Industrial Air And Water Pollution - 2248 Words

Jiaying Jiang ESRM 100 July 17, 2015 Industrial air and water pollution in China In an ideal environment, air is odorless and colorless, when we breathe, we feel fresh and energy. Water should be clear and tasteless, we can see fish swimming happily in the water and can we directly drink from it without any concern. However, in recent years in China, people are no longer living in an ideal environment, air gets hazy and water gets muddy. Billions of dust and particles floating in the air and wish us to take them inside our lungs. Fish in the river start malformation, as the result of toxic water. With the development of modern society, increasing amount of population, more and more resources are required, industries produce more products for us to use and the wastes industries generate becomes a major concern to human being and greatly affect the environment. Industry pollution means the pollution to environment from waste gas, waste water, and solid waste during productive process, which include industrial caused water pollution, air pollution and many other kinds of pollution such as noise, heavy metal. China is an industrial country, and industrial output have a closely linked relationship to economy. These years, Chinese economy increase rapidly, so is industrial related pollution problems. In some major urban cities, people seldom can see blue sky, sky’s color on children’s painting is no longer blue, it becomes grey. And I will be focusing on the water and airShow MoreRelatedIndustrial Air And Water Pollution3492 Words   |  14 PagesIndustrial air and w ater pollution in China In an ideal environment, air is odorless and colorless, when we breathe, we feel fresh and energy. Water should be clear and tasteless, we can see fish swimming happily in the water and can we directly drink from it without any concern. However, in recent years in China, people are no longer living in an ideal environment, air gets hazy and water gets muddy. Billions of dust and particles floating in the air and wish us to take them inside our lungs. FishRead MorePollution and Various Micro Organisms1028 Words   |  5 Pagesmainly following types of pollutions: 1. Air Pollution 2. Water Pollution 3. Chemical Pollution 4. Land Ozone-sphere Pollution 5. Land and Soil Pollution 6. Food Contaminants 7. Noise Pollution 8. Modern Pollutions 1. Air Pollution: The major component of the biosphere is air with ­out which no life can survive (except some lower forms of Bacteria). Without air of good quality there cannot be a healthy life. Yet clean air is a rare commodity today. Air pollution is as old as industrialisationRead MoreIn America, Air Pollution Was An Insidious Problem That1486 Words   |  6 PagesAmerica, air pollution was an insidious problem that became so great that the government had to step in and create laws in order to regulate human activity involving pollutants. Humans generate air pollution through the combustion of fossil fuels and wood, driving a motorized vehicle, and industrial processes, such as the smelting of heavy metals. Most air pollution exists in urban areas where heavy industries prevail. The Industrial Revolution in the late twentieth century caused air pollution to greatlyRead MoreEssay about Pollution756 Words   |  4 Pagesnbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;Pollution has become a major issue over the years. It has caused death, disease, and many health problems. It is a major concern of our world today and not much is bei ng done to prevent it. If not all, a lot of pollution is caused by humans. There are different types like industrial, agricultural, etc. Many people are realizing now the threat that pollution poses to humans. nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;There are three main types of pollution. They are land, air, and water pollution. LandRead MoreSilent Spring, By Rachel Carson1487 Words   |  6 Pagesnatural forms and habits of the plants and animals on the earth are shaped. â€Å"Said Rachel Carson, in her book silent spring, â€Å"In the environment of all invasion, air, soil, rivers and oceans are the most shocking pollution, and some of them even fatal pollution. Such pollution is largely irreversible. â€Å"The planet, which provides us food, water and shelters is being destroyed by human beings. If immediate action is not taken, we don’t know what the earth will be. We are not the last people to exist orRead MoreThe Effects Of Pollution On The Environment And Ecosystem968 Words   |  4 PagesPollution The air we breathe, the water we drink, the ground where we grow our food, is polluted with harmful things. Pollution is the introduction of harmful or poisonous effects of a substance into the environment. It disrupts the balance of people’s lifestyle when they are contaminate. Pollution balance in the environment and ecosystem. The environment is in the process of becoming unsafe or unsuitable to use. Pollution can come in many different form, such as air, water, soil can have pollutantRead MoreThe Study On Environemtal Pollution Essay1077 Words   |  5 PagesThe Study on ‘ Environemtal pollution has been accomplished with the useful efforts and contribution of the group members. Working on this term paper has been very beneficial for us as it is related to our course ‘Businees law. This term paper has given us a big boost to the development of our bookish knowledge with the help of practical knowledge and group discussions. We would like to thank our honorable faculty member Fahmida Hasan for giving us the opportunity to make this term paper. ThenRead MoreThe American Industrial City : The Issue Of Fresh Water, Water Pollution, And Smells1480 Words   |  6 PagesThe American Industrial City: The Issue of Fresh Water, Water Pollution, and Smells Throughout the mid-19th century, many cities across America were becoming industrialized and growing in size. As a city develops and grows, the city uses resources such as food, water, raw products, and energy. All these resources are consumed within a city. The outcome of all this consumption is the production of waste (Tarr 15). In the mid-19th century, a massive migration of Americans and wave of migrants fromRead MoreChina and the World Suffer from the Use of Nonrenewable Resources, 882 Words   |  4 Pagesresources, and development of industrial technology continues to grow, the more harmful air pollution gets. Air pollution is caused by all of these factors, and more. While fossil fuel sources continue to diminish, there is an increasing interest in the use of renewable technologies, such as the air, water, and sun. China is one of the many countries in the world suffering from air pollution due to household and industrial use of fossil fuels and a massive population. Air pol lution also has many negativeRead MoreHow Do Pollution Affect The Life?941 Words   |  4 PagesHow do pollution affect the life in earth? The global warming is a gradual increase in the overall temperature of the earth s atmosphere generally attributed to the greenhouse effect caused by increased levels of carbon dioxide, chlorofluorocarbons, and other pollutants. The main cause of pollution is the human being. The contamination caused damage not only in animals and plants but also in the same man. In their attempt to progress and have an easier and bearable life has invented and used products

The Sons Veto Analysis - 1528 Words

Setting One of the ways Hardy evokes a sense of contrast between the two settings with the use of triads. Evidence for these can be seen when he describes the initial setting, â€Å"†¦with trees and shrubs and glebe†. He then goes one to describe the second setting, the more industrial of the two as a â€Å"†¦vista of sooty trees, hazy air, and drab house-facades†. This helps the reader to visualize and compare the two settings, for example, when he describes the initial setting as having â€Å"trees† whilst the second setting, he describes as having â€Å"sooty trees†, making it easy for the reader to work out the differences and contrasts between the two settings. Hardy also uses personification to enhance the image in the readers mind. He describes the†¦show more content†¦Randolph, the son of Sophy and the Reverend, is a boy that has been brought up by expensive education, therefore adapting an upper class mindset, which is what his parents were aiming to do. Evidence of this is abundant, when Hardy writes, â€Å"her only child, on whose education no expense had been and would be spared† and his upper class mindset can be found when the author writes about Randolph’s, â€Å"aristocratic school-knowledge†. As a result of the fact the Randolph’s mom belongs to the lower class, whilst all his friends at parents who were, â€Å"†¦proud fathers and mothers; but never a poor mother like her.† (Her meaning Sophy). As a result, the reader can conclude from the evidence that Randolph is an upper class boy whose parents had sacrificed wealth and time to bring up, only for the mother to be neglected by h im due to her lower class statues. Later in the story, Sophy asks Randolph if she can marry the man she has always loved, Sam. Quite unsurprisingly, Randolph rejects the idea, as having 2 parents in low classes in the hierarchy would be a liability to his profile in the upper class. However, Randolph injects venom into his rejection, saying, â€Å"I am ashamed of you! It will ruin me! A miserable boor! A churl! A clown! It will degrade me in the eyes of all the gentlemen of England! † (You being Sophy). It can now be fully interpreted, that Randolph is a member of theShow MoreRelatedSons Veto1509 Words   |  7 Pagesstrong passions and an inexorable fate that decides the path of their life. Thomas Hardy’s works were much admired by later day writers and his position as a poet has seen enhancement in the later twentieth century. Background/Setting The story A Son’s Veto is set in rural England in its early parts before moving to inner city London. Sophy, the principal female character of this story belongs to Gaymead, a village set in a remote corner of North Wessex where she worked as a parlour maid in the parson’sRead MoreSons Veto1519 Words   |  7 Pagesstrong passions and an inexorable fate that decides the path of their life. Thomas Hardy’s works were much admired by later day writers and his position as a poet has seen enhancement in the later twentieth century. Background/Setting The story A Son’s Veto is set in rural England in its early parts before moving to inner city London. Sophy, the principal female character of this story belongs to Gaymead, a village set in a remote corner of North Wessex where she worked as a parlour maid in the parson’s

American Imperialism in the Nineteenth Century Free Essays

American Imperialism in the Nineteenth Century was a very important era in our country. Imperialism is the acquisition of control over the government and the economy of another nation; usually by conquest. The United States became an imperialistic world power in the late nineteenth century by gaining control over the Hawaiian Island and after the Spanish American War (1898), Guam, the Philippines, Cuba and Puerto Rico. We will write a custom essay sample on American Imperialism in the Nineteenth Century or any similar topic only for you Order Now (Davidson, Delay, Heyrman, Lytle Stoff, 2008) This policy was adopted to keep up with the world powers like Great Britain, France, Spain, Portugal, and Russia. Compared to the European-style imperialism the possession by conquest American imperialism was said to be more pure because it was done without conquest; it was completed with exportation of products, ideas, and influence. As countries became dependant on industrialism they needed the foreign trade to bring in the capital. Companies within the country could purchase products but that only moved the capital from producer to purchaser within our own economy. Securing the interests of trade was not an easy task as there were five other world empires trying to complete the same goal. Americans preferred the more indirect approach to imperialism, free enterprise. It was a win-win approach for America, everyone stood to gain by the rapid and expanding social and economic networks that were going to be secured. Admiral Alfred Thayer Mahan argued that if the US was to be a great nation we needed to protect its interest in the foreign markets. He persuaded Congress to build a new Navy that consisted of large cruisers and battleships that were steam powered vessels made of steal. Congress agreed and the program to rebuild the Navy began in the 1880’s. The United States Navy was the third best in the world by 1900 and now had to means to become an imperial power and protect its vested interests. (Davidson, Delay, Heyrman, Lytle, Stoff, 2008) The United States purchased Alaska from Russia in 1867; the deal was negotiated by William H Seward the Secretary of State and an ardent expansionist who was committed to enhancing the nation’s trade and military standing. We established a presence in Samoa during the 1870’s and the importance of Hawaii was recognized in the early portion of the nineteenth century. By 1875 the US had complete control of Pearl Harbor. American Imperialism grew momentum during the Spanish-American War (1898). The war only lasted four months but it was a turning point for America as it resulted in the acquisition of Cuba, Puerto Rico, Guam and the Philippines. (Gale Encyclopedia, 1999) In 1899 the Anti-Imperialist League was founded. The League was the largest lobbying organization through the nineteenth century; the purpose of this organization was to oppose the US annexation of the Philippines. Even though the League had popular members like Andrew Carnegie, Jane Addams, and Williams James they struggled with a consistent message. It was this inconsistency that hindered their efforts to win the support within the Republican Party. After the Treaty of Paris was approved by Congress the League’s strength declined. Many of the League activists were charged with treason, causing even more decline in the support of their political cause. The expansion into the Caribbean continued and in 1903 the United States instigated a Panama revolution. The United States immediately entered a treaty with Panama to build the Panama Canal. In 1904 President Roosevelt declared that the US reserved the right to intervene in the affairs of smaller western hemisphere nations should these smaller countries fails to meet their financial obligations to European creditors. This was the so-called â€Å"Roosevelt Corollary† to the Monroe Doctrine. Over the next several years this policy was applied in the Dominican Republic, Haiti, and Nicaragua. Overall, American Imperialism could have been more successful. In the end the interventions came to be expensive and more often caused bitterness and resentment with the affected countries. Since trade with the Far East did not grow like expected business sought to expand their markets within the Western Hemisphere. This required a different approach, one of good will and not tension. With this the Age of Imperialism as we knew it was over. In 1933 the United States formally renounced intervention to the world at an international conference in Uruguay. However after the 1959 revolution in Cuba the United States formulated a new round of international intervention by the Central Intelligence Agency in Cuba, Honduras, Chile, Nicaragua and numerous other foreign countries. (Gale Encyclopedia, 1999) How to cite American Imperialism in the Nineteenth Century, Essay examples

Analyzing the Theory of Democratic Peace free essay sample

A comparison of liberal and realist political philosophy. This paper discusses how the validity of the Democratic Peace theory is still debated by scholars who either refute or support the normative and structural models of democratic peace. Some scholars uphold the theory of Democratic Peace on a liberal foundation, whereas others discount it on the basis of realist principles. The author takes a look at the various arguments with focus on the liberal argument. The validity of the Democratic Peace theory continues to be zealously debated by scholars who either refute or support the normative and structural models that purport to explain why democratic states rarely engage one another in militarized conflict. Bruce Russett, Zeev Maoz, and Michael W. Doyle uphold the theory of Democratic Peace on a liberal foundation, whereas Christopher Layne and David E. Spiro discount the theory on the basis of realist and realpolitik principles. Neither theological position is flawless in its analysis, yet the liberal argument is more compelling and makes better use of available data. We will write a custom essay sample on Analyzing the Theory of Democratic Peace or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page

Sensitivity to Social Aspect of Life free essay sample

Sensitivity to social aspect of life Sensitivity is that urges the child to focus his attention on certain aspects of his environment to the exclusion of others. Such attention is not the result of mere curiosity; it is more like a burning passion. The sensitivity to social aspects of life begins at 2. 5 to age 6. Children pay special attention to other children of their own age. Children at about age three are in solitary play or parallel play. The work of sensitive period enables recognizable affections and friendships to develop. In this way, the child learns to be part of a group. During the sensitivity period of social aspect, we should create an environment that is warm and loving to meet the child’s emotional and spiritual needs. At the same time, we also provide opportunities for the child to experience social interactions with other children. At school, children are allowed to speak to each other and start their own activities together with whomever they chose to form groups with. We will write a custom essay sample on Sensitivity to Social Aspect of Life or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page Teachers do not force them to form these groups, nor do they make them compete against one another. Hence, the children desire to help one another spontaneously whilst performing the chosen activity together. It is thus during his interactions with his classmates that the child comes across experience, which helps him to develop emotional maturity. For example, through practical life exercises, children are taught to learn how to share when they only have single pieces of equipment available for use for lessons. At home, as a parent, we also should encourage the child to play with the children and share something with each other. We provide the warm environment for the child to interact with other children. Whenever the child makes mistake, we should not scold them or treated them harshly. So, they will not treat harshly to other children, and all of the children will play together peace and happy. If the child is deprived of the right environment, for example, not allowing him to play or socialize with others, the child may feel lonely, and want a lot of attention from the parents. As a result the child will become very unfriendly and anti-social. So, during the sensitivity period of social aspect of life, we should create a good environment for the children.

Free Essays on Technology And The Problems It Creates

Although, technology might seem like it’s great and cut the job workforce in half the time, it seems like it’s damaging our lives. People get cut from their jobs, because machines are taking over for them. In some aspects of life, that could be for the best, like using machines to create parts for cars ( instead of manual work). People tend to get mad that their jobs are being taken away by technology and I completely agree with them. The most common example to use is computers. It’s the main reason our country is falling apart and jobs are being decreased. Computers weren’t such a big thing around fifty years ago. The nation used to research by using books and common knowledge. Typing papers was a pain, because type writers didn’t have the copy and paste features and spell check that we have now. Most people who didn’t have a type writer had to write by hand. Using books and other means of information made people read more and get more educated. By using the internet you don’t have to actually leave your house. You can listen to music on such sites as AOL radio or launch.com. There are also a variety of Russian stations like rbcmp3.com and mp3.rin.ru (one is used to listen to songs rather than buying the CDs and the other allows you to download songs for free). This creates a problem for the artists and people producing/making these albums. There are sites where one can download music for free. A few examples are sites like iMesh, Kazza, WinMX. You can shop, listen to music, and even earn a degree online. Anything you can possibly want is now on the Internet. By creating machines, computers, and other devices like robots, many jobs will be taken away and given to machinery. If you’re a draftsman you no longer need to do anything by hand, because of programs like AutoCAD and AutoDesk Inventor where everything is done for you and shows you your models in different views. If you’re a mechanic you have devices t... Free Essays on Technology And The Problems It Creates Free Essays on Technology And The Problems It Creates Although, technology might seem like it’s great and cut the job workforce in half the time, it seems like it’s damaging our lives. People get cut from their jobs, because machines are taking over for them. In some aspects of life, that could be for the best, like using machines to create parts for cars ( instead of manual work). People tend to get mad that their jobs are being taken away by technology and I completely agree with them. The most common example to use is computers. It’s the main reason our country is falling apart and jobs are being decreased. Computers weren’t such a big thing around fifty years ago. The nation used to research by using books and common knowledge. Typing papers was a pain, because type writers didn’t have the copy and paste features and spell check that we have now. Most people who didn’t have a type writer had to write by hand. Using books and other means of information made people read more and get more educated. By using the internet you don’t have to actually leave your house. You can listen to music on such sites as AOL radio or launch.com. There are also a variety of Russian stations like rbcmp3.com and mp3.rin.ru (one is used to listen to songs rather than buying the CDs and the other allows you to download songs for free). This creates a problem for the artists and people producing/making these albums. There are sites where one can download music for free. A few examples are sites like iMesh, Kazza, WinMX. You can shop, listen to music, and even earn a degree online. Anything you can possibly want is now on the Internet. By creating machines, computers, and other devices like robots, many jobs will be taken away and given to machinery. If you’re a draftsman you no longer need to do anything by hand, because of programs like AutoCAD and AutoDesk Inventor where everything is done for you and shows you your models in different views. If you’re a mechanic you have devices t...

Is the future of the EMU threatened by recent events Discuss Essay

Is the future of the EMU threatened by recent events Discuss - Essay Example World War; the legal, economic and political framework of the EU is rooted in the Franco-German tradition, which has lent itself to EU tensions with the political agendas of certain other member states such as Britain (Lippert, 2001, p.114). This intrinsic conflict at the heart of the European Monetary Union (EMU) has been further underlined by the recent European Union and International Monetary Fund’s Irish and Greek bailout. Additionally, some analytical forecasts suggest that Spain and Portugal bailouts are on the horizon, which not only questions the future of the Euro but also brings renewed attention to the long term sustainability of the EMU. The fragmentation of the single monetary union and the EU agenda with national political agendas has become increasingly prominent in relation to the EU enlargement programme (Lahav, 2004, p.113). Indeed, Artis & Nixon suggest that the EU’s economic objectives in the last decade have reached crisis (Artis & Nixon, 2007, p.1). They further argue that the EU relies on co-ordination and mutual co-operation of states and that the enlargement of the EU and free movement has led to many member states opting out, derogating or suspending certain obligations to address national political agendas (2007). With regard to the latter, the continuation of the sensitivity over Turkey and reality of corruption and political agenda in EU friendly Ukraine clearly fuels the debate as to how far national objectives can successfully operate in conjunction with EU economic policy (Wesley Scott, 2006, p.99). As such, Artis and Nixon argue that the root of the Union and mutual objectives are becoming secondary to national political interests, which in turn risks negating the Union’s objectives of a monetary union (2007). The focus of this paper is to critically evaluate the extent to which the EMU is threatened by recent events and it is submitted that a central consideration in this issue is the extent to which the efficacy of

IT - System Testing Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

IT - System Testing - Research Paper Example 1. Functional Testing System functional tests overlap with acceptance tests such that the same tests can apply for both categories. They are both a demonstration of the systems functionality. They are performed to ensure that the behavior of the system is consistent with the requirement specifications set out earlier in software development. All the functional requirements that are set out for the system must be achieved by the system (Burnstein, 2003). A good example is where a financial system is required to allow customers to set up accounts, add, modify, and delete entries into the account, and make printouts. The functional test must ensure that the system can perform these tasks effectively. The functional tests are black box in nature such that the focus is on the inputs and proper outputs for each of the functions that are identified earlier in the requirements. It also takes into consideration improper and illegal inputs which must be tested on the system and their results o bserved to be consistent with the required functions (Myers, Sandler, & Badgett, 2011). ... 2. Performance Testing There are two types of requirements for systems: the functional requirement that describes the functions that the software should perform and the quality requirements that describe the quality level expected for the software such as memory use, response time delays etc. The aim of performance tests is to find out if the software meets the performance requirements (Burnstein, 2003). These tests also tell the testers if there are any other hardware factors that might impact on the system’s performance. It allows for testers to tune the system i.e. optimize the allocation of system resources and to predict future performance levels for the system and this is especially important in planning for subsequent releases (Craig & Jaskiel, 2002). It is important that performance objectives be clearly articulated by the user in the requirements document and also in the system test plan. These objectives must be quantifiable. At the end of the testing the tester will know for example, the CPU cycles used, the actual response time in seconds etc. These are then evaluated with reference to the requirement objectives (Myers, Sandler, & Badgett, 2011). Resources for performance testing must be allocated in the system test plan. The resources include the following: a source of transactions to drive the experiments, that is, a load generator; an experimental testbed that includes hardware and software the system-under-test interacts with and these include special laboratory equipment and space that must be reserved for the tests; instrumentation or probes that help to collect the performance data. The probes may be hardware or software in nature; and a set of tools to collect store, process, collect and interpret data (Gomaa, 2011). 3.

Research paper about world Trade organization (WTO) impact on

About world Trade organization (WTO) impact on environment - Research Paper Example That is, in the quest to achieve economic development, countries aided by economic initiatives like World Trade Organisation (WTO) are indulging in many constructive activities for the development of people, including the environment. At the same time, certain destructive or dubious activities are carried out by the people or country because of WTO, destructing many lives. Like a simple rope which can also be used to constrict one’s neck, the development activities of WTO have turned out to be life destructive activities, damaging the lives of the humans themselves as well as the earth’s environment in which they live. Apart from the highly industrialized countries, this phenomenon is also happening in developing and least developed countries (LDC), mainly after the inception of WTO. So, this paper will analyze how WTO causes environmental problems and also avoids it. Among the many economic based movements, globalization is the one which had and is still having major impact on the economic development of many countries and its people worldwide. Economic part of globalization is the key because with the whole world becoming a kind of global village, barriers between the countries are broken with integration happening mainly in the economic aspects. After the advent of globalization, the main initiative which opened up the markets of the countries is the establishment of WTO in 1994. The World Trade Organization (WTO), founded to supervise and liberalize the international trade in the post-globalization era, was officially initiated on January 1, 1995, with the actualization of the Marrakech Agreement. With 150 odd members and representing more than 97% of the world trade, WTO performs multiple roles. While supervising and liberalizing international trade, it deals and oversees trade regulations between participating countries, then it provides a platform to negotiate and formalise trade agreements, even while solving any disputes that may arise during the

Changes to British Identity and Attitude Since the 1950s

Changes to British Identity and Attitude Since the 1950s How has British identity and attitude changed since the 1950s? Introduction Many people find it difficult to cope with changes in people’s attitudes and identity, particularly since the 1950s. They struggle with the direction in which society appears to be going. The expanding nature of contemporary society means that there are more opportunities for people, this coupled with an expansion in skills and a less authoritarian attitude in the workplace gives people greater individual freedom. However, the continuing changes that have taken place in society over the last fifty years requires that people develop a greater adaptability in regards to their personal identities their attitude towards self and society. They need to be ready to move along with the rate of change and this requires a corresponding change in how they understand themselves. Thus, for Giddens (1991), the self is an ongoing project whereby identity is made and remade to meet the conditions of modern life. This paper will look at how British identity and attitude have changed since the 1950s. There will be a brief look at what life was like in nineteen fifties and how identity was understood. This will then be compared to attitudes and identity today to highlight the changes. 1950s Britain Post-war Britain was quite different to today. In the early 1950s there was still a good deal of war damage which led the Government to introduce massive building programmes to ensure adequate housing for the population. Immediately after the war the welfare state was set up. The funding of this was based on the notion that the (predominantly male) workforce would continue to have full employment, which led the Government to claim that it would be able to look after its citizens from the cradle to the grave. They were overly idealistic in their views and in the last fifty years Britain has witnessed massive changes in both welfare and employment work and welfare. Attitudes have changed towards family structures and this, along with other cultural changes, has had corresponding implications for peoples’ identities. In the years following the Second World War people felt that they were secure in their employment. In industry working class men were conditioned to the view that if they worked hard then they would have a job for life, even though they may not have earned a lot of money (Giddens, 2001). This is no longer the case however, and is one of the many reasons that there are now so many women in the workforce (Abbott and Wallace, 1997). In 1950s Britain society was clearly class ridden and people did not often move from one class to another. The class into which a person was born therefore was very often the one in which they stayed and this had implications for their life chances in other areas. People did not have the choices that they have nowadays few women went out to work and it was the father’s responsibility to go out and earn money to support his family (Walby, 1986). In the years since the nineteen fifties the face of Britain has altered. There have been massive changes in employment patterns and this has, in many cases, led to changing roles in society which has had further implications for people’s sense of identity. Post-War immigration along with rapid social and technological change has brought with it n increasing focus on contemporary racialised and ethnicised identities. This mixing of new identities along with older ones, and the introduction of new cultural forms contributes to the sense of uncertainty that many people feel is a feature of modern life (Hall, 1992). British Identity The concept of identity is extremely important in sociological thinking, furthermore, constructions of identity are also closely linked to culture and people’s identities are reflected in the cultures and sub-cultures to which they belong (Willis, 1967).Smith (1991) claims that in Britain in the 1950s there was a fairly homogenous cultural, aristocratic sense of Britishness, which dated back to the sixteenth century. The British nation state, therefore was, essentially, seen as English with elements taken from Wales and Scotland. Langlands (1999) maintains that: As it is true of all national identities, the meanings and saliency attached to Englishness are fluid and have varied considerably; it has at some times drawn upon Celtic sources; and at other times it has been conflated with Britishness (the myth of our island race for instance) (Langlands, 1999:60). The Arts Council was established in 1947. This was an attempt to bring art to as many people as possible. Ballet, Opera and the theatre were publicity and held up as models of British cultural life. During the 1950s collectivist policies were pursued which resulted in cultural stability. Cultural heritage is of great importance. (the National Heritage site tells us) it is also crucial to the construction of identities and to social behaviour (Turnpenny, 2004). These policies which promoted what were seen as ‘high’ culture were stable until the late nineteen sixties and seventies. The growing number of immigrants was changing the way Britain looked and the way it had to find new understandings of itself By the 1970s things had changed and opinions on the far left held all cultural values as a reflection of the interests of white middle class males (Abbott and Wallace, 1997).. In the nineteen eighties the market principles of Margaret Thatcher’s Government meant that art had to justify its continued existence on the basis of its marketability. In 1986 the cultural policy advisors to the Greater London Council wrote: In an age when we know longer expect to find a single all- encompassing truth, the best strategies for survival often involve creating alternative, exclusive realms, which reject dominant modes (Mulgan and Worpole, 1986:32) When New Labour came to power in the 1990s it took over elements of the left and the right in an attempt to promote a more diverse and inclusive view of culture and cultural heritage (Pearce, 2000). Pearce contends that: Cultural heritage is something that can be inherited, which enables the inheritors to enter into their rightful states and be their true selves (Pearce, 2000:59). This cultural heritage consists of artefacts, practices, objects and cultural spaces which people recognise as part of their cultural heritage. Turnpenny (2004) maintains that this heritage relates to all aspects of a nation’s life. Current cultural policy concentrates on buildings or monument, making heritage very tightly defined and denying wider cultural interpretation (Turnpenny, ibid). Social practices which are a source of group identity have been omitted from Government legislation on cultural heritage yet they traditional, and cultural significance and should therefore be considered as part of our cultural heritage (Jones, 1996). Turnpenny (2004) argues that this is oppressive as it does not take into account community values and the communities’ perceptions of their cultural heritage and it thus contributes to social exclusion. Current cultural policy, in its neglect of the intangible, separates fact from value. In doing so it imposes a form of national identity that does not truly reflect the identity of community groups in Britain. Changes in society affect social structures which in turn affect people’s identities in myriad ways. Because identities are no longer fixed, but as Bradley (1996) has argued are fractured, they are a source of continuing uncertainty. This uncertainty leads to further changes in the social structure. Contemporary people’s identities are unsettled because the changes mentioned above tend to cross ethnic boundaries. For example the changing role of women and their greater inclusion in the labour market has affected not only women’s and men’s identities, it has also led to changes in family structures. Changing Attitudes and the Family Over the last fifty years, Britain has witnessed changes in marriage, household, and family forms that would not have been thought possible prior to the Second World War (Giddens, 2001). The rise in the divorce rate and the number of single parent families, has largely been blamed on the 1960s rise of the feminist movement. There has also been a growth in the rate of women who have children but have not married (Social Trends, 2000). Attitudes have changed considerably in this regard and it is rare to hear of the lonely old spinster. People do not think that women who don’t want to marry are in some way strange. Parsons (1955) argued that (what has been called)the traditional family serves two major purposes that are common to societies, the primary socialisation of children into the norms and values of society, and the stabilisation of adult personalities. For Parsons the institution of the family provided the mutual love and support needed by individuals in order for them to be fit enough to take their places in society (Giddens, 2001). In 1997 when Blair’s Government came to power the above ideology of the family that had existed in Britain for almost a century was breaking down and unemployment was continuing to rise. Death, divorce, and the rise in the number of single parent families meant that the traditional ideal of the male breadwinner and the female carer/homemaker were becoming less common (Giddens, 2001). Single mothers (although not a strong favorite) were no longer seen as shamed women, as they might have been in the nineteen fifties. The concerns of the Welfare State were with the traditional, nuclear family where the man was the breadwinner and the woman cared for the home and children. It was not therefore, set up to deal with single parent households. In this way changing family structures result in an increase in other social problems, particularly poverty (Giddens, 2001). Traditional family structures are no longer the norm in the UK and this has led to a change of attitudes towards those w ho do not live in the traditional nuclear family that Parsons described. However, this leads to other social problems because the state system is not equipped to deal with either the increased burden on the benefits system or in making the employment and childcare systems more equitable. Conclusion British identities and attitudes have changed considerably since the 1950s. This is largely as a result of changing employment patterns, cultural policy, mass immigration, and changes in family structures. Human behaviour is based on guidelines that are shared by a group and in order for that group/society to function effectively the guidelines must apply to all its members. Thus culture is learned and shared and without it members of a society would be unable to communicate effectively and chaos would result (Giddens, 2001). This is why attitudes have had to change in Britain and this has had corresponding effects on how people understand both their Britishness and their identities. Bibliography Abbott, P. and Wallace, C. 1997. An Introduction to Sociology: Feminist Perspectives. London, Routledge. Bradley, H. 1997. Fractured Identities: Changing Patterns of Inequality. Cambridge, Polity Press. Cohen, R. 1996 â€Å"The poverty trap† Community Care; 1 Aug 96, p.26-7 Crowe, G. and Hardey,M.1992. â€Å"Diversity and ambiguity among lone-parent households in modern Britain†. In Marsh, C. and Arber, S. (Eds.) 1992. Families and Households: Divisions and Change. London: Macmillan. Giddens, A. 2001. (4th ed). Sociology. Cambridge, Polity Press. Giddens, A. 1991 Modernity and Self Identity Cambridge, Polity Press Hall, S. and Gleben, B. eds. (1992) Formations of Modernity. Cambridge, Polity Press in association with the Open University Press. Pearce, S. M. 2000 ‘The Making of Cultural Heritage’, In Values and Heritage Conservation, edited by E. Avrami, R. Mason and M. de la Torre. Los Angeles: Getty Conservation Institute (2000) 59–64. Parsons, T. and Bales, R. 1955. Family, Socialisation, and Interaction Process. Glencoe, Illinois: Free Press Smith, A. 1991 National Identity Harmondsworth, Penguin Social Trends 30 2000. General Household Survey in Giddens, A. 2001. (4th ed). Sociology. Cambridge, Polity Press.p.181 Turnpenny, M 2004 â€Å"Cultural Heritage, an ill defined concept? A call for joined-up policy† International Journal of Heritage Studies 10 (3) July 2004 pp. 295-307 Walby, S. 1986. Patriarchy at Work. Cambridge: Polity.

Essay --

â€Å"And lawfully by this the Jew may claim a pound of flesh, to be by him cut off nearest the merchant's heart. Be merciful.† (IV. 1. 231-233). Throughout the trial scene, despite the heavy tension in the air, a subtle, reoccurring idea floated in and lingered. It was the idea for Shylock to show Antonio mercy. However, the Jew disregarded it. Yet, Portia managed was to show the court that Shylock fiercely wanted the Law upheld. The intent of the Law and the grace of Mercy clashes as the course of the trial progresses. Consumed by determination to uphold his bond, Shylock found the thought of showing mercy to the merchant ridiculous. The Duke said to Shylock, â€Å"Shylock, the world thinks, and I think so too, that thou but leadest this fashion of thy malice to the last hour of act; and then 'tis thought thou'lt show thy mercy and remorse more strange than is thy strange apparent cruelty.† (IV. 1. 17-21). To this, the Jew responded: â€Å"You'll ask me, why I rather choose to have a weight of carrion flesh than to receive three thousand ducats: I'll not answer that: but, say, it is my humor: is it answer'd?† (IV. 1. 40-43). The Duke many a times asked the Jew to show mercy, and only that, nothing more and nothing less. Blinded by wrath, Shylock ferociously made it clear to the court, even before Portia’s appearance, that he wanted his bond. Showing mercy was out of the question. At that point, the grace of mercy had long disappeared from Shylock’s mind. The thought of ridding Antonio, the great merchant of Venice, from his hair replaced it. Shylock anticipated seeing red. It was all he could think about: seeing Antonio’s crimson flesh as he cut it off without hesitation and in the absence of grace. The Jew wanted the Law, his side of the La... ... drop of Christian blood, thy lands and goods are, by the laws of Venice, confiscate unto the state of Venice.† (IV. 1. 307-312). Shylock demanded he wanted the law, and Portia made sure to give him exactly what he wanted. The tables turned on Shylock; he was advised to practice mercy and now he has to beg for it. Throughout the trial scene, the intent of the Law and the grace of Mercy constantly clashed, as judgment on the bond was determined. Shylock entered the courtroom a confident man with an apt for revenge, though left a man stripped of everything away from him except the clothes on his back. Mercy was asked of the Jew, many times before the intent of the Law was twisted against him. His determination and refusal to show grace ultimately caused his demise. Portia pitted the intent of Law against him and the end, the grace of Mercy was bestowed upon Shylock.