Total Productive Maintenance Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Total Productive Maintenance - Essay Example However in order to undertake an effective Total Productive Maintenance process some important factors should be taken into consideration. It is important to understand both the potential rewards and the associated risks. The main aim of this paper is to summarize what has been written so far about the Total Productive Maintenance process and to propose a methodological approach in order to conduct a research concerning this issue. The paper is also aimed at analyzing and testing the effectiveness of the contributing factors in the implementation of the Total Productive Maintenance process. TPM is combination the ideas of people operating the equipment and people maintaining it (Robert, 2002). Maintenance affects all aspects of business effectiveness - risk, safety, environmental sustainability achieved, energy efficiency, and product quality and customer service, i.e. not just plant availability and costs. Downtime has always affected adversely the capability of physical assets by reducing output, increasing operating costs and lowering customer service (Moubray, 2000) It was also found that the TPM facilitator must be motivated and proactive to make best use of their meetings with management, promote TPM and implement the training received. They must also be persuasive and have the ability to coach and train people in the TPM methodology (Ireland & Dale, 2006) In order to implement a successful TPM it is important to keep a data of the problems occurred in the equipment, the down time and the solution provided (Besterfield, Michna, Besterfield & Sacre). Hence the first developed hypothesis is: H1: The successful implementation of TPM is dependent upon the availability of past data related to equipment. Increase in employee empowerment is another important factor, which contribute to the effectiveness of the total productive maintenance. The enthusiasm of employees can be improved by setting challenging targets and specifying how to achieve them. Autonomy is the core concept of empowerment, while the management retains control through information systems, choice of processes and available tools (Agyris, 1998). Hence the hypothesis develops as: H2: Higher the level of employees autonomy higher the level of success of TPM. The information and ideas are successfully exchanged through communication between persons and groups. It is important to exchange the ideas and information in a mutually understandable manner. It is important to train the employees regarding the change to be undertaken in the organization. The third hypothesis to be tested is the role of training of employees in the TPM. H3: Is it necessary to undertake TQM with TPM. Hence as mentioned below the TPM is the 5S step-by-step program: 1 - Cleaning & Restoration: Thoroughly restore & clean. Motivation through participation. 2 - Eliminate Stains, Mixed, Contamination: Study Root Causes of Dirt, Mixing, Loss, and damage and take actions. 3 - Improve Accessibility: Achieve 1 minute accessibility time for

Answer two questions Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Answer two questions - Essay Example Every individual has the decision to make with regard to the receiving the grace of God. For example we have a choice to receive or reject Jesus Christ. There are two doctrines that seek to expound the responsibility of God and man in the issue of salvation. According to Arminiasm, salvation is received through the efforts of both man and God. Mans response is therefore the main factor, because he has freewill. Therefore the provision of salvation is not for everyman (Picirilli 482). Man is the determining factor towards the gift of salvation. For example, God saved Adam but man still resisted his grace. According to the doctrine of Calvinism, salvation is determined by the power of God. God therefore determines who will receive salvation. Both are summed up in five points. Calvinism looks as atonement being unlimited and Arminism vice versa. The number of Christian denominations, in the United States are numerous, among them Lutheran, Evangelical, Orthodox among many others. Most Christian professes to love one another yet they cannot stand the ideals of others. Religious tolerance is an important aspect both to the believer and to the community because lack of tolerance leads to misunderstanding among the community who discriminate and ignore others who does not have the same common views and background. Majority of people do not know that religious tolerance promotes respect and understanding among different believers. In the world, all the big religions share the same basic rule, the culture as our golden rule, that promotes the concept of do onto others as you would like them do onto you. According to my views, this is a major teaching that demonstrates that these religions are not different from others much. In an example, Islamic tells us that Ishmael, who was Abraham’s son, was the patriarch of the Islamic religion. Jews also believes that Abraham’s son Isaac was their patriarch as he was a Jew like Abraham and so helped in spreading the Jewish

People’s Opinions Essay Example for Free

People’s Opinions Essay In this life, each and every person has his or her own personal beliefs regardless of his loyalty or disloyalty, in certain cases. The difference in personal beliefs of people lies in the fact that some of them hold his or her opinion as the correct one regardless whether or not it is right or wrong. This flawed thinking has led others to force those with separate or different opinions to force upon others their own personal beliefs and convictions even though their own opinions may be wrong. There are those, however, who, despite the pressures exerted by others to change their opinion, cling on to their beliefs and opinions because they truly believe in their convictions. In my humble opinion, these are the people who become more successful than others. First of all, people who hold their opinions are more respected by people. There is no better way of convincing people about one’s strength in character and belief than by holding on to those beliefs firmly. These people always seem to know what they are talking about and are steadfast in their resolve. In doing so, these people are able to convince others to believe in their own beliefs; most especially those who are hesitant or undecided on their personal convictions. Moreover, having the strength of resolve is very helpful especially when it comes to sharing ideas and opinions. More often than not, those who argue about matters that they do not believe in, quickly waver in their arguments. Those who hang on to their beliefs always prevail in the end. The second reason is that people who stick by their opinions often have the self-confidence that is needed to get the better end of the bargain come negotiations. A perfect example of this would be the time when one of my friends, not too long ago, was discussing a certain subject matter that he was not totally convinced of but decided that he would be more convinced if he was able to gain some support for his topic. As fate would have it, he was having the discussion with me and I had a different opinion on the matter. Disregarding the fact on who was truly right, it did not take long before I was able to convince my friend that my friend was wrong. What this shows is that, in order to be successful in life, one must have a strong personality and must be convinced that his or her cause is the right cause. I could have easily given up on the matter but I was not about to let go of my convictions. In the end, I was able to convince my friend and ever since he has developed a stronger character. His character has become so strong and his insight so powerful that even older people enjoy having conversations with him even though he is more than half the age of most of them. Thirdly, people who hold onto their opinions are more likely to develop their skills and have a good knowledge by reading, talking, and sharing controversial topics to encourage himself/herself to develop their skills to get a strong opinion, while people who have been affected by other people to change their opinions easily are rarely excited to develop their skills and knowledge because they have to depend on to have good results. Though it may seem that having a strong character may prevent one from learning more, believing in something and dedicating one’s self to knowing the truth with respect to a matter of fact does indeed strengthen one’s character. There are basically two kinds of people; People who merely parrot what other people say and think and those who have the strength to believe when nobody else does. I believe that I belong to the latter. I know what I believe in and I am not shy about those convictions.

Nucleic Acids Are The Organic Compounds

Nucleic Acids Are The Organic Compounds Nucleic acids were discovered by Friedrich Miescher, a Swiss biochemist, in 1869. He called them nucleic because he believed that they occurred only in the nucleus of the cell [1]. Nucleic Acids are the organic compounds found in the chromosomes of living cells and in viruses. The structure of the nucleic acids in a cell determines the structure of the proteins produced in that cell. Since proteins are the building blocks of life, nucleic acids can be considered the blueprints of life. But chemically we can define nucleic acids as molecules that are comprised of monomers known as nucleotides.[2,3] The two main types of nucleic acids are:- Deoxyribonucleic acid ( DNA) :-It ordinarily occurs only in the cell nucleus. Ribonucleic acid ( RNA):-It is found both in the nucleus and in the cytoplasm (the main part of the cell exclusive of the nucleus). Both DNA and RNA combine with protein materials to carry out cell division and cell repair processes. [4] Deoxyribonucleic acid ( DNA) A type of nucleic acid that constitutes the molecular basis of heredity. It is found principally in the nucleus of all cells where it forms part of the chromosome, or in the cytoplasm of cells lacking a nucleus, such as bacteria. It acts as the carrier of genetic information containing the instructions (code) to make proteins. It consists of two single chains of nucleotides, which are twisted round each other to form a double helix or spiral. The nucleotides contain sugar (deoxyribose), phosphate and the bases (adenine, cytosine, guanine and thymine). The two strands of DNA are held together by hydrogen bonds located between specific pairs of bases (adenine to thymine and cytosine to guanine). The sequence of bases and consequently gene sequence is sometimes altered, causing mutation. DNA includes the sugar deoxyribose, which has one less oxygen atom than ribose the sugar found in RNA, hence the name is deoxy-ribose nucleic acid.[6,7] Each DNA molecule is a long two-stranded chain. The strands are made up of subunits called nucleotides, each containing a sugar (deoxyribose), a phosphate group, and one of four nitrogenous bases, adenine, guanine, thymine, and cytosine, denoted A, G, T, and C, respectively. A given strand contains nucleotides bearing each of these four. The information carried by a given gene is coded in the sequence in which the nucleotides bearing different bases a soccur along the strand. The chemical and physical properties of DNA suit it for both replication and transfer of information . Fig 1.A 3D rendered computer model of the DNA double helix. [16] Structure Of DNA Its structure, with two strands wound around each other in a double helix to resemble a twisted ladder, was first described (1953) by Francis Crick and James D. Watson and they named it as Watson and Crick model of DNA which states that: Fig 2. Double helix structure of DNA[ It is a double helix with two right handed helical polydeoxy ribonucleotide strands twisted around the same central axis. The two strands are anti parallel. The phosphodiester linkages of one of these strands run in 5 to 3 direction while the other strand runs in 3 to 5 direction. The bases are stacked inside the helix in planes perpendicular to the helical axis. These two strands are held together by hydrogen bonds. In addition to hydrogen bonds, other forces e.g., hydrophobic interactions between stacked bases are also responsible for stability and maintenance of double helix. Adenine always pairs with thymine while guanine always pairs with cytosine. A-T pair has 2 hydrogen bonds while G-C pair has 3 hydrogen bonds. Hence, G C is more stronger than A=T. The content of adenine is equal to the content of thymine and the content of guanine is equal to the content of cytosine. This is Chargaffs rule, which is proved by the complementary base pairing in DNA structure. The genetic information is present only on one strand known as template strand. The double helix structure contains major and minor grooves in which proteins interact with DNA. The diameter of double helix is 2nm. The double helical structure repeats at intervals of 3.4 nm (one completer turn) which corresponds to 10 base pairs.[7,8,9] Different forms of DNA Double helical structure exists in six different forms. They are A-DNA, B-DNA, C-DNA, D-DNA, E-DNA and Z-DNA. Among these only 3 forms of DNA are important. They are B-DNA, A-DNA and Z-DNA. 5.1 B-DNA:-This is nothing but the double helical structure described by Watson and Crick. It has 10 base pairs in each turn. 5.2 A-DNA:-This is also a right handed helix. It has 11 base pairs per turn. 5.3 Z-DNA:-This is a left handed helix. It has 12 base pairs per turn. The strands in this form move in a zig-zag manner and hence it is called as Z-DNA.[12,13] Properties of DNA The properties shown by DNA that allows for transmission of genetic information to new cells are as follows:- Replication Transcription Translation 6.1 Replication An important property of DNA is that it can replicate, or make copies of itself. Each strand of DNA in the double helix can serve as a pattern for duplicating the sequence of bases. This is critical when cells divide because each new cell needs to have an exact copy of the DNA present in the old cell. Fig3. Replication Process in DNA [30] 6.2 Transcription Transcription is the process in which DNA nucleic acids transfer the cells genetic information into RNA materials. In essence, each DNA strand manufactures a corresponding RNA strand. Three types of RNA are manufactured within this process. [13]Messenger RNAs (mRNA) are designed to carry the genetic information received from the DNA strands. Ribosomal RNAs (rRNA) reside in the cells cytoplasm, and are responsible for decoding, or translating the genetic instructions into cell processes. Transfer RNAs (tRNA) are responsible for gathering whatever amino acids are needed for protein synthesis.[14] Fig4. Transcription In DNA [20] 6.3 Translation Translation is the process in which RNA molecules create the proteins needed to sustain necessary cell functions. This is accomplished by converting the genetic code contained in the messenger RNAs into amino acid strings, which is what make protein molecules. This conversion process takes place within the ribosomes, which are located in the cells cytoplasm. [14] Functions of DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid): DNA is a permanent storage place for genetic information. DNA controls the synthesis of RNA (ribonucleic acid). The sequence of nitrogenous bases in DNA determines the protein development in new cells. The function of the double helix formation of DNA is to ensure that no disorders occur. This is because the second identical strand of DNA that runs anti-parallel to the first is a backup in case of lost or destroyed genetic information. Ex. Downs Syndrome or Sickle Cell Anemia.[16,17] RNA( ribonucleic acid) It is another type of nucleic acid which functions in cellular protein synthesis in all living cells. They play an essential role in the synthesis of proteins. On hydrolysis they yield the pentose sugar ribose, the purine bases adenine and guanine, the pyrimidine bases cytosine and uracil, and phosphoric acid.RNA occurs mostly in the cytoplasm in the eukaryotic cells. A small amount occurs in the nucleus of the cell, as a constituent of nucleolus. RNA is a single polynucleotide chain composed of nucleotides of adenine, guanine, cytosine and uracil. Thymine nucleotides are absent. Structure of RNA RiboNucleic Acids consist of: Ribose (a pentose = sugar with 5 carbons) Phosphoric Acid Organic (nitrogenous) bases: Purines (Adenine and Guanine) and Pyrimidines (Cytosine and Uracil) An RNA molecule is a linear polymer in which the monomers (nucleotides) are linked together by means of phosphodiester bridges, or bonds. These bonds link the 3 carbon in the ribose of one nucleotide to the 5 carbon in the ribose of the adjacent nucleotide. Fig 5. Chemical Structure of RNA [19] Purines: Adenine A Guanine G Pyrimidines: Uracil U Cytosine C Fig 6. Organic Bases Structure of RNA [21] Structural Difference between RNA and DNA RNA differs, however, from DNA because it does not form an analogous double helical structure. The pyrimidine base thymine is modified in that it lacks a methyl group and the resulting uracil takes its place in base pairing. Together, the presence of uracil in place of thymine, and the 2-OH in the ribose constitute the two chemical differences between RNA and DNA which is shown in Fig 7. Fig7. Structural difference between RNA and DNA [19] Types Of RNA 11.1 Messenger RNA (mRNA) It represents about 5 to 10% of the total RNA. It is synthesised from DNA as and when necessary. It carries the genetic information in the form of a specific sequence of nitrogen bases arranged in triplet codons, which are copies from the code in DNA. 11.2 Transfer RNA (tRNA) It represents about 10 to 15% of the total RNA in the cell. It has the shortest molecule having only about 80 to 100 nucleotides. The polynucleotide chain is folded on itself to have the shape of a cloverleaf. The molecule has three lateral loops, a DHU loop, a t loop and an anticodon loop. The anticodon loop bears a triplet combination of nitrogen bases, called anticodon. It is complementary to a codon of mRNA. The tRNA molecule is meant for recognising and carrying particular types of amino acids to the sites of protein synthesis. 11.3 Ribosomal RNA (rRNA) It represents nearly 80% of the total RNA in the cell. It always occurs bound to basic proteins in ribosomes. It takes part in assembling the amino acids brought by tRNA, into a polypeptide chain, based on the sequence of codons in mRNA. [19,20] Functions of RNA RNA serves the following functions: mRNA has a significant role in genetic code. tRNA is responsible for transferring amino acids to the site of protein synthesis (ribosomes). rRNA assembles the amino acids into a polypeptide chain. It also serves as a primer for replication of DNA. RNA serves as the genetic material in some plant viruses. [21] Applications of Nucleic Acid Nucleic acids find a number of exciting applications in various fields. . 13.1 Microarrays and biosensors PNA(peptide nucleic acid) can be used on microarrays and other biosensors. PNA microarray combined with PCR could detect genetically modified organisms (GMOs) in food 13.2 Imaging probes and FISH PNA is especially good for FISH because it can bind to DNA or RNA quickly even under low salt or other unfavorable conditions for DNA.PNA s specificity was utilized to discriminate 16S rRNA of bacteria species in drinking water. PNA probes also have been used for in vivo imaging of mRNA for cancer research. [23] 13.3 Catalysts and receptors Nucleic acids can also be employed as enzymes (for catalysis) and receptors (for ligand binding). Increasingly, researchers are making interesting use of these molecules, now collectively called functional nucleic acids. 13.4 Body functions Essential bodily functions such as growth, repair and reproduction all rely on nucleic acid for direction and support. Nucleic acid is in nearly every cell of the body. [24] 13.5 Medicinal Uses Gen-Probe Inc. (San Diego, California) introduced nucleic acid probe-based diagnostic products for gonorrhea and chlamydia. It is a direct test based on DNA ribosomal RNA hybridization, with demonstrated sensitivity of 89.9% to 97.1%, and specificity of 93% to 98%. [23, 26] FUTURE PROSPECTS OF NUCLEIC ACID Nucleic-acid-amplification test (NAAT) is used for the diagnosis of TB(tuberculosis) by the new method instead of conventional smear/culture method. So NAAT will simply take us to a new era of advanced, effective, and rapid TB diagnosis. Attempts are done to employ nucleic acids in effective gene therapy which is believe to become commonplace in recent years. At the same time, however, the study of nucleic acids has revealed remarkable properties of DNA and RNA molecules that could make them attractive therapeutic agents, independent of their well-known ability to encode biologically active proteins. In future we will find alternative uses of nucleic acids that do not rely on virus-based vectors or even on gene transfer. Tuberculosis (TB) is an important target for clinical testing due to the increase in incidence of the disease in this decade. Both Roche and Gen-Probe,great are developing kits for rapid TB testing. The Roche kit is based on PCR technology, while Gen-Probes kit uses transcription mediated amplification. [27, 28, 29]

The Disturbing Role of Television in Accidents and Deaths Involving Children :: Term Papers Research

The Disturbing Role of Television in Accidents and Deaths Involving Children Imagine being a mother or a father standing in the kitchen doing dishes when out of nowhere a familiar scream hits your ears. The first thing you do is ask yourself â€Å"Where are my kids?† The phone rings and your next-door neighbor informs you that he/she has called 911 and you should come right away. You slam down the phone and in a panic you run down your walk across the street, arriving just as the ambulance backs into the drive. Next thing you know your 11-year-old son Billy, broken and bleeding, is being sped to the hospital. Far-fetched, as this story may seem it is happening more and more everyday. Billy got hurt because he and his friends were re-enacting a move they had seen on WWF the night before. Does television really influence good kids to do bad things? The answer is yes depending on the type of program and its content. At a young age children absorb everything they see and hear including things that adults see as minor, or non-influential. Television can do several things, create ideas in a child’s mind, pacify physical energy that could be used productively, tell children that unacceptable behavior is ok, and that humans are invincible. All of these ideas are false and can lead to destructive behavior and circumstances, and in some cases death. â€Å"The statistical correlation between childhood exposure to violence in media and aggressive behavior is about the same as that between smoking and lung cancer† (Atkinson, Michael. 59) (put a period after the parenthetical citation, and only include the author’s last name and page number in parentheses) We all know that for anyone who smokes a great deal lung cancer is almost inevitable, this causes great concern because most children spend much of their spare time in front of the television or playing video games. (make more explicit the connection between the effects of smoking and the effects of watching too much TV) Many childhood accidents related to television are in the form of copycat crimes says Michael Atkinson in his article â€Å"The movies made me do it†, â€Å"Copycat crimes have attained front-burner notoriety, and some day soon Hollywood’s liberty will be pitted against the perceived welfare of American children† (58). Many chil dren’s cartoons such as â€Å"X Men† and â€Å"PokeMon† tend to be very violent and anger oriented, (semicolon) therefore when children copycat what they see often times they end up hurting themselves or someone else, possibly even causing death.

The Mill on the Floss by George Eliot Essay -- Mill Floss George Eliot

The Mill on the Floss by George Eliot It is said that George Eliot’s style of writing deals with much realism. Eliot, herself meant by a â€Å"realist† to be â€Å"an artist who values the truth of observation above the imaginative fancies of writers of â€Å"romance† or fashionable melodramatic fiction.† (Ashton 19) This technique is artfully utilized in her writings in a way which human character and relationships are dissected and analyzed. In the novel The Mill on the Floss, Eliot uses the relationships of the protagonist of the story, Miss Maggie Tulliver, as a medium in which to convey various aspects of human social associations. It seems that as a result of Maggie’s nature and of circumstances presented around her, that she is never able to have a connection with one person that satisfies her multifaceted needs and desires. Maggie is able, to some extent, to explore the various and occasionally conflicting aspects of her person with her relationships between other characters pr esented in the novel. â€Å"From an early age, Maggie needs approval from men...Maggie is not shown in any deep relationship with a female friend.† (Ashton 83) A reader can explore into Maggie Tulliver’s person and her short development as a woman in four primary male associations: her father—Mr. Tulliver, her brother—Tom Tulliver, her friend and mentor—Philip Wakem and her dangerous passion with Steven Guest. Maggie unconditionally loves her father although he has been the unconscious root of many of her misfortunes. â€Å"Tom’s and Maggie’s young lives are blighted by the gloom, poverty, disgrace and death of their father...Maggie is obliged by her father’s failure to leave school...It is the misfortune of a clever girl denied any activity other than domestic.† (Ashton 50) In the time period of the setting of the novel, women were regarded as male property, to take care of household matters and without skill, originality and intelligence of a man. Mr. Tulliver cared deeply for his daughter’s future but inadvertently oppressed Maggie through his views of women. This idea is represented in his dialog with Mr. Riley of Maggie’s â€Å"unnatural† intelligence: â€Å"It’s a pity but what she’d been then lad—she’d ha’been a match for the lawyers, she would. It’s the wonderful’st thing.† (Eli ot 68) Mr. Tulliver by nature was stubborn, opinionated and led his family to disgrace as a result. However, there is ... ... caused them both much pain. Maggie was also allowed to experience the type of love that can exist between siblings, despite all of their disagreements, Maggie and Tom were able to realize that their bond was deeper than could have been imagined. George Eliot artfully created such relationships in this novel in a successful method to analyze and probe into the complexities of human interaction. This comes along with the message that it may be possible to have everything that one may want in life, just not all at once or at the same time. Works Cited Ashton, Rosemary. The Mill on the Floss: A Natural History. Twayne’s Masterwork Studies. Boston, G.K. Hall & Co. 1990 Byatt, A.S. â€Å"The Placing of Steven Guest†. Appendix, The Mill on the Floss, Middlesex, Blays Ltd, St Printing; Penguin Classics. 1979 Carlisle, Janice. â€Å"The Mirror In the Mill on the Floss; Toward Reading of Autobiography Discourse†. Studies in the Literary Imagination. Vol 23:Issue 2. [EBSCO] Masterfile Premier 1990 Edinborough and London. â€Å"Brother and Sister† The Legend of Jubal and Other Poems. London, Blackwood 1874 Eliot, George. The Mill on the Floss. Middlesex, Penguin English Library, 1979.

Critically Evaluate the Contributions of Functionalism to the Study of Society Essay

Critically evaluate the contributions of functionalism to the study of society. Functionalist theory is one of the major theoretical perspectives in sociology. It can be argued that the functionalist theory has made a significant contribution to the study of society. It originates from the work of Emile Durkheim who suggests that social order is possible and society remains stable due to the functioning of several institutions. Everything has a specific function in society and society will always function in harmony. The main institutions studied by functionalism are the family, the education system, religion and crime and deviance. Murdock argues that the family performs four basic functions in all societies – sexual, reproductive, economic and educational. These four basic functions are essential for social life since without the sexual and reproductive functions there would be no members of society, without the economic function life would cease and without education there would be no socialisation or culture. Without these four basic functions human society could not survive. The family does not perform these functions alone however it makes important contributions to them all. Murdock is often criticised for his picture of the family as he did not consider whether its functions could be performed by other social institutions and he does not examine alternatives to the family. Equally, Murdock illustrates the nuclear family as very harmonious and perfect. There are many ill-functioning families in society which Murdock fails to examine and explain. What is the function of families when the husband and wife fail to have an integrated division of labour and have a healthy sexual relationship? Talcott Parsons offers an alternative view of the functions of the family and suggests it serves two purposes: primary socialisation and the stabilisation of the adult personality. Primary socialisation refers to socialisation during the early years of childhood, which take place mainly within the family. This is important in contributing to society as our parents supposedly bring their offspring up to grow to be well-behaved, obedient individuals with the right values to help society function. The stabilisation of adult personalities emphasises on the marriage relationship and emotional security the couple provides for each other. This acts to counteract the stresses of everyday life and keep the personality stable. Parsons claims that the family therefore provides a context in which husband and wife can express their childish feelings, give and receive emotional support, recharge their batteries and so stabilise their personalities. However, Parsons’ views on the family are criticised for being incomplete and idealising the family with his picture of well-adjusted children and sympathetic spouses caring for each other unconditionally. It is a over-optimistic and modernist and has little relationship to reality, because as mentioned before, not all families function perfectly. Similarly to Murdock, Parsons also fails to examine alternatives to the family which may provide the same functions for the development of society. The overall functionalist theory on the family is criticised by Marxism, feminists and some postmodernists. A Marxist would argue that the function of the family is to serve capitalism. Some feminists would argue that the function of the family is for women to serve men and that families are so diverse it is hard to argue that the family has a purpose. Some postmodernists suggest that the nuclear family is not as common as it seems and that there are now many diversities of families due to cultural and social changes. These views are clearly in conflict with the views of functionalism; therefore it allows us to question their validity. Functionalism also has its set of views on the education system. Emile Durkheim claimed that the main function of education was to transmit society’s norms and values through generations. Social solidarity is essential for the welding of mass individuals into a united whole. Functionalists such as Durkheim argue that education builds a sense of commitment and belonging to a society and a belief that the whole of society is more important than a single individual. Durkheim argued, ‘to become attached to society, they will come to see that they are part of something larger themselves; they will develop a sense of commitment to the social group’. Durkheim also claimed that the school serves a function which cannot be provided by the family the peer group. Individuals must learn to cooperate with those who are neither their family nor their friends. In this way, children learn to respect authority figures, such as teachers, and get along with other members of society they would be forced to interact with in later life such as bosses and colleagues. These social interactions are essential for keeping society harmoniously balanced and functioning. Durkheim claimed that along with teaching us to interact with different social groups, education serves to strictly reinforce school rules and ensure that children realise that these should be followed. Punishments should reflect the seriousness of the damage done to the social group by the offence and teach individuals that it is wrong to act against the interests of the social group as a whole. In Durkheim’s words: ‘it is by respecting the school rules that the child learns to respect rules in general, that he develops the habit of self-control and restraint simply because he should control and restrain himself. It is the first initiation into the austerity of duty. Serious life has now begun’. Durkheim finally argues that education teaches individuals specific skills necessary for their future occupations. Schools transmit both general values which provide the necessary skills for social survival. Industrial society is united by value consensus and a specialised division of labour whereby specialists combine to produce goods and services. Education is essential for this because it trains individuals to develop the skills which will be useful for their future occupations. In the current education system children are given the opportunity to learn technical and practical skills as well as academic skills which all come together to help society function. However, Durkheim is criticised for several reasons. Firstly, he assumes that societies have a shared culture which can be transmitted through the education system. Britain for example is now multi-cultural and it is therefore debatable whether there is a single culture on which schools could base their curriculum. If a school bases their curriculum on a single culture they are often accused of ethnocentrism, which is a difficult issue to overcome when schools bring together children of many different cultural backgrounds and ethnicities. Secondly, his views on the education system are in conflict with those of Marxism, which argues that education serves to transmit a dominant culture and serve the interests of the ruling class rather than the members of society as a whole. Finally, functionalism has its views on the way crime and deviance applies to society. Functionalism looks at society as a whole and looks for the source of deviance in the nature of society rather than in the individual. Social control mechanisms such as the police and courts are argued to be necessary to keep order in society. Durkheim argues that crime is inevitable because not every member of society can be equally committed to the collective sentiments of society. Durkheim also claims that crime can be functional because all social change begins with some form of deviance and a certain amount of social change is healthy for society. Merton, 1968, argued that deviance results from the culture and structure of society itself. Since members in society are placed in different positions in the social structure, for example different social classes, they do not all have equal opportunities. This situation can generate deviance – for example, members of the lower classes, such as the working or under class may resort to crime due to their position in the social structure because they are deprived of things essential for survival. Merton also outlined the five responses to cultural goals: conformity, innovation, ritualism, retreatism and rebellion. The first way in which society can respond to cultural goals is through conformity. Members of society conform both to success goals and to the normative means of reaching them. They strive for success by accepted means. The second response is innovation in which individuals reject normative means of reaching success and turn to deviant means such as crime. Merton argues that members of the lower social strata are more likely to select this route to success. Merton claims that they have little access to conventional and legitimate means of becoming successful. Low qualifications mean little opportunity for jobs and advancement since their route to success is blocked. Therefore they turn to crime, which promises greater rewards than legitimate means. Membership of the lower social strata is not alone enough to produce deviance however – pressures from society contribute to an individuals need to deviate. The third response is known as ritualism. Those who select this as an alternative are deviant because they have largely abandoned the commonly held success goals. Members of the lower middle class who have less opportunity than other members of the middle class are likely to take the path of ritualism. However, they have been strongly socialised to conform to social norms so they do not turn to crime. They scale down or abandon their success goals. Ritualists are deviant because they have rejected the success goals held by most members of society. The fourth and least common response is retreatism which applies to ‘psychotics, chronic alcoholics and drug addicts’. They have strongly internalised both the cultural goals and institutionalised means, however they are unable to achieve success. They resolve their situation by abandoning both the goals and the means of reaching them. They ‘drop out’ of society defeated and resigned by their failure. They are deviant in two ways: they have rejected both the cultural goals and the institutionalised means. The fifth and final response is rebellion. This involves both rejection of both success goals and institutionalised means and replaces them with their own different goals and means. They wish to create a new society. Merton says ‘it is typically members of a rising class rather than the most depressed strata who organise the resentful and the rebellious into a revolutionary group’. Hannon and Defronzo, 1998, carried out a study which gives empirical support for Merton’s five stages. In a study of 406 metropolitan counties in the USA, they found that those with higher levels of welfare provision had lower levels of crime. They argued that the welfare provision opened up opportunities for people to achieve the goal of material success. They argued that the welfare provision opened up opportunities for people to achieve the goal of material success through legitimate means and therefore reduced anomie and the crime which could result from it. However, critics have argued that Merton’s five stages neglect the power relationships in society as a whole within which deviance and conformity occur. Taylor, 1971, criticised Merton for not carrying out his analysis far enough and failing to consider who makes the laws and who benefits from them. The whole game may have been rigged by the powerful with rules that guarantee their success. These rules may be the laws of society. Merton is also criticised for being deterministic because it fails to explain why some people who experience effects of anomie do not become criminals or deviant. It over-exaggerates working-class crime and underestimates middle-class and white collar crime. Furthermore, Taylor, Walton and Young, 1973, criticise that Merton’s theory cannot account for politically motivated criminals such as freedom fighters who break the law because of commitment to their cause rather than the effects of anomie. In conclusion, functionalism has made great contribution to the study of society as it offers explanations for the functions of the major institutions in society. However, the whole functionalist theory is based around the idea that these institutions serve to keep society functioning and harmonious. Almost all their ideas are criticised by Marxism, which suggests the complete opposite – that all institutions serve the interests of the ruling class and capitalism rather than serving the needs of the general members of society as a whole. As shown above, we can compare perspectives such as Marxism, feminism and postmodernism with functionalism to assess its advantages and disadvantages. The functionalist theory is an important perspective widely covering most aspects of society, however it falls flat where it is criticised for being too deterministic and failing to consider the chaos and disorganisation in society.