Lamb: The Gospel According to Biff, Christ’s Childhood Pal Chapter 2

Chapter 2 The angel wants me to convey more of Joshua's grace. Grace? I'm trying to write about a six-year-old, for Christ's sakes, how much grace could he have? It's not like Joshua walked around professing that he was the Son of God every day of the week. He was a pretty normal kid, for the most part. There was the trick he did with the lizards, and once we found a dead meadowlark and he brought it back to life, and there was the time, when we were eight, when he healed his brother Judah's fractured skull after a game of â€Å"stone the adulteress† got out of hand. (Judah could never get the knack of being an adulteress. He'd stand there stiff as Lot's wife. You can't do that. An adulteress has to be wily and nimble-footed.) The miracles Joshua performed were small and quiet, as miracles tend to be, once you get used to them. But trouble came from the miracles that happened around him, without his volition, as it were. Bread and serpents come to mind. It was a few days before the Passover feast, and many of the families of Nazareth were not making the pilgrimage to Jerusalem that year. There had been little rain through our winter season, so it was going to be a hard year. Many farmers could not afford the time away from their fields to travel to and from the holy city. My father and Joshua's were both working in Sepphoris, and the Romans wouldn't give them time off work beyond the actual feast days. My mother had been making the unleavened bread when I came in from playing in the square. She held a dozen sheets of the flatbread before her and she looked as if she was going to dash it to the floor any second. â€Å"Biff, where is your friend Joshua?† My little brothers grinned at me from behind her skirts. â€Å"At home, I suppose. I just left him.† â€Å"What have you boys been doing?† â€Å"Nothing.† I tried to remember if I had done anything that should make her this angry, but nothing came to mind. It was a rare day and I'd made no trouble. Both my little brothers were unscathed as far as I knew. â€Å"What have you done to cause this?† She held out a sheet of the flatbread, and there, in crispy brown relief on the golden crust, was the image of my friend Joshua's face. She snatched up another sheet of bread, and there, again, was my friend Josh. Graven images – big sin. Josh was smiling. Mother frowned on smiling. â€Å"Well? Do I need to go to Joshua's house and ask his poor, insane mother?† â€Å"I did this. I put Joshua's face on the bread.† I just hoped that she didn't ask me how I had done it. â€Å"Your father will punish you when he comes home this evening. Now go, get out of here.† I could hear my little brother's giggling as I slunk out the door, but once outside, things worsened. Women were coming away from their baking stones, and each held a sheet of unleavened bread, and each was muttering some variation of â€Å"Hey, there's a kid on my bread.† I ran to Joshua's house and stormed in without knocking. Joshua and his brothers were at the table eating. Mary was nursing Joshua's newest little sister, Miriam. â€Å"You are in big trouble,† I whispered in Josh's ear with enough force to blow out an eardrum. Joshua held up the flatbread he was eating and grinned, just like the face on his bread. â€Å"It's a miracle.† â€Å"Tastes good too,† said James, crunching a corner off of his brother's head. â€Å"It's all over town, Joshua. Not just your house. Everyone's bread has your face on it.† â€Å"He is truly the Son of God,† Mary said with a beatific smile. â€Å"Oh, jeez, Mother,† James said. â€Å"Yeah, jeez Mom,† said Judah. â€Å"His mug is all over the Passover feast. We have to do something.† They didn't seem to get the gravity of the situation. I was already in trouble, and my mother didn't even suspect anything supernatural. â€Å"We have to cut your hair.† â€Å"What?† â€Å"We cannot cut his hair,† Mary said. She had always let Joshua wear his hair long, like an Essene, saying that he was a Nazarite like Samson. It was just another reason why many of the townspeople thought her mad. The rest of us wore our hair cut short, like the Greeks who had ruled our country since the time of Alexander, and the Romans after them. â€Å"If we cut his hair he looks like the rest of us. We can say it's someone else on the bread.† â€Å"Moses,† Mary said. â€Å"Young Moses.† â€Å"Yes!† â€Å"I'll get a knife.† â€Å"James, Judah, come with me,† I said. â€Å"We have to tell the town that the face of Moses has come to visit us for the Passover feast.† Mary pulled Miriam from her breast, bent, and kissed me on the forehead. â€Å"You are a good friend, Biff.† I almost melted in my sandals, but I caught Joshua frowning at me. â€Å"It's not the truth,† he said. â€Å"It will keep the Pharisees from judging you.† â€Å"I'm not afraid of them,† said the nine-year-old. â€Å"I didn't do this to the bread.† â€Å"Then why take the blame and the punishment for it?† â€Å"I don't know, seems like I should, doesn't it?† â€Å"Sit still so your mother can cut your hair.† I dashed out the door, Judah and James on my heels, the three of us bleating like spring lambs. â€Å"Behold! Moses has put his face on the bread for Passover! Behold!† Miracles. She kissed me. Holy Moses on a matzo! She kissed me. The miracle of the serpent? It was an omen, in a way, although I can only say that because of what happened between Joshua and the Pharisees later on. At the time, Joshua thought it was the fulfillment of a prophecy, or that's how we tried to sell it to his mother and father. It was late summer and we were playing in a wheat field outside of town when Joshua found the nest of vipers. â€Å"A nest of vipers,† Joshua shouted. The wheat was so tall I couldn't see where he was calling from. â€Å"A pox on your family,† I replied. â€Å"No, there's a nest of vipers over here. Really.† â€Å"Oh, I thought you were taunting me. Sorry, a pox off of your family.† â€Å"Come, see.† I crashed through the wheat to find Joshua standing by a pile of stones a farmer had used to mark the boundary of his field. I screamed and backpedaled so quickly that I lost my balance and fell. A knot of snakes writhed at Joshua's feet, skating over his sandals and wrapping themselves around his ankles. â€Å"Joshua, get away from there.† â€Å"They won't hurt me. It says so in Isaiah.† â€Å"Just in case they haven't read the Prophets†¦Ã¢â‚¬  Joshua stepped aside, sending the snakes scattering, and there, behind him, was the biggest cobra I had ever seen. It reared up until it was taller than my friend, spreading a hood like a cloak. â€Å"Run, Joshua.† He smiled. â€Å"I'm going to call her Sarah, after Abraham's wife. These are her children.† â€Å"No kidding? Say good-bye now, Josh.† â€Å"I want to show Mother. She loves prophecy.† With that, he was off toward the village, the giant serpent following him like a shadow. The baby snakes stayed in the nest and I backed slowly away before running after my friend. I once brought a frog home, hoping to keep him as a pet. Not a large frog, a one-handed frog, quiet and well mannered. My mother made me release him, then cleanse myself in the immersion pool (the mikveh) at the synagogue. Still she wouldn't let me in the house until after sunset because I was unclean. Joshua led a fourteen-foot-long cobra into his house and his mother squealed with joy. My mother never squealed. Mary slung the baby to her hip, kneeled in front of her son, and quoted Isaiah: â€Å"‘The wolf also shall dwell with the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the kid; and the calf and the young lion and the fatling together; and a little child shall lead them. And the cow and the bear shall feed; their young ones shall lie down together: and the lion shall eat straw like the ox. And the sucking child shall play on the hole of the asp, and the weaned child shall put his hand on the cockatrice's den.'† James, Judah, and Elizabeth cowered in the corner, too frightened to cry. I stood outside the doorway watching. The snake swayed behind Joshua as if preparing to strike. â€Å"Her name is Sarah.† â€Å"They were cobras, not asps,† I said. â€Å"A whole pile of cobras.† â€Å"Can we keep her?† Joshua asked. â€Å"I'll catch rats for her, and make a bed for her next to Elizabeth's.† â€Å"Definitely not asps. I'd know an asp if I saw one. Probably not a cockatrice either. I'd say a cobra.† (Actually, I didn't know an asp from a hole in the ground.) â€Å"Shush, Biff,† Mary said. My heart broke with the harshness in my love's voice. Just then Joseph rounded the corner and went through the door before I could catch him. No worry, he was back outside in an instant. â€Å"Jumpin' Jehoshaphat!† I checked to see if Joseph's heart had failed, having quickly decided that once Mary and I were married the snake would have to go, or at least sleep outside, but the burly carpenter seemed only shaken, and a little dusty from his backward dive through the door. â€Å"Not an asp, right?† I asked. â€Å"Asps are made small to fit the breasts of Egyptian queens, right?† Joseph ignored me. â€Å"Back away slowly, son. I'll get a knife from my workshop.† â€Å"She won't hurt us,† Joshua said. â€Å"Her name is Sarah. She's from Isaiah.† â€Å"It is in the prophecy, Joseph,† Mary said. I could see Joseph searching his memory for the passage. Although only a layman, he knew his scripture as well as anyone. â€Å"I don't remember the part about Sarah.† â€Å"I don't think it's prophecy,† I offered. â€Å"It says asps, and that is definitely not an asp. I'd say she's going to bite Joshua's ass off if you don't grab her, Joseph.† (A guy has to try.) â€Å"Can I keep her?† Joshua asked. Joseph had regained his composure by now. Evidently, once you accept that your wife slept with God, extraordinary events seem sort of commonplace. â€Å"Take her back where you found her, Joshua, the prophecy has been fulfilled now.† â€Å"But I want to keep her.† â€Å"No, Joshua.† â€Å"You're not the boss of me.† I suspected that Joseph had heard that before. â€Å"Just so,† he said, â€Å"please take Sarah back where you found her.† Joshua stormed out of the house, his snake following close behind. Joseph and I gave them a wide berth. â€Å"Try not to let anyone see you,† Joseph said. â€Å"They won't understand.† He was right, of course. On our way out of the village we ran into a gang of older boys, led by Jakan, the son of Iban the Pharisee. They did not understand. There were perhaps a dozen Pharisees in Nazareth: learned men, working-class teachers, who spent much of their time at the synagogue debating the Law. They were often hired as judges and scribes, and this gave them great influence over the people of the village. So much influence, in fact, that the Romans often used them as mouthpieces to our people. With influence comes power, with power, abuse. Jakan was only the son of a Pharisee. He was only two years older than Joshua and me, but he was well on his way to mastering cruelty. If there is a single joy in having everyone you have ever known two thousand years dead, it is that Jakan is one of them. May his fat crackle in the fires of hell for eternity! Joshua taught us that we should not hate – a lesson that I was never able to master, along with geometry. Blame Jakan for the former, Euclid for the latter. Joshua ran behind the houses and shops of the village, the snake behind him by ten steps, and me behind her ten steps more. As he rounded the corner by the smith's shop, Joshua ran into Jakan, knocking him to the ground. â€Å"You idiot!† Jakan shouted, rising and dusting himself off. His three friends laughed and he spun on them like an angry tiger. â€Å"This one needs to have his face washed in dung. Hold him.† The boys turned their focus on Joshua, two grabbing his arms while the third punched him in the stomach. Jakan turned to look for a pile to rub Joshua's face in. Sarah slithered around the corner and reared up behind Joshua, spreading her glorious hood wide above our heads. â€Å"Hey,† I called as I rounded the corner. â€Å"You guys think this is an asp?† My fear of the snake had changed into a sort of wary affection. She seemed to be smiling. I know I was. Sarah swayed from side to side like a wheat stalk in the wind. The boys dropped Joshua's arms and ran to Jakan, who had turned and slowly backed away. â€Å"Joshua was talking about asps,† I continued, â€Å"but I'd have to say that this here is a cobra.† Joshua was bent over, still trying to catch his breath, but he looked back at me and grinned. â€Å"Of course, I'm not the son of a Pharisee, but – â€Å" â€Å"He's in league with the serpent!† Jakan screamed. â€Å"He consorts with demons!† â€Å"Demons!† the other boys shouted, trying to crowd behind their fat friend. â€Å"I will tell my father of this and you'll be stoned.† A voice from behind Jakan said, â€Å"What is all this shouting?† And a sweet voice it was. She came out of the house by the smith's shop. Her skin shone like copper and she had the light blue eyes of the northern desert people. Wisps of reddish-brown hair showed at the edges of her purple shawl. She couldn't have been more than nine or ten, but there was something very old in her eyes. I stopped breathing when I saw her. Jakan puffed up like a toad. â€Å"Stay back. These two are consorting with a demon. I will tell the elders and they will be judged.† She spit at his feet. I had never seen a girl spit before. It was charming. â€Å"It looks like a cobra to me.† â€Å"See there, I told you.† She walked up to Sarah as if she were approaching a fig tree looking for fruit, not a hint of fear, only interest. â€Å"You think this is a demon?† she said, without looking back at Jakan. â€Å"Won't you be embarrassed when the elders find that you mistook a common snake of the field for a demon?† â€Å"It is a demon.† The girl reached her hand up, and the snake made as if to strike, then lowered its head until its forked tongue was brushing the girl's fingers. â€Å"This is definitely a cobra, little boy. And these two were probably leading it back to the fields where it would help the farmers by eating rats.† â€Å"Yep, that's what we were doing,† I said. â€Å"Absolutely,† Joshua said. The girl turned to Jakan and his friends. â€Å"A demon?† Jakan stomped like an angry donkey. â€Å"You are in league with them.† â€Å"Don't be silly, my family has only just arrived from Magdala, I've never seen these two before, but it's obvious what they were doing. We do it all the time in Magdala. But then, this is a backwater village.† â€Å"We do it here too,† Jakan said. â€Å"I was – well – these two make trouble.† â€Å"Trouble,† his friends said. â€Å"Why don't we let them get on with what they were doing.† Jakan, his eyes bouncing from the girl to the snake to the girl again, began to lead his friends away. â€Å"I will deal with you two another time.† As soon as they were around the corner, the girl jumped back from the snake and ran toward the door of her house. â€Å"Wait,† Joshua called. â€Å"I have to go.† â€Å"What is your name?† â€Å"I'm Mary of Magdala, daughter of Isaac,† she said. â€Å"Call me Maggie.† â€Å"Come with us, Maggie.† â€Å"I can't, I have to go.† â€Å"Why?† â€Å"Because I've peed myself.† She disappeared through the door. Miracles. Once we were back in the wheat field Sarah headed for her den. We watched from a distance as she slid down the hole. â€Å"Josh. How did you do that?† â€Å"I have no idea.† â€Å"Is this kind of thing going to keep happening?† â€Å"Probably.† â€Å"We are going to get into a lot of trouble, aren't we?† â€Å"What am I, a prophet?† â€Å"I asked you first.† Joshua stared into the sky like a man in a trance. â€Å"Did you see her? She's afraid of nothing.† â€Å"She's a giant snake, what's to be afraid of?† Joshua frowned. â€Å"Don't pretend to be simple, Biff. We were saved by a serpent and a girl, I don't know what to think about that.† â€Å"Why think about it at all? It just happened.† â€Å"Nothing happens but by God's will,† Joshua said. â€Å"It doesn't fit with the testament of Moses.† â€Å"Maybe it's a new testament,† I said. â€Å"You aren't pretending, are you?† Joshua said. â€Å"You really are simple.† â€Å"I think she likes you better than she likes me,† I said. â€Å"The snake?† â€Å"Right, I'm the simple one.† I don't know if now, having lived and died the life of a man, I can write about little-boy love, but remembering it now, it seems the cleanest pain I've known. Love without desire, or conditions, or limits – a pure and radiant glow in the heart that could make me giddy and sad and glorious all at once. Where does it go? Why, in all their experiments, did the Magi never try to capture that purity in a bottle? Perhaps they couldn't. Perhaps it is lost to us when we become sexual creatures, and no magic can bring it back. Perhaps I only remember it because I spent so long trying to understand the love that Joshua felt for everyone. In the East they taught us that all suffering comes from desire, and that rough beast would stalk me through my life, but on that afternoon, and for a time after, I touched grace. At night I would lie awake, listening to my brothers' breathing against the silence of the house, and in my mind's eye I could see her eyes like blue fire in the dark. Exquisite torture. I wonder now if Joshua didn't make her whole life like that. Maggie, she was the strongest of us all. After the miracle of the serpent, Joshua and I made up excuses to pass by the smith's shop where we might run into Maggie. Every morning we would rise early and go to Joseph, volunteering to run to the smith for some nails or the repair of a tool. Poor Joseph took this as enthusiasm for carpentry. â€Å"Would you boys like to come to Sepphoris with me tomorrow?† Joseph asked us one day when we were badgering him about fetching nails. â€Å"Biff, would your father let you start learning the work of a carpenter?† I was mortified. At ten a boy was expected to start learning his father's trade, but that was a year away – forever when you're nine. â€Å"I?CI am still thinking about what I will do when I grow up,† I said. My own father had made a similar offer to Joshua the day before. â€Å"So you won't become a stonecutter?† â€Å"I was thinking about becoming the village idiot, if my father will allow it.† â€Å"He has a God-given talent,† Joshua said. â€Å"I've been talking to Bartholomew the idiot,† I said. â€Å"He's going to teach me to fling my own dung and run headlong into walls.† Joseph scowled at me. â€Å"Perhaps you two are yet too young. Next year.† â€Å"Yes,† Joshua said, â€Å"next year. May we go now, Joseph? Biff is meeting Bartholomew for his lesson.† Joseph nodded and we were off before he inflicted more kindness upon us. We actually had befriended Bartholomew, the village idiot. He was foul and drooled a lot, but he was large, and offered some protection against Jakan and his bullies. Bart also spent most of his time begging near the town square, where the women came to fetch water from the well. From time to time we caught a glimpse of Maggie as she passed, a water jar balanced on her head. â€Å"You know, we are going to have to start working soon,† Joshua said. â€Å"I won't see you, once I'm working with my father.† â€Å"Joshua, look around you, do you see any trees?† â€Å"No.† â€Å"And the trees we do have, olive trees – twisted, gnarly, knotty things, right?† â€Å"Right.† â€Å"But you're going to be a carpenter like your father?† â€Å"There's a chance of it.† â€Å"One word, Josh: rocks.† â€Å"Rocks?† â€Å"Look around. Rocks as far as the eye can see. Galilee is nothing but rocks, dirt, and more rocks. Be a stonemason like me and my father. We can build cities for the Romans.† â€Å"Actually, I was thinking about saving mankind.† â€Å"Forget that nonsense, Josh. Rocks, I tell you.†

Sharing Responsibility †Role of local and state bodies: Disaster Management Essay

‘Disaster management can be defined as the organization and management of resources and responsibilities for dealing with all humanitarian aspects of emergencies, in particular preparedness, response and recovery in order to lessen the impact of disasters. Disaster — The term ‘DISASTER’ has been taken from a French word ‘Desastre’ (French ‘des’ means bad and ‘astre’ means star) meaning bad evil star. A disaster whether natural or human induced, is an event which results in widespread human loss. It is accompanied by loss of livelihood and property causing devastating impact on socio-economical conditions. India is one of the most vulnerable developing countries to sufer from various disasters like-flood, drought, cyclone, landslide, earthquake, forestfire, volcanic erruptions, roits, terrorist attacks etc. Natural disasters- It is an event that is caused by a natural hazard and leads to human, material, economical and environmental losses. They are beyond the control of human beings. Nature provides us with all the resources, but it can be sometimes cruel also. Some examples of natural disasters are- the 2001 earthquake in Bhuj, Gujarat, the 2004 Indian Ocean Tsunami, the 2008 earthquake in China, the 2007 cyclone in Myanmar. Eg. Floods, Drought, Earthquake, Volcano, Cyclones, Landslides, Avalanches etc. Human-Induced Disasters- Man made disasters are caused by human activities such as nuclear explosion, chemical & biological weapons, industrial pollution, war, accidents etc.Some serious destructions caused by humans, which affects the human beings and the socio-economic conditions of that area. For example- the 1984 Bhopal Gas Tragedy, train derailments, serial blasts in Mumbai in 2008 (26/11) etc. Eg, Nuclear, Biological and Chemical Disasters. Disaster Management It is the discipline of dealing with and avoiding risks. In general it is the continuous process by which all individuals, groups and communities manage hazards in an effort to avoid or minimize the impact of the disasters resulting from the hazards. It is almost impossible to fully control the damage caused by the disaster, but it is possible to minimize to some extent by these ways- (1) By early warning given by MET. department through radio, TV. (2) The police control room , fire control officers , the near by RED-cross office and other rescue teams should be informed. (3) Spread awareness about disasters and tips to handle them. (4) Space technology plays a very important role in efficient mitigation of disasters. (5) Major loss of life and property can be avoided with carefull planning along with and effective warning and evacuation procedure. (6)We should cooperate with the rescue teams. It is our moral and social duty that we should help in arranging relief camps for those who have suffered. Role Of Local People In Managing Disasters- 1. Spread awareness about disasters 2. Organise mock camps in their holidays in neighbouring villages to train people to cope up with disasters 3. The basic role of students is spreading ‘AWARENESS’ of what to do during and after disasters. This would lessen the death toll, panicking, paranoid and uncontrollable people running about 4. Be a part of emergency rescue team 5. A big aspect of disaster management is preparedness 6. Students can also provide first aod which would help authorities in saving lives 7. Deforestation should be checked 8. Buildings should not be built on steep slopes and every construction should follow the Architechtural Parameters. INTRODUCTION: India has been traditionally vulnerable to natural disasters on account of its unique geo-climatic conditions. Floods, droughts, cyclones, earthquakes and landslides have been recurrent phenomena. At the global level, there has been considerable concern over natural disasters. Evenas substantial scientific and material progress is made, the loss of lives and property due to disasters has not decreased. Over the past couple of years, the Government of India has brought about a paradigm shift in the approach to disaster management. The new approach proceeds from the conviction that development cannot be sustainable unless disaster mitigation is built into the development process. This project discusses the roles that government andvarious agencies that play an important role in managing disasters. We too as citizens of India can play a major role. We can also be a volunteer and also a skilled personnel and save lives of our near and dear country men/women in any disaster scenario. At the time of disaster various agencies both government and non – government organizations playa crucial role in preparing the society. Home Guards, Civil Defense, Volunteers of national Service Scheme, NehruYuva Kendra Sangathan too play a major role at the time of crisis. This chapter tries to understand the functions and role of these agencies in disaster management, who make the society a better place to lives. http://www.annauniv.edu/nss/aboutnss.htm (impo) http://www.etu.org.za/toolbox/docs/government/disaster.html (impo) http://www.indiastudychannel.com/resources/67723-SHARING-RESPONSIBILITY-ROLE-OF-LOCAL-AND-STATE.aspx (impo) http://disaster.ifas.ufl.edu/PDFS/CHAP03/D03-07.PDF http://orissa.gov.in/e-magazine/Orissareview/jan2004/englishpdf/chapter15.pdf http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Declaration_of_Human_Duties_and_Responsibilities http://www.nagalandhgcd.nic.in/CD%20disaster%20mngt.html (civil defence in disaster management) http://www.nagalandhgcd.nic.in/index.html ( Nagaland Home Gaurds and Civil Defence Organisation) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Home_Guard_(India)#Functions ( function of Home Guard ) http://www.un.org.in/_layouts/CMS/undmt.aspx ( UN Disaster Management Team ) http://www.psgtech.edu/ncc/02NccInfo.html (NCC – Impo) INDIAN CIVIL DEFENCE— Home Guard ( Delhi Home guard and civil defence) National Service Scheme UN DISASTER MANAGEMENT TEAM LOGO INDIAN ARMED FORCES: The Armed Forces have six main tasks; To assert the territorial integrity of India. To defend the country if attacked by a foreign nation. To send own amphibious warfare equipment to take the battle to enemy shores. To follow the Cold Start doctrine, meaning that the Indian Armed Forces are able to quickly mobilize and take offensive actions without crossing the enemy’s nuclear-use threshold. However, officially, India denies having a cold start strategy – quoting the Indian Army chief: â€Å"There is nothing called ‘Cold Start’. As part of our overall strategy we have a number of contingencies and options, depending on what the aggressor does. In the recent years, we have been improving our systems with respect to mobilization, but our basic military posture is defensive.† To support the civil community in case of disasters (e.g. flooding). To participate in United Nations peacekeeping operations in consonance with India’s commitment to the United Nations Charter. The code of conduct of the Indian military is detailed in a semi-official book called â€Å"Customs and Etiquette in the Services†, written by retired Major General Ravi Arora, which details how Indian personnel are expected to conduct themselves generally. Arora is an executive editor of the Indian Military Review. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indian_Armed_Forces#Current (Details on the above info. And pictures of president of republic of India, Headquarters of ministry of defense etc.) NCC – India It is the Indian military cadet corps with its Headquarters at New Delhi. It is open to school and college students on voluntary basis. National Cadet Corps is a Tri-Services Organization, comprising the Army, Navy and Air Force, engaged in grooming the youth of the country into disciplined and patriotic citizens. The National Cadet Corps in India is a voluntary organization which recruits cadets from high schools, colleges and Universities all over India. The Cadets are given basic military training in small arms and parades. The officers and cadets have no liability for active military service once they complete their course but are given preference over normal candidates during selections based on the achievements in the corps. NCC HISTORY – The NCC in India was formed with the National Cadet Corps Act of 1948. It was raised on 15 July 1948 The National Cadet Corps can be considered as a successor of the University Officers Training Corps (UOTC) which was established by the British in 1942. During World War II, the UOTC never came up to the expectations set by the British. This led to the idea that some better schemes should be formed, which could train more young men in a better way, even during peace times. A committee headed by Pandit H.N. Kunzru recommended a cadet organization to be established in schools and colleges at a national level. The National Cadet Corps Act was accepted by the Governor General and on 15 July 1948 the National Cadet Corps came into existence. MOTTO OF NCC Unity and Discipline (Ekta aur Anushasan) AIMS OF NCC – 1. To develop qualities of character, courage, comradeship, discipline, leadership, secular outlook, spirit of adventure and sportsmanship and the ideals of selfless service among the youth to make them useful citizen. 2. To create a human resource of organized trained and motivated youth to provide leadership in all walks of life including the Armed Forces and be always available for the service of the nation. HOW ARE DISASTERS MANAGED AT NATIONAL LEVEL? http://ndmindia.nic.in/DM-Booklet-080211.pdf (institutional mechanisms) HOW ARE DISASTERS MANAGED AT STATE LEVEL: 1. INTRODUCTION The state Disaster Management Action Plan (DMAP) has been prepared for its operationalisation by various departments and agencies of the Government of Maharashtra and other Non-Governmental Agencies expected to participate in disaster management. This plan provides for institutional arrangements, roles and responsibilities of the various agencies, interlinks in disaster management and the scope of their activities. An elaborate inventory of resources has also been formalized. The purpose of this plan is to evolve a system to  · assess the status of existing resources and facilities available with the various departments and agencies involved in disaster management in the state;  · assess their adequacies in dealing with a disaster;  · identify the requirements for institutional strengthening, technological support, upgradation of information systems and data management for improving the quality of administrative response to disasters at the state level;  · make the state DMAP an effective response mechanism as well as a policy and planning tool. The state DMAP addresses the state’s response to demands from the district administration and in extraordinary emergency situations at multi-district levels. It is associated with disasters like road accidents, major fires, earthquakes, floods, cyclones, epidemics and off-site industrial accidents. The present plan is a multi-disaster response plan for the disasters which outlines the institutional framework required for managing such situations. The state DMAP specifically focuses on the role of various governmental departments and agencies like the Emergency Operations Centre in case of any of the above mentioned disasters. This plan concentrates primarily on the response strategy.

Effect of Alcohol on Family Conflict

Owing to its legality, many individuals engage in alcohol consumption. A growing body of evidence indicates that alcohol is the widely used drug among the various populations. Evidence also indicate that there are many health risks associated with alcohol consumptions.Many families have one or two members who have problems associated with alcohol use. Alcohol has many social, psychological and economic consequences that are not desirable and as such, often leads to conflict. However, it has been suggested that marital, family or workplace conflicts leads an individual to drink.There are also suggestions that marital, family of workplace conflicts are consequences of abusive drinking. All these suggestions hold some truth as alcoholism is associated with various problems while on the other hand; various problems are associated with alcoholism. These problems, such as marital, workplace and conflicts can be risk factors for the problem of drinking. However, they can also be conceptuali zed as consequences of alcohol use.The conceptualizations of these problems as emerging as a result of alcohol use is important in designing intervention strategies and policies that reduce the negative effects of alcohol use. The aim of this paper is to look at the social consequences of alcohol use, specifically with regard to conflict.The social consequences of alcohol use can be categorized into those that leads to changes in social interactions with others and those that leads to the changes in an individual's social position or life chances.One of the major factors that influence the consequences of alcohol consumption is the quantity consumed. Many psychosocial consequences are associated with episodes of acute intoxication or prolonged dependency symptoms that accompany alcoholism (Hauge and Ingens-Jensen 1986). For instance, family violence is often associated with episodes of intoxication.The proximal biological and psychological consequences of the consumption of alcohol that are relevant to the analysis of the social consequences are the chronic and acute effects of alcohol on an individual's physiological processes and the effects of alcohol on memory, cognition and mood.An individual's ability to interact with other people may be seriously incapacitated by dependence symptoms and acute changes in the thinking process and mood. This may also impair an individual's performance in their roles. Beyond this, alcohol may lead to aggressive behavior resulting in direct social conflicts.There are some mediating factors which determine the degree to which consumption may result in particular biological and psychological consequences. Among them are the expectations about the effects of alcohol, alcohol metabolism, gender and other biologic vulnerabilities or resilience (Kreitman 1992).The majority of these factors are not mutable. The expectancies about the possible effects of alcohol consumption play an important role in the degree and patterns of consum ption. These however may be subject to educational interventions. The consequences of alcohol consumption are largely influenced by the social context where the drinking takes place.According to Herd (1984), social context encompasses the social or ethnic group norm that defines relevant and irrelevant occasions for and the level of drinking. For instance, alcohol intake in communities practicing abstention may result in immediate negative consequences for social interactions and hence threaten an individual's social position in the community.As such, he will be in conflict with the rest of the community members owing to his decision to contradict the norms of the community. This is often the case since not many communities encourage drinking. By contrast, heavy drinking may be encouraged in some social groups and ethnic communities where alcohol consumption is valued and expected.The effects of alcohol use in particular social contexts such as at home may lie on the negative conseq uences of use in unre4lated contexts such as work. Alcohol consumption may or may not be considered as problematic by spouses depending on whether it affects job performance or maintenance of the functions of the household.

McDonalds Marketing Integration Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

McDonalds Marketing Integration - Essay Example Because of the emotion integration in its advertisement, it had touched feelings of many customers. Personally, I have been to several places in the Philippines and China with Mcdonalds as my favorite fast food chain. I have seen and heard of many Mcdonald advertisements in these places that touched my feelings. One is their advocacy of charity where they place a collecting can for generous customers to contribute their coins. This had touched my emotions because they have the heart for the needy despite their fame and success. Another is their inclusion of toys as one of the â€Å"come on† for customers with children. Their famous toys encouraged my kids to even promote the toys among their playmates. This is supported with the study of Story and French (p 1) where they explained that such strategy develops an early and positive relationship of young children with the fast food chain. Mc Donald advertisements are using marketing integration. However, they do it cleverly that it is not so obvious for the customers. Their advertisement is focused on the society’s needs thus their products are always in demand making their customers loyal to them.

African-American History Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

African-American History - Essay Example In case they went for war both white and black soldiers fought side by side at times for the sovereignty of the United States2. Post-war period therefore brought with it huge and significant changes that are worth researching and elaboration. USA for centuries now has been dragging a huge burden of racial criticism and such periods in history as WWII have come to make the racism aspect more pronounced. This paper will look into the history of African Americans during and after the World War II while shedding light on the ideological shifts regarding racial segregation after the war together with white racial perspectives. Historians and researchers alike have come to offer their sentiments regarding World War II in a rather convergent manner. They have stated in a collective approach that this war was tyrannical and at the same time representing liberty. This war is analysed to have been between fascism and totalitarianism on one side and democracy on the other on a rather simple scale but its complexity in respect to American perspective was interesting. On one hand United States fought the Germans and Japanese because of their evil despots related to their lack of recognition for equality and freedom. This is where the complexity and irony creep in as far as United States is concerned. Right in their battle fields and within the armed forces, African Americans were hugely segregated in favour of white soldiers. The freedom and equality being fought for was being given by one hand and taken with the other by the United States from the African Americans. The reality that dawned on the African America ns was that they were in battle fighting two fronts at the same time; Jim Crow laws on one side (internally) and Axis powers on the other (externally)3. Racism and segregation were what the African Americans faced from their countrymen. For the black soldiers at war different living conditions which were obviously lower than those of the rest were in the offing.

Marketing Plan for It's popcorn time Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Marketing Plan for It's popcorn time - Essay Example To materialize the marketing vision, IPT needs to evolve strategic marketing plans which are crucial part of promoting products and services of an organization. The market plans are focused around Porter’s 4Ps (product, prices, place and promotion) and a good market strategy always takes these points on a priority basis. It is equally important that while planning appropriate market strategy, proper use of SWOT (strengths, weakness, opportunities and threats) analysis is taken up. Awareness of strengths and weaknesses in the company’s resources facilitate and match the opportunities and threats so as to provide a competitive edge to their rivals. SWOT analysis is an important tool to up grade internal strengths of the company to meet the external opportunities and exploit them in a manner that would provide the companies with cutting edge advantage over their rivals. Franchising has become a very important tool of expanding business globally and helps maintain an edge over their competitors. In the recent times, internet has redefined the communication with its far reaching implications and has become one of the most important parts of any business strategy. With so much choice in the open market, the updated and informed website gives the unique advantages of the products and their usefulness to draw in new customers while keeping the old. The customer is always interested in the end result of his purchase so he needs to be shown the extra benefits that he would be getting on the purchase! The feedbacks give the company opportunity to keep up with the constantly changing requirements of the consumers. The fundamental principle of marketing is to promote a committed clientele through quality goods and services. It is for this purpose that market strategies of big business houses and corporate bodies try to promote their goods and

Week 5 Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 2

Week 5 - Assignment Example When there is such a rapport between the mentor and the mentee, there is a continuous development of life skills among the mentees. Life skills developed include assertiveness, goal setting skills, time saving methods, critical thinking, creative thinking, career awareness, conflict resolution, finance management and decision-making. A mentor also assists the mentee in obtaining extra resources especially when it comes to education issues. He is a resource broker. He guides and advocates for the rights of the mentee. He is a professional manager rather than a counselor. He does increase the ability to interact with diverse people from various economic, social, political, and cultural backgrounds. It is possible especially through introduction into various workplace and school settings, and talking with people with different diverse behavior, character and attitude. All these are qualities my mother, who has been the best mentor in my life, which she possesses. She has been a real mentor to me and has portrayed excellent positive qualities of a mentor. She is a good listener, always listening to my pleas even. She is available when I need her most, especially when am discouraged and at the verge of giving up. She is such a caring and responsible adult. Essentially, she is my role model, and I do aspire to be like her. Even when I fail in a few areas, she does not give up on me, but shows me there is still a new room for

Health Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words - 1

Health - Essay Example It also display Australian Health Care Agreement for equitable access for public health care irrespective of geographic location. Another article on medical dominance features the health division of labour, and a body of literature has developed exploring the structural components contributing to the subordination of the allied health professions. This article is taken from nursing literature describing the nature and source of nurses perceptions, complaints and dissatisfactions with their profession. It encompass the sociological analyses of the situation of nurses within the organization of the health care delivery system. Results indicated that Australian and British nurses were not only disappointed with many facets of then- work atmosphere, especially their pay and working conditions. The article manifests the medical profession to be highly satisfied for British nurses as compared to Australian nurses, due to lack of autonomy. It is therefore recommended that to have a congenial working atmosphere, a harmony must be established between the care takers, nurses and other staff and medical professionals Adamson, B., J., Kenny., D., T., Wilson-Barnett, J., 1994, The impact of perceived medical dominance on the workplace satisfaction of Australian and British nurses Journal of Advanced Nursing, Vol. 21(1), 172-183. Health care funding: the article describes about the various parameters which must be considered for providing health care funding. According to this article the first Health Policy consensus group paper examines 11 healthcare funding systems. These include: Normand, C. and Busse, R., ‘Social health insurance financing’, in Mossialos, E. Dixon A., Fugueras, J. and Kutzin, J. (eds.), Funding Health Care: Options for Europe, European Observatory on Health Care Systems, OUP, 2002. Health Care Policy: the article states that by collecting and analyzing health outcomes data it becomes

Dakota men and the Pictographic Style Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Dakota men and the Pictographic Style - Essay Example Dakota men had painted in what is called the pictographic style for centuries, usually to record tribal histories and personal exploits. The arrangement of these points was usually according to one of a few traditional designs, one of the most popular being the Tahokmu or spider-web design. The Museum’s collection of over 6000 objects consists of paintings, drawings, prints, photographs, textiles, sculptures, and Native American artifacts and art. The objects are a cultural reflection of the work of local, national, and international artists. The emphasis however, is on the work of artists from South Dakota and the surrounding region. Dakota men had painted in what is called the pictographic style for centuries, usually to record tribal histories and personal exploits. Howe learned that Dakota artists frequently contemplated the painting surface, often for days, until and arrangement of â€Å"aesthetic points† appeared, the intersections for all lines subsequently drawn or painted in making the picture. The arrangement of these points was usually according to one of a few traditional designs, one of the most popular being the Tahokmu or spider-web design. (South Dakota Art Museum. Oscar Howe. Oscar Howe Biography. South Dakota State University).

Why We Fight by Eugene Jarecki Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Why We Fight by Eugene Jarecki - Essay Example The documentary was initially screened at the Sundance Film Festival in the year 2005. A notable fact in this regard is that the date it first appeared was 17th of January in the year 2005 which happened to be exactly forty –four years after the farewell address of the President Dwight D. Eisenhower. This documentary received very strict and limited public release. A main reason for this was that, it contained some of the explicit and detailed perception regarding the American war policy. On 22nd January 2006 the documentary made its way for the public release and then the documentary was released on DVD on 27th June in the year 2006. It was released by Sony Pictures Home Entertainment. The documentary bagged Grimme Award in 2006. It produced enough justification for the military aggression and myriad foreign policies undertaken by the government of America since World War II. This includes Vietnam invasion and also a major part of the documentary is dedicated to the Iraq inva sion by America in the year 2003. At the same time, the attacks on the twin towers and that of the Pentagon on 11th September 2001 find detailed discussion in the film. Overview The film captivates valuable testimonies of veteran politician John McCain and also of Charles Cameron who is an ex-CIA analyst and well versed political scientist. The documentary also contains valuable thoughts from the Richard Perle, a politician, and also of the renowned non-conservative commentator, William Kristol. Apart from these, thoughts of Gore Vidal, the popular writer and Joseph Cirincione, the public policy specialist appear in the documentary as well. All the opinions of these people are very important and they try to justify the military movement of America since World War II days. But a detailed examination of the film itself will instigate the viewers to review and throw some light on the foreign policies and military invasions undertaken by America. Especially the foreign policy of America towards Middle East and Islamic countries needs to get a revision in order to judge the original need of the invasion since the gulf-war and interference of the super power in these oil belts of Middle East. The question is that America claims time and again that the invasion is a kind of protection for the United States which saves the nation from various external threats. For example, the attack of the 11th September 2001 is hyped, justified and viewed as the major reason for the consequential Iraq invasion of 2003. Undoubtedly, 11th September is a dark day in the calendar of civilisation and no matter where and how human lives are being taken, it is not appreciated in the eyes of any civilised society. But underneath the much hyped propaganda for the justification of the attack on Afghanistan or on Iraq needs a detailed supervision because many innocent lives were also lost for these military aggression and that can never be justified or sympathised with the presentation of the thought of the Vietnam war veteran, whose son was killed in the 11th September attack and that he urged the military to engrave the name of his dead son on a bomb before dropping it on Iraq. However, in the light of the above discussion, the crucial point cannot be ignored that a complete invasion, captivation and unanimous threat was launched across America against the Islamic people. Even the citizens and the tax-payers of the nation who have only their root, ethnicity and lineages from the Middle –East were not spared. Relationship between Middle-East Islam and American Foreign Policy US policy views Middle-East Islamist movements and some organizations at par with terrorist activist groups. America also perceives that Islamist faction groups of the

Gay Marriage Journal Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Gay Marriage Journal - Essay Example ce same sex couples can prove to be better parents than opposite sex couples, as is suggested by Judith Stacey and Timothy Biblarz (as cited in Cooke, 2012, par.2). Family instability may take its toll on normal psychological development of children of both straight and same-sex couples, and so, it is not true that only gay parents prove to be bad parents by any means. They may prove to be better parents. Stacey and Biblarz argue that two men or women can raise kids better in terms of sexual growth, than a man or a woman in a traditional home setting. Kids of gay couples do not have to see one of their parents involved in extra-marital affairs. They do not have to see their moms and dads fighting with each other every day. Kids pay little attention to what the relationship between their parents is, or whether or not their relationship relates to societal norms or not. All they want is love, of parents towards them and also towards each other. So, the relationship between parents has nothing to do with children becoming homo- or hetero-sexual. Thus, gay marriages should be legalized without getting concerned about the parenting capabilities of the couples involved. Normandin (2011) argues that gay marriages should be banned because there is no interest or benefit attached to it that should be sufficient for its justification. He argues, with the support of scientific research, that the absence of one of the two sexes as parents is very detrimental for healthy mental and physical growth of children. In case of lesbian marriage, the absence of a biological father results in early sexual activity and adolescent misbehavior in children, since the role of father in children’s activities and mental and social health cannot be denied. In the same way, in case of gay marriages, the absence of a mother takes its toll on the development of young children, as fathers cannot respond to the needs of infants as mothers can. Hence, the absence of either a mother or father is

Market Opportunity Analysis Essay Example for Free

Market Opportunity Analysis Essay market opportunity Analysis. Market Equations offers Market Opportunity and Potential Analysis Services to organizations globally to help them expand and enter potential markets through new or existing products or services by exploring and exploiting the available opportunity. Market Opportunity Analysis services are customized and presented to companies who are aggressive and want to maintain the lead by exploiting every opportunity at hand before the competition gets to it. The business environment is changing rapidly and everybody wants a piece of the pie. Further, companies are fiercely competing for the greater piece of the pie by expanding aggressively beyond their current geographies, exploring virgin and new markets, forming joint ventures etc. You may discover that Global companies are offering better and cheaper products due to advantages of scale but on the other hand you may have built a level of dependence with your current market, you are losing on profit opportunities in other larger markets, you want to grow but your market is exhausted. Market Equations may have the answer to all these questions keeping you in touch with your market and helping you exploit any minute detail available. Our Approach: Plan The most important part of Research is planning. There is an objective and an end result which needs to be linked at each step to achieve the desired results. Timetable With millions of available sources to choose from a researcher may get bombarded with a lot of information that may not be required. The plan needs to be finalized with the required timetable with milestones. Record and Validate Every bit of information collected needs to be recorded, evaluated and validated. This is the most important step ensuring credibility of the data collected and ensures the research is on track. Integrate All the information needs to be arranged and integrated to logically link topics together to ensure the research objective is met as per the plan document. Present The data needs to be presented in a format that is visually appealing to the end reader. Fonts, Content placement, Reading styles, Colors etc need special attention and confirmation before submission. Our Solutions backed by our tested approach to transform Business Objectives to decisions have helped many organizations stay ahead. Write to us and find out more. Techniques: The Right Search Strategy words, sentences, arrangements, rearrangements, Boolean logic etc The Choice of Search Engines Google may provide more relevant sources than Yahoo or vice versa Play with a Different Search Logic Continuously explore and try new search logic to reach the required result. Paid Databases Databases have a huge success ratio compared to freely available online sources. The accesses to databases such as Factiva, Hoovers, One source etc are highly recommended by expert desk researchers. Although subscriptions may add another cost element it is considered to be highly reliable and time saving compared to free sources. Monitor Progress Continuously monitor search strategies and links to results and combine successes to achieve desired results. Useful Sources of Information: Company Websites | Government Sources | Trade Associations | Academic Institutions | News Stands/Press | Specialized websites Expert Opinions | Online libraries/directories/encyclopedias | Databases | Blogs by topic/User

Reverse Logistics Processes

Reverse Logistics Processes Definitions â€Å"The process of planning, implementing, and controlling the efficient, cost effective flow of raw materials, in-process inventory, finished goods and related information from the point of origin to the point of consumption for the purpose of conforming to customer requirements.† Logistics is defined by The Council of Logistics Management What is Reverse Logistics? We refer to the term reverse logistics as all activity associated with a product/service after the point of sale, the ultimate goal is to optimize or make more efficient aftermarket activity, thus saving money and environmental resources. As equally as Logistics deal with the set of events that move the product to customer, the reverse process moves the product at least on step back in the supply chain. The objective is to regain the value or proper disposal, when the product returns in the opposite direction. The sold goods get returned due to improper quality control measures leading to damage, recalls, hazardous materials and obsolescence.,   It involves collection, transportation disposal of returned , damaged /surplus goods through reuse, resale, or repair. Importance Of Reverse Logistics. Reverse logistics responsiveness and quality has a direct a positive effect on the companies economic performance.   Companies have to accept returns in the shape of products or materials as a legal obligation. As organizations offer warranty along with sale of items, and to minimize the cost of warranty and sale price, the reversals become inevitable for sustaining customer satisfaction and quality assurance. The closer the company is to the end customer, the greater the size and scope of reverse logistics issues. .The worldwide legislations on hazardous materials (WEEE and ROHS), demand reverse logistics for repairables. Size Of Reverse Logistics It is difficult to estimate the cost in Reverse logistics management as many   companies do not have systems to estimate. Research says it is around 4% of the cost of logistics, based on a survey sample.. Return Percentages The reverse logistics process can be divided into two categories depending on the areas of reverse flow which in turn comprises of primary products, or primary of packaging. A Company has varied disposal options to choose once a product has been returned. The company looks primarily to return it to the supplier for a full refund. In case of goods not used may be resold to a different customer or at an outlet store. If goods do not meet required quality levels, then it may be sold to a salvage company that will export the goods to a foreign market. Common Reverse Logistics Activities : Activites that comprise of reverse logistics include:, Refurbishing, Recycling , landfill, repackaging, returns processing and salvaging Key Reverse Logistics Management Elements Gatekeeping Compacting Disposition Cycle Time Reverse Logistics Information Systems Centralized Return Centers Zero Returns Remanufacture and Refurbishment Asset Recovery Negotiation Financial Management Outsourcing Strategic Use Of Reverse Logistics The strategic usage of Reverse logistics among the retailers and wholesalers is to reduce the risk of buying products that may not be hot selling items. In some industries goods are distributed with the understanding that retuning the goods for credit is allowed if they are not sold. This encourages retailers to carry a huge stock thereby shifting the risk of having unsold goods (obsolescence) goes to the company. The retail seller at the nearest reach to the customer exploits the situation ordering a huge consignment and resulting in heavy returning. An example of the strategic use of returns in the market is the sale of newspapers and magazines, and the sellers carry more stock for a considerable incentive. By doing this the reseller were allowed to return the goods within the stipulated time frame. This facilitated the customers to the inventory low and purchase things in time. Every business aims to lock the customers in and not to opt for to another supplier. There are many ways developed by the supplier to link themselves to the customers not to switch to another supplier. One important service that a supplier can offer to his customer is the ability to accept the defective goods immediately and refund the amount timely. Every retailer needs to have a strategic vision of the logistics in order for him stand updated in the market. The retailer in business of electronic toys can easily get off business if they do not have the knowledge or vision of reversal logistics. Several surveys have estimated that a larger part of the profit was due to the improvised strategies. How An Effective Strategy Can Be Developed: The best methodology for an effective reverse logistics to be framed and implemented would be working on the existing process in the business. The traceability and quality management system will identify goods timely and correctly outlining the features of a product in details and the reasons of defect with a solution of a product when returned. The reverse logistics process can be managed through a tailored program called Enterprise resource planning system. A tailored ERP system can provide varied information related to the returned inventory. It can give the number of returns from the customer, identify the reasons of the returned goods, check the course action to be taken and deal with the product and allocate resources in dealing with the product. An ERP system, equipped with robust processes, should be sufficient to manage its reverse logistics strategy. The other crucial aspect in reverse logistics is the concept of collaboration. It works efficiently with a effective collaboration involving a larger visibility. Sharing of information, supporting integrated decision making should be a vital feature of the collaboration. Constant communication and shared processes with a common vision should be practiced for a successful designing and implementation of Reverse Logistics. This has become a integral part of any business in day to day life which may results in many benefits to the company. Every retailer, manufacturers and producers need to create the necessity of reviewing the logistics followed. They can work on their existing systems that trying to find ready made solutions. The companies have developed various simple and effective strategies for running a successful Business. The various steps or factors involved while defining at effective reverse logistics Security Shipping and Receiving Labour The Return Policy Inspect Returns Assign Disposition Real Examples or Practical Examples of Effective Reverse Logistic. Reverse logistics is also applied for a different non-commercial cause and used for a reason of charity or   gain a mileage augmenting advertisement returns. Such donations get a goodwill to a company and act as a substitute for ads .Henna Anderson Co s Hannadowns   campaign retrieves   used clothes from the customers and gives an offer on the new purchases. The returned clothes reach the less-privileged ones. As a second example, Kenneth Cole Productions makes offers to customers returning old shoes and given away to the needy. Nike shreds the retrieved old shoes and converts them into basketball courts and tracks. Business Implications Despite the costs, companies do accept returned goods, with original receipt or a fees, as Returns Management is an important strategic tool in a competitive environment. Return policies are in place to influence purchase decision of a customer. Return management is a strategy similar to reverse logistics involving a decision on how the return will be dispositioned. When returns are a liability and restrictions are too many in land filling, then disposal is a less attractive   option. Difficulties Of Reverse Logistics Companies budget for   what is known as â€Å"Brand Equity† to attach an image   to products and can not afford to reduce the value of primary investment   , by having their product appear in a flea market. The difference in the objective of the manufactures and retailers exists due to the different strategies followed in managing returns. For Eg, In case a retailer wants to return a good to the manufacturer and he would disagree for varied reasons as follows: Condition of the item,Value of the item and the promptness. The assumption by the retailer for returns sent back in pure , pristine conditions and any damages must have occurred in transit or must be manufacturing defects, leads to criss cross of purposes. The inefficiency of the reverse logistics is indicated by the amount of returns inventory being held in the warehouse and clearly denotes the way the firm is handling returns. Unfortunately, some symptoms that cannot be identified and observed are as below. These have been defined by Dr. Dawe. For most firms processing returns is not a priority.Focus is on new generated products revenue and returns received are in more number to the processing or disposal. Declined value of the returns due to obsolescence (computers , fashion ware). Company policies making it difficult to handle returns as the â€Å"junk† damages quality products. Conclusion First, develop strong reverse logistics strategies. Second, clearly outline financial, corporate, branding, marketing and other objectives. Treat it as another business; and not a simple operation. Give it goals, give it objectives, give it resources, give it executives and let it be part of the â€Å"Lifecycle† design for your products and your customers. References Curt Barry, â€Å"How to Develop a Reverse Logistics Strategy: 8 Tactics to Try.† Catalog Success Magazine, 2003.+http://www.fcbco.com/articles-whitepapers/Reverse-Logistics-Strategies.pdf Reverse Logistics Executive Council, http://www.rlec.org. Stefan E. Genchev, Reverse logistics program design: A company study Business Horizons, Volume 52, Issue 2, March-April 2009, Pages www.logisticsit.com/absolutenm/templates/ http://ideas.repec.org/a/aes/amfeco/v10y2008i24p192-209.html http://www.reverselogisticsprofessional.com/ http://www.sciencedirect.com/science http:www.mhhe.com/browsersox-scm Hawks, Karen. VP Supply Chain Practice, Navesink. Reverse Logistics Magazine Winter/Spring (2006). http://www.rlmagazine.com/edition01p12.php Rengel, P. Seydl, C. (May 2002). Completing the Supply Chain Model. Retrieved on 2008-04-25. Harrington, Ryan, VP GM for Reverse Logistics / Projects, NYK Logistics. Reverse Logistics Magazine. Winter/Spring (2006). http://www.rlmagazine.com/edition01p14.php Greer, 2004 Rogers, 2002 Mollenkopf D., Russo I. and R. Frankel, 2007 The returns management process in supply chain strategy. http://veltusresearch.com/Documents/Mollenkopf%20etal-07-Returns%20Mgmt%20Strategy%20(Italy).pdf. Retrieved 2008-05-05. Reverse side of logistics: The business of returns. http://www.forbes.com/2005/11/02/returns-reverse-logistics-market-cx_rm_1103returns.html. http://dictionary.bnet.com/definition/reverse+engineering.html http://www.clrb.com.br/publicacoes/academico_framework.pdf

Causes of Brick Deterioration and Decay in Buildings

Causes of Brick Deterioration and Decay in Buildings Introduction Most parts of the building are built from the brick. Nowadays, the brickwork defects ware commonly founded in building. The problem was getting more serious and serious. Seriously of the brickwork defects may cause a lot of problems to the occupants. The main problem encountered in building with a traditional outside bearing wall of brickwork and concrete inside bearing structure is caused by differences in the temperature and moisture-induced movement. Crack maybe be discovered in walls and solutions have to be found. (L.G.W.Verhoef, 2001) Brickwork defect occurs in building has a variety of reasons. This is perhaps not surprising when one considers the wide range of differences bricks and technique in construction of building, differences in the construction sites and the varied occupational or owner used of the completed building. Brickwork will deteriorate and decay if not properly maintained. Such deterioration can be caused by a number of factors and can take various forms. The main signs that brickwork is suffering are surface growth and staining, efflorescence, loosed brick becoming dislodged, crack appears throw the bricks or mortar and etc (Moses Jenkins, 2007). In this sub chapter, the different types of the brickwork defect will be determined. This chapter gave an overview of various types of the brickwork defects and understanding the brickwork defects. To identify the different types of the brickwork defects will make easily for the occupants or owners to find out the causes of the defects and take the suitable remedies method in the right way. Define bricks Brick is the materials that commonly use to build the buildings wall. Clay bricks are the most common brick type. It is made from the sand and clay and uniformly burnt at temperatures between 800 °C and 1200 °C. Surface finishes are sometimes applied e.g. glazed bricks. Glazed bricks are still being produced in quantity and can be obtained from a major English brick manufacturer and supplier. Calcium Silicate bricks is manufactured from sand-lime (calcium silicate). The bricks are pressed under great pressure and steamed in an autoclave. The bricks are smooth, fine textured and light in colour. The brick colour is produced from material source, composition and firing temperature. The size of bricks over time has changed considerably. Some early medieval bricks were 13 inches by 6 inches by 2 inches. By the late 15th century a brick 9.5 inches by 4.5 inches by 2 inches became the norm and a charter in 1571 stipulated 9 inches by 4.5 inches by 2.25 inches. By the 18th century, 8.25 inches by 4 inches by 2.5 inches brick was introduced. Modern bricks are 8.5 inches by 4 inches by 2.5 inches which following metrication translated to 215mm by 102.5mm by 65mm. Modern bricks is the brick that most of the building using in nowadays. Defect of size Oversized bricks are caused by poor material selection and preparation or underfiring. Under size bricks are caused mainly by poor material preparation, faulty moulds and overfiring. Defect of shape The causes of these defects are many. These are including poor preparation of moulds or moulding technique, faults in stacking, rough handling and uneven drying. If the bricks are considerably over burnt, incipient fusion takes place and the bricks, called burrs, come out of the kiln or clamp stuck together. Burrs are suitable only for hardcore purposes. Defects of body Faults in the raw material body can give rise to defects such as cracking, bloating and laminations. Cracking and warping of bricks, causing incipient weakness, maybe due to exposure of green bricks to direct sunlight or rapid drying winds. Similar effects will be produced by putting green bricks into the kiln too soon. Large cracks maybe caused by rain getting onto hot bricks. Defect of Appearance These defects are caused primarily by faulty wires in the case of wire-cut bricks. Dark spots are caused by the presence of unevenly distributed iron sulphide in the clay. Brick wall settlement Any movement in a structural  brick wall which risks having broken the bond courses in the wall, and any movement in a  brick veneer wall which has broken or loosened the connections between the veneers to the underlying structure are potentially dangerous and risk collapsing masonry. Bulging brick wall This is likely to be a bond-brick or bond-course failure. This defect is potentially extremely dangerous and must be very urgent to take action. If not, it can causes the building suddenly collapse. Cracks and Bulges in brick walls Frost and earth loading can push a below-grade brick foundation wall inwards. The wall is often bulged inwards as well as showing horizontal and step cracking and loose bricks over the bulged area. The damage occurs from slightly above ground level to roughly the frost line. Cracks and loose bricks Normally, crack and loose bricks are cause by frost, settlement, expansion, diagonal and stair-stepped. Those defects often happen at building corners where roof spillage is concentrated. Loose bricks and missing or lost mortar This is the movement where mortar is severely washed-out by roof spillage or other water movement against the foundation. Loose and lost bricks may also occur where wood blocks, originally set into a wall to permit nailing of interior components, is damaged by insects or decay. Similarly, if wood joists are damaged and bend excessively or collapse (insect damage, rot, fire) the collapsing joist can, as its in-wall end moves, damage the foundation or building wall. Fire cuts on wood joists in brick walls were intended to minimize this damage source by angling the end of the joist where it was set into the wall pocket. Sand-blasted bricks   Which have been cleaned of old paint, algae, or stains using high pressure sand blasting or possibly even very high pressure water blasting can be permanently damaged by loss of the harder surface of the bricks which had been provided by their original firing. Once the softer internal brick has been exposed, the bricks will be more inclined to absorb water and to suffer water and frost damage. Sandblasting brick is considered a poor practice in building renovation and maintenance. Spalling bricks Spalling is caused by water and frost, such as water leaking into a brick structure at any entry point: a crack, a brick which has lost its hard surface, or at openings by window and door penetrations. But beware about caulking brick. Exfoliating-rust damage to brick   Masonry wall occur these defects when brick walls have been improperly caulked where caulking should have been omitted. The most common example of this defect is the damage that occurs to a brick wall when a steel lintel over a window or door is caulked tightly between the brick and the steel. Moisture penetrating the brick wall through cracks or mortar joints is trapped around the steel lintel. Rust developing on steel lintels has tremendous lifting power as the rusting exfoliating metal expands, sufficient to crack and damage bricks around lintel. Improper repair mortar  on brickwork During repair work, tuck pointing bricks, or re-pointing bricks can cause surface spalling of bricks if the mason uses a too hard mortar with high portland content mortar on soft brick in a climate exposed to freezing weather. The high portland content means that the mortar will be not only harder, but more waterproof than the surrounding brick. Water trapped around the hard mortar can freeze leading to surface spalling of the bricks. This is particularly likely to be seen when a wall has been tuck pointed using hard high-portland mortar where originally a soft high-lime mortar was used and where the original bricks were soft. Salts on brickwork Salts are a major cause of deterioration. Salt can enter bricks through contaminated water ingress. In coastal areas salt can come from the sea and, in winter, the nearby application of road salt is a constant threat. Salt is damaging because it creates a steady expansion of crystals within the bricks. This can eventually force the structure of the brick apart. The source of salt can occur from within the bricks themselves or from the application of contaminated mortars or renders. Brick lined chimney flues are also vulnerable as sulphates can be introduced when flu gasses condense. This is a common defect where a chimney has been sealed without adequate ventilation. Efflorescence on brickwork Efflorescence appears as a white powdery deposit on the brick. It is a phenomenon that soluble slats dissolved in water are carried, deposited and gradually accumulated on brick surfaces to form an unsightly scum. Without water efflorescence cannot occur. The soluble salts may be originated from the raw material of bricks. But in most cases, efflorescence is caused by salts from the external sources such as ground water, contaminated atmosphere, mortar ingredients and other materials in contacts with the bricks. To minimize the risk (it can never be completely avoided in brickwork exposed to weathering) the building detail should be designed, as far as is possible, to avoid saturation. In other words good overhangs, copings and sills with drips all need to be considered. Efflorescence can be helped on its way by sponging down the wall with clean water (avoiding substantial wetting) or dry brushing with soft brushes. Any other treatment should be avoided as it may disfigure the bricks .   Frost Attack on brickwork Frost attack often occurs when very cold weather immediately follows a very wet spell. When porous materials become saturated and the temperature drops below freezing the formation of ice causes stresses which some bricks cannot be resist and cracking or spalling occurs. Clay bricks are classified as frost resistant, moderately frost resistant, and not frost resistant. Calcium silicate bricks are not generally at risk although it is wise to specify bricks with a compressive strength. Thermal movement on brickwork Every materials expand or contracts as the temperature of the material changes, typically expanding as its temperature increases and contracting as its temperature decreases. Different materials expand and contract at different rates when they undergo similar changes in their temperatures. Brick veneer can expand and contract approximately. When determine the expansion or contraction of a brick veneer, it is important to remember the effects of the sun on materials. The energy from the suns rays raises the temperature of a material well above the air temperature. On a day when the air temperature is 32 ° F, the energy from the sun can raise a walls temperature to above 100 ° F Thermal expansion failures in structural or veneer brick walls A separate factor that can cause very large movements and extensive damage to brick structures or brick veneer walls is the thermal expansion which occurs across a long or tall brick wall when that wall is heated by sun exposure. The photographs show significant thermal expansion damage in a long brick structure. Significant breaks and gaps  at vertical brick mortar joints due to thermal expansion and perhaps some frost and water damage. Photograph of thermal expansion damage to a brick wallFigure1: Significant breaks Horizontal sliding breaks  in brick mortar joints,  exposing reinforcing wire to rust, exfoliation, and additional damage from those forces as the exfoliating wire produced still more pressure on the mortar joint. Photograph of a collapsed brick strudctural wallFigure2: Horizontal breaks Step cracking  following mortar joints near the building corners and where the wall movement was resisted by first story intersecting brick walls abutting at right angles the middle section of the long brick wall. Photograph of thermal expansion damage to a brick wallFigure3: Step cracking Cracks and broken bricks at the intersections of brick walls and openings. Photograph of thermal expansion damage to a brick wallFigure 4: Cracks and broken bricks (InspectApedia, 2007) Moisture movement on brickwork Moisture affects all porous masonry materials, including brick, mortar and concrete masonry units but in very different ways. These effects must be considered when a combination of these materials is used, such as when brick rests on a concrete foundation, brick veneer units are used with block back up, and when brick and architectural concrete products are used in the same wythe bands of precast concrete or architectural concrete block in a brick veneer. After their initial mixing or casting, mortar, poured-in-place concrete and concrete masonry units shrink as the curing of the Portland cement proceeds. This is an unavoidable consequence of the curing of concrete products and is accommodated in design. Sulphate attack on brickwork Most ordinary clay bricks contain sulphates of sodium, magnesium or calcium. These salts are soluble in water in water, calcium sulphate being less soluble than the other two. Normally, these sulphates are seen as the harmless efflorescence which affect appearance only and need simply to be brushed away. In theory, most brick walls with mortars based on OPC (Ordinary Portland Cement) are liable to sulphate attack. The most vulnerable walls are earth-retaining walls and parapet walls but sulphate attack is a problem also on rendered, and on facing brickwork. On rendered brickwork, sulphate attack is manifested by cracking of the rendering, the cracks being mainly horizontal and corresponding to the mortar joints below. The rendering may adhere quite well to the bricks early in the attack but areas are likely to become detached as the expansion of the underlying brickwork causes severance of the bond between the two material. (H.J.Eldridge,B.Sc.1976) Lime staining on brickwork Lime staining occurs when calcium hydroxide is deposited on the face of brickwork. Lime staining will quickly absorbs carbon dioxide from the air and becomes calcium carbonate. It is virtually insoluble and can only be removed by expert and costly treatment. The calcium hydroxide can come from three main sources: calcium hydroxide caused by the hydration of Portland cement from hydrated lime added to mortar from brickwork in contact with wet concrete Porosity on brick Porosity is an important characteristic of brick. In contrast to other moulded or pre-cast building materials, the porosity of brick is attributed to its fine capillaries. By virtue of the capillary effect, the rate of moisture transport in the brick is ten times faster than in other building materials. Moisture is released during day-time and re-absorbed during night-time. The ability to release and re-absorb moisture by capillary effect is one of the most useful properties of brick that helps to regulate the temperature and humidity of atmosphere in a building. This distinctive property makes brick an admirable building material, particularly suitable for buildings in the tropics. On the other hand, all porous materials are susceptible to chemical attacks and liable to contamination from weathering agents like rain, running water and polluted air. Crack in brick faces/firecracks The finished appearance of clay brick can vary greatly, this is because dependant on clay and the manufacturing process. Some products contain cracks of varying degree (sometimes referred to as firecracks) as an inherent feature. Firecracks are usually visible on the product as delivered. However, firecracks can be masked by the texture and surface sands used in the manufacturing process becoming visible after bricks are laid as a result of natural weathering of exposed brickwork. Dampness of the brick wall More or less permanent dampness showing more clearly on the internal wall surface from ground level up to a height of about 750mm, but may be higher in severe cases or if the outer face is covered with a non-porous finish. The decorations may be damp, blistered or discoloured, or, if dry, may have been pushed off the wall by a film or salts which will often be seen as a fluffy crystalline growth. The possible causes of dampness in the brick wall are lack of dpc (damp proof course), by-passing of the dpc, Failure of the dpc material. Brick growth and expansion gaps in brickwork Bricks undergo long-term permanent expansion over time. This expansion continues for the life of the brick, but the majority of the growth occurs early in its life. Most general purpose bricks have a coefficient of expansion in the range of 0.5-1.5mm/m (millimeters per meter) over fifteen years. Designers can use the values of the coefficient of expansion to accommodate for the growth of bricks by the size and spacing of the control joints. The provision of control gaps or articulation joints between parts of the structure during construction will accommodate movements within the structure over time. Numerous sources of movement exist and include: The change in size of building materials with temperature, loading conditions and moisture content The differential change in size of building materials (for example, cement products shrink over time, whilst clay bricks expand slowly over time) Foundation and footings movement Frame movement Frame shortening Temperature movement Internal horizontal and vertical movement Causes of the brickwork defects Introduction: Brickworks are used primarily in the construction of walls. To construct the brick wall required many skills, design, experience, selection of material, and technique. Lack of all expertise may cause the brickwork defects or failure of the building. The defects that occur in brickwork maybe the result of inherent faults, deficiencies in production, design, materials or workmanship, and attack by environmental agents. After the brickwork has been constructed, it maybe meets of various requirements, climate, loading, and occupational in use. It is not surprising that defects happened or occurs frequently. In this sub chapter, the causes of the brickwork defects will be list out. To find out the actual causes of the brickwork defects will be easily for the occupational to take the right remedies immediately and reduces the brickwork defects happen. Selection of bricks The choice of bricks is often influenced by the price but the quality required must also be carefully considered in order to avoid defects developing during the service life of the material. Therefore, the selection of suitable bricks for any particular purpose has often to be a trade-off between appearance and durability requirements on the one hand, and cost on the other. This is not always possible to assess the quality of bricks by the colour, variability of colour of bricks of the same source and method of production can often be an indication of strength and durability variations. Storage of bricks Bricks on site are rarely kept under adequate cover. Defects in the bricks resulting from the lack of adequate protection on the site are rarely apparent before use. However, bad weather conditions can be detrimental to bricks in that saturation by rain can be responsible for both subsequent efflorescence and decoration defects. Soluble Salts in Bricks Under burnt bricks contain a high salt content. The salts come from the raw clay from which the bricks are made, or are formed in the burning process. Most clay bricks contain some soluble salts, but the types and amounts vary appreciably. The effect of the soluble salts on both efflorescence and the more serious problem of disintegration of bricks themselves are largely governed by the strength and pores structure of the bricks. Sulphate attack Sulphates are salts which are naturally present in industrial waste, gypsum product, clay bricks, flue condensates and in some ground waters. In persistently damp conditions, sulphate will react slowly with tricalcium aluminate forming a compound called calcium sulphoaluminate. This reaction causes the cement mortar or render of the brickwork to expend and eventually disintegrate. Solar Radiation While drying out of soil by trees is the most common reason for cracking in brickwork, some clay are also very susceptible to drying out by direct solar radiation. The northern facing wall is the most likely to be affected and stepped diagonal cracking is the most common symptom, usually occurring at the north east and north west corner of the building. (Greg Loveder, 2000) Migration of moisture The movement of moisture beneath a building can produce the phenomenon known as long term dome and saucer effect. The dome effect is a slow heaving of the soil caused by movement of moisture from the perimeter of the house to its centre, and the saucer effect is moisture moving in the opposite direction, from the centre towards the perimeter. The dome effect causes the walls to tilt outwards and the restraining influence of the roof produces horizontal cracks on the outside wall. These will be wider on the outside surface rather than the inner. Planting of tree Some of the brickwork defects may cause by big trees roots that plant nearby the building area. When planning to plant trees, the idea to be considering is the strength of the footings under the house. If lack of strength, the roots of the trees maybe grow into the ground under the building and cause the brick wall settlement and cracking. Uneven settlement of foundations Where a particular heavy load is placed on the foundation such as a large column, movement may occur as moisture is squeezed out of the soil or the soil readjusts itself. This consolidation will stop when the soil has finally compacted enough to support the load. Brick wall or masonry wall may crack which may result from movement during compaction. Excessive vibration Damage caused by vibration from earth tremors, heavy traffic or pile driving is fairly rare, however if the vibration is great enough to actually cause the foundation to move, brickwork cracking or defect can occur. The crack will show up irregularly if the sources of the vibration cannot be removed. (Greg Loveder, 2000) Additional building Building an addition building onto a house or add more storey of houses can impose a load intensity on the soil different that which is there already and so cause differential settlement. Even if the loading intensities are similar, the difference in time between when the two settlements occurred can be enough to create the brick wall cracks. Approach of design Design of brick wall is very important. The designer must have the knowledge about the brick experience in chosen the types of brick to be used. The designer must be fully aware of the clients needs. Defects often occur because of a lack of understanding of the different types of bricks and the method of construct the brick wall. Lack experience of worker Workers in the masonry construction is not in strict accordance with the construction and standards, masonry mortar is not full, especially in vertical mortar joints are not full, and even produce dense seam, seam permeability. In addition, the dry brick on the wall, mortar in the brick water was absorbed, causing low strength of mortar, brick and mortar separation, so that the overall stiffness of masonry fell, gray mortar joints crack. Overloading Cracks of brickwork may result from overloading of the ground on which the building rests, or of the building itself or parts of it. Releasing the load does not necessary allow the masonry wall to revert to its original state since the overloading may have been partially accommodated by a permanent compaction of the bricks. The forces responsible for the overloading may be of external origin, such as excessive wind, or may be internal, such as those arising from the installation of excessively heavy equipment for which the masonry wall was not designed. A change of occupational may have same results. Lack of maintenance Maintenance must be taken for all the building to minimize the cost of repair work for seriously defects happen. Lack of maintenance will make a small cracks or defects on brickwork change to more serious and serious. Improper soil analysis and preparation When a builder chooses an area of land to build on, it is important to do some sort of soil analysis and preparation. The analysis will provide the developer and/or builder with enough information to choose the adequate soil preparation and construction strategy that should be used to develop the land. Improper soil analysis and preparations can be very damaging to a housing development. For example, a builder can discover that the land soil is made up of expansive soil. If this is the case, houses need to have a foundation that will be able to support the changing pressure and consistency of the soil. This is because expansive soil will swell when wet and then shrink once it dries. If one builds on this type of soil and is not aware of it, there will inevitably be issues to handle. There will be crack in the brick wall or masonry wall. The repair of this is very costly and very intrusive. Unfortunately, the reality is improper soil analysis and preparations happen all the time. Negligence of construction Negligent construction is an unfortunately common occurrence. A builder has to be very careful when choosing a contractor or subcontractor. A builder will sometimes use one contactor for various projects. A contractor may have skills to install floor tiles but not the know how to build a brick wall. The responsibility can fall on several parties when there is a defect, and thats up to your attorney to determine. Movement of the ground Mining subsidence, landslips, earthquakes, or moisture changes of shrinkable clay soil may cause the movement of the ground. The brick wall of the building will be crack because the wall of building has become displaced from the rest without any change in actual size of the materials. In theory, this is possible to reconnect the displace parts to bring the building back to its original condition but in practice this seldom can be done. Acid rain Acid rain is precipitation that is much more acidic than normal rainfall, and the acid rain is usually caused by pollution such as sulfur and nitrogen emissions. Several different mechanisms are operant in the deterioration of brick masonry through the action of acid rain. The bricks are susceptible to acid rain through the selective dissolution of their glassy phase. The mortar is affected mainly by the reaction of the calcareous components. The soluble salts resulting from these reactions, in solution with rain water or condensed moisture, will migrate through the porous matrix of the masonry. In the places where the water evaporates the salts will be deposited. Repeated dissolution and re-crystallization of these salts leads to the mechanical disruption of the masonry structure. Since the salts will concentrate in the more porous material, either the brick or the mortar will be more seriously affected, depending on their relative porosity. Environment Two aspects of the environment have been considerably which is wind and temperature. This is because they cause loading to be applied to the structure. The strong wind may cause the brick wall or the whole building move, this may cause cracking to the part of the building. The high temperature applied to the brickwork may cause spalling and brick prolong to high temperature can lead to surface vitrification. (A.M.Swoden, 1990) Remedies method of the brickwork defects in building Introduction: As known early, brickwork is one of the largest parts of most of the building. The strength, stability, and durability of brickwork are very important. If lack of all those factor, the brick wall or masonry wall maybe fall down or collapse suddenly. If the brickwork occurs any cracking or defects, the right method of remedies must be taken immediately. This is to ensure that the occupational or owner use the building under safety and healthy purposes. Brickwork will deteriorate and decay if not properly maintained. Such deterioration can be caused by a number of factors and can take various forms. The main signs that brickwork is suffering are surface growth and staining, efflorescence, loosed brick becoming dislodged, crack appears throw the bricks or mortar and etc. So, the right remedy must be taken to ensure the brickwork do not decay and deteriorate. (Moses Jenkins, 2007) In this sub chapter, the remedies method for various types of defects will be list out. This is to avoid the brickwork defect getting serious in building in construction industry. The defects of brickwork must be repair immediately, if not the defects will be more serious. For example, cracking can be due to expansion or shrinkage the clay brickwork itself. Remedies of efflorescence Efflorescence can be minimized by laying dry bricks and by speeding up the drying process after the bricks have been laid by providing good ventilation. The salts that cause efflorescence are soluble in water. Hosing with water will cause the salts to dissolve and be re-absorbed into the brickwork, and then reappear when the brick wall dries out again. Acid or alkaline treatments are not recommended as they increase the salt content of the wall. The best method is simply brush off the deposit with a stiff dry bristle brush after the wall has dried out. Then sponge the surface with a damp synthetic chamois or high suction sponge. Use very little water and rinse sponge frequently in fresh water. Remedies of sulphate attack The effects of sulphate attack manifest themselves as expansion of the jointing mortar. On rendered walls the signs are horizontal cracking of the rendering with portions falling off. Advanced stages of attack may make the structure unsafe. When rebuilding is necessary, the bricks use should be of low sulphate content and the mortar should be of a mix of 1:1:6 sulphate-resistance Portland cement: hydrated lime: sand. In addition, care should be taken to exclude all conditions of dampness. On rendered walls, the rendering should be removed and the brickwork allowed to dry before reapplying a weaker mix of sulphate-resistance cement, lime and sand. Tackling Decay Where decay has occurred, take action to rectify the damage will be necessary before this leads to greater problems. The use of chemical treatments to stabilize brick should only be considered with extreme caution. Whilst the defects may be effective initially, there has been insufficient research carried out on the possible long term damage such treatments could have. Chemical sealants can trap moisture within the brick just as effectively as the claims to keep water out. Cleaning Cleaning soiled brick buildings should be undertaken carefully. In the past, the use of inappropriate cleaning techniques has resulted in considerable damage being done. If considered essential small scale tests should be employed to assess the effectiveness and likely damage which could be caused before any large scale work is carried out. There are some guides when doing the cleaning works:- Do not re-clean brickwork with the same chemicals unless recommended by the cleani

The Russian Revolution at the Kronstadt Navel Base Essay -- European E

The Russian Revolution at the Kronstadt Navel Base Most popular uprisings in recent history have been characterized by a brief period of incredible potential and hope, only to collapse in failure and despair. Even the supposedly 'successful' Russian Revolution of 1917 followed this pattern. Revolutionaries threw off centuries of imperial rule and oppression in order to create a new world of freedom, peace and equality... only to end up with Stalin, purges, gulags, dekulakization - and ultimately decades of Bolshevik1 rule and oppression. Although it can sometimes be disheartening to review this long history of failure and oppression, valuable insights can be gained by investigating these past revolutions. The achievements and promise of the revolutionaries can be studied and their strengths marked. The weaknesses that led to their eventual defeat and decay must also be understood, so that the same mistakes are not made again. This article will address these themes in the context of the Russian Revolution at the Kronstadt navel base.2 Kronstadt deserves special attention for several reasons. The workers, soldiers and sailors at Kronstadt used the Revolution to build "a bustling, self-governing, egalitarian and highly politicized Soviet democracy, the like of which had not been seen in Europe since the days of the Paris Commune."3 This was the great promise of Kronstadt, which Trotsky praised as "the pride and glory of the Russian Revolution."4 Nowhere in Russia, however, was the failure of the revolution so dramatically illustrated as at Kronstadt. After the Bolsheviks consolidated their control of the base in mid-1918, Kronstadt made one last "desperate attempt to restore and reactivate its radical Soviet democracy."5 This... ...or illegally celebrating May Day. 13. Quoted in Getzler, Kronstadt 1917 - 1921 , 18. 14. Ibid., 22 - 26. 15. Ibid., 23 - 24. 16. Ibid., 246 - 247. 17. Ibid., 22 - 24. 18. Ibid., 248. 19. Ibid., 49. 20. Ibid., 36 - 37. 21. Ibid., 42, 254. 22. Ibid., 50, 36. 23. Ibid., 251. 24. Ibid., 58. 25. Ibid., 119. 26. Ibid., 181, 250. 27. Ibid., 186 - 187. 28. Ibid., 188. 29. Ibid., 190 - 191. 30. Ibid., 202. 31. Ibid., ix. 32. Ibid., 204. 33. Avrich, Kronstadt 1921, 78 - 81. 34. Ibid., 75 - 76. 35. Ibid., 5. 36. See, for instance, David Schaich, Kronstadt 1921: An Analysis of Bolshevik Propaganda (Unpublished, 2001), http://halogen.note.amherst.edu/~daschaich/writings/academic/kronstadt1921.html 37. Figes, A People's Tragedy, 768. 38. Avrich, Kronstadt 1921, 3. 39. Ibid., 229. 40. Getzler, Kronstadt 1917 - 1921, 46. 41. Ibid., 246. 42. Ibid., 252.