Social Constructionism in Environmental Sociology Essays

Social Constructionism in Environmental Sociology Essays Social Constructionism in Environmental Sociology Paper Social Constructionism in Environmental Sociology Paper This construction of perceptions and meanings are what this essay is about. It is called social construction. The assay focuses more explicitly on the social construction Of environmental problems and issues. It does this by looking at examples of how and why certain societies can come to consider certain natural phenomena as environmental threats or issues, and asks the question of whether their perceptions are right or not. It focuses the concept of social constructionist and determines the relevance of it in environmental issues. It does this by looking at past findings of attempts at deconstructing the perceptions some societies have on their own identified environmental problems to be able to see if it helped with solutions to the problems. And lastly, it identifies criticism leveled against social constructionist in environmental sociology. All to support the following hypothesis: It is important to take the social construction aspect into consideration when looking at certain environmental problems to be able to identify hidden agendas when it comes to solving the perceived problems. But first, a brief definition of the social construction of environmental issues is necessary (As there are many- and some contradictory). It will serve as a foundation for building an understanding of what is going to be discussed. When something is socially constructed it then eggs the question of whether the threat or issue is in fact a real threat or issue because according to Hardballs and Holbrook a social construct is a product of social definitions, not natural, biological categories (2008: 752). Now according to Marsh, Keating, Punch and Harden (2009) the environment as a concept, is always contested and changing and he says that it means different things to different populations at different times. What the social construction of environmental issues and problems then means is that people in different populations perceive an issue on the environment differently from one another. An environmental issue for one society may not be one for another society. It is because they constructed their realities independent from each other. The independent development of perceptions allowed several dominant social constructs about the environment to emerge as separate independent realities. These realities were shaped and formed by power players in each society. The power players that shape a societys opinion in contemporary lifer and therefore its perspective on things are among others the media, activists, [and] scientists (Marsh et al, 2009). The following examples will illustrate how environmental issues may come to be instructed and considered important in one society, but not in another. When the media of a particular population informs its members about the poor condition of their local water, the water may have been of poor quality even before the media announced it, but since the announcement was made it has been added to the members environmental reality. In effect of the announcement the people may start buying bottled water, local government would start addressing the issue, they could create jobs to fight the issue, and certain entrepreneurs may see potential for business. All of which that loud not have happened if the media did not bring the knowledge of it into the societys reality. In another society, the media may be focusing on how behind they are economically rather than writing about water quality. Even though it has a quality similar to the other society, people does not worry about it because people arent aware of it. In both societies people dont get sick when drinking the Water, but the one society gave it an environmental issue label because of the media coverage it got. Another example is where scientists does research on something that is not considered dangerous to he environment, but after which it becomes an issue. It happens because scientists usually have an elite status. They are considered experts in their fields, and most people do not have the knowledge or qualified degree to grant them alternative knowledge which would enable them to disregard scientists opinions and findings. So when a scientist, based on his own interpretations and gained knowledge, in one society declare something as an environmental issue, the people generally respond with acceptance. Another example of a construct of an environmental issue is one from an article based n dingo management on an Australian island (Heathen, K. Burns G, 2007). They look at the Fraser Island Dingo Management Strategy (FIDS) to deconstruct key assumptions about management of dingoes on Fraser Island. What they found was that the FIDS were trying to prevent dingo aggression towards humans, and that the FIDS constructed the issue of the aggression as deriving from human-dingo interactions via feeding. The prevention techniques were composed of many ways to prevent that type of interaction. Despite that, the dingoes remained as they were, still hurting people. Heathen ND Burns concluded that the management should take to account a wider range of interpretations of human-dingo interactions (2007: 55). One can see the importance the social construction aspect has in shaping priorities of societies when looking at the above examples. It is clear that when a society does not have knowledge on a subject, it is as if it does not exist. And when making the knowledge freely available as the only relevant knowledge, the society can do no different than to accept what they are being told by power players. The construction can be deliberately created by power players in society. The government or managing scientists in a particular field can use their power to change perceptions of the society by publishing rational substantiations for their claims on a matter so that they can employ a policy or action that will benefit themselves or one that will contribute to solving a related problem of the matter without the society complaining about why they do it. It is clear from these examples that some constructed environmental issues are not real in terms true intentions as there are additional economic or monetary goals often hidden it the actions to solve he environmental problems identified by power players. This is where social constructionist in environmental sociology comes in. When social environmentalists look at an environmental issue they try to consider the social construction aspect in the origin of the issue. By doing this they are able to deconstruct what has led to the construction of the problem, and thus identify the hidden agendas associated with policies claimed to solve the problem. They can then ask the question: is it really an environmental problem if the social, cultural and economic spheres of human life are not actively affected by it? The question may leave policy makers with a conscious thought about their true agendas, and enables them to determine for themselves whether or not they will be addressing a true environmental issue or not. The study on Dingo management shows how social constructionist has deconstructed a social construction of an environmental issue to bring hidden agendas to the surface. The notion that nature should be managed by humans has led to the notion that humans are in charge of it. Humans feel that they can use and manipulate nature to generate income (like tourism to wildlife parks etc. , and that is where the problem in management comes in. The wellbeing of the nature and the economic capital it may generate produce a mixture of interests. One that wants to be green and one that wants to gain monetary profits. These two interests are contradictory because a monetary gain is sometimes gained at the expense of a green environmental gain. Now at the dingo management park, social constructionist showed why dingoes may be aggressive against humans. It showed that humans may not even belong there, or try to manage the dingoes because the fact is that dingoes are just a wild animal that react on instinct, and humans trying to control them could be causing the aggressive incidents. It showed that the management is actually catering for the safety of the humans at the expense of the dingoes (they kill dingoes deliberately to reduce their population). They cater for their safety because they bring in money, and the more safe they can make it for them, the more money they may receive. The hidden agendas (to generate monetary wealth) in the management and conservation of dingoes are actually letting dingoes getting killed instead Of getting conserved (Heathen, K. Cooper, G, 2007:48-55). Even Hough social constructionist in environmental sociology may bring the question of whether an issue is real or not under discussion when policies need to be made, it still remains just that -a question. It does not provide an answer. It is not possible to give an answer because by stating that an environmental issue is not this, but it is that, would be contradictory to what social construction stands for. That is, that people construct definitions on matter by the available knowledge they have. But knowledge is limited by a persons senses.

Aerobic vs. Anaerobic Processes

Aerobic vs. Anaerobic Processes All living things need a continuous supply of energy to keep their cells functioning normally and to stay healthy. Some organisms, called autotrophs, can produce their own energy using sunlight or other energy sources through processes such as ​photosynthesis. Others, like humans, need to eat food in order to produce energy. However, that is not the type of energy cells use to function. Instead, they use a molecule called adenosine triphosphate (ATP) to keep themselves going. The cells, therefore, must have a way to take the chemical energy stored in food and transform it into the ATP they need to function. The process cells undergo to make this change is called cellular respiration. Two Types of Cellular Processes Cellular respiration can be aerobic (meaning with oxygen) or anaerobic (without oxygen). Which route the cells take to create the ATP depends solely on whether or not there is enough oxygen present to undergo aerobic respiration. If there is not enough oxygen present for aerobic respiration, then some organisms will resort to using anaerobic respiration or other anaerobic processes such as fermentation. Aerobic Respiration In order to maximize the amount of ATP made in the process of cellular respiration, oxygen must be present. As eukaryotic species evolved over time, they became more complex with more organs and body parts. It became necessary for cells to be able to create as much ATP as possible to keep these new adaptations running properly. Early Earths atmosphere had very little oxygen. It wasnt until after autotrophs became abundant and released large amounts of oxygen as a byproduct of photosynthesis that aerobic respiration could evolve. The oxygen allowed each cell to produce many times more ATP than their ancient ancestors that relied on anaerobic respiration. This process happens in the cell organelle called the mitochondria. Anaerobic Processes More primitive are  the processes that many organisms undergo when not enough oxygen is present. The most commonly known anaerobic processes are known as fermentation.  Most anaerobic processes start  out the same way as aerobic respiration, but they stop  partway through the pathway because the oxygen is not available for it to finish the aerobic respiration process, or they join with another molecule that is not oxygen as the final electron acceptor. Fermentation makes many fewer ATP and also releases byproducts of either lactic acid or alcohol, in most cases. Anaerobic processes can happen in the mitochondria or in the cytoplasm of the cell. Lactic acid fermentation is the type of anaerobic process humans undergo if there is a shortage of oxygen. For example, long distance runners experience a buildup of lactic acid in their muscles because they are not taking in enough oxygen to keep up with the demand of energy needed for the exercise. The lactic acid can even cause cramping and soreness in the muscles as time goes on. Alcoholic fermentation does not happen in humans. Yeast is a good example of an organism that undergoes alcoholic fermentation. The same process that goes on in the mitochondria during lactic acid fermentation also happens in alcoholic fermentation. The only difference is that the byproduct of alcoholic fermentation is ethyl alcohol. Alcoholic fermentation is important for the beer industry. Beer makers add yeast which will undergo alcoholic fermentation to add alcohol to the brew. Wine fermentation is also similar and provides the alcohol for the wine. Which is Better? Aerobic respiration is much more efficient at making ATP than anaerobic processes like fermentation. Without oxygen, the Krebs Cycle and the Electron Transport Chain in cellular respiration get backed up and will not work any longer. This forces the cell to undergo the much less efficient fermentation. While aerobic respiration can produce up to 36 ATP, the different types of fermentation  can only have a net gain of 2 ATP. Evolution and Respiration It is thought that the most ancient type of respiration is anaerobic. Since there was little to no oxygen present when the first eukaryotic cells evolved through endosymbiosis, they could only undergo anaerobic respiration or something similar to fermentation. This was not a problem, however, since those first cells were unicellular. Producing only 2 ATP at a time was enough to keep the single cell running. As multicellular eukaryotic organisms began to appear on Earth, the larger and more complex organisms needed to produce more energy. Through natural selection, organisms with more mitochondria that could undergo aerobic respiration survived and reproduced, passing on these favorable adaptations to their offspring. The more ancient versions could no longer keep up with the demand for ATP in the more complex organism and went extinct.

Budgeting Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Budgeting - Essay Example The intention of this study is a budget as a financial plan expressed in terms of money that helps budget holders achieve organizational goals and objectives in an appropriate manner. In construction industry, budget helps companies in the process of financial analysis. Through budgeting, management of the organizations can know the financial position of the organization. They can know what is actually going on in terms of capital use for business activities. Budgeting helps in providing the management with the information regarding available capital, current financial position, and future expenditures of the ongoing business activities. Through efficient budgeting, the organizations can save money and related expenditures regarding various business activities. Budgets help in cutting off the extra costs and make money available for use in other financial activities.Proper planning plays an important role in the success of a construction company. Budgeting plays a very important role in this regard. Planning is the second function of budgeting. After forecasting the financial position, a company decides its future activities, such as, investment decisions, loan decisions, and buying or selling decisions. Communication is another major function of budgeting. If an organization makes some sort of financial deal with another organization, budgeting is that technique which can resolve the issue related to use of capital between the two parties. Priorities can be set between the two organizations regarding the financial issues. An effective budget would help the organizations in communicating with each other for the purpose of discussing where the money should be spent and how much money should be spent. 2.4 Motivation Budgeting plays an important role in motivating staff of the company. After analyzing the financial position of the company, managers can develop such plans for the employees that are able to improve their efficiency and motivation. For example, if a company develops effective compensation plans, it can result in favor of the company because employees like to work for a company which values their performances and provides them with the compensation and rewards that they deserve. However, development of compensation plans is directly related on the available budget of a company. If a company will have enough budgets for developing and implementing such plans, only then compensation plans can be developed which will ultimately result in motivating employees and improving their individual and group performances. 2.5 Evaluation In construction industry, evaluation of financial and other business processes plays a very important role. Budget represents the target performance which managers measure with the actual

Critcally examine the success of operation management theories ,tools Essay

Critcally examine the success of operation management theories ,tools and techniques in the uk supermarket sector - Essay Example Operations management is a science that deals with coordination of all functions of an organization. The major departments within an organization include; accounting, marketing, human resources, information technology departments and purchasing have to be well controlled. The key factors that have led to the development of operations management include; globalization, total quality management, empowerment and techonology.With the world becoming a global village, supermarkets are striving to provide services more efficiently and effectively so as to stay at the top of competition by quickly delivering their services. Operations management is a transformation process that interacts with various departments in an organization. According to Slack â€Å"Operations management helps in developing and managing the value chain process and also in supporting it through using different tools, techniques and methods in order for an organization to be in a position to achieve its goals and objectives within a specified period of time. The Total Quality Management is a holistic approach that requires that all the managers and personnel working for supermarkets to be able to handle customers in an appropriate way. The major supermarkets in the United Kingdom also have got a major challenge in ensuring that they empower all their members of staff regardless of their hierarchy in the organization so that they can take part in achieving the company’s goals and objectives. It refers to the process of organizing and controlling the activities of a business so as provide goods and services to the customers at the appropriate time and place. The major functions of any business involve finance, marketing and operations management. Some of the processes involved in the process management theory include forecasting, capacity planning, and management of inventory, quality assurance, motivation and training of the employees. The traditional objective of

Road Design Essay Example for Free

Road Design Essay Due to the fast development of many countries like Japan, there is a significant increase in number of manufactured vehicles and these vehicles may come from different prices that can be purchased by any people. But this increase had been responsible on the formation of the word traffic which means congested vehicles in the road. Traffic is the term used by many of us when experiencing jam packed vehicles where there is no or little movement of this mobile medium. Traffic happens in every street in the world even those industrialized countries. It is often observed on crunch time like seven o’clock in the mourning or five in the afternoon because these are the time of the day when people are mostly in the street to go to office, school or go to their houses (Ewing, 2001). It is not only the motorists sector that can be blame because of traffic jam because there are many factors to be considered why traffic jam occurs in the road. One factor to be tae into consideration is the road. It is self explanatory because this is where vehicles go by. For this paper, we will try to look on the road factor that can be a solution on traffic jam. Moreover, the design of road will be taken into consideration which has the main objective of lessening traffic situations. METHODOLOGY Road design will cover all the necessary procedures that will lead not only to comfortable and safe driving but also giving a solution on traffic calming (Ewing, 2001). First to tackle in this paper is the engineering factor. To construct a road, the foundation or soil must be firm enough to stand the compression stress brought by the weight of vehicles. Survey must be conducted first prior to the construction of the road to ensure strength of the foundation. If the ground is not stiff enough to stand the compact force, the road maybe damaged compromising the quality of the constructed road. If this happens, then traffic may arise because vehicles may not pass the road in a better and nicer route (TAC, 1999). The next factor that is part of the design is the materials to be used in the construction. It is very important to consider that the materials must comply with the national standards. This is to ensure the quality and safety factor of the newly constructed road. The road must be wide enough to facilitate the volume of vehicles passing a particular road. After the road has been constructed, the next part to be discussed is the road signals. These signs ease the flow of traffic because these are steps to follow for a harmonious flow of vehicles in the road. It is very important to remind the motorists that these road signs are not useful if motorist will not obey these road signs (The Korea Transport Institute, 2006). Put a board sign that specify the name of the roads and streets so that drivers can follow the directions thus minimizing confusion among the drivers. The information that are very important in a sign boards are, the name of the street, the distance from a place to another place, directions of intersections and other sign like no parking, no jaywalking and many others. The sign board are located in such a way that every driver whether the driver has big or small vehicles, see to it that it can be seen by the driver’s naked eye. It can be situated on top of a post and being hanged. Signs are also present in the road itself. These sign, that are mostly painted, guides the motorists or in somehow communicate to have a fast flow of traffic and improving the safety factor. These pavement markings must comply with the set of standards to minimize confusion on drivers (The Korea Transport Institute, 2006). Stoplights must be present in any road especially on intersections. This is to signal the vehicles from a given route to stop, go or get ready. But most traffic incidences can be observed on intersections because there are four opposing routes that goes in just one passage. One solution for this problem is the construction of a flyover that will facilitate a one pair of route. We know that there are four routes that want to pass an intersection, but in flyover, the four will be grouped into two making the four groups into two only. In this way, traffic will be minimized. And the last factor is the design of allocating different kinds of vehicles to behave in the street. There are public utility vehicle that transport public people from place to place. When loading or unloading their passengers, there must be a specific place where the driver can do these and not anywhere in the road (The Korea Transport Institute, 2006). The design of road just not only covers the physical or engineering aspect but more importantly are the laws that will favor the good flow of traffic and safety. These laws include, not allowing motorists to park their vehicles in the street. This will create a narrow road for the passage of other vehicles. There must be a strict enforcement so that motorists will obey traffic rules (TAC, 1999). ANALYSIS OF DATA After constructing the road and has the characteristics presented from the previous paragraphs, the next thing to do is to analyze the traffic condition. This is to determine whether the road achieved the main objective of this study which is to lessen traffic. For the data gathering, one must observed the road in terms of number of vehicles that was able to pass by on the road. The time of observation must include crunch time which is seven in the morning and five in the afternoon. The observation must be done everyday for one month. The data gathered must be compared to standard which determine whether traffic occur. FORMAT For the format of the result and discussion, the raw data must be presented first. In this part, some statistical analysis may be included to increase the reliability of the result of the study. The result and discussion part will include the data from the start of the study until the last day. There must be also a comparison between a road that was not constructed in accordance to the characteristics above and a road the followed all the factors above.

Danielle Steels The Ring - A Thin Line Between Fiction and Reality :: Danielle Steel Ring Essays

Danielle Steel's The Ring - A Thin Line Between Fiction and Reality Fiction can be considered something invented by the imagination. Although many people might feel that fiction is totally exclusive of reality, I believe that there is a very thin line between fiction and reality. This is proved in Danielle Steel's The Ring, where she has used common characters and placed them in realistic situations, facing everyday realistic issues. The Ring gives the reader a sense of realism in a fictitious novel. In fact, Danielle Steel does a really good job, portraying the characters in realistic situations such as Kassandra dealing with her affair, Walmar acting as an overprotective father to Ariana and Gerhard, and Ariana struggling to find her family. All these characters have been intertwined in a real historical setting that has, to some extent, led to their dilemmas. Kassandra's affair with Dolff is a result of being married to an elderly man, Walmar, in an arranged marriage. While Kassandra's affair cannot be justified, it is dealt with realistically as many women might engage in a similar activity under the given circumstances. These circumstances are best described by Danielle Steel, as follows, "Her assistance wasn't needed, her help, or her love, or her time" (20). There is no doubt that some women in her place would have an affair to feel special, important, and needed. And that is exactly how Dolff has made her feel. Danielle Steel confirms, "And with Dolff, Kassandra had found what she had always so desperately needed, someone who understood the odd meanderings of her soul, the longings, the fragmented pieces, the rebelliousness against the lonely restrictions of her world" (12). While this affair may seem immoral and wrong, it presents a realistic state that many people, both men and women can relate to, as seen in the movie version. Even the brutal murder of Dolff by the Nazis and Kassandra’s suicide are realistic consequences foreshadowed in Walmar’s earlier warning to Kassandra to stop the affair. Walmar also plays a pivotal part in The Ring, and just like Kassandra, he has been placed in some harsh and realistic circumstances as an overprotective father. Walmar has grown more attached to his children, Ariana and Gerhard, after his wife’s suicide. Just like any father, Walmar wants to protect his children from anything and everything, after losing their mother.

The student body of your University

I would be grateful if offered the opportunity to be a member of the student body of your University. I am currently undertaking my studies at Grossmont College and I would wish to transfer to your University in order to study Business Administration.Grossmont College does not offer undergraduate programs and I wish to further my studies to the highest level I can achieve in an institution which encourages both personal and collective academic advancement. I am specifically enthusiastic about your University due to the high levels of integrity and quality education being offered besides providing for students a good environment for studies.The visions and goals of your University as an academic institution are in line with my personal goals for I desire to positively change the human society through knowledge that I wish to gain from your institution when given the chance.I believe that University of San Diego is the place where the foundation of my career stand to be shaped as its v alues has the capacity to further build my worth as a moral and intellectual being. My objectives are to work in the business world as a manager and I believe my studies at your esteemed institution will adequately equip me for such an eventuality.I completely understand my responsibility as a student and I am only requesting for the opportunity to join your student body and the entire community of University of San Diego. I will abide by all the rules and focus on achieving my academic and intellectual goals while at the same time making positive contribution towards my fellow students and the entire community of the University of San Diego.I am looking forward to a positive response and an opportunity to join your academic institution. Thank you in advance.