The Bakun Dam Project in Sarawak Essay Example

The Bakun Dam Project in Sarawak Paper For more than 30 years, there have been discussions concerning the development of the Baku Dam in the East Malaysian state of Karakas. If built, the dam would be the largest in South-East Asia. The Baku Dam: A Case Study indicates that generating 2400 megawatts of power, it would provide electricity for all of Karakas, and for industries and cities in mainland Malaysia, through a cable under the South China Sea. At 650 kilometers, this would be by far the longest cable in the world. The Baku Dam has been a highly controversial issue spanning over three decades as its validity and use to the people of Malaysia have been questioned. For the cost that involves producing this dam, at seven billion dollars and rising, is there a need for so much power at all? The main environmental issue here is whether Karakas should sacrifice forests in order to promote the economic growth of its country or cease construction to preserve the traditional environment and standards of living. It is essential to the people of Malaysia that the construction of the dam continues, as it will benefit them in the future through industrialization. This dam can be seen as a source of employment for the nation, the creation of international interest, and increased economic growth. There are also many negatives to the completion of the dam; which include the displacement of natives, increased foreign debt, and the gradual deterioration of the dam after many years. There are many other factors that contribute to this issue, however, the above three positive components are fundamental to the further growth of Malaysia. We will write a custom essay sample on The Bakun Dam Project in Sarawak specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now We will write a custom essay sample on The Bakun Dam Project in Sarawak specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer We will write a custom essay sample on The Bakun Dam Project in Sarawak specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer The main stakeholders involved in this area of interest include Malaysian non- governmental organizations opposed to the project, indigenous peoples affected, non-governmental organizations outside Malaysia opposed the reject, Malaysian State and Federal governments, Koran Bernhard (the developer), and international corporations contributing to the project. The Baku Dam has had an uncertain, highly controversial history. The project is of importance to Malaysian political and business leaders as there is a promise of abundant electricity and a lever by which Karakas could be lifted out of its backward state. It has been said that for environmentalists and the native people, the project would flood tropical forests and force the resettlement of approximately 10 000 people in order to generate high cost electricity, for which no market might exist (Dams Initiative). These contrasting perspectives on the Baku Dam make it valuable as a case study to identify the best power solution for a nations economic problem. There have been many complications regarding the Baku Dam since its introduction. Bevies (1 995, p. 65) stated that after initial surveys in the early asses, in 1 986, a decision by the national government was made to construct the dam. In 1 990, official postponement of the project was made due to protests and doubts about the dams economic viability. In 1 993 however, he project was renewed with the catalyst being Malaysias desperate need for power. It was said that in 1 994, the awarding of the project contract to Koran Bernhard cemented the importance the dam was for the Malaysian government to address its financial issues (Bevies, 1995, up. 101-102). But nevertheless, further problems mounted and in 1 997, the project was deferred in the face of the Asian economic crisis. In recent years, the project has been rehabilitated with last year being the set date for the completion of the project. Clearly however, the completion of the Baku Dam will not take lace for a further few years. There are many advantages to the completion Of the Baku Dam for Malaysia. Proponents of the project argue that the dam has several benefits, and minimal impacts. For the native residents of the region, it would be a source of employment during construction, and would indirectly stimulate creation of other employment opportunities. It has been stated that increased cash income for these residents was advocated as the only means to change the backward status of this region, and to address poverty (Chocolates, 1993, p. 163). These are the initial steps to consolidating Malaysias economic and environmental future. Even after the project had been shelved in 1990, lobbying by its proponents continued, particularly by the Karakas government, which urged the federal government to revive the project. Finally, in September 1993, the Malaysian cabinet approved construction of the Baku Dam. In reviving the project, Malaysias need for power was most often invoked as justification. By 1993 the Malaysian economy was growing by more than 8 percent per year, with electricity demand expanding even faster. The Borneo Bulletin affirms that lockouts in 1992 and 1993, and a predicted doubling of demand by 2000, were indications of a power crisis, justifying extraordinary efforts to expand supply. Project proponents also believed the Baku Dam could help reduce dependence on fossil fuels, especially oil. Most evident however, was that this project was consistent with an energy policy relying almost entirely on supply. In Hardens argument, he referred to the quote from environmentalist Grit Sings (1995) to prove his theory: The concept of energy conservation and certainly its implementation is virtually absent in Malaysia. This is why Malaysia needs to complete the dam, to enhance its economic and environmental status on the worldwide scale. Furthermore, the Baku Dam has attracted the attention of numerous international engineering and construction companies, with experience building dams elsewhere. The IRON Baku Campaign specifies that this is a means of attracting investment to Karakas, of fostering its industrialization, so that it could develop to the same extent as, or even beyond, mainland Malaysia. Originally, Germany, Mexico and Brazil were major participants in a consortium to bid to have privileges to build the dam. The dam was used as a connection to develop close ties between Malaysia and associated countries. Spires (1 995 p. 135) reported that recent contract an announcements have included Europe, Latin America and certain parts of Asia to add to the increasing number of foreign firms constructing the dam. This is beneficiary for the Malaysian economy as there is more money coming into the nation. Beyond the economic viability of the project itself, the Baku Dam has been justified in terms of the overall economic development of Malaysia. In 1991 Malaysia established Vision 2020, a plan that envisages Malaysia becoming fully developed and industrialized nation by 2020. Within this context, the IRON Baku Campaign informs that the Baku Dam could contribute in several ways to Vision 2020 through the supply of electricity, needed by manufacturing. In recent years, demand for power has increased by up to 13%/year. In addition, the project would be a model of close partnership between the state and federal governments, and the private sector. Furthermore, Vision 2020 can be achieved through gaining access to advanced power technology, such as turbines and transmission lines, provided by foreign engineering firms. The role the dam plays on Vision 2020 can progressively contribute to Malaysia becoming industrialized in the future. However, the Baku Dam has been the focus of intense controversy as well. Human implications included the displacement of approximately 10 000 native people to the Karakas region. The displacement and resettlement of these people in effect involved the loss of their way of life, and the acceptance of a modern lifestyle. Most people are now subsistence farmers, supplementing their income through cash crops or jobs in timber companies. These native people once valued their autonomy, as one indigenous person dated in a Friends of the Earth press release (1995): We are poor only insofar as we have little money. In fact, we are rich, because we have all we need to feed ourselves and house ourselves. Rice is free, fish and meat are free, vegetables are free, water is free, and lumber is free. After the relocation these natives no longer have their own land, and have to seek work instead on large plantations to survive. Malaysia: the progress bought by the Baku Dam in Karakas states that the project had long been criticized for the possibilities of a dam collapse, earth remorse, new waterborne diseases, deterioration of the reservoir, disruption of downstream water quality, salt water intrusion, loss of fish habitat, and sediment accumulation behind the dam that would render it useless within fifty years. Construction of the dam would also result in loss of approximately 23 000 ha fertile agricultural land. These were some of the many environmental effects cited that would one day harm Karakas. There were also questions about the economic costs of the project. The Lira Monthly (1 995, p. 71) assumed that in the asses, much of the necessary UAPITA would be raised through loans from international agencies such as the World Bank and the Asian Development Bank. These loans would substantially increase Malaysias foreign debt. It was even unclear whether the nation, then in recession, needed so much electricity. However in todays society, research shows that the need for electricity would aid in the industrialization of the nation. There have been many alternating perceptions on the Baku Dam issue. Many people believe that the Baku Dam is just the start of the transformation of Malaysia. Private investors from all around the world live that their investments will bring them great financial returns. One investor from Belgium stated: There has been so much controversy over this dam. I chose to invest in it because I believe it has great potential. The Baku Dam will be the means Of a new and improved Malaysia, all it needs is some financial assistance. Is there any controversy in financial assistance? As part of an international lobbying effort, Friends of the Earth along sent letters to hundreds institutional investors and fund managers in February 1997 warning them of the financial, environmental and social risks involved in he Baku project. Sarah Tack of Friends of the Earth said: It is clear that major institutional investors and financial analysts are beginning to realizes that an investment in this Baku Hydroelectric project is not only unethical but carries a high financial risk due to overly optimistic performance forecasts. Koran must take this Luke warm response from potential foreign investors as a reflection Of the lack Of confidence in this project There is a great need for private intervention on the project to assist in its completion. In the projects incarnation in the asses, funding for the dam was to discussed in any detail publicly. It was the assumption that Malaysia would seek loans from international sources. However, in the 1 sass, there were strong intentions from the federal government to avoid funding from multilateral sources. In a recent newspaper article published by the Borneo Bulletin (2001 a statement by Prime Minister Mathis helps explain his governments effort to avoid involvement of the World Bank: We in the poor countries would like to have some cheap hydroelectric power. But all manner of campaigns are mounted against our proposals the World Bank will be used to deprive poor countries of cheap hydroelectric power. And all this after the rich have developed most of their hydro potentials. Instead, funding is being sought through domestic private and government sources, as well as international private investors. While domestic sources are envisaged as the dominant sources of funding, funding from foreign private sources is also clearly a priority for project proponents, perhaps because of the credibility such funding would provide. However, the effort devoted to obtaining private funding illustrates the obstacles encountered in financing such a project without subsidies. It has often been argued by dam opponents that such projects could not survive without large subsidies from governments or multilateral development banks. Difficulties that Koran has encountered in soliciting interest from foreign private investors suggest that this is also the case in this project. Malaysia: the progress bought by the Baku Dam in Karakas reports that in July 1 996, Delphi International, a British consulting firm, warned its clients and potential investors in the project that the Baku Dam promised far greater kiss than is typical of power projects, and lower returns. This has presented an additional obstacle to Sarans efforts to attract foreign investment. The extent to which the Baku Dam represents prevarication of power generation is ambiguous; while Koran Bertha currently holds the largest stake in the project and is actively seeking private investment, the Karakas state government and Cosec are also major shareholders. (Spires, 1995, p. 139-140). Evidently, although there are firms that are currently investing in the Baku Dam, more needs to be done to attract further investors. Koran has also agreed to sell much of the power to the national public utility, at rates that may involve considerable subsidy of the project by Malaysian electricity consumers. This is an important process towards providing for a more advanced and Industrialized Malaysia. There is certainly a way the Baku Dam can be built with minimum impact on the environment and the Malaysian economy. Initially, there are uncertainties concerning the technical details of project. These include variations in rainfall and stream flow at the dam site, and the design and stability of the dam itself. One of the most significant technical worries relates to the cables that will deliver power to the Malaysian mainland. They are, in effect, an unprecedented experiment. Dams Initiative studies show that at 650 km, they are far longer than the longest existing undersea power cables, beneath the calmer waters between Denmark and Sweden. No reliable estimates of how much these cables will cost, how long they will last, or how much power will be lost as it travels through the cable, are available yet. The Baku Dam project is definitely manageable, and a positive step to consolidating Malaysias economic and environmental future. The design of the Baku Dam has evolved since the initial studies carried out in the early asses, taking into account developments worldwide. The design of the dam has incorporated features that will ensure the highest degree of safety and economics. The project certainly yields more positive outcomes with respect to the use of local resources and employment, promotion of regional development and industrialization, savings of fossil fuel, and river regulation. Negative ecological effects include the deterioration of the water quality (although temporary), displacement of natives, and high foreign debt. However, with proper planning of precautionary measures, these negative outcomes can be kept under control. The main recommendations in consideration are to constantly monitor water quality, provide to the natives essential needs, and maintain appropriate foreign debts. Ultimately, the negative outcomes are only temporary. Although environmental conditions may not be positive and debt will mount during construction of the dam, these situations will diminish over a period of time and these impacts will lessen. Malaysia will benefit greatly from the Baku Dam in the not too distant future.

Prescription Mix-ups essays

Prescription Mix-ups essays When a person goes to the doctor and receives a prescription for medicine, the patient assumes the pharmacy will provide the right drug. That is usually the case, but sometimes the pharmacist cant read the doctors handwriting and may misinterpret what medicine is being prescribed. Also, it is the pharmacists job to ask the person if he is taking any other drugs, including over-the-counter products. The pharmacist has to do this to make sure the person is not mistakenly mixing drugs that can be harmful. Mix-ups are not common, but they do happen in the $103-billion-a-year prescription business. One major reason is that there are so many drugs that look or sound alike. Studies have shown that one to three percent of prescriptions dispensed have some kind of error. About 15,000 mistakes by pharmacists happened in 1998, according to estimates by Tony Grasha, a psychology professor at the University of Cincinnati who studied mistakes by pharmacists. About 2.8 billion prescriptions were filled in that year. If a person gets the wrong drug, it can be deadly. That is why the United States Pharmacopeia (USP), which sets standards for drugs, is running a voluntary hot line for health workers to report mix-ups. The USP has been able to find out which drugs are the easiest to confuse. Here are a couple: Accupril (taken for high blood pressure) and Accutane (for acne). Also, Zyrtec (an antihistamine) and Zyprexa (an antipsychotic). One of the problems, according to the Vice President of USP, Diane Cousins, is that drug companies have already worked their way through the alphabet, trademarking thousands of catchy names. She goes on to say in a Consumer Reports interview, How many combinations of five to seven letters starting with a Z are there that are easily pronounceable? The Journal of the American Medical Association reported that an older woman in a hospital emergency r...

Medieval armor Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Medieval armor - Research Paper Example However, armor was associated with rank within the military and served the purposes of the cultural event of war as much as it served the functionality of battle. As well, it often designated the role of the individual within society, the type of armor worn having relevance to class and social status. Armor served a great number of purposes within the medieval social environment and was not strictly a resource for functionality. Armor began to appear in the fourth century in Europe, often made from what was left behind by the Roman soldiers who had tried to conquer the lands. Barbarians began to construct protection from what was left behind and setting up the culture to eventually improves upon those designs. As metallurgy began to grow technologically, armor began to reflect a higher sophistication in its manufacture (DeVries and Smith 38). The many types of armor during the Middle ages are numerous and vary from one country to the next. However, the basic European styles of armor were divided by head armor and body armor, with differences in each section. Head armor was a vital form of armor in that it protected the most vulnerable and essential part of the fighter. The head was vulnerable to cutting, thrusting, and bludgeoning moves that would immediately take down or kill an offender. A common configuration of armor was a chain mail hood, called the camail or the coif de mailles, with a metal helmet placed over the chain mail (Cosman and Jones 2

Software Usability Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Software Usability - Case Study Example Building on these concepts basic criteria for the evaluation of usability can be formed. A critical point in this assessment is to know that it is central on the reactions and the actions of the users for who the interface is designed. That being said, the first criteria would be the ease with which a first time user can perform basic tasks on the site. This would judge the complexity of the site design, how user friendly it is and is pivotal to the learnability aspect. Second, we look at the speed with which the regular user’s, who are more familiar with the design, perform tasks. This forms a building block in the efficiency component of usability by reflecting how successful the basic interface design is at facilitating usability. Next we assess usability by looking at the rate of recall of user’s who return to the design after a prolonged period. How easily these users’s can go back to efficiently using the interface to perform tasks and the number of errors they make while they’re at it will be used to evaluate the memorability and errors aspect of usability. Another key determinant of usability is the overall satisfaction level of the user’s. If their experience with the usage of the design is positive and pleasant it will denote a higher level of usability.

A Secret Gift Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

A Secret Gift - Essay Example Interested people were required to write and submit reports telling the benefactor about their economic problems. According to Gup, the primary aim of the gift was to reduce the pain and suffering of poor Cantonians who were bracing themselves for the harshest festive season which most of them had never experienced (34). Eventually, 150 families benefitted from $5 each instead of the earlier planned $10 for 75 families due to the overwhelming response from the needy audience. According to Chambers, Gup was touched by the narrations of suffering amid undying hope of the Cantonians as captured in the letters, which he came across in suitcase that belonged to his grandfather almost eight decades earlier (85). At first, the investigative journalist was keen on uncovering the experiences behind the letters; this led him to scan through the documents and piece up the information by interviewing the authors’ descendants across the country. From the interviews involving hundreds of respondents, Gup has reestablished the role played by Mr B. Virdot’s when the country was reeling in economic meltdown. A substantial number of people could not afford to put bread on the table, while others had run out of coal and clothing among other vital necessities. Gup’s investigations show that his grandfather’s role had substantial impacts on the beneficiaries’ lives when life was practically unbearable. Taylor argues that as a journalist, Gup releases an expose of the sorrows and happiness of the tens of families who were strange to Sam Stone, but whose fortunes were basically the result of Mr Stone’s very complicated life of secrecy, philanthropy and equity (18). Gup reveals deeply hidden facts about Stone’s life; from his humble, abusive childhood experiences to his rather criminal life of evading capture by American authorities for lacking the required immigration documents. Mr Stone’s life in the alien country may have played an

Consensus and Conflict Theory in Society

Consensus and Conflict Theory in Society Marxism and Functionalism can certainly be defined as classical sociology and both have had a significant impact upon contemporary understanding of culture. Neither perspective is the preserve of a sole theorist. They are multifaceted and extensive in scope. Thus, due to the limits of this study, this essay shall concentrate on but a few of the theoretical points, namely consensus and conflict because, as I hope to prove, these provide and incredibly useful framework for the analysis of contemporary culture In Leviathan Thomas Hobbes notes that man in the state of nature is inexorably engaged in a war of all against all. Reason dictates that one’s life is, â€Å"Solitary, poor, nasty brutish and short,† (Hobbes in Parsons p90) where man’s interests conflict so greatly. How humanity solved this problem of conflict of interest, the creation of society, was the study of Emile Durkheim, the French sociologist who first developed the Functionalist perspective. â€Å"In his (Durkheim’s) criticism of the utilitarian (Hobbes) conception of contractual relations†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦he insists that a vital part is played by a system of binding rules embodied in the institution of a contract.† (Parsons p376) The functionalist perspective was further advanced by Talcott Parsons. â€Å"The concept of order is located predominantly at the level of the social system itself and the cultural system becomes a mechanism of the functioning of the social system.† (Savage p146) The normative order, for Parsons, is the key ingredient that retains social order in society. Norms, which can be regarded as moral standards, regulate action and interaction. Norms are coercive, to break them invites sanctions from social estrangement to capital correction and punishment. Individuals are forced to cooperate and act in predictable ways, or face the consequences. Norms are external to individuals, laws and the like, but also internalised through socialisation, children’s schooling being a very important normative learning area. The normative order, that produces acquiescence in individuals to the order, Is the staple of Parson’s consensus theory. â€Å"Society therefore is a self equilib rating system: order is always maintained without major changes in society. In the end, the system functions.† (Jorgenson p285) A perfect example of how the system functions is Durkheim’s concept of Anomie in his study of suicide. Anomie is, â€Å"precisely the state of disorganisation where the holds of norms over individual conduct has broken down.† (Parsons p377) A possible outcome of this kind of break down is suicide. Norms so permeate society that personal equilibrium, individual’s thoughts and actions, is permeated too, as governed by norms as social interaction and law. â€Å"A persons will is constrained by the application of sanctions.† (Parsons p379) If an individual breaks one of the norms of society, then society will sanction them to discourage other such deviant behaviour through the threat of punishment. In the case of Durkheim’s suicide study, the sanction imposed when an individual commits suicide is the social stigma that then attaches itself to their family accompanied by the threat, in Christian countries for instance, of religious punishment burning in hell. In Erving Goffman‘s view of society, â€Å"The key factor is the maintenance of a single definition of the situation, this definition having to be expressed, and this expression sustained in the face of a multitude of potential disruption.† (Goffman p246) For Goffman actors meet on the field of interaction under a metaphorical flag of truce, working together to attempt the smoothest possible interaction with the best possible outcome for both sides. â€Å"The maintenance of this surface of agreement, this veneer of consensus, is facilitated by each participant concealing his own wants behind statements which assert values to which everyone present feels obliged to give lip service.† (Goffman p20-21) The definition of a given situation may well only be a veneer, a pretence, lies may be suspected even known but, as long as they are not revealed, then definition of the situation is maintained. Goffman’s language, the use of the word consensus, shows his theoretical links to the Functionalist perspective, in particular Parson’s consensus theory. The reason that lies may not be exposed is because it would be against a societal norm to do so. Thus norms regulate interaction providing a consensus. For Goffman the individual acts in different roles that are governed by norms, suppressing and sacrificing certain drives, needs or wants in order to maintain the definition of the situation, to maintain the consensus. As the definition of the situation allows individual acts of interaction to maintain cohesion and momentum, so the normative order governs those definitions, allowing the juggernaut of society to roll ever on. This classical thread, from Durkheim to Goffman via Parsons is incredibly important for the understanding of contemporary culture. That there is a normative order and how it regulates human action is critical for any understanding of society. The minitatude of Goffman’s analysis, explaining the exigencies of social interaction, the tiny details, has proved both popular and crucial in contemporary sociology. The Marxist tradition, starting with Karl Marx and Frederich Engels, has many issues with the functionalist consensus view of society. â€Å"The state is by no means a power imposed on society from without; just as little is it ‘the reality of the moral idea,’ ‘the image and the reality of reason.’† (Engels in Hechter p180) The Marxist tradition has many issues with what it considers a utopian explanation of power in social order. The state, the embodiment and, in many cases producer, of societal norms is felt to be the inevitable consequence of a society ripe with irreconcilable antagonisms largely manifesting in class conflict. â€Å"A power, apparently standing above society, has become necessary to moderate the conflict and keep it within the bounds of ‘order’.† (Engels in Hechter p180) This power, this normative order of the state is alienating and another tool for the ruling class to maintain its position of dominance over th e working classes. As with most Marxist theory, the power that maintains social order is not fostering cooperation but coercion. We have already seen that punitive punishment is meted out to norm breakers. Where Parsons sees this as a tool for society to remain cohesive and function relatively smoothly, Engels sees a repressive state apparatus designed to keep the proletariat in its place through sanctions. Where Functionalism describes consensus, Marxism defines conflict, class conflict. The normative order is ideology in all the very worst senses of the word. â€Å"A dominant power may legitimate itself by promoting beliefs and values congenial to it; naturalising and universalising such beliefs so as to render them self-evident and apparently inevitable.† (Easthope p5-6) Appearing as truth, immovable, certain, ideology controls the class conflict always in favour of the ruling class, the bourgeoisie. The most pertinent criticism of Functionalist theory by Marxism is that it explains the inequalities of the system as functional. That the proletariat are poor is for the good of the system, the society. Marxism refuses to accept this. The system is unfair and unequal because those in charge, through ideology, keep in that way, protecting their interests. â€Å"Children also learn the rules of good behaviour, i.e. the attitude that should be observed by every agent in the divisio n of labour, according to the job he is ‘destined for’: rules of morality, civic and professional conscience, which actually means rules of respect for the socio-technical division of labour and ultimately the rules of order established by class domination.† (Althusser p127) The Marxist tradition, and in particular the concepts of ideology, are hugely important to contemporary Feminist understandings of society. â€Å"The univocity of sex, the internal coherence of gender, and the binary framework for both sex and gender are considered throughout as regulatory fictions that consolidate and naturalise convergent power regimes of masculine and heterosexual oppression.† (Butler p44) The pervasive and domineering regimes in Marxism and Feminism are, essentially, controlled by the same rich and powerful men. The importance of feminist sociology in contemporary society is its understanding of, and explanation for, the universality of female subjugation. It is considered not enough that women are dominated by men because it is functional, for the best of the system. It is illogical to conclude, as the functionalist tradition can be accused, of assuming that it is functional to effectively marginalise the contribution of one half of the population of man kind. Just as it is illogical to assume that it is functional to marginalise the proletariat, who constitute a majority of humanity. The Marxist tradition, and the feminist, emphasise the conflict in society, along gender and class lines, and demand sociological attention be paid. Moreover they identify the place where much of this conflict occurs, the ideological order, the self same normative order that the functionalist tradition regards so highly. No sociological study of contemporary society would be worth attempting without some attempt to explain gender, class and other inequalities beyond the assumption that they are ‘for the best,’ of the system. In conclusion society continues. Always has and always will till humanity is extinguished. In no way could society continue without some form of consensus, some shared values or norms. To be without such rules we would exist in the state of nature, in anarchy and thus we would not exist for very long. Yet within those rules there is great scope for conflict. Functionalism, in its more ‘pure’ form of Durkheim and Parsons, and in the more unique observations of Goffman, help explain that consensus that is so essential to avoid anarchy. Marxism, the pure of Marx and Engels, the adaptation of Feminism, show how that consensus becomes corrupted and a tool for one section of society to dominate another. Society continues. With conflict and consensus. Contemporary society can not be understood without appreciating why and how conflict and consensus occur. Functionalism and Marxism both illuminate those aspects, both show how society continues. Bibliography Althusser, Louis, 1971. For Lenin Western printing services Ltd. Butler, Judith, 1999. Gender trouble. Routledge Easthope, Antony, 1991. Literary into cultural studies. Routledge Goffman, E, 1990. The presentation of the self in everyday life. Penguin Michael Hechter Theories of social order published by Stanford University press 2003 Nik Jorgenson Sociology an interactive approach Harper Collins 1997 Parsons, Talcott, 1937 The structure of social action. Free press. Stephen Savage The theories of Talcott parsons pub by Macmillan 1981

Social, Economic and Political Factors Involved in the Spanish Civil Wa

Social, Economic and Political Factors Involved in the Spanish Civil War With reference to any civil war in the 20th century examine the social, economic and political background to the divisions in the society involved. To what extent were the problems which caused the war resolved in the post-war period? The state of Spain during the early years of the 20th century can be said to have been a state of great "unease". Spain was one of the first powers to loose her imperial influence, the state was politically unstable, industrially weak and had suffered some humiliating defeats. It can be said that these were the main causes that lead to the great instability of Spain during the Civil war and post civil war periods. Left-winged radicalism and nationalistic movements, such as the Catalan movement frequently came into conflict with the central government, which lead the government to use corruption more and more frequently as a form of control. The result was a military coup in 1923 lead by Miguel Primo de Rivera. Rivera preferred a more direct way of governing, with a strong Christian base and a very anti-communist attitude. He did not like party politics, preferring to govern pragmatically, at first with a military cabinet, but later on (1926) he decided a systematic government would be more efficient. So he introduced the `National Assembly' intended to represent different classes and groups, probably to soften the opposition; as well as the Union Patriotica, created to mobilize popular support for his regime. Rivera also managed to strengthen the Spanish infra-structure, but the funding had to come from loans from other nations, because the upper classes would not a... ...d. A great success was the 1953 Madrid Pact between Spain and the U.S.A, which provided Spain with quite a substantial amount of military and monetary aid in return for access to its military bases. This pact, as well as the better relations between Spain and the other powers and the great stability brought about because of the enormous repression that came with his regime, led Spain to booming years during the 1960's. The Spanish people saw a better Spain, economically, but it was still in a very primitive state politically and socially compared to other european nations, who were not under military rule (with a few exceptions, of course). The end of the Franco regime left many scars in the social and political side of Spain. People had been submitted to a suppressive state, where very little regard for any basic human right was given.