A manager and a leader Essay Example for Free

A manager and a leader Essay The difference between a manager and a leader is that the former ensures control and rationality, her/his focus is on day to day problem solving, best means in achieving results for staff to continue to contribute to the organisation (Zaleznik,1992) . While a leader uses power to influence actions and people, focusing more on outcomes and impact, where this action has inherited risks such as the risk of losing self- control in the need for power (Zaleznik,1992). While leaders and managers have common traits such as sound communication skills, work ethics, integrity, key technical competencies, etc, yet there are some differences. These differences can be summarised as follows: Risk taking: Manager are regulators of affairs in an organisation, getting rewards from collective achievements . Therefore, to be a good manager, it requires persistence, patience, intelligence, analytical skills, and goodwill. Leaders think out of a box and work with high risk initiatives. While managers, unlike leaders, tend to solve problems in a more conservative way and tend to tolerate mundane and practical work (Zaeznik,1992). Leaders on the other hand are risk takers. Relationships: Manager work with people to implement initiatives, solve problems, by focusing staff on policies and procedures and not on content (Zaleznik,1992). They are engrossed in how to make decisions, but not what are the rights decisions to make. While leaders attract strong feelings of identity and difference. Their human relationship might seem turbulent, intensifying motivation and often resulting in unanticipated results (Zaleznik, 1992). Sense of self-worth: managers’ sense of self-worth is secured by ensuring and strengthening existing institutions. While leaders feel separate from their institutions, their perception of identity is different (Zaleznik, 1992). They may work in an organisation and never have a sense of belonging, always seeking opportunities for change. Vision versus objectives and goals: Managers take the short view, focus on objectives, targets, implementation and monitoring and evaluation while leaders take the long view, focusing more on a clear vision, a clear sense of purpose, and a passion to pursue that vision while aligning the organisation its vision (Allio, 2012). Manager Leader Ensures control and follows day to day work implementation of an action plan (day to day work) Sets a vision A problem solver Uses power to lead and influence action Not a risk taker Willing to take risks (balance between change and stability) Follows rules and regulations High levels of creativity, always thinks out of a box Implementer Leads, inspires and motivates Strong sense of belonging to organisation May and may not have a sense of belonging to organisation Works in a comfort zone Always embracing change management, seeking new opportunities. In health care, the Minister of Health in the State of Palestine is a leader, while the director generals, directors of various departments are managers. The former is the person who sets out the vision for the ministry, partnering with other stakeholders (UN organisations, private sector, and others) for instance in advancing the public health sector. This resulted in a reduction in infant and under five child mortality rates over the past five years. While director generals and directors are consumed with implementing the inputs needed to achieve the overall vision set out by the Minister. Thank you. References: Allio, R.J., (2012), ‘Leaders and leadership – many theories, but what advice is reliable?.’ Strategy and Leadership. [Online], 41, (1), pp. 4-14. Available online from: http://www.emeraldinsight.com.ezproxy.liv.ac.uk/doi/pdfplus/10.1108/10878571311290016 (Accessed on: 19 January 2015). Zaleznik, A., (1992), Managers and leaders: Are they different?’ Harvard Business Review. [Online], 70 (2), pp 126-135. Available from: http://eds.a.ebscohost.com.ezproxy.liv.ac.uk/eds/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?vid=3sid=ef29e84c-a001-4d56-9f66-b5f4a202c402%40sessionmgr4001hid=4202 (Accessed

Water Prevention And Control Of Pollution Environmental Sciences Essay

Water Prevention And Control Of Pollution Environmental Sciences Essay The water law framework in our country is attributed by the coexistence of a number of different principles, rules and acts adopted over several decades extending from common law principles and irrigation acts from the colonial acts to the recent regulation of water quality and pollution. The basic underlying reasons for water law reforms are both physical and institutional. Over the past few decades water has gradually become sparse in many parts of the country. This can be attributed to increased pollution of finite water resources and also increased use of water by all categories of water users as a consequence of economic and population growth. The Water Act of 1974 was Indias first attempt towards dealing comprehensively with the environment related issues. Water is a subject in the State List under the Constitution. Consequently, the Water Act which is a central law came into being under Article 252(I) of the Constitution which empowers the Union Government to make laws in a field reserved for states. All the states have approved the implementation of Water Act 1974. In spite of this there is a lack of umbrella legislation at the national level because of which different state and central legal interventions do not coincide often. Water Prevention And Control Of Pollution Act, 1974 Salient Features The Water Act establishes a Central and State pollution control boards. The Central Board may advise the Central Govt. on water pollution issues, coordinate the activities of state pollution control boards and devise a comprehensive plan for the control and prevention of water pollution. In case of any conflicts between the Central and the State boards, central board prevails. This act is applicable to streams, inland waters, subterranean waters, and sea or tidal waters. Standards for the discharge of effluent or the quality of the used water being released into the water sources are to be prescribed by the state boards. Any person or any industry for that matter has to take the consent of the state board before proceeding towards establishing any industry, operation or process or any treatment or waste disposal system. The Act specifies other important functions of the state boards as follows: Devising a comprehensive programme for prevention, control and abatement of water pollution in respective states Encouraging, conducting, and participating in investigations and research of water pollution problems Inspecting facilities for sewage and developing economical and reliable methods of its treatment State board in its capacity may take emergency measures if it foresees accidents or events that might pollute the water bodies. These measures include activities like removing the pollutants, alleviating the damage and issuing orders to the polluter prohibiting effluent discharges. Under section 33A state boards can issue directions to any person, office or authority, including orders to close, prohibit or regulate any industry, operation or process and to stop or regulate the supply of water, electricity or any other service. Not complying with a court order under section 33 or a direction from the board under section 33A is punishable by fines and imprisonment as per section 41. In order to assist the Water Act, the Water Pollution Board constituted under the Pollution Act, has been empowered under the Cess Act to levy a cess/tax for meeting the financial requirements for its working. This cess is for the purposes and utilization under the Water Act. The Cess Act grants a rebate in the cess payable to those who install a plant for the treatment of sewage or effluents. This is one of the steps to encourage establishments to set up effluent treatment plants and process the effluents before releasing them. However it is to be noted that Cess Act cannot be deciphered individually and should be taken into consideration only in relation with the Water Act. While it is quite evident that water laws are the need of the hour but these water law reforms can only contribute to solving water management issues but fail to solve issues related to human rights, social, environmental and health aspects of water. Textile industry The textile industry in India mainly depends upon exports and manufacturing. Export income from textiles account for around 30% of Indias export revenues and 3% of Indias Gross domestic product. This industry has grown a lot over the past few years especially after the economic liberalization in 1991 where the country was opened to free trade under the auspices of Dr Manmohan Singh. The table below gives the major strength and weaknesses of the textile industry in the country Strengths Weaknesses Production Capacity Increased global competition Cheap Labor Dumping Efficient production facilities Huge Decentralized sector Large domestic markets High production costs Large Export Potential Poor Supply chain management Flexible manufacturing Systems Outdated technologies To grow at a rate of around 15% in the coming years the sector needs to keep in mind the following points which shall go a long way in ensuring that growth is maintained at healthy rate and is also sustainable. Threat of competition in Domestic Market Ecological and Social Awareness Ecological and social awareness are going to play a huge role in determining who is going to reap profits in a sustainable manner keeping in view the sensitivity of the stakeholders who are most of the times the losers when large scale development takes place. The industry is likely to face pressure from the media, the Government and the common people to follow international norms and regulations which shall prohibit it from using natural resources like Water which is a key ingredient in producing textiles. The way this industry uses water and how much it pollutes the various sources shall be determined by external factors. Developed markets have extremely high standards of consumer consciousness on issues such as polluting Dyes, Usage of Child Labor, Unhealthy working conditions of the mill workers etc. Standards like SA 8000 have now been started to get implemented in the industry at a large scale. This has also led to pressure on companies to limit sourcing from countries which violate the practices mandated under the norms of SA 8000. The Indian industry needs to improve its working practices and the fallout of the new international developments in this particular area. In such a scenario large players can take advantage of this and indulge in practices which promote sustainability. Proper water Use by textile mills and recycling and purifying water and then reusing it for industrial purposes can also serve the purpose in the long run. Textile Industry and water Pollution Textile Industry is one of the most polluting industries in the country and in terms of consumption of water it constitutes around 3.2% of total consumption of water for various processes like scouring, sizing, and bleaching, dying and other associated processes. It is one of the most growing sectors in the Indian economy in terms of its contribution to the total GDP of the country. Water pollution is done by each and every process in the whole manufacturing of textiles, The table below gives an exhaustive list of the various processes and the nature of effluents and pollutants which are released as a result of the above. Process Pollutants Nature of Effluents Desizing Starch, Glucose, Resins, Fats and Waxes High Biochemical oxygen demand Kiering Caustic Soda, Wax, Grease, Soda Ash, Sodium Sillicate Strongly Alkaline, High Biochemical oxygen Demand Bleaching Hypochlorite, Caustic soda, Hydrogen peroxide and acids Low biochemical oxygen demand and strongly alkaline Mercerization Caustic Soda Strongly alkaline, low biochemical oxygen demand Dyeing Reducing agents like sulphides, acetic acids and soaps Fairly high biochemical oxygen demand ,strongly colored Printing Dyes, starch, gums oil, china clay, mordants, acids and salts Faily high biochemical oxygen demand, Oily appearance Finishing Special finishes, starch, salts, tallow Low Biochemical oxygen demand, less alkaline The polluted water is very harmful for human beings living in and around the area where the pollution takes place as the turbidity of the water is very high and toxic elements present in the water which have a detrimental effect on humans and animals make such water unfit for consumption. The stakeholders which reside alongside areas which are affected by this menace face severe health hazards and face decrease and productivity and life span as a result of the above. Effects on Aquatic Life and Other living creatures High PH levels in water makes it alkaline, alkaline water is not fit for aquatic creatures like fishes and it also causes incrustation in sewers and may also damage crops by hampering their natural growth rate. Spoiling the natural color of water hampers the passage of sunlight and thus prevents photosynthesis in the aquatic plants and other marine life existing inside water. The effluents and oils present in the pollutants which are passed into water increase the turbidity of water and gives it a bad appearance and foul smell. Oily scum interferes with the oxygen transfer and colloidal matter clog the pores of soil. High levels of dissolved solids are detrimental to sewers as it causes incrustation in sewers. High level of sodium is also harmful to crops. Dissolved oxygen in water is an essential element in marine life and therefore the amount of oxygen required to correct the effluent is expressed in the form of biochemical oxygen demand or BOD. Steps to curb Water Pollution To curb pollution due to these textile mills in the areas around them the following measures can be taken in order to increase measures leading to long term sustainability as a corporate strategy which is wholly aligned to the business goals of being profitable in the long run and acquire market share in the future. Reduction in waste water volume: The water used in processing of textiles is reduced to a considerable extent such that the effluent concentration is limited to a specified small volume of water and it does not start impacting larger volume of water. Counter flow processing Water re-use technique which uses the same water before discharging it into the water body so that effluent concentration is limited to a small volume and more water is saved in the process. Reduction of process chemicals: The process chemicals create more than 90% of the pollution in textile industries. This also brings down the production cost in terms of the chemicals used. It can be achieved through reusing various chemicals when processes are completed. For Example: Caustic soda is recovered from the mercerizing and sourcing and is consequently filtered and dialyzed so that it can be reused. Process modification would involve slight modifications in the various processes used during manufacturing in order to create lesser pollution and reduces unnecessary wastage of water. Certain alternate chemicals can also be used during manufacturing so that recovering those chemicals become easy and it thus can be used in further manufacturing processes. Pre-Release Stage Water Treatment Before water is released into the nearest water body it is essential that it is treated properly in order to ensure that there is significant reduction in the level of pollutants in water before it gets released into the water body. The following steps are necessary in order to ensure proper water condition before release into the nearest river or stream or lake. Primary Treatment: It involves concepts of removal of suspended solids by sedimentation, floatation or coagulation techniques using alum and electrolyte. Secondary Treatment: This involves oxidation of organic matter by aeration either by chemical of biological methods or by both. This is done in presence of micro organisms in presence of chemicals such as Urea. Pollutants resistant to biodegradation such as detergents and petrochemicals are removed by non biological means and are again treated with bleaching powder before releasing them into the water body. Tertiary Treatments: Tertiary treatment contains of three main methods like Chemical Coagulation which involves a mixing tank with the effluent and the coagulant mixed and its PH adjusted to an optimum level. The resultant coagulated material is separated by sedimentation or flocculation. Carbon absorption Technique which is effective in removing pigments and dyes using carbon which is activated and has large surface area. Reverse osmosis where cellulose acetate is used to create a semi permeable membrane and subjected to pressure which is usually greater than the osmotic pressure of the effluent. This process can remove 95% of the dissolved solid content as the solution passes from area of higher concentration to lower concentration. Now to discuss the applicability of these methods to curb water pollution in Textile industry and also to do the cost benefit analysis of the same we shall discuss a relevant case of Tiruppur Textile Industry. Case discussion: Tiruppur Textile Industry Background South Asia lately has become the hub of Industrialisation and the unchecked growth is leading to severe environmental problems. Industries have sprung up as clusters which is why the issue of environmental pollution becomes even more relevant in highly water polluting industries like textile dyeing, leather tanning, paper and pulp processing, sugar manufacturing, etc. The runoff released by these industries leads to contamination of surface and ground water sources and eventually impacts the livelihood of the poor. In a usual scenario, the above mentioned industrial units function at a small or medium scale, are a huge employment opportunity for the locals and have the potential to generate foreign exchange because all these industries are export oriented and more than half of their produce is shipped abroad. Given the vast coverage of these industries, the pollution control mechanisms have been awfully weak in these units. The pollution control authorities have been lenient in imple menting the law and ensuring prevention of water pollution caused due to these industries mainly considering the socio economic benefits that they provide and also the low financial capacity of the small scale units. It is a huge capital investment for the relatively smaller industrial units to set up effluent treatment plants and the return on investment is very low. Since they provide employment, therefore these agencies have not tightened the noose on them. This stance of the Pollution Control Boards further discouraged the polluting industries to formulate and implement pollution management and reduction strategies either by efficient effluent treatment or process changes by adopting newer and cleaner technologies. In this report we have attempted to analyse the environmental impact of the production process followed in a textile unit with reference to Tiruppur, a major textile cluster in South India. A cost benefit analysis of the implementation of cleaner production processes and setting up of treatment plants has also been done to depict the return on investment for these textile units. Textile Industry And Its Benefits Tiruppur, located in Tamil Nadu, is a leading cotton knitwear industrial hub in South India. The industrial activities have experienced a rapid growth during the last two decades due to decentralization and flexibility. At this point of time more than 9000 small-scale textile related units are operating with a volume of investment more than US $ 200 million. The city of Tiruppur contributes 56% of the total cotton knitwear exports from India. The industry provides socio-economic benefits to the local community and to the nation in the form of employment, income, and foreign exchange. More than 2 lakh people are directly employed by this industry. The export value from Tiruppur during the year 2002 was about US $ 957.5 million. An equal amount is sold in the domestic market. The economic opulence of Tiruppur on this industry and the local community is employed either directly or indirectly in this industry in one way or the other. Textile Process And Pollution The textile manufacturing process on the whole is a polluting activity with the major contributors being the bleaching and dyeing (textile processing).During 1981, in Tiruppur , only around 70 textile units were operating. This number drastically rose to 450 ten years later and further to 866 in 1997. With due credit to efforts of the Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board (TNPCB) against the release of untreated effluents some units had to be shut down because of non-conformity to the pollution prevention standards in the state. In 2004 there were a total of 702 textile processing units functioning in Tiruppur. These units together used around 85 million litres per day (mld) of water and discharged a similar quantity (83 mld) as effluents, which are laced with a significant volume of chemicals used at the wet processing stage. The point worth noting here is that the amount of water used as input is almost same as the amount of water that is released in the water bodies which actually me ans that if there is a possibility to treat the effluents, the resultant residual water can be used as a recycled input and thus costs can be decreased. These units collectively produced a quantity of 15,000 tonnes of cloth per month. The incessant release of untreated effluents for more than 10 years has resulted in accumulation of harmful suspended and dissolved solids in the soil, ground water, etc. at Tiruppur and surroundings. During 1980 to 2000, the cumulative pollution load discharged by the Tiruppur units is as follows: Total Dissolved Solids(TDS) : 2.35 million tonnes Chloride: 1.31mt Sulphate: 0.13 mt Total Suspended Solids: 0.098 mt Chemical Oxygen Demand: 0.09mt Biological Oxygen Demand: 0.03 mt Oil and Grease: 0.001mt Impact of Textile Effluents On The Environment From the research conducted on water pollution in Tiruppur area, it is clearly evident that the accumulation of chemicals had added to the woes. All ground water studies showed that open wells and bore wells in and around Tiruppur exhibited high levels of TDS (ranging from 3000mg/l to 11,000 mg/l) and Chloride (ranging from 2000 mg/l to 5000 mg/l) due to industrial pollution and these values were much higher than the background level for this region. The available groundwater in this region was rendered unsuitable for domestic, industrial or irrigation consumption. The surface water studies indicated that the Noyyal river (the river passes through Tiruppur and receives the major share of untreated effluents), reservoir, downstream of Noyyam, (Orthapalayam) and irrigation tanks have been adversely affected by industrial pollution and the surface water is unfit for consumption purposes. A study to measure the quality of soil also indicated the pollution concentration and most of the ar ea the soil is alkaline (pH >8.5) or tending to alkalinity (pH 8-8.5). The Damage Cost Imposed By Pollution Due to high water pollution many adverse effects in the ecology of the Tiruppur area are observed. Agricultural water, drinking water and various fisheries in Tiruppur area and downstream villages have been affected. The water which has been polluted by the textile industry is injurious (EC>3mmhos/cm) to agriculture in an area of 146.3 square km and critical (EC 1.1 to 3 mmhos/cm) in 218.3 square km. Because of this, crop productivity in these villages has declined substantially which has affected the welfare of farmers. Recently farmers took action and filed a case against the industry. The total cost to agriculture was estimated at US $50 million. Drinking water in these villages has also been affected and the municipality has to bring additional water from neighboring villages. In affected villages, special water supply schemes have been issued by the Water Board. Also, a lot of the short fall is being met by bringing water from distant sources of water which leads to the wastage of a lot of time and effort. Considerin all of this, the total damage cost due to pollution of drinking water comes down to US$23.8 million. The fisheries activities in various downstream regions like the Noyyalriver, tanks and reservoirs have been affected as well. Fish mortality rate has increased which has led to a stoppage of fish culture. US $.15 miilion comes out to be the loss in value of fish and besides that, the possibility of the toxicity of existing fish is also high, consumption of which can lead to serious health problems. This high level of pollution has had an adverse effect on the operations of the industry itself. Since most of the industrial wells in this area have only coloured, or very highly polluted water, major water supply is brought in through tankers from peripheral areas. The cost incurred by the industry to maintain this additional source of water supply is US $165 million. Besdies this, the continued buying of water leads to the development of a water market, which causes the water levels in the peripheral villages to go down, affecting the livelihood of villagers. On many occasions, protests have been done by villagers against the water transfer. A mega water supply project is being undertaken by the Tiruppur Area Development Corporation. The total cost of this project is estimated to be US $269 millions and will have to be financed by government agencies and the consortium. Under this scheme, it has been planned that 185 mld of water, which would be both industrial and domestic, would be transferred to Tiruppur from River Cauvery, which is an interstate and a very controversial river in India. If this project would succeed, the industry will need to pay more than what they are currently paying for water, which could result in a huge cost increase for textile processing. Besides these quantifiable terms, human health and aquatic eco-system of river, tanks and reservoir, livestock etc. also get affected by water pollution, but their cost has not been taken into account as it is not easy to express in monetary terms. Status of Effluent Treatment On seeing various adverse effects and hence assessing the seriousness of pollution from textile affluents, the Courts finally gave an order against the continued functioning of various polluting units without being accompanied by effluent treatment plants in 1997. After this order, the state pollution control agency has increased the amount of pressure on all the textile manufacturing units towards effluent treatment. The units which were too small to comply with these regulations and survive were closed. Presently out of the existing 702 units, 278 units are treating upto 38 mld of water effluents through Common Effluent Treatment Plants (CEPTs) which are 8 in number and 424 units are treating upto 45 mldof chemical effluents using Individual Effluent Treatment Plants (IETPs). For effective effluent treatment, US $ 10 million has been spent for various fixed costs, which the Government subsidizes heavily. Besides these, an additional US $ 6.7 million has already been incurred as ann ual running costs. The cost analysis has shown that the variable cost per unit of effluent treatment is much higher than the capital cost both in the IETPs (which is 86% of total cost) and CETPs (which is 73%). Unfortunately the current treatment system is not sufficient for reducing the large amounts of TDS, particularly the acids like Chloride and Sulphates. The average concentration of TDS in the treated effluents is 300 of the TNPCB standard of 2100 mg/l. The same is true of Chloride, which averages more than 300% of the CETP existent standard. Learnings from the case Thus we can see that the management of environment at the Tiruppur textile industry has been difficult and the various difficulties faced by the various actors (State Pollution Control Board, Water Resources Organisations, Local Government , Industrial Organisations, NGOs etc.) or interested parties in this regard or in finding a solution for this problem. If these difficulties had been effectively dealt with, the environmental impacts could not have continued at this level. The above analysis on various RO plants and CPT for the textile units has clearly shown the long run advantage to the industries apart from reducing the various social costs. These technologies can be implemented by all large-scale units who possess the capacity for investment and have long-term vision about the business. But the affordability of affluent treatments among existing large number of small and medium units remains a big challenge. The textile manufacturing industry is predominantly an export oriented business which faces high competition. So any investment done on RO or CPT here impacts the cost of production by increasing it in the short run which is especially true for the smaller units. Also being able to find such big investment, which is approximately more than 10-20 times the overall capital investment, is almost impossible. But the introduction of a much cleaner production for textiles and the availability of advanced treatment technology is the viable long term solution towards further improvement of environmental standards. Realizing the same facts, (i.e. the existing economic benefits of the Tiruppur industry, social costs of pollution, various constraints in effective management of pollution among small scale units, and the need for a having a critical solution for the pollution problem), an integrated process of pollution management can be attempted at by different actors who are related to Tiruppur textile business. In such circumstances the role of various foreign buyers and the consumers of Tiruppur garments are greatly significant. If a very strong demand for garments which are pollution free or come with a green label is observed from them along with a willingness to pay more, definitely it would provide pressure to introduce cleaner technology by the various industries operating in this domain. A few very small units will have no other option but to close down, since making such an investment may not be viable for them. Other units however can think of various steps like unit modification individually or even have joint units. Most critical are proper technical guidelines for these units and financial support is needed for the units from various domestic and foreign research institutions and other donor agencies. In parallel, sincere collaborative efforts from joint industrial associations, pollution law enforcement agencies, industrial consultants and experts, etc. are also required. Only than the textile industry in Tiruppur would be a ble to achieve the ideal objective of sustainable development. Recommended Strategy for companies in textile industry The companies in Textile industries can be divided into two: Major players with financial strength to invest in greener technologies and small player which need assistance even to maintain regulatory standards. Hence the strategy will also differ based on the type of company. Strategy for small players A broad categorization has been done based on the revenue. Below Rs. 10 million the company can be said a small company. It is imperative for a small company to follow regulatory standards at least. While government is finding difficult to close all such factory due to labor intensive nature of such industry it is always a long term risk hence the standards should always be maintained. Hence their strategy is to achieve the minimum standards by increasing the cost as less as possible. The immediate high investment in green technology may throw them out of market. Following strategy must be followed by the company. To have least impact on increment in costs the company might seek financial assistance from government subsidy or jointly making investments. To get knowledge assistance it could collaborate with various stakeholders. Strategy for big players: A major player could afford a significant investment for the long term overall benefit. The strategy should be to gain competitive advantage by achieving Cleaner process technology and establishing efficient effluent treatment plants. These will have high investments in short term but will give major cost advantage and high value of intangibles, other important aspect is to have a differentiation based on greener features. This way a high premium could be charged against the product and much higher overall profitability could be achieved.

Challenges to Sri Lankas Economic Growth

Challenges to Sri Lankas Economic Growth SRI LANKA’S MAIN CONSTRAINTS TO BE AN â€Å"ECONOMIC MIRACLE OF ASIA† WITHIN NEXT FEW YEARS Normally economic growth of a country is measured by Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in one year. GDP is the total amount of final goods and services produced in one year within the country. When we consider Sri Lanka GDP, it is as follows. The largest contribution to this GDP is from the service sector. In 2013, it contributed by 58% for total GDP. In this service sector wholesale and retail trade, transport, communication, banking, insurance and real state are the segments of this service sector. The next sector is industry. It contributed by 30% of total GDP with manufacturing, mining and construction. Agriculture, livestock, forestry and fishing contributed by the remaining 12%. When we comparing these values with the previous year(2012) values, there is no a big difference between them. After the end of three decades of civil conflict, Sri Lanka is trying to main aim of this be the â€Å"Economic Miracle of Asia†. A main aim of this target is, reaching per capita income around US $ 4000 and achieving US $ 18 billion exports by 2016. To achieve such an income, the GDP per capita should be double as the current value. For that the growth rate of GDP should be double. But when we consider the growth rate of GDP of Sri Lanka it seems the growth rate is nothing of the sort of doubling by 2016. In 2012 DGP growth rate was 6.35%. In 2013 it showed a 7.2 % GDP growth. In the first quarter of 2014 there was a 7.6% of growth rate according to the Department of Census and Statistics. By these values we can see there is increment of growth rate by one digit when it comes to 2013 from 2012. But this increment is no sufficient to get the required income level. As well as it seems, that Sri Lanka is not going to achieve her target of being the â€Å"Economic Miracle of Asia† within next few years. A main reason of this failure is lack of technology. Sri Lanka has to invest on technological inventions and productions much more than now. Sri Lanka has more natural resources as well as human capital to gain such a high technology. Currently what happens, most of natural resources are exported and import the finished goods made using that resources. And since there are no suitable occupations for the skilled, mindful people they try to go for foreign jobs or satisfy with a low quality job. Since of this brain drain, Sri Lanka falls more down. By exporting natural goods such as graphite, ore iron and importing finished goods of them make a huge loss to the country. We find foreign exchange by exporting them, but we need more than that income to import the finished goods of them. If we can invest money for new technologies and production ways we can save that money within our country and get a good income by exporting the finished goods. We know the developed countries such as USA, UK even Japan has no much of natural resources. They import those resources and using their technologies manufacture products with high qualities and export them for high values. This is the time for Sri Lanka to increase the power of technology to become the â€Å"Economic Miracle of Asia†. Another important factor is most of people tend to get imported goods because they are low price than the locals. By this tendency our money easily goes to other countries. In the past Sri Lanka was self-sufficient with foods since the high agriculture. But now most of foods items such as onion, dhal, sugar even sometimes rice are imported instead of planting them. Because of these reasons we loss lot of our money. We can see some huge manufacturing plants in Sri Lanka. But we should be careful to check whether they actually give a high profit to us, because they may be only established on our land and may give the profit to another country. As an example there was a glass company owned to Sri Lanka, Ceylon Glass Company and now it is converted to Piramal Glass owned by an Indian company. So a high portion of profit goes to that company. If it is owned by Sri Lanka it will give the full profit us. Currently Sri Lankan main exporting income is produced by migrant workers. Over 250 000 migrant workers have been employed overseas, most of them are housemaids. They supported to GDP in 2012 by 10%. In US dollars it is 6.1 billion. Apart from that now the only product which Sri Lanka is famous for, is cinnamon. But from exporting cinnamon it can achieve only an annual income around 100 million of US dollars. Then it comes to apparel, tea, diamonds, gem and jewelries. But these are not sufficient to achieve the aim of US dollars 18 billion exports by 2016. So to be the â€Å"Economic Miracle of Asia†, Sri Lanka has to differentiate its exporting items using new technologies as mentioned above. Lack of entrepreneurs is another constraint of being the â€Å"Economic Miracle of Asia†. Entrepreneurs should have the ability to take a risk of their own money and time to start and operate a business with the belief of that their business idea will make a profit. For that they should have a basic idea about the real economic level of country and the real direction country going on. Without knowing that, people cannot help for the country with their best. Currently we can see many politicians try to protect their power and do not recover the truth of the economy of the country and do not say the real duty of people have to do on behalf of our country. So without a better guidance people don’t like to become entrepreneurs and as well as they do not compel to contribute their maximum for the betterment of the country. As an example we all know in the government sector most of people do their works in a lazy manner. In the final hour of the working time they do almost no thing profitable. Till stopping this time wasting and giving a true feeling about the country to the hearts of its people we cannot make this country as the â€Å"Economic Miracle of Asia†. In Singapore even a taxi driver knows the current direction of their country going on and their targets. So they contribute hardly to the development of their country. In Sri Lanka we can’t see such situation. So lack of the feelings and lack of awareness of the direction of the country going on is a major constraint to Sri Lanka of being the â€Å"Economic Miracle of Asia† within next few years. Tourism is another source of income in Sri Lanka. The government is more targeting on this side and getting profits. But some people bother the tourists and try to earn some money from them. So the prestige of our country faces a problem. It can lead for the reduction of income due to tourism. Then it will cause to the reduction of economic of the country. The population of a country can cause its economic level. When considering Sri Lankan population we can see a gradual growth up to January 2012 and suddenly it is decreased when it comes to January 2013. We cannot say a high population gives more income to the country; it depends on the GDP level. But on the other hand low population gives a low contribution to the labour force of the country. As well as current young generation tends work in an air conditioned area. They will work in a shop even for a lower payment. They do not like to work hard. This is a bad situation for the industries which have a good willing to contribute to the development of the country. A main reason for that is, most of them are suffering from lack of technological education. So the government has a responsibility to upgrade skills of the work force, by that building a productive and competitive work force, capable of working with the changing dynamics of the world economy. Then they can really work for the country with their maximum. Those are the Sri Lanka’s main constraints to be an â€Å"Economic Miracle of Asia† within next few years: http://www.tradingeconomics.com/sri-lanka/gdp-growth-annual http://investineast.lk/sri-lankan-economy/# http://www.ips.lk/talkingeconomics/2011/06/16/accelerating-economic-growth-in-sri-lanka/ http://www.therepublicsquare.com/business/2013/11/25/sri-lanka-expects-over-7-bn-income-from-migrant-workers-for-2013/ http://www.ft.lk/2013/07/10/govt-says-new-standards-for-ceylon-cinnamon-to-boost-sri-lankas-exports/ http://www.slideshare.net/HeatherP/four-factors-of-economic-growth-10375773 http://island.lk/index.php?page_cat=article-detailspage=article-detailscode_title=37059 http://www.ceylontoday.lk/22-23116-news-detail-sri-lankas-momento-magico.html Clues for conclusions Sri Lanka cannot achieve its target of being the economic miracle of asia within the next few years. Lack of usnig technology, people’s low attitude about the country and lack of their awareness bout the real economic situation of the country, less entrepreneurships, less no of exporting items, importing most of goods, less nvesting on the industrial productions are the main constraints.

Comparative: Equality 7-2521 versus Z :: essays research papers

Ego, a common word used in most people?s lives, unfortunately its not as common or even nonexistent in the lives of Equality 7-2521 and Z. They live their lives a bit different than most people. They live as a collective. Yes, a collective, they live in societies that don?t believe in individualism. Without individualism there are no ideas or opinions and without them its very hard for a society to function. Z , an ant who lives to help his colony, risked his life for the women he loved. Equality 7-2521, a determined man who broke countless laws to save the pride of his life, his light. Although Equality 7-2521 and Z have many similarities they have very different lives. Individualism, which is a big difference between Z and equality 7-2521. Z has a name that can distinguish him from other people. Were as Equality 7-2521 does have a very descriptive name. Another difference is Z is aloud to have opinions on issues. Conversely Equality 7-2521 has no opinions he is not even aloud to have them. Even though Equality 7-2521 and Z are different, in many ways they have very similar characteristics such as: the desire to be different without being an outcast because they are smarter or stronger. No matter how hard Equality 7-2521 and Z tried they always managed to

Substance Abuse :: Drug Addiction Essays

substance Abuse Substance abuse is just one of the problems facing the United States today. Even though it seems like a big problem, it actually first started in the 1800’s when the first drugs were smuggled. This only began the never ending path of illegal drugs flowing through the U.S. In the 1950’s, a therapeutic drug was introduced called Phencyclidine (PCP), later nicknamed angle dust. Doctors soon found that the drug caused hallucinogenic side effects. It was then pulled. The drug soon reappeared in the sixties and seventies. They were made by amateur chemists for an illegal drug trade. People began to smoke, inhale it, or inject it. Effects included confusion, lack of coordination, slurred speech, and blurred vision. Physical effects include: increased heart rate and blood pressure, sweating, drooling, fever, and muscle rigidity. An overdose can result in a coma, brain hemorrhage, and heart failure. It has been steadily declining in the U.S. Another type of drug is crack, which is a form of smokeable cocaine. This has become a serious health problem. The problem is that it’s low cost makes it more accessible to people. I is also more damaging both physically and psychologically than cocaine.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  As the result, people were trying to get as many drugs as they could. Many soon progressed to smuggling the drugs in. The number of drugs to be smuggled into the U.S has been increasing. The first known drug smugglers were the Chinese in 1870. They began smuggling opium in merchant ship cargo and baggage. By the 1970’s drug smuggling became more of a problem for the coast guards and seizures were made while engaged in other operations. The coast guards, between 1997 to the present, had seized 540,476 pounds of cocaine, 270,060 pound of marijuana. The major high intensity drug trafficking areas are Los Angeles, Houston, Miami, New York City, and the US/Mexico border. Not only did people smuggle drugs over sea, but they would smuggle it over borders. Many thought of outrageous ways to hide the drugs. Women would sew them in their bras; drugs would be stashed under hats, in shoes, in socks, etc. Anywhere you could possibly think, people thought of it. They wer e addicted.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Cocaine, Heroin, Methamphetamine, and marijuana all cross into the U.C hidden among eighty-four million cars, two hundred and thirty two million people, and 2.8 million trucks estimated cross the 38 ports of entry spanning 200 miles.

Last Solution for Outbreak of Gangs? :: essays research papers

Last Solution For Outbreak of Gangs?   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚     Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Currently being discussed in Congress is the Anti-gang Bill, also known as the â€Å"Gangbusters Bill†. This bill would turn gang-related violent offenses into federal crimes punishable by mandatory sentences of at least ten years, expand the range of crimes punishable by death, and allow U.S. prosecutors to try 16 and 17 year old gang members as adults in federal courts.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  One unfortunate effect of this new bill will be the progressing overcrowding of federal prisons. On June 30, 2004, a study was taken of the United States Federal Prisons and 2,131,180 prisoners were detained in federal or state prisons or local jails, an increase of 2.3% from midyear 2003 statistics, and an estimated 486 prison inmates per 100,000 U.S. residents went up from the previous 411 at the end of 1995. Between 1995 and 2001 alone, violent offenders accounted for 63% while drug offenders contributed 15% of the total growth of the state prison population. Even with population disputes aside, this political decision will only further persuade our more enlightened citizens of our government officials’ gullibility, to truly believe cement walls and bars will stop gangs and gang-related violence. All this â€Å"Gangbusters Bill† will do is round them up possibly making it easier for them, given the then closer proximity.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Another topic giving reason to throw up red flags on this government issue is the fact that the bill will help bring the United States further indebt. In 1992, Federal and State prisons reached a record high of 883,593 prisoners and it was estimated that approximately 1,143 prison bed spaces were needed per week due to overcrowding. On an economic prospect, on average each prisoner costs $22,000 per year and the 883,593 prisoners were costing American taxpayers approximately $19.4 billion, not to mention another $61.7 million for the construction of the 1,143 spaces needed. Do these numbers throw your mind for a loop?

Karl Marx and Weber

Choi, Sang Hyun History of Sociology Professor Denis Kim November 1, 2012 Karl Marx and Max Weber on Religion: Which one came first, the Chicken or the Egg? A strong discrepancy in interpretation of religions exists between the two great thinkers, Marx and Weber, in that Marx saw religions as â€Å"the opiate of the masses† (Marx, 1843:42) meaning that religions justify believers’ bitter lives and make them passive whereas Weber saw religions as having power to bring about not just social but economic changes (Jong Seo, 2005:231).On top of that, Marx believed that the religion is a dependent variable determined by the substructure- materialistic and economic conditions. Weber, in contrast, assumed that the religion played a role in enlightening or changing people’s thoughts and behaviors unconsciously, causing them to embrace a new way of living such as capitalism. These contrasts derive from the fact that these two intellectuals approached the religions from dif ferent perspectives.Most of Marx’s reasoning reveals the characteristics of methodological holism while Weber focused more on individuals and held on to the idea that individuals’ motives and philosophy are the source of changes and revolutions- methodological individualism. To begin with, it is critical to understand Marx and Weber’s sociological perspectives beforehand in order to grasp a comprehensive understanding with regard to the two thinkers’ ideas on religion. I believe that Marx revealed methodological holistic characteristics more from his study rather than methodological individualism. The opposite goes with the Weber’s perspective toward society.Marx’s approach tries to accept that fact that there are unseen things that are present such as relationships between individuals. The thing is that society enables itself to have control over individuals and tries to govern them with the unseen things. It is clear how Marx was on the me thodological holistic stance in terms of his emphasis on economic determinism. Marx believed that society is composed of two dominant structures-sub and super. He explained that the upper-super structure such as religions is determined by the substructure which is mainly about economic elements such as relation of production and force of production.Mark concluded that materials are the ones that bring about social changes (Turner, 2005:17). We can argue that his ideas were mainly centered on methodological holism because he put more emphasis on the role (power) of economy and substructure than individuals and superstructure. Under the given interpretation, religion has almost nothing to do with social or economic changes because it belongs to the super structure. Religion seems to be reduced to a mere dependent variable or by-product caused by the substructure in accordance with Marx (M. Argyle & B. Beit-Hallahmi, 1975:174-177).In contrast, methodological individualism was introduce d as a methodological precept for the social sciences by Max Weber, most importantly in the first chapter of â€Å"Economy and Society† (Weber, 1968 [1922]). It amounts to the claim that social phenomena must be explained by showing how they result from individual actions, which in turn must be explained through reference to the intentional states that motivate the individual actors. In other words, it can be described as the claim that explanations of â€Å"macro† social phenomena must be supplied with â€Å"micro† foundations, ones that specify an action-theoretic mechanism (Alexander, 1987).With this approach, Weber was able to value individuals as their own and tried to decipher what constituted people in terms of intangible elements such as ideas, motives, values, and beliefs. What strikes is that he had a great opportunity to go through the process of development of capitalism with the help of this approach. His most well-known and intuitive book, The Prot estant Ethic and the Spirit Capitalism, is a great culmination of his approach and shedded new light on the importance of spiritual and moral values, with providing remarkable insights on how humans’ abstract ideas and values can affect the society in a massive way.These two different ways of ‘making sense of society’ led them to conclude what religions could do in their contemporary societies. As stated above, Marx perceived economic factors or issues to be central and primary rather than marginal. It was inevitable that he saw religions as being marginal and of lesser importance. In his contemporary society, workers-proletariats were treated less than as they were supposed to be and exploited enormously. The workers had no choice but to succumb to the haves’-bourgeoisies- order or demands with the floods of workers when there were a few jobs available for them.They were, as Marx reasoned, about to take action to take over the capitalism in which they wer e subordinated. He asserted and hoped that communism would take over the capitalism’s place and people would live in a society where alienation and private ownership are nowhere to be seen. It was only possible with the combined power of proletariat. However, religion played a role in soothing the wrath of the exploited class and made it almost impossible to accumulate certain level of collective behavior. Religion acted as a refuge from a suffering life for the proletariat.There comes Marx’ view on religion that the religion was a refuge from a suffering life. It is famously quoted that â€Å"Religion is the opiate of the masses† (Marx, 1843:42). In other words, religion teaches people to give up materialistic conditions and procrastinate worldly happiness and rewards to spiritual world (Giddens, 2011:580). Even though it is tough to live in the society, one is encouraged that the post-life would be much promising according to Marx’s view. People have an imaginary refugee to which they would escape from their harsh real life.They are more likely to succumb to the social pressures or injustice because it will be okay in the spiritual world. They would endure socially and morally wrong actions and stick with their life no matter how hard it is. As these people take part in religious activities or listen to the preaching, they are unconsciously justified that their bitter lives might be what they were supposed to be, which led to class-in-itself being unable to reach the next step-class-for-itself with class consciousness. As stated above, no-communist revolution would be accomplished in terms of religions’ impacts on the exploited.According to Marx, this process must be changed or stopped since it has a negative influence on people’s awakening or realizing their real situation in which they are exploited (Swatos, 1998:499). Weber, on the other hand, pursued answers of how the pivotal spirit ‘ethos’ in the c ontemporary western societies emerged and where the western the societies were heading in terms of religion. His initial interest was sparked by the fact that most of the highly achieved and skilled superior workers are from protestant background (Weber, 2006:233). Weber considered that there was an apparent relationship etween certain religious affiliations (particularly Protestantism) and business success, and suggests that this association might indicate an elective affinity between the two. In his book, The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit Capitalism, he asserted that there are two determining factors that contributed to the development of capitalism in western societies. First, Calvin’s doctrine of predestination played a significant role in upbringing people’s ascetic attitude or way of life. According to Calvin’s doctrine, one’s possibility (destination) of salvation is beyond the reach of humans’ knowing.Not only the ordinary, but also the p riests are excluded in the ‘knowing’ process. Furthermore, humans are not able to change their pre-destined salvation acceptance or rejection. No one but God knows who will be redeemed. Humans are powerless before God and expect or hope to be chosen as one of the ‘lucky’ ones. It is possible that we can conclude humans in that era were too hopeless and powerless to advance their lives with enthusiasm. But it isn’t. The thing was that humans were not aware of their pre-destined salvation but can be aware of signs of salvation in the pursuit of worldly success only with frugal and ascetic attitude.That is to say that they are justifying their material success and imposing responsibility at the same time (Jong Seo, 2005). Under the given circumstance, people are always in the pursuit of ‘working hard’, ‘not wasting money’, and ‘accumulation of wealth’ in order to know if they are to be redeemed or not. Even with ex cessive amount of money, they would not stop themselves from working hard and ascetic life because that’s what they were striving for: proof of salvation. Second, Calvin’s religious calling played an important role in making people set the attitude stated above.Every vocation is valued and by all means worthy of God’s calling. The thing is that not only sacred priests but other menial workers are also valued and sacred under the Calvin’s religious calling. It encourages people to accept the idea that â€Å"no matter what you do, you should make an effort in your job because it’s valuable, divine, and godly†. Also, as people were more aware of the notion or values, they were more likely to be committed to their jobs and lives (Weber, 2006:120). These two characteristics of protestant ethics led to more accumulation of ealth and rational management and work ethics (Weber, 2006). This is noteworthy that even with the enormous capital, one is no t tempted to taste his or her rewards which is highly unimaginable in modern societies. This goes further that these protestants participated in their daily and worldly activities with ascetic attitude which in turn boosted capitalism in western societies. In other words, protestants’ ethics, Weber argued, have a positive influence on building the spirit of capitalism.Although society has improved and developed the way never witnessed before with firm establishment of capitalism, it is unlikely to find this kind of protestant ethics sustaining in the modern society because a row of inherited property without the essence of spirits and ethics gifted the sons and daughters of the protestants with no responsibility, making them ‘fat pigs’ rather than ‘dissatisfied Socrates’, figuratively speaking. John Wesley, the founder of Methodist church, was also concerned with the likeliness of ‘earning more money with less religious spirit’ (Weber, 2 006:189).From my point of view, I personally believe that Weber’s idea on religion is more suitable compared to that of Marx in explaining the modern society. First, I agree with Weber’s main argument on religion that religious (Protestant) ethics are one of core factors bringing out changes in our lives. This is because Protestant ethics such as ‘diligent, hard-working, and ascetic’ are related to the idea of merit system which is, in our modern lives, believed to be ‘the way’ for equality and fairness. We live in a society where unfairness flourishes and hope to diminish whatever exists between the reality and the ideal world.The reason why this unfair world is justified is that we believe that the world values and approves those who try really hard in their field with diligence (Sang Jin, 2011:3). The protestant ethics, I believe, played a role in leading the meritocratic ideas to our lives. Those protestants proved the fact that people wit h hard-work and abstinence were surely able to achieve ‘success’ in lives, and looked up to as ‘worthy of praise’. It’s likely that people have gradually believed that the society where these protestant people are successful is just and fair because they try harder than the majority of people.This leads to the idea of merit system through which humans can justify their world. In other words, by proving success with hard-work, protestant ethics paved the way for meritocracy. Second of all, the abstract religious spirits can play an important role in maintaining the society. The religions have a tendency to lead to people’s voluntary and active participation in social and political issues which is different from Marx’s expectation. Marx believed that religion has an influence on making people submissive and obedient. However, we now see that religions are spread out massively to help out those who need attention, care, and assist.When one is involved in any activities in religion, they are more likely to act and behave than people with no religions. As they take part in the religious activities voluntarily, their community or religious area in bound to be more strongly integrated because they have something in common: religious spirit and altruistic mindset. We can infer from Durkheim’s study on suicide that those with religions have less likeliness to commit suicide than those without because they are more integrated and associated in society which leads to a more sustainable society (Durkheim, 1952[1897]).Finally, despite the fact that the original spirit of capitalism might have been diminished or in decline, it already provided an ‘image’ of religious people and acts as a criterion for those. Some say that the religious or protestant ethics are already faded away, but it’s still true that we have a some sort of image towards religious people that they would be more ‘uprightâ€⠄¢ and ‘ascetic’ than non-religious people. For example, when Koreans hang out nowadays, they often ask one another if they drink alcohol or not. And we usually take it for granted that the people believing in God do not drink alcohol.Likewise, these people mainly Christian-Protestant are expected not to drink ‘alcohol’ or do ‘drugs’. This is because we know by experiencing a bunch of these people that â€Å"These guys are not (mostly) bad guys†. Even if they do not possess the mindset as their ancestors did, the society already formed some sort of ‘image’ toward these religious people throughout the history. Therefore, the society enables and enforces the religious people to act and behave in accordance with ‘the protestant’. In other words, â€Å"their ancestors’ image still lives within us and affects our lives†.Even though I believe that Weber’s idea on religion is more proper when it co mes to explanations of modern world, it would be more reasonable and wise to make a leap with both of the great thinkers’ explanations. This is because these so-called sociologists seem to lag behind the other in some field and some not. For example, Weber’s reasoning was not sufficient in explaining Eastern countries huge development even with the religion- Confucianism which considered to be negative in capitalism’s improvement (Weber, 2006:243).And Marx’s reasoning would require additional explanations of modern religions in that religions are diversified and playing roles as many. These two dominant thinkers’ ideas are not contradictory but supplementary to some extent because both of the arguments can replace and be replaced by the other (Giddens, 2011:584). In conclusion, these great thinkers had different approaches on religion and elicited their unique conclusions based on their observations.Marx saw religions as â€Å"the opiate of the ma sses† and perceived it as a ‘negative thing’ for humans’ freedom from alienation and revolutions through workers’ collective angers whereas Weber saw religions as somewhat ‘positive influencer’ in that flourish of capitalism in western countries was based on protestant ethics which was the direct movement of ‘religion’(Calvinism, to be exact). In their analysis of religions, they showed the ways they regard religions as somewhat dependent variables-Marx and somewhat independent variables-Weber (Jong Seo, 2005).Controversy exists over whether who provided more reasonable and relevant insights to our world because both of the reasoning has some weak points and strong points. However, I believe that Weber’s idea on religion is more suitable in order to explain the modern society due to, social maintenance, and religious criteria, and the rise of meritocracy. No matter what one says, we are not certain which one came firs t between the chicken and the egg due to uncertainty. There is no absolute answer for this question.Marx and Weber’s observations of religions as dependent or independent variables are reminiscent of this never-solving causality dilemma. A circular cause and consequence like ‘seeing religion as the starter’ and ‘seeing religion as the result’ make us wonder the question of â€Å"Which came first, X that can't come without Y, or Y that can't come without X? † We would be trapped in an endless process of logics and pursuant of definite answer. Maybe it’s not the answer that matters but the understanding in the process that matters.The understanding that the somewhat contradictory views can, in actuality, be used as a supplement to the other so that it can lead to a more comprehensive understanding of not just religion but society in general, which as learners of sociology should pursue. All in all, the comparison of Marx and Weber on reli gion tells us that there is no categorical answer but understanding through which we gain our own perspectives of life. Works Cited Amanda, Review on Marx and Weber on Religion http://web. grinnell. edu/courses/soc/f01/soc295-02/marx_weber. html Giddens Anthony, Sociology. , 2011Jong Seo Kim, Sociology of Religion, , 2005 Marx Karl, Critique of Hegel's Philosophy of Right, CambridgeUniversity Press, 1977 M. Argyle ; B. Beit-Hallahmi, The Social Psychology of Religion, London: Routledge ; Kegan Paul, 1975 Sang Jin Jeon, , , 2011 Stanford Encyclopedia of philosophy, definition, http://plato. stanford. edu/entries/methodological-individualism/ Swatos William H, Peter Kivisto, Encyclopedia of religion and society, Rowman Altamira, 1998 Turner Jonathan H. , Sociology. Pearson Prentice Hall, 2005 Weber Max, Protestant Ethics and the Spirit of Capitalism, Ed, , , 2006