Cell Phones: Addicting or Not? Essay

Are we addicted to our cell phones? This is a common question that has arisen in the past several years as our phone technology and capabilities continue to increase. According to recent statistics, 85% of the U.S. population are cell phone users (Chen).We Americans use our cell phones to do just about everything. We talk, text, check our E-mail, surf the Internet, and interact in social networking, all on our phones. Because our phones have become so resourceful to us in our everyday lives, many say that cell phones have become addicting. Cell phones in today’s life have become very addicting to many people, and there are many ways in which to show how they are addicting. â€Å"An addiction is the state of being enslaved to a habit or practice or to something that is psychologically or physically habit- forming, such as narcotics, to such an extent that its cessation causes severe trauma† (dictionary.com). Addiction is when a person becomes dependent on something and feels like they can’t go without it. For example, a person who is addicted to drugs or alcohol cannot go without that substance or drink without suffering from physical or psychological problems. Whenever they are away from it or withdrawn from it that is all they think about and they will do anything to get what they need to satisfy the craving. These individuals become dependent upon that substance or act and feel like they cannot go without it. The usage of cell phones has become very addicting for the people in the world today. David Greenfield, a psychologist who is an expert on Internet-related behaviors, says that constant and continual use of untethered devices produces chemical responses in the body similar to gambling (Tanaka, and Terry-Cobo). â€Å"We tote our iPhones, LGs and Blackberrys with us so we can contact anyone, anywhere, anytime, and so we can be reached instantly (Tanaka, and Terry-Cobo).† In today’s world, people depend on their cell phone for their businesses, their social lives, and for gaming. They have become so dependent upon their cell phones that many people no longer have the land-line phone in their house or their business. Business men and women have become so dependent on their cell phones that they now have become addicted. It would be almost impossible to find a business man or woman who does not carry a cell phone with them twenty-four hours a day. They use them to call and meet new clients to gain business. They use them to talk with workers and keep up with what is going on back the office as they travel. They can use them as reminders of meeting and when things are due as well as the activities they go through in everyday life. The way the business people use their cell phones has led to an increase in business’s efficiency and with increased efficiency at which people can work the cell phone leads that person to being more dependent upon their cell phone. Additionally, people use their cell phones as a way to keep up with their social life. People use their cell phones in their social life to the extent that without their phone they feel totally alone. This connection between phone and social life is the reason cell phones are so addicting. They can call from almost anywhere in the world. They can text someone when the time is not right to call or when they don’t want to talk. They can check Facebook, Twitter, E-mail, and even the news, from the convenience of their mobile phone. Lisa Merlo, an assistant professor of psychiatry in the University of Florida College of Medicine, said, â€Å"It’s this need to be connected, to know what’s going on and be available to other people. That’s one of the hallmarks of cell phone addiction. (cellular-news)† The ways that phones make it easier to communicate with people causes them to use the cell phones more and more as a way to communicate. This increased usage causes people to become more dependent and thereby addicted to their phone. People have become so addicted to their cell phones they have chosen their phones over a long-term relationship. Psychologist David Sheffield said, â€Å"The most shocking figure was that 7 percent (of students surveyed) said the use of mobile phones had caused them to lose a relationship or a job. (cellular-news)† Another way that cell phones are addicting is because people use their phones to play an assortment of games. There are millions of games that people can play just by simply downloading a game or application to their phones.  People no longer have to stay at home and play their games on a gaming device or computer. Now they can play games away from their homes and pretty much wherever and whenever they want. Many times people try to carry on face-to-face conversations while being distracted while gaming on their cell phone. This feeling of endless and uncontained gaming is yet another way that people get hooked to their cell phones. â€Å"Experts say cell phone usage will only increase as the phones become more sophisticated and powerful, likely replacing laptops in the future.†(Tanaka, and Terry-Cobo) Cell phones are used by so many people and do so many things to help people that they have become a necessity, rather than a convenience, in order for people to carry on their lives. This necessity or dependency is the addiction that people face with their cell phones. When these people lose or break their phones they panic, feel anxiety and look for the quickest way to fix the problem. For example, the car needs the oil changed and at the same time the phone is broken. Most people today will put their phones as top priority and get it fixed before repairing their car. This choice is a true indication of cell phone addiction. People’s cell phones have become part of their daily life, and they are so dependent on their phones that they cannot function without them. When that phone is taken away, people just don’t feel right or feel like they can’t function without their phones. People feel that it is so necessary to pay their cell phone bill, that they will pay that bill before they pay their rent. These actions of not being able to go without are cell phone is what defines an addiction. Therefore, cell phones are in fact an addiction. As additional proof of this addiction, try leaving your phone at home tomorrow. Will you return home to get your cell phone even if it means being late to work or school? If you do not return home to get your phone, how many times throughout the day will you wonder who has called or texted you? Are you missing an emergency? Will you rush home to check it? A â€Å"yes† response to any of these questions is an indication of cell phone addiction. Try this simple test and you will agree that cell phones are indeed addicting. Works Cited â€Å"Addiction.† _Dictionary.com Unabridged._ Random House, Inc. (2012) Web. 12 March 2012. . â€Å"Cellphone use becoming a major problem for some.† _cellular-news_. cellular-news, 22 January 2007 . Web. 12 Mar 2012. . Chen, Brian. â€Å"Gadget Lab.† _Wired_. Wired, 15 Oct 2010. Web. 15 Mar 2012. . Meyer, Michele. â€Å"Cutting the Cellphone Cord.† _Shape_ 2002: 26-. _ProQuest Research_ _Library._ Web. 15 Mar. 2012 . Tanaka, Wendy, and Sara Terry-Cobo. â€Å"Cellphone Addiction.† _Forbes.com_. Forbes, (2008) Web. 10 Mar. 2012. .

A Walk To Remember

What salient point struck you most regarding the meaning of true love? The point in the movie that struck me the most regarding the meaning of true love Is that when you love someone, you would do everything and anything Just to make sure that the person you love will be happy and loved always. It Is true In the movie when London did his best to show how much he loved Jamie although Jamie was not her Ideal girl and she was going to die soon and leave him forever.London changed for the better hen he came to love Jamie. He realized that the most important thing for him was their love for each other. 2. Cite situations in the film which reflects the element of true love. * London changed his bad behavior and habits. He believed that it would make him to be worthy of Jasmine's love. *London stood up for Jasmine's sake against his friends. Although he knew that some of them would criticize him, he still did it for her. *London tried to fulfill all of Jasmine's wishes which she could neve r do because of her illness.Although London did not have a good relationship with his father, he still asked for his help to cure Jamie. *London married Jamie despite the fact that she would die soon. *Although years has passed, London still hold on to his promise to love Jamie forever 3. What lesson can you derive from the movie? The movie teaches me that loving someone is not all about happiness. It is also about the sufferings and challenges that a couple should face together in order to let their love last forever.A person would not be afraid to suffer and feel pain because e/she knows that the joy and affection he/she gets from loving someone is greater than those. Also, once a person learns how to truly love, he/she would be more than willing to fully accept the other one despite of her/his shortcomings as a person and as a partner. He/she would understand and care for her/him until the end. A true love means that a person Is willing to do and sacrifice everything Just to let the other person be happy and feel cherished with all the moments that they are together. . Are there differences in society's expectation in one's partner and the qualities that really count? There are differences in society's expectation in one's partner and the qualities that really count. Most people would have an ideal partner, which they assume, who would make them happy and complete. But in reality, there are many instances that the person who is destined to be loved by someone is really different from his ideal partner and his ideal situation of his love story.It does not matter if one has a particular standard for his partner. Because once he experiences how to truly love someone, he would realize that loving Is not something that should be planned ahead. What really Important Is that he knows how to value and love the other person despite the circumstances which he does not expect to come. A Walk To Remember By Emplace in the movie that struck me the most regarding the mea ning of true love is that when person you love will be happy and loved always.It is true in the movie when London did his best to show how much he loved Jamie although Jamie was not her ideal girl e/she knows that the Joy and affection he/she gets from loving someone is greater love means that a person is willing to do and sacrifice everything Just to let the other 4. Are there differences in society expectation in one's partner and the qualities that really count? There are differences in society expectation in one's partner and the truly love someone, he would realize that loving is not something that should be planned ahead. A Walk to Remember IntroductionACME Financial is a fast growing company that owes part of its growth to several recent acquisitions. ACME Financial now wants to consolidate the companies’ information technology resources to eliminate redundancy and share information among the new companies. The Chief Information Officer (CIO) has oversight responsibility for the project and has hired Client/Servers R Us to develop the architecture for the new corporate information system. Joe Consultant of C/S R Us presented 3 client/server designs to the CIO and is requesting the CIO to select one. The CIO is not sure which middleware design is best for the company’s goals. The CIO has asked Chris Consultant to present the advantages and disadvantages for each of the alternatives.Background ACME Financial Incorporated (AF Inc.) is an investment banking company that provides an on-line service that allows their clients to access account and market information. ACME Financial Inc. recently acquired several small and medium sized companies throughout the country, each with their own financial and accounting systems. Almost all of the companies have developed their own application software for their analysts’ use in their daily jobs, but only a few provided on-line account service. The analytical tools rely on near-real time market data and historical market data.The CIO wants to consolidate the financial and accounting information into a corporate information system that can support decision support applications for corporate management. Naturally, since the computer hardware is different for different companies, the CIO expects to upgrade the hardware to accommodate the new Information Technology (IT) system. The CIO will select the best analytical software as the standard software used by all company analysts. Each local site will be expected to provide an on-line service for their customers.Customers will be given the necessary application software to access their account in formation. Finally, ACME Financial has developed special data mining software that gives them a competitive advantage. AF Inc. offers their customers investment advice based on the information derived by the data mining software. Each account manager receives the information and then provides tailored recommendations to each customer based on their portfolio.System RequirementsThe following list of system requirements reflects the system’s priorities (listed roughly in order of priority): 1. Availability: The CIO’s number one priority is high availability. AF Inc. markets their reliability and feels that most clients choose them for their dependability. The CIO wants to maximize the system’s availability. To achieve high availability, if a regional office cannot provide support then a customer must always have access to the on-line service through a different office. 2. Data Integrity: The requirement for data integrity varies within the system. The most importa nt data are customer’s transactions.It is essential that a customer’s transaction is never lost and the system must guarantee that each transaction is completed. In contrast, data lost from the high data rate inputs, such as Reuter’s and the NYSE, are easily recovered during the each broadcast so it is not critical if some data are lost during a broadcast. 3. Performance: Financial markets are highly volatile; time sensitivity of data is measured in minutes. Millions can be lost if information is delayed getting to the analysts. The system must be able to support information broadcast throughout the network.4. Security: The CIO is concerned about the security of the data mining software and the information produced by the data mining software. The Chief Executive Officer thinks the data mining information software provides a competitive advantage for the company. If an unauthorized user had access to the information they could steal the data mining applications or steal the information produced by the data mining software. In either case, the perpetrator could make the same investment recommendations as AF Inc. account managers. Therefore, if competitors had access to the information the results could be financially devastating to the company.The CIO is concerned that a competitor could pose as a customer and hack into the highly sensitive information through his on-line service account. 5. Growth: The CIO envisions an incremental migration process to install the new system due to the magnitude of the change. Also, he expects that AF Inc. will continue to grow and acquire more companies. The CIO wants to be able to develop more application software as new customer services are added. The CIO also wants to add more near-real time information sources to  the system.6. Backup and Recovery: The CIO understands that the system will encounter problems from time to time. A key factor in determining the system’s success is how quickly the system can recover from a failure. Backup and recovery must be smooth and non-disruptive. One way to ensure that the system can easily recover from a system crash is to make sure the data is duplicated elsewhere on the system. The corporate database is the primary back up for each of the regional offices.ConfigurationEach local office (Northeast, Northwest, Southeast, Southwest) has accesses a regional information hub. Local offices use client software to access the local application server. These application servers access the local databases for almost all of the information needed on a daily basis. For access to information needed less frequently the application software should access the central database at corporate headquarters. Each regional database has only the subset of information that is relevant for its area, whereas the corporate headquarters maintains all of the information from each region as well as data that is unique to corporate applications, such as additional accounting and company financial information.The corporate office is also responsible for the data mining software and information. Each of the regional databases is connected with high capacity links to the corporate database. Finally, the corporate office receives information from Reuter’s, NYSE, NASDAQ, and other financial markets. The information flow fluctuates daily from 30 – 40 KBps to 4 – 5 MBps. Twenty-five percent of the information is immediately broadcast to the regional offices to support the on-line account service. All the information is filtered and stored in the database.Architectural AlternativesAlternative I: The Database Management System This alternative takes advantage of the extended functionality provided by the popular relational database management companies, such as Oracle and Sybase. All information is delivered into the system where it is immediately stored into one of the databases. The relational database management software is res ponsible for the distribution of information throughout the system. Clients communicate  with the databases through Standard Query Language (SQL).Corporate and regional databases are kept synchronized using features supplied by the RDBMS software. Transactions are guaranteed by using special Transaction Processing Software. The vendor-supplied RDBMS software is responsible for back-up and recovery of all the databases. Data security is handled at the row level within each database. This means that clients can only receive records for which their user has permission. Existing application software may have to be modified to use SQL. Alternative II: Common Object Request Broker Architecture (CORBA) This solution depends on CORBA to tie together the clients and databases. CORBA is responsible for distributing data across the system. The RDBMS software is still responsible for the back-up and recovery, but the databases are kept synchronized using CORBA as the primary transport mechani sm for the data.Clients, application servers, and databases communicate to each other through CORBA’s transport mechanism. Existing application software would be wrapped in IDL to communicate with other applications. Special near-real time handling application software would send the information to each of the regional offices where it would be directed to clients that subscribe to the information. Alternative III: Message and Queuing (M&Q) The message and queuing design uses commercial M & Q software combined with a transaction processing product to ensure customer’s transactions are completed. Dec Message Queue and MQ Series are some of the leading products for messaging and queuing software. Clients communicate to other entities using messages. Messages are deposited in queues and the message and queuing middleware is responsible for message distribution to the appropriate clients. The software applications will be modified to send and receive messages from queues.Q uestions to Answer (Total 100 points)The case study must be discussed covering the designs and these questions with your teammates, but your final write-up should be your collaborative work. Doing research on specific products for the assignment should certainly be a team activity. The total length of the write-up should probably not exceed 5 pages. 1. Describe in more detail the architecture of each architectural alternative. To do this you will need to flesh out the specifics of the various parts. This will require some research on the  products indicated (or other comparable products that you locate).Note that some services are automatically provided when a particular product is purchased, while others must be developed to satisfy the system requirements. You should describe what services are automatically provided by the products, which services would need to be developed, and how services should be distributed across the network. (40 points) 2. Evaluate each of the alternativ es against the system requirements, discussing the advantages and disadvantages of each. (You may assume that the hardware will support all solutions.) In your analysis you might consider issues such as which alternative gives the system developers the most flexibility, which alternative provides easiest maintenance, and which alternative requires the least modification to the current system. Other hints for system comparison are listed below. (40 points)3. Prioritize each alternative or suggest a different solution if you think it superior to the presented alternatives. (20 points) Suggestions on how to proceed 1. There is not enough information to make an informed decision about each of the alternatives. As a team, allot a percentage of your time to discover which products offer what type of services. You do not have enough time to do a complete market survey so be selective. 2. If you depend only on marketing information you may find that the alternatives are equivalent. So you m ight want to go beyond the market literature in doing your research for this assignment.3. As you do your analysis, pay particular attention to some of the following kinds of issues: a. How well does the architecture support the basic system functionality requirements? b. How much run time performance overhead does the architecture impose? c. How well will specific products handle the high volume of data? d. How will each architecture handle occasional peak loads? e. How easy is it to customize the system to new requirements? 4. In your analysis, when you are considering costs, you do not need to consider the actual product cost. (It may be impossible to get actual product costs anyway.) Instead, evaluate cost with respect to the amount of customized software that will be necessary to implement each alternative, and how this might affect long-term maintenance costs, time to implement, flexibility, etc.

Polymer Concrete

POLYMER COCNCRETE 1. Introduction Despite being thought of as a modern material, concrete has been in use for hundreds of years. The word concrete comes from the Latin concretus, which means â€Å"mixed together† or compounded. Concrete is an extremely popular structural material due to its low cost and easy fabrication. Concrete is made up of sand or stone, known as aggregate, combined with cement paste to bind it. Aggregate can be of various sizes. It is broadly categorized as fine (commonly sand) and coarse (typically crushed stone or gravel).The greater proportion of concrete is aggregate which is bulky and relatively cheaper than the cement. As much of the constituents of concrete come from stone, it is often thought that concrete has the same qualities and will last forever. Concrete has been called artificial stone, cast stone, reconstructed stone and reconstituted stone. However, concrete must be thought of as a distinct material to stone. It has its own characteristic s in terms of durability, weathering and repair. Concrete is a relatively durable and robust building material, but it can be severely weakened by poor manufacture or a very aggressive environment.A number of historic concrete structures exhibit problems that are related to their date of origin. It is referred that the concrete is porous. The porosity is due to air-voids, water voids or due to the inherent porosity of gel structure itself. On account of the porosity, the strength of concrete is naturally reduced. It is conceived by many research workers that reduction of porosity results in increase of strength of concrete. Therefore, process like vibration, pressure application spinning etc. , have been practiced mainly to reduce porosity.All these methods have been found to be helpful to a great extent, but none of these methods could really help to reduce the water voids and the inherent porosity of gel which is estimated to be about 28%. The impregnation of monomer and subsequen t polymerization is the latest technique adopted to reduce the inherent porosity of the concrete to improve the strength and other properties of concrete. These problems can be solved by application of polymer in concrete construction. A polymer is a large molecule containing hundreds or thousands of atoms formed by combining one, two or occasionally more kinds of small molecule (monomers) into chain r network structures. The main polymer material used in concrete construction are polymer modified concrete and polymer concrete. Polymer modified concrete may be divided into two classes: polymer impregnated concrete and polymer cement concrete. The first is produced by impregnation of pre-cast hardened Portland cement concrete with a monomer that is subsequently converted to solid polymer. To produce the second, part of the cement binder of the concrete mix is replaced by polymer (often in latex form).Both have higher strength, lower water permeability, better resistance to chemicals, and greater freeze-thaw stability than conventional concrete. Polymer concrete (PC), or resin concrete, consists of a polymer binder which may be a thermoplastic but more frequently is a thermosetting polymer, and a mineral filler such as aggregate, gravel and crushed stone. PC has higher strength, greater resistance to chemicals and corrosive agents, lower water absorption and higher freeze-thaw stability than conventional Portland cement concrete.The pioneering work for the development of polymer concrete was taken up by United States Bureau of Reclamation (USBR). The initial exploratory works carried out at the Brookhaven National Laboratory (BNL) in cooperation with USBR and US in Atomic Energy Commission (AEC) revealed great improvement in compressive strength, permeability, impact resistance and abrasion resistance. The development of concrete-polymer composite material is directed at producing a new material by combining the ancient technology of cement concrete with the mod ern technology of polymer chemistry. 2.Types of Polymer Concrete Four types of polymer concrete materials are being developed presently. They are: a) Polymer Concrete (PC) b) Polymer Cement Concrete (PCC) c) Polymer impregnated Concrete (PIC) d) Partially Impregnated and surface coated polymer concrete The composites using polymer can be: polymer concrete (PC), when the binder is a polymer that replaces the cement paste, polymer modified concrete (PMC/ PCC), when the polymer is used near cement, polymer impregnated concrete (PIC), when the cement concrete is treated by soaking and polymerization.These composites have some advantages compared to ordinary cement concrete such as,rapid hardening, high mechanical strengths, chemical resistance, etc. Among the disadvantages is their high cost. The utilization domain of polymer concrete is continuously diversifying: PMC is widely used for floor and bridge overlays; acrylic latex has been used to produce mortars which can be sprayed on arc hitectural finish ; PIC was first widely used in bridge decks, pipes and conduits for aggressive fluids, floor tiles, building cladding, hazardous waste containment, post-tensioned beams and slabs, and stay-in place formwork.Polymer concrete is similar to ordinary cement concrete because it contains fine and coarse aggregates, but the hydraulic binder is totally substituted with a polymer material. The aggregates are bounded together by the polymer matrix. Polymer concrete contains no cement or water. The performances of polymeric concrete depend on the polymer properties, type of filler and aggregates, reinforcing fiber type, curing temperature, components dosage, etc. Polymer binder can be a thermoplastic, but more frequently a thermosetting polymer.The polymers most frequently used are based on four types of monomers or pre polymer system: methyl methacrylate, polyester prepolymerstyrene, epoxyde prepolymer hardener and furfuryl alcohol . The aggregates used in dry state can be s ilicates, quartz, crushed stone, gravel, limestone, calcareous, granite, clay, etc. In the composition can be used also the filler. Different types of fine materials can be used such as: fly ash, silica fume, phosphogyps, cinder, etc. Filler, especially fly ash, can improve the properties of polymer concrete . 3. History †¢ PC was used as early as 1958 in the USA to produce building cladding. Both PC and PCC have been in commercial use since the 1950s †¢ PIC was developed and has been in use since the 1970s †¢ Polymer concrete products have been used for decades in engineering construction like machine foundations, in the building industry for facade products and sanitary parts, in electrical engineering for isolation devices and especially in the chemical industry for all types of ducts due to its favourable properties, especially its corrosion resistance as well as its strength and elasticity †¢ The development of polymer concrete products, mostly pipe, dates b ack to the early 1960`s.The objective was to achieve a substantial increase in resistance to chemical attack †¢ With the development of trenchless technologies (micro-tunneling and pipe jacking) in 1970`s, polymer concrete pipes became popular in sewer systems.As such over the past years, the process of production and manufacturing of polymer concrete products like pipes, manholes and structures have been fundamentally improved †¢ Today it is used for cultured marble for counter tops, lavatories, as repair material, overlays for bridge and floors in sport arenas and stadiums, laboratories, hospitals, factories; also precast PC was used for drains, underground boxes, manholes, acid tanks and cells, tunnel lining, shells, floor tiles, architectural mouldings and machine tools and bases 4.Significance †¢ Depending on the materials employed, PC can develop compressive strengths of the order of 140 MPa within hours or even minutes and is therefore suitable for emergency co ncreting jobs in mines, tunnels, and highways †¢ PCC possess excellent bonding ability to old concrete, and high durability to aggressive solutions; it has therefore been used mainly for overlays in industrial floors, and for rehabilitation of deteriorated bridge decks. In the case of PIC, by effectively sealing the micro-cracks and capillary pores, it is possible to produce a virtually impermeable product which gives an ultimate strength of the same order as that of PC. PIC has been used for the production of high-strength pre-cast products and for improving the durability of bridge deck surfaces †¢ PCC possess excellent bonding ability to old concrete, and high durability to aggressive solutions; it has therefore been used mainly for overlays in industrial floors, and for rehabilitation of deteriorated bridge decks. In the case of PIC, by effectively sealing the micro-cracks and capillary pores, it is possible to produce a virtually impermeable product which gives an ult imate strength of the same order as that of PC. PIC has been used for the production of high-strength pre-cast products and for improving the durability of bridge deck surfaces †¢ Polymer concrete (PC) is a mixture of aggregates with a polymer as the sole binder. To minimize the amount of the expensive binder, it is very important to achieve the maximum possible dry packed density of the aggregate. . Polymer Concrete (PC) Polymer concrete is an aggregate bound with a polymer binder instead of Portland Cement as in conventional concrete. The main technique in producing PC is to minimize void volume in the aggregate mass so as to reduce the quantity of polymer needed for binding the aggregates. This is achieved by properly grading and mixing the aggregates to attain the maximum density and minimum void volume. The graded aggregates are prepacked and vibrated in a mould.Monomer is then diffused up through the aggregates and polymerization is initiated by radiation or chemical mean s. A silane coupling agent is added to the monomer to improve the bond strength between the polymer and the aggregate. In case polyester resins are used no polymerization is required. An important reason for the development of this material is the advantage it offers over conventional concrete where the alkaline Portland cement on curing, forms internal voids. Water can be entrapped in these voids which on freezing can readily cracks the concrete.Also the alkaline Portland cement is easily attacked by chemically aggressive materials which results in rapid deterioration, whereas polymers can be made compact with minimum voids and are hydrophobic and resistant to chemical attack. The strength obtained with PC can be as high as 140 MPa with a short curing period. However, such polymer concretes tend to be brittle and it is reported that dispersion of fiber reinforcement would improve the toughness and tensile strength of the material.The use of fibrous polyester concrete (FPC) in the c ompressive region of reinforced concrete beams provides a high strength, ductile concrete at reasonable cost. Also polyester concretes are visco-elastic in nature and will fail under sustained compressive loading at stress levels greater than 50 per cent of the ultimate strength. Therefore polyester concrete should be considered for structures with a high ratio of live load to dead load and for composite structures in which the polymer concrete may relax during long-term loading.Experiments conducted on FPC composite beams have indicated that they are performance effective when compared to reinforced concrete beam of equal steel reinforcement percentage. Such beams utilize steel in the region of high tensile stress, fibrous polyester concrete (FPC) with its favourable compressive behavior, in the regions of high compressive stress and Portland cement concrete in the regions of relatively low flexural stress. Properties of Polymer Concrete: †¢ Due to good chemical resistance and high initial strength and modulus of elasticity, industrial use of PC has been mainly in overlays and repair jobs. Thermal and creep characteristics of the material are usually not favorable for structural applications of PC. †¢ Polyester concretes are visco-elastic and will fail under a sustained compressive loading at stress levels greater than 50 percent of the ultimate strength. Sustained loadings at a stress level of 25 percent did not reduce ultimate strength capacity for a loading period of 1000 hr. 6. Polymer Cement Concrete (PCC) Polymer cement concrete is made by mixing cement, aggregates, water and monomer, such plastic mixture is cast in moulds.Cured, dried and polymerized. The monomers that are used in PCC are: a) Polyster-styrene. b) Epoxy-styrene c) Furans d) Vinylidene Chloride However, the results obtained by the production of PCC in this way have been disappointing and have shown relatively modest improvement of strength and durability. In many cases material s poorer than ordinary concrete are obtained. This behavior is explained by the fact that organic materials (monomers) are incompatible with aqueous systems and sometimes interfere with the alkaline cement hydration process.Recently Russian authors have reported the production of a superior Polymer cement concrete by the incorporation of furfural alcohol and aniline hydrochloride in the wet mix. This material is claimed to be specially dense and non-shrinking and to have high corrosion resistance, low permeability and high resistance to vibrations and axial extension. Washington State University in cooperation with Bureau of Reclamation tested the incorporation of several monomers into Wet Concrete for preparing PCC for fabrication of distillation units for water desalination plants.However, it is reported that only epoxy resin produced a concrete that showed some superior characteristics over ordinary concrete. †¢ The materials and the production technology for concrete in PCC are the same as those used in normal Portland Cement concrete except that latex, which is a colloidal suspension of polymer in water, is used as an admixture. †¢ Earlier latexes were based on polyvinyl acetate or polyvinylidene chloride, but these are seldom used now because of the risk of corrosion of steel in concrete in the latter case, and low wet strengths in the former. Elasto-meric or rubberlike polymers based on styrenebutadiene and polyacrylate copolymers are more commonly used now. Latex: †¢ A latex generally contains about 50 % by weight of spherical and very small (0. 01 to 1 m in diameter) polymer articles held in suspension in water by surface-active agents. †¢ The presence of surface-active agents in the latex tends to incorporate large amounts of entrained air in concrete; therefore, air detraining agents are usually added to commercial latexes. 10 to 25 percent polymer (solid basis) by weight of cement is used in typical PCC formulations †¢ The addition of latex provides a large quantity of the needed mixing water in concrete. †¢ The application of PCC is limited to overlays where durability to severe environmental conditions is of primary concern. †¢ PCC is made with as low an addition of extra mixing water as possible; the spherical polymer molecules and the entrained air associated with the latex usually provide excellent workability. Concrete Mix and Curing: †¢ Typically, water-cement ratios are in the range0. 40 to 0. 5, and cement contents are on the order of 390 to 420 kg/m3. †¢ The hardening of a latex takes place by drying or loss of water. †¢ Dry curing is mandatory for PCC; the material cured in air is believed to form a continuous and coherent polymer film which coats the cement hydration products, aggregate particles, and even the capillary pores. Properties: †¢ The most impressive characteristics of PCC are its ability to bond strongly with old concrete, and to resist the entry o f water and aggressive solutions. †¢ It is believed that the polymer film lining the capillary pores and micro-cracks does an excellent job in impeding the fluid flow in PCC. These characteristics have made the PCC a popular material for rehabilitation of deteriorated floors, pavements, and bridge decks. 7. Polymer Impregnated Concrete (PIC) Polymer impregnated concrete is one of the widely used polymer composite. It is nothing but a pre-cast conventional concrete, cured and dried in oven, or by dielectric heating from which the air in the open cell is removed by vacuum. Then a low viscosity monomer is diffused through the open cell and polymerized by using radiation, application of heat or by chemical initiation. Mainly the following types of monomer are used: a) Methylmethacrylate (MMA) ) Styrene c) Acrylonitrile d) T-butyl styrene e) Other thermoplastic monomers The amount of monomer that can be loaded into a concrete specimen is limited by the amount of water and air that h as occupied the total void space. It is necessary to know the concentration of water and air void in the system to determine the rate of monomer penetration. However, the main research effort has been towards obtaining a maximum monomer loading in concrete by the removal of water and air from the concrete by vacuum or thermal drying, the latter being more practicable for water removal because of its rapidity.Another parameter to consider is evacuation of the specimen prior to soaking in monomer. This eliminates the entrapment of air towards the centre of the specimen during soaking which might otherwise prevent total or maximum monomer loading. The application of pressure is another technique to reduce monomer loading time. 8. Partially Impregnated (or Coated in Depth CID) and Surface Coated (SC) Concrete Partial impregnation may be sufficient in situations where the major requirement is surface resistance against chemical and mechanical attack in addition to strength increase.Even with only partial impregnation, significant increase in the strength of original concrete has been obtained. The partially impregnated concrete could be produced by initially soaking the dried specimens in liquid monomer like methyl methacrylate, then sealing them by keeping them under hot water at 70 C to prevent or minimize loss due to evaporation. The polymerization can be done by using thermal catalytic method in which three per cent by weight of benzoyl peroxide is added to the monomer as a catalyst. It is seen that the depth of monomer penetration is dependent upon following: a) Pore structure of hardened and dried concrete ) The duration of soaking, and c) The viscosity of the monomer The potential application of polymer impregnated concrete surface treatment (surface coated concrete, SC) is in improving the durability of concrete bridge decks. Bridge deck deterioration is a serious problem everywhere, particularly due to an abrasive wear, freeze-thaw deterioration, spalling and corrosion of reinforcement. Excellent penetration has been achieved by ponding the monomer on the concrete surface. Due care should be taken to prevent evaporation of monomer when ponded on concrete surface.A 5 cms thick slab, on being soaked by MMA for 25 hours produced a polymer surface coated depth of 2. 5 cms. Significant increases in the tensile and compressive strengths, modulus of elasticity and resistance to acid attack have been achieved. The application of monomer for field application like in bridge decks poses more problems than laboratory application. A typical surface treatment in the field can be done in the following manner. a) The surface is dried for several days with electrical heating blanket. b) Remove the heating blanket and cover the slab with 0. 4 cum oven-dried light-weight aggregate per 100 sqm. c) Apply initially 2,000 to 3,000 ml of the monomer system per square meter. d) Cover the surface with polyethylene to retard evaporation. e) Shade the surface to prevent temperature increase which might initiate polymerization prematurely, that may reduce penetration into the concrete. f) Add periodically additional monomer to keep the aggregate moist for minimum soak time of 8 hours. g) Apply heat to polymerize the monometer: Heating blanket, steam or hot water can be used for this purpose. Some of the promising monomer systems for this purpose are: ) Methylmethacrystalate (MMA), 1% Benzoyl peroxide (BP), 10% Trimethylopropane thimethacrylate (TMPTMA). b) Isodecyl methacrystalate (IDMA), 1% BP, 10% TMPTMA c) Isobutylmethacrystalate (IBMA), 1% BP, 10% TMPTMA BP acts as a catalyst and TMPTMA is a cross linking agent which helps in polymerization at low temperature of 52%C. 9. Properties of Polymer Impregnated Concrete Since polymer impregnated concrete (PIC) is one of the most important category of polymer concrete, the properties of PIC are discussed below. Stress – Strain Relationship The stress strain curve for MMA –impreg nated concrete tested to failure is shown in fig. elow.. PIC has a nearly linear stress strain relationship to failure. There is very little departure from linearity upto 90% of ultimate strength and there is no abrupt change at the proportional limit. The stress strain curves for Styrene TMTMPTMA impregnated concrete also show the same characteristics as for MMA impregnated concrete. The modulus of elasticity increased from 27 GPa for un-impregnated specimen to 49 GPa for MMA impregnated specimens. [pic] Compressive Strength The effect of polymer loading on the compressive strength in PIC is given in the following figure.Using methylemethacrystalate as monomer and with a polymer loading of 6. 4%, strength of the order of 144 MPa have been obtained using radiation technique of polymerization. (The control specimen had compressive strength of 38 MPa). The compressive strength obtained with thermal catalytic process was 130 MPa. [pic] [pic] Styrene impregnated specimens exhibit simila r trends, except that the strength levels were somewhat lower. The polymerization by radiation method produced a concrete of higher strength than the produced by thermal catalytic method.Perlite concrete impregnated with MMA and polyester styrene have also shown considerable increases in compressive strengths. It is found the higher strengths are obtained with MMA impregnated sample than with polyester styrene. The average compressive strength for a 1:8 non-air entrained perlite concrete samples, impregnated with MMA was 56 MPa for polymer loading of 63% compared to control specimen of compressive strength 1. 2 MPa. Tensile Strength The increase in tensile strength in the case of PIC has been observed to be as high as 3. times that of the control specimen for polymer loading of 6. 4% MMA i. e. impregnated concrete have shown tensile strength of the order of 11. 6 MPa compared to the strength of control specimen of 3 MPa using radiation process of polymerization. Thermal catalyticall y initiated polymerization, produced concrete with tensile strength 3. 6 times that of the control specimen and 7. 3% less than that of radiation produced concrete. Polymer Concrete : Polyester resin concrete with binder continent varying from 20 to 25% have shown tensile strengths in the range of 9 to 10 MPa at 7 days.Polymer Cement Concrete: Polymer cement concrete using latex has given tensile strength of 5. 8 MPa with a latex / cement ratio of 0. 25; compared to the control specimen of 4. 4 MPa strength. The increase in tensile strength is very modest. Flexural Strength Polymer impregnated concrete with polymer loading of 5. 6% MMA and polymerized by radiation have shown flexural strength 3. 6 times more than that of the control specimen, i. e. the flexural strength was increased to 18. 8 MPa from 5. 2 MPa. Polymer Concrete (PC) Polymer resin concrete has been reported to give flexural strength of the order of 15 MPa at 7 days.Creep Compressive Creep deformation of MMA impregnat ed concrete and styrene-impregnated concrete has been observed to be in direction opposite to that of the applied road i. e, Negative Creep. After the typical initial movement during load application, these concretes expand under sustained compression. The reason for this negative creep in PIC is not very clear though it may be possible that it is due to residual stresses generated in the concrete after polymerization of monomers. The increased volume may also be due to phase changes induced by pressure. This behaviour has been noticed at a relatively loiw loading of 5. MPa. Otherwise creep deformation of PIC concrete is generally one-tenth of conventional concrete, when compared on a basis of deformation per unit load. Creep deformation generally stabilizes after two to three months. Shrinking due to Polymerisation Shrinkage occurs through two stages of impregnation treatment i. e. , through initial drying and through polymerisation. The shrinkage through polymerisation is peculiar to PIC and could be several times greater than the normal drying shrinkage. It has been seen that for the same base material, different monomer systems cause different amounts of shrinkage.It is expected that the shrinkage due to polymerisation will be less for a base that has higher modulus of elasticity. Durability The saturation of the hydrated cement with corrosion resistant polymer probably acts as a protective coating and results in excellent improvement in durability. a) Frees Thaw Resistance: Polymer impregnated concrete has shown excellent resistance to freeze-thaw MMA impregnated and radiation polymerized specimens have withstood 8110 cyclens of freeze-thaw compared to 740 cycles in case of unimpregnated concrete. Even partially impregnated concrete withstood 2310 cycles. ) Resistance to Sulphate Attack: Keeping a failure criteria of 0. 5% expansion, it has been observed that there is atleast 200 percent improvement in the resistance of polymer impregnated concrete and 89 % improvement in the case of partially impregnated concrete over the conventional concrete. c) Acid Resistance: The acid resistance of PIC has been observed to improve by 1200 percent when exposed to 15% HCI for 1395 days. Water Absorption A maximum reduction of 95 percent in water absorption has been observed with concrete containing 5. 9 percent polymer loading. Co-efficient of Thermal Expansion:Polymer impregnated concrete has higher co-efficient of thermal expansion compared to conventional concrete. Compared to the unimpregnated concrete having a value of 4. 02 X 10-6, a 5. 5% MMA, radiation polymerized concrete has a co-efficient of thermal expansion of 5. 63 X 10-6, and styrene impregnated specimens have shown a value of 5. 10 X 10-6. Resistance to Abrasion Polymer impregnated concrete has shown appreciable improvement in resistance to abrasion. A 5. 5% MMA impregnated concrete has been found to be 50 to 80 per cent more resistance to abrasion than the control specimen.Even s urface impregnated concrete slabs have shown an improvement of 20 to 50%. Wear and Skid Resistance. Though there may be apprehension that polymer filled voids in polymer concrete might produce a slippery surface, on actual wear track test, it was found that the treated surfaces show excellent skid resistance compared to the unimpregnated surfaces. The wear after 50,000 simlated vehicular passes has been less than 0. 025cm. Fracture of Polymer impregnated Concrete Polymer impregnation of concrete changes its microstructure radically resulting in a change in the cracking behaviour of the impregnated concrete under load.Impregnation improves the strength of the mortar matrix and also the strength of the paste-aggregate interface by elimination of microcracks. Polymer probably enters the aggregates also and forms a network of polymer fibres across the interface, thus strengthening it. Radiographic studies have shown that micro cracking starts first around 70 to 80% of the ultimate load, very often in the mortar phase. When an advancing crack reaches an aggregate, it does not follow the aggregate boundary as in ordinary concrete, but usually propagates through the aggregate.This indicates that the paste aggregate interface bond is significantly improved by polymer impregnation. It has been observed that PIC indicates nearly linear behaviour to failure, which is typical of brittle material. The brittle nature of PIC presents a severe design limitation. It would be ideal to produce a material with the slow failure mode of normal concrete while retaining the high strength and modulus of elasticity of PIC. One method to achieve this ideal is to adjust the past aggregate bond so that the failure mode is through the interface like in ordinary concrete.In principle, this can be achieved by using a very strong and tough aggregate, so that the advancing crack is diverted round to the paste-aggregate interface. The fracture mode of PIC can also be altered by incorporating a small quantity (1% by volume) of fibres in the matrix. The fibres do not affect the modulus of elasticity of concrete due to their low concentration, but serve to inhibit crack propagation through the mortar by acting as crack arrestors. 10. Sequence of Operations Drying and evacuation:The time and temperature needed for removal of free water from the capillary pores of moist-cured products depend on the thickness of the elements. At the drying temperatures ordinarily used (i. e. , 105 C), it may require 3 to 7 days before free water has been completely removed from a 150- by 300-mm concrete cylinder. Temperatures on the order of 150 C can accelerate the drying process so that it is complete in 1 to 2 days. Soaking the dried concrete in a monomer: The in situ penetration of concrete in the field may be achieved by surface ponding, but precast elements are directly immersed in the monomercatalyst mixture.Commercial monomers contain inhibitors that prevent premature polymerization dur ing storage; the catalyst serves to overcome the effect of the inhibitor. Sealing the monomer: To prevent loss of monomer by evaporation during handling and polymerization, the impregnated elements must be effectively sealed in steel containers or several layers of aluminum foil; In the rehabilitation of bridge decks this has been achieved by covering the surface with sand. Polymerizing the monomer: Thermal – catalytical polymerization is the preferred technique.The time for complete polymerization of the monomer in the sealed elements exposed to steam, hot water or air, or infrared heat at 70 to C may vary from a few to several hours. In the case of a MMA-benzoyl peroxide mixture, no differences in strength were found between specimens polymerized at C with hot air for 16 hr or with hot water for 4 hr. 11. Application of Polymer Impregnated Concrete Keeping in view the numerous beneficial properties of the PIC, it is found useful in a large number of applications, some of wh ich have been listed and discussed below: a) Pre-fabricated structural elements. ) Pre-stressed Concrete c) Marine works d) Desalination Plants e) Nuclear Power plants f) Sewage works-pipe and disposal works. g) Ferro cement products h) For water proofing of structures i) Industrial applications a) Pre-fabricated Structural Elements: For solving the tremendous problem of Urban Housing shortage, maintaining quality, economy and speed, builders had to fall back on pre-fabricated techniques of construction. At present due to the low strength of conventional concrete, the pre-fabricated sections are large and heavy, resulting in costly handling and erection.These reasons have prevented wide adoption of pre-fabrication in many countries. At present, the technique of polymer impregnation is ideally suited for pre cast concrete, it will find unquestionable use in industrialization of building components. Owning to higher strength, much thinner and lighter sections could be used which enabl es easy handling and erection. They can be even used in high rise building without much difficulties. b) Pre-stressed Concrete: Further development in pre-stressed concrete is hindered by the inability to produce high strength concrete, compactable with the high tensile steel available for pre-stressing.Since PIC provides a high compressive strength of the order of 100 to 140 MPa, it will be possible to use it for larger spans and for heavier loads. Low creep properties of PIC will also make it a good material for pre-stressed concrete. c) Marine Works: Aggressive nature of sea water, abrasive and leaching action of waves and inherent porosity, impair the durability of conventional concrete in marine works. PIC possessing high surface hardness, very low permeability and greatly increased resistance to chemical attack, is a suitable material for marine works. ) Desalination Plants: Desalination of sea water is being resorted to augment the shortage of surface and ground water in many countries. The material used in construction of flash distillation vessels in such works has to withstand the corrosive effects of disilted water, brine and vapour at temperature up to 1430 C. Carbon steel vessels which are currently in use are comparatively costly and deteriorate after prolonged use. Preliminary economic evaluation has indicated a savings in construction cost over that of conventional concrete by the use of PIC. ) Nuclear Power Plants: To cope up with the growing power requirements for industrial purposes, many countries are resorting to nuclear power generation. The Nuclear contained vessel (Pressure vessel) is a major element, which is required to withstand high temperatures and provide shield against radiations. Another attendant problem of nuclear power generation is the containment of spent fuel rods which are radioactive over long period of time to avoid radiation hazards. At present heavy weight concrete is being used for this purpose, which is not very eff ective.PIC having high impermeability coupled with high strength and marked durability provides an answer to these problems. f) Sewage Disposal Works: It is common experience that concrete sewer pipes deteriorate due to the attack of effluents and when buried in sulphate infested soils. Further in the sewage treatment plant, concrete structures are subjected to severe attack from corrosive gases particularly in sludge digestion tanks. Polymer-impregnated concrete due to its high sulphate and acid resistance, will prove to be a suitable material in these situations. ) Impregnation of Ferro-cement products: The ferro-cement techniques of construction is being extensively used in the manufacture of boats, fishing trawlers, domestic water tanks, grain storage tanks, man hole cover, etc. , Ferro cement products are generally this (1 to 4 cms) and as such are liable to corrode. Application of polymer impregnation techniques should improve the functional efficiency of ferro-cement products . h) Water Proofing of Structures: Seepage and leakage of water through roof and bathroom slabs, it a nagging problem and has not been fully over come by the use of conventional water proofing methods.The use of polymer impregnated mortar should solve this problem. i) Industrial Applications: Concrete has been used for floor in tanneries, Chemical Factories, dairy farms and in similar situations for withstanding the chemical attack, but performance has not been very satisfactory. The newly developed PIC will provide a permanent solution for durable flooring in such situations. 12. Case Studies: Two case studies are presented as follows: 1. Properties of Fiber Reinforced Polymer Concrete studied by Marinela Barbuta and Maria Harja 2. Polymer Concrete for Structural Restoration and Corrosion Protection of Concrete Support Columns.I. Properties of Fiber Reinforced Polymer Concrete studied by Marinela Barbuta and Maria Harja The experimental results of studies regarding polymer concrete with cellulose fibers are presented. The compositions used in the present study derive from a previous one which investigated a large number of compositions using different dosages of resin and filler. The mechanical characteristics such as: compressive strength, flexural strength and split tensile strength were investigated on fiber reinforced polymer concrete made with different dosages of resin and filler, the fiber dosage being constant for all mixtures.Materials The experimental researches on polymer concrete were made by using the following materials: polymer, fly ash as filler, crushed aggregates and fiber type ARBOCEL. The polymer was type epoxy resin, called ROPOXID, made in Romania by POLICOLOR Bucharest . The hardener was type ROMANID 407, also made by POLICOLOR Bucharest. The fly ash (FA) from the power plant CET Holboca, Jassy, was added to the fine aggregates. The fly ash is an inorganic waste produced by burning pulverized coal in power stations. Fly ash consists of many small, glass-like particles ranging in size from 0. 01 to 100 ? m.Chemically FA contains oxides, hydroxides, carbonates, silicates, and sulphates of calcium, iron and aluminum. The content in carbon is given from loss ignition. FA is a heterogeneous mixture of amorphous and crystalline phases and is generally considered to be a ferroaluminosilicate element. The mineralogical, physical and chemical properties of FA depend on the nature and composition of the coal, conditions of combustion, type of emission control devices, storage and evacuation methods. Storage methods may affect weathering rates, especially under humid conditions where soluble constituents may be leached.The principal characteristics of FA are: colour gray to black, function of carbon unburned, particles sizes between 0. 01 to 100 ? m; the shape of particles is spherical, specific surface is between 4,800. . . 5,200, the density is between 2,400 and 2,550 kg/m3 [ The aggregates were used in two sorts: 0. . . 4 mm and 4. . . 8 mm, with continuous granulosity, obtained from crushed river gravel by S. C. EMBERON SRL Jassy. The ARBOCEL fibers are natural cellulose fibers, produced by J. Rettenmaier & S? ohne GMBH. ARBOCEL is produced from cellulose in various qualities (fiber lengths, thicknesses, purities, etc. The properties of ARBOCEL cellulose fibers are: mean fiber length of 10 ? m, completely safe, insoluble in water and organic solvents, resistant to dilute acids and bases. The fiber was used in proportion of 3% from the mass of resin plus the hardener. Experimental Samples For the study of polymer concrete properties nine compositions (BPFF) were prepared in the experimental program (Table 1). [pic] The polymer concrete with different compositions as is given in Table 1, was prepared by mixing firstly the resin with hardener, then after complete homogenization the fibers were introduced in the mixture as shown in fig below [pic] Fig 1. Cellulose fiber mixing with resin. The fly ash w as added to the mix of aggregates and the resin and aggregates were mixed by the mechanical mixer. After complete mixing, the polymer concrete was poured in formworks. For each composition the density was determined. The following mechanical characteristics were experimentally tested: compressive strength on cube sample of 70. 7 mm sizes, flexural strength and split tensile strength on prismatic samples of sizes 210? 70? 70 mm, according to standard prescriptions. [pic] Fig. 2. – Samples of polymer concrete with fibers. Results and DiscussionsAccording to EN 12390/2001 the mechanical characteristics of polymer concrete with cellulose fiber, experimentally determined namely: compressivestrength (fc), flexural strength (fti) and split tensile strength (ftd) are given in Table below . [pic] From the experimental results the following observations can be made: a) The values of compressive strengths for polymer concrete with fibers (Fig. 3) vary between 62. 62 MPa (for BPFF7) and 46. 41 MPa (for BPFF2). Fig. 3. – Variation of compressive strength for polymer concrete with fiber. [pic] Fig. 3. – Variation of compressive strength for polymer concrete with fiber. ) With the increasing of resin and fly ash dosage the compressive strengths increase (Figs. 4 and 5). [pic] Compressive strength, MPa Fig. 4. – Variation of compressive strength for polymer concrete with fiber vs. the resin content, for 6. 4% FA. [pic] Fig. 5. – Variation of compressive strength for polymer concrete with fiber vs. the FA content, for 12. 4% resin. d) The values of flexure strengths for polymer concrete with fibers (Fig. 6)vary between 17. 57 MPa (for BPFF9) and 13. 55 MPa (for BPFF8), so, the decrease of resin dosage results in the increase of flexure strength. pic] Fig. 6. – Variation of flexural strength for polymer concrete with fiber. [pic] [pic] Fig. 7. – Variation of split tensile strength for polymer concrete with fiber: a – vs. t he resin content; b – vs. the sample number. d) The values of split tensile strengths for polymer concrete with fibers (Fig. 7) vary between 6. 94 MPa (for BPFF9) and 4. 29 N/mm2 (for BFF7); the increase of resin dosage results in the increase of split tensile strength. The experimental researches lead to the following observations: a) For the maximum epoxy resin dosage (16. %) compressive strength is reduced near minimum value, the flexure strength is medium, but the split tensile strength has high value. b) For the minimum epoxy resin dosage (12. 4%) compressive strength is reduced under the medium value, the flexure strength is also reduced, and the split tensile strength has value over the medium. c) For the maximum fly ash dosage (12. 8%) compressive strength and flexurestrength are medium, but the split tensile strength is near the highest value. d) For the minimum fly ash dosage (6. 4%) compressive strength and flexure strength are under the medium and the split tensil e strength is near medium value. ) For the same dosage of epoxy resin the maximum compressive strength and flexure strength were obtained for maximum fly ash dosage. It results that for increasing the compressive strength and flexure strength at same dosage of resin and fiber, it must be used the maximum dosage of fly ash. f) For the split tensile strength it must be used a medium fly ash dosage; The values of mechanical characteristics of polymer concrete are smaller then those of mechanical characteristics obtained for polymer concrete with silica fume and polymer concrete with fly ash . The author concluded that The experimental researches concerning the polymer concrete had investigatedthe mechanical characteristics of epoxy polymer concrete prepared with cellulose fibers and fly ash as filler. †¢ When the same dosage of cellulose fibers is used, the content of resin must be increased. Also for obtaining good mechanical properties the filler is used with higher dosages. â⠂¬ ¢ The experimental values of mechanical strengths for polymer concrete with cellulose fibers were smaller then that for polymer concrete without fibers. This type of fibers is not a good choice for polymer concrete reinforcement. II.Polymer Concrete for Structural Restoration and Corrosion Protection of Concrete Support Columns by David E. Snider and Heather M. Ramsey of Sauereisen Inc. A large copper mine and refinery in the western United States had a dilemma. Their cell house, which contains over 1,500 cells, each holding more than 20,000 gallons of electrolyte, had experienced severe corrosion and structural degradation of the support columns for the tanks. These columns support the cells in their solvent extraction and electrowinning process. This process entails immersion of a stainless steel cathode or â€Å"starter plate† into the electrolyte.Pure copper is deposited onto the starter plate during this 10-day digestion process. The collected copper is then further r efined at a separate location. Over time, highly acidic leakage from the cells had corroded the support columns to the point that their ability to adequately withstand the imposed load was in doubt. Additionally, the refinery desired to upgrade the facility’s ability to withstand seismic activity. The leakage, primarily copper sulfate and 25% sulfuric acid at a pH of 1. 0 or less, corroded not only the concrete but more significantly the reinforcement bar (rebar) encased in the concrete.Corrosion of the rebar resulted in an increase of internal pressure due to expansion of the corrosion products, therefore putting the concrete in high tensile stress. The direct effect of this stress was cracking and spalling of the concrete. Figure 1 shows a typical degradated column requiring restoration. [pic] The original construction of the columns used the rebar spaced 6-inches on center vertically and 18-inches on center horizontally. The refinery’s standard repair procedure was to remove corrosion products from the concrete and steel and then to top them with a polymer-modified portland-cement mortar.This standard repair method requires two (2) to three (3) days per column, and although temporarily affective, did not meet the company’s desire for a long-term solution. They decided upon a new approach using a polymer concrete (PC), which is a bisphenol A based-epoxy. This material is designed for maximum flowability, mechanical properties and chemical resistance. The PC repair system utilizes the polymer concrete for encapsulation, chemical protection, mechanical support and resistance to physical abuse. Figures 2 illustrates the method by which the stainless steel rebar was attached to the columns after surface-preparation.Stainless steel rebar was imbedded into the concrete floor using an epoxy mortar. Channels were saw-cut vertically in the concrete column. These channels provided a recess into which the rebar was bent and then secured into place with the epoxy mortar. Grouting of the rebar with this high strength epoxy mortar also served to provide tensile stress relief. By lowering stress relief, corrosion rates are reduced. [pic] Figure 2. Stainless steel rebar bent and grouted into the channels. To further ensure structural integrity and to upgrade seismic capabilities, the company chose to use fiberglass reinforcement (FRP) strips and wraps nder the PC. The strips were installed vertically on the columns and a fiberglass fabric was wrapped around the columns horizontally. The columns were formed and the polymer concrete was poured into place completely encapsulating the columns, the rebar and the FRP. This method required two (2) days per column. To date, 75 columns have been repaired using this method. Figures 3 and 4 show the forming and pouring of the PC. Figure 5 shows the PC after the form has been removed and the FRP that was applied to the columns. [pic] Figure 3. The forms placed around the column. . [pic] As me ntioned earlier, an important property of the PC is the flowability. The test for this property is ASTM C-143 and measures the â€Å"slump† of the polymer concrete. (Figure 6). A slump of 6 inches is considered to be flowable. This particular polymer concrete exhibits a slump of 8-inches, which is very flowable. Figures 6, 7 and 8 illustrate the flowability of the polymer concrete mixture. Table 1 lists some of the other physical properties of the polymer concrete used on this repair that were important considerations. [pic] Property at 7-days Value Property at 7- Days | Value | |Density |135 pounds/cft (2. 2gm/sq. cm) | |Compressive Strength |12,000 psi (84. 4 N/sq mm) | |Flexural Strength |3,000 psi (21. 1 N/ Sq. mm) | |Modulus of Elasticity |1. 08x 10(6)psi 7600 N/Sq mm | |Shrinkage` |0. 9 % | |Tensile Strength |2,400 psi (16. 9 N/Sq. mm) | The PC is roughly three times as strong as a portland cement mix (about 4,000 psi (281 kg / sq. cm. 28. 1 N/sq mm)) and is not chemic ally affected by the electrolyte. These properties make it an ideal product for the column restoration. As expected, none of the 75 columns repaired to date have exhibited any signs of failure and have required no maintenance since the repair program commenced in early 2007.Coatings will typically have a service life of 8 to 15 years depending upon the exposure and physical abuse. However, in this case, typical service life of coatings was six months. Their service life is also affected and somewhat limited as a result of application thickness. Coatings are generally applied at thicknesses ranging from a few mils up to a few hundred mils. Polymer concretes, however, are applied at a minimum thickness of 1 inch and may be applied as thick as 18 inches. The thickness of barrier coatings determines the overall permeability, which is a measure of water vapor’s ability to pass through a material.If the coating is less than 250 mils, the method used to determine permeability is bas ed on the water-vapor transmission (WVT) test ASTM E-96 or ASTM D-1653. Permeance is calculated from WVT. Permeability is obtained by multiplying permeance by thickness. A permeability of 10-8 (1. 49 x 10- 17 grams/Pa†¢s†¢m) or less is generally considered to provide a good barrier coating. Also due to the thickness, and other considerations, the service life of a polymer concrete is longer and requires far less maintenance. Experience with PCs by this manufacturer has shown no failures after 15 years of service.Laboratory evaluations coupled with field observations indicate the service life of PCs to be typically greater than 25 years. Figure 9 illustrates the completed column, including a protective topcoat for the FRP reinforced concrete. Although not needed for functionality, the topcoat was extended over the PC for aesthetics and coating integrity. [pic] Figure 9. Completed column repair. Many users of polymer concretes will entirely replace portland concrete with a f ull thickness of the polymer concrete. This is particularly true when extended downtimes are prohibitive. The lengthy cure time for standard portland based ement prior to receiving a protective coating is unacceptable for many facilities. After placement, polymer concretes may be placed into full chemical service after a 24-hour cure. Furthermore, with the strengths achieved with PC, it is usually possible to reduce the overall thickness to about ? of that commonly used with portland concretes. Typical thicknesses for PCs range from 1-inch to 4-inches. Polymer concretes may be engineered, formed and placed in the same manner that one would employ with a portland concrete structure. They also are reinforced in the same manner as portland concretes.Polymer concrete thicknesses are typically much less than that of the Portland concrete, therefore smaller diameter rebar is often used. At a thickness of 1 inch, one would use lesser thick rebar instead of a reasonably higher thick rebar c ommonly found with portland concrete constructions. Due to the ease of installation, the facility’s local preferred contractor was able to perform the work. The author concluded that Polymer concretes, which do not contain portland cement, have demonstrated tenacity as a protective barrier material in this difficult application and many others.This application required corrosion protection from a severely aggressive electrolyte, as well as protection from physical abuse. Other essential requirements were a system affording both ease of use and a quick turnaround time. Polymer concretes are also proving to be cost effective alternatives to using portland cement-based concretes with chemical-resistant topcoats for corrosion protection. The cost of maintenance for polymer concretes per year of service life is significantly less than that of concrete with applied barrier coatings, which may require multiple re-applications over the same number of years of service.Conclusion: 1. T he major factor that has been responsible for the extensive use of polymer-based materials in civil engineering is their advantages, viz . increased tensile strength, compressive strength, freeze-thaw durability, and decreased water permeability to a negligible value. 2. Owing to its excellent resistance to chemical attack i. e sulphate attack, acidic attack, saline water, radiation from nuclear substances polymer concrete has great potential over Portland cement for the design of structures in such industries, desalination plants, nuclear plants, underwater structures, overlays in bridge decks. . There are many type of application of repairing material available such as grout, motar, concrete, sprayed concrete and cement based material. Among these, resin based materials are performed much better than the others. 4. The cost of maintenance for polymer concretes per year of service life is significantly less than that of concrete with applied barrier coatings, which may require mult iple re-applications over the same number of years of service. 5. Extended use of pre stressed elements could be permitted with the reduced permeability possible. 6.The incorporation of dyes with the plastics used for polymerization opens another aesthetic aspect of concern to civil engineers and architects, as does the potential size decrease for greater span/depth ratios. 7. The only barrier to be focussed on is its higher cost in comparison to OPC and further research for economic production of polymer concrete would help to overcome this problem. References 1. â€Å"Properties of Fiber Reinforced Polymner Concrete†, Msrinela Barbuta and Maria Harja, Univerisity Technica, Tomul LIV(LVIII) Fasc,3, 2008, Constructii Architectura. . Muttukumar M. , Mohan D. J. , Polymer Res. 12, (2004) 3. â€Å"Polymer Concrete for Structural Restoration and corrosion protection of Concrete Support Columns† of David E. Snider and Heather M. Samsey of Sauereisen Inc. , 4. â€Å"Polymer concrete and its potential in the Construction industry†, Luke M. Snell,1 H. Aldridge Gillespie, and Robert Y. Nelson, Department of Civil Engineering, West Virginia University, Morgantown, West Virginia, and School of Civil Engineering and Environmental Science, University of Oklahoma Norman

Developing Implementation Plan Obesity in Children Essay

Developing Implementation Plan Obesity in Children - Essay Example As the discussion stresses a formal approval is sought from fellow staff to seek their contributions to the study in one way or the order. Because both forms of involvements are done on a voluntary basis, it is always important that the researcher devises a strategic method in ensuring that the approvals are not declined. As part of the method of obtaining the necessary approval therefore, the researcher shall ensure that there is first a verbal consultation among all targeted persons, whereby a ‘water-testing’ strategy shall be undertaken to have an idea of those who will be willing to be involved in the study and those who are not. Thereafter, a consent form that clearly spells out all ethical considerations including the need to keep the identities of respondents confidential and anonymous shall be released to the targeted stakeholders. It is hoped that with the assurance of ensuring high sense and level of ethics, the organization’s leadership and fellow staff will be willing to be part of the study. Description of current problem The current issue has to do with the introduction of a new intervention that seeks to tackle the problem of obesity in children. This paper highlgihts that the need and rationale behind the present issue is rooted in the weaknesses identified in the current procedure. Presently, the fight against obesity in children is approached using the masses procedure. By this, all children suffering from obesity are categorized as one group of persons with a common problem and thus demanding a common intervention. However, for some years now that this strategy has been used, it has been found that the strategy has been very ineffective in yielding needed results. This is because according to state data and record, regardless of the existing procedure, obesity in children continues to go high. The proposed intervention would therefore take a form and structure that is directly opposite to what exists currently. This is bec ause it will identify children with obesity as individual persons rather than a group. With this, the researcher shall have the opportunity to critically scrutinizing the cause of each child’s risk of obesity. Thereafter, the researcher shall be offered the opportunity to assigning the most suitable solutions to each child’s case; noting that they all have different causes to their problems. A very crucial part of the proposed solution or issue is that is it backed with several theories and research findings.  

Accounting theory Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Accounting theory - Essay Example The money is the only and ultimate source of exchange in the world, and therefore, the companies have to acquire human and other resources by paying the suppliers money. The theory of Resource Dependence argues that organizations cannot survive without receiving social support from the relevant societies. However, the companies need to create success in order to gift their investors with the construct of trust that forms a cornerstone of any kind of human relation one can think of. The organizations have to serve the needs and wants of the investors and shareholders as well. The financial recordkeeping is far reaching in terms of sustaining a relationship with the stakeholders. The accounting systems might have the flaws, but despite that, one cannot possibly give up on them because they form an integral part of the business. The field of accounting is filled with corruption and dishonesty, but it does not mean that the system is wrongful in nature. However, those who are running it might be doing corruption (Cecchetti, 2006). In this way, the accountant becomes corrupt and dishonest with his or her profession. The field of accounting has become a flashpoint of corruption in recent years because of unveiling fraudulent activities in the departments of the leading companies. The conceptual framework behind the art and science of accounting has a design to pass entries in order to depict the exact situation of the business. The experts use the term creative accounting in order to refer to the practices that accountants apply to manipulate the stakeholders. The accountants create attractive level of working capital so that the financial outlook of their companies can appear attractive in the eyes of the stakeholders. The issues in the field began to intensify after the application of Generally Acceptable Accounting Practices (GAAP). The accountants apply the

Critical Thinking Questions Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Critical Thinking Questions - Coursework Example a teacher leader, the principles which one should use include leading with values, people centered, achievement oriented and managing tensions and dilemmas (Day and Harris, 2012). Changes are of different categories, and they all depend with the teacher leader who wants to implement them. In this circumstance, implementing a permanent change to the institutions will be more beneficial in making the institutions realize their visions. It will involve making necessary adjustment, which matches the need of the institutions. In order to ensure that this becomes successful, it will need evaluation of the areas which needs to be improved (Reeves, 2008). It will also need assessment at ensuring that the critical areas are taken into consideration. Implementation of change begins with assessment of the areas which needs to be changed. As an educational leader, you need to involve all parties including students and other fellows in ensuring that all goes well. This will entail working on programs which will bring change to all stakeholders (Danielson, 2007). However, implementation of change is different from managing change since implementation deals with introducing changes whereas management of change involve making necessary adjustment in the process of already existing

Darwin's Rib by Robert S. Root-Bernstein Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Darwin's Rib by Robert S. Root-Bernstein - Essay Example The present research has identified that a student declares that males have one fewer pair of ribs than women, based on the Biblical assertion that God took a rib from Adam to create Eve. This paper illustrates that in order to support the fact of biological evolution; Root-Bernstein employs evidence and reason. Firstly, he cites the proven failure of the Lamarckian theory of inheritance. Egg cells, containing unalterable genetic information, are formed before birth, and somatic modifications cannot be inherited by offspring. The researcher states that on this basis, men can only have the normal number of ribs, irrespective of whether God removed one of Adam’s ribs. Secondly, as ribs are not a sex-linked characteristic, there is no reason for males and females to differ in this aspect. Sexual dimorphism is not necessary for ribs. Professor Robert S. Root-Bernstein, in line with his belief in religious freedom, goes on to reason that the above scientific evidence does not neces sarily contradict religious beliefs. From the research, it can be comprehended that Professor Robert S. Root-Bernstein reasons that the Bible does not specify the number of ribs Adam initially had. From the research, it can be comprehended that there is no biblical basis to infer that Adam had the same number of ribs as modern humans and that his male descendants should be short of a rib after God removed a rib from Adam.  

Comprehensive Classroom and Organization Plan Research Paper

Comprehensive Classroom and Organization Plan - Research Paper Example As such, one’s teaching philosophy also evolves as one attempts to improve in the profession. To a larger extent, one also strives to achieve personal growth. Peters (2009) quotes Stephen Brookfield (1990) on the two purposes of a teaching philosophy: personal purpose and pedagogical purpose. At a personal level, a teaching philosophy serves as a vision to remain grounded on the reasons behind what one has chosen to pursue as a career. The pedagogical purpose, on the other hand, defines the difference that one is making in a student’s life and his/her learning. A number of educational theorists have influenced my own teaching philosophy. Prominent among them are Howard Gardner, John Dewey, Paolo Freiri, and Kurt Hahn. I believe that teaching and learning have transformative powers, and for changes to happen within and without, content must always interact with the context. I make a strong point of allowing students to â€Å"learn by doing† and continuously provid ing opportunities to create a link between theory and daily situations. Furthermore, I believe learning happens in a social context and pedagogy must be inclusive with special attention to the diverse population inside the classroom. Towards implementing this philosophy, it is essential to provide careful attention to classroom management and organization. Classroom Management and Organization Plan The Rules. Dixie (2007) justifies the need for rules and routines stating that: â€Å"by providing our pupils with a system of well-defined rules, routines and sanctions you will be providing these youngsters with the security they need at this crucial stage of their lives, and in doing so, you will be providing a firm foundation for learning† (p. 19). I have adopted a less authoritative and more democratic system of establishing rules in the classroom. It stems from the desire to give students the right to feel safe, emotionally and physically, in the classroom. Furthermore, by in volving the students in the process of creating the rules, I hope to instill within them a sense of ownership of the rules established. First grade students are usually familiar with rules in school and the teacher’s role is to facilitate and ask probing questions to encourage important rules to be articulated. I find this a meaningful exercise because later in life, â€Å"they need to know how to participate in decision-making and obey with discretion so that they do not give the responsibility for their own behavior to someone else† (Lewis, 2008, p. 42). Some of the rules that students established are listed below. I facilitated to ensure that rules are stated in positive sentences [avoiding negative words, such as ‘no’, ‘not’, and ‘don’t]. (1) Always ask permission before taking someone else’s things. (2) Listen to the teacher and classmates, and wait for your chance to speak. (3) Treat others fairly and honestly. (4) Ke ep your work space clean and the whole classroom tidy. Procedures and Routines. Similar to rules, routines and procedures were created with participation from the students. It is essential to discuss the reasons behind these routines to the students. For instance, in transferring from one classroom to another during Art Class, they have to walk quietly and ensure that they have all the materials required for

Coca-Cola's Marketing Strategy Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Coca-Cola's Marketing Strategy - Essay Example The company has been accused of using up water from the aquifers that are around their production plants creating acute water shortages around. Anders approximates that the firm uses almost three litres of water to make just one litre of Coca-Cola (12). They have been accused of discharging toxic water containing Malathion, DDT and chlorpyrifos. These are pesticides, which are carcinogenic and are known to lead to individuals’ immune systems being compromised. Besides the obvious health, concerns a rising from the toxic waste from the firm poses a major environmental threat to water reserves and the soil (White et. al. 15). DDT is a non-biodegradable pesticide thus its effects in the soil have a long-term effect to the soil and water and the communities around the enterprise. The company has been accused of dehydrating the communities around it destroying their agricultural calendars. Farmers are unable to sustain their farms, which they usually do by irrigation to sustain the ir crops putting their entire families at the risk of losing their lively hood (White et. al. 17). The impact of the water shortages has been felt most in the semi-arid areas such as Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan where the company has over exploited the valuable resources. Coca cola has made efforts in an attempt to conserve water such as cooling water recirculation, water reuse and water recycling, and proper use of de-ionized water (Anders 73). Besides the aforementioned techniques, the firm may consider employing landscaping as a major way.

New Social Movements Essay Example for Free

New Social Movements Essay To what extent do new social movements represent a challenge to established ways of conducting liberal democratic policies? In order to understand the extent of the challenge posed by new social movements to liberal democratic policy and the ways in which they are conducted one must first understand what these policies entail. These policies or principles are listed by Goodwin as: 1. Supremacy of the people. 2. Consent of the governed as the basis of legitimacy. 3. The rule of law: peaceful methods of conflict resolution. 4. The existence of the common good or public interest, 5. The value of the individual as a rational moral active citizen. 6. Equal rights for all individuals.1 The modern day concept of a liberal democracy is based on the liberalist movement of the philosophers of the eighteenth century. However the advent of past social has resulted in challenges to the ways in which liberal democracy has been and is conducted over the intervening years since that time; the suffrage movement and the American civil rights movement against segregation are two such examples. These movements were successful because those in power allowed them to succeed (admittedly with some reluctance). More recently, that is over the past twenty to thirty years new social movements have grown up. These movements are campaigning on various issues including: * Anti globalisation; the backlash against the increase in power of large corporations and the perceived lack of legislation restricting their actions. * Extremist religious groups. * Environmental change; the movement and groups pushing for greater respect for the planet in a global community. There are also many other groups which have grown up as a result of the mass movement of peoples. These groups campaign for greater minority rights, and more freedom to express cultural heritage. Heywood states additionally that these groups are a result of the post-modernist era: If the major political ideologies were in their various ways, products of modernisation [i.e. the labour movement of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries], the transition from a modern to a post modern society cannot but have profound significance for their [the new movements] roles and character [] post modernity [] has both thrown

Does the European Union Have a Democratic Deficit?

Does the European Union Have a Democratic Deficit? Critically discuss whether the European Union suffers from a Democratic deficit. In your answer refer to the past and present situations and to the possible future under the Treaty establishing a Constitution for Europe. Introduction This paper evaluates the democratic credentials of the European Union, considering the popular criticism that the Union suffers from a so-called â€Å"democratic deficit† in its legislative processes. The past, present and possible future state of the Union is analysed so as to determine the truth behind this concern and to analyse the way in which the Union has evolved to mollify its critics in this respect. The proposed Constitutional Treaty is most unlikely to be adopted in its present draft in the short-medium term given its rejection by France and The Netherlands at national referenda in 2005.[1] However, this paper considers the ways in which the draft Constitutional Treaty proposes to address further the problem of the Union’s democratic deficit.. The Changing Face of Europe: One Common Concern In 1957 the Treaty of Rome[2] was signed with the aim of creating a deep economic relationship between six European states: France, Germany, Italy, Belgium, The Netherlands and Luxembourg.. The architects of the European Economic Community, including Schumann and Monnet, were fearful of the threat of a devastating third war on the European continent and keen to encourage European states to associate more closely together to reduce that risk. In those early days, that was the ostensible extent of political ambition.. The Treaty of Rome was not intended to have a constitutional perspective or scope and did not concern itself with issues appropriate to that form of measure.. However, the Single European Act[3] brought into effect a conscious and determined scheme to bring the member states of the EEC closer together. The range of policies under the auspices of the EEC began to grow significantly and the European Commission, led by the famous Jacques Delors[4] became extremely proactive in the law making process.[5] Criticisms of the way in which EEC law was made had been laid against the Community by Euro-sceptic politicians, academic commentators, journalists and the public at large for years prior to the mid 1980s, but it was at around the time of the passing of the Single European Act that those criticisms and concerns really gained force. The EEC institutions were criticised as operating under what was called a democratic deficit. This is shorthand for the allegation that the EEC institutional and legislative systems were allowing unelected, faceless bureaucrats to create law that would have binding effect across the Community, rather than preserving that task for national representatives elected by direct universal suffrage. The common public and media perception that the EEC was not an effective democratic entity became quickly entrenched as the Commission began producing more and more law for application in the member states. It is submitted that the matter would not perhaps have attracted such concern if EC law took second place to national law but in fact criticisms of the democratic deficit were sharpened and polarised by the principle of the sovereignty of EC law, which dictated that law issuing from this body of dubious democratic credentials took precedence over the highest forms of national law created by ancient democracies: see Costa v ENEL[6] In terms of a personal critical appraisal it is asserted that there is little doubt the â€Å"democratic deficit† criticism was originally well made and well founded.. The European Assembly was no more than a talking shop, with very few powers, until the passing of the Single European Act and the bureaucratic Commission was without question the legislative engine of the EEC. Perhaps the best evidence of the extent of the democratic deficit is to be found in observation of the considerable efforts of the Community to address the issue in more recent times. For example, the Single European Act itself, in a subtle move, renamed the Assembly the European Parliament, presumably to give the institution a more democratically-positive and authoritative (sounding) title. The new Parliament was also allowed some marginal new powers in the law making process of the Community. This gesture did nothing to silence those critical of the EEC lack of democracy. Commonly known as the Maastricht Treaty, the Treaty on European Union[7], was signed in 1992 and the EEC became the EC, which in turn became one part of the European Union. Alongside other massive changes, again the law making powers of the European Parliament were strengthened and developed, this time quite substantially so, in an attempt to re-balance the legislative processes of the Union. It was hoped that this would further mollify those critical of the Union’s democratic deficit. It is submitted that the fully elected Parliament now had a real and effective part to play in the EU law making regime, but criticism of a democratic deficit still persisted given the huge influence and power that the unelected Commission still retained over the process. The Treaties of Amsterdam and Nice followed. These were largely aimed at reorganising the EU law and institutions so that the Union could operate more effectively and smoothly after its intended enlargements. This enlargement has now taken place and on 1 January 2007 the Union expanded to embrace 27 member states with the accession of Bulgaria and Romania.[8] It was hoped that a new EU Constitution could have been adopted prior to the recent enlargement phase in order to better equip the expanded Union for its future operation and growth. The Constitutional Treaty The first step towards the establishment of an EU constitution was the signing of the Treaty establishing a Constitution for Europe in October 2004.[9] Inter alia, the draft Treaty provides that seats in the European Parliament will be distributed on a degressive proportional basis and that the Commission (which lacks any democratic authority) will be reduced in size from 2014, so as to make the number of Commissioners equivalent to two-thirds of the number of member states. Addressing the democratic deficit head on, the Constitutional Treaty’s default law making procedure would be one requiring the joint adoption of measures by the Council and the European Parliament.[10] The Treaty would have required the Council to convene in public when making law and required that national parliaments would receive information relating to new EU legislative proposals in sufficient time to allow them to instruct ministers as to how to cast their vote in Council. Furthermore, the Treaty would have given national parliaments the power to return proposals to the Commission for reconsideration if they believe the matter at issue lies outside the competence of the European Union and the Treaty proposed to give the principle of subsidiarity the important status of a fundamental legal principle of the Union. In addition, the Treaty would have established a so-called citizens’ right of initiative, which would require the Commission to consider proposals for legislation that gained the support of at least 1 million citizens of the EU. That said, it is debatable precisely what force and effect this might have had in practice, given that consideration may merely result in the Commission saying â€Å"No†, or rather â€Å"Non†. In combination these reforms would have gone some way to counter persistent criticisms that the EU labours under a democratic deficit.[11] However, it is submitted that Avbelj overstates its potential effect when he somewhat tenuously suggests: ‘The EUs formal democratic deficit is not as a big problem as it is portrayed, and the new Constitution in its present form can remedy most, if not all of it.’[12] In rebuttal, Irish Party Sinn Fein has observed: ‘The Constitution does not effectively redress the democratic deficit issues identified in the Laeken Declaration. Instead it shifts the balance of power and control yet further from the sovereign national parliaments and towards the EU.’[13] In particular, it is stressed that the European Commission would remain the sole initiator of legislative proposals under the draft Treaty. Other bodies, including the European Parliament, the Council and lobbying blocks of millions of citizens can merely ask the Commission to consider drafting a proposal.[14] Concluding Comments In conclusion it is submitted that the European Union does and always has suffered from a democratic deficit. This stems from the very foundations of the European Economic Community, when the European Commission was given largely unrestricted bureaucratic powers to administer what began in effect as little more than an economic club. The essential problem has been that the EEC quickly outgrew its initial parameters and objectives, soon becoming the European Community (dispensing with the word â€Å"Economic† because now its horizons were much broader)[15] within a greater EU, but the Commission has stayed, incongruously it is submitted, at the very heart of the law making process throughout this period of rapid growth and evolution. In simple words, the EEC began with a massive democratic deficit but it did not become controversial until it began to develop its powers. Since the mid 1980s the democratic deficit has gradually been whittled away, largely through successive Treaty amendments which have slowly given more power and influence to the elected European Parliament.. It is true that the draft Constitutional Treaty would have continued this process, introducing further reforms to address the democratic deficit. However, the Commission, which lacks democratic credentials, will still cling tightly to the law making process even if the implementation of the Treaty proposals ultimately takes place.. In order to banish the spectre of the democratic deficit completely from the European Union and its processes it will be necessary drastically to re-assess the role of the European Commission. The Commission will need to be reduced in status to that of an ordinary national civil service, and the European Parliament must assume full responsibility for law-making, before the EU can hope to assert full democratic authority. This will be a bitter pill for the Commission to swallow: it has always jealously and vociferously guarded its role and power. However, if the EU is to mature into a deeper union this policy must at some point be implemented. BIBLIOGRAPHY Consolidated version of the Treaty establishing the European Economic Community: http://eur-lex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/site/en/oj/2006/ce321/ce32120061229en000103 31.pdf. Treaty establishing a Constitution for Europe (2004): http://europa.eu.int/constitution/index_en.htm Avbelj M., Can the New European Constitution Remedy the EU Democratic Deficit? (2005): http://www.eumap.org/journal/features/2005/demodef/avbelj. The European Union: Balancing Democratic Deficit? (2005/03/10): http://www.eumap.org/journal/features/2005/demodef. Foster, EC Legislation (2006-2007), (2006) Blackstone’s Statutes (London) Kent, Law of the European Union, (2001) Longman Report from the Presidency of the Convention to the President of the European Council (18.07.2003) see: http://european-convention.eu.int/bienvenue.asp?lang=EN Steiner and Woods, Textbook on EC Law, (2003) Blackstone Straw sees no point in EU vote, June 6 2005: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/4612021.stm Cases as footnoted. 1 [1] Straw sees no point in EU vote, June 6 2005: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/4612021.stm [2] Consolidated version of the Treaty establishing the European Economic Community: http://eur-lex.europa..eu/LexUriServ/site/en/oj/2006/ce321/ce32120061229en000103 31.pdf. [3] The SEA entered into force in July 1987. [4] President of the European Commission 1985 1995. [5] See for context Margaret Thatcher’s statement to the Hanover European Council, July 30 1988: Hansard HC [136/525-35]http://www.margaretthatcher.org/speeches/displaydocument..asp?docid=107281. [6] Case 6/64. [7] Foster, EC Legislation (2006-2007), (2006) Blackstone’s Statutes (London). [8] See: http://europa.eu/pol/enlarg/index_en..htm. [9] See for detail: http://europa.eu.int/constitution/index_en.htm. [10] Report from the Presidency of the Convention to the President of the European Council (18.07.2003) see: http://european-convention.eu.int/bienvenue..asp?lang=EN. [11] The European Union: Balancing Democratic Deficit? (2005/03/10): http://www.eumap.org/journal/features/2005/demodef. [12] Avbelj M., Can the New European Constitution Remedy the EU Democratic Deficit? (2005): http://www.eumap.org/journal/features/2005/demodef/avbelj. [13] Ireland and the EU Constitution: http://www.sinnfein.ie/pdf/EUConstitutionPamphlet.pdf, p10. [14] Can it really be argued that EU laws can be described as national governments acting at EU level when the European Commission has the sole right to propose those laws? [15] See: Kent, Law of the European Union, (2001) Longman, p.9.