Hammond v Bradford City Council (1970) 1 WLR 937. 10. Hornle, Julia. Online Dispute Resolution in Business to Consumer E – Commerce Transactions. Available at http://www2. warwick. ac. uk/fac/soc/law/elj/jilt/2002_2/hornle/ 11. http://fdcc. digitalbay. net/documents/Lanzone-SU04. htm 12. http://www. onlinedmc. co. uk/a_s_m_shipping_v__t_t_m_i. htm 13. IBA Guidelines on Conflicts of Interest in International Arbitration, available at http://www.sccinstitute. com/_upload/iba_guidelines_22_may_2004. pdf 14. Icori v KFTCIC Paris Court of Appeal 28 June 1991. 15. International Arbitration. Available at http://www. osec. doc. gov/ogc/occic/arb-98. html 16. Judicial Review: A Proposed Pre – action Protocol. A Lord Chancellor’s Department Consultation Paper. 2001. Department for Constitutional Affairs. Crown Copyright. Available at http://www. dca. gov. uk/consult/judrev/judrevanna. htm#anna1 17. LCIA to publish challenge decisions, 2006, available at http://www. lcia.org/PRINT/NEWS_print. html 18. Lerma, Jose Manuel Iborra. Worldwide Forum on the Arbitration of Intellectual Property Disputes: Geneva, 1994. World Intellectual Property Organization, p. 157-158. ISBN 9280504983. 19. Porter v. Magill (2002) AC 357. 20. Rustal Trading Ltd v Gill Duffus SA (2001). 1 Lloyds Law Reports 14. 21. SA Coppee Lavalin v Ken Ren (1994) 2 WLR 631. 22. Susan T Mackenzie. Compulsory Arbitration: The Grand Experiment in Employment, Industrial Labor Relations Review. Ithaca: Jul 1999. Vol. 52, Iss. 4; p. 648.

Oprah Winfrey Essay Example for Free

Oprah Winfrey Essay Oprah Gail Winfrey is one of the most influential people today despite coming from a broken family and being a rebellious teen in her adolescence (Mowbray 2003). Oprah remains as a symbol of success in the United States and all over the globe as she has been included in the richest African Americans of the 20th century (Noon 2007) and as one of the most philanthropic African American of all time. Oprah started the Angel Network in the year 1998, a program that encourages other people to help those who are underprivileged. To this day, Oprah’s Angel Network has raised over 51,000,000 dollars. 100 percent of the funds generated go directly to various charity programs as Oprah takes care of administrative costs in running the charity. As mentioned earlier, Oprah was included in the list for America’s 50 most generous philanthropists as she has contributed about 250 million dollars to several charities and fundraising programs including a 10 million dollar donation to the victims of Hurricane Katrina. Oprah even visited South Africa in order to raise the people’s awareness regarding the plight of children afflicted with AIDS and stricken with poverty through her show Oprah’s Christmas Kindness. She appealed to televiewers to donate for these children and people around the globe heeded her call and donated over 7,000,000 dollars. Oprah also invested her time and money for the Oprah Winfrey Leadership Academy for Girls in Johannesburg, South Africa which initially started as Oprah’s promise to Nelson Mandela. The academy aims to provide little girls with a safe place to nurture their dreams allow them to be equipped with the necessary education they would need to succeed. Oprah is certainly considered as a god sent to our society as she exemplifies genuine kindness and concern for the underprivileged people and does not hesitate to lend her time and effort to make a positive change in other people’s lives.

The Environmental Effect of the Meat Industry

The Environmental Effect of the Meat Industry One of the fastest growing industries in the world today is the meat/livestock industry. Meat is considered a normal good, which means that demand for meat increases as consumer income increases. Traditionally, meat has been regarded as an expensive food item in Western countries. As world population is increasing and as economies of the developing countries are getting stronger, demand for meat is also growing (Vinnari, 2008). Meat industry is one of those sectors that are one of the biggest contributors of global gas emissions and have big environmental and social impacts. The use of land, energy, water, and various emissions and wastes are all widely recognized by people and governments (Vinnari, 2008). According to a report by the United Nations Food and Agricultural Organization, also known as the FAO, meat production is accountable for about a fifth of all greenhouse gas emissions. It is widely accepted in the scientific world that greenhouse gases like carbon and methane are c ausing rapid global climate change, environmental degradation and biodiversity loss. Yet, the meat industry business seems to be unperturbed by the state of the environment, inhumane treatment of animals, or the unhygienic conditions in which they are kept which leads to spread of diseases like bird flu in humans. Over the years, meat industry has adopted practices that are unethical. For example in many countries, primarily in the United States, most of the cattle are grain fed as opposed to grass fed. This is so that the cattle can grow bigger and fatter, faster. While it may very well be profitable for the industry, it is unethical in the sense that it is inhumane. There are also social implications as a large amount of grain is fed to the cattle when there are people dying from hunger all over the world. Unhygienic conditions of the feedlots question business practices of the industry. As a food industry, it owes a duty of care to its customers and has a responsibility of provid ing quality food that is free of bacteria or virus which can be very harmful to the human health. According to the FAO report, meat consumption is estimated to more than double by the year 2050 (McMichael, Powles Uauy, 2007). With depleting natural resources, such as water and land cover, it will become harder to meet the demands of the growing human population. In such a scenario, the industry will most likely adopt practices that are even more unethical than the existing ones. It is therefore, not only important for businesses to take on sustainable meat production practices but also imperative for us, the consumer, to study our meat consumption habits and make certain changes in our lifestyle. Since we utilize resources from this planet, our natural environment is our responsibility. Educating ourselves and changing our meat consumption patterns will definitely slow down and to some extent get rid of the problem that the meat industry has and is creating. In this assignment, I w ill be discussing the environmental and social implications of the meat industry and then analyze from the perspective of various ethical theories. Environmental Impact Analysis: As mentioned above in the introduction, meat production and consumption has many environmental and social implications. It is imperative for businesses and consumers to recognize the problem and work towards mitigating the impacts. For the purpose of this assessment, I will be considering the environmental impacts i.e. resource usage/depletion and global warming as well as the social impacts i.e. unequal distribution of food, inhumane treatment of animals and analyzing them using different ethical theories. I will also be providing recommendations to curtail the growing impact of the industry. Resource Depletion: Our natural environment provides important ecosystem services like food, recreational opportunities, disease regulation that human life ultimately depends upon. Overtime, humans have changed and altered the ecosystem by depleting it in order to meet the growing human demands of freshwater, timber and food. As human population is increasing, per capita demand for ecosystem services is also growing at a fast pace and how these demands are met will determine the future of ecology and economy of our planet. Meat industry poses a major threat to the ecosystem as human activities continue to clear forests in order to grow crops that will be fed to cattle and use water to rear cattle. It is estimated that food production will need to double by the year 2030 to feed the projected global human population of around 9 billion people. Water scarcity is already a problem in many countries as around two billion people suffer from the lack of it and it is estimated that the number of people facing water scarcity will double by the year 2030 (Bennet Balvanera, 2007). Livestock uses about a third of the worlds entire land surface which includes pastures and arable land that provides livestock feed. As Chinese, European and US farmers are running out of land to rear animals for meat and crop production, demand for meat is forcing intensive agriculture into tropical rainforests of developing countries like Brazil, Bolivia, and Paraguay (McMichael, Powles Uauy, 2007). Global Warming: Global warming is a widely accepted phenomenon and most of the impacts of global warming can already be seen across the world. Retreating glaciers, rising sea levels, thawing tundra, hurricanes and extreme weather conditions are increasing both in frequency and intensity and animals such as penguins, polar bears are struggling to survive. Many species are finding it hard to adapt to changing weather because it is becoming very unpredictable (Koneswaran Nierenberg, 2008 ). Most of greenhouse gas emissions worldwide (around 35 percent) are due to agriculture practices, primarily animal husbandry and land changes associated with the process of rearing animals for meat. Emissions from this sector are higher than the transport sector or the power generation sector. Two powerful greenhouse gases, methane and nitrous oxide associated with livestock production, contribute more to global warming than carbon dioxide (McMichael, Powles Uauy, 2007). An FAO report on the current and future effe cts of livestock production on the worlds environment and climate states that the livestock sector is growing faster than any other sector and most of this growth is going to happen in developing countries, i.e. in countries with low to middle incomes (McMichael, Powles Uauy, 2007). Livestock production which includes deforestation for grazing land and producing soy feed for animals, carbon lost from soil that is grazed, energy used for growing feed crops, for processing and transporting grains and meat, nitrous oxide released from the use of nitrogenous fertilizers, and gases like methane from animal manure and enteric fermentation all contribute to greenhouse gas emissions. Nine percent of global carbon dioxide emissions, 30-40 percent of methane emissions and 65 percent of all nitrous oxide emissions come from this sector. Methane and nitrous oxide are known to have a greater warming potential than does carbon dioxide (McMichael, Powles Uauy, 2007). Production of fertilizers fo r feed crops requires burning of fossil fuels which releases about 41 million metric tons of carbon dioxide per year. These fertilizers are produced in factories that depend on fossil fuel energy. Animal populations in large and confined factory like settings have significantly increased and along with it has increased methane emissions from both the animals and their manure. These factory like landless facilities produce more manure than can be used as fertilizer on cropland. This manure is distributed to a landmass which usually results in soil accumulation and runoff of pollutants like phosphorous and nitrogen. Half of the energy produced from fossil fuel goes into heating, cooling and ventilation of these facilities and the other half goes into producing seeds, herbicides, pesticides and in the operation of farm machinery (Koneswaran Nierenberg, 2008). Majority of the countries in Africa and Asia currently use pasture based methods to raise animals. However this trend is likely to change as countries in Latin America and some countries in Asia are starting to favor intensive farming methods like the one seen in developed counties like the United States (Koneswaran Nierenberg, 2008). Forests and soils act as carbon sinks as they hold much of the carbon dioxide. Deforestation and degradation of land release much of this stored carbon gas back into the atmosphere thus increasing level of the gas in the atmosphere. Animal agriculture is a major reason for conversion of wooded land into cropland for feed production or grazing land, and deforestation emits 2.4 billion metric tons of carbon dioxide annually. A big negative impact of the meat industry can be seen in Latin America which has seen the largest net loss of forests and greatest emission of stored carbon dioxide into the atmosphere (Koneswaran Nierenberg, 2008). Theory Application: Knowing the impacts of meat production on the environment, various theories can be applied in favor of changing our production and consumption patterns. Utilitarianism, a consequentialist theory, states that an action is morally right if it results in maximum benefit for all parties involved. Utilitarianism evaluates right and wrong action by considering costs and harms and weighing them against benefits (Kunkel, 1996). Since this theory advocates maximizing pleasure and minimizing pain, it would support changing meat consumption patterns to curtail growing ill effects of meat production on the environment. If we compare the costs of meat production to the benefits, we will realize that the cost and harm is much greater than the limited benefits that are achieved. Limited benefits being employment, pleasures of taste, profits for industry, and harm being damage done to the environment. Intrinsic value of nature holds higher worth than all the benefits of the meat industry combined an d it deserves to be protected. Our natural environment provides many important ecosystem services that cannot be replaced if our environment is destroyed or our ecosystems are altered. Everyone on this planet depends on these ecosystem services and any irreversible damage will affect each and every one of us. Ethics of duty states that in order to be moral every person should have a realization of a sense of duty (Baron, 1985). I believe that since we use services provided by the environment and since the ecosystem services are so crucial to our existence and survival, we have a duty towards the natural world and we should preserve it to ensure live continues to flourish. However, the meat industry operates contrary to this belief. It degrades our natural environment by deforestation, water consumption, fossil fuel use, and adding to global warming through greenhouse gas emissions. If we consider the Islamic environmental ethics, it also states that humans owe a duty to the natural world. Islamic law (Shariah) states that conservation of the environment is based on the principle that the environment and everything it consists of is created by God and everything has a function in the natural environment. Just because humans make use of various environmental services, it does not mean that human use is the only reason for their creation. It thus states that all humans have a duty to preserve and protect it (Deen, 1990). Social Impact Analysis: Every business has its share of environmental and social impacts, and meat industry has some obvious impacts on the environment and the society within which it operates. As with the environment, meat industry also has numerous social impacts that are growing with time. Social impacts include humans as well as animals and contemporary methods of meat production tend to overlook these impact. Developing or poor countries are and will bear the brunt of consequences being brought about by climate change. Environmental degradation is a medium for current conflicts and instability in many areas of Sudan. With rising temperatures, and depleting water resources, farmers and herders are fighting with each other to gain access and control of these natural commodities. The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) said that that two of the major problems in Sudan- land degradation and desertification are caused by an explosive growth in livestock numbers( Koneswaran Nierenberg, 2008). United Nations Secretary, General Ban Ki-moon also said that natural disasters caused by climate change will trigger war and conflicts around the world. As global temperatures change, infectious diseases spread more quickly and affect more people (Koneswaran Nierenberg, 2008). Equitable distribution of food is also a major concern since half the worlds poverty stricken population goes to bed hungry every night. Excessive meat production consumes most of the crop production that could have fed millions of people around the world. It takes twenty pounds of grain to feed a cow which is to be slaughtered to produce one pound of beef protein. It only seems like a waste when those twenty pounds of grain that were fed to the cow could have been used to feed many people in that country (Shaw Newholm, 2002). It is usually the poor countries that suffer from climactic changes. Majority of human induced global warming is caused by operations of industrialized nations, and it is the poorer nations that suffer from such operations. Global warming most affects areas that are hot and dry. These are also the regions where infectious diseases spread rapidly. When a natural disaster strikes, people in these poor nations suffer the most because they have more difficulty in moving away from changes in climate and they also experience difficulties in buying food incase crop is destroyed or its productivity is affected (Mendelsohn, Dinar Williams, 2006). According to FAOSTAT, around 56 billion animals are reared and slaughtered for human consumption every year and this number is only going to increase over time, primarily in the developing world (Koneswaran Nierenberg, 2008). Inhumane treatment of animals is also a harsh reality of the meat industry. Thousands of animals are locked up in cramped, confined spaces and kept on high doses of vitamins and antibiotics to reduce the risk of diseases. In countries like the US, cattle are grain fed as so it can grow bigger faster. These unnatural conditions not only increase stress for the animal but also leads to higher occurrence of density-promoted diseases. Studies have found that crowding often includes cannibalistic attacks among poultry and pigs. Other practices that question meat industry practices include inflicting pain by castration, branding, dehorning, beak trimming, and inadequate stunning before slaughter. Deep muscle myopathy, fluid accumulation and skeletal disorders associa ted with accelerated muscle growth and restricted movement can be seen quite commonly in facilities where animals are mass produced for meat (Smil, 2002). Not only is the treatment of animals inhumane in most of these facilities, but also these facilities are not exactly hygienic and do not ensure that the meat produced is fit for human consumption. Waste water loaded with nitrate and animal excrement often seeps into groundwater. Mad cow disease was caused by feeding ground sheep brains to cows and unfortunately it is still widely used practice in animal husbandry. Between the years 1980-1996 over 750,000 head of cattle infected with this disease were slaughtered for human consumption in Britain. Other such cases include H5N1 avian influenza (bird flu) that spread from chicken and killed many people in Hong Kong (Smil, 2002). Meat packing is United States one of most dangerous occupations. In 2002, about 25 percent of employees in meat packing factories experienced nonfatal occupational injury or illness whereas serious/fatal injuries and illness were five times the national average, and frequency of repeated physical traumas such as back problems and tendinitis is 30 times higher than the private industry mean (Smil, 2002). Theory Application: Utilitarianism also justifies changing meat consumption patterns when taking into consideration the social impacts of the industry. Whether it is the inhumane treatment of animals, exploitation of natural resources which often leads to social unrest in poor countries, impact of human induced global climate change, meat industry both directly and indirectly creates and facilitates a number of problems in the society. . Utilitarianism focuses on creating maximum benefit for maximum number of people. It therefore supports reducing meat consumption as not only does production of meat require more land, water and energy usage than production of crops, it leads to inequitable distribution of food around the world. Utilitarianism can be argued on the grounds of animal welfare because we dont have a need for animal products and we can survive without. Our penchant for meat is only a matter of taste. Our interests in animals and animal products hold lesser value and cannot be more important t han animals interest in life and freedom from suffering (George, 1994). When we compare the benefits of the industry to the amount of harm or pain it brings to the society, the harm/loss clearly outweighs the benefits/pleasure supporting the premise of this paper that meat industry has very unethical and unsustainable practices and that we as consumers should rethink our consumption patterns and the industry should also change to reduce its enormous negative impact on the environment and the society. Ethics of rights states that every living creature is entitled to certain basic rights such as the right to life, security and freedom from harm. Just because cognitive abilities of animals are not as developed as those of humans, it does not suggest that they are incapable of feeling pleasure or pain and it doesnt give humans any reason to inflict pain upon them. In fact, having higher cognitive ability puts greater responsibility on humans to respect other creatures because we have a sense of morality and the ability to reason. Animals also are entitled to have certain natural rights, such as the right to life (Regan, 1980). Animals are part of the moral community and failure to acknowledge that is called speciesism. Speciesism is wrong and unethical in the same way that racism and sexism is wrong (George, 1994). Humans and animals are similar in that they both have similar interests in not being harmed or killed, and because we share that relationship, we should show more sensitiv ity towards other living things. Humans and non humans are subject-of-a-life and experience pain, suffering, and various emotions. Inherent value is contrasted with instrumental value that tools and other objects have. Just like humans, animals too are subjects-f-a-life and have an intrinsic value. Therefore, they should not be regarded as means to the end of others. They should not be treated as tools but should be respected for what they are. Because animals have rights, it is unethical to exploit them and kill them for our own pleasure or economic benefit (George, 1994). Animal welfare can also be justified on the grounds of ethics of care which states that a moral person is one who cares for others and is considerate of the other persons needs (Li, 1994). It puts an emphasis on values such as caring and advocates maintaining relationships with peace and harmony. If we consider religious ethics then Hinduism advocates practicing Ahimsa or non- violence with fellow creatures as it stresses acting with care. Ahimsa is quite similar to the western philosophy of ethics of care (feminist ethics) in that it also emphasizes having non-harmful intent in all actions and absence of enmity toward other people and animals. Ahimsa teaches acting with care towards others and being thoughtful of how your actions can affect those around you. It promotes love and non-hostility towards all beings and its goal is to eliminate violence from our nature (Corner, 2009). The meat industry works in contradiction to the concept of ahimsa and ethics of care. It doesnt have any regard for the environment, nor does it show empathy for animals that are slaughtered. The concept of ahimsa and ethics of care is the antithesis of the meat industry. Meat industry doesnt do anything to build a harmonious relationship with the environment or with the animals. We also see lack of care and concern for people who are affected by industrial practices. Most affected by the industry are poor people in developing countries who depend on resources being exploited by the meat industrys unsustainable practices. As meat industries are buying land in the developing world to grow feed crop, local indigenous people are losing the land that they depend upon for survival (Repetto Holmes, 1983). This again underscores the fact that practices of meat industry do not fit in with ethics of care or ahimsa. Conclusion and Recommendation: Meat industry has an egoistic approach in that it focuses on meeting short term interests of economic prosperity while ignoring the long term negative impact on the environment. The analysis above makes it quite clear that meat industry has severe long term environmental and social implications and that its unsustainable and callous practices are beyond the pale. Its not possible to shut down the meat industry completely as long as there are consumers. However, the best we can do as responsible and rational beings is to educate ourselves on the impacts, make lifestyle changes and rethink our meat consumption habits to mitigate the impact of the meat industry. It is equally important for the industry to take on sustainable meat production practices. As consumers we can make certain lifestyle changes such as switching to meat analogues or mock meat, and reducing our real meat consumption. Governments can play their part by transferring agricultural production away from meat production in countries where meat production is the highest (Vinnari, 2008). Governments should also remove subsidies and place higher taxes on meat products. By doing so, consumers will have to pay more for meat which will likely decrease meat consumption (Shaw Newholm, 2002). Technological advancements of product Ad campaigns can make a big difference by increasing consumer knowledge about animal rights, meat production, and its negative social as well as environmental impacts (Vinnari, 2008).

South Wales in the 1930s :: Papers

South Wales in the 1930s 1. Sources 1 and 2 give many reasons for poverty in South Wales in the 1930s, Unemployment however being the most significant as it was the cause of almost all the poverty in South Wales at this time there were a number of causes for unemployment listed in source 1 such as:- Ã…Â ¸ The collapse of the post-war economic boom Ã…Â ¸ Increased competition from abroad Ã…Â ¸ The General strike Ã…Â ¸ The decline in the mining and steel industries Ã…Â ¸ The great depression All of these factors caused mass unemployment in South Wales in the 1930s almost to the point where nearly three quarters of the population in South Wales were unemployed. Source 2 indicates that all hope had left the unemployed and their want to find work may have almost deteriorated from constant rejection causing possibly their want to keep a decent standard of living to slowly decline into poverty. 2. Poverty affected the people of Wales in many different ways, Source three indicates that it had a dramatic change in peoples political views, it depicts a miners hunger march to Bristol in 1931, the marchers are shown to be carrying a banner bearing the communist hammer and sickle with the words "struggle or starve" written on in this is also an acronym for sos. Although the miners are on a hunger march to show the poverty in south Wales we notice they are well dressed this is because the miners were a proud people, they did not want to beg the government they just wanted to show that they were starving and that they needed work and help to get back on their feet for themselves. There is almost a sort of irony in this picture as these miners are photographed marching past food signs, perhaps the photographer was trying to depict the ignorance of the rest of the country to the miners predicament. Source four describes the anger over the "Means Test" and a protest about this privacy invasion.

Sweeney Todd :: essays research papers

Sweeney Todd is by no means a conventional musical; it takes several forms of music and theater and artfully places them together. Sondheim very effectively transports the audience back to Victorian England for a mad waltz with murder, mayhem...and meat pies. He also utilizes his skill as a choral composer to write some truly fascinating ensemble pieces accompanied by a very intricate plot with many elements carefully layered.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  There are several important thematic elements in this carefully written commentary on our society, and Sondheim makes good use of his music to accent not only the melodramatic plot, but these themes as well. For example, the song â€Å"Kiss Me† becomes an anthem for Anthony and Johanna and a symbol of their true love....they loved when they did not even know each other’s names. Sweeney Todd may be a dark musical, but its construction lends well to light voices and an equally light orchestral style. Plot-wise, this show is rather light, the characters seem cartoonish and one-dimensional, especially Mrs. Lovett, Anthony, and Johanna, who appear to be little more than melodramatic character roles. Ironically, Mrs. Lovett, the absolute capitalist, is one of the show’s most complex characters. Mrs. Lovett is not merely some amoral witch out to make a fast dollar, she is a character driven by greed and love to keep Sweeney however she can.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In conclusion, the play gives an excellent example of captive innocence, and the loss of innocence that immediately follows. Sweeney is driven to murder, Mrs. Lovett bakes these people into pies, Johanna kills, Lucy is forced to become a Beggar and a whore, and nearly every major character experiences their own fall

Pyrotechnics :: essays research papers

PYROTECHNICS   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Pyrotechnics special effects are widely used in motion picture production to create all types of effects involving explosions, fires, light, smoke and sound concussions. The types of pyrotechnics materials used include flash powder, flash paper, gun cotton, black powder (gunpowder), smokeless powder, detonator explosives, and many more. They are used in bullet hits (squibs), blank cartridges, flash pots, fuses, mortars, smoke pots, sparkle pots, etc. The main problems of pyrotechnics include prematurely triggering the pyrotechnic effect, use of larger quantities or more dangerous materials than needed, causing a fire, lack of adequate fire extinguishing capabilities, and, of course, inadequately trained and experienced pyrotechnics operators. As a result of these risks, all pyrotechnics special effects are regulated at the federal, state and local level. In general, all pyrotechnics are explosives, but not all explosives are pyrotechnics. Class A explosives (high explosives) are materials like dynamite and Primacord which may detonate even if unconfined. Pyrotechnic special effects materials are Class B explosives. They will burn, but not explode unless confined. Examples are black powder and pellet powder, safety fuses, igniters, igniter cord, fuse lighters, Class B special fireworks, and Class B composite solids propellants. Class C explosives are common fireworks. Note that short lengths of Primacord may be classified as Class C under certain conditions. Both Class B and C explosives are also called low explosives. All pyrotechnic materials and other explosives consist of an oxidizer (source of oxygen) and a reducer (fuel). Examples of oxidizers include potassium nitrate, strontium nitrate, potassium perchlorate and potassium chlorate. Examples of fuels include metals like magnesium and aluminum, sulfur, silicon dioxide, and organic fuels like charcoal, starch, resins, and chlorinated hydrocarbons. The choice of fuel and oxidizer determines the type of effect (flash, smoke, sound, etc.) its color, and its intensity. There are two basic types of pyrotechnic materials: single component and two component systems. Single component materials will either burn if ignited, or explode if ignited when enclosed, since the oxidizer and fuel are in the same mixture. Flash paper, for example, is a partially nitrated cellulose and contains both fuel and oxidizer internally. The traditional black powder has potassium nitrate as the oxidizer, and sulfur and charcoal as fuels. In two component or binary systems, the oxidizer and fuel are separate components which are transported and stored separately and only mixed when ready to use.