Outline How Material Things Essay Example for Free

Outline How Material Things Essay This essay will outline how material things on City Road favour the activities of some groups of people over others by looking at Ethnicity, Class and Gender. City Road is a big road filled with lots of different cultures, gender, class, age and history. When walking down the road it can be seen that the belonging and not belonging in the society. It opens your eyes as to what exactly goes on in different societies and City Road is a big street with a lot of demands and structures in it. Over the years society changed and so did the street. It goes by what is in demand, how society changes and by the vast majority of different cultures coming into the area. You see a lot of people trying to conform to the society and many trying to hold onto their own identities. First of all I’m going to talk about the Ethnicity on the street. We are going to the Xquisite Africa shop. Janet, the lady that owns the shop originates from Africa and moved to the UK over ten years ago. When she came to the UK she thought that she had to change her identity and conform to the society. She sells a lot of things from Africa and by doing this she gets to hold onto her identity of the African culture and also appeals to customers from the same ethnic background. She felt after being in the UK for ten years that she had lost her identity and so she decided to take a trip back home to Africa to re-charge her batteries as she puts it. She wanted to re-gain her culture that she so desperately lost. This aspect could help her re-gain her culture and identity and allows her to share this with the right clientele from a multi-racial background. She can share a state of belonging to a social group that has in common a national or cultural background, whilst negotiating with people on the complex of different identities. She contributes to the African social life and society as well as on City Road. Therefore promoting her African background and understanding there is no need to conform to the society and changing her identity. We then move onto class in the Municipal Club. A social stratum, whose members share a certain economic, social or cultural characteristics. For this instance the working class. It is aimed at the local residents and has over 100 years of history. A group containing members regarded as having certain attributes of traits in common has slowly disappeared and they long for the society to change back to what they believed it was. Whilst in the (DVD, Making social lives on City Road, 2009, scene 5) Lloyd Robson talks to couple of residents in the club and gets their insight of what is going on. He asked them if they thought the club had a future. They said no. no-one wants to know it anymore and even the members have started to lose interest. But because the society has changed it meant that they described city road as being dangerous and rough. They long for the past. They want it to go back to what they say it used to be or imagined it. The inequalities and differences that has changed and also the traditions has been lost. They lack the sense of belonging they used to have when City Road used to be theirs. Then we come across the Sanna Silk shop. This is where the female is favoured over the male. It’s a family business orientated around females as they sell and make dresses of different materials. They get to choose their type of material and their patterns. It is mainly focused at Asian women. In the (DVD, Making social lives on City Road, 2009, scene 6 by Raghuran) she says â€Å"it is a very different way of portraying Asian women than I often seen in the media. † They also have a section for jewellery. Most of their jewellery is 22 carat gold and is mainly aimed at the women. They also have a selection for their wedding day. So it has an Asian culture that is even though yes men go in to buy but is very female orientated. Conclusion Therefore in City Road, my examples favour female gender activities over male, is a very multi-racial area and favours specific class over others. Therefore explaining that society changes all of the time and conforms to whatever is more in demand in that specific time of era.

Indus valley civilizations Essay Example for Free

Indus valley civilizations Essay The Indus Valley civilization is an ancient civilization that prospered along the Indus River and Ghaggar-Hakra River in present day Pakistan and India. The Indus valley civilization is sometimes called the Harappan Civilization in reference to the first excavated city called Harappa. The Indus Valley civilization was discovered in the 1920s. The existence of the Indus Civilization is only proved by excavations and maybe some Sumerian writings, e. g. The Mehulan, which is said to correspond with Indus Valley civilization. The Indus Valley Civilization extended from Balochistan to Gujarat, with an upward reach to Punjab from east of the river Jhelum to Rupar on the upper Sutlej. Coastal settlements extended from Sutkagan Dor in Western Baluchistan to Lothal in Gujarat. Besides the western states of India, the Indus Valley Civilization encompassed most of Pakistan. An Indus Valley site has been found on the Oxus River at Shortughai in northern Afghanistan, at Sutkagen dor (Western Baluchistan, Pakistan), at Mandu on the Beas River near Jammu, and at Alamgirpur on the Hindon River, only 28 km from Delhi. Indus Valley sites have been found most often on rivers, but also on lakes, the ancient sea-coast and on islands. There is no documentary evidence that the Indus civilization really existed. What is known of it is the archeological evidence. The assumption that a civilization once existed and prospered in that valley is based on what was found there at the at the excavation sites. It is a well known fact, through out history, ancient Civilizations always started along the banks of rivers or water bodies. Archeologists create theories out of their findings. Most of the artifacts found on archeological sites are explained away with out any substantial recorded facts to back their explanations. The discovery of the Indus valley civilization proves that indeed there has been some human presence around there but the question is: is the Indus valley civilization exactly what we are being told it is today? Are the facts acceptable for scholarly pursuits? It has being recorded that the Indus valley civilization had elements of urbanism such as advanced sewerage systems, dockyards, warehouses, granaries such as we have today. One could clearly conclude from these facts that a great form of civilization indeed existed which might be the basis of what we have today. The lack of authoritative and verifiable written materials on the Indus civilization makes it very difficult to study. This is because the proof of it does not exist in writing in the first place so that at least they can serve as other sources for referencing when in doubt. Good scholarly conclusions can only be drawn from authentic facts which can be proven over time and this is not a very strong point of the Indus civilization.

Effect of Temperature on the Activation Energy

Effect of Temperature on the Activation Energy Title: Investigating the Effect of Temperature on the Activation Energy Planning A. Hypothesis I predict that as temperature rises, the faster are the rates of reaction. The reaction that will be studied in this experiment is between magnesium and sulphuric acid. This reaction is shown in the chemical equation below: Mg (s) + H2S04 (aq) → MgS04 (aq) + H2 (g) In this experiment, 0.4 grams of magnesium ribbon will be used, together with 100 cubic centimeters of sulphuric acid which is in excess. The variable that I will be changing is the temperature of the water baths where the reactants (sulphuric acid and magnesium ribbon) will be placed. The volume of the gas (hydrogen gas) to be collected at each varying water bath temperature is 100 cubic centimeters. The time it takes for to collect 100 cubic centimeters of the hydrogen gas will be measured to calculate the rate of reaction. B. Background The fundamental basis of the collision theory is the kinetic theory which describes the state of matter in terms of the energy of its particles, (Energex, 2006). According to Wilbraham and others (1997), â€Å"the kinetic theory says that the tiny particles in all forms of matter are in constant motion. When heated, the particles of the substance absorb energy, some of which is stored within the particles. This stored energy does not raise the temperature of the substance. The rest of the energy goes into speeding up the particles.† Particles lacking the necessary kinetic energy to react still collide but simply bounce back. Substances decompose to simpler forms, or form new substances when supplied with sufficient energy, called the â€Å"activation energy†. The activation energy is a barrier or an obstacle that the reactants must cross in order to decompose into simpler substances, or to combine and form new products. At higher temperatures, the particles of a substance move faster and become more energetic. Thus, increasing temperatures help speed up the reaction by first increasing the amount of collisions of particles and cross over the energy barrier. Wilbraham and others argue that â€Å"the main effect of increasing the temperature is to increase the number of particles that have enough kinetic energy to react when they collide. More colliding molecules are energetic enough to slip over the energy barrier to become products.† The frequency of high energy collisions between reactants increase, thus, products form faster. The illustration above shows the basis for the postulate: â€Å"raising the temperature increases the rate of reaction because the added kinetic energy allows a larger fraction of reactants to go over the hill†, (Norton, 2003). C. Risk Assessment Sulphuric acid is a strong, corrosive substance. Therefore, care should be observed when performing the experiment. I will keep in mind the following safety precautions to ensure a safe experiment: To protect the eyes from the strong acid, goggles should be worn. Care in handling the sulphuric acid should be observed. I will not pipette acid by mouth. The temperature of the water baths should be ascertained carefully to prevent scalding. The beaker with hot water bath should be set up carefully to prevent it from being knocked over. D. Fair test To ensure a fair test and high reliability of results from this experiment, I will observe the following measures: All apparatus and equipment shall be cleaned after each time where the time it takes to collect 100 cc of hydrogen gas is obtained at each run of the experiment. The reading for the volume of the sulphuric acid shall be made very carefully by reading from the lower meniscus of the 100 cubic centimeter mark. The volume of the sulphuric acid and the weight of the magnesium ribbon will be measured very accurately for all time measurements at every temperature level at each run of the experiment. The bung should be correctly and tightly placed to prevent the collected hydrogen gas from escaping. In order to achieve a constant and stable temperature for each time measurement, after adding the magnesium ribbon to the sulphuric acid, I will wait for 20 seconds to make sure that the temperature is kept constant. . Procedure of the experiment: Materials needed: For this experiment, the following are the materials that are to be used: 0.4 grams of Magnesium ribbon 100 cubic centimeters of 0.3 Molar sulphuric acid 100 cc gas syringe for the collection of the hydrogen gas (H2) stopwatch for measuring the time it takes to collect 100 cubic centimeters of the H2 gas Thermometer for measuring the temperature of the hot water baths 200 cc conical flask for the sulphuric acid 500 ml graduated cylinder for measuring the sulphuric acid 500 ml beaker for the water baths water baths with the following temperatures: 18.5 °C, 30 °C, 40 ºC, 50 ºC, 60 ºC, and 70 ºC. analytical balance for measuring 0.4 grams of magnesium ribbon Procedure: 1. Set up the materials while making sure that they are clean and the reagents are not contaminated. 2. Using a graduated cylinder, measure 100 cc of 0.3 molar concentration of sulphuric acid. 3. Carefully weigh 0.4 grams of Magnesium ribbon using an analytical balance to make sure that the weight measurement is accurate. 4. Pour the water bath with the desired temperature into the beaker. 5. Carefully put the conical flask with the sulphuric acid and into the beaker with the water bath. 6. Put the 0.4 grams of magnesium ribbon into the conical flask. 7. Measure the time it takes to collect 100 cubic centimeters of hydrogen gas into the gas syringe. 8. Repeat steps 1-7 for every desired temperature. 10. Label the time recorded as run 1. 11. Make 2 more runs for this experiment. IV. Results: Data Gathered: The time measurements for each temperature of 18.5 °C, 30 °C, 40 ºC, 50 ºC, 60 ºC, and 70 ºC were obtained and tabulated below (Table 1). Table 1. Temperature Measurements for the Three Runs or Trials The rates of reaction were obtained using the following formula below: Reaction Rate = Volume of gas collected in cc / Time it takes to collect the gas in seconds The calculated reaction rates (Volume / Time) for each set temperature for the three runs were tabulated below: Table 2. Reaction Rate of Each Run The tabulated data of reaction rates above were then graphed for all the three runs. The graph shows the same pattern for all the runs. Graph 1: Reaction Rate Vs. Time Graph of the Three Runs Using the same data, the average of all calculated reaction rates for each set temperature in every run were taken and tabulated below: Table 3: Average Reaction Rate for Each run The average reaction rate of all the three runs are then graphed below: Graph 2: Average Reaction Rate Vs. Temperature. Determination of the Activation Energy: The linear relationship between a rate constant or reaction rate and temperature is given in the equation: In k = -Ea/R X 1/T + In A, which is obtained from the Arrhenius equation that relates temperature, rate constant and activation energy. To solve this equation, the rate constant or reaction rate at several temperature values obtained in the experiment are required. Activation energy can be calculated from the obtained temperature values and each respective rate constant by graphing In k versus 1/T. The In k values were obtained using a calculator, where for every value of reaction rate (k) entered into the calculator, the In function is pressed and the In k value was given. . Table 4: In K and 1 /T Values with the Corresponding Time and Rate of the First Run After obtaining the In k and 1 / T values for the first run, they were graphed as shown below: Graph 3: In k versus 1/T (First Run) The slope of the In k versus 1/T graph for the first run was obtained the using a line of â€Å"best fit† through the points in the graph. A perpendicular line was drawn at points A and B. In the graph, A is equal to the distance between 0.6700 and 0.400 in the Y-axis and B is the distance between points 0.0033 and 0.0032 in the X-axis. So, to solve for the slope: Line A = 0.6740-0.400 = 0.2740 and for line B = 0.0033-.00032= -0.0001 Slope = Line A / Line B = 0.02740 / 0.0001 = -2740 Graph 4: In k Versus 1/T showing the Slope The relationship between slope and activation energy is: slope = -Ea/R. Hence, the activation energy for the reaction for the first run is: -2740= -Ea/R Ea = (-2740) (8.314J/mol) Ea= 22780.36 J/mol Similarly, data for the second run were obtained and tabulated as shown below: Table 4: In K and 1 /T Values with the Corresponding Time and Rate of the Second Run The values of In k and 1/T for the second run were graphed as shown below: Graph 5: In k – 1/T Graph for the Second Run The slope of the above In k versus 1/T graph for the second run was determined by drawing a perpendicular line in the best fit points such as in the graph of the first run. For the second run, the slope is equal to: -1093.16 So, the activation energy for the second run is: -1093.16 = -Ea/R -Ea = (-1093.16) (8.314 J/mol) Ea = 9088.53 J/mol Data for the In k versus 1/T graph for the third run are as follows were similarly obtained and tabulated as follows: The graph of the tabulated data above is shown below: The slope of the above In k versus 1/T above is: -1274.70 So the activation energy for the third run is: -1267.89 = -Ea/R -Ea = (1267.89) (8.314 J/mol) Ea= 10541.23 J /mol Thus, the activation energy values for each run are the following: First run : 22780.36 J/mol Second run : 9088.53 J/mol Third run : 10541.23 J /mol V. Analysis The data gathered clearly show that at higher temperatures, the rates of reactions increase up to a certain point, and then continue to slow down. This can be seen in the first 2 graphs, namely: Graph 1: Reaction Rate Vs. Time Graph of the Three Runs and Graph 2: Average Reaction Rate Vs. Temperature. This means that after sometime, the rate of reaction slows down because the products are already being formed. In the experiment, the plateaus in the graph correspond to the time that the hydrogen gas (H2) are already being formed. The data also showed only one activation energy value for each run. Thus, it only shows that the activation energy in NOT temperature- dependent, NOR is there a direct relationship between the two, since its value does not change with changes in temperature. The relationship between temperature and activation energy as can be concluded in this experiment, is that the temperature increases the capacity of the system to overcome the activation energy needed to form the products. So, the higher the temperature, the faster are the rates or speed of reactions. VI. Evaluation: A. Experimental Uncertainty: In the measurement of the different temperatures for the water baths, the following percentage errors were obtained: For the reading of 18.5 º C, the percentage error is: Plus or minus 0.5 / 18.5 x 100 = 2.7% For 30 º C, the percentage error is: Plus or minus 0.5 / 30 x 100 = 0.16% For 40 º C, the percentage error is: Plus or minus 0.5 / 40 x 100 = 0. 125% For 53 º C, the percentage error is: Plus or minus 0.5 / 53 x 100 = 0. 94% For 60 º C, the percentage error is: Plus or minus 0.5 / 60 x 100 = 0. 83% For 70 º C, the percentage error is: Plus or minus 0.5 / 60 x 100 = 0. 71% In the use of a graduated cylinder with 1 cm scale, the percentage error is plus or minus 0.5 in every 10 cm scale. So, in this experiment, the percentage error can be calculated as: 0.50/100 X 100 = 0.5%. Experimental Outcomes The outcomes of the experiment exactly fit my hypothesis or prediction, that as the temperature rises, the faster is the rate of reaction. However, I did not predict the outcome that the activation energy itself is NOT temperature dependent, since it does not change with the changes in temperature. This is shown in the experiment results, where there was only one activation energy value for all temperature measurements in each run of the experiment. The relationship between temperature and activation energy is based on the fact that the temperature increases the capacity of the system to overcome the activation energy needed to form the products. Design of the Experiment I believe that to improve the experiment, I may need to compare the reaction used in this experiment to a reaction that uses a catalyst to investigate the effect of catalysts on the activation energy and speed of reactions. References: Activation Energy, 2006. http://chemed.chem.purdue.edu/genchem/topicreview/bp/ch22/activate.html#act [Accessed: February 28, 2006]. Collins, M. (1999), Activation Energy and the Arrhenius Equation. Abbey Newsletter, Vol.23, Number 3, 1999. http://palimpsest.stanford.edu/byorg/abbey/an/an23/an23-3/an23-308.html. [Accessed: February 29, 2006]. Energex, 2006. Kinetic Theory. http://www.energex.com/au/switched_on/project_info/electricity_production_glossary.html#K. [Accessed: February 29, 2006]. Norton, 2003. Key Equations and Concepts .Chemistry in the Science Context. http://www.wwnorton.com/chemistry/concepts/chapter14/ch14_5.htm [Accessed: February 27, 2006]. The Shodon Education Foundation, Inc. 1998. The Arrhenius Equation. http://www.shodor.org/UnChem/advanced/kin/arrhenius.html. [Accessed: February 27, 2006]. Wikipedia, 2006. Collision Theory. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/collision_theory. [Accessed: February 27, 2006]. Wilbraham, A. Stanley D., Matta, M., 1997. Chemistry. 4th edition. Menlo Park, California: Addison-Wesley. (pp.490-494). .

Moment In Life :: essays papers

Moment In Life I was born on 6 September 1980 in Bangkok, Thailand. The first two people that can describe me the best are my father and my mother. They told me that the first time they saw me they had the happiest time in their lives because I am the first son of them. They said that I was a curious and mischievous boy. When I was six years old, I entered Chulalongkorn University Demonstration school. In this school I was taught to be polite, responsible and loved in learning. I have made many friends in this school and I have had many experiences in this school, too. I was in a student council where I learnt how to work in a group in a democratic way. I was in a volleyball team. I got the certificate of merit from this school from 1992 to 1996. When I was in grade 11, I decided to go to study aboard because I think that now we live in a globalization and we all need to know other people in other countries in different culture so that we can help one another in the future. My mother and my father agree with me so they asked my aunt that which school in the United States is appropriate for me. My aunt told me that Cranbrook school is a good school in Michigan then I applied for Cranbrook. When I was accepted I am so glad because I can be near and take care of my sister who is now studying civil engineering in the University of Michigan attaining her Ph.D. Before I came here, I promise my mother and my father that I will never make them disappointed. Now I am in Cranbrook school, I have made many friends and I gained more experiences. I am the Residential Advisor of the dorm and also one of the leader in World Club. I am so happy to be here. In the future I want to be an engineer like my father and my sister so that I can help my father in his engineering company. I want to be a civil engineer because I like Calculus, Physic, Environmental Science, drawing and when I was young I always saw my father, working on his table, calculating his plan which was my first impression with engineering. Now it is time for me to go for a higher

Personal Narrative Essay - Crickets :: Personal Narrative Writing

Personal Narrative- Crickets I’ve never liked bugs. Grasshoppers are gruesome, and wasps are menacing. Even butterflies seem to flaunt their grace by fluttering in your face. Recently, however, I’ve realized that one insect cowers below the others as the most scheming of the six-legged world. I’ve discovered that I hate crickets. These bugs are way too happy for their own good. Not only black, smaller versions of the grasshopper, crickets are masters of hide and seek. The inky bodies blend flawlessly into the shadows beneath a bush or inside the garage. Each crunchy creature also must have a shrinking ability. Squeezing into cracks and crannies in walls, even the cockroach is shamed by the cricket. Once hiding within thirty feet of my presence, the despicable beast begins to sing its wretched, repetitive tune. Echoing in my ears, magnified by the silence between chirps, the song rattles in my head. Forget studying, forget writing and solving problems, forget sleeping, because I am irritated. Each shrill note pierces my skull, drumming inside my head as though pressuring my brain. "Find me," it taunts, "if you can." Concentrating becomes isolated, like a special filter is funneling only the vibrato-filled song into my mind. Eyes wide and furious, I hunt, following the gnawing chirp. Listening with ears attuned only to the shriek, I creep so slowly, so focused my muscles ache with the strain. Zoning in on a tiny area, suddenly repulsed by the thought of cricket skin brushing my delicate fingertips, I seize a sandal from the step. I can hear it. I know it’s only a few inches away.

False Memory Essay -- distorted memory, fabricated recollections

Memory is one of the most critical parts of cognition. It is important because it is involved in almost every aspect of cognition including problem solving, decision making, attention, and perception. Because of this importance, people rely on one’s memory to make important decisions. The value of one’s memory in this society is so high that it is used as evidence to either save one’s life or kill one’s life during murder trials. But as many of the cognitive psychologists know, human’s memory can cause many errors. One of these errors is false memory which is either remembering events that never happened or remembering events differently from the actual event. This finding of false memory raised big interests among psychologists and general public and many researches were done in order to find more about the false memory. The constructive approach to memory, which states that memory is constructed by person based on what really happened in addition to person’s other knowledge, experiences, and expectations, supports the idea of false memory. Just like what constructive approach to memory states, the false memory can be created by person’s knowledge, common biases, and suggestions. The present study was done in order to demonstrate one methodology that biases people to create and recall false memories. The present study is based on Deese’s experiment in 1959 and also on Roediger and McDermott’s experiment in 1995. The participants will be presented with sequence of words visually, and then they would have to classify a set of words as either in the sequence or not in the sequence. Our hypothesis is that people will create false memories and recall distractor words that are related to the sequence of words presented significantly m... ...re I think if the participants are not aware of it, the false recall rate will increase. And if there are more words presented, my assume is that it will increase the false recall rate. We can imply this finding of false memory in many ways in our lives. We all should note that our memory cannot be trusted 100% and we should not solely rely on our memory when it comes to making critical decisions. Just like the murder trial example used in earlier, when it comes to eye witnessing, the judge should take possible false memory into account when making the final decisions and try to obtain objective evidence along with the memory of the witness. Works Cited Roediger, H. L. III, & McDermott, K. B. (1995). Creating false memories: Remembering words not presented in lists. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Learning, Memory, and Cognition, 21, 803-814

International Water Conflict Essay

Water is one of the most precious commodities for human beings. To some, it is the very lifeblood of the world. From time immemorial, the availability of water has determined the rhythms of daily life in many regions. The critical importance of water to the survival of the human race can be seen in the earliest civilizations whose growth and sustenance were closely tied to its water distribution systems. Many authors have located the importance of water in different religious observances. In Hindu and Buddhist traditions, the rivers of the earth, including the Indus, the Ganges and the Brahmaputra, originate from the mythical Mount Meru, the living place for the gods. In the Christian tradition, the waters originate from the Garden of Eden, and that divides the world into greatest streams: the Nile, the Tigris, the Euphrates, the Indus and the Ganges. Islam also gives water its due importance. The holy book Koran describes that every living thing is made from water. As Caponera points out, it seems that in the Koran, the most precious creation after humankind is water. There is a water crisis today. Water is not only a ‘commodity’, it is synonymous with life. All life on earth is dependent on water. If water is life, its possession bestows power. Water has crucial economic value, and it is a subsistence resource. Also, water has an emotional and symbolic value for certain countries and communities. The scarcity of water is increasing worldwide and its quality is continuously deteriorating. Water shortages reduce food production, aggrandize poverty, amplify disease and force people to migrate. The scarcity of water also undermines the state’s capacity to govern. Nearly half of the world’s population lives in international river basins. Sharing of the international rivers can therefore be a serious object of contention between riparian nations. For the last few years, ‘water war’ has been a topic of widespread debate. However, wars over river water are likely only under a narrow set of circumstances, as there are also more examples of water cooperation than water conflict among countries. Nevertheless, the increasing scarcity of water raises doubt about the sustainability of these cooperative agreements over the international rivers. Water scarcity is particularly severe in Asia, Africa and the Middle East, owing to population growth, urbanization and industrialization. Whether the water crisis intensifies the dispute over the shared waters or whether it can be turned towards sustainable cooperative management of river resources, depends on many interacting processes. In this book (International conflict over water resources), after analyzing the existing sharing mechanisms of the major international river systems in these regions, argues that the real solution lies in a comprehensive approach to river basin management. The scarcity of water is increasing worldwide and the quality of the water is continually deteriorating. The growing global water stress poses a threat to the survival and prosperity of present and future generations. The gap between the needs of the growing population and the diminishing fresh water resources is widening every day. In the arid and tropical regions, where countries possess a very limited supply of water, it is not difficult to perceive the consequences. Water, a key necessity of life, can also cause friction between communities and countries, particularly in climatic zones where it is hard to come by. The over-exploitation of water resources might result in an acute shortage. From this perspective, it will be impossible for all the social actors to remain comfortable with the present or future prospects of the availability of the resource. These actors will work purposefully and consciously for their own interests. Increasing competition can potentially destroy the existing social arrangements for water distribution in the society. Newly organized actors with conflict behaviors might emerge in the future or the incompatibilities between existing actors might grow in societies with a weak administrative structure and laden with ethnic and social dichotomies. Scarce water resources can potentially trigger conflicts between the state and its internal groups. The development of water resources by the state by building dams, irrigation infrastructures, or industries in a particular region might be perceived by the local population as exploitation for the interest of others. Regional parties may be activated or environmental groups may be formed to challenge the actions of the state. If a particular group is involved in exploiting more than its ‘perceived’ share of water with the backing of the state, then this inter-group conflict may escalate into conflict between the exploited group and the state itself. As discussed earlier, the construction of large dams for the ‘efficient’ use of water resources has created tension between the state and a group of its own citizens in the past few years. The growing demand for irrigation and energy activates the state agencies to plan and build mega hydro-projects, which displace large population and inundate vast areas. In many places, the project affected population takes up of the struggle against the state. The list of mega dams that have witnessed this sort of protest is very long. The major ones include: Sanmenxia and Three Gorges in China; Madur Oya and Mahavali Project in Sri Lanka; Mangla, Nanela and Tarbela in Pakistan; Kaptai in Bangladesh; Arun in Nepal; Akasombo in Ghana; Kossou in Ivory Coast; Tana and Athi in Kenya; Itaparica and Tucurui in Brazil; Kainji and Niger Dams in Nigeria; Ataturk and Keban in Turkey; Lam Pao and Nam Pong in Thailand; Kedong Ombo and Batang Ai in Indonesia; Upper Pampanga in Philippines; Manantali in Mali; Savajina in Colombia; Brokopondo in Suriname; Caracol and Netzahualcoyotl in Mexico; and Nam Ngum in Laos. India, currently in the forefront of dam construction, deserves a separate list of its own. The Indian hydro-projects that have recently led to protest movements by the displaced people are: Pong Dam, Subarnarekha Project, Nagarjunsagar Project, Srisailam Project, Lower Manair Dam, Upper Krishna Projects, Tehri Dam, Narmada Projects and Ukai Reservoir Project. Sometimes disagreement over the development and sharing of water resources may begin with competing groups inside a state, but the state’s perceived favour of a particular group brings the state as a party to the conflict. Similarly, if the water source exploitation is perceived as the state’s intentional act on a particular region or people, a group identity may form, leading to conflict with the state. The construction of dams for hydropower generations in the northern part of Sweden to provide energy to the industries and factories in the South has become an area of disagreement between the Sami people of the North and the Swedish state. The Samis, who live in the forests in the Arctic Circle, accuse the state of favoring city dwellers at the cost of their livelihood and welfare. Even though this dispute has not transformed into a violent separatist movement, the reactions to similar issues in South Asia have been quite different. Disagreement over the sharing of river water from the Indus river system has been one of the major causes of violent secessionist movement in the Punjab province of India in the 1980s and 1990s. This Sikh-dominated province has been traditionally provided with a water supply from the Beas, Sutlej and Ravi Rivers. The demands of the downstream provinces of Rajasthan and Haryana persuaded the Indian government to construct canals and divert 60 per cent of Punjab’s water and energy to those Hindu-majority regions. This became one of the major motivations for the Sikh Party (Akali Dal) to ask for autonomy in the 1970s, which subsequently transformed into an extreme violent secessionist movement in the 1980s and 1990s. On the other side of the border, the dispute over the sharing of the same Indus river system water has also played a critical role in a major separatist movement in Pakistan. The Pakistani part of Punjab, which is economically and politically the most powerful province in the country, takes advantage of its upstream location and consumes most of the waters of the Indus river system through the help of barrages and dams, ignoring the demand of the downstream Sind province. The perceived close tie of the federal government with the Punjab province has escalated this conflict between the Sind province and the Pakistani government. The link between fresh water resources and international conflicts can be investigated at least in two different dimensions. First, in an interstate conflict, the deliberate targeting of water storage facilities may be directly responsible for inducing water scarcity or reducing the water quality of the opponent. Thus, water scarcity becomes part of a military strategy and military behavior. The British Royal Air Force damaged a few German dams in the bombing runs of 1943. Dams and dykes were destroyed during the Korean and Vietnam wars by the US bombing. Iran claimed to have hit a hydroelectric station in Iraq in July 1981, as part of the Iran-Iraq War. Dams, water storage and conveyance systems were targeted by the warring sides during the 1991 Gulf War. Allied forces even had thought of a plan to shut off the flow of water to Iraq by using the Ataturk Dam in Turkey. Armies in Yemen (in the 1994 war) and former Yugoslavia (1991-95) used the water storage facilities as targets to create problems for their adversaries. In January 1993, the Serbian militia seriously damaged the Peruca Dam in Croatia. There are cases where in fact a human population is held hostage to political and military leaders. Manipulation with such basic human supplies in times of war should be an urgent issue for international humanitarian law, and it certainly would be unacceptable under conditions of peace. However, the aim here is to concentrate on a second dimension of the relationship: the likelihood of changes in fresh water resource supply to cause or contribute to the emergence and/or escalation of conflicts among states. As discussed before, there has been a general decline in the quantity and quality of global fresh water resource. This leads us to consider scarcity of resources as a cause of conflict, in conflict theory language: an incompatibility between already existing parties. A common starting point in the analysis of many inter-state conflicts has been sought in the desire of the leaders of states to acquire territory. In the post-Second World War period, it has become unfashionable and immoral to conquer territories of others. Nevertheless this has happened repeatedly, for instance, in the Middle East, in South and Southeast Asia and lately in Europe. Huth characterizes territorial dispute as ‘one of the enduring features of international politics’. But, why do states fight for each other’s territory? As Toset, Gleditsch and Hegre explain, ‘territory can be a symbol of self-determination and national identity, but it can also be a proxy for tangible resources found on the territory’. Thus, access to water supply can be a motive of waging war. Under special circumstances it is a possibility that scarcity of fresh water resources may give rise to serious armed conflict. â€Å"Water is not transported across large distances, as is the case with oil or minerals, for instance. In the post-Second World War period, political actions are taking place more in order to satisfy the demands of the majorities of a country. † (Barrett, S. 1994, p. 24) This means that stronger nations might be more in need of natural resources on the territory of other states, to meet the growing needs and desires of the home population. In this way, ‘development’ might be seen to require the acquisition or exploitation of a larger share of jointly owned fresh water resource. The water on the surface of the earth is naturally organized within river basins. The river basins are the fundamental units of the fresh water world and the central feature of the ecology of the planet. Moreover, the river runoff is the most important source of available fresh water for human consumption. However, the rivers do not follow the political boundaries; nearly 260 rivers flow from one country to another. More than 40 per cent of the world’s population is directly dependent upon the fresh water from these international rivers and about two-thirds of these people live in developing countries. The use or misuse of water in the upstream countries affects its quantity and quality in the downstream countries. Downstream nations can affect the flow of water by building large-scale dams, with effects spilling over the borders. The International Water Management Institute in Colombo projects that in 2025, 3 billion people will be living in countries facing water stress. Water tables are increasingly falling in every continent. Many developing countries already face serious problems in meeting rapidly growing water demands. In order to meet such demands, further pressure is being placed on these ‘blue’ water resources, this over-exploitation resulting in acute shortages. Faced with such scarcity, water has increasingly become a source of social tension, bringing further competition and creating conflict which, together, have the potential to destroy the existing arrangements for water distribution. Even though such tensions are omnipresent, they tend to be more complex and difficult where international rivers, lakes and aquifers are concerned. The Centre for Natural Resources, Energy and Transport (CNRET), now a defunct UN unit, brought out a Register of International Rivers in 1978. In that it listed 214 internationally shared rivers and lakes: 57 in Africa, 40 in Asia, 48 in Europe, 33 in North America and 36 in South America. The CNRET study has become dated because of significant changes in international geopolitical borders and names of countries and rivers in the last 25 years. The names of some countries and rivers have also changed in this period. The disintegration of the Soviet Union, Yugoslavia, Ethiopia and Czechoslovakia has helped to increase the number of internationally shared rivers and lakes, and also the number of basin countries. For example, the Volga River is now international, and the Aral Sea is shared by at least four independent states. The re-unification of Germany and Yemen has made the Weser basin and the Teban basin national, contributing to a decrease in the number of international fresh water resources.