Coping With The Effects Of Rural Poverty Sociology Essay

Coping With The Effects Of Rural Poverty Sociology Essay Transformations in agriculture, natural resource management, exploited tourism, and absentee ranch ownership have changed the face of many rural communities. Several of these changes and other factors have led many rural communities to experience serious declines in their economies during the past decades. These changes have been exacerbated by recent economic hardships further depleting the economy and resources of rural communities. Thus, the precursors and consequences of poverty for families in these communities deserve attention. While Wilson (1987) brought the demographic changes related to urban poverty to light, larger explanations of rural poverty have been less of a research focus. Families living in rural communities are sometimes expected to be buffered by the effects of poverty by maintaining strong family and community connections. However, many of the changes related to family structures and community involvement that often lead to negative outcomes have also become ch aracteristics of rural living (MacTavish Salamon, 2003). In studying rural families in poverty, I propose two theoretical perspectives, symbolic interaction theory and social exchange theory that can help guide research and illuminate some of the issues related to families in poverty in such communities. Symbolic Interaction Theory Symbols are used by humans, according to their contexts, to describe the meaning behind physical objects and occurrences. Socialization is considered the propellant of symbols in society. Individuals comprehend situations through symbols and perceived roles of self and others. Human behaviors actualize through the process of perceiving symbols and roles (White Kline, 2002; Blumer, 1967; Mead). Thus, symbolic interaction theory emphasizes how people perceive themselves within and outside the family environment. Several assumptions are captured in this theory, including that people live in a symbolic world, people learn about selves through interactions with others, individuals have minds and can analyze the self, and people learn their roles within society from the society (White Kline, 2002). Thus, images and symbols are found throughout the ecological system, including how the individual perceives, family interactions, and community interactions found within a rural community. Sym bols about rural living are also carried throughout the broader macro system and expectations of the larger society. Symbolic interaction sheds light on rural families coping in poverty on two important fronts. First, understanding the symbols, meaning, and interactions related to poor families in the community can bring awareness to communities and hopefully allow for more social mobility among their residents. Second, understanding the symbols, meanings, and interactions within the family can help families sense of cohesion and ability to cope (Kaplan Hennon, 1990; Turner). Stigmatized symbols related to poverty are often made explicit as a person conducts their daily life. For example, using food stamps at the grocery store especially in a small community is in full view. A family in poverty cannot hide this in private life; there is typically not a front about this (Goffman, 1963). Poor youth in schools will confront meanings about the clothes they wear (name brand or not) and what it means to stand in line for a free or reduced lunch. Students from families who may be struggling to make ends meet may need to stay in after school programs which may also hold a negative connotation with other school youth (McLoyd et al. 2009; Pogash, 2008). These negative connections to symbols may follow families and youth throughout a lifetime in rural communities. For example, a parent may have a poor interaction with the youths school, not knowing how to navigate its systems. The school may then come to expect a childs poor actions and soon a youth may experience t his in the grocery store and throughout the community. These interactions may then be tied to a family name. This addresses one of the several mechanisms through which stratification in a community is maintained by legitimatizing certain stereotypes (source). These are beliefs that are widely accepted and taken for granted, for instance the meaning behind a family name. Furthermore, there may be symbolic people in the community who maintain power and perhaps perpetuate poverty within a community (Bourdieu, 1986). A person may be in charge of a manufacturing company and the workers must buy all manufactured owned products by shopping at the manufacturing grocery store. Then everything goes back into the system where a small group of people or one family retains power. For example, plantation owners gave low wage jobs to keep poor in their place and limited their education which equaled low literacy rates for workers. Thus, people in poverty cannot move upward. This has often also hap pen through racism in the US. Thus, it would be important to understand who has the symbolic power in a community and it may be important to trace this back further than expected in order to clearly understand the history of a region and how certain families have maintained power or even remained poor (Duncan, 1996). A lack of distrust of certain families can occur and arbitrary power can be carried over into the state of contemporary communities. Hence, people forget to see the political nature of their problems and poverty gets seen as a personal problem as highlighted through Mills (1956) concept on the sociological imagination. Finally, the researcher may meet with families to understand how symbols within their one family unit are carried out. This has been used as a helpful therapy tool for families in conflict. Many poor families experience extreme stress related to a lack of resources and so understanding the role strain within families and different meanings attributed to certain actions would also be important for families in poverty (Kaplan Hennon, 1990; Turner; Seccombe, 2006). Thus, regarding research questions, the researcher may pose several inquiries related to the symbolic power in the community and the symbolism related to being poor in the community. The researcher would ask about the certain families that have power in the community. What does it mean to live in a certain area of town? What actions are socially approved in the community? When do you feel like your family is not receiving social approval? How is social status distributed in the community? Also, family members would be asked how they view their specific situation within their family. What burdens do they experience because of their role in the family? What is the meaning behind certain conflicts in their family? Social Exchange Theory Social exchange theory can help researchers consider why families stay in their communities when there may be other alternatives out of poverty if they moved. Social exchange theory describes the characteristics and motivations for humans social behaviors by a system of perceived rewards and costs. Social exchange theory arose out of utilitarian ideas, emphasizing how people are motivated to act in relationships by maximizing their perceived rewards and minimizing their perceived costs. A reward is anything perceived as a benefit to an individual, family, or relational unit; costs are anything perceived as a reward forgone. Social exchange theory asserts that people rationally calculate while assessing decisions based on the profit ratio of costs and rewards (White Kline, 2002). Theorist such as Homans (1961) believed in generalized rewards that most people would adhere to he suggested social approval as the main generalized reward and motivator for humans. Other theorists have pro posed generalized rewards such as love, personal attraction, instrumental services, respect, and power (Blau, 1964), status, services, goods, information, and money (Foa Foa, 1980), autonomy, predictability, security, agreement, and equality of resources (Nye, 1979). Thus, a researcher would assume that a family would rationally calculate about why they decide to stay in a rural environment in poverty when there may be other alternatives. The researcher would want to understand how families situations may apply to the described rewards or costs above. The other alternatives for families must also be understood. The value and meaning of living in a rural community must be elucidated; thus, ideas related to symbolic interaction would also be employed to enhance understanding. On one hand, families choice to live in a rural environment may have higher benefits compared to the costs of living in an urban environment. We must understand what the costs mean to families. The benefits and costs may relate to rural living sentiments (Elder Conger, 2000). Rural families may view a huge cost associated with moving and starting over in a new community. A benefit for staying would be familiarity, perhaps a connection to the land, and social supports in the c ommunity (Elder Conger, 2000). However, a cost of living in the rural environment may be unsteady work and lack of job opportunities. We might also want to consider why poor young adults would choose to stay in the rural community versus leaving the rural community. The researcher would want to understand the costs and benefits of things associated with leaving and going. What are the social stigmas associated with staying or leaving? What job opportunities, educational attainment, marriage choices, and lifestyle choices exist relative to leaving or staying? We would also want to clearly understand the comparison levels of alternatives for the families in poverty. If they see limited job opportunities in new areas, the comparison level is low and they will not be motivated to move. This may be the case for young adults as well, if they view the comparison level of alternatives as low they will likely stay where they are. However, if the comparison level of alternatives is high, the y will likely move and change their situation (White Kline, 2002). Homans (1961) also thought people gravitate toward social equals as people can gain more social approval this way, what he labeled the cost of inferiority. This may help explain why certain parts of a town remain more poverty stricken as people with similar social and human capital gravitate toward one another. It might also be important to understand how this has worked out in community life in a rural environment. The researchers may also want to understand these choices at a larger macro level. In this view, parents, schools, and government make investments in the human and social capital of families and children (Haveman Wolfe, 1994; Strauss). Thus, the researcher may meet with community leaders to understand how they are investing in poor families and youth to understand their cost to benefit ratio. Do they see investments in the social mobility of families as reaping long term benefits that outweigh the social problems related to poverty? Regarding specific research questions, we would want to ask specifically what the advantages of staying in the rural community are. What are the costs of leaving and what are the costs of staying? We would want to clearly understand the meaning of the costs and rewards through in depth qualitative interviews. What does rural living mean to them? These would be similar questions also relevant to the symbolic interaction questions. What symbols are associated with moving and how does this lead to views related to costs or rewards? Why do families live in certain areas of the community? What are the cost and benefits to community leaders of helping poor families with social mobility? Related to the two theoretical perspectives, the types of data the researcher collects would also be important. Associated to symbolic interaction we would want to do in depth observations in the community trying to understand the different symbols related to statuses and families in the community. This would require observations at several institutions; the researchers would meet with people from all different power statuses within the community. We would hopefully gain access to the private life of several families where perhaps less filtering is done (Goffman, 1963). We may ask many clarifying questions related to the symbols and reflect on our own biases about these symbols. We would want to look for places within the community and related to different families where these symbols matched or had discrepancies. Related to social exchange theory, we would likely gain the most information from the in-depth interviews with families and young adults understanding the exact costs and b enefits these families associate with their lives. Our work with symbolic interaction theory would most likely enhance our understanding of the benefits and rewards related to these families as they reflect on why they stay or go. Data should also be collected on community leaders regarding their views of the costs and benefits related to assisting poor families in their community. Limitations The suggested theories may lead the researcher to many interesting questions and data collection efforts, however, the suggested theories also pose several limitations. Social exchange theory for instance is a bit behaviorist, implying all human interaction is a response to a benefit/cost ratio. Researchers must account for the symbols related to rewards and costs as rewards may be unseen and not understood by others. A closed system of understanding rewards may be found in several communities (Acock). Clearly defining rewards and costs would be an important first step before asserting research entirely from a social exchange theorists view point. Clearly, this is an area where symbolic interaction could enhance social exchange theory. Furthermore, asserting that humans always act rationally may be an overstatement. Social exchange theory may also not account for individuals of younger ages who have not fully developed their ability to calculate rationally. Social exchange theory also asserts that individuals are motivated by their own self-interests, some theorists have allowed for people to act in the best interest of their families but clearly understanding the mechanisms of how an individuals desires transform into the familys self-interest may pose a hardship in research (White Kline, 2002). Understanding these explicit processes is an area for future research. Additionally, decisions based on the profit/cost ratio may be made sub-consciously and bringing this subconscious information into the forefront of research may also pose challenges. However, it is important to examine the cost and rewards associated with why people choose to stay in or leave rural communities as these reasons are critical for the econ omic vitality and in understanding how to encourage others to move or stay within their community. Understanding these motivations for young adults and youth who will be the face of rural communities in the future is especially important. Understanding the exchanges for families in poverty is also important to ascertain mechanisms that may help their social mobility. Symbolic interaction may also pose limitations in this study. Symbolic interaction does not deal very well with how people handle emotions (White Kline, 2002). When looking at coping in poverty, emotions certainly play a large role in how families deal with their situation. Furthermore, this type of research is hard to generalize to other communities or cultures as the symbols used are likely only highly relevant to the community being researched. Symbolic interaction also emphasizes the importance of meaning to individuals how the individual views others, is viewed by others, and behaves related to meaning. As this research is specifically studying families, it may be hard to keep the unit of analysis as a family group. Symbolic interaction tends to view the family as a collection of individuals. This may or may not pose issues with the research depending on the unit of analysis of interest.

Resurrection and Body Paragraph Essay

Detail 1:Carton believes that he is a waste of life and has no purpose being the world †¢ â€Å"I am a disappointed drudge, sir I care for no man on earth and no man on earth cares for me. † (2. 4. 70) †¢Detail 2:Starts to show his slow resurrection when he admits his love for Lucie â€Å"the last dream of [his] soul. (book 2 Chapter 130 †¢Detail 3:Carton redeems himself by sacrifices his life for the women he loves and her happiness showing that he has been resurrected â€Å"I am the resurrection and the life, saith the Lord: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live: and whosoever liveth and believeth in me, shall never die,† (3. 9. 89). †¢BODY PARAGRAPH II: †¢Transition/Opening Sentence:_________________________________. †¢Detail 1:When Dr. Manette is first released from prison he is like an infant that doesn’t know the world. â€Å"Prisoner 105, North Tower,† †¢Detail 2:Starts to realize who he is when he meets his daughter Lucie at the Defarge winery †¢ â€Å"She was the golden thread that united him to a Past beyond his misery, and to a Present beyond his misery: and the sound of her voice, the light of her face, the touch of her hand, had a strong beneficial influence with him almost always. â€Å"(2. 4. 3) †¢Detail 3:He is finally shown in his full resurrectional the towards the end of the novel when he find out his bench has been taken away Transition/Opening Sentence:_________________________________. †¢Detail 1:Marrying Lucie had hide his past from many people in France and England â€Å"I know that when she is clinging to you, the hands of baby, girl, and woman, all in one, are round your neck. I know that in loving you she sees and loves her mother at her own age, sees and loves you at my age, loves her mother broken-hearted, loves youthrough your dreadful trial and in your blessed restoration. â€Å"(2. 10. 9) †¢Detail 2:His past was now coming back for him like a zombie coming out a grave. â€Å"I care nothing for this Doctor, I. He may wear his head or lose it, for any interest I have in him; it is all one to me. But, the Evremonde people are to be exterminated, and the wife and child must follow the husband and father. † (3. 14. 6) †¢Detail 3:He now knows that his old life will never come back to him and he must live his new life with the help of Carton.

An Actionable Plan on Essay of Myself in an Easy to Follow Manner

An Actionable Plan on Essay of Myself in an Easy to Follow Manner The Downside Risk of Essay of Myself There's, obviously, a limit on the variety of pages even our very best writers can produce with a pressing deadline, but generally, we can satisfy all the clients seeking urgent assistance. You may use the samples as a foundation for working out how to write in the right style. These tips offer you some helpful guidelines which will help you prepare your paper and make sure that it's formatted properly. It's sometimes required to read between the lines. The Battle Over Essay of Myself and How to Win It Essay writing is usually practiced is schools. Planning is one of the very first pre-writing steps of creating an essay. In conclusion, it looks like assignment essays continue to get a prominent part in tertiary education as an assessment tool. Stephen's essay is rather effective. An essay arguing that income inequality is the most crucial issue of our time as there are large gaps between the wealthy and the poor. Without freedom, one isn't human, and one cannot achieve her or his targets. You are able to easily depend on us to find essay help as we have a tendency to assist and guide the students with the assistance of our professional experts. My parents are extremely kind. Aldous Huxley, a major essayist, gives guidance on the matter. Following this conceptualization of the illustration, the author of the illustration essay should attempt to cautiously pick the words that could best help the reader in developing a mental picture of what's being illustrated. If you're to really gain from model essays, you want to understand how to read the techniques of the writer'. An analysis essay is a type of persuasive essay. There's a particular procedure of how essays ought to be written. To structure an essay, you have to simply follow the aforementioned format. Don't forget, any source employed in your essay has to be included in your reference section. An analytical essay is a particular type of essay that's written to be able to help the reader gain a better comprehension of a certain object. When you compose a quick essay, you have to bear in mind that there aren't any elements to be sacrificed. While the narrative is among the absolute most helpful types of writing for an essay, it may also be difficult. There's several elements an essay should have. Accordingly, at times it will become prudent, and it is in fact allowed for an author of an illustration essay to use more than 1 illustration to express her or his ideas. You could be surprised to end up in directories which you didn't know existed. Analysis essays are known to be among the hardest to write. Even then you're unable to discover the informative and accurate info. Create profiles to make it simpler to locate your portfolio. The range of paragraphs in an essay varies based on the quantity of ideas you would like to discuss. This essay articulates something I've been trying so tough to have at. Expository essay employs formal language to go over someone or something. This essay, obviously, may seem as if I am utilizing the term addiction lightly. Short essays are important when one is hoping to present an important topic without needing to compose lots of words or using a number of pages. Understand your topic well and make certain you explain your points in easy and understandable language. When you're writing, attempt to prevent employing the exact same words and phrases over and over again.

Formula Mass Definition and Example Calculation

The formula mass of a molecule (also known as formula weight)  is the sum of the atomic weights of the atoms in the empirical formula of the compound.  Formula weight is given in atomic mass units (amu). Example and Calculation The  molecular formula  for glucose is C6H12O6, so  the empirical formula  is CH2O.The formula mass of glucose is 122(1)16 30 amu. Relative Formula Mass Definition A related term you should know is relative formula mass (relative formula weight). This simply means the calculation is performed using relative atomic weight values for the elements, which are based on the natural isotopic ratio of elements found in Earths atmosphere and crust. Because relative atomic weight is a unitless value, relative formula mass technically does not have any units. However, grams are often used. When the relative formula mass is given in grams, then it is for 1 mole of a substance. The symbol for relative formula mass is Mr, and it is calculated by adding together the Ar values of all the atoms in the formula of a compound. Relative Formula Mass Example Calculations Find the relative formula mass of carbon monoxide, CO. The relative atomic mass of carbon is 12 and of oxygen is 16, so the relative formula mass is: 12 16 28 To find the relative formula mass of sodium oxide, Na2O, you multiply the relative atomic mass of sodium times its subscript and add the value to the relative atomic mass of oxygen: (23 x 2) 16 62 One mole of sodium oxide has a relative formula mass of 62 grams. Gram Formula Mass Gram formula mass is the amount of a compound with the same mass in grams as the formula mass in amu. It is the sum of atomic masses of all atoms in a formula, regardless of whether or not the compound is molecular. Gram formula mass is calculated as: gram formula mass mass solute / formula mass of solute Youll usually be asked to give the gram formula mass for 1 mole of a substance. Example Find the gram formula mass of 1 moles of KAl(SO4)2  · 12H2O. Remember, multiply the values of atomic mass units of atoms times their subscripts. Coefficients are multiplied by everything that follows. For this example, that means there are 2 sulfate anions based on the subscript and there are 12 water molecules based on the coefficient. 1 K 391 Al 272(SO4) 2(32 [16 x 4]) 19212 H2O 12(2 16) 216 So, the gram formula mass is 474 g. Source Paul, Hiemenz C.; Timothy, Lodge P. (2007). Polymer Chemistry (2nd ed.). Boca Raton: CRC P, 2007. 336, 338–339.

Environmental Issues Faced by Business and Society Term Paper

Essays on Environmental Issues Faced by Business and Society Term Paper The paper "Environmental Issues Faced by Business and Society" is a brilliant example of a term paper on environmental studies. Businesses do not operate in isolation. Secure interaction with the environment is one of the key responsibilities of businesses. By violating the environmental laws and ethical implications, many businesses have experienced a slump in their sales and profits. Therefore, nowadays, almost every other company is involved in safe interaction with the environment. As a result of increased industrialization, there are innumerable environmental issues that businesses and societies have to encounter with. Some of them include waste management, emissions, sustainable utilization and development of raw material.As per the Canadian Environmental Grantmaker’s Network, there are several urban environmental issues persist in almost every other country. Some major of these include transportation dependency, infrastructure deficit, air quality, drinking water, storm water, and wastewater, energy, and climate change, solid waste and consumption, etc (Tomalty, 2005). Some of the most widely known issues are discussed in the subsequent sections of this paper.Waste and Waste ManagementBusinesses operating as a manufacturing concern always create waste. Good environmental citizenship and environmental laws oblige the unsystematic dumping of byproducts resulting in the manufacturing process. Therefore, business owners have to fix how to dispense with it in a better way. Many businesses nowadays have started recycling programs so as to effectively utilize the waste products. Others sell the waste to other manufacturers who utilize it in their own production process as raw material.  EmissionsManufacturing entities often release harmful and toxic chemicals or air/water as a result of production processes. These byproducts need to be handled and disposed of very carefully in order to avoid any unpleasant situation or harm to the environment. Environme nt protection laws oblige the business entities to protect the environment from getting exposed to these harmful emissions. The businesses are using several approaches so as to deal with the issue of emissions in a socially responsible manner. For this purpose, businesses are now using remedial processes such as filtering wastewater, placing screens on the gauges releasing smoke, lining the ponds retention with poly liners and clay. These measures usually result as costly for businesses that is why those businesses which want to reduce their cost avoid spending on these expenditures. It must be borne in mind that these expenditures must be made a vital part of every business because a lack of proper handling of toxic chemicals can cause loss of precious life as well as time and money. It can also hamper the reputation of the company.   Ã‚  Strategies of Businesses and NGOs for dealing with Environmental IssuesMunicipal and Federal regulatory bodies are co-operating with the busine ss entities in order to suggest them with the possible approaches which can be implemented to overcome these issues.Going Green ApproachTo a certain extent, many companies have now commenced the concept of ‘going green’. Some of them include BP, Panasonic, Coca-cola, Toyota, etc. when these giant companies convey the message of going green, it not only encourages their competitors but also small companies to start adopting this concept which leads to more and more companies joining this campaign.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Environmental Friendly ProductsApart from the going green strategies, companies are also utilizing the approach of producing and selling those products which are environmentally friendly, also called as eco-friendly products. By this, environmentally concerned consumers get inspired and purchase the products from such companies. Some examples of such products include green towel and tissues, reusable or recyclable products, energy start dishwasher, e co-friendly glass, and metal cleaners, etc.

Summer Writing Assignment †College Essay Free Essays

Among all the characters that I have encountered in books and movies, one persona stood out as the one I want to emulate the most. He went by the name Equality 7-2521 from the novel entitled â€Å"Anthem† by Ayn Rand. He appealed me the moment I read the book because he embodied what I am striving to be. We will write a custom essay sample on Summer Writing Assignment – College Essay or any similar topic only for you Order Now His personality was the quintessence of the qualities I needed to be successful. When I read the book, I was utterly impressed by his determination, intelligence, and more importantly, his perseverance as an individual. He has a significant influence on me and I find him a great source of inspiration to struggle harder in the complexities of life. It was during my sophomore year that I read the book â€Å"Anthem.† At that time, I was in a predicament over whether I should concentrate on schooling or finding a part-time job. The reason why I had such qualms was that even I made endeavors to complete my school works properly and attempted to attain high scores, my poor English proficiency derailed my plans. I was discouraged by the inconsistency of my efforts and grades printed in my report card. The course of things changed when I read â€Å"Anthem.† I was impressed by the characteristics of Equality 7-2521, the protagonist in the novel. The story was set in a fictional world which was dominated by collectivism. Equality 7-2521, who was seeking for self-identification, struggled in a society that rejected individualism in favor of collectivism. Equality 7-2521 discovered a tunnel where he began hiding regularly to conduct scientific experiments. Later on, he invented the light bulb and decided to share his device with the World Council of Scholars, even though he knew the way he came to discover electricity was illegal and sinful. Subsequently, Equality 7-2521’s presentation of the light bulb to the World Council of Scholars permanently severed him from society and forced him out on his own. The reason that the World Council of Scholars made this decision was that collectivism does not allow people to think or work individually but jointly. As a result, Equality 7-2521 was exiled yet he did not stop pursuing his goal. He kept studying in the woods and eventually discovered the meaning of individualism and the word â€Å"I.† As I read the book thoroughly, I realized the qualities that I must possess in order to achieve my ambitions. Equality 7-2521 had a worse situation than mine, but by the virtue of his positive attributes, he successfully pulled off his discovery. He believed in individualism and rejected the collectivist society around him. He was insightful, perseverant, truth-seeking, resolute, and intelligent. He was deeply curious and desired freedom to explore and think, and he was unafraid of the society of mindless drones around him. Equality 7-2521 represented the superiority of a singular intellect to the homogeneity of the masses, who could not think of themselves and were indistinguishable from one another. I plan to get a high score as well. I believe I could reach my aspirations if I exemplify the qualities that Equality 7-2521 had. The strong and firm character Equality 7-2521 held inspired me every time I face a dilemma in real life. Equality 7-2521’s story assured me that nothing is impossible and that I can succeed too even in my simple but unrelenting ways. Along this line, I should stay focused on my work and studies, and possibly make a significant improvement in the coming marking period. He had a tremendous impact on my personality, not only in my study habits, but also in the determination to confront difficulties. Whoever and whatever I am now, I owe it for the most part to Equality 7-2521 for transforming me to the kind of person I never imagined I could ever be. Life indeed is like a roller coaster with ups and downs to render it more interesting and breathtaking. And above all, what is of the essence is that Equality 7-2521 indirectly made me complete and unexpectedly happy as well. How to cite Summer Writing Assignment – College Essay, Essays

One Good Turn Deserves Another free essay sample

Learning to turn well in a fighter aircraft is something that’s much easier said than done. This will not be a definitive, doctorate level dissertation on the subject. I’ll go over the basics here and hopefully help get you on the right track. This discussion is geared toward the F-16 Fighting Falcon. However the principles discussed are just as valid for any fighter aircraft. First we’ll look at Turn Rate Radius, then corner airspeed and then how to lead turn. Energy Management also plays strongly into turning well. We’ll hit that up at the end of this lesson. Turn Rate: The rate at which an aircraft can turn or rate it’s nose while turning. In other words if you’re pulling a circle, rate is a definition of how fast you get around that circle. Don’t just think of rate in terms of complete circles though. I give that as an example to help you visualize and understand rate. Turn Rate is usually expressed in reference to instantaneous and sustained rates and is measured in degrees a second. Instantaneous is exactly what it sounds like†¦. How much rate you can command from an aircraft immediately as you turn. Sustained is the rate you can sustain through a turn. The F-16 has a 26 degree/sec maximum instantaneous turn rate. I havent found reliable figures for the Vipers max sustained turn rate. In the Tac Ref in F4 it states 13 degrees/sec. I promise you I can pull significantly better than that, right around 18 deg/sec. Coincidentally several reputable online sources state 18 deg/sec sustained rate. Of course you’ll need to be at the right airspeed to capture the best rate, both instantaneous and sustained. It’s important to realize that the F-16 is one of the very, very few (in all probability the only operational) aircraft able to pull a sustained 9 G turn. This fact, along with the F-16’s extraordinary sustained turn rate capability, are among the things the Viper is most legendary for. In Falcon 4 we have to deal with the fact that the Viper as modeled cannot perform a sustained 9+ G turn as it can in real life. We’ll work around this as well as the fact that many other aircraft types are actually over modeled. At times throughout this training I’ll point out differences between actual vs. Falcon 4 performance info so that you’ll be knowledgeable on both. Rate is needed to achieve weapons parameters or defeat attacks. The F-16s turn rate increases very rapidly from slow speed up to 330 KCAS, at which point the rate is the highest. Rate allows the attacker to match or exceed the turn rate of his adversary and establish lead for a gunshot. The attacker needs a turn rate advantage that will allow him to pull his nose onto the bandit to employ the AIM-9 or point to lead pursuit for a gun shot. It is important to note an attacker with a higher sustained turn rate can maintain a positional advantage against a defender with a smaller turn radius but reduced rate (Figure 13). For example, in order to employ the AIM-9, you must have a turn rate that will allow you to keep your nose within approximately 30 ° of the bandit for tone acquisition and missile launch. The ability to maintain a high sustained turn rate while the defender sacrifices sustained rate for a tighter turn is another key concept in understanding BFM. In this sense, a turn rate advantage is more tactically significant than a smaller turn radius. Keep in mind an old fighter pilot saying that’s always been very true; â€Å"Rate Kills! † It’s important to note that the F-16 turns better with afterburner (AB). Believe it or not this is not always the â€Å"norm† for most combat aircraft. AB in the Viper gives a better turn capability because it allows the pilot to sustain airspeed and thereby sustain a higher turn rate (assuming near corner velocity). In addition, maneuvering at higher AOA’s results in a greater portion of the aircrafts thrust vector to be pointed toward the center of the turn, which also helps the F-16 maintain a smaller turn radius and greater turn rate. To achieve the highest turn rate possible, slow or accelerate towards corner velocity speed range as quickly as possible and turn hard to generate maximum angles in the shortest time. Be aware that this is not always the optimum thing to do. However when you decide it’s time to command the highest rate, this is what you need to do. Turn Radius: The diameter in which an aircraft can turn a partial or complete circle at a given altitude and speed. The higher the speed the larger the radius, or circle, the aircraft will make in the sky. Conversely the slower the speed the smaller the radius. Turn radius determines the size of the turn circle. This radius is based on the aircrafts TAS and radial G. In a fight, the size of the circle and the relative turn rate capability of the two aircraft, will determine how well the pilot can solve the angular problems the defender presents. The objective is to work to where available G will allow the attacker to point his nose at the defender to achieve a missile or gun shot with an acceptable specific power (Ps) bleed-off. How well an aircraft can turn is a function of the turn rate and radius it generates. As already stated, Radius defines the size of an aircrafts turn or its turning circle. In the F-16, turn radius at max AOA/G is relatively constant over an airspeed range of 170 knots calibrated airspeed (KCAS) up to 330 KCAS. Above 330 KCAS, turn radius increases slightly as max G is obtained (440 KCAS). Above 440 KCAS, turn radius increases dramatically. The chart at left graphically depicts the effect of airspeed on radius. Note also how rate is affected. Understanding the concept of Turn Circles is another important principle for you to grasp in order to be a really effective BFM practitioner. Again, we’ll be going into this and many other things discussed in this lesson in greater detail later on in the course. For now concentrate on understanding how both radius and rate affect the fight. Knowing your adversaries capabilities in both these areas across his flight envelope and knowing your own in the Viper, or whatever other aircraft you are flying, will help you decide how best to approach employing BFM at different times in the fight. One thing to note here is that offensively, sustained operations are not possible in the same plane against a defender with a smaller turn circle (radius) assuming similar turn rates without inviting an overshoot/reversal situation. Alright. In plain English what this means is that if you run into a bandit that can turn in a tighter radius while maintaining a similar rate as you†¦. Things are gonna get really uncomfortable real quick if you continue a turn in the same plane with him. You need to use the vertical/get out of plane. That’s either vertical up or down and not necessarily 90 degrees for either. Depending on the situation a little either way may do. Corner Airspeed: Each aircraft has a specific speed at which it can turn at both the best rate and tightest radius. This is not to say the absolute best rate or the absolute tightest radius the aircraft is capable of, but rather the best combination of both. Because of the F-16 flight control system, the F-16 does not have a true corner velocity. It has a corner plateau which is an airspeed range of 330 440 KCAS that produces a good turn rate based on available G. In this chart you can see the â€Å"corner plateau† of the Viper. Note how both radius and rate stay fairly constant between 330 and 440 knots. Note also how rapidly radius increases and rate decreases above 440 as well as the decrease in rate below 330. As mentioned previously Radius stays fairly constant all the way from 170 to 330 knots or so. We’ve discussed turn rate radius as well as corner airspeed. Understanding how these factors play into the fight is key to your ability to not only survive but dominate your adversary. It’s more than just knowing your own aircrafts performance in these areas, it’s knowing the enemies as well. On top of that your ability to exploit this knowledge is what will make the difference in the end. As an example. F-4F’s from Holloman AFB’s 20th FTS routinely flew and won against F-15’s during the 114th FTS’s bi-annual Sentry Eagle Air to Air meet. The most interesting matches were the F-15 instructors vs. the F-4F instructors. Even though the F-15’s had the advantage in power, radius, instantaneous and sustained rate, the F-4’s were able to still come out on top. Why? Partly because the F-4 pilots had more experience and seat time. Many of the F-4 instructors had more than 3,000 hours in the F-4. Bottom line though is that they flew better BFM. They knew their jet and they knew their adversaries jet and it’s capabilities to a better level than their adversaries did. They used this knowledge to overcome the advantages of the enemy by taking advantage of their own aircrafts systems and flight characteristics. The moral of this story? Study and train hard. Know your jet inside and out and explore and become a expert at handling her. Know your enemy as well. Study of other aircraft and knowing what their performance actually translates to in the fight, will make the difference between killing or dying. Here’s another example. The F-18 has better nose pointing ability at lower speeds (below 240 knots down to 190) than the F-16. Nose pointing ability is rate G/AOA. Commonly referred to as Alpha in fighter pilot speak. Does this mean that the F-18 will always win in this speed range? Think about that question. What are the reasons you think so or not? We’ll use group discussion to answer it in depth. There’s way more to it than most people think.