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Business game Essay Reflection on Personal Performance in Business Strategy Game Business strategy games involving management process before confirming the decision to be made. Lesson learned taken from the business game, from the process and the content from the case (industry and situation condition of the business). Management Process Planning was the first process taken. Reading and understanding the relevant information was necessary and plays a significant role in planning process. Expectation was established in the planning, and followed stepping process until all aspects have been determined, including all distinctiveness in production (capacity, model, etc. ), transportation (shipping), labor, etc. Planning is critical, and it was indicated in the business strategy games, in which it required quite some time to achieve an agreement. Time was also a factor should be considered, and it drove the discussion on the planning to obtain the agreement. Organizing was also needed in the game to obtain optimal process. One opinion was listened and it organized the discussion and the direction of the process toward certain strategy. Other opinion was taking in to consideration, whether support or as devil advocacy to the strategy. The process also managed by organizing the flow of discussion to center on the strategy with already decided to be focused on. One person plays role as organizer at one time became a source person or follower in the other time. This approach of organizing made the progress of the discussion in the one focal point that describes the strategy taken which leads to the decision. When a member played the role as organizer, then the member did directing the process and content according to the chosen strategy, and also can happened that the strategy can be changed according to the expected result and considering assumption of strategy of the competitors. Some times in the process, one or more member can have their drive going down. In this situation other member did motivated the team to keep up the winning spirit. Controlling was also involved in the process, by focus on one thing and sacrifices in other thing, align with the strategy. These four processes of management were implemented in the process of gaining the final decision and in determining the content to be made (such as production/manufacturing, shipping, labor, price, etc. ), in which the final decision was made by consensus. The experience in the game gives the learning point in practicing of implementing management process, planning, organizing, directing, and controlling. Within a given time, group should be able to do planning (including crafting the strategy, and establish the goal), organizing the process (including agreed on the road map of the process, listening and expressing opinion, and adjusting to the characteristics of the group), directing (including do and accept direction, motivating others, make or initiate decision), and controlling (to be aligned with strategy). Management Functions Strategy plays a critical role in the process, and aim to make the company have differentiation that creates competitive edge compare with the competitors. Decisions are determined align with the chosen strategy. Strategy such as increasing market share and or increasing price to obtain more profit, and or have a low cost production by moving the manufacturing to the low cost location, and or lowering the labor cost, and or increasing the quality of the product, etc. , were became the issues discussed during the process. Any decision made in the process should be linked to the strategy and eventually to the expected result (goal). Marketing management initiatives plays important role in the process. Attention was put in the advertising or promotion program. The decision on the initiatives was made in relation with other initiatives, and initiative should be congruence to be able to reach expected impact. Operations management was also applied, in order to have efficient and low cost production, to be able to lower the price, or put emphasizing in better quality of product and therefore adjust the price to a higher number. Having different locations of manufacturing was also part of consideration in operation management, including the days needed for shipping, and inventory level. Financial management was critical. At the end of the day, the success of the strategy, whether the plan was achieved of not, was determined by facts and figures which was analyzed and interpreted in terms of financial. The situation or condition of the company was considering of profitable, safe or potentially bankrupt, and whether the strategy was effective or not was determined from numbers including financial ratios. Production plan and realization, exchange rate, labor cost, product sold or unsold, inventory level, price, etc. were contributed to the financial condition, and will be analyzed further for determining next strategy (for next run). Human Resource was also had major role in the decision process. Number of labor involved, salary and incentives, were several factors considered in human resource function. During the discussion it was also considered incentive factors as the factor that can boost the motivation of the employees, in which can increase the productivity and eventually proportionally can lower the cost. Experience in the business games told that the management functions will be more effective if it was take into consideration in integrated way. The strategy made was comprise of many functions of management, Working in Teams Team work was a factor that can smooth the progress of the practice toward a productive way. At one time one member took the role as leader, and expressed the idea or opinion which regarded as reference that was supported or argued by other members. The leader than guide or direct the process toward obtaining acceptable or best solution. Other member played role as follower, tried to understand point of view of the leader, and gave opinion to enrich the information for having the decision. In one process it can happened that the role of leader was switch from one member to another member, and lead the discussion toward the decision. Working in team in the business games demonstrated by listening to other opinions or ideas and, gave contribution to the group by doing analysis and expressing constructive argument and idea or opinion to the group. In the process of making group decision, group tried to obtain consensus, with all group members support the decision. Experience and Lesson Taken to Working Place In leading unit in the working place, it is important to have clear goals for the unit, which are determined in the process of performance planning that usually take place at the beginning of the year. The goals comprises of organization (unit) objective, and individual objective which should be clear and measurable (refer to SMART Goals principle) and cascaded from top to bottom, means that the goals are aligned from executive or manager position to staff position. Having a clear goals or expectations will make all employees within the unit know exactly what are expected to be achieved and will make the monitoring of performance become more effective, and eventually it will make the evaluation of the achievement more effective. Leader should be able to define the goals, which reflected what the unit wants to be, particularly for the respective year. For the unit, strategy than decided to define what is the best way to achieve the goals or answering how to get there. Leader should be able to determine the strategy, which should consider of having different way of doing rather than just following the same thing. Strategy should have put into consideration opportunities and obstacles that can potentially will be faced along the year. For the unit performance, flow of work, service level agreement, number of employee, training and development program that will have impact to the quality of work, compensation practice, etc. should be considered in order to have effective strategy. Every people in the organization have potential, and leader should put effort to unleash the potential of the individual and support them to perform in their work. Many initiatives of improvement or programs come from the people in the unit that can give positive impact to the unit. Motivation is needed to keep the work spirit not fall to the lower level. Leader should do coaching to ensure people in the unit understand and on track, make sure that people move to the same direction with same strategy. Every function of management can be implemented to achieve optimum result. Managing the operation implemented to ensure effectiveness and efficiency of work. Human resource management will help in ensuring what unit do are align with the business. Financial management can be implement whether in business or support function, for instance to measure Return on Investment of certain initiatives. As member of management team, we should contribute in a positive way by giving opinion and ideas, or doing what has been decided productively. Discussion should be conducted in conducive way, listen what other people say and express opinion to reach to the decision. When decision has been made, member should follow and committed to perform the decision in effectively. Success of the unit is also determined by the competency, performance, and contribution of the members. To have an optimum result, member should be able to look the purpose as unit purpose not individual purpose. This principle can create synergy between members in the team and can contribute more to the performance of the team. The business strategy games provide inspiration that can be applied in the working situation. Having competitors that can affect the result of one group convey the message that in establishing standard, one unit should not look into inside factors, but should also consider outside factors. The capability of the unit can be seen differently and will lead to different goals and strategy. Strategy can be different if the external condition is supportive and indicates opportunity and will be different if the external conditions are not accommodating. Macro and micro analysis can be conducted to have a more comprehensive analysis for obtaining effective and right decision. Read more: http://www. ukessays. com/essays/business/reflection-on-personal-performance-in-business-strategy-game-business-essay. php#ixzz2leirR8KT BUSINESS SIMULATION GAMES INDIVIDUAL REFLECTION PAPER On 10 November 2010 afternoon, Our Can group get a chance to get the materials business simulation games, the first time we were a little confused and not understand what the content and intent or purpose of this program. Until then we get the opportunity to play an active role play in the game by forming a company in our Group Can. Listen Read phonetically Dictionary View detailed dictionary I am a member of cans group discussion 3, in this business game, we manage the company named CHAMP. We chose the name CHAMP for our company becouse we hopes that companies will become a leader or a winner in this Business Simulation Game. Growth of our company in this game very interesting and gave many valuable lessons. Our company was ranked second on the game in first year, after making changes in the manufacturing and marketing strategy; we became the first winner in the game in the second year. In the third year we make changes in the shipping, manufacturing also marketing strategy again to maintain its position as champion, but in the fact that our ranking dropped to be number 3. In the fourth year we wanted to get back into champions. We did totally change the strategy in all sections and mainly to increase product awareness, we contracted with many famous artists paid a high price for promotion. But the results we slumped to the lowest ranking (sixth). This surprised us and made us confused to find out where our biggest mistakes in managing the company. Listen Read phonetically Dictionary View detailed dictionary noun camp compound Did not want to continue to decline, in the fifth year we try to flash back to learn the success stories in the first and second year, besides that we also study the companys strategy of competitors, then we create a new strategy and the results we were able to ride into fourth place. In the sixth year we try to make small changes to strategy in several sections and the results we rose again to number three. In the seventh year we do not make changes to our strategy and stay at rank 3. After doing business game above, there are many valuable lessons that I get. Those lessons were: About Management Process (Planning, Organizing, Directing, Controlling) In managing a company as a manager or owner of a business we must have: a. Planing ? Both long-term planning and short term, this really helps us to determine the strategy or action we should do in the near future or the preparation for long-term corporate strategy. b. Organization ? Complete, clear and transparent as one of the supporters because of the companys people are assets of a company†, the placement of people with appropriate knowledge and skills that will facilitate the acceleration of the process as well as the operations of a company. It also must be supported by a clear Job Description and detail-enter the respective functions of the organization. c. Directing ? In the governance of a company also must be supported by rules or standard operating systems or procedures are clear and understood by all line employees. we often call with company regulations, standard operating procedures etc. d. Controlling ? As a manager or owner in a company we still have to implement controls on employee performance, corporate governance, corporate operating costs and market conditions that support the smooth and that we manage the companys growth periodically. We can also be done with checking Monthly Report / Balance Sheet , hold on monthly meetings, etc. Listen Read phonetically Dictionary View detailed dictionary adjective inside deep indoor internal interior profound inland intrinsic cavernous thoughtful three-dimensional adverb deeply sound preposition in within on to inside under in the course of prefix endo- 2. About Management Function (Strategy, Marketing, Operations, Finance, Human Resources, etc. ) Strategy ? Corporate strategy should be set appropriately by considering several factors, including supporters of human capital, finance, market share and also that there are competitors in the same type of business with our company. In the governance of a business may take a few strategies such as for launching a new product needs some backup strategy, it is necessary whenever the initial strategy does not show results in maximum then we still have some alternative backup strategy, so it does not require a long time to take any action appropriate in market penetration. Marketing ? According to my opinion, the success rate of a company also backed with the full functionality of the marketing is true both in the company engaged in the services or products etc. Capable marketing, product master, around the existing market and marketing must knowing the strengths and weaknesses of competitors. Listen Operations ? Operational support from both system and service level aggrement factor in a process of corporate governance is very important. It also needs to be supported with the latest technology. Listen Read phonetically Dictionary View detailed dictionary verb hold conduct make organize provide establish arrange carry out throw take set up call launch institute stage put on bring about impose carry on incur exercise levy open put up effect float lay on negotiate afford touch off operate stage-manage generate phrase bring into being Finance ? A company can be said in good condition when to generate maximum profit. As a manager or the owners of a company we should be able to manage our capital versus operating costs required, the greater the profit earned by production costs that are not too large will show the healthy of a business. However, we also must consider the placement of funds and financial governance of our company, whether already in accordance with the budgeting or is not appropriate. In terms of business expansion or major factor that should we consider is the condition of our corporate finance, whether supportive or not, when lack of support but the potential or opportunities that we have a large, one financial source of our business is on loan from the Bank with a source of return and specific timeframe. Human Resources ? In addition to the above factors one important thing to note is that inadequate human resources that are reliable and have the skills to suit the needs of the company. A competent leader should be able to determine the amount of labor requirements and can put the right people-enter the respective divisions within an organization. 3. About Working In Teams To work as a reliable teamwork are some things we have to consider include: Get familiar with either all members of the team, it is useful to the division of tasks and towards solving problems that arise. We must be willing to hear opinions of all members of the team in making changes in strategy or action for operasinal company. Explore more information and opinion that reliable and resonable with the case or problem that we should solving as a good team work, eq. Browsing some data from internet or from any sourches. Putting the right people on the job or responsibilities in accordance with the characteristics of our team members are. Based on the experiences and lessons I got from the business game I have done, I plan to apply some advantages in my workplace. As the leader of my unit : A leader should have strong leadership and enough skills to manage the organization and the company. Planning, directing (also mentoring or choaching program) and controlling periodicly to all of my sub ordinate. Delegate some responsibilities to the deputy business with a fixed control function properly . Sharing knowledge to all sub-ordinate, sub-branch manager and exploring new knowledge, new technology and strategy for the success of Bank Mega Cluster Balikpapan Special Hire employee from another Bank (Manager or Marketing) to help me manage the company and make the vision 1000 of Bank Mega become reality (become the leader bank in Balikpapan – East Kalimantan Indonesia) As a member of my management team : Being more creative, proactive and always have new ideas to supporting the management team More details in targeting business opportunities and increase market share. Establishing a reliable team work with 2-way communication is effective and still value the opinions of other members of management team Read more: http://www. ukessays. com/essays/business/business-simulation-games-individual-reflection-paper-business-essay. php#ixzz2lej5YvdS REFLECTION PAPER – THE BUSINESS STRATEGY GAME About Management Processes From the Business Strategy Game, I learned that first important process for a company to determine its future business path was to set a strategic and realistic planning about what is the company goal, how long the goal will be achieved and how to achieve the goal among the competition. In setting the plan, company should define first what is their mission statement or strategic vision. This mission statement is a statement which indicates the purposes and activities of the company’s business/goals in brief, clear and focus words. Along with mission statement, company must clearly define its objectives quantitatively within certain period. From these quantitative objectives, company could set a realistic and attainable long term strategic planning to allocate budget and resources in the company. In strategic planning, company should define clearly its target market, financial objective and competitive position among the industry. This strategic planning will be the direction of the company in running its business. After setting the strategic planning, company should design an organization structure to manage the company effectively, by designating persons who will in charge in each roles and held responsibility in each area of the business in the company (marketing, finance, operation, sales and so on), especially the person who will be responsible as the leader of the company (as CEO). The role of CEO is very essential because he/she must lead company to the right direction in implementing company strategy to achieve company’s objectives. From the clear and effective organization structure, CEO and management will have clear legitimation and authority in directing all resources in the company to implement the company’s strategy. Finally, the company should closely and intensively controlling and monitoring the performance of the strategy during implementation to assess its progress against the pre-defined targets and ensure that all the company elements were doing their parts and responsibility in the right track. About Management Functions In a company, management should establish the right and important functions which will run the company operational activities, define what are the responsibilities of each functions and ensure that each functions performed in accordance with the company objectives. In order to give more value to the company in terms of profitability, management should work together to set a strategy in making company’s output (product or services) more competitive in the market by considering all aspects involved. As an example, to gain more profitability company could set pricing strategy to be higher or lower compare to market but before decided the price, company should consider other aspects such as costs, quality and resources needed in creation of the product or services. About Working in Teams In working as a team member in the company, it is very important to determine a clear designation about who will act as the leader and the follower. Because if there’s no clear designation, potentially will cause the resources in the company to move to the wrong direction and this will destruct company effort in achieving its objectives. As a leader, a person should show the ability to manage and to coach the entire team member to do their tasks properly, and he/she should has willingness to listen and appreciation to his/her followers insights at the same time. And as a follower, one should give respect to the leader and obey the leader decisions. But it is important too for the company to define what is the follower assignment and designation, because if it is not clearly defined, the follower couldn’t perform nor contributed optimally in attaining company’s objective process. What I plan to do in my work place from the experience and lessons I took from the BSG are : As the leader of my unit I will put more effort to be an effective and efficient leader of my unit and will put more awareness to all my team member that our jobs especially in designing the most efficient operational work flow in my company has essential impact in saving the company budget and optimizing company resources which will contributed in achieving the company’s objective especially in financial aspect and giving more value to the customer and shareholder. And furthermore I will spend more time and effort to evaluate designation and job description for each member of my team, to put the right person to the right job and responsibility. If the designation and job description were not fit or not clear to the team member, it will impact to the performance of the working unit itself because each team member do not know exactly what is their role in their working unit. As a member of my management team I will put more consideration and attention about financial impact of any decision that my management made. From the BSG, I see that all activities in each working unit must be contributed and affected to the company strategic planning especially in achieving financial goals. And I will put more respect to any member and any decision of my management team made, even though sometimes the decision seems to be hard to be implement, I will try to see it from wider perspective that the decision must be made deliberately and considered many important aspects which ending is to give more value for the company.

Energy Efficient Building Design Strategies For Hot Climates Construction Essay

Energy Efficient Building Design Strategies For Hot Climates Construction Essay This research discusses energy efficient design strategies of traditional houses in Iraq (hot-arid climate), climatic design techniques and potentials for renewable energy systems that can be implemented in the contemporary residential design techniques in order to offset the absence of produced energy (due to current economic and political issues) and help decreasing demand for electricity, which is used extensively to overcome the indoor thermal discomfort during the harsh summer seasons. A comparison between traditional Baghdadi house (Hosh), which existed before the discovery of oil, and a contemporary house design option is to be made to evaluate the thermal performance of both options in this climatic zone in order to adapt more energy efficient design strategies; and also to integrate features for sustainable building design and potentials to implement renewable energy systems. A simulation modeling is to be used to conduct analysis of energy efficient design strategies, namely relating to building envelope, size and direction, ventilation, shading elements, and using renewable energy systems in order to present recommendations that helps in consequential energy offset while preserving comfort. Keywords: Introduction Examining the energy demand in such region, buildings, with particular reference to residential houses, are one of the most significant energy-sensitive entities (Al-ajmi Hanby, 2008). It is stated that buildings consume over half of all electricity and one-third of natural gas (Yilmaz, 2007). Reduction of energy consumption in residential buildings is a major aim worldwide and is a particular challenge in this region for the reasons mentioned previously (Al-ajmi Hanby, 2008). Therefore, sustainable design strategies are of great importance nowadays in order to reduce energy consumption in residential buildings. One may say that sustainability was already a driving force in the past, showing its validity in those days in different forms and techniques. Therefore, problems and precautions in design and construction did not change fundamentally, although a lot of development was seen in materials and technology. Of course, these developments may have had some negative effects (Yilmaz, 2007). Energy efficient design strategies for traditional houses in such climate are significantly different from each other as it can be easily seen in the traditional design (Yilmaz, 2007). Description of Problem Area Energy consumption is becoming more and more important in todays world because of a possible energy shortage in the future. Efficient use of energy has become a key issue for the most energy policies (Yilmaz, 2007). In regions where hot-arid climatic zone is prevailed, practically in Iraq, present economic and political circumstances have become the main reasons that led to a significant energy shortage although Iraq has a spare operational capacity of oil supply in comparison with other countries around the world. A significant need for new energy efficient design strategies and developed buildings construction standards in this area has become essential in order to offset the absence of produced energy and help decreasing demand for electricity, much of which is consumed in air conditioning systems, which is used extensively to overcome the indoor thermal discomfort during the harsh summer seasons (Al-ajmi Hanby, 2008). Conceptual Framework Figure (1) provides a diagram of the conceptual framework that has devised for this research. The proposed research study into traditional and contemporary building design systems will rely on an experimental research strategy in the positivist system of inquiry (developed design strategies). The research will attempt to establish a comparison (Groat and Wang, 2002, P. 254) between a treatment (independent variable) and an outcome (dependent variable) through the evaluation of measured results. Figure (1) Conceptual diagram of the research variables (Groat Wang, 2002) Research Questions Do traditional houses perform better than contemporary ones? Why? Is it feasible to use traditional design strategies in contemporary houses? How could we achieve a sustainable building design in such climatic zone? Do we need new or developed strategies in order to achieve sustainable building design in such climatic region? What if we integrate renewable energy systems into traditional house design? Project Goals and Specific Objectives The purpose of this research is to: Make a comparison and evaluation of thermal performance of residential houses (traditional vs. contemporary) in Iraq (hot-arid climate) in order to adapt more developed and energy efficient design strategies. Integrate new trends for sustainable design in residential houses in this area. Potentials to implement renewable energy systems. This research is achieved through the following: Extensive overview of the antecedent literature in the area of energy efficiency and thermal building performance in such climatic zone. Identify the most effective strategy from the literature that can be applied in order to develop more energy efficient design strategies. Un-wrap issues of energy efficiency, building performance and sustainable design systems. Use a simulation modeling as a tactical tool to make comparison between contemporary and traditional building design systems and energy performance in order to investigate the thermal characteristics and energy savings for both building designs using different strategies and also potentials to integrate sustainable features using renewable energy system. Test outcome results and write a research report accordingly which combines my understanding of the relevant theory and previous research with the results of my empirical research. Literature Review The literature review is structured around the key concepts of significance of energy efficient design strategies, thermodynamics of hot-arid climates, Inventory of traditional design elements in hot-arid climate and energy simulation methods. These key concepts have led to the research questions and the proposed methodology for this research proposal. See figure1 for the map of literature reviewed. Figure () Map of sources reviewed Figure () Research Literature Review Diagrammatic (Groat Wang, 2002) Building Design Strategies Climatic Building Strategies Research by Ochoa Capeluto (2008) states a quick review of design strategies for different climatic zones. This is necessary to examine when and how design strategies should be considered, particularly during design process. Climatic building strategies in hot climates differ from those of cold ones, For example, in cold climates heat collection and storage is essential, and ventilation must be limited for the same reasons. Short daytime and low radiation levels in winter make maximum penetration of natural light to be desired. On the other hand, in hot climates heat must be excluded, the amount of relative humidity controlled, and the thermal mass cooled usually through natural ventilation during the night. Daylight penetration must be carefully managed using control devices (see figure 1) (as cited in Ochoa Capeluto, 2008, Building and Environment, P.1830). Figure (1) Building strategies for cold and hot climates (Ochoa Capeluto, 2008). Optimized Building Envelope A building envelope is a skin that separates between the interior and the exterior of a building. It serves as the outer shell to protect the indoor environment as well as to facilitate its climate control (controlling heat transfer between building layers). The study by Danny Harvey (2009) reviews the literature concerning energy efficiency that can be achieved through optimized building envelope. According to Danny Harvey (2009), The effectiveness of the thermal envelope depends on: (1) The insulation levels in the walls, ceiling, and other building parts; (2) The thermal properties of windows and doors; and (3) The rate of uncontrolled exchange of inside and outside air which, in turn, depends in part on the air tightness of the envelope (infiltration/excitation) (Energy Efficiency, P. 141). Reducing the Cooling Load Energy conservation and climatic design techniques that can be implemented in residential houses in this area (hot-arid climate) are useful for reducing cooling energy consumption (Al-Temeemi, 1995). Danny Harveys (2009) research found the following: Reducing the cooling load requires: (1) Orienting a building to minimize the wall area facing directions that are most difficult to shade from the sun; (2) Clustering buildings to provide some degree of self shading (as in many traditional communities in hot climates); (3) Providing fixed or adjustable shading; (4) Using highly reflective building materials; (5) Increasing insulation; (6) Using windows that transmit a relatively small fraction (as little at 25%) of the total (visible + invisible) incident solar energy while permitting a larger fraction of the visible radiation to enter for daylighting purposes; (7) Utilizing thermal mass to minimize daytime interior temperature peaks; (8) Utilizing night time ventilation to remove daytime heat; and (9) Minimizing internal heat gains by using efficient lighting and appliances. The combination of external insulation, thermal mass, and night ventilation is particularly effective in hot-arid climates, as placing the insulation on the outside exposes the thermal mass to cool night air while minimizing the inward penetration of daytime heat into the thermal mass (Energy Efficiency, P. 141). Passive cooling techniques By using the above measures to reduce the thermal load of the building, other techniques requires small inputs of mechanical energy to optimize passive cooling processes (Danny Harvey, 2009). Danny Harveys (2009) research discussed the following major passive cooling techniques: Passive ventilation Passive ventilation reduces the need for mechanical cooling by directly removing warm air when the incoming air is cooler than the outgoing air, reducing the perceived temperature due to the cooling effect of air motion and increasing the acceptable temperature through psychological adaptation when the occupants have control of operable windows. Passive ventilation requires a driving force, and an adequate number of openings, to produce airflow. It can be induced through pressure differences arising from inside-outside temperature differences or from wind. Design features, especially traditional, that create thermal driving forces and/or utilize wind effects include courtyards, atria, wind towers, solar chimneys, and operable windows. Passive ventilation not only reduces energy use, but can improve air quality and gives people what they generally want. In buildings with good thermal mass exposed to the interior air, passive ventilation can continue right through the night, sometimes more vigorously than during the day due to the greater temperature difference between the internal and external air. Night time ventilation, in turn, serves to reduce the cooling load by making use of cool ambient air to remove heat (as cited in Danny Harvey, 2009, Energy Efficiency, P.142). Evaporative cooling Danny Harveys (2009) study further discussed the following in terms of producing evaporative cooling techniques: Evaporation of water cools the remaining liquid water and air that comes into contact with it. The coldest temperature that can be achieved through evaporation is called the wet-bulb temperature and depends on the initial temperature and humidity (the higher the initial humidity, the less evaporation and cooling that can occur). There are two methods of evaporative cooling the air supplied to buildings. In a direct evaporative cooler, water evaporates directly into the air stream to be cooled. In an indirect evaporative cooler, water evaporates into and cools a secondary air stream, which cools the supply air through a heat exchanger without adding moisture. By appropriately combining direct and indirect systems, evaporative cooling can provide comfortable temperature-humidity combinations most of the time in most parts of the world. Evaporative cooling is most effective in dry regions, but water may be a limiting factor in such regions. However, arid regions tend to have a large diu rnal temperature range, so thermal mass with external insulation and night ventilation can be used instead (Energy Efficiency, P.142). Influence of Energy Efficient Design Strategies on Design Stages The architectural design process is iterative and moves from the abstract (definition of massing, orientation, and image) to the specific (lighting control, mechanical ventilation type) (as cited in Ochoa Capeluto, 2008, Building and Environment, P.1830). At the design stage, key decisions taken by architects can significantly influence potentials to optimize building efficiency. These include decisions affecting the selection of building components. According to Ochoa Capeluto (2008), As it advances and more specialists are called in to solve details, earlier decisions, which could have an enormous influence on the building performance, are expensive and harder if not impossible to change (Building and Environment, P.1830). Other influential factors unrelated to climatic strategies must be taken into account. For example, a certain orientation that is bad for energy consumption might define how well the building performs (Ochoa Capeluto, 2008). However, it would require an Integrated Design Process (IDP), in which the design process optimizes the building performance by involving all members of design-making team from the beginning. The importance of an Integrated Design Process (IDP) on building systems approach Danny Harveys (2009) study found the following: The systems approach requires an Integrated Design Process (IDP), in which the building performance is optimized through an iterative process that involves all members of the design team from the beginning. However, the conventional process of designing a building is a largely linear process, in which the architect makes a number of design decisions with little or no consideration of their energy implications and then passes on the design to the engineers, who are supposed to make the building habitable through mechanical systems (Energy Efficiency, P. 140). The steps in the most basic IDP are: to consider building orientation, form, and thermal mass to specify a high-performance building envelope to maximize passive heating, cooling, ventilation, and daylighting to install efficient systems to meet remaining loads to ensure that individual energy-using devices are as efficient as possible and properly sized to ensure the systems and devices are properly commissioned By focusing on building form and a high-performance envelope, heating, and cooling loads are minimized, daylighting opportunities are maximized, and mechanical systems can be greatly downsized (Danny Harvey, 2009). Thermodynamics of Hot-Arid Climates Any consideration to energy efficiency applications or design strategies in any climatic zone requires examining of thermodynamics and human comfort. In his Text Natural Energy and Vernacular Architecture: Principles and Examples, With Reference to Hot Arid Climates, the author demonstrates properties of energy that must be considered in order to fully understand climatic phenomena. Heat, radiation, pressure, humidity, and wind, among other factors, interact mutually to establish microclimatic conditions appropriate to hot-arid climatic (Fathy, 1986). According to Fathy (1986), the following are some of these basic concepts applied to hot-arid climates: Thermal gain Solar radiation is the principal source of heat in hot-arid zones, and this heat can be transmitted during the day to the building interior in a number of ways. The most important is by conduction of the absorbed solar radiation through the walls or roof at a rate determined by the thermal conductance (or thermal resistivity) of wall components. (The relationship involving the incoming and reflected solar radiation absorbed and re-emitted heat and heat gain is shown in figure 2 below for the case of a typical white painted surface). Figure (2) (Fathy, 1986) Heat gain can also be caused by ventilation. The rate of gain is dependent on the ventilation rate. Ventilation heat gain can be avoided by restricting the size of openings, especially during the heat of the day. The other sources of heat gain are the inhabitants of the building themselves and household equipment such as electric lights and appliances. These sources, unlike the solar radiation, can contribute heat even at night (see figure 3) (Fathy, 1986). Figure (3) Modes of heat transfer (Fathy, 1986) Thermal loss Heat is lost by conduction through the walls, by exactly the same process that it is gained from the direct solar radiation once it has been absorbed by the surface or through the roof by a combination of convection and conduction. Ventilation is also another mode of heat loss. Evaporation from the surface of the building or from objects within the interior can produce a cooling effect on the building which acts as a source of heat loss. In hot arid climates, this can be a particularly effective cooling mechanism since the rate of evaporation in dry air is very high. Figure 3 also shows the modes of heat loss (Fathy, 1986). Cooling by evaporation Evaporative cooling is used for cooling in hot dry areas (such as in Iraq, where the people place against the windows panels of dried desert plants, which are kept moist by water dripping from perforated pipes positioned above them) (Fathy, 1986). Dynamic thermal equilibrium The heat gained by the building can be expected to be balanced by the heat lost and an internal temperature distribution thus established. These temperatures are dependent on the outside temperature and the ratio of the heat gained to the heat lost and can be adjusted by regulating the sources of heat gain and loss. Before examining the systems and devices that have been developed to do this in the hot arid zones, it is first necessary to have an idea of the heat-regulating mechanism of the human body and the microclimatic conditions for human comfort. Table (1) Heat gain and loss processes for the human body (Fathy, 1986). Mechanism Gain Process Loss Process Metabolism Basal heat production Digestion Activity Muscle tensing and shivering in response to cold Radiation From solar radiation-direct and reflected To surrounding air From radiation by radiators Conduction From air above skin temperature (increased by air movement) To air below skin temperature From warmer bodies in contact To cooler bodies in contact Evaporation From respiratory tract From skin covered with perspiration or applied water Conditions of human comfort A convenient standard for thermal comfort is required. Analysis shows that a variety of factors can be involved in situations of discomfort. For example, temperature alone does not determine discomfort. In Athens, 32  °C is quite bearable, but it is generally intolerable in Bahrain. The difference is due entirely to the relative humidity of the atmosphere. In Bahrain the air is very humid and perspiration evaporates slowly, decreasing the bodys ability to lose heat. In Athens, with its dry air, the evaporation rate is high and perspiration evaporates quickly lowering body temperature. The factors that have been identified as standard for thermal comfort within buildings are: air temperature, air humidity, rate of air movement, level of radiation, and rate of heat production by the bodies of people in the building [4]. Inventory of design elements for traditional housing design in hot-arid climates Building materials The materials surrounding the occupants of a building are of prime importance for protection against heat and cold. Considering an external wall exposed to a high outside air temperature and a lower inside air temperature (see figure 4), the rate of heat flow transmitted through the wall from the outside air to the inside air is proportional to the air temperature difference, area of the wall, and rate of global heat transmittance that can be determined from an analysis of the components of the total resistance to heat flow. The total resistance is composed of the resistance to heat flow through the material, the interfacial resistance at the external surface, and the interfacial resistance at the internal surfaces. Since the interfacial resistances are determined primarily by temperature conditions over which the builder has little control, his principal effect on the heat transmittance is on changing the resistance to heat flow through the wall material (Fathy, 1986). Figure (4) (Fathy, 1986) Table 2 lists the thicknesses of walls composed of various construction materials needed to achieve coefficients of approximately 1.1 kcal/hm ²C °. The mud brick is most appropriate for achieving thermal comfort in addition to being widely available to all segments of the population (Fathy, 1986). Table (2) Thicknesses of walls of different material (Fathy, 1986) Wall Material Wall Thickness Thermal Transmittance (in m) (in in) (in kcal/ hm ²C °) Hollow brick block 0.30 12 1.10 Double-wall brick with holes and 8-cm cavity 2 x 0.12 2 x 4.7 1.12 Brick wall with holes 0.38 15 1.03 Sand-lime brick 0.51 20 1.25 Hollow block sand-lime brick 0.51 20 1.16 Lime 0.51 20 1.10-1.35 Concrete 1.00 39 1.20 Orientation In hot climates, the sun is the major source of heat. The position of the sun must be determined for all hours of the day at all seasons as well as the direction of the prevailing winds, especially during the hot season. In addition, for an ensemble of buildings forming a sector, there will be reflection from adjacent buildings and wind screening by clusters of buildings, which contribute to a specific microclimate for each location in the sector. Wind movement and humidity also are important and should be considered simultaneously with the direct and indirect effects of the sun. The main objective is to establish the optimum orientation with regard to the sun and the prevailing wind (Fathy, 1986). Shading Generally, a building with a facade opening to the west is the worst case encountered in hot-arid climate, owing to the heat gain of the surrounding environment during the day and the angle of altitude, which allows the suns rays to penetrate into the interior. Openings Window openings normally serve three functions: to let in direct and indirect sunlight, to let in air, and to provide a view (Fathy, 1986). The venetian blind One device which can be added directly to the window is the venetian blind. This blind is made of small slats, about 4-5 cm wide, closely set in a wooden frame at an angle that will intercept the suns rays. The slats are often movable so the angle can be changed. This feature of adjustability renders venetian blinds very useful in regulating solar radiation and wind flow into rooms. Using the venetian blind, the suns rays can be blocked out without obstructing the breeze, which generally blows from the northwest in most hot arid areas like Iraq. As shown in figure 5a, changing the position of the blind alternatively by to block the direct sunlight, the wind is redirected uselessly over the heads of the occupants, as figure 5b illustrates. Also, if the slats are made of metal, they then absorb some incoming radiation and reradiate it into the room as heat (Fathy, 1986). Figure (5) (Fathy, 1986) The Shanshool or Mashrabiya This was a cantilevered space with a lattice opening, where small water jars were placed to be cooled by the evaporation effect as air moved through the opening. The name is used for an opening with a wooden lattice screen composed of small wooden balusters that are circular in section and arranged at specific regular intervals. The shanshool has five functions. These functions involve: (1) controlling the passage of light, (2) controlling the air flow, (3) reducing the temperature of the air current, (4) increasing the humidity of the air current, and (5) ensuring privacy. Its cooling and humidifying functions are closely related. All organic fibers, such as the wood of a shanshool readily absorb, retain, and release considerable quantities of water. Wind passing through the interstices of the porous-wooden shanshool will give up some of its humidity to the wooden balusters if they are cool, as at night. When the shanshool is directly heated by sunlight, this humidity is released to any air that may be flowing through the interstices. This technique can be used to increase the humidity of dry air in the heat of the day, cooling and humidifying the air at a time when most needed. The balusters and interstices of the shanshool have optimal absolute and relative sizes that are based on the area of the surfaces exposed to the air and the rate at which the air passes through. In addition to these physical effects, the shanshool serves an important social function: it ensures privacy from the outside for the inhabitants while at the same time allowing them to view the outside through the screen (Fathy, 1986). Table (3) Summary of architectural elements of traditional building in Iraq (hot-arid climate), as they have been common from the 13th to the end of the 19th century. Retrieved from http://www.brainworker.ch/Irak/architecture.htm Oda: the simple room Tarma: open balcony with pillars Ursi: most probably from russi, russian. The most important room of the house, as at the same time you may see, but not been seen as much as in a tarma, ivan or talar. Its separated from the tarma by a window-wall from colored glasses, without door. Those were the masterpieces of Baghdadi carpentry. Talar, a usable open room behind the tarma. The difference to the iwan is, that it cant be entered directly from the rooms beside it. Is separated from the tarma by additional pillars. Iwan(or Liwan), a room behind the tarma or adjacent tot the inner courtyard, that is on one side open. Hosh, the central courtyard, often with a fountain in the middle. sirdab, the cellar, that did not only serve as store, but   as cooling hall and for the provision of cool air through the badgir-sirdab-system. neem, a cellar that is only half buried. Mostly with one window. During the hot summer nights the roof was and is used in Baghdad for sleeping. The high value of privacy demanded, that no house was higher than the others, so that nobody was able to look down on his neighbors roof. kabishkan: The Penthouse, from where one is able to control all the house. Often those rooms have been placed like eyries in all four corners of the inner courtyard.   The roof If the outdoor air temperature is higher than the indoor temperature, the outer surface of the roof exposed to the sun is heated as it absorbs radiation, and, being in contact with the outside hot air, also is heated by conduction. The roof then transmits this heat to the inner surface, where it raises the temperature of the air in contact with it by conduction. At the same time, it radiates heat that is absorbed by people and objects indoors, thereby affecting thermal comfort. In hot arid countries, since the air temperature drops considerably during the night, the inhabitants have arranged the roof architecturally into loggias or open galleries and lightweight roof covers. These loggias and roof covers have the double function of shading the roof during the day and providing physiologically comfortable living and sleeping spaces at night (Fathy, 1986). Figure (6) Different types of roofing in hot-arid climates (Fathy, 1986) The wind-escape The technique of using the suction caused by low air-pressure zones to generate steady air movement indoors is used in the design of the wind-escape. The funnel and side tube used to illustrate the Bernoulli effect or Venturi action (see figure 7) are transposed into the structural elements of an architectural design in order to accelerate air movement and to create drafts in places with no exposure to the outside, such as basements in Iraq. This concept can be applied more advantageously in designs for use above ground. The wind-escape can accelerate effective ventilation and air circulation when used with other devices for air movement such as windows, doors, and the malqaf or wind-catch (Fathy, 1986). Figure (7) Bernoulli Effect (Fathy, 1986) The malgaf In hot arid zones, a difficulty is found in combining the three functions of the ordinary window: light, ventilation, and view. Therefore, it is necessary to satisfy the three functions ascribed to the window separately. To satisfy the need for ventilation alone, the malqaf or wind-catch was invented. This device is a shaft rising high above the building with an opening facing the prevailing wind. It traps the wind from high above the building where it is cooler and stronger, and channels it down into the interior of the building. The malqaf thus dispenses with the need for ordinary windows to ensure ventilation and air movement. The malqaf is also useful in reducing the sand and dust so prevalent in the winds of hot arid regions. The wind it captures above the building contains less solid material than the wind at lower heights, and much of the sand which does enter is dumped at the bottom of the shaft. In the areas of An-Najf and Al-Kufa in Iraq, where air temperature is very high in summer, people live in basements ventilated by small holes in the ceiling and a malqaf with a very small inlet. Figure 8 shows plans and the section of a residence with a basement from this region. However, as the airflow is small and the air circulation is insufficient, this design is unhealthy and a possible cause of lung diseases. In some designs, the drafts from the malqaf outlet are cooled by passing over water in the basement. Figure (8) The Malgaf (Fathy, 1986) The Bà £dgir-sirdab In Iraq (hot-arid climate)and the countries of the Gulf, a specific type of malqaf called the bà £dgir was developed. The system badgir-sirdab was a cheap, environmentally friendly and energy saving solution to create an acceptable cl

Lincoln Assassination :: essays research papers

he Lincoln Assassination On April, 14 1865 President Abraham Lincoln was shot while watching a performance of An American Cousin at Ford’s Theater. President Lincoln died the next morning. The person who had killed Lincoln was John Wilkes Booth. A few days before he was killed, Lincoln had told his spouse about a dream he had, he saw a president shrouded on a catafalque in the east room of the White House. Even after this dream he attended An American Cousin at Ford’s Theater. John Wilkes Booth thought the president was determined to destroy the constitution, set aside the rights reserved to the states, crush civil liberties, and restore monarchy. He saw the confederacy was the only means to of upholding the values of the founding fathers. He devoted much of late 1864 and early 1865 to a series of plots to abduct Lincoln and use his capture to nullify the Union’s war aims. Every scheme ending in frustration. After Lee had surrendered to the Army of the Potomac, in the second week of April, he saw that only the most desperate measures offered any hope of salvaging the Southern Cause. Shortly before he went into the theater, he stopped at tavern for a drink. While in the bar an acquaintance jokingly remarked that "he would never be as great as his father," Booth replied by saying "When I leave the stage, I will be the most talked about man in America." The Atlanta Campaign of 1864 In the spring of 1864, Gen. W. T. Sherman concentrated the Union armies of G. H. Thomas, J. B. McPherson, and J. M. Schofield around Chattanooga. On May 6 he began to move along the railroad from Chattanooga to Atlanta. Sherman had two objectives, one was to destroy the army of General J. E. Johnston and the other was to capture Atlanta. Johnston realizing that he was outnumbered started to retreat south. Sherman tried a direct assault on Johnston’s forces and was repulsed. Johnston had retreated back to the south bank of the Chattahoochee river. On July 17, John Bell Hood replaced Johnston as General. He tried to continue with Johnston’s plan, but failed to stop the advance of Union troops. He retired to Atlanta, which Sherman soon had under bombardment. On September 1 Hood abandoned Atlanta, the next day Sherman moved in and burned it. The Maryland Invasion A year after the confederate defeat at Gettysburg.

Fruit and Calcium Phosphate Ca Essay

Washed, crushed livesnail or kuhol (eggs can also be used)place in a plastic container. Pestle orcrush materials Don’t use hands. Add thesame amount of molasses or Muscovadosugar. Mix sugar in ? container with fishingredients then remaining molasses. Prepare at night to prevent flies frombreeding. Apply directly to thesoil or to the ground, not to the leaves. Keep concoction from direct sunlight. Store in dry coolplace. Cover and keep in a cool place or shadedarea. Drain to extract liquid after 10 to 15days. Transfer liquid into a clean plasticbottles Wait till tiny bubbles disappearbefore sealing the cover before storing. Always leave about ? of bottle empty soIMO can breath. Calcium Phosphate Ca? P(animal bone) Induced flowering, prevent overgrowth. For older plants, it Increase calcium factor on roots and leaves. Calcium Phosphate (Ca? P) is the product which according to the plants’ lifecycle and can be fast? effective. Ca? P is applied when the plants are about to flower. Feed to animals during pregnancy or breeding timeat 200 times dilution. Spray when first flowers comes out. ex: tomato plant , cucumber, eggplant etc. Boil or broil 2 kilos ofanimal bones to separatemeat and fat untilremaining meat to thebone is charcoal blackscrape charred meat andlet it cool. Do not burnthe bone. Ratio 1:10 1 Place bone in a plasticcontainer and pour 5gallons of purecoconut or sugarcanevinegar. Cover for 30days. Filter and used. Keep air tightcontainer. 2 Calcium (eggshell and shells) Strengthen Flowers. Contributes to better utilization of carbohydrates and protein. It is also a major element in forming a cell membrane and enables smooth cell division make fruit hard and sweet. Spray CA on the leaves after the fruits has become large. They prevent overgrowth and get a sweet hard ruit. Add seawater, calcium phosphate or OHN for better taste and aroma of the fruits. It is applied when nitrogen is big. It is the most important ingredients for flowering. Wash and crushedeggshell and take theinside filament or film. Pan fry 2 kilos eggshelluntil brown, set aside andcool. Vinegar first thenpour slowly the eggshells. 1 Wait till the tiny bubbles disappear and stop. Use exact container. Cover and ferment for 20 days. Filter and use keep in airtight container..

Comparision of Korean Japanese and Chinese cuisine

Cuisine Is a culture also appear in particular region by deferent types. Each types of cuisine Is unique and deserve us to cherish. As they are according to different preference, split and tradition to form. That's why we need to explore the inheritance of sullen culture. Afterwards, I will compare Chinese cuisine, Japanese cuisine and Korean cuisine, then find out the difference and the among them. Firstly, about the culture of Chinese cuisine. It has strong influence on a lots of Asia countries. Carbohydrates is the basic element, such as rice and noodles.Chinese people emphasize the color, smell, taste, meaning and form. As China has different region, it divide lots of styles. But the most well-known are the Cantonese cuisine, Sandhog cuisine, Jungian cuisine and Schuman cuisine. Secondly, about the culture of Japanese cuisine. It also based on rice and noodle, such as don. However, their feature is fresh fish and miss soup. Japanese cuisine tend to use the five basic condiments t o enrich the natural flavors of food. The five basic condiments are showy, sake, mall, dash and salt.There also have some combination of the culture of foreign countries. For example, Ramee come from the Chinese and curry come from the British. Thirdly, about the culture of Korean sullen. It based on rice, meat and vegetable, but their feature is spicy. Korean people are clever, they think that grilled meat is headiness, as too headiness may cause damage to body, so they use the cool food such as Chime to remove headiness. Korean cuisine mainly are light and less greasy food. About the differences. Chinese chopsticks, Japanese chopsticks and Korean chopsticks are totally different.Chinese chopsticks have flat head, Japanese chopsticks have pointed head, Korean chopsticks are made by metal. Chinese chopsticks aims to clip foods, as they have contraindication is that they can't use hopscotch to needle food, and needle food means worship their ancestors. But Japanese chopsticks alms to needle food, as they like to eat sashimi, also It Is slippery and difficult to clip It. Korean people Like to eat grilled meat, so their chopsticks are made by mental In order to prevent morph because of the heat from the charcoal stoves. It Is also convenient to wash it.About the cooking methods of Chinese cuisine, Japanese cuisine and Korean cuisine. There are a various of cooking methods of Chinese cuisine, they are fried, cooked, leavened, boiled, braised, steamed, grilled, stir, simmer and rinse†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ Etc. You can see that Chinese cuisine's making steps are complicated. Moreover, Chinese people are very care about the level of attainment, because it will effect the mouthful of the food. Japanese cuisine mainly are fresh ingredients, especially sea foods. For examples, sashimi and sushi. In contrast, Chinese people are not encouraged to eat raw food.Another famous types of Japanese cuisine is Sailed, It made by art. It will be decorated beautifully, but the amount Is sm all. The cooking methods of Korean cuisine mainly are barbecue and pickled, both of them hope to complement one another. Because cool food can equalize hatless food. In addition, Korean sullen Like to mixing. For examples, Bambina which means mixed rice and will put all the ingredients inside the sizzling Chinese cuisine's raw materials are diverse and complex, as China have different types of areas. They have prairie to feed animals and ocean to catch fishes.Furthermore, rice is still Chinese cuisine's main element. However, Japan and Korea have limited land area, their raw materials are more focusing but not have large varieties. As Japan is a sea island, their sea foods are abundant. But Japanese cuisine moieties may combined some foreign cuisine, so they may use some of the foreign raw materials as their raw materials, such as spaghetti. It proves that Japan is an international country. Rice is the emphasis of Korean cuisine, meat and fresh vegetable also included. Meats are for grilling.Besides, fresh vegetable for marinating Chime. That's indeed healthy. About the beverages, there also have a huge difference. Chinese main beverages are tea, Bijou and herbal drinks. Tea can deal with the problem of indigestion, such as black tea, long tea and green tea. Bijou is a white wine, and it made from rice, corn or wheat. Herbal drinks are similar as tea, but herbal drinks have medical benefits also made from medicinal herbs. Japanese main beverages are Japanese green tea, SSH ¶chiÃ'Ëœ and Sake. Japanese green tea which is made in Japan and have a positive effect on human.SSH ¶chiÃ'Ëœ is one kind of distilled wine and it made from buckwheat, wheat or rice†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ Etc. Sake is made from a variety of rice, so it is also a rice wine. It is common in Japanese restaurants. The best known Korean beverages are Korean beer, Yak and juju. About the Keenan beer, Korean people use rice to replace barley, so that the taste will be more sweeter ND lighter. Yak is Kor ean traditional rice wine, also is most formers one of their favorite. Juju mainly made from grain and rice. You can see that Korea has a high level of using rice as cuisine.About the etiquette of diet, Chinese, Japanese and Korean so care about it. Before having a meal, Japanese people will shout â€Å"dissimilar† to thank for the food. But Chinese people and Korean people will eat after ones elders eats. Furthermore, Japanese people like to eat noodles with slurping sound, it means appreciate for the chief. But for Chinese people and Korean people, they think it is unacceptable. Chinese people and Japanese people will use chopsticks to eat rice, however Korean people will use spoon to eat rice also but those rice into the bowl of soup.About the impact among these three countries, long time ago, China was the most influential country among East Asia. Rice and chopsticks were imported by China, so Japan and Korea absorbed this Chinese culture. Nowadays, you can see that Japan and Korea have developed their own feature of cuisine culture. Also, population grow because of the spread of the rice. The culture of Chinese cuisine encourage to cut up the food into little pieces, as they need to use hopscotch to pick up. Smaller pieces of food may be more easier to pick, also the size suits our mouth and it will cook more faster.This import to Japan and Korea, you can see most of their meal will be cut up into small pieces. It is crystal clear that Tofu and Ramee are very important to Japanese cuisine, it also imported by China. Japanese people transform these materials successfully but still keep the style of Japan. Japanese people transform tofu into egg tofu, it is more sweet and smooth. Moreover, Japanese people turn Ramee into Japanese Ramee, it is more attractive and famous than before. Additionally, Korean people like to pickle some fresh vegetable, such as cabbage and cucumber.

What Makes an Act Sexually Perverse

UWI Maurice Layne 620008086LecturerSimeon Mohansingh. CoursePhilosophy of sex and Love. | What makes an act sexually perverse? | | In a recent discussion, the subject of perversion was raised; the question was asked what makes an individual a pervert, or what kinds of acts could be considered perverted? The answers received were numerous to say the least. My first response was paedophilia which I still hold firm to; what follows are a few of the other answers; Bestiality; Homosexuality; Necrophilia; Oral sex (which was hotly debated); and Sexual sado-masochism.The list could continue but let us use this list and ask the question in another way; what makes these acts sexually perverse? What do we mean when we say something is sexually perverse? Is it divergence from what is sexually natural or a departing from what is considered standard morality? If so, what is natural? Who defines morality? The question of sexual perversion is of no little importance, for a start the question raises a number of interesting philosophical issues. Moreover, the issue is not solely of academic interest.Many have been, and many still are, stigmatised by the label ‘sexual pervert'. For them the issue of whether their actions justify this epithet may have a profound effect on their lives. Our purposes here are to simply attempt an answer to the question. We should note, at the start, that the notion of sexual perversion is not a simple descriptive concept. To call someone a pervert is not like calling them a Doctor or a Teacher. It is to denigrate their moral status in some way. Sexual perversion, therefore, is a concept, part of whose content is to carry a negative moral evaluation.The Oxford Dictionaries defines the verb pervert as to alter (something) from its original course, meaning, or state to a distortion or corruption of what was first intended; or to lead (someone) away from what is considered right, natural, or acceptable; and it defines the noun pervert as a person whose sexual behaviour is regarded as abnormal and unacceptable. (â€Å"pervert†. Oxford Dictionaries. 2010) Since sexual perversion is a morally negative concept, it might be thought that one could define it simply as a ‘morally wrong sexual act'.In a similar way, one might attempt a definition of ‘murder’ as a morally wrong human killing. This, however, will not do. The simple reason is that there are many morally wrong sexual acts of a very ‘straight’ kind which, all can agree, are not perversions. For example, an ordinary sexual act may be done by one of the partners in a way that is unkind, deceitful, inconsiderate or cruel, and so morally wrong. Rape and adultery may be examples of this. One would not, on this account, want to call such acts perversions. Though there are some persons who do view rape as a perversion. ) One of the things that makes it hard to get a grip on the concept of perversion (its intension) is that there is strong d isagreement even over its extension. People disagree, for example, over whether homosexuality and masturbation are perversions. Still, let us start with a look at the extension of the concept. Genital sexual activity is of many kinds. The following is a list of categories; these are not necessarily exclusive; no doubt they are not exhaustive either.I give the acts in what seems (to me) to be roughly decreasing in order of ‘naturalness’ (in traditional terms). Heterosexual intercourse in the missionary position (straight sex). Heterosexual intercourse in other positions. Oral sex (cunnilingus, fellatio). Masturbation. Homosexuality. Group sex. Anal sex (buggery, sodomy), heterosexual or homosexual. Voyeurism. Exhibitionism. Frotteurism. Sexual sadism and/or masochism. Paedophilia. Fetishism. Transvestism. Zoophilia (bestiality). Urophilia Necrophilia. Coprophilia.We can be safe in saying that it is highly unlikely that any two people would produce exactly the same orderi ng, my assumption is that there would be general agreement on the rough ordering, at least as to whether something was near the top, middle or end. Where perversion begins on the list is much more contentious, however. Sexual conservatives often draw the line after the first instance. More ‘open minded’ people might draw the line after say group sex. The items listed after group sex may get in on nearly everyone’s list.So what should count as a perversion, and why? Let us start with what is perhaps the best known account of perversion in the contemporary philosophical literature, that of Nagel. I start with it, not because it is close to the truth (I think that it is a long way from this), but because it illustrates clearly a central shortcoming that will keep recurring. â€Å"Nagel proposes that sexual interactions in which each person responds with sexual arousal to noticing the sexual arousal of the other person exhibit the psychology that is natural to human sexuality.In such an encounter, each person becomes aware of himself or herself and the other person as both the subject and the object of their joint sexual experiences. Perverted sexual encounters or events would be those in which this mutual recognition of arousal is absent, and in which a person remains fully a subject of the sexual experience or fully an object. Perversion, then, is a departure from or a truncation of a psychologically â€Å"complete† pattern of arousal and consciousness. † (Soble and Power 2008, 13) It is difficult to do full justice to Nagel’s account in a few words.But for present purposes, let’s hope the following will suffice. According to Nagel, a sexual act is not perverted when it involves two (or maybe more) people; each is sexually aroused by [the other]; each is sexually aroused by [the other's being sexually aroused]; each is sexually aroused by [the other's being sexually aroused by the other's being sexually aroused]; a nd maybe so on ad infinitum. Any other sexual act is perverted. Now, one problem with Nagel's account is that it draws the line in a very strange place.Homosexuality, sadomasochism and paedophilia may all be non-perverted if done in the right way; whilst masturbation, rape and even straight sex of a very bored kind – e. g. , by a prostitute, or an uptown wife who during the act of coitus is thinking of travelling to Manhattan for ‘black Friday’ as perverted. Granted, any division is going to be contentious, but this classification is just too counter-intuitive: no one (unless in the grip of Nagel’s account) would divide things up in this way?The more important failing of Nagel's account is that if this is what sexual perversion is, there is absolutely no reason why perversion should be a morally loaded concept. There is nothing in itself immoral about being aroused by someone who is not them self aroused. Maybe it is more exciting, more complete, or fulfil ling, if they are; but it is hardly wrong if they are not. A more plausible and, in fact, more common account of perversion is that perverted acts are those that are unnatural. This is not a bad start, but it does not get us very far until we have said what ‘natural’ is to be taken to mean here.For the notion of naturalness is a very slippery one indeed. What, then, is the natural in this context? â€Å"Natural sexual acts, to provide merely a broad definition, are those acts that either flow naturally from human sexual nature, or at least do not frustrate or counteract sexual tendencies that flow naturally from human sexual desire. † (Soble and Power 2008, 11) An obvious suggestion is that what is natural is what happens in nature. But such a suggestion would rob the notion of perversion of all content. People are, after all, part of nature. Hence, nothing they do is unnatural in this sense.A fortiori there would be no perversions. It makes a bit more sense to s uppose that the natural is what happens in non human nature. This would draw the line in a very odd place, however. It makes paedophilia, masturbation, homosexuality, and bestiality (or at least intercourse with a different species) natural, while at the same time making straight sex unnatural. Given that then one might want to redefine what straight sex equates to in non human animals. Another suggestion as to what ‘unnatural’ means here is simply unusual (abnormal) in the statistical sense. Goldman 1977) It should be noted that the frequencies of various sexual practices like, homosexuality and paedophilia vary from society to society. Hence, perversion, on this account, becomes a socially relative concept. With ‘natural’ interpreted in this way, the definition of perversion has two major problems. Perversion does not seem to be linked to statistics in the way it requires. If bestiality became very common, for example, it would not cease to be a perversio n. There would just be more perverts around.More importantly, there is no reason why something that is unusual statistically should be morally bad; merely consider heroism, having an IQ of 200 or higher or being able to make love for 3. 5 hours without a break. In the context of the definition of perversion, Donald Levy takes an unnatural act to be one that denies someone a basic human good, such as life, health, control of mind or body, or the capacity to know or love (without providing some other basic human good in compensation). (Velasquez 2010, 454) This account at least has the advantage that it becomes clear why perversion is morally wrong.Its failings are rather different. According to this, virtually nothing that is traditionally counted as perversion is a perversion. None of homosexuality, buggery, sadomasochism would seem to fall into this category. Moreover, those sexual acts that involve the individual alone (masturbation, fetishism, transvestism, bestiality and necroph ilia) would not seem to require the actor to deny anyone including him or herself anything. We noted a certain amount of flexibility as to what one might classify as a perversion, but this flexibility hardly extends to ruling out paradigm cases wholesale.It would seem that for Levy Paedophilia and Rape would be the only activities that could or would count as sexual perversion. Another suggestion, as to what ‘natural' means in the context of perversion is this. It is often said that biological processes have some well-defined goal or function. What is natural is using the process for that function; what is unnatural is using it for something else. That this suggestion is on the right lines is supported by the following considerations. We speak of things other than sexual acts as being perverted.For example, we speak of someone perverting the course of justice. In such a case, it is clear that what this amounts to is the person using the judicial process for something other tha n its proper end. Thus, perversion in general is using something for other than its proper end as a matter of fact, as stated earlier this is how the Oxford English Dictionary defines the verb ‘to pervert' and sexual perversion, in particular, is using sex for something other than its proper end. Were doing well so far right? But what exactly is the proper end of sex?A common view, most strongly represented in traditional Catholic pronouncements, has it that the function of sex is reproduction. â€Å"Based upon a comparison of the sexuality of humans and the sexuality of lower animals (mammals, in particular), Aquinas concludes that what is natural in human sexuality is the impulse to engage in heterosexual coitus. Heterosexual coitus is the mechanism designed by the Christian God to insure the preservation of animal species, including humans, and hence engaging in this activity is the primary natural expression of human sexual nature.Further, this God designed each of the pa rts of the human body to carry out specific functions, and on Aquinas’s view God designed the male penis to implant sperm into the female’s vagina for the purpose of effecting procreation. It follows, for Aquinas that depositing the sperm elsewhere than inside a human female’s vagina is unnatural: it is a violation of God’s design, contrary to the nature of things as established by God. For this reason alone, on Aquinas’s view, such activities are immoral, a grave offense to the sagacious plan of the Almighty. (Soble and Power 2008, 12) Reproduction here is interpreted as conception. Therefore, any sexual act that cannot result in conception is a perversion which clearly draws the line very high up on the list. † If this view is right, the orthodox Catholic Church has drawn the correct conclusions concerning masturbation and homosexuality; contraception, too, makes sex perverted. But the definition also makes many sorts of straight sex perver ted: sex for an infertile male known to be infertile; sex for a woman after menopause or a hysterectomy; sex during the so called ‘safe period' of a woman’s menstrual cycle.It would appear that orthodox Catholic thinking has not been consistent in these areas, since it does not condemn such acts; though some of the church fathers such as Augustine did in a roundabout way. â€Å"Sexual intercourse with lower animals (bestiality), sexual activity with members of one’s own sex (homosexuality), and masturbation, for Aquinas, are unnatural sexual acts and are immoral exactly for that reason. If they are committed intentionally, according to one’s will, they deliberately disrupt the natural order of the world as created by God and which God commanded to be respected†¦In none of these activities is there any possibility of procreation, and the sexual and other organs are used, or misused, for purposes other than that for which they were designed. Although A quinas does not say so explicitly, but only hints in this direction, it follows from his philosophy of sexuality that fellatio, even when engaged in by heterosexuals, is also perverted and morally wrong. At least in those cases in which orgasm occurs by means of this act, the sperm is not being placed where it should be placed and procreation is therefore not possible.If the penis entering the vagina is the paradigmatic natural act, then any other combination of anatomical connections will be unnatural and hence immoral; for example, the penis, mouth, or fingers entering the anus. Note that Aquinas’s criterion of the natural that the sexual act must be procreative in form, and hence must involve a penis inserted into a vagina, makes no mention of human psychology. Aquinas’s line of thought yields an anatomical criterion of natural and perverted sex that refers only to bodily organs and what they might accomplish physiologically and to where they are, or are not, put in relation to each other. (Soble and Power 2008, 12-13) If this is the case what is the rationale for the clitoris being positioned the way it is? At any rate, any account of perversion according to which straight sex between a loving couple at the tender age of 60 years, who have been happily married for over 40 years, is a perversion, in my humble opinion must be wrong. It is plausible to suppose that what makes this account of perversion wrong is its identification of reproduction with conception. There is, after all, a lot more to reproduction than conception. In particular, there is gestation, birth, the rearing and education of children, and so on.And sex may have important biological functions in these areas too. To begin with, a secure family is usually reckoned to be important in the upbringing of children. And one factor making for a secure family is a happy and fulfilling sexual life between the adult partners. Hence, a function of sex could be for two people each to give the other pleasure. In this case, only those forms of sexual activity that involve just one person could be perverted. More generally, a stable and functioning society is necessary for the reproduction of people. An important role of sex might be to help people to live together and cooperate.And who knows what sexual practices might serve that end? Without a lot more socio-biological research, it is highly unlikely near an impossibility to say what constitutes a perversion on this account probably very little.

What Ethical Issues Does Ethnography Raise How Might We Deal with These?

Ethics can be defined as a â€Å"set of moral principles and beliefs that govern a person’s behaviour or the conducting of an activity† with its main principle of doing ‘good’ and preventing harm (Oxford Dictionaries: 2011). However Orb et al (2002:93) states that Ethical issues can best be described or expressed as the â€Å"tension between the aims of research to make generalizations for the good of others, and the rights of participants to maintain privacy. Ethical issues and moral dilemmas are seen to arise in almost any type of research concerning human participants; in quantitative, biomedical, psychological, anthropological and sociological research. The infringement of some ethical issues which arise are considered to be more serious than others; however in order to minimise these ethical dilemmas, researchers must follow and obey a strict set of ethical guidelines in order to protect and minimise harm caused to participants or research subjects.Ur ie Bronfenbrenner suggests that there is no way of conducting research without breaching the principles of professional ethics, and that the only way of avoiding such dilemmas is to cease the conduct of any research (Fine 1993:267). Clearly there a variety of differing ethical dilemmas which occur in research, however those which arise in ethnographic research are in complete contrast to those ethical dilemmas raised in biomedical or quantitative research, where some might suggest that ethical problems are greater (Alder et al 1986).Punch (1994) goes further in suggesting that qualitative studies such as ethnography rarely, if ever, raise ethical issues (Orb 2000:93); however this statement is heavily debated. This essay aspires to discuss and analyse the ethical issues which arise in ethnography and discuss how valid and harmful these issues really are. The paper will also seek to discuss how researchers may overcome these ethical dilemmas and as to whether they are really effectiv e means to dealing with the issue.However, firstly this essay will commence by giving a brief history of ethics, draw upon problems concerning the ethical review board guidelines and outline two contrasting dimensions of ethics. Today ethics are seen to be used as a tool to guide and direct research studies, however it seems that before the mid 1950’s research studies gave little regard to ethical guidelines or their research subjects causing a great deal of harm and distress to individuals and cultures (Akeroyd 008:133). An extreme example of this happened in America, from 1932 to 1972, many African American people where deliberately left untreated for syphilis as researchers wanted to find out what would happen if the illness was left (Orb 2002:93). Questions are today raised as to whether these studies should be disregarded as so many ethical issues and dilemmas were raised in pioneering research.However, today research studies are under strict regulation and scrutiny from ethical review boards, that have developed guidelines and controls which must be obeyed during any type of research. In the US, the Institutional review board (IRB) review all federally funded projects and require the researchers to follow a strict set of rules whilst conducting their studies, such as informing their participants of the objectives of research, obtaining consent from participants, protecting them from harm and so forth (Murphy and Dingwall 2007:340).However the ethical guidelines set by Institutional Review Boards have been criticized greatly by many social scientists claiming that the codes set have been designed around biological or quantitative models of research which are totally inapplicable nor relevant to social research and in particular ethnographic studies (Akeroyd 2008:147). Social scientists argue that the ethical guidelines set are not sensitive to ethnographic research and due to this may cause harm to individuals or groups studied; further they argue that the guidelines are liable to constrict research unnecessarily (Murphy and Dingwall 2007).In ethnographic research it would seem that ethical dilemmas are strongly correlated to the ontological and epistemological foundations of the research. However there seem to be two differing dimensions in explaining ethical issues, firstly is the concequentialist approaches and secondly there is the deontological approaches and in order to accomplish good quality research both approaches must be regarded. The consequentialist approaches are primarily concerned with the outcomes of the research and as too whether the participant is harmed during the study, and if they were, did the ends justified the means?The deontological approaches are on the other hand concerned with the participant’s rights, such as were they treated with respect, informed consent and did were their rights to privacy and autonomy attained (Murphy and Dingwall 2007:340). Many presume that these approaches are in competition however they are not because in actual fact these two contrasting approaches work in sync in order to protect participants from harm whilst also respecting the rights of participants.Beaucamp et al (1982) were one of the first to consider the consequentialist and deontological approaches and devised a list of ethical principles to be complied with when conducting research (Murphy and Dingwall 2007:340). In their list of principles BeauChamp et al noted Non-maleficience, Beneficence, self-determination and justice. They noted that Non-maleficience, requires the researcher to protect participant from harm and Beneficence suggests that the research must discover and obtain something of significance from the research for it to be ethical; these two approaches fall under the consequentialist approach.The deontological approaches outlined by Beaucamp et al are Self-determination, where the researcher must respect participant’s views and beliefs and Justice where the res earcher is required to treat participants as an equal to themselves. Here firstly the consequentialist approaches to ethics will be discussed. Unlike in biomedical research, if harm occurs within ethnographic fieldwork it is likely to be indirect rather than direct.When biological scientists are testing new drugs or surgery they directly put the research participant under risk of harm and the harm will occur during the procedure; however in ethnography the harm which occurs is not so obvious, visible or direct. It would be foolish to think that ethnographic field work was free from the problem of endangering participants; as it can harm individuals, but just not in the same way as biomedical research. In ethnographic field work if harm has taken place, then the participant will most probably not feel the effects until after the study has ended.In ethnography, if participants are ever harmed, they are usually harmed when the research studies they have participated in have been publis hed or publicized (Murphy and Dingwall 2007:341). The reasons which lie behind this are due to the fact that once the work of an ethnographer has been published they have no control over how individuals read or interpret their work and how other people will use their work in the future (Akeroyd 2008). Through the publication of the researchers work research subjects can be put under a great deal of stress, apprehension and embarrassment and through this their confidence and self-worth can become damaged.Participants may become embarrassed about views they hold if they sense that the researcher disagrees with their outlook or if the researcher makes it apparent that they are surprised that they hold such views. Furthermore this embarrassment and anxiousness caused by research may be likely to increase if the media hype the publication of the study, even in cases where the participant’s identity remains anonymous (Murphy and Dingwall 2007:347). An example of a study where the r esearch subject was embarrassed and harmed through the publication of research is ‘Whyte’s Street corner society study’.Richardson (1992:114) writes about ‘Docs’ reaction after reading what was said about him in the study, he suggests that Doc was embarrassed about what was said about him and his sense of pride and self respect was damaged. After the publication of the study ‘Doc’ pleaded with Whyte never to reveal to anyone who he was and to keep his identity anonymous. Boelen writes how ‘Docs’ sons believed that the Street Corner study ruined their father’s life (Richardson 1992:115).In response to this criticism some social scientists have suggested that ethnographers and their participants should work in partnership when producing reports (Murphy and Dingwall 2007). Others have suggested that too deal with such problem, all studies should present their participants with the right to reply. Some research subjects h ave sent letters to their local papers in response to publications they have taken part in. (Slack 2011) Another way in which ethnography is seen to cause harm is through offering ‘tools’ to those in power.Governments and army’s have been seen to use ethnographers in order to manipulate communities and cultures for both economic and political gains. These bodies of power have used ethnography to control those who are weak and powerless. Burgess (1985) suggests that â€Å"ethnographic studies increase knowledge of the adaptive behaviours that actors use of their feelings† (Murphy and Dingwall 2007:341), and we see examples of this happening today. The American department of defence have invested $40 million into a programme they consider to be a â€Å"Crucial new weapon† in their war against the Taliban in Afghanistan. They have hired ocial scientists and anthropologists so that they can grasp an understanding of tribal relations; and as this is seen to be working they are now looking to expand this ‘human terrain team’ (Rohde 2007). The head of the human terrain team see’s the work conducted as vital and defines it as a â€Å"scholar warrior† and as â€Å"rare work of applied scholarship† (Times Higher education 2010). However although it would seem that many anthropologists are happy for their work to play a vital role in shaping military and foreign policy a great number are in firm opposition and are against the militarization of anthropology.Some believe this program is unethical, dangerous and ineffective. They believe it to be unethical as it breaches many ethical codes of practice such as no informed consent and can cause great harm to the research subjects (Network of concerned anthropologists). As previously noted, ethical guidelines state that research should only be authorized and carried out, and is only deemed as ethical if the study has some significant anticipated benefits. Howe ver in ethnography this is a problem. Predicting and anticipating the outcomes and potential benefits prior to research studies is proven to be extremely difficult.In biomedical studies these are much easier to predict and more obvious. However in favour of ethnographic research the risks are not as likely to be as damaging as those displayed in biomedical research (Arskey 2008). It would seem that many would consider that the emotional harm as a result of ethnographic research is far less damaging that that of physical harm such as the testing of new surgery seen in biomedical research; however ultimately the researcher has less control over the participant (Thorne 1980).Harm could also be said to occur in ethnography due to the difficulty in preserving anonymity, as it is clear that no ethnographer can guarantee this. This is due to the fact there is a possibility that field notes transcripts might be read (Murphy and Dingwall 2007). However a suggestion to counteract this problem would be that once researchers have finished with such documents they should destroy them at the earliest possible point they can so that no prying eyes see the information.Furthermore it would seem that there is only ever a small number of qualitative ethnographic research studies ever carried out, and when research is conducted in an overt manner participants will know that the study has taken place and therefore when the work is published will be able to easily identify themselves or their society in the published work. It could also be argued that the close emotional relationships which are formed during ethnographic studies are harmful to research subjects.Unlike in quantitative and biological research, qualitative ethnographic research offers the opportunity for participants and researchers to form close relationships during the period of the study (Richardson 1992). However, when the study finishes and is completed, usually more often than not, the relationship and friendshi p between the participant and the observer also end. This in turn is harming the participant as they are experiencing a loss. Again an example of this can be drawn from the Street Corner Society study conducted by Whyte. Many wonder how ‘Doc’ must have felt after Whyte left, after spending so much time with him.Did ‘Doc’ feel hurt? Because we know that one of the most important thing in ‘Docs’ life was friendships (Richardson 1992:116). Researchers must be careful of the cathartic effects of ethnographic research as the process of legitimise deviant behaviour can be damaging to society, as people may begin to think it is okay to act in such a way. Fine (1993) states that the research conducted on the extremely racist group of the Ku Klux Klan were guilty in doing this. He suggests that the researcher in this study â€Å"dehumanized their informants placing them outside our moral community in the guise of justice† (Fine 1993:272).The rese archer adopted a sympathetic stance to the views of group, and this is clearly not always a positive characteristic, and can be considered to be unethical. In contrast to biological and statistical research, ethnographic work is based on observations and interpretations of what they see. Clearly the researchers own beliefs and values may influence what they write, and what they chose not to write about in their reports. There is much evidence supporting this notion. Fine (1993:227) suggests that readers who believe what they see in quotations marks are foolish because how do they know that is what actually was said or happened.He suggests that maybe what we sometimes see put in quotation marks are lies and misunderstood interpretations. This can be damaging to research subjects or communities under study as they may be portrayed as people they’re not e. g. racist. A programme on Channel 4 called â€Å"Love thy neighbour† is a prime example. In this reality TV show, the village people partake in choosing who gets to live in their village, and as a black family were voted out, these individuals are now portrayed as being racist.However in response to this criticism it could be said that this type of research is ‘conscious raising’, and may get individuals to think twice about their actions and behaviour (Hammersley and Atkinson 1995). The Deontological approaches and dimensions of looking at ethics usually take in to consideration the participant’s rights to privacy respect and self determination that may be infringed. The discussion about privacy and rights within research has been bought to the fore front after the antagonistic response from some previously studied communities, participants and native anthropologists (Murphy and Dingwall 2007:343).Some make the assertion that the rights of the participants are not always regarded just because they have signed a consent form (Akeroyd 2008). Others go further in saying that cons ent forms don’t really protect participants; they are devised primarily to protect the researcher in an event of law action, and in many cases after signing consent forms participants will still be unaware of what the research is about and what their rights are. It is suggested that these consent forms will just reinforce the unequal relationship between the research and their subjects (Homan 1980).Furthermore Price (1996) believes that â€Å"consent forms risk jeopardizing anonymity making people more identifiable† (Murphy and Dingwall 2008:343). Ultimately consent don’t guarantee the total protection of participants identities (Akeroyd 2008). However Bulmer (1980) is a great believer in informed consent, and believes it to be an essential part of any research. Bulmer (1980) is a critic of covert research and argues that this method of research can cause a great deal of harm to participants whilst also violating their rights and autonomy; he sees this type of r esearch as a betrayal of trust.Edward Shills goes further and suggests that this invasion of privacy is a nuisance as it interferes with individual’s lives and cultures (Homan 1980:52). Furthermore critics argue that those who carry out covert research are reinforcing the idea that all social scientists are devious and untrustworthy. However although ethical review boards guidelines and some critics believe that covert research is unethical and breaching the rights of participants, Homan and other supporters of covert research believe that in some cases this research method is acceptable to use, for example a study on secretive communities.Several researchers have adopted the covert role and Laud Humphreys and his ‘Tea Room’ study is one of the most notable; however this study was subject to much scrutiny once it was published as it was seen to be breaching a tremendous amount of ethical guidelines. Questions are raised as to whether it is ethically right to dece ive participants’ but also is it ethically right that research subjects don’t get to know anything about their researchers background as they know so much about theirs. Researchers rarely disclose personal information and if they do some lie.Diane Wolf (1996) claims that many ethnographers have lied about marital status, national identities or religious beliefs; and she is one of those, as during research she lied about her marital status to her research subjects (Denzin & Lincoln 2003). Moral and ethical questions are raised asking whether it is right and proper for the researchers to have all the power in shaping, designing and undertaking studies; researchers are portrayed to be more competent due to this. It is queried whether this is really appropriate? (Denzin & Lincoln 2003).However feminist argue that to evade such a problem the research subjects should be involved in the planning stages of research and have a say in the types of questions asked. However the pr acticality and sensibility of this idea is questioned, is this really an appropriate way of dealing with the problem? Many argue not. Some suggest that this would be impractical and some participants might not want to contribute. It has further been suggested that this is an obscene idea because at the end of the day it is the researcher who has the final word on what is going to be researched (Murphy and Dingwall 2007).Although it would seem the power status between the researcher and research subjects is less reinforced and not so clear within ethnographic research in comparison to other kinds of research; there are some concerns raised about the way that ethnographers can objectify, manipulate and take advantage of research subjects either during the period of the study or in published work. However some argue that the researcher controls are not in fact a breach of the research subjects’ independence and rights, and is not manipulative in anyway (Hammersley & Atkinson 199 5).On the other hand Fine (1993:284) proposes that it is sometimes the case where female ethnographers are objectified rather than the research subjects, due to the fact we live in a sexist world. Moreover Murphy and Dingwall (2007) argue that in some cases it would seem that the research subjects manipulate and exert power over the researchers conducting ethnographic studies. They propose that this happens through refuting the researcher the privilege of conducting research on themselves or their community or through manipulating what they study and not allowing the researcher to have full responsibility and say over the research.However, although it is questionable whether there is a problem of power imbalance between the research and their research subjects, feminists have suggested ways of dealing with this. They attempt to readdress power imbalances in relationships between the researched and researcher, by not enforcing the power the researcher has and balancing relationship s tatuses, making relationships more intimate and authentic (Murphy and Dingwall 2007).However, other critics have replied to this suggesting that the development of closer, sympathetic relationships are far more unethical and dangerous as manipulation on the researchers behalf becomes far easier as participants are more likely disclose thoughts and feeling to whom they feel close to. Furthermore participants may not wish for a relationship with an individual who is researching them (Akeroyd 2008) Once the researcher has published their research findings they usually gain scholarly recognition and financial benefits, whereas the studied groups or individuals gain nothing on this level.As Richardson (1992: 116) points out Whyte is recognised as the single author to the Street Corner Society and â€Å"received all the fame and fortune†, but questions are raised queering if the publication of the study would have been possible at all without ‘Docs’ help . The fortune made in the Street Corner study could have improved ‘Docs’ life a great deal, and a small percentage of the financial could have changed his life. However once the study ended ‘Docs’ fortune did not change, as he remained jobless for practically the rest of his life and living on the bread line.However it would seem that some researchers believe that through giving participants feedback and insight to the research moral dilemma of their financial and scholarly gains are resolved. On the other hand other ethnographic researchers may not feel that this enough and share the royalties from their published work (Slack 2011). Finally a further ethical dilemma concerning ethnographic research methods is that all the data and publications are based primarily on the interpretations made by the researcher, but it is queried whether the researcher has the right to do so (Hammersley & Atkinson 1995).As Calvino (1998:257) states, communities or subjects can become †˜confrontational’ if they feel that the interpretations made of them are inaccurate and mistaken. Murphy and Dingwall (2007) claim that for research to be ethical they must produce accounts that convey the research subjects standpoints and views. However it is argued that ethnographers can and do sometimes take advantage of their empowered roles and construct their own versions of events and interpret data in ways they wish to display such groups.However in order to overcome this dilemma, it has been recommended that researchers should back their analysis and understanding with proof and verification that what was said and done did really happen (Akeroyd 2008). Therefore in conclusion, it is evident that ethnography can and does raise some ethical dilemmas causing harm and infringes the rights of many participants; however it is the duty and obligation of researchers to minimise these effects, even if they hold negative views and dislike the research subjects.Furthermore it is somewhat clear that ethnography can give valuable insights in to unexplored cultures and individuals, however on the negative side it is also seen as a damaging ‘tool’ used by those in power . It is obvious that today, unlike in the past, practically all research abides by ethical guidelines, set by ethical review boards and if they don’t researchers are held liable. Nevertheless, in the near future it is imperative that ethical guidelines should be amended so that they are specific to the issues surrounding ethnography. It is clear that this is the only way that ethnography will be almost fully ethical.