An Overview Of Life Satisfaction Literatures Social Work Essay

An Overview Of Life Satisfaction Literatures Social Work Essay This chapter begins with literatures about life satisfaction and important personal and situational predictors of life satisfaction in older persons, then in order to provide a theoretical background for this study attempt to define the most important components of structural and functional support. The next portion will focus on the ways in which significant personal and situational characteristics might affect on structural and functional components. The focus will then shift to the effect of structural and functional components specifically on life satisfaction. And finally specific theories and models that have been proposed to explain the role of structural and functional components in the life satisfaction of older adults will be addressed. Over the past few years, the worlds population has continued on its remarkable transition from a state of high birth and death rates to one characterized by low birth and death rates. At the heart of this transition has been the growth in the number and proportion of older persons. Such a rapid, large, and ubiquitous growth has never been seen in the history of civilization (Norman Henderson, 2003). when the older population will be nearly 2 billion, surpassing the population of children for the first time in human history (United Nations, 2006). For the first time in history, Asian populations and their governments are faced with increasing numbers of older adults, and this raise various social and economic issues, (Chan, 2005) specially issues concerning the life satisfaction (Wu Rudkin, 2000). 2.1 Life Satisfaction The use of different terms such as â€Å"psychological well-being†, â€Å"subjective well-being†, â€Å"life satisfaction†, â€Å"happiness† and â€Å"morale† for the same underlying construct has led to considerable confusion in the literature over exactly what is being measured, however, these concepts and their definitions are not identical, â€Å"all of them involve a psychological response by the individual to socio-environmental situation encountered in life and demonstrate no significant difference in meaning.†(Cloutterbuck, 1987). Stock, Okun, and Benin (1988) defined subjective well-being as combining concepts together; mood, happiness, life satisfaction, and morale. Factors such as morale, life satisfaction and happiness are considered to be important in determining subjective well-being in the elderly (Kim, Hisata, Kai, Lee, 2000). Subjective well-being is composed of two elements: cognitive and affective. Life satisfaction, the cognitive component of subjective well-being, refers to a global judgment of a life as a whole (Jin, 2001).Life satisfaction has also been defined in various ways, including happiness, adjustment, morale, physical health, subjective well-being, and the balance between aspirations and achievements (Nutt, 2001). Life satisfaction has been defined two major ways in the literature: first as an objective entity, usually the quantity of social interactions; and second as an internal and subjective perception, the individuals evaluation of their lives, the second approach is now more widely used (Miller, 1997). Life satisfaction is a very personal assessment, one must decide ones own life satisfaction criteria. Two individuals may share very similar lives, and one may find life satisfactory and the other may not (Quadhamer, 1999). Havighurst proposed that measuring life satisfaction as an â€Å"inner† assessment was a better measure of successful aging. Such a measure would accommodate individual differences in conceptions and values of growing older. Specifically, the individual whose personality most values an active life style could be as satisfied with his life as one who is more passive (Havighurst, 1961). Distinction between life satisfaction and quality of life is not clear and the concepts are sometimes used interchangeably (Borg, Hallberg, Blomqvist, 2006). Jeffres and Dobos (1995) proposed that quality of life consists of two distinct global concepts with underlying domains. The first concept, perceived quality of life or life satisfaction, is a consequence of satisfaction with the personal domains of life. These domains include satisfaction with family life, friends, health, partner and oneself. The second concept refers to quality of life in the broader social environment, environmental quality of life (Jeffres Dobos, 1995). Environmental quality of life domains include satisfaction with housing, schools, health services, safety and security, roads and transport (Evans, 1994) . Personal quality of life is associated with quality of life in the broader social environment (Jeffres Dobos, 1995), but the two domains are not identical (Fadda JiroÃ'‘n, 1999). For example, some i ndividuals rate their quality of life as very good whilst living under extremely difficult environmental conditions, whereas others rate their quality of life as poor even though their environmental conditions are excellent (Westaway, 2006). 2.1.1 Life Satisfaction in elderly Among elders the predictors of life satisfaction were found to be perceived   level of activity (Osberg McGinnis, 1987), age, gender (Fadda JiroÃ'‘n, 1999; Kudo, Izumo, Kodama, Watanabe, Hatakeyama, Fukuoka, Kudo, Yaegashi, Sasaki, 2007), satisfaction with family life (Medley, 1976), the availability of confidants (Strain Chappell, 1982), subjective health rating (Downe-Wamboldt Tamlyn, 1986; Gfellner, 1989; Spreitzer Snyder, 1974) ,   physical health status (Joia, Ruiz, Donalisio, 2007; Kudo et al., 2007; Bowling, 1990) , satisfaction with financial status and socio-economic status (Antonucci Akiyama, 2007; Borg et al., 2006; Spreitzer Snyder, 1974; Welsch, 2007), religious affiliation and private prayer (Korff, 2006; Markides, Levin, Ray, 1987; Sagaza, 2004), marital status, and educational level (Subasi Hayran, 2005), living environment (Subasi Hayran, 2005; Rehdanz Maddison, 2008), personal factors (Borg, FagerstrÃ'†m, Balducci, Burholt, Ferring, Weber, Wenge r, GÃ'†ran Holst, Hallberg, 2008; Sanchez, Jr., 2006) , social support (Abu Bader, Rogers, Barusch, 2003) and   sociopolitical capital (Abdallah, Thompson, Marks, 2008). Based on the International Study   in 1994 and 1999, indicates that the level of satisfaction of the elderly is generally lower in large cities, and lower for those who are in the first half of their 60s, who constitute single-person households, who are not in good health condition, who live in rented housing (Sagaza, 2004) another study showed that good health, high self-esteem, and the absence of worry were associated with life satisfaction (Borg et al., 2008). Analyses of associations with life satisfaction in the study of elderly persons in Hong Kong showed significant associations between life satisfaction and a number of variables including age, education, marital status, self-rated financial situation, religious belief, living arrangement, social support, social network, self-rated health status, functional capacity, number of chronic illnesses and activity level. Multivariate analysis confirmed that the strongest predictors of life satisfaction were self-rated financial situation, activity level and social support (Chou Chi, 1999). Borg et al., (2006) identified several factors of importance for life satisfaction among older people with reduced ability to perform daily activities: social contacts, health, activities, family, negatively losing family members (Borg et al., 2006). Recent work has identified a relationship between personality traits and life satisfaction (Thakral, 2006; Fogle, Huebner, Laughlin, 2002). Among people with reduced ADL capacity in 6 European countries, it was found that personal factors, rather than environmental factors such as social or financial resources, influence life satisfaction (Borg et al., 2008). Life satisfaction and Gender Up to age 65, women tended to report higher rates of life satisfaction than men; however, after age 65 men were more likely than women to report a high degree of life satisfaction (Spreitzer Snyder, 1974).   Significant predictors of life satisfaction were found in female respondents: age, financial strain and depression. In male respondents, the significant predictors of life satisfaction were education and financial strain (Chou Chi, 1999). Medley found standard of living to be a more important predictor of life satisfaction in women, whereas satisfaction with health was more important to men (Medley, 1976). Life satisfaction and Age As age increases there is a slow decrease in life satisfaction (Melendez, Tomas, Oliver, Navarro, 2005) Indeed, survey researchers have noted that older people show consistent increases in life satisfaction with age but a leveling off of more affective characteristics such as happiness (Antonucci Akiyama, 2007). Life satisfaction and Income Previous studies have indicated that financial strain was consistently and negatively associated with life satisfaction and financial situation was a significant predictor of satisfaction (Chou Chi, 1999; Chou Chi, 1999) and satisfaction with financial status was a stronger predictor of life satisfaction than objective financial state (Spreitzer Snyder, 1974). Life satisfaction and Educational level Education is found to have a significant effect on life satisfaction. Higher education attainment is associated with improved socioeconomic status, higher wage rates, and better health, all of which lead to better living standards (Bukenya, Gebremedin, Schaeffeaer, 2003). Life satisfaction and Ethnic Barger, Donoho, Wayment., (2009) evaluated racial/ethnic disparities in life satisfaction, and explored the relative contributions of SES, health status, and social relationships to life satisfaction among two very large, diverse probability samples of U.S. adults. That was the first major evaluation of Hispanic life satisfaction in the U.S. and is the largest U.S. population based life satisfaction study to date. They found that Blacks and Hispanics have lower life satisfaction than Whites, but controlling for SES and health status weakened these differences for Blacks and eliminated them for Hispanics. They also found a modest Hispanic benefit for being very satisfied in multivariable models. The consistently higher explained life satisfaction variance among Whites could represent substantive cultural variation in the types of support relevant to well-being judgments (Barger, Donoho, Wayment, 2009). Life satisfaction and marital status Marital status was found to be positively related to life satisfaction by some investigators (Markides et al., 1987; Strain Chappell, 1982) whereas others failed to show this relationship (Osberg McGinnis, 1987). Marital status significantly affects satisfaction, with being single having a negative effect on both health and quality of life satisfaction. Proponents of social role explanations suggest that men derive greater benefits from marriage than women do because mens roles are less stressful and more gratifying compared to women (Bukenya et al., 2003). Hansen et al., (2004) in a study with title: â€Å"Age, marital status and life satisfaction† found, having a partner (in the household) was strongly associated with higher levels of life satisfaction for both genders. The results showed no differential effect of having a partner by gender. However, for both genders, older cohorts without a partner had higher life satisfaction than their younger counterparts. No age-differential effect of having a partner was found. Interestingly, the effect of having a partner decreased with age for both genders, and significantly more so amongst women (Hansen, 2004). Life satisfaction and Employment Researchers examining employment status and life satisfaction have found a positive relation between these variables. Results of several studies have further suggested that persons 65 years of age and older who remain active in the labor force have higher levels of life satisfaction and morale than do retired persons in the same age cohort (Aquino, Russellc, Cutrona, Altimaier, 1996). Life satisfaction and Strata (rural/urban) Evans., (2005) studied differences in the social supports of rural and urban elders to determine what those differences meant in terms of three markers of successful aging: activity level, life satisfaction, and depressive symptoms. Results showed that urban older adults reported more depressive symptoms as compared to rural older adults. Furthermore, subjective level of social support (perceived satisfaction with support) was positively correlated with life satisfaction and negatively correlated with depressive symptoms for both rural and urban older adults, however, there were no mediating effects of social support in the relationship between residence and levels of activity, life satisfaction, and depressive symptoms (Evans, 2005). 2.2 Functional and Structural components of support In this section a broad overview of structural and functional components of support will be provide and each of these concept consider separately, because each has different properties that can potentially influence the life satisfaction. 2.2.1 Definitions: The concept of social support has been a popular subject of research since the late 1970 and publications on social support increased almost geometrically from 1976 to 1981 (Phillips, Siu, Yeh, Cheng, 2008).The concept of social support has been variously addressed in terms of social bonds, social contacts, and availability of confidants (Johnson, 1996; Seeman, Bruce, McAvay, 1996) and early research frequently unclear the distinctions between four concepts: social relations, social network, social support, and social integration (Antonucci Akiyama, 2007). social support and social support resources such as: social network, social interactions or social contacts, reported as related but distinct concepts (Seeman, Lusignolo, Albert, Berkman, 2001). Social support includes interpersonal communication and interaction, love and understanding, caring and concern, affection and companionship, financial assistance, and respect and acceptance (Antonucci Akiyama, 2007; Loue Sajatovic, 2008). Definitions of social support range from the actual supportive acts that are exchanged between individuals to a personality-like factor based in early interpersonal experiences that then influences how an individual views the likelihood that someone is supportive. The concept of social support has been investigated by researchers in anthropology, epidemiology, medicine, nursing, psychology, and sociology. Given the different backgrounds of researchers in these fields one can appreciate why reaching consensus for a definition of social support has been difficult (Rudkin, 2006). There is a lack of general consensus on how social support should be specifically defined. One useful way to conceptualize social support is that it has both structural and functional aspects, qualitative (subjective) and quantitative (objective) aspects, and social network-based and support-based aspects (Phillips et al., 2008). 2.2.2Functional Component of Support More recent studies of social support conceptualize it as the functions that are provided by social relationships. Although the question of what exactly is provided by supportive individuals varies between researchers, many agree that supportive individuals provide or make available what can be termed emotional support, informational support, tangible support, and belonging support .These functional aspects of social support are often highly related to each other and not easily separated in everyday life. Emotional support, provides individuals with the belief that they are loved and cared for, emotional support involved such things   as giving advice, expressing affection, and providing morale support (Johnson, 1996). Emotional support is probably what most of us imagine when we think about a supportive individual. Emotional support is thought to be beneficial because it provides the recipient with a sense of acceptance and may strengthen ones self-esteem during life challenges (Loue Sajatovic, 2008). Informational support can be a very powerful form of support to the extent that it provides useful direction. Such advice and guidance may also carry an emotional message, it is often the case that useful guidance from close friends can be seen as emotionally supportive in that the person cares enough to speak with you about important decisions (Cohen , Underwood , Gottlieb , 2000). Appraisal supportincludes feedback given to individuals to help them in self-evaluation or in apprais ing situations. The intangible forms of support; emotional, informational, and appraisal support, can be difficult to disentangle (Rudkin, 2006). Tangible support, is conceptualized as the assistance from others in one‘s daily functioning. Emotional social support contributed to positive affect, while tangible social support contributed to life satisfaction as well as reducing psychosomatic and emotional distress (Seeman et al., 2001). For older people tangible support may be as simple as providing a ride to the grocery store or mowing the lawn (Loue Sajatovic, 2008), involves being able to help with everyday jobs around the house, providing financial assistance, and helping in the process of taking care of children (Johnson, 1996). Research findings regarding instrumental support are more mixed. Receipt of higher levels of instrumental support, specifically help with various tasks, has been associated with greater declines in physical functioning. More moderate levels of instrumental support appear to promote recovery and slow decline in functioning. In many studies, however, the direction of causation has not been cle arly established (Rudkin, 2006). Belonging support is defined as the presence of others with whom to engage in social activities. An example of it would be a friend with whom to go shopping or to watch a basketball game. Belonging support may be beneficial because such positive social and leisure activities may enhance ones mood and sense of acceptance by others (Cohen   et al., 2000). Social support functions are often intertwined those who provide tangible support may also be providing reassurance and emotional support. Furthermore, different network members provide different types of support. People tend to turn to their families for instrumental support, friends for emotional support, and during times of illness, health care workers for advice and aid (Loue Sajatovic, 2008). Higher levels of emotional support, both perceived and received, improve outcomes, whereas the effects of instrumental support have been questionable. Older individuals who have more interaction with others and who report more available emotional support, experience fewer and slower declines in cognitive and physical functioning (Rudkin, 2006). The effectiveness of any form of support will depend on the extent to which it meets the demands of the particular stressful event. For controllable stressful events, support such as informational or tangible is predicted to be more important. However, if the event is less controllable, then emotional or belonging support may serve to facilitate adjustment (Uchino, Cacioppo, Kiecolt-Glaser, 1996). 2.2.2.1 Functional component: perceived or received Function components of support are usually organized along two dimensions: what support is perceived to be available (available support) and what support is actually received or provided (received support) by others (Cohen, 2004; Kafetsios   Sideridis, 2006). These measures are not highly related and are often associated with different effects on well-being. What is perceived as available may or may not correspond to what is actually provided (Kahna, Hesslingb, Russellc, 2003). Studies suggest that received support is not related to the perceived availability of support in a straightforward manner, one reason is that measures of available support are related to ones cognitive representation of social support, a person might perceive a high availability of support but decide not to utilize it because of concerns about network members perception of their competence (Cohen   et al., 2000). when elderly individuals indicated that others were available to provide social support, the y were more likely to report greater use of proactive coping (Greengalss, Fliksenbaum, Eaton, 2006). However, the benefits of social support are most strongly related to the perception that support is available. In other words, the highest levels of well-being are found among people who believe that they have a high level of social support, regardless of how much support they receive or how many people they know (Karademas, 2006; Kim et al., 2000; Phillips et al., 2008).National study of economically stressed older adults shows that those who believed that no one would come to their aid in the future had the greatest number of depressive symptoms (Loue Sajatovic, 2008) and a higher level of support was reported in those who perceived the provider as supportive (Pierce et al., 1992). 2.2.2.2 Buffer against stressful life events Social support may act as a buffer against stressful life events and, thus, reduce exposure to the resultant cumulative pathological effects of stress. Alternatively, social support may be a constant, more generally available resource, across time and situations (Alan, Alison, Martha, Lawrence, Ian, 2007; Antonucci Akiyama, 2007).The two type of support are not mutually exclusive and may be viewed as complementary, there is evidence to support both types of effects. It should also be emphasized that the particular pathways or mechanisms by which social relationships affect well being likely depend upon the characteristics of the individual, his or her socioeconomic situation, the health outcome of interest, and the measure of social relationships (Rudkin, 2006). Murrell and Norris (1984) postulated that social support may not only buffer individuals from stressful life events, but may actually be important for the general maintenance of psychological well-being and life satisfaction in old age, independent of adversity or stress (Tho , 2001). Social support can act as a buffer to soften the effects of negative life occurrences, this might explain why some people maintain good health when exposed to stressful life events which would be expected to have a negative effect on health (Bowung , Farquha , Browne , 1991) and those older adults who are going through the loss of a loved one and have a strong social support system report a higher sense of life satisfaction and well-being (Gray , 2007). Coleman suggests that social relationships can act as a form of social insurance, provide communication and information networks, and create norms and sanctions that facilitate social action (Celia Lenore, 2004). 2.2.3 Structural Component of Support Support Network refers to objective characteristics of the network such as total network size (Janevic, Ajrouch, Merline, Akiyama, Antonucci, 2000; Antonucci, Lansford, Akiyama, Smith, Baltes, Takahashi, Fuhrer, Dartigues, 2002), the number of family members, age, sex, proximity, or frequency of contact with network members and living arrangements (Yoshida, Sauer, Tidwell, Skager, Sorenson, 1997). Social networks define as webs of relationships that link the individual directly and indirectly to other people. Social networks include friends and family, as well as familiarity. The size of a social network depends on the person , some people have large families and numerous friends, whereas others may have smaller families and smaller friendship networks (Phillips, 1986; Phillips et al., 2008; Quadhamer, 1999). The Properties of the person and situation significantly influence the structure of the individuals network. Since one occupies a large number of roles, such as child, spouse, and parent, it is natural that this is a time when there are numerous members of the support network, and that they differ widely in age and gender (Antonucci, Akiyama, Merline, 2001; Berke, 1991; Fiori, 2006). 2.2.3.1 Formal social support Formal social support is in many cases essential to an older adults well-being because it provides practical support that becomes increasingly dependent as a person ages. Formal support comes from those individuals and institutions one depends upon for services and assistance such as health care providers, social workers, case managers, shopkeepers, delivery persons, and others in institutional settings (Loue Sajatovic, 2008; Quadhamer, 1999). 2.2.3.2Informal social support There are several aspects of the structure of social networks that have received much attention in the literature on social relations and aging. Including family versus friend relationships, under the umbrella term of structural component is somewhat arbitrary, as this issue also touches on functional component. 2.2.3.3 Family versus Friends Informal Social Support systems are typically those supports such as family and friends and developed over a period of time through interactions with others (Nutt, 2001; Quadhamer, 1999). Informal support members are generally the primary caregivers to the older adult who needs assistance. Psychologically, social interactions with family and friends provide feedback to the individual regarding his/her social role and behavior (Rosenhand, 1999) and both of family and friends social support increase life satisfaction (Miller, 1997). The study of social relations must take into account that convoys of close friends and family members may be both pleasant and unpleasant, supportive and unsupportive (Antonucci Akiyama, 2007). Findings showed that, reliable alliance, or instrumental assistance, was more strongly related to well-being when provided by kin than by nonkin (Felton Berry, 1992). Surveys of elderly people have documented that the most frequently mentioned helpers are wives followed by daughters, particularly in the case of widowed parents (Bowung   et al., 1991). Couples who do not have children may intentionally develop strong relationships with relatives such as nephews and nieces because these relatives serve as informal support to them when children would otherwise assume support (Loue Sajatovic, 2008).   Social support, especially from children and family members, had a significant positive effect on the life satisfaction of older adults when support was provided at a low level. However, excessive support was found to diminish the sense of well-being in the elderly as well as wear away their autonomy and independence (Silverstein Bengtson, 1994). In fact, increasing contact with family members could be viewed by older adults as a sign of lost independence (Fiori, 2006). Older people who are married are much less likely to need formal supports, such as home nurse care or Meals on Wheels, than unmarried people. Family relationships, under normal circumstances, make an important contribution to well-being (Antonucci Akiyama, 2007) however, if the relationship is not supportive and positive, the opposite is true. In fact, intimate relationships that are not supportive, trusting, and loving have negative influences on the physical and mental health and overall well-being of the elderly. Additionally, the very old tend to have smaller circles of social support as many people have outlived spouses, other family members, friends, and sometimes even children (Loue Sajatovic, 2008). Although it is clear that families play important roles in the lives of older adults, providing sometimes extraordinary care giving efforts and instrumental help, friends are also invaluable resources. Indeed, research initially designed to examine the impact of family members alone often finds that the friends are mentioned as a significant support source (Antonucci Akiyama, 2007).The need for friendships among the elderly is self-evident (Hanafy, 1992).When confronting loneliness or needing assistance with social issues, older adults prefer friendships to family Social Support ( specifically spouses and children). The reasons that older adults prefer friendships to family in cases of emotional support are primarily due to sense of continuity with the past that friends can provide (Loue Sajatovic, 2008). Older people obtained a sense of emotional support from having intimate friendships with neighbors and friends and at least one child living close by with whom they have frequent contact (Loue Sajatovic, 2008).Friendships have significant positive effects on the mental health of the elderly (Antonucci Akiyama, 2007) and tend to be a matter of choice rather than birth. People choose friends because of shared interests and desire for contact and friendships share a form of reciprocity that may be absent in family relationships and reciprocity has a strong effect on the satisfaction level of seniors and their friendships (Loue Sajatovic, 2008). In one study of friendships among people over 60 year, 68% reported long-term friendship ties throughout their lives. There were some gender differences, with more than half the women reporting that they remained friends with a close friend from childhood or adolescence, whereas men showed high levels of continuity with close friendships developed at midlife. In one sample of people over 85 years old, it was found that more than half still had at least one close friend, and three-fourths were in weekly contact with people they considered their friends. Furthermore, almost half reported that they had made new friends after age 85, although the criteria for those friends tended to involve less expectation for intimacy or shared history than was common among younger people (Antonucci Akiyama, 2007). 2.3 Functional and Structural Support in elderly The findings from several studies suggest that the social network of elderly adultsmay differ from those of younger persons on a number of dimensions. In modem societies the networks of the aged are generally smaller than those of younger people. There is some controversy in the literature as to whether social networks of the aging decrease in size, frequency of contact with persons in the network, and degree of given and received support (Dorman, 2001). Gender It has been widely recognized that social networks among men and women differ in complex ways, particularly in relation to life stage (Antonucci et al., 2001). In terms of gender, women report providing more support, having more frequent contact with network members, being more satisfied with their friends, and having larger and more multifaceted social networks than do men (Fiori, Antonucci, Cortina, 2006). Male got more support from fa

Environmentally Friendly Concrete Alternative

Environmentally Friendly Concrete Alternative Throughout history, the use of concrete as a building material has contributed significantly to the built environment. Enduring examples of various forms of concrete can be found as far back as the early Egyptian civilisation. Significant building remnants still exist from the Roman civilization, which used concretes made from naturally occurring volcanic ash pozzolans, mixed with water, sand and stone. Now concrete is being used in the construction of durable bridges, roads, water supply, hospitals, churches, houses and commercial buildings, to give people a social foundation, a thriving economy, and serviceable facilities for many years. In the modern era, the properties of concrete were refined in the late 1800s, with the introduction of a patented manufacturing process for portland cement. While it has ancient roots, concrete, as we know it today, is a modern and highly advanced building material. In the last 150 years, concrete has become one of the most widely used building mat erials on earth. Problem Statement Concrete is one of the most widely used construction materials in the world. However, the  production of portland cement, an essential material in concrete, leads to the release of significant amount of CO2, a greenhouse gas. One ton of portland cement clinker production is said to creates approximately one ton of CO2 and other greenhouse gases. Environmental issues are playing an important role in the sustainable development of the cement and concrete industry. For example, if we run out of limestone, as it is predicted to happen in some places, then we cannot produce portland cement; and, therefore, we cannot produce concrete and all the employment associated with the concrete industry goes out-of-business. A sustainable concrete structure is one that is constructed so that the total environmental impact during its entire life cycle is minimal. Concrete is a sustainable material because it has a very low inherent energy requirement and is produced to order as needed with very lit tle waste. It is made from some of the most plentiful resources on earth and has a very high thermal mass. It can be made with recycled materials and is completely recyclable. Sustainable design and construction of structures have a small impact on the environment. Use of green materials embodies low energy costs. Their use must have high durability and low maintenance leading to sustainable construction materials. High performance cements and concrete can reduce the amount of cementitious materials and total volume of concrete required. Concrete must keep evolving to satisfy the increasing demands of all its users. Reuse of post-consumer wastes and industrial byproducts in concrete is necessary to produce even greener concrete. Greener concrete also improves air quality, minimizes solid wastes, and leads to sustainable cement and concrete industry. What is Sustainable Concrete? Concrete is a very environmentally friendly material. Concrete has been used for over 2,000 years. Concrete is best known for its long-lasting and dependable nature. However, additional ways that concrete contributes to social progress, economic growth, and environmental protection are often overlooked. Concrete structures are superior in energy performance. They provide flexibility in design as well as affordability, and are environmentally more responsible than steel or aluminum structures. Entire geographical regions are running out of limestone resource to produce cement. Major metropolitan areas are running out of sources of aggregates for making concrete. Sustainability requires that engineers consider a buildings lifecycle cost extended over the useful lifetime. This includes the building construction, maintenance, demolition, and recycling [ACI 2004]. A sustainable concrete structure is one that is constructed so that the total societal impact during its entire life cycle, including during its use, is minimal. Designing for sustainability means accounting in the design and also the short-term and long-term consequences of the societal impact. Therefore, durability is the key issue. New generation of admixtures/additives are needed to improve durability. To build in a sustainable manner and conduct scheduled appropriate building maintenance are the keys that represent the new construction ideology of this generation. In particular, to build in a sustainable manner means to focus attention on physical, environmental, and technological resources, problems related to human health, energy conservation of new and existing buildings, and control of construction technologies and methods. Environmental Issues with Concrete The production of portland cement releases CO2 and other greenhouse gases (GHGs) into the atmosphere. Total CO2 emissions worldwide were 21 billion tons in 2002, Table 1. Environmental issues associated with the CO2 emissions from the production of portland cement, energy demand (six-million BTU of energy needed per ton of cement production), resource conservation consideration, and economic impact due to the high cost of portland cement manufacturing plants demand that supplementary cementing materials in general and fly ash in particular be used in increasing quantities to replace portland cement in concrete [Malhotra 1997, 2004]. Fly ash is a by-product of the combustion of pulverized coal in thermal power plants. The dust collection system removes the fly ash, as a fine particulate residue from the combustion gases before they are discharged in the atmosphere. For each ton of portland cement clinker, 3 to 20 lbs. of NOx are released into the atmosphere. In 2000, the worldwide cement clinker production was approximately 1.6 billion tons [Malhotra 2004]. Longer lasting concrete structures reduce energy needs for maintenance and reconstruction. Concr ete is a locally available material; therefore, transportation cost to the project site is reduced. Light colored concrete walls reduce interior lighting requirements. Permeable concrete pavement and interlocking concrete pavers can be used to reduce runoff and allow water to return to the water table. Therefore, concrete is, in many ways, environmentally friendly material. As good engineers, we must use more of it [Malhotra 2004]. In view of the energy and greenhouse gas emission concerns in the manufacturing of Portland cement, it is imperative that either new environmentally friendly cement-manufacturing technologies be developed or substitute materials be found to replace a major part of the portland cement for use in the concrete industry [Malhotra 2004]. Energy consumption is the biggest environmental concern with cement and concrete production. Cement production is one of the most energy intensive of all industrial manufacturing processes. Including direct fuel use for mining and transporting raw materials, cement production takes about six million BTUs for every ton of cement. The industrys heavy reliance on coal leads to especially high emission levels of CO2, nitrous oxide, and sulphur, among other pollutants. A sizeable portion of the electricity used is also generated from coal. What types of materials are being used to make sustainable concrete? Coal combustion products (CCPs) It is important to develop recycling technology for high-volume applications of coal combustion products (CCPs) generated by using both conventional and clean-coal technologies. Many different types of CCPs are produced; for example, fly ash, bottom ash, cyclone-boiler slag, and clean coal ash. In general some of these CCPs can be used as a supplementary cementitious materials and the use of portland cement, therefore, can be reduced. The production of CCPs in USA is about 120 million tons per year in 2004. Cyclone-boiler slag is 100% recycled. Overall recycling rate of all CCPs is about 40%. Todays use of other pozzolans, such as rice-husk ash, wood ash, GGBFS, silica fume, and other similar pozzolanic materials such as volcanic ash, natural pozzolans, diatomite (diatomaceous earth), calcined clay/shale, metakaolin, very fine clean-coal ash (microash), limestone powder, and fine glass can reduce the use of manufactured portland cement, and make concrete more durable, as well as reduce GHG emissions. Chemical composition of ASTM Type I portland cement and selected pozzolans is given in Table 2. Recycled- Aggregate Concrete Recycled-aggregate concrete (RAC) for structural use can be prepared by completely substituting natural aggregate, in order to achieve the same strength class as the reference concrete, manufactured by using only natural aggregates. This is obviously a frustration, since a large stream of recycled aggregates to allow for full substitution of natural aggregates is not available. However, it is useful to prove that to manufacture structural concrete by partly substituting natural with recycled aggregates by up to fifty percent is indeed feasible. In any case, if the adoption of a very low water to cement ratio implies unsustainably high amounts of cement in the concrete mixture, recycled-aggregate concrete may also be manufactured by using a water-reducing admixture in order to lower both water and cement dosage, or even by adding fly ash as a partial fine aggregate replacement and by using a super plasticizer to achieve the required workability. High-volume fly ash recycled aggregate concrete (HVFA-RAC) can be manufactured with a water to cement ratio of 0.60, by simultaneously adding to the mixture as much fly ash as cement, and substituting the fine aggregate fraction. Thus, water to cementitious material ratio of 0.30 is obtained enabling the concrete to reach the required strength class (Table 3). This procedure is essential for designing an environmentally-friendly concrete. All the concretes can be prepared maintaining the same fluid consistency by proper addition of an appropriate class of a super plasticizer. SUSTAINABLE CONCRETE SOLUTIONS Concrete is a strong, durable, low environmental impact, building material. It is the cornerstone for building construction and infrastructure that can put future generations on the road towards a sustainable future [Cement Association of Canada 2004]. Benefits of concrete construction are many, for example [Cement Association of Canada 2004]: concrete buildings reduce maintenance and energy use; concrete highways reduce fuel consumed by heavily loaded trucks; insulating concrete homes reduce energy usage by 40% or more; fly ash, cement kiln dust, or cement-based solidification/stabilization and in-situ treatment of waste for brownfield redevelopment; and, agriculture waste containment reduces odor and prevents groundwater contamination. The concrete industry must show leadership and resolve, and make contribution to the sustainable development of the industry in the 21 century by adopting new technologies to reduce emission of the greenhousegases, and thus contribute towards mee ting the goals and objectives set at the 1997 Kyoto Protocol. The manufacturing of portland cement is one such industry [Malhotra 2004]. PORTLAND CEMENT Portland cement is not environmentally very friendly material. As good engineers, we must reduce its use in concrete [Malhotra 2004]; and, we must use more blended cements, especially with chemical admixtures. Clinker production is the most energy-intensive stage in cement production, accounting for over 90% of total energy use, and virtually all of the fuel use. Processing of raw materials in large kilns produces portland cement clinker. These kiln systems evaporate the inherent water in the raw materials blended to manufacture the clinker, calcine the carbonate constituents (calcinations), and form cement minerals (clinkerization) [Worrell Galtisky 2004]. Blended cements The production of blended cements involves the intergrinding of clinker with one or more additives; e.g., fly ash,bnb granulated blast furnace slag, silica fume, volcanic ash, in various proportions. The use of blended cements is a particularly attractive efficiency option since the intergrinding of clinker with other additives not only allows for a reduction in the energy used (and reduced GHG emissions) in clinker production, but also directly corresponds to a reduction in carbon dioxide emissions in calcinations as well. Blended cement has been used for many decades around the world [Worrell Galtisky 2004]. Concrete and the use of blended cements Although it is most common to make use of supplementary cementing materials (SCM) in the replacement of cement in the concrete mixture, blended cement is produced at the grinding stage of cement production where fly ash, blast furnace slag, or silica fume are added to the cement itself. The advantages include expanded production capacity, reduced CO2 emissions, reduced fuel consumption and close monitoring of the quality of SCMs [Cement Association of Canada 2004]. Kyoto Protocol (UN Pact of 1997, requires to reduce GHGs, including CO2). It is now ratified. USA has not ratified it. The Russian Government approval allowed it to come into force worldwide. By 2012, emissions must be cut below 1990 levels (in Japan by 6.0 + 7.6 = 13.6% by 2012) [The Daily Yomiuri 2004]. In Japan (Per) householdà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦5,000 yen green tax per year is planned (starting April 2005). This includes 3,600 yen in tax per ton of carbon. The revenue would be used to implement policies to achieve the requir ements of Kyoto Protocol. A survey released (on Oct. 21, 2004) showed that 61% of those polled are in favor of the environmental tax. [The Japan Times 2004]. Rate of CO2 emission and global warming is shown in Figure 1. In last 2 yrs. CO2 has increased at a higher rate than expected [Corinaldesi Moriconi 2004b]. Foundry by-products Foundry by-products include foundry sand, core butts, abrasives, and cupola slag. Cores are used in making desired cavity/shapes in a sand mold in which molten metal is cast/poured. Cores are primarily composed of silica sand with small percentages of either organic or inorganic binders. Conclusions The most important conclusion drawn appears to be that the compressive strength of the recycled aggregate concrete can be improved to equal or even exceed that of natural-aggregate concrete by adding fly ash to the mixture as a fine aggregate replacement. In this way, a given strength class value, as required for a wide range of common uses, can be reached through both natural-aggregate concrete and recycled-aggregate concrete with fly ash, by adequately decreasing the water to cement ratio with the aid of a superplasticizer in order to maintain the workability. Concrete manufactured by using recycled aggregate and fly ash shows no deleterious effect on the durability of reinforced concrete, with some improvement for some cases. From an economical point of view, if only the traditional costs are taken into account, recycledaggregate concrete with fly ash could be less attractive than natural-aggregate concrete. However, if the eco-balanced costs are considered, the exact opposite would be valid. Moreover, the fine fraction with particle size up to 5 mm, when reused as aggregate for mortars, allowed excellent bond strengths between mortar and bricks, in spite of a lower mechanical performance of the mortar itself. Also the masonry rubble can be profitably treated and reused for preparing mortars. Even for the fine fraction produced during the recycling process, that is the concrete-rubble powder, an excellent reuse was found, as filler in self-compacting concrete. The attempt to improve the quality of the recycled aggregates for new concretes by reusing in different ways the most detrimental fractions, i.e., the material coming from masonry rubble and the finest recycled materials, allowed to achieve surprising and unexpected performances for mortars and selfcompacting concretes. Other industrial wastes, such as GRP waste powder, can prove useful to be re-used in cementitious products, by improving some durability aspects. The concrete industry will be called upon to serve the two pressing needs of human society; namely, protection of the environment and meeting the infrastructural requirement for increasing industrialization and urbanization of the world. Also due to large size, the concrete industry is unquestionably the ideal medium for the economic and safe use of millions of tons of industrial byproducts such as fly ash and slag due to their highly pozzolanic and cementitious properties. It is obvious that large-scale cement replacement (60 70 %) in concrete with these industrial by-products will be advantageous from the standpoint of cost economy, energy efficiency, durability, and overall ecological profile of concrete. Therefore, in the future, the use of by-product supplementary cementing materials ought to be made mandatory [Malhotra 2004].

Essays --

Purpose The transition from teaching-centered to learner-centered paradigms has left few corners of higher education untouched, and study abroad is no exception (Vande Berg, Connor-Linton, & Paige, 2009). This focus on learning environments, assessment, and outcome-based learning has resulted in a call for robust quantitative research in study abroad that goes beyond traditional program evaluations and anecdotal feedback from students, faculty, and parents (Vande Berg et al., 2009; Graban, 2007; Engle & Engle, 2004; Sutton & Rubin, 2004). Whalen (2009) notes that the simultaneous trends of budgetary challenges facing U.S. higher education and institutional and national calls for the expansion of study abroad have placed paramount importance on the assessment of program learning outcomes to justify what was previously assumed to be the inherent educational merits of studying abroad. The complexity of international education and study abroad, however, creates challenges in conducting research with significant and comparable findings – especially in conducting research that goes beyond simple statistical evidence of the rapid growth of study abroad participation (Wisniewski Dietrich & Olson, 2010; Engle & Engle, 2004). These complexities include both the standardization of references to terms, program types, and learning outcomes being measured (Engle & Engle, 2003). The rise in study abroad research in the last decade (Vande Berg et al., 2009) has predominantly focused on measuring acquisition of intercultural skills, language proficiency, learning within a discipline, and specific program outcomes (Braskamp & Braskamp, 2009). However, several authors note the need for more assessment in study abroad on holistic student developm... ...ative measurement of factors that contribute to holistic development of students in study abroad programs using TQ scales. The emphasis on quantitative assessment of study abroad programs and participants in recent years has largely been led by research published in Frontiers: The Interdisciplinary Journal of Study Abroad, making it an ideal candidate for submission for publication. Several issues are still at large in the development of this proposal. Several of the questions present in the TQ scale refer to campus-specific items, which may be confusing to students being surveyed in a third-party study abroad provider model, because they are neither currently studying on a campus, and enrollment in the program is derived from multiple institutions. Additionally, approval for the number of program participants and program locations to be surveyed is still pending.

Dickinsons Pictorials of Death Essay -- Literary Analysis

Dickinson’s Pictorials of Death Death is often thought of as a morbid or mysterious subject. Authors and poets spend their lives exploring the questions of what happens when a person dies and what lies beyond death. From the billowy heavens in the Bible to Dante’s many rings of Inferno, no one else has quite the same view as Emily Dickinson on this subject. Through her elliptical poems Dickinson paints various views of death that reveal her multifaceted outlook. She uses different methods to gain insight into the nature of death by processing through the physical aspects of death in â€Å"I hear a fly buzz—when I died†, personifying death in â€Å"Because I could not stop for death†, and reconciling death and immortality in â€Å"Behind me dips—Eternity†. All of these poems create a better understanding of Emily Dickinson’s views of death. During Dickinson’s life, death was something that happened quite often and was never far from her thought. Her house was beside the local cemetery, and, with the Civil War raging, the graveyard always seemed to have a fresh plot. This is where she spent almost her entire life. Emily was born on December 10, 1830 in the â€Å"sleepy village† of Amherst, Massachusetts that was dominated by â€Å"church and college† (Dickinson, Emily). Here she spent her childhood years playing with her brother Austin and sister Lavinia and would later spend her adult years gardening and writing in solitude (Dickinson, Emily). Her isolation gave the impression of being reclusive and antisocial. Emily Dickinson did, however, go off to school and graduated from Amherst Academy in 1947 before coming back to her childhood home and becoming â€Å"a more than ordinary observer of Amherst life† (Dickinson, Emily). Her voluntary seclusion was not b... ...y in the image of â€Å"the Setting Sun† (BOOK PG#). Works Cited Anderson, Charles R. "The Trap of Time in Emily Dickinson's Poetry." ELH 26.3 (1959): 402-24. JSTOR. Web. 28 Mar. 2012. Anderson, John Q. "Heaven Beguiles the Tired: Death in the Poetry of Emily Dickinson." Rev. of Book. The South Central Bulletin 27.1 (1967): 30-31. JSTOR. Web. 27 Mar. 2012. Chuan, Xiao -. "Death and Immortality: The Everlasting Themes." Canadian Social Science 5.5 (2009): 96-99. CSCanada. Canadian Academy of Oriental and Occidental Culture, 2 July 2009. Web. 27 Mar. 2011. â€Å"Dickinson, Emily (1830-1886).† Encyclopedia of World Biography. Detroit: Gale, 1998. Gale Biography In Context. Web. 27. Mar. 2012. Spencer, Mark. "Dickinson's Becase I Could Not Stop for Death." The Explicator 65.2 (2007): 95-96. Taylor and Francis Online. Atypon Literatum, 7 Aug. 2010. Web. 27 Mar. 2012.

Philosophy of the Pseudoabsolute :: Philosophical Philosophy Essays

Philosophy of the Pseudoabsolute ABSTRACT: Since human knowledge is relative, human beings consciously (or often unconsciously) dismiss the relative by creating the absolute. The absolute thus created is the psuedoabsolute which, by virtue of its human origins, is relative. However, it functions in both the practical and theoretical life of homo sapien as a genuine absolute. Hence, the psuedoabsolute is relatively absolutized by the human person. The psuedoabsolute is a dialectical unity of the absolute and relative and, as a "third reality," plays a great role in the spiritual life of humankind. 1. First of all, it is necessary to elucidate the meaning of concepts of the absolute and relative. "Absolute" means an "unconditional", which exists by virtue of the intrinsic necessity and therefore is completely independent, irrelative being. It is invariable, infinite, objective and eternal, everlasting. This is the ontological character of the absolute. But in the gnoseological sense the fundamental feature of the absolute is unambiguity. The absolute is unambiguous, it has always and everywhere only one meaning. Relative is, on the contrary, conditional, it exists only in reference to other beings; it is variable, unstable, it changes in various relations. That is the ontological status of the relative, which in gnoseological language means ambiguity, it has multimeaning. Relative is ambiguous. One of the most difficult problems of philosophy is the investigation of the role of the absolute and relative in human mental life. Our present paper, in which we state very briefly our theory of pseudoabsolute is dedicated to the investigation of this problem. 2. The reality, as a universal being, has ontological strata, which are arranged according to the degree of the profundity and community. The ontological structure of the reality (being) consists of three strata of levels: the world of phenomena, the world of special essences and the substantial essence or substance1. 3. All things and events in the world of phenomena, i.e. in the field of empirical reality are interdependent; that means that they are relative. And what is more, natural phenomena are not only interdependent, but also they depend on the special essences, because they are appearance of these essences. Relativity of the world of phenomena is well-founded in the modern natural science and in the philosophy of natural sciences. Not only the world of phenomena is relative, but also the world of special essences. They are special essences, i.e. essences of the definite field of the reality.

Sports and Race in Washington, DC Essay -- Essays Papers

Sports and Race in Washington, DC In 1947, Jackie Robinson broke Major League baseball’s color barrier. He went on to become a symbol of positive change in the United States, an early indicator of the impending civil rights movement. During the 1940s, ‘50s, and ‘60s African-Americans were gradually hired into each of the major professional sports leagues. In fact, the sports arena was one of the first places where blacks were accepted on a national scale. However, not all professional sports teams welcomed black athletes with open arms. Unfortunately, segregation in professional sports occurred right here in the District long after Jackie Robinson played his first game for the Dodgers. The National Football League’s Washington Redskins, who played their home games in the District of Columbia, were still segregated in 1961. Not only were the Redskins still segregated, they were the only team in the NFL who had not yet signed a black player. The owner of the Redskins, George Preston Marshall, was a pompous racist, unwilling to curb his prejudices. Marshall’s only concerns were making money and staying loyal to stodgy and bigoted politicians in power at the time. Marshall paralleled the governmental institutions of the early 1960s. He conducted business and made money at the expense of African-Americans and ignored their needs, just as the government often ignored the needs of African-Americans of Washington. In fact, the Redskins’ target audience until the mid-sixties was primarily not Washington, DC, but the south. America’s south, like the District of Columbia, had a large African-American population that had been abused for hundreds of years with the institutions of slavery, and segregation. African-Ameri... ... though unintentionally, the move will be in the direction of a constituency they cultivated for a good deal of their existence† (Denlinger M4). The â€Å"constituency† that Denlinger is speaking of is the south. For years, Marshall marketed his team to a white southern audience with radio and television contracts. At the time of Marshall’s ownership the south was an area of the United States that was home to rampant racism. To George Marshall, the southern audience was key; it seemed to enjoy the all white Redskins in the 1950s, and supported the team. Building the team a stadium outside of the city would simply bring the team back into the shadow of George Marshall. Marshall catered to a southern audience during his time as owner, just as Cooke wished to cater to suburbanites with his stadium plan. In both cases, the fan base of the District appears to be ignored.

The Problem of Sustainability Essay -- essays research papers

In this chapter the author David Orr explains the causes of our unfortunate condition from the social confining situation to those that are inevitable part of human condition. As the author looks into the future three crises will be imminent: the food crisis as result of worldwide soil losses and rapidly expands of population, The cheap energy, the race between the fossil fuels and the solar energy, and the climate change. This has to do with the limits of the natural resource. Besides these crises the writer mentions the crisis of the spiritual resources. Human need a new vision of the link them to the planet in a more life-centered. The crisis as a social trap is part of lucid behavior in situation typified by multiple but conflicting rewards. The rewards are short terms but the costs are long term and paid by all. One of the solutions that will deter the human to get into those traps will be if the costs are paid up front as part of the purchase price. Effort to build a sustainable society on assumption human rationality must be regarded as partial solution. Recognition of these social traps and making policies to avoid them will help in building sustainable society. The crisis as consequence of the economic growth has to do with the propensity of all industrial society to grow beyond the limits of the natural systems. Human use 40 percent of the net productivity of the ecosystem on the planet, changing the was the climate, exterminating species, and toxifying ecosys...