Development and use of explosives over the past century

The history of explosives and propellants, also known generally as ‘energetic materials’ began with the material known as gunpowder or black powder, whether the intended use was for civil applications such as rock blasting, military uses in demolition, shell filling (bursting charges) and construction projects, or military and civilian propellant charges for short guns, pistols, rifles or artillery. The individual inventor of black powder will undoubtedly forever remain unknown, but numerous writers such as Drinker (1878), Munroe (1888), Marshall (1915), and Davis (1941, 1943), described what is known about its development and evolution.Until the discovery of nitrated explosive compounds such as nitrocellulose by schonbein and Bottger (independently of one another) and nitroglycerin by Sobrero (all occurring in 1846), the only explosive available for any purpose was black powder. 1) Solid (particulate) propellants; 2) Military explosives; 3) Commercial explosives. Propel lants Propellants may be granular, solid, or liquid. The primary focus was on granular (particulate) material since they are the most commonly encountered by the forensic chemist.Solid propellants are deflagrating materials designed to accelerate a projectile from its position of rest at the breech of a weapon to its full velocity as it exits the tube or barrel. In the ideal (and designed for case), the complete consumption of the propellant and the exit of projectile occurs at the same instant. Propellant gains are thus chemically formulated and physically designed to achieve this end. The gains burn particle to particle at speeds below the speed of sound in the material: this defined the word ‘deflagrating’. Historically such materials have been termed progressive powders.In addition to burning particle- to- particle burns from its free surface inward or, in the case of perforated grains, also from the free surface outward. This characteristic enables the propellant d esigner to size and configure the grains or particles to be totally consumed at the optimum instant. Propellant gains may be found in multitude of shapes and sizes, as might be expected given the varieties of weapons and desired pressures and projectile velocities. Black powder Black powder is the mixture of three components, generally (and originally) charcoal, sulfur, and potassium nitrate.These are typically in the ratio of 15:10:75. Many variations to that ratio have been used: Cundill (1889) lists over 20 varieties, many with sub –varieties. Most of the differences, however, are insignificant. The one major development in the past 100 years is the use of sodium nitrate in some black powder grades. Black powder has an inherent drawback as a military propellant due to the fact that it produces a solid reaction product. Because of this, a dense black cloud is produced upon firing weapon is readily apparent, and after a number of rounds are fired the volume of battlefield sm oke leads to confusion and general chaos.For this reason the development of the ‘smokeless’ propellant charge was an objective of every governments weapons laboratory. Upon the discovery of the nitration reaction this research intensified. Smokeless powder The early history of the nitrated carbohydrates, which includes the 1833 discovery of nitro-starch (called xyloidine by its discoverer, Braconnot) and guncotton, called pyroxyline or pyroxyle be the chemist Pelouze, is thoroughly covered by Devis (1941).Guncotton, nitrocellulose of high nitrogen content (13. 35% to 13. 45%), was the first nitrated material to be tried as a replacement for black powder, but it was too prone to accidents. However its military use continued after it was found that the newly –invented mercury fulminate blasting cap would cause compressed guncotton to detonate, leading to its application as a demolition charge and shell filling. Its use was rather short lived, however due to the int roduction of picric acid.Research was continued on nitrocellulose of lower nitrogen content as a propellant material, and the first good smokeless riffle powder was produced by Vielle in 1886, for the French Government. This was nitrocellulose with either alcohol, kneaded in bread making type machine, rolled out into thin sheets, and then cut into small squares and dried (Military Explosives, 1924). This was a ‘single base’ smokeless powder (nitrocellulose only). In 1888 Nobel invented a powder called Ballistite, which was a low nitrated nitrocotton gelatinized with nitroglycerin: which came to be known as; double base’ powder.In the same year Cordite (given that name because it was extruded in the form of cord or ribbon), a mixture of high nitrated guncotton, nitroglycerine, and Vaseline, gelatinized by means if acetone was developed by an English Committee. (Marshall, 1915) Later ‘triple base’ smokeless powder were developed, containing nitro guani dine in addition to the nitrocotton and nitroglycerin of typical double base powders. Triple base powders were cooler-burning than the single or double base materials and use was mainly restricted to large caliber weapons.Developments in smokeless powder since those early days had been primarily to improve stability, decrease the erosion of the barrel of the weapon, control pressures, decrease smoke output (‘smokeless’ powders are smokeless in comparison to black powder, but still produce visible smoke), and to decrease the muzzle flash from a firing weapon. The geometry of powders may include flakes, tubes, cylinders, sticks, flattened balls, or spheres. Military Explosives As black powder was the first propellant, so it was the first military explosive too.It was used for shell filling, demolition, and military construction projects from the earliest times up until the invention of nitroglycerin. Military explosives as discussed here are those used as the shell filing or ‘bursting charge’ in artillery round and those explosives used for demolition charges. Military construction projects typically use commercial-type explosives, except in field-expedient situations. The brief use of guncotton as a military explosive was noted above. Trinitrotoluene (TNT)During and after World War I the explosive trinitrotoluene (TNT, C7H5N3O6) became the dominant shell filling and demolition charge material. TNT has the advantage of being very easy to cast, since it has a wide spread between its melting and decomposition temperatures. One disadvantage is its extreme insensitivity. In the order to conserve TNT for small caliber shells in World War I, a mixture of TNT and ammonium nitrate (‘amatol’) was developed. It was specified for use only in shell of $. 7-inch to 9. 2-inch diameter (Crowell, 1919) but in actual practice it was used in all sizes.For the same reason of conserving TNT, nitro starch explosives were used very successfully in that war for hand grenades and trench mortar shells (Williams, 1920). Tetryl Tetryl (2, 4, 6-trinitrophenyllmethylnitramine, N-2, 4, 6-tetra-nitro-N-methyl aniline, or picrylmethyl nitramine) was used in military boosters, but has generally been replaced by materials such as RDX and HMX. The ‘tetrytols’ are mixtures of tetryl and TNT, which were utilized in boosters, demolition charges, shells, and shaped charges. The TNT generally ranged from 20 to 35 percent of the mixture.An advantage of tetrytol is that it allows the casting of the explosive into munitions rather than requiring pressing. It is also more powerful than TNT, but not as sensitive as tetryl alone. RDX and HMX Between the world Wars a number of explosives were developed, and after the start of the second war a vast amount of explosives research took place. One of the most important and useful military explosive is RDX (an acronym for ‘Research Department Explosive’), which was discovered i n 1899, but not used until World War II.It is also called cyclonite, hexagen, and cyclo-trimethylenetrinitramine. HMX was another explosive used for military applications during and after World War II. The initials are said to stand for â€Å"High Melting Explosive’, although other sources for the acronym are sometimes cited. It is also called cyclo-tetramethylenetetranitramine or octogen. (Beveridge 1-4) Blasting and Use of Explosives Only authorized persons can handle and use explosives. No person using explosives is allowed to be under the influence of alcohol or drugs.Nothing which could be an ignition source, such as matches, open flames, or smokers, is to be around explosives. Accountability is required to assure that explosives are under the care of a qualified person. All blasting aboveground is done between sunup and sundown and, when blasting is done, blasters are to take special precaution near public utilities, around transportation conveyances, and near public a reas to assure safety and mitigate any damage. Care must be taken to assure that accidental premature ignition does not occur from stray electrical sources or radio transmitters.The blaster is to be considered a competent person in the use and care of explosives, and have experience with the type of blasting methods being used. The transportation of explosive and blasting materials must conform to the department of Transportation regulatory provisions. Drivers of trucks containing explosives and blasting equipment must be licensed and should be in good physical and mental condition. No blasting materials are to be transported with other cargo and blasting caps are not to be transported in the same vehicle as other explosives.These vehicles should be marked with a placard signifying â€Å"Explosives† and have a fully charged fire extinguisher. (Reese, Edison 648) Different uses of an Explosive Blasting is extremely important both to mining and the world economy. The saying is often used, â€Å"If it can’t be grown it has to be mined,† however if the ground is too hard to be mechanically mined economically, it has to be blasted. Certainly many materials, such as iron, copper and concrete to name but a few would be significantly more expensive if it weren’t for explosives and our ability to easily drill holes to use these explosives efficiently.Shock wave compression technology is not only a means of extremely high-pressure generation, but also a means of extremely high-temperature production in solids. When dynamite shock load is applied to solids by means of explosive and high-speed impact, the shock pressure and the shock temperature generated depend on the shock load and the density of the solid. Between 1985 and early 1991, there were 182 incendiary or explosive devices planted in Great Britain by animal-rights activists.This number accounted for approximately 50 percent of all explosive devices planted in all of Great Britain, ma king it numerically a larger problem in Great Britain than incidents attributed to the provisional Irish Republican Army. However, the majority of these devices were far less sophisticated and far less dangerous than the PIRA devices. In 1980 in Great Britain, the first use of high explosives by animal-rights terrorists took place. These acts appear to have been perpetrates by a small group, which had obtained a high explosive used both in military operations and in commercial applications, such as quarries.First it was used against the staff restaurant at Bristol University, where a 5-puound bomb was set off about midnight, wrecking about two floors of the building. More recently in 1990, the same explosive was used presumably by the same group in two car bobs. In one case, a passing infant was severely wounded. Conclusion During the past centuries, it has been proved that there is a beginning international acknowledgement of the future need for demolition of plants and buildings. There is also evidence of an increasing interest in demolition techniques and the re-use of building materials.There are literally hundreds of different types of explosives, varying from black powder used in pipe bombs (still a favorite of domestic bombers), to dynamite sticks, and from blocks of TNT to plastic explosives that can be molded into diverse forms, including thin sheets. A dozen or so of the most notable explosives are used by the terrorists. Of particular note are the explosives RDX and PETN which, together with plastic and other fillers, compose many plastic explosives such as Detasheet and SEMTEX.Explosives are mostly harmful (destructive) but on the other hand in many cases they are useful (constructive) too. Doctors, Engineers use explosives in a constructive way while at the same time criminals and terrorists use explosive in the destructive way. There are many uses of explosives such as Mining, Pyrotechnics, Building Demolition and even Construction. Explosives ar e also used in Carve Mount Rushmore, Avalanches and are used in backcountry for Trail Maintenance. Explosive are used in Medicines to break-up kidney-stones. Works cited Beveridge, Alexander. Forensic Investigation of Explosions. New York: CRC Press, 1998. 1,2,3,4 Kasai, Yoshio. Kenkyuio, Kenchiku, Kensetsusho. (Japan), Nihon Daigaku. Demolition and Reuse of Concrete and Masonry: Proceedings of the Second†¦.New York: Taylor & Francis, 1998. 49 Technology against terrorism: the federal effort, US: DIANE Publishing, (1992) Reese, D. Charles. Eidson, V. James. Handbook of OSHA Construction Safety and Health New York: CRC Press, 2006. 648

renaissance essays

renaissance essays The Protestant Reformation and the Counter-Reformation were two very important events in European history. They are a vital part of the Renaissance. They signify the point at which the power of the church dimineshes and the power of the monarchs increases. The Protestant Reformation began with Martin Luther. Martin Luther had once been a monk for the Church, but, after leanring about the way indulgences were practiced in the Church (particularly practiced by Tetzel), he wrote 95 statements about indulgences and posted them at a local church. He had assumed that the Church would accept these statements. Unfortunatly for the Church, the statements were not accepted. By not accepting Luther's teachings, the Church had inadvertantly encouraged its own decline. Since they did not kill Luther immediatly, he was able to spread his "heresy," and, by the time the Church realized how large a threat he was, it was too late. Luther had, in the 1520's started Lutherinism conflicted directly with the Church. It said that only two sacraments were necessary: baptism and communion. This reduced would reduce the power of Lutheran ministers and also save peasants money. This encouraged peasant converts. This also encouraged lords and princes to convert. They would convert to sieze the holdings of the Church in their lands and also to gian power over the new religion. Instead of the Church controlling the officials, the officials controlled the (Lutheran) Church. Lutherinism also stressed intent. He said that, for God to forgive a person, the person would have to feel real regret, instead of iust paying a fine. Luther also stated that, for a person to have good credited to their soul, they would have to have a good intent, not just a fear of Hell. I believe that these facts were unimportant to converts compared to the facts that Luther had defined Lutherinsim much better that the Church had ...

Celebrate Thanksgiving in Spanish

Celebrate Thanksgiving in Spanish Prepare to speak Spanish on Thanksgiving by learning these words. Many of these words dont have much of a cultural context outside the U.S. and Canada (which celebrates its Thanksgiving in October), as no Spanish-speaking countries have a version of Thanksgiving. The phrase  for Thanksgiving, by the way, is Dà ­a de Accià ³n de Gracias. Thats a mouthful that could be translated literally as the day of the act of thanks. The French form is similar  -   the Canadian Thanksgiving is known as lAction de Grà ¢ce. Holiday-Related Words agradecido (por) - thankful (for)ciberlunes  - Cyber Mondayla colonia - colonycompartir, repartir - to shareel cuerno de la abundancia, la cornucopia - cornucopiael desfile - paradeDios - Godla familia - familyla festividad de la cosecha - harvest festivalel fà ºtbol americano - football (not soccer)gluglà º gluglà º - gobble gobble (turkey sound)las gracias - thanksel indio, la india, el indà ­gena americano, la indà ­gena americana  - American Indian, native Americanel noviembre - Novemberel otoà ±o - autumn, falllos parientes  - relativesel peregrino - pilgrimel viernes negro, el viernes de descuentos  - Black Friday Food-Related Words Keep in mind that names of foods dont necessarily translate well, or might not be understood in Spanish-speaking countries, due to cultural differences. For example, the various words that can be translated as pie include pastel, tarta, empanada, and even pay (pronounced similarly to the English word). All of those words except the last also refer to other types of desserts.Also, it is common with fruits and vegetables for a popular name to be applied to multiple botanical classifications. For example, there are at least eight species of tuberous plants called  Ãƒ ±ames (yams), and a few are unlike what you might find in the U.S.   el arndano rojo - cranberryel banquete - feastel budà ­n, el pudà ­n - puddingla cazuela - casserolela cena - dinnercomer - to eatla cucurbitcea,  la calabaza - squash (the same Spanish terms also are used for other related plants)el maà ­z - cornla mazorca de maà ­z - corn on the cobel à ±ame, la batata, el boniato - yamel panecillo - dinner rollel pastel (o la tarta) de calabaza  - pumpkin pieel pavo  - turkeyel pavo asado  - roast turkeyel purà © de patatas - mashed potatoesel relleno - stuffing, turkey dressingla salsa para carne - gravylas sobras, los restos - leftoverslas verduras - vegetables Vocabulary Notes Ñame, the word for yam is one of the few Spanish words to start with  Ãƒ ±. Among the more common ones are à ±oà ±o (insipid or dull) and words derived from it, à ±ora (red pepper), and à ±u (gnu). Panecillo shows how diminutive suffixes are used. Pan is the word for bread, so even if you didnt know what panecillo means, you might guess that it is a small type of bread. In Spanish, it is sometimes possible to distinguish between  male and female animals by using the masculine and feminine forms of the word. Thus a female turkey is una pava. Some other animal names follow a similar pattern: Una mona is a female monkey, una polla is a young hen (and also an off-color word with a different meaning), and una puerca is a sow. But dont assume that any feminine animal name refers to the feminine of the species. For example, una jirafa is a giraffe regardless of its sex. While  relleno would normally be used to refer to turkey stuffing, the same word can be used for just about any type of food filling. A stuffed chili, for example, is known as a chile relleno. While verduras is the word to use when talking about vegetables as a food, vegetales is used more often when talking about vegetables as a type of plant. Sample Sentences Los indios de la tribu de los Wampanoag enseà ±aron a los peregrinos cà ³mo sembrar maà ­z. (The Indians of the Wampanoag tribe taught the pilgrims how to plant corn.) No es difà ­cil prepara un pavo exquisito para celebrar el dà ­a con tus amigos y familiares. (It isnt difficult to prepare a delicious turkey for celebrating the day with your friends and family members.) Despuà ©s de la cena, vamos a ver un juego de fà ºtbol americano. (After dinner, well watch a football game.) Tenemos mucha gratitud por todo lo que tenemos. (Were grateful for everything we have.) Key Takeaways No Spanish-speaking country has a version of Thanksgiving, so native Spanish speakers in those countries may have little cultural context when dealing with Thanksgiving-related words.When translating holiday-related words to Spanish, keep in mind that there may be only a partial correlation between meanings. For example, while a gravy is salsa in Spanish, salsa can refer to many other types of sauce as well.The Spanish phrase for the holiday itself is a long one: Dia de Accià ³n de Gracias.

Footnotes in Financial Statements Research Paper

Footnotes in Financial Statements - Research Paper Example The last section of the financial statements consists of the footnotes and consists of information such as the policies and methodologies used in the preparation of the financial statement. In the simplest sense, the information in the footnotes is an extension of financial statement. It contains quality information that might be useful in understanding the financial position of the company. The footnotes can be divided into two section based on the content in it. One is about the accounting methodologies that are used in the preparation of the report. Second is the detailed explanation of the financial and operational reports. The information about the accounting policies of a company is identified and elaborately explained in the first section. There are numerous parts to this section that addresses different aspects such as inventory, revenue, etc. The policies with respect to these different aspects are discussed in this section. The determination of value of these different aspects is also discussed in this section(Tracy, 2009). There are numerous aspects of a business that cannot be easily understood such as when a company books a sale or revenue determination process. The understanding of these processes is very important to understand the information provided in the report. The information about these processes, mainly the revenue section, is provided in the footnotes. The revenue recognition and revenue determination process is addressed in the footnotes of a financial report. Hence the understanding of such methodologies and policies is only possible with the help of the information in the footnotes. The information in the footnotes is very valuable from an investor’s perspective as it can provide valuable information about the financial structure of the company. Facts that cannot be easily grasped from the main report can be understood by analyzing the accounting methods used. The analysis and comparison of the accounting

EnERGY WEDGES Lab Report Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 1

EnERGY WEDGES - Lab Report Example Increasing forest cover and vegetable is likely to reduce carbon in the atmosphere since the trees utilize the carbon for the process of photosynthesis. Water body mass such as the rivers and lakes also absorb carbon from the atmosphere hence reducing carbon in the atmosphere. Soil and other land covers also utilize carbon (Nesta, 2009). Planting cover crops and reducing soil erosion is estimated to reduce carbon emission in the next 50 years. Our second wedge deals with nuclear energy production. Nuclear energy produces no carbon. It is the most efficient and the most beneficial form of energy production. However, it is always faced with political interference since nuclear energy can easily be used as weapon of mass destruction hence indicated by red color. (UNEP, 2007). Although it will take time to transform from carbon energy immediately to other forms of energy, it is important that the public be educated on efficiently utilizing the current carbon energy. This cuts across mainly in transport and construction sectors. The two sectors are the major consumers of energy mainly in form of electricity and fuel. Our last energy wedge deals with shifting from carbon energy to bio-fuels. Bio-fuel is a product of plants. This is our last option designated by color blue. Use of bio-fuel reduces significantly the amount of carbon in the atmosphere. However, this strategy is still faced with major challenges sine it creates competition with food production (Wardlaw, 2009). The big question is whether the current land used in food production will be substituted for bio-fuel produce. The above energy wedge is likely to win the desires of many oil producing companies such as BP and other companies such as Ford that are actively involved in the motor vehicle industry. The wedge also complies with human rights activists such as the Kyoto Protocol and Copen Hagan reports that aims at sustainable development. The energy

Chilrdens Books Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Chilrdens Books - Essay Example However over the last two decades quite a few major changes have come into the social structure and more specifically, the family unit. Statistics show that in contrast to the 80s and 90s more that 60% of all children in the United States today have working mothers and the number of mothers in even a two parent family who are employed went up by close on to 40%. Currently around 27% of all children come from families with a single parent and one in every three births in the United States is out of wedlock. This along with new light thrown on methods of helping children to maximize their cognitive skills, has lead to dramatic shifts in education for children, and books which are written and published with children and young adults as the target group. A radical change came about both in the form and content of books as the emphasis shifted from parent or teacher-directed, to student-directed reading and learning. The intention behind this was that children should develop their own understanding and imagination, not by being exposed to facts in isolation, but by having their curiosity aroused without any external stimulus in the form of rewards. Other factors which have begun to be taken into consideration while promoting books for children are multi ethnicity, sex, including gay and lesbian fiction for children and young adults, and books which

A Freedom Fighter, or Terrorist?

A Freedom Fighter, or Terrorist? The recent surge in Terrorism as a phenomenon has been unparallel in modern history. It now features as one of the top priorities in government agendas for most of the countries around the world. It is debatable whether it has been hyped up to some extent but unarguably has been one of the most unfortunate trends that have made considerable impact on the way of life for all. The security agencies, religious heads, community leaders, experts and such, are all facing a mammoth task of tackling the menace. It is costing governments billions of pounds in loss of lives, properties, trade and importantly confidence. Due to sensitive nature of the issue, involvement of varied drivers, the lethal cocktail of domestic and international politics, the lack of political will to identify root causes, bungled intelligence information and importantly its geographical spread covering all continents are some of the contributing factors that has left the modern world exasperated. The importance of differentiating and defining the legitimate and unlawful has become academic and a matter of statute. This unfortunately has not helped the bigger cause of tackling the issue in a fair manner thus leaving lives of common people at increasing risk. The debate about values of civil society and rights of the oppressed has blurred and can be argued, to such an extent that no common consensus exists in relation to what is acceptable and what is not, leaving ordinary people confused and causing rift between different communities. This however does not diminish the importance of reaching an amicable definition, the need for it is more than ever before, especially to uphold the values of liberty, fairness and democracy in a volatile society. The discussion will elude to some relevant issues in the context of background, causes, and legislation and will endeavour to arrive at a satisfactory definition that hopefully would distinguish the freedom fighter from the terrorist. This discussion would take into account both national and international scenarios on the basis that the phenomenon is not restricted to UK alone and indeed the definitional problems it poses worldwide, as incidentally does the threat of violence from it. Background The Freedom Fighter: To allow this discussion to evolve and formulate, it is imperative to define and differentiate between a freedom fighter and a terrorist. The term freedom fighter can be defined as being for those engaged in a struggle to achieve political freedom for themselves or obtain freedom for others  [1]  . The common conception of a freedom fighter is that it is someone who opposes a cruel or unfair government by fighting against it, using weapons usually as a part of an organised group  [2]  or even someone who uses violent action, or threats of violent action, for political purposes  [3]  . These general definitions provided from varied academics, saturate an area which is already filled with many views and opinions on the definition of such word and how it should be classified. The Terrorist The term terrorist has also been attempted to be defined as being the systematic use of terror especially as a means of coercion  [4]  . It has also been classed as someone who use violence in order to achieve political aims  [5]  or a person who uses violent methods to try to remove a government from power  [6]  . A terrorist in a definitional sense connotates acts of violence being carried out, in order to fulfil aims. The resistance movement can be clearly termed as activities involving conflict of some nature. The conflict mainly against the authorities as the above definitions seems to presume. The purpose of achieving political freedom or aims indicates opposing some political establishment. It also however signifies restriction of liberty and free will and either a violent or non-violent approach to break these restrictions to make inroads for the organisations willing to do something about it. People who are described as freedom fighters are often also called in popular culture as assassins, rebels, insurgents, or even terrorists. This leads to the dictum one mans terrorist is another mans freedom fighter  [7]  , which poses the difficulty that governments are faced with when trying to define it. A freedom fighter could be meant to consist of someone who will fight for the cause of freedom but as we thoroughly discuss, traditional use of such terminology in popular media is confined to those who are engaged in violent behaviour and those who fight for freedom peacefully are disregarded for the reason that violence by other groups whom claim to be freedom fighter, cast a shadow over them. This also poses the validity of using term armed rebellion as it is linked to violence outside the sphere of traditional terrorism. Nelson Mandela and Yasar Araafat were initially branded terrorists only to be recognised as diplomats and freedom fighters, even though the factions they were linked to were directly responsible for the loss of numerous lives and creating social disorder. In crude comparison even Osama bin Laden was encouraged and supported by US to fight Russia to protect their strategic interest in the area  [8]  . It is ironic that he is now the most wanted man on the earth. The perceived transformation of terrorist to freedom fighter and vice versa in context of their roles blurs the definition even further. The term terrorist and freedom fighter has become distorted with the changing times. It is interesting to note that Seymour above has no qualms in making those blurred boundaries more prominent. His emphasis on differing universal values attached to the activities instead of the blanket definition is worth noting and he suggests that they are the same entity and the difference between them both is only a matter of a opinion and a subjective view. International Perspective: The history of resistance movement goes back to from 1 AD to 6 AD according to various historians, even though no concrete evidence exists as to when the usage of the word terrorism came into existence  [9]  . Various studies have found over 100 definitions of terrorism  [10]  and this coupled with the fact that the term is politically and emotionally charged greatly compounds the difficulty of providing a precise definition  [11]  . Throughout the 1970s and 1980s, the United Nations (UN) strived to classify terrorism, but the implementation of such definition concluded to fail as member states found it difficult to verify it, in regards to the use of violence for national liberation and self determination  [12]  . This was mainly due to Palestine movement which was not only whole heartedly supported by the Middle-East but countries in South Asia, Russia, China and Africa also provided tactical support to the cause as and when it was required. The solidarity groups ac ross the world staged peaceful demonstration on regular basis, mainly to keep the momentum going. The active freedom fighters or comrades of the movement also got involved in violent activities inside and outside of the mainland Palestine. This always posed problems for the countries that hosted such groups and they refrained from making any supporting statements when the activities resulted in loss of lives and destruction of properties. This showed how freedom fighters can immediately become terrorists or undesirables through the actions they undertake. The United Nations General Assembly uses the commonly agreed political definition of terrorism when condemning such acts  [13]  . The declaration reads: Criminal acts intended or calculated to provoke a state of terror in the general public, a group of persons or particular persons for political purposes are in any circumstance unjustifiable, whatever the considerations of a political, philosophical, ideological, racial, ethnic, religious or any other nature that may be invoked to justify them  [14]  . The absence of term violence in the above declaration and its reliance on general criminality of the acts makes it less influential and renders it incapable to deal with modern day trend, which is more complex and extraordinary. It is safe to assume that the criminal laws of any country, irrespective of their political structure must be quite effective in dealing with criminal acts and the declaration ignores variety of internal and external threats the countries may face, such as risk to infrastructure, utilities, national treasurers, technology and others. Due to severity and the new reality that has dawned following 9/11 attacks, then Secretary-General, Kofi Annan, described the terrorist attack on USA as an attack on humanity as a whole, without definition, all terrorism to be condemned whatever the political origins  [15]  . This was a progressive step forward and highlighted the need for rigorous definition and a zero tolerance approach. There was also an acknowledgement and underlying message of not getting too wrapped up with the legal clarity about the definition and instead to tackle the issue at hand in a non-negotiable but effective manner. It is also worth noting the usage of term whatever the political origins, as a conflict of any political nature was considered as a trigger point that may result in terrorism and a battle for self determination. It must be observed that since the rise of terrorism in the west, the Patriot Act 2001 was enacted in the United States of America (USA), which attempted to define terrorism as being premeditated, politically motivated violence perpetrated against non-combatant targets by sub-national groups or clandestine agents, usually intended to influence an audience  [16]  . This definition has no consideration of the social factors for the cause of terrorism and attempts to infer that political pressure is the only aim . The Act was described as a pendulum reaction to 9/11 event by Lord Carlile  [17]  . The act was scrutinised by both major parties in the USA as it encroached upon and showed scant regard for liberties of the individual  [18]  . The UN has made several resolutions to allow uniform adoption of counter terrorism measures. The United Nations Security Council Resolution 1373  [19]  (2001) was seen as a response to 9/11 and since as become a pillar of the global legal framework for the prevention and suppression of terrorism.  [20]  The introduction of such resolution meant that countries such as Japan took steps in order to freeze the assets of many individuals  [21]  . However it must be noted that although the counter terrorism measure in this resolution were adopted, the resolution failed to define terrorism and persisted to include Al-Qaida and Taliban within the framework of defining terrorism. Further attempts have been made from the UN to understand the growing threat of terrorists. UN Security Council Resolution 1566 defined terrorism as being:- criminal acts, including against civilians, committed with the intent to cause death or serious bodily injury, or taking of hostages, with the purpose to provoke a state of terror in the general public or in a group of persons or particular persons, intimidate a population or compel a government or an international organization to do or to abstain from doing any act.  [22]   This definition takes into consideration of the wide scope of damages that terrorism could cause such as in taking the lives of civilians and does not restrict it to just political aims or in times of war. The further need for a strict definition was attempted also by Tamar Meisels whom advocates a consistent and strict definition of terrorism, which she defines as the intentional random murder of defenceless non-combatants, with the intent of instilling fear of mortal danger amidst a civilian population as a strategy designed to advance political ends  [23]  . This definition seems in include an aim again and shows that violence and instilling fear are the key components of the behaviour of a terrorist. The history of Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO) and African National Congress (ANC) is riddled with violence, kidnapping, civil disorder, threats, incitement in order to achieve the aims of these organisations, which in effect was self-determination, freedom, justice, equality, fairness and so on, similar aims of the freedom fighter. The rights of the Palestinian people to self determination has been recognised by the many organisations around the world including the security council and the international court of justice and most importantly even by Israel as well. About 100 nations recognize Palestine as a state  [24]  . In 1990, the successful negotiations between the government and ANC resulted in ending apartheid, culminating in multi-racial democratic elections in 1994, which were won by the African National Congress under Nelson Mandela  [25]  . In both the above cases the uprising was internally and externally supported by individuals, organisations and governm ents across the world. The campaign highlighted the injustices, segregation, and deprivation of basic human rights of indigenous people that became magnet for people to protest against it. It also gave platform for other people and groups internally and sometimes externally to participate in the struggle in a non-violent way. The justification of methods within an organisation is met with the internal wrestling between the political arm and the branch that deals with rebellion by way of force. This has meant that disputes within groups stagnate further development for their cause. There has been an increasing interest at the international level in supplementing traditional human rights principles with rights for minorities within in each group. For example, the Conference on Security and Cooperation in Europe adopted a declaration on the Rights of National Minorities and established a High Commissioner on National Minorities in 1993  [26]  , this being significant as within the international framework, the rights of minorities are being protected in reaction to terrorism diluting their rights in certain states. Similarities and Differences The above definitions and backgrounds provide useful information on making an informed decision on the similarities and differences between the two. The overlapping of some triggers and factors are inevitable and readers are urged to be cautious when taking a stand for and against the issue. Most of the formal definitions of terrorism and freedom fighter have some common characteristics mainly a fundamental motive to make political or societal changes through use of violence or illegal force. The terms have stark differences as well. The use of violence perpetrated by terrorist is random and does not take into account the destruction of lives and properties of innocent people. The freedom fighter on the other hand, targets governmental and military installations with a view to bring them to the negotiating table. This is in contrast to terrorists who aims to create fear and terror and instead issues orders and demands to surrender and may lack diplomatic channels, resulting in the approach taken by militants, both can command support. The terrorists support comes from clandestine organisations and rouge states. The freedom fighter cause is celebrated and may get support from all sections of the society including democratic institutions. UK Context There is no single definition of terrorism that commands full international approval. It remains the subject of continuing debate in international bodies  [27]  . Lord Carlile arrived at this conclusion after carefully researching the current terrorism laws that exists in 60 countries. The majority of countries selected for the study had either too broad or too narrow scope of definition and importantly were designed to reflect specific political situation and threat of the individual country. Only few European countries had some similar features to UK legislation and context. The Terrorism Act 2000 was aimed to establish a sound definition of terrorism in the law with a view to introduce entirely new set of police and investigatory powers to deal with incidents that would be deemed beyond the ordinary violent offences. It also superseded and repealed some of the previous acts and provisions. Since 2000, the UK has enacted five main pieces of legislation to deal with terrorism  [28]  . Following the events of 9/11, legislation and security measures from the Government were under threat of not going far enough to deal with the issues raised by violence, such as terrorism. Following the events of 9/11, legislation and security measures from the Government were under threat of not going far enough to deal with the issues raised by violence, such as terrorism. In response to this the government initiated CONTEST (I and II) as the main authority for counterterrorism strategy for the UK. It was designed to take account of the evolution of the threat and of our understanding of the factors which are driving it  [29]  . The latest conception of CONTEST attempts to deal with issue that foreign policy concerns breed violent extremism  [30]  . It endeavoured to define how foreign policy in the UK could act as a catalyst for people to turn to extremism. Real or perceived grievances, some international and some local, including in particular: a perception that UK foreign policy in the Muslim world (notably military operations in Iraq and Afghanistan) is hostile to Islam; the experience of wider conflict in the Muslim world and conflict involving Muslims (often attributed either to western intervention or to western indifference); and a range of domestic issues, including racism, inequalities and the experience of criminality and migration.  [31]   This brings the paradoxical argument that, grievances such as the foreign policy of a country could lead to the radicalisation of those aggrieved, who in turn could result in fighting for the cause, and ultimately for the minority the perceived freedom fighter could become an instrument of terrorist activities. It must be mentioned that he report conducted by Lord Carlile  [32]  where he defined terrorism and reviewed all legislation in relation to this topic, has now become a fundamental part of terrorism legislation Terrorism Act 2000 The introduction of the Terrorism Act 2000 signified a huge step in the right direction in the attempts to define such violent acts. The act defined it as being an action which is designed to influence the government through a threat or to intimidate the public and threats made for the purpose for progress of a political, religious or ideological cause can be seen as terrorism, for the purposes of the act. These attempts show that the UK government had stretched the boundaries and attempted to define it. The act also cleared up discrepancies in regards to what type of damage or threats are caused. Section 2 of the Act also defines what type of actions can be inferred to be that of terrorists and includes actions which involve serious violence or serious damage to property. An action which endangers a persons life or a deed which creates serious risk to the public can be also be deemed as actions of terrorism. The act also attempted to cover the rise of technological warfare by includ ing attempts to disrupt electronic systems can also fall under the heading of terrorist activities. It is imperative to mention that the act also considered terrorist activities committed outside of the UK would still be classified as terrorist actions for the purpose of the act. This is important as the scope for actions is wide thus allowing such actions to be classed as terrorist activities. However, this act even with the attempts and inroads it has tried to make in regards to defining terrorism, has been met with criticisms chiefly from Lord Carliles paper. He suggested that the act should include the use or threat is made for the purpose of advancing a political, philosophical, ideological, racial, ethnic, religious or other similar case  [33]  . If the section 1 (1) (c) was to be amended in the 2000 act, it would provide a positive message by enhancing the legal clarity of the act. The Terrorism Act 2006 also extends the range of offences which can be classed as terrorism and included the term glorifies  [34]  , which can be meant as a novel word for a criminal offence. The amendments made by the 2006 Act, such as, glorification and mere preaching cannot be seen as terrorist actions, Lord Carlile was content with the protection that was in place in regards to the misusing of the clause preaching and glorification  [35]  . Like the Patriot Act in the Unit ed States, the current UK law has been scrutinised due to the slow dissolution of key human rights such as right to privacy which allows the police excessive powers, which could result in misuse of them. The Terrorism Act has been wrongly exploited by authorities such as the Police force and Customs as they have often cited the Terrorism Act when combating terrorism when in fact in various cases these events are not connected to those of terrorism. Another contentious issue arising from the act is section 44. This section involves the authorisations available to senior police officers if they believe that it is expedient for the prevention of acts of terrorism, they can confer powers to other police officers to search people and there is no requirement that the officers to do so on reasonable grounds. Stop and searches have been taken advantage of as those with no connection in terrorism can be targeted, such as protesters  [36]  , however the police must have reasonable suspicion that the person pursued is operating as a terrorist, according to the Home Office  [37]  . In many states across the world which breed terrorist organisations, the experience that they have such as poverty and hardship lead to the radicalisation of the masses. Recent research suggests that poverty and illiteracy as well as the conflict in Afghanistan and Iraq are key factors leading to religious extremism  [38]  . This has led to the school of thought that freedom fighters and terrorist have not always derived out of the same background and it is the ideology that they pursue which is different from one another. Summary The discussion on the said topic was approached with a view to define Terrorist and Freedom Fighter, and includes researching various understanding of these terms and the views as expressed by national and international experts, including relevant legislations. The unique characteristics or commonality that compares and distinguishes both terms are vital in critically considering its legitimacy and legal status. The rapidly diminishing boundaries of terrorist and freedom fighter has not only left ordinary people confused but authorities struggling to provide legal clarity as well. The discussion also ask the questions to ponder on the necessity to define these terms to the hilt at the expense of ignoring such a sensitive issue and in turn giving secondary preference to tackling the issue. The Terrorism Act 2000 and subsequent legislation that followed like the Terrorism Act 2006 which made amendments to the 2000 act such as creating new offences in reference to the encouragement of terrorism which deals with the root cause of it  [39]  , provides an insight into the UKs context and how counter-strategy with all its teething problems and weaknesses remains at the heart of providing protection and stability to UK. Conclusion The exclusion of religious causes from the definition of terrorism is controversial and there is no discourse as it stands that political cause may be excluded from the definition, this also applies to an ideological cause. Can there be a religious cause which is neither political nor ideological? If so, should it be under the terrorism umbrella?  [40]   The above questions bring the debate about root cause to the fore. The counter-terrorism strategy identifies the importance of the role specific community should be playing. The Prevent strand aims to tackle the issue through community involvement. It is hoped that by identifying the underlying issues such as foreign policy, discrimination, deprivation etc the authorities would be in better position to address the issue through various community based and led initiatives. This however must not underestimate the importance of containing and eliminating the menace of terrorism through policing and judiciary means mainly via legislation. The international community it seems are still divided over defining the term freedom fighter. The thin line that separates it from terrorist is too risky to be crossed. It also depends on individual countrys foreign policy, e.g. The Middle East whole heartedly supports Palestine movement and some countries also give tactical support in form of funding, promotion etc. The argument with some of the western countries is that the funds can be easily channelled to terrorist causes and openly promoting the cause can have adverse effect on their relationship with Israel, not to forget the wrong message it would send to those elements who could resort to violence and derail the campaign. The current definition of terrorism as it stands now in UK has been rigorously designed and implemented through proper policy making mechanism. The inherent weaknesses and the lessons learnt of abuse of powers since 2000 have either been amended or eliminated. The process of treating each case on merit and trying to identify the root cause can only exasperate the situation. The sensible approach route however would be to look at the end result. Did the activities result in illegal and random violence? Did it cause loss of lives of innocent people and destruction of properties? Have the perpetrators got legitimate concerns that can be resolved through negotiations? Is the issue of persecution, human rights visible and quantifiable? The concept of Freedom Fighting is alien to current UK scenario. The robust laws and legislations in place, the mechanism of transparency and implementation of these laws, the equality and human rights, democratically elected local and central government, rights of citizen, checks and balances of political and judiciary system etc are antithesis to the path of violent struggle for freedom. It is also equally true that any widely accepted and legitimate freedom struggle outside UK such as Burma, Palestine etc must not be underrated. The UK citizens should have right to protest within the boundaries of UK law, including marching, publicity, awareness campaign, funding raising etc. Developing a Successful Corporate Strategy: Examining Volkswagen Developing a Successful Corporate Strategy: Examining Volkswagen A business strategy is an organizational plan with long and short tem purposes of achieving set business goals and objectives. Its a management plan aimed at strengthening the performance of a company through provision of quality products and services and maintaining market share and successfully containing competition (Aaker, 2001). A business strategy can be developed and implemented at three levels of an organization structure; the corporate level, the business level and the departmental level. Developing business strategies at corporate level involves maintaining the business positive performance while ensuring long term success of all business units through improving compatibility among the units. Companies develop corporate strategies to manage their operations, departments, products, services and staff to make the company competitive and ensure that every component contributes to the success and achieving organizational goals. The development and implementation of a business strategy or model involves the use of organizational design which is the process of deciding how a company must form, utilize and combine organizational structure as well as control systems and organizational culture to pursue a business goal (Hill and Gareth 2008). This essay will focus on developing and implementing business strategies at corporate level based on the Volkswagen Group which is a motor manufacturing company. Factors to Consider when Developing a Successful Corporate Strategy Well developed business strategies must address the strategy choice, organization structure, primary people concerns and organizational culture dimensions. Volkswagen Group has identified differentiation as it major market strategy. This strategy involves positioning the group on top of motor manufacturing by the year 2018 with increased service delivery and customer satisfaction. Developing this strategy has been practiced through provision of quality products, new designs and always improving and expanded services that go beyond the normal automobile manufacturing standards. Volkswagen Group therefore focuses on a quality strategy which is a subset of a whole differentiation strategy so that it can outstand among the many competitors in the industry. However, the current increase of many players in motor industry has gone into Volkswagen group strategy plan and implementation because of the greater efforts needed to maintain revenue, market share, reduce costs and most importantly keep customers who seem attract to other cheap car models from other manufacturers. Volkswagen Group management assigns employees to particular value creation tasks and roles that are linked together to create a framework that will increase quality provision, effective service delivery, innovation and responsiveness to customers to increase competitive advantage. This motor manufacturing group has succeeded in integrating the efforts of all employees across all company structure, functions and business sections so that specific set of strategies are achieved. The Volkswagen organizational structure is very flexible with all duties clearly spelled out together with the staff who should undertake them. The structure of the Volkswagen Group organizational structure has been one of the contributing factors to effective implementation of previous strategies because every employee knows his/her job description and expectations. The development of any corporate business strategy must take into account the primary concerns of all the people involved by ensuring production of good quality products and quality services to guarantee customer satisfaction. To achieve this, Volkswagen Group has installed programs to train all its human resources prior and after a strategy is devised and implemented. This assures the company that the staff is capable of turning the business strategies into business values. The choice of its staff is very complete because only staff with great quality combinations for a motor manufacturing industry is considered. Organizational culture is a collection of values, norms, beliefs and attitudes that are common among people and groups in an organization. Volkswagen group has organizational standards that control how the employees interact with each other, with the customers and stakeholders outside the company. Just like many other international companies, the top management of Volkswagen group has the upper hand in ensuring that employees work towards achieving the company strategies and goals because they can influence the kind of beliefs to be exercised in the company. Developing a corporate strategy is therefore a very complex process that is primarily concerned with selection of business area where the organization should operate and compete as well as developing and coordinating business profile through stipulation of objectives, aims and goals (Checco 2005). In developing business strategies organizations must address key strategy components that usually determine the long term performance of such strategies. These components include; strategy reach, competitive contact, managing resources and business relationship and management practices. The corporate strategy reach involves defining corporate mission, vision, objectives and goals. The strengths and opportunities as well as weaknesses and threats are considered in this component. The definition of these management components enables execution of the strategy while ensuring business units are integrated into each other for easy management. The competitive contact is more concerned with speculating the future competition environment and developing products and services that will be able to compete favorable with those of the competitors. Opportunities and threats are more addressed at this point. Coordinating the use of company resources, both material and intellectual across the business units forms the other component of managing corporate activities and relationships. Developing a business strategy dictates that all business units in harmony and compatible with each other such that communication and business instructions can flow from unit to unit (Porter 1998). The effective use and management of corporate resources should be stressed in the strategy since the success of a corporate strategy is dependent on how the resources are utilized. The choice between centralization and decentralization of a corporation needs more considerations such as the external factors that may face business activities, the level of compe tition as well the available resources and the benefits expected to be accrued from such resources. However, every organization should look carefully at its intended corporate strategy as compared to that of its competitors to see if it can better leverage its internal strengths and potential for operational efficiencies because development and implementation of a poor strategy may be the ultimate downfall as many competitors are finding ways to incentivize customer value through lower prices, additional options or more product for the same price to maintain customer base. This could be a battle that Volkswagen group could fail at if it does not keep pace or find a way to show consumers its value. Conclusively, strategic choice, organizational design, culture and principal people concerns shape employee beliefs, behaviors, values and norms and this determines how they will implement the business models and strategies.