Thursday, September 19, 2019
Alcoholism Should Not Be Viewed As A Disease :: essays research papers fc
Most people have a confused idea of alcoholism as a disease that invades or attacks your good health. Use of such a strong word such as "disease" shapes the values and attitudes of society towards alcoholics. A major implication of the disease concept is that what is labeled a "disease" is held to be justifiable because it is involuntary. This is not so. Problem drinking is a habit in which the so-called "alcoholic" simply has decided that the benefits of drinking outweigh the liabilities; it is all a matter of personal choice. An alcoholic participates in or causes many of their own problems by their behavior and the decisions they make, so why should they be viewed as helpless victims of a "disease"(Skipper 1)? Alcoholism should not be viewed as a disease, but as an addiction brought about by the alcoholic's personal choices. What is wrong with disease theories as science is that they are tautologies; they avoid the work of understanding why people drink. People seek specific, essential human experiences from their addictive involvement. They can come to depend on such an involvement for these experiences until -- in the extreme -- the involvement is totally consuming and potentially destructive (Peele 146). The idea that alcoholism is a "disease", which is only typified by the loss of control, was only sanctioned by the American Medical Association in 1956 (Wilbanks 39). The AMA gives the following definition for alcoholism: " Alcoholism is an illness characterized by preoccupation with alcohol and loss of control over its consumption, such as to lead usually to intoxication if drinking; by chronicity, by progression and by a tendency toward relapse. It is typically associated with physical disability and impaired emotional, occupational and/or social adjustments as a direct consequence of persistent excessive use (Langone 27)". This meant that an alcoholic could now get help in a hospital, just as a person with a real disease such as diabetes or leukemia would . Moreover, the use of the words "loss of control" make it seem as though the alcoholic's free will has just been ripped away from him. On the contrary, there is no evidence that the will of the drinker has been overpowered. Besides labeling alcoholism as a disease, the AMA has also done a huge error in stating that alcoholism causes people to lose control over the consumption of alcohol. This will only negate the fact that the amount of alcohol consumed and if it is consumed at all is completely up to the drinker, not an inevitable disease that overpowers your free will.
Wednesday, September 18, 2019
Essay --
Abuse of the Second Amendment: The St. Valentineââ¬â¢s Day Massacre Senior Historical Paper Ashleigh Rogers Mr. Todd Gonion Ninety bullets rang through the air, seven bodies hit the asphalt, and blood pooled N. Clark Street in Chicago, Illinois. The St. Valentine's Day Massacre represented one of the bloodiest, catastrophic maltreatments of the Second Amendment, and illustrated how citizenââ¬â¢s ignored the responsibilities that came along with the ownership of a weapon. This massacre relates to the theme ââ¬Å"Rights and Responsibilities in Historyâ⬠because it shows a group of individuals irresponsibly taking their unalienable Constitutional rights and using it to solve trivial conflicts with other citizens. On February 14, 1929, the true intentions of the second amendment were massacred as a Chicago gang ignored their responsibilities as gun owners and decimated other citizens. The Second Amendment states ââ¬Å"A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free state, the right of the people to keep and bear arms, shall not be infringed.â⬠As America was once dependent on England, Americans looked to Englandââ¬â¢s governmental institutions as a base on how to govern the United States. America configured the Second Amendment based off political ideologies that originated in England. In 1181, King Henry issued the Assize of Arms, stating citizens were to possess weapons at all times to secure that England citizens would be protected against foreign invasions. In England, males as young as seven were required to bear arms to ensure an extensive defense for their country; it was considered an Englishmanââ¬â¢s obligation to his country. In addition, Militias became vital to English life, as they leveled monarchial rule... ...elling example of how citizens took the privilege of owning weapons for their own security in the home and nation, and used it for venomous reasons. A concept that was effective in the eleventh century lost its value as citizens began to ignore their responsibilities as gun owning United States citizens. The Federalist foresaw that citizens were going to expunge their right, yet it was still ratified in the Constitution. The discernment of a plan to execute seven individuals conveys how citizens have ignored both the meaning of their rights and their responsibilities. A few individualââ¬â¢s decision to configure the St. Valentineââ¬â¢s Day Massacre, consequentially led to a stringent of regulations placed on gun owners. ââ¬Å"Violence is an evil thing, but when the guns are all in the hands of me without respect for human rights, then men are really in troubleâ⬠- Louis Lââ¬â¢Amour.
Tuesday, September 17, 2019
Disasters Do Not Cause Effects. The Effects Are What We Call a Disaster
Humans are the most developed of all the living beings. They think and learn. It is in human nature to minimize the errors in anything and everything as much as possible and to try to reach as near to perfection as can be. However, humans are creatures of mistakes. No matter how small or how large, every individual makes many mistakes in their lives on personal, social, environmental, educational, professional or other levels.In this world, there is a set process and procedure for everything and for things to remain in a balance and keep functioning and working properly and appropriately, it is important that these processes and procedures keep going on in the normal usual way. When there is a disruption in these processes and procedures, disasters occur. These disasters may be on personal level, national level or global level. They may be social, political, economic, natural or of some other type. Technically, a disaster is any event, whether natural or caused by humans, that has a negative impact on the society or the world.The word ââ¬Å"disasterâ⬠is derived from two Greek words ââ¬Å"disâ⬠meaning ââ¬Å"badâ⬠and ââ¬Å"astroâ⬠meaning stars. It means that when the stars are in a bad state or are aligned in a wrong manner, bad things will happen. In a disaster, the victims suffer. People die or huge losses are incurred or both take place. When classified under broad categories, disasters can be divided in two types; natural disasters and disasters caused by humans. A natural disaster is any event that occurs naturally and humans have a very little or absolutely no control over it.Some examples include earthquakes, tsunamis, volcanic eruptions, floods, typhoons, cyclones, tornados, natural fires, etc. however, human vulnerability plays a great part for a natural hazard to turn into a natural disaster, that is, a natural hazard like an earthquake, fire, tsunami etc will not be considered a ââ¬Å"disasterâ⬠if it occurs in such an area that is not occupied by humans or no human is affected by it or both. The greater the impact of the hazard on the human environment or the humans themselves, the greater is the disaster.In such a calamity, a good emergency management system (also known as a disaster management system) can help save lives and reduce the losses incurred, while a weak or unplanned emergency management system or the lack of one can result in huge financial, economic, social and human losses. It has however been observed that the developed nations tend to have considerably better emergency management systems and therefore incur less losses be it on the financial and economic front or the social and human front.Researches show that about 90 to 95 percent of the losses incurred due to these natural disasters every year are incurred by the underdeveloped or the developing nations especially the South East Asian countries. The second type of disasters is the disaster caused by humans. A human-made disa ster is any disaster that is caused by the mistake or misunderstanding of processes by humans. The causes may be human negligence or ignorance, a mechanical failure or any other human action. Human made disasters are further divided into two types; technological disasters and sociological disasters.Technological disasters are all those disasters that are caused by a mechanical, engineering or technical failure and include disasters like a transportation disaster (like a plane crash) or a collapse of a building or bridge (due to engineering or technical faults etc) etc that causes loss of lives or resources or both. Sociological disasters are all those disasters that are backed by a powerful human motive (be it criminal acts, revenge, religious reasons, terrorism, wars etc. ).In recent times, terrorism and wars are the types of such disasters that are most prevalent and claim most of the lives of people dying these days. The powerful are trying to suppress and oppress the weak and in order to take over them and their resources, attack on them (a good example of that would be the on-going America-Iraq war), while on the other hand, the suppressed and oppressed try to defend themselves and raise their voice, which results in riots and similar incidences. Another type of the disasters can be a combination of both human-made and natural disasters.That would include any disasters that have both the human reasons as well as the natural hazards behind them. An example of such a disaster would be an aircraft crash due to sudden turbulence in weather. The natural factor here would be the bad weather while the human error would be the lack of a proper contingency plan. When defined broadly, a disaster is any event or occurrence that has a negative impact on at least one human being. Keeping this definition in mind, a disaster can be on many levels.The lowest level of a disaster would be on a personal level. This may include events like a divorce, loss or death of someone very close and beloved like parents or spouse, heavy losses in business etc that can have immense effects on an individualââ¬â¢s life, and in some cases, can even change the entire course or outlook of oneââ¬â¢s life, and can revolutionize that individualââ¬â¢s mentality and thinking. A higher level would be on the organizational basis which might include failure of business projects or liquidation or bankruptcy etc. hen there might be some other levels like national, regional and global as well. According to Wolf Dombrowski, ââ¬Å"Disasters do not cause effects.The effects are what we call a Disaster. â⬠What he means to say is that it is not the disaster in itself in totality that is harmful for us; the humans, it is not just the very incident that has a negative impact on our lives and it is not just a particular event that causes a severe blow to the masses. It is actually a whole series of after effects of any particular event that decide if that event is a disa ster or not.This can easily be understood by the fact that if a hazard (a natural disaster in this example, like an earthquake) hits an uninhabited area, it will not be considered a disaster; the reason being that it did not have any ââ¬Å"effectâ⬠on any human or human environment. On the other hand, had the same earthquake hit a largely populated urban area, it would have been the source of massive destruction and would have claimed several human lives. In addition to this, it would have caused huge financial and economic losses as well.All these negative impacts are the ââ¬Å"effectsâ⬠of the earthquake, which made it a disaster or else, it would have been just an earthquake in a distant uninhabited piece of land. Consider another example of the personal level of damage. What is wrong with a divorce? A divorce is nothing but a separation between spouses who no longer wish to live with one another. This should have been a good thing with positive impacts since the peop le who do not want to stay with each other can now live the way they want.However, this is not the case. Not at least most of the times. The reason being that a divorce always, or most of the times, has many negative ââ¬Å"effectsâ⬠on the separated spouses, their children and other closely related individuals like parents of the two spouses, and thus the whole family suffers. Therefore, a divorce was not bad in its essence and could not have been classified as a disaster on a personal level, but, due to its ââ¬Å"effectsâ⬠it turned into a disaster.The examples described above and many other examples make it pretty clear that the disaster and its effects are very closely linked and there is such a thin boundary between then that it is almost impossible to clearly differentiate between them. The disaster is due to its effects and the effects are due to the disaster. So it shows that there is no clear distinction between a disaster and its effects and that they are nothin g but two faces of the same coin and it is the effects that we actually call a disaster.One thing that with the disasters be it natural or human, which renders the humans helpless in this regard, is the very low predictability of these disasters. Moreover, the disasters are not under much of human control, even if they are human made disasters. Due to this fact, the losses incurred are greater and more lives are wasted. The availability and functionality of a proper emergency management system can, however, help minimize the damage, if not eliminate it. When talking about emergency management, which is also called disaster management, there is a step to step process that is involved.There are four phases to establish an emergency management system, being, mitigation, preparedness, response, and recovery. Discussing briefly, mitigation is the long-term planning to prevent a hazard from turning into a disaster or to reduce the impact on the masses as much as possible. The elimination or reduction of potential risks is also included in mitigation. Mitigation may either be structural (technological solutions etc) or non-structural (like insurance etc). Contingency planning is a major part of the mitigation phase of emergency management.The second phase, preparedness, deals with the strategies to prepare the masses in case of a hazardous situation to minimize the disaster. It includes strategies like first-aid training and inventory management and stock piling, etc. Casualty prediction (prediction of deaths that should be expected from the catastrophe) is another important aspect of preparedness phase. Coming to response, the third phase of emergency management, this phase explains how one should respond or react to the calamity on hand in the first place.It requires emergency services, NGOs and other voluntary organizations, rescue teams and other relevant departments to have a complete plan of how to respond to a particular disaster, but the volunteers should be really committed to help in times of disasters or else they can prove to be a hindrance instead of help. The last phase of disaster management (or emergency management) is the recovery phase that actually takes place after the disaster when the effects have spread and its time to try bringing things back to normal as soon as possible.While response phase helps to deal with the impacts of the disaster during the disaster, the recovery phase deals with facing the aftermath and restoring the affected area or people to the previous state (that is the state before the disaster). It includes efforts like rebuilding of the destroyed property and estate, reemployment of the affected masses and the rehabilitation of those who are psychologically struck by the incident, etc. The International Organizations that respond in emergency situations include United Nations, World Bank, Red Cross, Red Crescent, International Association of Emergency Managers, etc.Let us now take some examples and disc uss the notion ââ¬Å"Disasters do not cause effects. The effects are what we call a Disasterâ⬠further, in the light of those devastating events. The events that the discussion would be focused on would be: a) Indian Ocean Tsunami ââ¬â 2004 b) The 9/11 incident of The World Trade Centers ââ¬â 2001 South East Asia, especially the coastal areas, is the part of the world which is gifted by natureââ¬â¢s great bounties.Hundreds of thousands of tourists, especially from Australian and European nations, travel to this region every year to spend their vacations in the beautiful days and the peaceful nights of these God-gifted lands and these tourist activities contribute a major chunk to the revenue generated by these underdeveloped or developing countries, annually. December 26, 2004 was a nice sunny day of the beautiful winters of this South East Asian region. The sea shores were crowded with both, he locals and the tourists and everyone was enjoying the amazing winter of f the coast when suddenly, there appeared a wall of water right at the shore.Within seconds, the huge wall-like wave of water crashed on the shore engulfing numerous people who were peacefully having fun in the sun not very long ago. The fun and peaceful environment turned into a sight of immense chaos and destruction and the gigantic waves did not take longer than a few minutes to travel up to kilometers inside the cities. A tsunami had hit the shores of the Indian Ocean. Let us first shed some light on what a Tsunami actually is. The word tsunami is derived from two Japanese words; ââ¬Å"tsuâ⬠meaning ââ¬Å"harborâ⬠and ââ¬Å"namiâ⬠meaning ââ¬Å"wavesâ⬠.A Tsunami can be described as an immediate immense after effect of an earthquake or mass movements in the land under the ocean. When an earthquake or mass movements occur in the ocean bed, due to any reason (being a volcanic eruption, underwater explosions, landslides or underwater earthquakes themselves), they generate huge amounts of energy that causes the water waves to move at large mean and extreme positions and thus create gigantic waves that appear to be walls of water when the strike the shore before the crash down on land and engulf everything that there is.The height or the amplitude of the waves of a Tsunami off the shore is much smaller than what it suddenly becomes the instant it strikes the shore. This is because while the water under the surface of the ocean is full of energy emitted by the earthquake or mass movements in the ocean bed and continues to undergo very fast movements, the water of the surface is comparatively very calm. The moment the water reaches the shore, these two layers merge and give rise to the gigantic waves of water capable of engulfing the whole area in a matter of mere minutes and thus create the walls of water, a characteristic the Tsunamis are famous for.In the Tsunami that occurred in the Indian Ocean in 2004, the cause was determined to be a n earthquake, with its epicenter (point of generation) off the west coast of the Sumatra Island of Indonesia. That is why Indonesia was the country to suffer from this calamity the most. The magnitude of the earthquake was recorded to be between 9. 1 and 9. 3 by different sources on the Richter scale or a Seismograph. The earthquake was so powerful that it generated a series of tsunami waves that hit various shores along the Indian Ocean and created many powerful gigantic waves that caused a lot of destruction.The Tsunami affected about eleven countries and created waves up to a hundred feet in height. The earthquake was of the second highest magnitude to be recorded on a seismograph, ever, and the tsunami was recorded to be one of the deadliest natural disasters in history claiming lives of more that 350,000 individuals and causing losses of billions of dollars.The countries most affected include Indonesia, Sri Lanka, India, Thailand, the Maldives, Somalia, Myanmar, Malaysia, Seych elles, etc. n addition to this, many citizens of various Australian and European nations lost their lives while spending their vacations on the shores where the disaster struck. The disaster did not end here. The actual problems started after the major outbreak when the rescue mission started. Many were saved yet many lost their lives. Many were left missing who would have died eventually hoping and praying, waiting for a rescue team to come and save them.The areas where the calamity hit were totally destroyed and needed to be rebuilt. As the days passed, the temperature dropped further. This caused more casualties due to the chilling effect of winters. There was an outburst of many epidemics and other diseases while the health resources were minimal and the hygiene conditions were adverse. Food, clothing, shelter, water, medicines and other health supplies and other basic necessities of life were needed immediately in huge quantities.Many were injured and needed medical facilities to be treated quickly in order to prevent more casualties while those who remained safe were now reaching adverse conditions due to lack of resources. These and many other immediate after effects needed to be looked after as early as possible to prevent further losses. This clearly shows that the disaster was not ââ¬Å"justâ⬠the Tsunami waves but the effects that it left on the areas that it hit, were equally disastrous.Another event that can easily be deemed disastrous is the 9/11 incident that took place in 2001. It was a peaceful morning, a regular American day in New York. Many people had already reached their workplaces while others were in a hurry to reach theirs when a plane smashed straight into one of the two tallest towers of the World Trade Center, New York. Not much time had passed when another plane crashed in the second tower. Fire broke out in the two towers and a state of emergency was created.In the mean while, an attack on the Pentagon took place as well. It was a series of attacks by Al-Qaeda (a terrorist organization) on America in which they used passenger airplanes as their weapons. The whole worldââ¬â¢s attention was diverted towards America, the Super Power in the world, since no body could imagine something like this happening there. No matter what the motives and the caused were, thousands of innocent people lost their lives and it took months for even a country like America to overcome the immediate devastating effects of this incident.However, this incident, in the long run, changed the complete outlook of the world. America started a war against terrorism which resulted in attacks on Afghanistan, Iraq, Lebanon, etc, some of which are still going on. Various treaties and agreements took place between various nations and many alliances were formed. Many Strategies were formulated and the concept of Emergency Management, Crisis Management and other similar concepts changed altogether, which is very evident from the compariso n of the books published before and after the disaster.All in all, this incident had a huge impact on almost the entire world and itââ¬â¢s after effects were, and still are, actually greater and more devastating than what it was that day. This example too, clearly shows that the disaster was not just what happened that particular day, but also what happened after it and what is still happening, especially in the regions that were and/or are the subject of the war against terrorism. Thus the statement of Wolf Dombrowski, that ââ¬Å"Disasters do not cause effects. The effects are what we call a Disasterâ⬠holds true
Monday, September 16, 2019
Cultural Resource Management Essay
1. (2pts each) Utilizing the lecture notes from the first day of class, define the following terms: Cultural Resources ââ¬â Are the sources of culture such as art, heritage, artifacts, and architecture Cultural Resource Management ââ¬â The main form of archaeology in the USA. It is used mostly by archaeologists to refer to management of historic places based on their archaeological, architectural, and historical interests in compliance with the environmental and historic preservation laws. Mostly salvage or rescue archaeology is conducted. Historic Preservation ââ¬â A way of preserving historic places, landmarks, and artifacts to protect them from destruction or any other means that may harm them. Historic Properties ââ¬â Places of historic significance that are protected under the historic preservation act. These can include architecture, such as the Mount Vernon Estate, as well as specific pieces of land themselves, such as Gettysburg. Archeological Resources ââ¬â Sources that can provide significant amounts of archaeological data such as artifacts and features. It is also something that may provided pertinent information to the archaeological record. 2. (2 pts) What is the function of cultural resource management, and what are the values of cultural resources? The function of cultural resource management (CRM) is to protect historic places based on their archaeological, architectural, and historic interests. A majority of the work done in CRM is salvage archaeology. To put it in better terms they try to salvage as much from a site as possible before construction or other forms of land development destroy it. Cultural resources provide a link to the significant knowledge that can be ascertained from archaeological and significant historical sites. 3. (5pts) The late 19th century witnessed a transformation in the way our nation viewed cultural resources. Provide an overview of private attempts at preservation during the late 19th century. There were many attempts at preservation during the late 19th century. A few that come to mind are that of Independence Hall, Gettysburg and the Mount Vernon Estate. The Mount Vernon Estate was bought by a group of people known as the Mount Vernon Ladies Association for preservation. They fully restored the Estate to its formal glory. A group of concerned citizens established the Gettysburg Battlefield Memorial Association whose purpose was to preserve portions of the battlefield as a memorial to the Union Army that fought here. They eventually transferred their land holdings to the Federal government in 1895, which designated Gettysburg as a National Military Park. In 1872 the city of Philadelphia set aside Independence hall and forever declared it a significant landmark, which in turn led to its restoration. 4. The late 19th century witnessed a transformation in the way our nation viewed cultural resources, and this resulted in the 20th century with the passage of major state and federal legislation directed toward promoting cultural resource preservation. For each of the following provide the following information: Antiquities Act of 1906 (9pts) a. This was the first law passed by the United States government that attempted to protect cultural resources and antiquities, allow the president to decide which resources he deemed worthy of protection, and for excavations to be conducted only with authorized permits. b. This legislation was intended to deal with the protection of significant historic lands and sites, as well as establish rules to limit the destruction and looting of said sites and lands. It allowed the president to decide on the significance of a particular site so that he may allow for its protection through federal means. It allowed excavations to be conducted only by means of obtaining a permit. This was to prevent private excavations and looting. It also made anything that was found on the site to be turned into museum hands for the publics benefit. c. The central theme is the protection and procuration of historic landmarks and antiquities through legal means. Historic Sites Act of 1935 (9pts) a. This act was the first assertion of historic preservation as a governmental duty and helped establish rules and organization for the national parks, monuments and historic sites. b. It gives a wide range of powers and responsibilities to the National Park Service and the Secretary of Interior including: codification and institutionalization of Historic American Buildings Survey, authorization to note significant sites and buildings, and to actually be able to carry out and perform preservation work. It also established the National Park System Advisory Board to assist the Secretary of the Interior with administration. c. The central theme to this act was to formulate a means of organization and rules for the preservation and maintenance of historic sites. Missouri Basin Project (9pts) a. This project was conducted as a means of emergency or salvage archaeology at water resource development projects within the vast Missouri River Basin. b. The issue that the legislation faced here was the destruction of potential archaeological sites along the Missouri River Basin. c. The central theme is the ideal behind salvage archaeology and how it can benefit the archaeological record before it is destroyed by some form of major construction or other land development. Federal-Aid Highway Act of 1956 (9pts) a. Before the interstate could be put in this law allowed for an archaeological survey and potential excavation to be conducted. b. This law was passed to help preserve archaeological data that might be damaged or destroyed by the construction of the interstate. c. The theme for this law is to allow archaeologists to salvage as much information as possible from potential sites before construction of the interstate could begin. Reservoir Salvage Act of 1960 (9pts) a. Provides a means for the recovery and preservation of historical and archaeological data that might be lost or destroyed in the construction of dams and reservoirs. b. With all the big damns and large-scale construction being done at this time, this law provided a means for archaeologists to excavate and salvage as much data as possible before the construction was to begin. c. The theme for this law is to provide a way of preserving as much data as possible from a site before construction or completion of a damn or reservoir destroys it. National Historic Preservation Act of 1966 (9pts) a. This act was created to preserve historical and archaeological sites in the United States of America and created the National Register of Historic Places, the list of National Historic Landmarks, and the State Historic Preservation Offices. b. This legislation provided a means to not only protect significant historic places but also a means to help govern how to run them and how to decide which ones even make the cut to be placed on the list. c. The theme for this law is to provide a means of deciding which landmarks, architecture and significant sites should be included in federal protection as well as how to actually keep up with their restoration. 5. (5pts) Briefly summary the strengths and weaknesses of Works Progress Administration (WPA) Archaeology as part of Rooseveltââ¬â¢s New Deal Programs? This type of archaeology offered many new jobs for people to fill. It also provided a means of excavating sites that were potentially unreachable due to their location and how deep they were actually buried. It created a long lasting impression on archaeology and anthropology as well. It created museums and anthropology departments at universities across the nation. It also created many vast collections of artifacts. The bad with this type of archaeology was that people had to work all year round and often in terrible conditions. Since many of the workers were untrained they had potential to damage artifacts and sites that they came across. 6. (5pts) Provide an overview of the significance of Section 101 of the HPA? It formed the State Historic Preservation Office (SHPO). SHPOââ¬â¢s responsibilities include surveying and recognizing historic properties, reviewing properties to be placed on the National Register for Historic Places, reviewing undertakings for the impact of these properties and finally supporting federal, state and local governments as well as the private sector. States are responsible for setting up their own SHPO and thus each one varies in its rules and regulations. 7. (5pts) What is the National Register of Historic Places? What makes an historic property eligible for the National Register? Discuss the ââ¬Å"Criteria of Significanceâ⬠and the ââ¬Å"Criteria of Integrity), etcâ⬠¦ The national register of historic places is a register that was invented to protect historic properties of significant value to the history of the United States. To be eligible for admission to the register a property must be go through a list called the Criteria of Significance. It has to have one of the following to be able to be on the list. A property must be associated with events that made a significant contribution to our nations history, be associated with a significant historical person of our nations history, have the ability to provide significant information about history or prehistory, and lastly embodies the distinctive characteristics of a type, period, or method of construction, or that represent the work of a master, or that possess high artistic values, or that represent a significant and distinguishable entity whose components may lack individual distinction. 8. (5pts) Provide an overview of Section 106 process of National Historic Preservation Act. Include the steps (that I talked about in class) of the Section 106 ââ¬Å"Consultationâ⬠process. Discuss assessment and mitigation of adverse effect in your answer. Section 106 mandates federal agencies undergo a review process for all federally funded and permitted projects that will impact sites listed on, or eligible for listing on, the National Register of Historic Places. The steps for Consultation process include 1 ââ¬â Initiation of the Section 106 Review; 2 ââ¬â Identification of Historic Properties; 3 ââ¬â Assessment of Adverse Effects; and 4 ââ¬â Resolution of Adverse Effects. If an adverse effect is expected, the agency is required to work with the local State Historic Preservation Office to ensure that all interested parties are given an opportunity to review the proposed work and provide feedback. This allows for steps to be found avoiding having an adverse effect on historic properties. A Memorandum of Agreement is then reached between all consulting parties outlining agreed to mitigation or avoidance of historic properties. Without said process, historic sites or properties would lose out on significant protection. It provides a process to help decide different approaches or solutions to a project but does not mean that it prevents site destruction or alteration. 9. (6pts) Provide a one word definition for each of the follow (2pts each): Phase I- Identification Phase II- Evaluation Phase III- Mitigation 10. (5pts) YOUR OPINIONâ⬠¦IS IT a duty of our society and as a community to protect and preserve our heritage? Are communities doing enough to protect their heritage, or are they doing too much, imposing their will too aggressively and infringing the property of others?
Sunday, September 15, 2019
Od of Whole Food Market Essay
Introduction Organizational behavior and structure are key factors in leading a company to be efficient and successful. Organizational diagnosis models have been created to allow companies to audit themselves to be sure that they are utilizing these key factors correctly. When a firm conducts an organizational diagnosis it is performed to identify strengths and weaknesses in its systems thus developing measures to improve the organizations performance. Knowing which model to use is crucial because misusing models could lead to inaccurate findings. In the following pages I will discuss and compare numerous models to include the 7S Model, the Congruence Model, and the Burke-Litwin Model. After discussing a few issues that Whole Foods Market (WFM) is facing I will recommend which model is best suited for them and explain why. Force Field Analysis This model uses an organizational diagnosis to identify driving forces affecting a company (Falletta, 2005). Force Field analysis enables a company to identify what causes change and what hinders change within a certain organization. This will allow an organization to develop measures that will allow the organizations driving forces to be maximized while the restraining forces are at the same time limited to allow the organization to be more efficient. The drawback to this model is that it is extremely simple and is not the best model for defining specific problems it more or less will allow a company to reach a desired state of affairs and nothing else. Leavittââ¬â¢s Model This model has task variables, technological variables, structure variables and human variables. The model can be used to evaluate how to change in one of the variables will affect the others, and is best applied in analysis concerning organizational structure and human resources. The strength in this model lays in its simplicity but this can also be viewed as a weakness because the output from the model cannot provide direct causal statements relating to the variables. Likert System Analysis This analysis is best applied in an organization to examine issues relating to motivation, communication, interaction, goal setting, decision making,à control and performance. The Likert System is important in analyzing management systems within an organization and how they affect performance (Falletta, 2005). This model evaluates employee perceptions and how they affect individual and group performance. The main strength of this model is that is uses determined scales which make assessment more qualitative and easier. The drawback of this model is that it is really only good for examining the social aspect affecting an organization and doesnââ¬â¢t consider what affects that processes, structure and the environment have on an organization. McKinsey 7S Framework Variables that are examined in this model include style, staff, systems, skills, strategy, structure, and shared values. This model is applied in an organization to investigate whether or not their inputs such as structure, skills, and strategy align with company objectives (Falletta, 2005). A change in any of the variables will eventually cause changes in the other variables. The model has strength in the form of being able to analyze essential variables that affect an organizations performance and it is simpler to use than some of the other models. However, the model does not take into consideration environmental effects on a companyââ¬â¢s effectiveness and operations. Burke-Litwin Model This model includes the following variables; management practices work unit climate, mission and strategy, organizational structure, leadership, task requirements and individual skills, individual needs and values, culture, systems, motivation, and finally individual and organizational performance. The Burke-Litwin Model can be used to investigate not only internal but external factors that influence an organization and further goes to show how the factors interact (Martins & Coetzee, 2009). Most believe this to be one of the most robust and overall better OD models to use for analysis because it provides the nature and direction of influence of organizational variables. This model also provides a difference between transformational and transactional dynamics. The strength of this model is that it is able to analyze organizational structure, task requirements, individual skills, and the external environment all at the same time. Congruence Model This model contains inputs, throughputs, and outputs and is best used in an organization to identify the degree to which the needs, objectives and structures of one part of an organization are congruent to the needs, objectives and structure of another part (Falletta, 2005). Its strength is in the obvious ability it has to show organizations how to improve efficiency and effectiveness. The modelââ¬â¢s main weakness is that it does not evaluate effect of demands made by the environment (Nadler & Tushman, 1980). Current Issues WFM is Facing Perhaps the largest issue that WFM faces is the price of their goods. The fact of the matter is not everyone who wants natural and organic foods can enjoy the WFM experience. There is no surprise in the fact that organic and natural food is more expensive than other groceries and in times of economic downtown if customers donââ¬â¢t feel they are getting a good deal then they will most likely seek cheaper alternatives. What this means is when someoneââ¬â¢s budget shrinks they wonââ¬â¢t be able to purchase as much at WFM vs. one of their competitors. Another issue that is just as important to WFM is new entrants to the organic and natural foods market with companies like Wal Mart, Kroger and other larger, cheaper supermarkets. These big name companies are starting to create their own private label brands to compete with WFM but since a majority of their business is derived from products that arenââ¬â¢t natural and organic they can cut prices in this segment of the market to attract customers to their store while not taking a huge loss in profits. The final issue facing WFM is the threat of substitute products and services. One major competitor of WFM is Trader Joeââ¬â¢s Co. who also offers upscale groceries such as health foods and organic produce. One strength of WFM over Wal Mart and Kroger are their unique store atmospheres that most big box stores lack but companies like Trader Joeââ¬â¢s threaten WFM with their own ââ¬Å"Mom and Popâ⬠substitute atmosphere. Another company like this was Wild Oats which WFM was able to acquire to lessen some of their competition. What Model is Best for WFM? Given the set of organizational diagnosis models from Falletta, I believe the most useful one for analyzing Whole Foods Market will be the Burke-Litwin Model. According to Falletta, and many others in the realm of OD say that this model provides a strong approach for analyzing relationships among leadership an d strategy, financial decisions and operational issues. All three of the issues that WFM is facing I believe could benefit from some changes via this OD model. The fact that this model investigates internal and external factors influencing an organization and further helps show how factors interact sets this model ahead of many of the earlier OD models that exist and some even discussed above. For example an external factor like how the economy is doing largely affects WFM because customers know there are cheaper alternatives and early OD models like the Force Field Model would not be able to use this factor to help better situate the company. The Burke-Litwin Model however will take the external environment into consideration during its diagnosis. In fact all three issues listed above that WFM is facing can be categorized as dealing mostly with external environment issues. Something that only an open systems model could handle. Another reason I believe that The B-L Model should be used by WFM is the fact that it can distinguish between the culture and climate of an organization and also between transformational and transactional dynamics (Falletta, 2005). Obviously in the big picture this fact is important because almost no other model does this. This is important for WFM because their brand, image, store atmosphere are crucial in keeping their customers and getting new customers so not being able to diagnose these areas correctly could be traumatic for them. I think transformational and transactional leadership principles can largely affect an organization . Specifically I think that if a good transformational leadership principle is enacted throughout an organization it is visible to the outside through things such as employees motivation and personality towards customers. This is important for WFM because of the type of atmosphere they are trying to create inside their stores. Using this model could help diagnose this variable and give another reason to customers to shop at WFM and not at oneà of its competitors who is offering a substitute product. I believe the same principle applies to the variables of climate and culture. Most of the other models combine these two variables but as we know now these two variables need to be set apart and the B-L model is the model that allows for that. As already mentioned above the companies climate and culture are two things that can be controlled and if used effectively cannot only help the business for obvious reasons but I believe these are two variables that would especially help WFM because these are variables that outsiders can pick up on when things are going good or even wrong. Take Apple for example, the climate and culture of this company create a mysterious phenomenon that brings its customers closer to the company. You canââ¬â¢t say this for Microsoft or Samsung. This is something that WFM could use more of to again out compete with Trader Joeââ¬â¢s. Conclusion In closing, since the 50ââ¬â¢s there have been numerous OD models created and each one building upon the last. Organizations today now have many options when it comes to OD and which model to use but knowing which model to use is just as important as getting an accurate OD. By comparing all the models and identifying the issues an organization currently has one can better diagnose the situation. For WFM I believe the Burke-Litwin Model would best suit them and solve the issues described above.
Saturday, September 14, 2019
Business Research Part
The fitness bands make is fairly ass for anyone with a weight loss or health goal to measure and track their exercise to include steps taken daily, and amount of energy and calories burned. N.B. has formed a team to research the accuracy and impact of wearing the fuel band. The primary benefit of the fuel band is intended to be to assist in helping consumers track their activity in order to lose weight. To ensure this is benefit is being achieved N.B. needs to show that as a person's activity level increases so does the number of calories they are burning. Hypothesis Statements 1 .The use of a fitness band to track activity will lead to increased activity (steps taken and distance covered) resulting in weight loss. 2. The accuracy of the fitness band will allow individuals a way to know the level of their daily output and input in order for them to reach their fitness goals. Research In preparing for this study there was a particular questions that guided the overall thinking. What i mpact does a fitness band have on a users overall general health? By displaying data concerning daily activity such as steps taken, distance covered, calories burned and hours slept can a user gain an wariness of their overall activity?With this is mind it is important to look back on the information that is currently available to us. There have been extensive studies conducted in this realm since the fitness band has emerged into the health and fitness industry. The team independently went out and reviewed this research to find what would be relevant to establishing this research plan. These range in review of the accuracy of the band on activity, the motivating factor it has on calorie counting, and the overall performance of the various bands on the market.In several of the articles it was evident that when aging walking activity fitness bands perform as desired. The Journal of Science and Medicine in Sports (2014) published a study where a sample of adults used fitness bands whi le walking on the treadmill at various speeds. Upon completion of the study it was deemed the no ââ¬Å"significant differences were notedâ⬠between the fitness bands count and that of the observer counts, therefore a high level of inter-device reliability was present (Journal of Science and Medicine in Sports, 2014).Establishing that a fitness and has high reliability it accurately displaying activity solidified the choice of our dependent variable. Next we need establish that our independent variable were what we wanted to be based on the various other research out there. Mossier put forth a study in 2014 about the emerging importance technology would play in tracking activity (Mossier, 2014). The study discussed when a user accurately tracks activity and calorie intake it is an effective strategy for improved goal setting and overall health. This helped lead us in the direction of with increased awareness of activity does weight loss result?An article by Richards would say i t does but with modest results in short term use (Annals of Family Medicine, 2008). This article discussed the Cross- sectional studies show that individuals who walk more tend to be thinner than those who walk less. This does not mean, however, that the association between higher step counts and lower weight is causal or that encouraging sedentary individuals to increase step counts helps them lose weight. The study showed that 5 or more adult participants and at least 1 cohort enrolled in a pedometer-based walking intervention lasting at least 4 weeks.
Friday, September 13, 2019
Art Of Irony in The Story of An Hour
Art Of Irony in 'The Story of An Hour' In The Story of An Hour, Kate Chopin uses a variety of literary devices ranging from third person narration, juxtaposition and irony to vividly illustrate the dramatic process of grievance, and alternately liberation, that Mrs. Mallard experiences under the impression that her husband has died. In the beginning of the short story, Chopin attempts to extend inklings to the reader of what is later to come in the story through the assertion that ââ¬Å"Mrs. Mallard was afflicted with a heart trouble,â⬠and that the other characters, her sister Josephine specifically, would ââ¬Å"break to her as gently as possible the news of her husbandââ¬â¢s death.â⬠It might be perceived that Chopinââ¬â¢s intentions were to foreshadow Mrs. Mallard having a heart failure in response to the traumatic news if it were not delivered delicately. Chopin depicts Mrs. Mallard as a fragile being whom would be shattered both physically and emotionally when given the news of her husbandââ¬â¢s death. Chopin then toys along with this predictable reaction describing Mrs. Mallard as to have ââ¬Å"wept at once, with sudden, wild abandonment,â⬠similar to how a ââ¬Å"child who has cried itself to sleep continues to sob in its dreams.â⬠The use of such kinetic word composition and the comparison of Mrs. Mallard to that of a sobbing child portrays her as an emotionally obliterated, feeble woman ââ¬â entirely devastated, the exact reaction Chopin had foreshadowed early on. Chopin then implements juxtaposition and irony when describing Mrs. Mallardââ¬â¢s feelings subsequent of her devastation. Up until this point in the story, all of Mrs. Mallardââ¬â¢s actions are seemingly natural. The reader would think it reasonable for a woman to be emotionally rattled at the news of her husbandââ¬â¢s death, however Chopin twists this seemingly predictable narrative on its head by now revealing a sense of liberation in Mrs. Mallard. To initiate this shift in mood, Chopin describes Mrs. Mallard gazing at the sky not in ââ¬Å"a glance of reflection,â⬠however a glance which ââ¬Å"indicated a suspension of intelligent thought,â⬠and this described ââ¬Å"suspension of intelligent thoughtâ⬠puts a pause on Mrs. Mallardââ¬â¢s remorseful thoughts and serves as a gateway into her newfound freedom. Chopin further describes the positive ascension of Mrs. Mallardââ¬â¢s thoughts through the phrases ââ¬Å"her bosom rose and fell tumultuously,â⬠while whispering, ââ¬Å"free, free, free,â⬠ââ¬Å"over and over under her breath.â⬠Through this description, Chopin seems to reinvent Mrs. Mallard in an almost evil way as she is finding peace within her husbandââ¬â¢s death. A reader might associate Mrs. Mallardââ¬â¢s ââ¬Å"tumultuousâ⬠chest movements and repetition of a single word with the clich?, evil, methodical laugh of a villainous character that rises in richness at the expense of another (the laugh then commensurate to Mrs. Mallardââ¬â¢s happiness at the expense of her husbandââ¬â¢s life). Chopin has recreated Mrs. Mallard in a way that makes her seemingly selfish in that she has achieved contentment through the death of her husband when the orthodox reaction should be a sense of remorse. Chopin therefore creates irony in two ways: one through the juxtaposition of how Mrs. Mallard should feel and how she actually feels and the other being how Mrs. Mallard achieves emotional uplift through an inherently wrong (according to societal expectation) response to the situation. Referring back to the potential foreshadowing in the beginning of story, Chopin seems to create a full circle effect at the end of the story. The very last line of Chopinââ¬â¢s short story proclaims that ââ¬Å"she (Mrs. Mallard) had died of heart disease ââ¬â of the joy that kills.â⬠This ending serves as a full circle ending as it ties Chopinââ¬â¢s beginning statement, ââ¬Å"Mrs. Mallard was afflicted with a heart trouble,â⬠to the end of the story: Mrs. Mallardââ¬â¢s death via heart failure. The irony then amounts from the cause of Mrs. Mallardââ¬â¢s heart failure. Chopin has illustrated the story so that the reader knows Mrs. Mallardââ¬â¢s heart failure is from the negative shock of knowing her husband is alive while the characters in the story believe Mrs. Mallardââ¬â¢s heart failure is from positive shock, hence ââ¬Å"the joy that kills.â⬠This irony and juxtaposition of what actually happened and what is perceived to have happened (by the characters in the story) is made entirely possible through Chopinââ¬â¢s choice of third person narration. Through third person narration, Chopin exposes both sides of the situation: Mrs. Mallardââ¬â¢s internal thoughts, her feelings of liberation and freedom, and the external thoughts of the other characters, the feelings that Mrs. Mallard is desolate. By divulging the juxtaposing views to the reader, Chopin creates an ironic dichotomy. Through this ironic dichotomy, the reader gleans the unadulterated truth of Mrs. Mallardââ¬â¢s reaction to her husbandââ¬â¢s death thus establishing a personal relationship between the reader and the character of Mrs. Mallard, all of which Chopin uses as a strategy to effectively illustrate Mrs. Mallardââ¬â¢s emotional development throughout the story.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)