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Criminal activities are observed by many as an integral part of the society

Introduction

Criminal activities are observed by many as an integral part of the society. This means that is difficult to live in an environment where there is no any breaking of the law. This is the main reason why governments of the world have established elaborate systems of justice for the purpose of fighting any social evils. All these are aimed at maintaining social harmony and protecting the citizens against malicious people. However, many systems of justice have not been effective in fully combating the incidences of crime as it has been soaring. This is the reason why there was a need to establish alternative systems such as the restorative justice to assist in the change of behavior.

Restorative justice has been defined as the process of seeking to fulfill the needs of the victim and also that of the offender (McCold, 1999).This is however contrary to the normal systems of justice which are aimed at fulfilling the demands of the constitution while ignoring that of the victim. In this social type of justice, the concerned authority realized that the only way to find a lasting solution is by getting to the root cause of an offence from the offenders side.

In this system of juvenile justice, the victim and the offender are both given the active role in determining the healing process (Morris, 2001). This is contrary to the conventional means where the focus is on the satisfaction of the needs of the law and the community by administering punishment to the offenders. Observation has shown that this has not been a successful way as far as curbing criminal activities is concerned. Several sociological theories state that every behavior has got a motivation and is committed to satisfy a specific need.

Therefore, in order to win the juvenile delinquency issues, there is need to tackle the motivating behavior from the offenders part. Punishment is sometimes said to suppress the undesirable behaviors only for sometime. It does not provide the absolute solution to the matters pertaining to behaving in the desirable way.

There are three main processes of restorative justice for the juvenile that have been provided. The first one is the arranged meeting between the offender and the victim in the presence of a qualified and experienced mediator (David, 2003). He facilitates the communication between the two parties with an aim of seeking to have a lasting solution. In this meeting, the offender is expected to repair the relationship with the victim, pay any damages or return any stolen commodities. He is also expected to apologize for any offences caused to the victim.

The second process is done in the presence of family members of the both parties. This stage is known as the family group conferencing which recognizes the important role of the parents, friends and the professionals that are closely linked to the offender. This is imperative especially if the offender is still dependent on the family and friends for survival as he shall take the advice given to them seriously.

The final stage in establishing a lasting solution in any juvenile delinquencies is by involving the wider circle of the community in several conferences. At this point, the victims or their close associates are given an opportunity to confront the offender with an aim of establishing the cause of the offence and pursuing any accrued damages.

In conclusion, restorative justice for the juvenile has been observed to be one of the most effective means of acquiring lasting solution. This is owing to the fact that it is aimed at getting to the root cause of the problem by involving both the victim and the offender. In the event of any damage, the offender has to apologize and later on required to pay reasonable damages.

References

McCold, P. (1999). Restorative justice practice – The state of the field. Paper presented at Building Strong Partnerships for Restorative Practices Conference, Burlington, VT, USA. Retrieved December 6, 2007, from HYPERLINK “http://www.restorativepractices.org/library/vt/vt_mccold.html” http://www.restorativepractices.org/library/vt/vt_mccold.html

Morris, G. (2001). Restorative conferencing. In Bazemore, G. & Schiff, M. (Eds.), Restorative community justice: Repairing harm and transforming communities (pp. 173–197). Cincinnati, OH: Anderson Publishing Co.

David, P. (2003). A survey of assessment research on mediation and conferencing. In L. Walgrave (Ed.), Repositioning Restorative Justice (pp. 67–120). Devon, UK: Willan Publishing.

Reflection on the Interview Process

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Reflection on the Interview Process

The interview was done via a phone call to a registered nurse at Mayo Clinic working at the Newborn Intensive Care Unit (NICU). She was so friendly and cooperative during the whole interview process. The interview comprised of eight questions touching on different areas such as the drive to do nursing, the schooling requirements, and professional life as a nurse. I think the answers I received from this exercise were good and shed enough light on different aspects of the nursing profession.

I learnt enough things from this interview. One lesson learnt was some of the different reasons that drive people into doing what they love most. For this interviewee, her passion for becoming a nurse started long time ago as a young child, while for me the desire grew after my high school years. After I had done well in my high school level, I realized nursing was one of the best courses I would do because I would not lack a job opportunity and I would be contributing to a healthier nation through healthcare.

I also learnt about different schooling requirements for different levels in nursing. One can begin from humble beginnings and become whoever they wish to become. For instance my interviewee started from being a HOSA club member in high school to a nurse assistant and grew her way up to a registered nurse years later. For others, they can start from community level or jump straight to a degree in nursing all of which are essential.

Additionally, I also learnt about how to behave as a nurse and what the nursing profession entails. For instance this interviewee commented that she could overstretch to any lengths just to make sure her patients are well cared for and handed over to the next shift nurses before she could call it a day. I am also called to be selfless as a nurse because at the end of the day, quality care and health outcomes are of more concern to nurses than other things.

From the passion my interviewee had, I believe this is a profession I want to pursue to be at her level or more. Just like her, I am also delighted to see other people happy, smile and satisfied hence nursing is the only profession I can think of that can help me achieve that. Apart from that, I have gained some knowledge that nursing is not just about the happy side of life but a call that needs one to be strong enough because there are situations where outcomes will not be as desired but one has to dust and stand up for another day and another challenge.

This interview did not change my perception and desire to be a nurse. In fact it has strengthened it because I have heard from an expert in the field about the good and bad side of the profession. I believe with the right education, knowledge and skills gained from this college, I will be more than ready to embrace the bright side and mitigate the bad side hence attaining holistic goals for myself and patients. I have also had a desire to become a nurse for sometimes now and I think it will only be fair to myself if I embrace the challenge and pursue nursing to attain my future goals. Of course I want to be in a rewarding profession despite the challenges I may face because at the end of the day I will be delighted that I did the best I could and the right thing to everyone around me.

I have learned a lot from this interview but the most conspicuous idea I’ve come out with is that, one need not to give up no matter what. Even if the challenge is finances, one can start small and eventually attain their dream. It doesn’t matter where you began, but what matters is that you never gave up and you eventually attained your hearts desires. Like for her she began way in high school just as a club member and after that finances did not deter her from pursuing her dreams. She enrolled to a community training college for a nursing assistant role and here she is as a RN and working with one of the best clinics in the country. Furthermore, she is not done yet and still ready to enrol for a Masters degree and a PhD in nursing later soon. The best thing about this journey is that she is doing what she loves the most and so nothing can stop her from becoming who she wants to become in the future. We share similar sentiments and I am sure if I don’t give up, I can reach where she is and beyond with time.

situation in libya and law of war

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Law of war

Libya is faced by many challenges and risks. It does not have the consensus strategies necessary required for a constitution giving the government legitimacy to resolve monopoly conflicts of arms dealing. The security situation is unstable and violence is prone in the country, the inability to fairly transmit power is evident as power is competed for by unofficial armed entities who attack the regime frequently. Such situations hinder economic development required to meet the needs of the population. If Libya does not reach on a constitution that gives the regime the legitimacy to enforce law,

The American administration is ready to fight terrorism to the farthest extent without caring of the consequence. This is evident when president bush proclaimed that his government would blast the terrorist from their hide out. There was an organized military operation to fight terrorists from Afghanistan and Iraq without any intentions of negotiations. The organized military operation is well thought-out as an act of war. President Bush administration is ready to move out of the boarders to fight terrorism (Blum & Heymann).These words are considered to influence a language of war, and the administration feels justified to execute the offenders without trial. The rules that govern an administration are usually weak and lose because the government is ready to do anything in the name of war. Many human rights are dishonored as suspects are killed without having proper trial. Every person is entitled to due process even if he is a suspect and fair trial should be conducted to him. The law advocates that an individual is blameless until confirmed guilty, but this does not apply in time of war. This is because suspects are executed and are not given a chance to confirm their innocence (Carothers). Despite the violations of human rights, war laws should be applied to terrorists.

Many terrorist suspects are apprehended without trial, and this is a violation of human rights. The American administration makes the process easy in the justification that they are fighting terrorism. The American government has literalized war; thus there are no clear distinctions between rules that must be applied during peaceful moments and what rules are acceptable during war times. Police and other law enforces are only allowed to use force only when threaten with death or physical injury ( Campbell & Mitchell). It is also stipulated in the international laws that a suspect should be tried after he is caught. This is not the case in the American government because the terrorist suspects are detained without trial. This is a violation of human rights because every individual is entitled to a due process. During the war, the law enforcement law and rules are replaced with international laws. The war rules stipulate that an enemy is to be shot without warning unless he is trying to surrender. An enemy caught in combat is detained until the war ends (Dobriansky).

Bush administration uses armed and lethal force to capture al-Qaida terrorist, which is not human. War on terrorism is considered real war; thus American laws ought to be sufficient in dealing with terrorists (Gaus). War is different based on the circumstances and basis it is undertaken. Using criminal law is a weak weapon in stopping terrorists because war is larger that this criminal activities. The American administration realized this very late after the terrorists had done remarkable damage. It is not rational in treating terrorist as common criminals who commit suicide because they are ready to strike any moment they get (Lieberthal). It is because of this strong measures should be used. Using criminal law is sufficient and advantageous during peaceful moments but it is not sufficient during war times. The criminal law is for punishing and inflicting stigma to domestic criminals. Terrorist are not allowed to go through a due process because they put harm to the national security; hence, they are detained without trial. Criminal law suggests that the terrorist can only be sentenced with evidence from the eyewitness. Circumstantial evidence is not considered, and this can ruin the accessibility to the al-Qaida plans (Masters).

The American states have the strategies of ensuring that countries that produce oil stabilize so that they can access their oil. The USA marines during world war one become second from the fight and this ensured that the United States can have access to oil producing areas in overseas countries. Prior to second war of the world, United States was able to have ownership of oil rich places in Mexico and Caribbean region. Cold war and world war two gave the Americans motivations of maintaining and coming up with an economic strategy that influenced Latin Americans (Fusco, pp 43). Through power and determination USA was able to secure oil areas in Persian even though it was difficult because of the distance. USA took the roles of Britain in the Middle East after the second war of the world as the controllers of western interests.

People from Libya considered oil as the most import element source of power. These two great powers stopped using coal and started using oil as the source of power in the military. In connection to military source power, they came up with innovations such as submarines, and airplanes that used oil as a source of power. Other than the military using oil as their source of power, oil transformed USA into an industrious country in 20th century. After the year 1890 USA economy was greater than that Britain and after the year 1920 USA economy was much stronger than the economy of the six countries that are highly powerful.

Supplies of oil that are cheap and available are essential for the vehicles industry that played a significant role in the economy of USA during the 1920s and 1960s. Oil was adapted as the source of energy for transports in land and air as well as in water. This form of energy challenged coal as many industries and sectors turned to oils as a source of energy. Oil was use in heating and electric generation as well as power for machines. These machines were used to modernize agriculture and were used for production of pesticides. Oil was used for creating a modern life to the America citizens as much machinery used oil as a source of power (Hinnebusch, pp 45). At the time of the second world war America used oil as a source of energy. Most of the machinery and transportation facilities used oil as a source of energy in America.

USA has the highest prosperous and domestic oil corporations known as the seven sisters that dominated the oil sector from the 1920 to the 1970s. These corporations dominated the countries that have high oil production, which are Mexico and Venezuela. By dominating the oil industry America was considered the superpower during this period of time (Fusco, pp 23). In the years 1920s and 1930s American states supported US oil companies’ indulgence in the Middle East. The oil companies from USA are highly involved in oils regions in Netherlands. When world war two ended, USA oil companies produced approximately 40% of oil outside the states and the Soviet Union.

The security situation is unstable and violence is prone in the country, the inability to fairly transmit power is evident as power is competed for by unofficial armed entities that attack the regime frequently. The American administration is ready to fight terrorism to the farthest extent without caring of the consequence. This is evident when president bush proclaimed that his government would blast the terrorist from their hide out. Many terrorist suspects are apprehended without trial, and this is a violation of human rights. The American administration makes the process easy in the justification that they are fighting terrorism. The criminal law is for punishing and inflicting stigma to domestic criminals. Terrorist are not allowed to go through a due process because they put harm to the national security; hence, they are detained without trial. The American administration realized this very late after the terrorists had done remarkable damage. It is not rational in treating terrorist as common criminals who commit suicide because they are ready to strike any moment they get.Works cited

Aljazeera: is us down grade inevitable. 2011. Web april 2013

Available at,

<http://www.aljazeera.com/>

Major characters in the book Death of Salesman.

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Death of a salesman

1.Major characters in the book Death of Salesman.

These characters include; Willy Loman, Biff Loman, Happy loman, Linda loman, Charley, Benard and Howard Wegner.

Willy Loman: He is a self-deluded, an insecure traveling salesman. Willy believes fully in the American dream of easy success and wealth acquisition. He has not changed or grown.

Biff Loman: He led enchanted life in high school as a footballer star full of scholarship chances, flattering female friends alongside good male friends. He failed in math and later never graduated. He later changed his life after visiting Belly Oliver’s office that made a break from lies and decided to begin his life afresh. He later chose living in reality. He, therefore, shown some changes in the play.

Linda Loman: Even though she occasionally shares Willy’s self-delude hopes for future glory and success, more often than not, she seems more realistic and less fragile than Willy. She has tried to nurture her family amidst Willy’s misleading attempts at success. Her stronger emotional strength made her grow and change in in the play.

Happy Loman: Although he works as assistance to an assistance buyer, he always represents himself as supremely important being. He never grew up because he practiced bad business practices and constantly had sex with girlfriends of his seniors.

2.What is revealed about the characters through dialogue?

Miller while writing his book chosen not rely on spoken images, but rather creates them practically on the stage. Instead of merely leaving a character to tell the story, he decided to show it to readers. Dialogue has been significantly used in this book to show the images of characters. Dialogue has clearly shown to readers Willy’s insanity. Without dialogue, the readers would not have shown clearly how Willy’s broken speech and his constant up and down movement indicating how shattered he is.

3.Verbal irony, dramatic irony, how irony has been conveyed in the book and importance if irony.

Yes, the play includes both verbal and dramatic irony. Verbal irony is depicted on Willy’s last name ‘’Loman’’pronounced Low- Man, suggesting his low place in the society even though he insist the opposite.

Dramatic irony comes out clearly in Linder’s line in the play ‘’we’re free’’. It’s ironical because they think that they are finally free to pay off all the debts and any burden, only to find that Willy is taking his life because of the insurance money.

4. How irony is conveyed

What seems very ironical in this book is that Willy Loman is a loser in life, but he constantly advisesa his children on how to become successful in life. He was advising his sons how to become success as early as they were in school, and he still continues advising then on how to be success when they reached their thirties. This is happening as Willy is getting old and old and has worn out. Willy himself does not know how to succeed in life. In his imaginations, he keeps on asking his brother Ben the secrets of success that give a clear indication that Willy does not know the secrets of success and yet he insists on teaching his sons.

5. What is revealed about characters through their actions?

Willy Loman’s actions reveal that he is a man of big dreams, precisely American Dream. He wants greater things in life and trust that for him to advance great opportunities and move the ladder of success must be liked and known by the big and wealthy people in the society.

Linder’s action has portrayed her as loving and devoted wife. She seems to be an easy going woman. She always go with the flow and always try to calm Willy whenever he is upset.

Charly’s action has proved that he is a true friend. Despite being mocked by Willy and his sons, Charley still goes ahead to hepl them in thir financial problems.

Bliff: despite too much pressure to bring success home, he repents the reflection of true life as what his father wanted to be never come true despite being forced not follow his own dreams in life.

Happy’s characters depict him as a happy man. The fact that Willy does not expect a lot as opposed to his brother Bliff, he lives a free life making have ample time to make friendships both with male and females.

Reference

Miller, A. (1994). Death of a salesman. Oxford: Heinemann.

Stages of FAIR Risk Methodology

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DateStages of FAIR Risk Methodology

Fair Risk Methodology has four major stages comprising ten steps. Under the first stage, there is the first step, which involves the identification of the asset at risk. For the estimation of control and value characristics of the risk analysis to be possible, it is important to first identify the object under evaluation. If the analysis is at a multilevel, the analyst will need to evaluate the object at risk and all the meta-objects existing between the threat community and the primary asset (Lajoux, Alexandra, and Charles Elson, 32).The second step involves the identification of the threat community, which is important in the estimation of the Threat Event Frequency and Threat Capability. When evaluating risks associated with malicious actions, the analyst will be required to decide on whether the threat community is malware or human, and external or internal. The second stage in the analysis is the evaluation of loss event frequency. The third step coming under this stage is the threat event frequency, which is the probable frequency in a given time frame that will be acted upon by a threat agent. Contributing factors to this step include probability of action and contact frequency. The fourth step is the threat capability, which is the probable force level that enables the threat agent to apply against an asset. Contributing factors under this step include resources and skill (Lajoux, Alexandra, and Charles Elson, 23).

The next step is the control strength, which is the expected effectiveness of control over some timeframe as it is measured against a baseline force levels. Contributing factors under this step include assurance and strength. The next step under this stage is the vulnerability analysis, which involves analyzing the probability that an asset will not be able to resist actions of the threat agent. The analysis in this step is closely related to the results of analysis in step four and five. The next step, which is step seven, is the analysis of loss event frequency. It involves the analysis of the probable frequency within a certain time frequency, over which a threat agent will cause harm to an asset. The next stage in this methodology is the evaluation of probable loss magnitude. The next step under this stage, which is step eight, is the estimation of estimation of worst-case loss. This involves the estimation of worst-case magnitude using three steps. The first step is the determination of threat action most likely to result in worst case outcome (Lajoux, Alexandra, and Charles Elson, 23). The second step is the estimation of the magnitude for each loss form that is associated with the threat action. The last step in this aspect is “summing” the loss form magnitudes. The next step in this stage is step nine, which involves estimating probable loss. The estimation of probable loss magnitude is done using three steps. The first step involves the identification of the threat community action that is most likely. The next step is the evaluation of probable loss magnitude for every loss form and the last step is “summing” the magnitudes.

The last stage in this methodology is the derivation and articulation of risk and the next step, which is step eight, is also the derivation and articulation of risk. It involves the probable magnitude and frequency of future loss. Properly articulated analysis should give decision makers the opportunity to get at least two important pieces of information:”the estimated loss event frequency” and “the estimated probable loss magnitude”. The information can be displayed through charts, texts, or both. In most cases, it is better to also display the “estimated high-end loss potential” to make the decision maker become aware of the expected worst-case scenario. The strength of the FAIR methodology is that it is able to establish accurate probabilities for the magnitude and frequency of loss events. It also has a consistent framework useful in performing risk analyses (Lajoux, Alexandra R, and Charles Elson, 21). The weakness is that FAIR is not a methodology in dealing with risk management, but it is only used to complement the existing methodologies. Using FAIR to analyze somebody’s risk associated with commercial gain is only possible after getting a license from RMI.

Sources Cited

Lajoux, Alexandra R, and Charles Elson. The Art of M & a Due Diligence: Navigating Critical Steps & Uncovering Crucial Data. New York: McGraw-Hill, 2000. Internet resource.

Video Response

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Video Response

Luciano Pavarotti, Barbara Hannigan and Diana Damrau are some of the greatest opera singers/performers of all time. Pavarotti was an Italian operatic tenor born in 1935 and died in 2007. Hannigan is a Canadian conductor and a soprano born in 1971 and is famous for her modern opera performances. Damrau is a German operatic soprano known for her enactment of Mozart’s musical compositions. In the three videos, Luciano Pavarotti sings “Puccini’s Nessun Dorma,” Barbara Hannigan performs “Legiti’s Mystery of the Macabre,” and Diana Damrau sings Mozart’s “Queen of the Night.” The three performances use varying types of voices and have different features that make the listener have a particular reaction to each of them.

Voices Used

Firstly, the Pavarotti performance was mostly about his voice. His tenor has a particular unpopular timbre that is wonderful. At some point, it sounded like a countertenor. It also seems to overwhelm the melodious orchestral sounds accompanying the singing. Thus, the singer’s unique voice dominates the entire performance.

Additionally, Hannigan uses the soprano voice at its highest. Despite most of her performance being dominated by dramatic acts, she manages to hit the highest pitch as demanded by the composition. However, her vocal range did not get into the C two octaves. As a result, her voice surpassed all other sounds and so her leading role in the performance.

Moreover, Damrau used the spinto soprano characterized by brilliant high notes with dark timbre. Her voice was relatively light in the climaxes. She also managed to “push” it to dramatic highpoints with little strain. Thus, her voice was naturally suited for the enactment of Mozart’s “Queen of the Night.”

My Reaction to the Pieces

To begin with, Luciano Pavarotti made a great job harmonizing his unique timbre with the rests of the orchestral sounds. He managed to rich the climaxes without much struggle. The background singers also produced harmonious echoes that increased the overall quality of the presentation. However, the lead singer tended to lag for some reason. Whether the composition demanded this interval or not, it affected my impression on the opera.

Additionally, Barbara Hannigan performance of “Legiti’s Mystery of the Macabre” was largely unpleasant. She might have done a good job in singing her soprano parts, but the superficial dramatic incorporations failed terribly. The squeaking noises and the seductive moves she made did not impress me. The orchestra too played its fair share to the failure of the performance. In general, the performance was a complete failure according to me.

Lastly, Diana Damrau singing of Mozart’s “Queen of the Night” was wonderful. From her thematic dressing to the unmatched soprano climaxes, the singer impressed me the most. Her dramatic integration of the piece matched her singing and was not characterized by performance awkwardness as seen on Hannigan’s show. Therefore, Damrau presentation was my favorite.

Differences between the three Arias

One of the key differences among the three performances was the voices used. Pavarotti used tenor, which was perceptibly different from that of the female singers. Hannigan and Damrau sang in the soprano voice. However, their vocal range was different. Thus the main dissimilarity among the performances was the voices used.

The three musicians had varying types of voices that affected the quality of the performance. Pavarotti used tenor, which made the performance mostly about the quality of his voice. Hannigan used soprano at its highest pitch. Unlike her female counterpart, Damrau incorporated a different type of soprano known as spinto soprano. All in all, Damrau was my favorite singer among the three performers.

Thomas King’s Borders

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Thomas King’s “Borders”

Thomas King, in his story, portrays citizenship as an essential element in most countries. As the story flows, the mother and the narrator move to visit Laetitia, who was in America. At the border, every individual needs to identify the citizenship in which they originate. Before the mother and narrator go through the American-Canada border, the guards have to identify and recognize their citizenship. Also, the narrator portrays that a person’s origin is essential, and a person should not defy their roots. This is shown from the mothers insisting on her citizenship even though the narrator had a different opinion. Therefore, the author believes that a person’s place origin defines citizenship and no conflicts nor critiques can change it.

The narrator begins with the mother and he traveling to Salt Lake City while they were visiting Laetitia, who had earlier left the reserve and moved across to look for a job. During their trip, they came between the border of Canada and America. However, they were stopped by the guards’ at the border. The author says that the guards asked the mother if they were from Canada or the American side. The mother had a strong feeling towards her native culture and was proud of her culture and values in her native community. As the author shows the conversation between the guard and the mother, she keeps insisting on her Blackfoot citizenship. The guards ask, “Citizenship?” the mother replies, “Blackfoot,” the guard asks for clarification. “Ma’am?” the mother still answers, “Blackfoot.” The guard still not convinced with the named citizenship asks again, “Canadian?”, but the mother insists, “Blackfoot” (King n.p). The guards refused Blackfoot as citizenship and told her that if she did not clarify accepted citizenship, they were not let her cross the borders. However, the mother neither says if she is a Canadian nor an American.

By the end of the story, the mother used the power of the media to protect her indigenous identity. In this short story, the countries are not only divided by the borders. There exist different boundaries between young and old, present and past, non-native and native, immigrant and indigenous, sister and brother. He uses several conflicts between children and the mom, guards, and the mom to emphasize the love and pride of the Blackfoot native culture and how they fight back when they were facing and mistreating by indigenous peoples’ identity marginalization.

The first confit is about the different views of citizenship between the young generations of the indigenous peoples and the old generation of indigenous peoples. At the beginning of the story, Laetitia always says she is proud of her dad is an American, and as a half-American, she can go and come to America as she wants. In her mind, America is much better than her home country. Mom feels upset about Laetitia’s feelings about America. However, instead of forbidding her daughter to go to America, she chooses to let her go. On the way to send Laetitia to the American border, mom mentioned that although they left Canada for a while, they still can see the mountains of Canada. The mountains symbolized home and a sense of belonging. However, Laetitia says Salt Lake also has lots of mountains as a reply. Mom does not argue with Laetitia. She let Laetitia go to American and takes the narrator to go back home. At the border, the author wishes that his mother could have said that their citizenship is Canadian, to be allowed passage. As the narrator states,” It would have been easier if my mother had just said “Canadian” and been done with it…” (King n.d). He shows the pride the mother had to have Blackfoot citizenship, even though everyone was against it.

At the end of the story, Laetitia changes her idea of Blackfoot citizenship after seeing how her mom fights about her citizenship and against the unfair treatment of indigenous peoples. Her mom’s behavior made her feel the pride of her Blackfoot identity and realized the importance of loving her Blackfoot citizenship. In terms of the narrator, when he and his mother were stuck in America borders because the mother refused to declare her citizenship, the narrator shows how the boy tried to clear up things. “I told Stella that we were Blackfoot and Canadian, but she said that that didn’t count because I was a minor” (King n.p). Therefore, the mother was the only sauce of help but kept persisting that her identity is Blackfoot. As a boy of tender age, the narrator feels confused about his mother’s behavior and feels upset that he cannot see his sister in America.

Both sides of the border did not accept Blackfoot as genuine citizenship. The mother and son are stuck in the place between American boundaries and Canadian borders. The narrator and mom have to stay in the car and figure out the way to across neither American borders nor Canadian borders. Mom tells the narrator about the stars of the sky and says each star has their story. As the mother said, “Every one of those stars has a story” (King n.p); she meant that every individual has an origin and evolves from a specific group of people. From the statement, the stars symbolized the various ethnic group in the world, and each ethnic group has its history and story. Every history and story deserves to be heard and respected. Therefore, the people in the border should have listened to her story and considered her citizenship as one of the accepted nationalities because the Blackfoot may be a minority ethnic group. Still, they shape their culture value in their unique ways.

The second conflict is between mom and the guards. The guards refused the Blackfoot as citizenship and not allowed mom and the narrator across the borders. Mom keeps saying that her citizenship is Blackfoot and refuses American and Canadian as citizenship. When they arrived at Canada borders, the young lady’s attitude is more friendly than the American guard. However, mom and the narrator suffer a misunderstanding of Blackfoot. When the guard knows they are Blackfoot, she says, “I know,..and I’d be proud of being Blackfoot if I were Blackfoot. But you have to be American or Canadian.” (King n.p). The guard knows about Blackfoot but still insists on them being Canadian or American. Despite the resistance the mother got, she kept persisting on her Blackfoot citizenship.

In this story, boundaries have been used to divide lines that separate each other. Therefore, the story title does not discuss the boundary between the United States and Canada. Instead, it points to boundaries that divide different areas reserved between various countries’ land. When the native individuals’ multicultural boundaries, they have to leave behind their uniqueness, such as Blackfoot. If they are not American or Canadian, they will end up staying in the excluded land. The “borders,” therefore, demonstrate clearly how difficult the native individuals went through, leaving up the supreme of the Canadian way of life, which gives its residents the right to reservation their identity and legacy and also offers a sense of belonging and a home. Also, after the report had gotten to the media, the reporters still have the same idea of Blackfoot failing to be a nationality. The author states, “Every so often one of the reporters would come over and ask me questions about how it felt to be an Indian without a country” (King n.p). The statement reflects the mother’s comment about stars that every star has a story. Therefore, even though the reporters failed to believe in Blackfoot existence, they also had a story and an identity. At the end of the story, mom uses the power of the media against the unfair treatment of indigenous peoples’ identity. The media symbolized justice. They help mom and the narrator to cross the American borders, which is also a good ending and feedback of mom’s pride in the Blackfoot identity. Hence the narrator shows that a person’s origin defines their citizenship, even though there may be conflicting ideas of people’s identities.

Thomas King emphasizes the importance of citizenship and being proud of one’s origin. A person’s background may cause criticisms among other people, especially if not recognized. However, the origin defines the one’s being. The story narrates the ordeal of the narrator and his mother at the border of Canada and America. The mother persists on their Blackfoot citizenship, but the guards fail to allow them to go through them. She does not give up and even uses the media to help her find justice. The fight portrayed by the mother on her loyalty to her citizenship is commendable; hence the author emphasized the importance of one’s roots.

Work Cited

King, Thomas. Borders.

Strategic planning involving financial data is very significant in formulating a business plan

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Strategic Planning

Strategic planning involving financial data is very significant in formulating a business plan. Financial planning is the act of determining the ways and means that a business will follow to achieve its strategic objectives and goals. Financial planning is very important to a company and it is usually formulated immediately after a company has set its vision and objectives (Moran, Gwen, and Johnson, 68). It describes the activities, equipment, resources, and materials that are needed by the company to achieve its goals and objectives. It determines the success or failure of an organization since it provides a business plan with rigor as it confirms whether the set objectives are achievable from a financial perspective. It can also assist the manager of a company to set financial targets and also reward the staff for meeting the set objectives. The specific area in this discussion is the analysis of business environment.

It becomes easier for one to best fit his/her business into different business environments after collecting the necessary information about the external environment. This is only possible after clearly understanding the strengths and weaknesses of one’s firm. The primary task in this analysis is to identify the factors that will give the company a competitive advantage. For example, holding an exclusive license or a patent on a particular service or product may make one enjoy some competitive advantage. The other important strategy in this case is the aspect of flexibility (Zacharis, Andrew, Stephen, and Jeffry, 46). This is often an advantage enjoyed by smaller companies over larger rivals since they are able to respond more easily and with low cost to taste changes and mood swings in the market. The other important aspect is the nature of technology as it helps a business yield competitive advantage over its rivals. Financial analysis requires that after identifying the areas in which a business has competitive advantage, it is equally important to analyze the areas of weakness and then take necessary action for correction.

Cited Works

Moran, Gwen, and Sue Johnson. The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Business Plans. New York, N.Y: Alpha Books, 2009. Internet resource.

Zacharakis, Andrew, Stephen Spinelli, Jeffry A. Timmons, and Jeffry A. Timmons. Business Plans That Work: A Guide for Small Business. New York: McGraw-Hill, 2011. Internet resource.

SPITTELAU DISTRICT HEATING PLANT, VIENNA

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SPITTELAU DISTRICT HEATING PLANT, VIENNA

Construction of Thermal Waste Treatment Plant

According to Hundertwasser, Friedensreich (34), the major idea of constructing the plant was to devise a dynamic waste plan ranging from opinion forming and providing information on how to avoid the creation of wastes through recycling and optimizing waste separation. The other concern for the construction of the plant was to emphasize on the reduction of waste gases and problematic residues, taking into account health, legal, social, and community needs. Hazardous materials present in slag and ash can be avoided if such materials are not involved in the production of goods. Excessive residual waste is a waste of resources and non-hazardous waste materials can also become problematic in terms of volume (Hundertwasser, Friedensreich. Hundertwasser, 45). Some kinds of wastes can never be reutilized; like the multi-component products. These are products which have severally been recycled or substances that are severely contaminated. However, such wastes are not necessarily wasted since the energy content in them can be used to generate electricity and district heating through incineration.

The construction of the plant also has some additional beneficial side effect such as reducing the volume of waste. In the plant, the storage depot normally receives daily deliveries of 250 waste vehicles and holding reserves for around three days. The plant comprised of two boilers that produced steam from waste materials and a counter-pressure turbine was also attached to the boilers that helped in the generation of electricity. The plant also had four heat exchangers for supplying the heat and a gas purification system (Hundertwasser, Friedensreich. Hundertwasser, 34). To destroy pollutants existing in the shut-down and start-up phases, there is need to impose a condition that requires heating of a flu gas to a temperature of around 850o C for about two seconds. The process of incineration produces a high pressured steam, which drives a coupled generator and the turbine to satisfy its own needs of electricity. Excess electricity generated is then fed in the national grid, which can be used during downtime periods to power the plant. The return water and steam from the heating pipe are fed through condensers thus enabling the transfer of energy from steam to return water. Ash and slag are taken separately and then mixed with cement and water. The slag cement can be put into use as a construction material and is chemically active and inert. The filter cakes containing heavy metals are then stored in a salt-mine in Germany (Hundertwasser, Friedensreich. Hundertwasser, 43).

In 1969, the city council of Vienna entrusted Heizbetriebe with operational objectives of building up, operating and maintaining metropolitan district heating supply and proper disposal of solid wastes. This was to be made possible by the operation of Spittelau thermal waste treatment plant, which was by then under construction. The ongoing expansion programme created an interconnected heating network that was fed by ten individual plants with a capacity of over 2,500 MW. The plant had a pipeline of around 900 km in length; that being the largest in Europe. The plant supplied heating energy for water heating purposes to approximately 4,400 industrial consumers and over 200,000 dwellings (Restany, Pierre, and Friedensreich, 24). The purpose for constructing the Spittelau district plant was to avail heat for the new General hospital that was situated some few kilometers away. The plant had a rated capacity of around 460 MW, thereby making it become the second largest supplier of the district heating network. The thermal waste treatment plant, which was located around the heating generating plant, had a capacity of around 350,000 tons of weight annually. In order to comply with the continuous changing of the state-of-the-art cleaning technology of the flue gas, a flu gas scrubbing system was equipped on the thermal waste treatment plant as well as dioxin destruction facility and an ultramodern SCR-DeNOX (Restany, Pierre, and Friedensreich, 43).

The previously functional, sober structure was changed into a unique work art, which was successful and formed a harmonious connection between ecology, art, and technology. It also contributed to the reduction of pollution of the urban environment. The municipal solid wastes from Viennese, that is, non-hazardous commercial and domestic wastes of similar composition were normally delivered to the thermal waste treatment plant every week from Monday to Friday. About 250 delivery vehicles were received daily and could pass over a weighing bridge to determine the weight of the waste and then emptying the loads into the waste bunker. The thermal waste treatment plant is composed of two incineration lines, each having a flu gas treatment plant with dioxin destruction facility and SCR-DeNox serving both lines (Restany, Pierre, and Friedensreich, 27). The plant also had a flu gas scrubbing system that produced a treatment plant for waste water. The plant functioned by letting wastes pass through the hydraulic ram feeder and the furnace feed chute and then moves down to the bunker and firing grate located at the end of the furnace.

The incineration process produces an 850oC flu gas, which provides heat to the boiler of the waste heat, which results in the production of approximately 90 tones of saturated steam per hour. For power to be generated, the steam is reduced to 4.5 bar back in the pressure turbine after which it is moved to the returning water through condensation in the next heat exchanger bank. The incombustible components reaching the end of the firing grate are cooled down by dumping them in a water-filled slag discharger (Restany, Pierre, and Friedensreich, 56). The cooled gas is then moved to the slag bunker through the removal of ferrous scrap and overhead electromagnets. The use of a computerized firing control system makes sure that there is optimum incineration in the grate, and hence a maximum flue gas and slag burnout (Hundertwasser, Friedensreich, 78). When the thermal waste treatment plant was commissioned in 1971, it had a very effective electrostatic precipitator and this was augmented a flu gas scrubber in 1986. The construction of the plant and production of the flue gas made Spittelau become an international leader in emission reduction and flue gas cleaning for the thermal waste treatment plants.

The district heating plant generated approximately 36,400 MWh of electricity and approximately 263,200 m3 of waste deliveries in one year. The plant also produced electricity that served 4,200 public buildings and 190,000 homes and also supplied heat to Vienna’s largest hospital. Continuous innovations and checks in the gas purification plants set high standards for the emission of any pollutant. Among other plants that offered similar services of gas emission reduction included the DeNOx plant, which reduced emission of dioxin and nitrogen oxides. All emissions have an average threshold value of around 30% and the waste incineration plant was only allowed to operate when the entire purification process of flue gas was properly functioning.

The constructed waste incineration plant formed part of the city’s plan for waste management, with a fundamental aim of preventing the creation of any form of waste. For residual wastes, the plant represented the realization of a plan conforming to the latest standards of waste management systems. The approach used in the construction of the city’s waste management system can be used or applied in other situation or construction in the modern world. The plant was designed in a very unique manner and presentation and this has made the plant become a tourist attraction site even after the Viennese artist called Friedensreich Hundertwasser died in 2000. According to Restany, Pierre, and Friedensreich (23), the plant has also attracted the construction of several other social sites and architectonic constructions in the whole area.

In the 2001, there was a partnership established between Maishima Osak plant and the waste incineration plant, whose constructions were also designed by the artist Friedensreich Hundertwasser. The partnership between the two plants was established with the primary purpose of exchanging information on the best ways of handling wastes and recycling used products. The exchange of information was majorly based on operational management (waste management, energy use), operational experience with different technologies, dealing with the public, and passing on Hundertwasser’s visions and ideas to posteriority. However, in the long run, the exchange of information will advantage both the plants as well as have positive impacts on political relations between the two nations (Restany, Pierre, and Friedensreich, 89).

Signing of the partnership between the two plants prompted mutual visits and teams of experts have been able to exchange experiences in the operational management field and the social practices of the two plants (Restany, Pierre, and Friedensreich, 23). The partnership also emphasized the importance of designing buildings as designed by artist Hundertwasser and also discussed the strategies they could use to get acceptance from the public in relation to how they serve the public in controlling wastes. Another team of experts also took a close look at the management and the operation of the existing plants and then used the findings to adopt new methods and strategies that would be viable in waste management in any kind of environment.

If the plant was to be constructed today, the most important aspect is to learn how to exchange information with the public to ensure that what is provided is within the interest of the public. There is need to first collect full information from the public before starting any project (Restany, Pierre, and Friedensreich, 43). In addition to that, there is also the need to carry out research and come up with findings that would ensure that the constructors share any relevant information that would be very significant in implementing their operations and objectives. This was witnessed by Japanese tourists and constructors who visited the plant at Spittelau just a few months before constructing their own plant. Exchange of information will not only make the constructors put up a very strong plant but also make their nations become active in the field of urban waste management and environmental protection. The plants should also have been constructed based on the existing technology and market strategies, which enable the industry raise the technical standards to reach the best available technology and at the same time promote good public relations for adequate environmental protection. In summary, the plant should have been constructed to match the modern state of infrastructure and technology.

Works Cited

Hundertwasser, Friedensreich. Hundertwasser Architecture. Köln: Taschen, 2007. Print.

Hundertwasser, Friedensreich. Hundertwasser’s Complete Graphic Work 1951 – 1976. Munich: Prestel, 2008. Print.

Restany, Pierre, and Friedensreich Hundertwasser. Hundertwasser. New York: Parkstone International, 2010. Print.

Rene Descartes Meditation On First Philosophy The Existence of Human Mind

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Rene Descartes Meditation On First Philosophy: The Existence of Human Mind

We live in an era where everyone is trying to establish the validity of factual nature. Rene Descartes was a philosopher who lived between 1596 to 1650. Descartes gave mediations on various factors, including the existence of God and the existence of the human mind. In 1641, Descartes gave meditations on the first philosophy. He gave his views on knowledge, the existence of the mind and its relation to the body, how we perceive ideas, and the fact that God exists. He gave all these meditations in an attempt to bring out some mathematical truths on the above concepts. “I am, I exist, is necessarily true each time that I pronounce it, or that I mentally conceive it” (Descartes, 13). This is one of his meditations on the existence of the human mind and it indeed exists.

First, arguing about the ability to think, provided that one can have thoughts, then it implies that the human mind exists. Descartes argues that where he is dreaming or not, there are thoughts as a result of the mind. The mind is nonphysical, non-spatial but can influence daily activities and matter. The mind is different from the brain since the brain can exist, but to be functional, there must be the human mind.

The nature of the mind is to think, which proves its existence. In agreement to Descartes’s argument that if something does not think then he has no mind. Indeed, all thoughts are controlled by the mind. Since the nature of the mind is to think then human beings could not make rational decisions if the human mind did not exist. The mind exists even when we are asleep, we can still think through our dreams. Through the mode of thinking, there are ideas. Ideas can be both factual and non-factual but it is because of the existence of the mind that human beings have to come up with different ideas.

The existence of the human mind can be proven by the ability to make rational and irrational decisions. Descartes asserts that the mind controls the different modes of thinking. At some point, one has to decide on certain events. To make right or wrong decision, the mind has to be used. Without the mind, a lot of things would be in inexistence. There would be no technological innovations due to the lack of the ability to think. Since the human mind exists, it is easy for people to judge events, correct their mistakes, and help others. It is through the mind that the brain is able to receive information from different parts of the body, process it and give the correct output information. The mind controls the brain since once information is received, since the mind can think, it then dictates what to be done next.

Lastly, Descartes did a meditation that there are different thoughts that the mind processes. There are both judgments and emotions, which results from the mind’s ability to think. Descartes says “Other thoughts have various additional forms: thus when I will, or am afraid, or affirm, or deny, there is always a particular thing which I take as the object of my thought, but my thought includes something more than the likeness of that thing.” (Cottingham, 24). It is through the mind’s ability to think that one becomes afraid or gains the courage to do something. Humans can exist without the body but cannot exist without thought. For instance, one can lose several body parts but still can think about various subjects.

Conclusively, it is true that the mind exists and controls human activities. Without the mind, humans can hardly exist or cope up with daily challenges. Human beings, including Descartes, are the same people who doubt everything, understands different things, and affirm what is true or not. The thought is what makes doubt the existence of the human mind.

Works Cited

Cottingham, John. “Descartes: Meditations on First Philosophy: With Selections from the Objections and Replies.” (1996).

Descartes, René. René Descartes: Meditations on first philosophy: With selections from the objections and replies. Cambridge University Press, 2013.