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Introduction of the Scenario

Deliberating Stratification

Student’s name

Institutional affiliation

Introduction of the Scenario

There is a small yacht that is carrying 12 passengers and the captain. The demographics of the individuals include a teenage girl, a police officer, a 65-year old man college president, a 55-year old female nurse, a pregnant woman, her husband, a Black Lives Matter activist, a gay man, a ballet dancer, a botanist, a professional athlete, and a famous playwright. Suddenly, the yacht begins to sink while still far from the share of an island that has not been inhibited. The captain discovers that the radio is not functional so he opts to use the lifeboat to ferry people to the distant island. However, the dilemma is that the lifeboat can only hold eight (8) people otherwise it will sink. Additionally, the lifeboat only has enough gas to make one trip to the island. Because the boat has a total number of 13 people (captain included), you agree that four people and the captain will remain behind for the sake of everybody’s survival while 8 proceed to go to the island. This text is an attempt to make a decision about which four individuals will remain behind and who will be rescued. It makes a case for each member left behind and each member who is rescued. This is a tough call to make seeing that the chances of being rescued are rather minimal.

Members to Take and Why

In this scenario, I would make the hard decision of saving the teenage girl, the 55-year old female nurse, the pregnant woman, her husband, a gay man, a Black Lives Matter (BLM) activist, the professional athlete, and the famous playwright while the rest of the individuals remain behind. Although the decision is a difficult one to make, I would endeavor to save the lives of the most vulnerable people and those that would be most helpful, given the situation at hand. This is not to say that some lives are important than others. To begin with, I would make the decision to have all women present board the lifeboat and proceed to the island. This is because I believe women and children are most vulnerable in times and suffer the most in times of crisis. As such, I would first rescue the teenage girl, the 55-year old girl, and the pregnant woman. The pregnant woman should be a priority because she is carrying another life and having her go to the uninhabited island protects the life of not one but two people. Moreover, I would proceed to rescue the husband of the pregnant child for two main reasons. I would like to keep them together since they are a family and leaving the man behind leaves the woman without a person to help her in case of an emergency. I would not deny a child a chance to grow up with his father. The man can also be of help in navigating the lifeboat. I would also make the decision to save the gay man seeing that he belongs to a minority group. I would also save the Black Lives Matter Activist by virtue of the work they do and the impact they are making in society. The professional athlete would board the boat on the premise that he is physically fit which makes him the most suitable person to navigate the lifeboat. With the assistance of the pregnant woman’s husband and the gay man, the athlete will ensure the boat gets to the island. I would also rescue the famous playwright on the premise that they are in the creative field which does not have many people in the profession.

Members to Leave Behind and Why

In addition to the captain, I would leave the police officer, the 65-year old male college president, the ballet dancer, and the botanist behind. My reason for leaving the police officer behind would that compared to the other men who I rescued, the police officer is used to crisis by the nature of his profession. He has gone through training to help him get through tough situations. As such, he is better placed to fight for his life even after the boat capsizes. I am assuming that the police go through swimming training. I would leave the 65-year-old man who is a president at a nearby college because he is more expendable than the women and the men who were rescued. It would be better to give a younger person a chance of survival. Additionally, I would settle on leaving the botanist behind because compared to the women, the gay man, the husband, and the activist that were rescued, the botanist is more expendable. Even if I rescue the botanist, he is less likely to make any impact particularly because of the work he is involved in. The Ballet dancer would also remain behind because unfortunately, their demographic is more expendable than the others. A ballet dancer is creative but given the situation, I would only save one creative at the expense of the others. This is why I had the famous playwright board the lifeboat.

Reflections on My Beliefs

My choices say a lot about my personal beliefs. I believe that in times of crisis and uncertainty, women and children are the ones that suffer most, and for this reason, they should always be prioritized. I also believe that from a sociological perspective women are more important than men because of the role of childbearing which they carry. What I mean is that women should be protected because, without them, society would not grow its population. While one man can make many women pregnant at once, a woman can only give birth to one child at once. This shows that as long as women are present, society will continue growing in size. Additionally, from the analysis, I feel that minority groups such as LBGTI individuals should be protected at all cost and that aged people are more expendable than the younger population. I also believe that a person’s career influenced my decisions largely, for instance, I rescued the athlete because he is physically fit meaning that he will help navigate the lifeboat bringing everyone to safety.

Reflections of Assumptions

As I was deciding on who to rescue and who to leave behind, I made various assumptions. I assumed that the professional athlete is a man although their gender is not mentioned. Additionally, I assumed that the Black Lives Matter Activist, the police officer, and the captain is a man. I also assumed that the Black Lives Matter Activist does not identify as an LGBTI individual. I also assumed that the police officer can swim.

Reflections about the Current Periods and Culture

My choices to the fact I am the current time of this occurrence is before the dawn of technology and the internet. The call I made to ensure I save as many lives as possible show that I am part of a new culture that recognizes the different needs of various demographics, For instance, if the situation happened in the current age where there are cell phones, I would have made calls on the mainland or send a text requesting for assistance. I also recognize that women, youth, and children are delicate beings who are disproportionately affected in times of crisis that is why I ensured that they there the first to board the lifeboat.

Conclusion

In the case of a scenario that involves choosing which lives to save and which ones to leave behind, it is rather hard to decide, there is no correct way to approach it. In this scenario, choosing the people to board and the ones to save is just a matter of prioritizing the needs of the most vulnerable. This does not mean that the lives of some people are more important than others. I made the hard decision of saving the teenage girl, the 55-year old female nurse, the pregnant woman, her husband, a gay man, a Black Lives Matter (BLM) activist, the professional athlete, and the famous playwright while the rest of the people remain behind.

Introduction of the Scenario (2)

Deliberating Stratification

Student’s name

Institutional affiliation

Introduction of the Scenario

There is a small yacht that is carrying 12 passengers and the captain. The demographics of the individuals include a teenage girl, a police officer, a 65-year old man college president, a 55-year old female nurse, a pregnant woman, her husband, a Black Lives Matter activist, a gay man, a ballet dancer, a botanist, a professional athlete, and a famous playwright. Suddenly, the yacht begins to sink while still far from the share of an island that has not been inhibited. The captain discovers that the radio is not functional so he opts to use the lifeboat to ferry people to the distant island. However, the dilemma is that the lifeboat can only hold eight (8) people otherwise it will sink. Additionally, the lifeboat only has enough gas to make one trip to the island. Because the boat has a total number of 13 people (captain included), you agree that four people and the captain will remain behind for the sake of everybody’s survival while 8 proceed to go to the island. This text is an attempt to make a decision about which four individuals will remain behind and who will be rescued. It makes a case for each member left behind and each member who is rescued. This is a tough call to make seeing that the chances of being rescued are rather minimal.

Members to Take and Why

In this scenario, I would make the hard decision of saving the teenage girl, the 55-year old female nurse, the pregnant woman, her husband, a gay man, a Black Lives Matter (BLM) activist, the professional athlete, and the famous playwright while the rest of the individuals remain behind. Although the decision is a difficult one to make, I would endeavor to save the lives of the most vulnerable people and those that would be most helpful, given the situation at hand. This is not to say that some lives are important than others. To begin with, I would make the decision to have all women present board the lifeboat and proceed to the island. This is because I believe women and children are most vulnerable in times and suffer the most in times of crisis. As such, I would first rescue the teenage girl, the 55-year old girl, and the pregnant woman. The pregnant woman should be a priority because she is carrying another life and having her go to the uninhabited island protects the life of not one but two people. Moreover, I would proceed to rescue the husband of the pregnant child for two main reasons. I would like to keep them together since they are a family and leaving the man behind leaves the woman without a person to help her in case of an emergency. I would not deny a child a chance to grow up with his father. The man can also be of help in navigating the lifeboat. I would also make the decision to save the gay man seeing that he belongs to a minority group. I would also save the Black Lives Matter Activist by virtue of the work they do and the impact they are making in society. The professional athlete would board the boat on the premise that he is physically fit which makes him the most suitable person to navigate the lifeboat. With the assistance of the pregnant woman’s husband and the gay man, the athlete will ensure the boat gets to the island. I would also rescue the famous playwright on the premise that they are in the creative field which does not have many people in the profession.

Members to Leave Behind and Why

In addition to the captain, I would leave the police officer, the 65-year old male college president, the ballet dancer, and the botanist behind. My reason for leaving the police officer behind would that compared to the other men who I rescued, the police officer is used to crisis by the nature of his profession. He has gone through training to help him get through tough situations. As such, he is better placed to fight for his life even after the boat capsizes. I am assuming that the police go through swimming training. I would leave the 65-year-old man who is a president at a nearby college because he is more expendable than the women and the men who were rescued. It would be better to give a younger person a chance of survival. Additionally, I would settle on leaving the botanist behind because compared to the women, the gay man, the husband, and the activist that were rescued, the botanist is more expendable. Even if I rescue the botanist, he is less likely to make any impact particularly because of the work he is involved in. The Ballet dancer would also remain behind because unfortunately, their demographic is more expendable than the others. A ballet dancer is creative but given the situation, I would only save one creative at the expense of the others. This is why I had the famous playwright board the lifeboat.

Reflections on My Beliefs

My choices say a lot about my personal beliefs. I believe that in times of crisis and uncertainty, women and children are the ones that suffer most, and for this reason, they should always be prioritized. I also believe that from a sociological perspective women are more important than men because of the role of childbearing which they carry. What I mean is that women should be protected because, without them, society would not grow its population. While one man can make many women pregnant at once, a woman can only give birth to one child at once. This shows that as long as women are present, society will continue growing in size. Additionally, from the analysis, I feel that minority groups such as LBGTI individuals should be protected at all cost and that aged people are more expendable than the younger population. I also believe that a person’s career influenced my decisions largely, for instance, I rescued the athlete because he is physically fit meaning that he will help navigate the lifeboat bringing everyone to safety.

Reflections of Assumptions

As I was deciding on who to rescue and who to leave behind, I made various assumptions. I assumed that the professional athlete is a man although their gender is not mentioned. I made this assumption because I wanted him to provide manpower because compared to women, men are stronger than women. Additionally, I assumed that the Black Lives Matter Activist, the police officer, and the captain is a man. I assumed the police officer is a man because men are more likely to join the police service than women. This is not to mean that women are not capable of being police officers. Society associates the field with insecurity and risks which discourage women from joining the police service. I also assumed that the Black Lives Matter Activist does not identify as an LGBTI individual. LGBTI activists do not necessarily mean that the individual has to identify as LGBTI, they simply have to believe in the cause. I also assumed that the police officer can swim because of the comprehensive training they go through before joining the service industry.

Reflections about the Current Periods and Culture

My choices to the fact I am the current time of this occurrence is before the dawn of technology and the internet. The call I made to ensure I save as many lives as possible show that I am part of a new culture that recognizes the different needs of various demographics, For instance, if the situation happened in the current age where there are cell phones, I would have made calls on the mainland or send a text requesting for assistance. I also recognize that women, youth, and children are delicate beings who are disproportionately affected in times of crisis that is why I ensured that they there the first to board the lifeboat.

Conclusion

In the case of a scenario that involves choosing which lives to save and which ones to leave behind, it is rather hard to decide, there is no correct way to approach it. In this scenario, choosing the people to board and the ones to save is just a matter of prioritizing the needs of the most vulnerable. This does not mean that the lives of some people are more important than others. I made the hard decision of saving the teenage girl, the 55-year old female nurse, the pregnant woman, her husband, a gay man, a Black Lives Matter (BLM) activist, the professional athlete, and the famous playwright while the rest of the people remain behind.

Since time immemorial the debate on whether death penalty is right or not has always existed

Death Penalty Literature Review

Name

Institution

Date

Since time immemorial the debate on whether death penalty is right or not has always existed. Various scholars have often tried taking a stand on why or why not capital punishment is wrong. Pro death penalty scholars have often argued that death [penalty is needed in a society so that law and order may exist. According to Mona Lynch (2002), she looks into the topic and as to why capital punishment should not be banned. According to Lynch, capital punishment despite the cost it bears serves a role of punishing offenders. In examining the effectiveness of this punishment Lynch look at innocent victims as well as the evil (capital murderers). Often murders are likely to be put on death row and according to Lynch there is nothing wrong about punishing someone who killed another ruthlessly using the capital punishment. Most victims who have experienced the evil of crime such as their family member being killed are likely to support death penalty as compared to people who may not really understand what it feels.

According to Sethuraju R. and Sole J. in their journal titled “Understanding Death Penalty Support” they look at the debates taken by both sides. From the journal, death penalty is the most intense form of sentence one can get. With a death penalty then one is likely to have committed a very heinous crime. Those in support of the punishment have argued that death penalty helps in deterring certain crimes from happening. When a person knows the risk of committing a certain crime then they are likely to avoid it. For the abolitionist, most have argued that death penalty does not serve the role of prisons which is helping people become better. The chances of also putting an innocent man on death row are also high and once this is done, nothing much can be done. The research closely looks at the arguments that seems to arise on both sides including the fact that death penalty is an expensive mode of punishment and that money being used to punish these offenders may be channeled into something else (Sethuraju, 2016).

According to Gross et al (20014) the Death penalty was introduced in the United States as a legal practice used a tool of delivering justice to those who have committed crimes.it is regarded as necessary to those who have committed a crime in the united states. Thus, the judicial systems developed such as the death penalty that is in contemporary society referred to as capital punishment. Although on the decline death penalty continues to arouse controversy in the justice department especially on how it is being used, its legality and how it is effective in reducing recidivism and prevent people from committing capital offenses (Gross et al 2014). The development of this review in order to be complete highlights the history of the death penalty, the reduced number of deaths penalties and the likelihood of its reducing further and further. It shows the minimal contribution of the death penalty to their main aim that is reducing the committing of capital offenses. It shows the effectiveness of the death penalty as a way to reduce the chances of one recommitting an offense. And showing how the Americans are against the constitutional provision of the death penalty as the majority of these people call for its abolishment’s. The death penalty is regarded as a practice that has come of age and that it should be banned by the federal government. The review develops a gap in the review of the death penalty as there is an impact on the families of the victims who are executed convicts, thus the need to asses psychological and mental effects.

There have been arguments that have been presented on how effective death penalty is especially in deterring crimes. According to a research conducted by John Lamperti (1994), he examines the role of Capital punishment in deterring murder. In his research he concluded that capital punishment had a little deterrence to homicides and murder. He gives example of people who have killed in order to invite execution as a form of execution. A good example is where he cites how Clinton Duffy who was a warden in San Quentin prison stated that several homicide cases were as a result of the death penalty and the punishment did not deter the crime.

Since the first use of the death penalty in 1608, there has been a number of documentaries developed to focus, analyses and discuss the practice. The first execution was experienced in the British North American colonies where they executed Captain George Kendall at Jamestown colony through the firing squad. Captain George was convicted for trying to spy on the Spanish government. The execution was shown often carried out by either the firing at the convict or hanging of the convict (Shirley & Gelman,2015). By the year 1991, in the view of Gross et al (2014), there had been over 15,200 cases of people executed after being sentenced to death. Cruel and unusual punishment was prohibited by the American constitution upon the 8th amendments of the bill of rights adopted in 1789, (Shirley & Gelman,2015). It is from the historical period in which death sentences attracted controversies with Barkan and Cohan (1994) extensively studying resistance movements against the implementation and use of the death penalty. According to Barkan and Cohan (1994), death sentences and resistance to these practices begun as early as 1846 in the United States. The case of Gregg vs Georgia saw the height of abolition of the death penalty although the authors through a number of states had abolished the practice before this case (Barkan & Cohan,1994).

The judiciary took a proactive approach in reduction of the number of death penalty cases reducing the death conviction cases drastically. A study by Shirley and Gelman in 2015 showed how differently the citizens of the United States perceived the legality of the death penalty. Majority of the Americans thought perceived the death penalty as a cruel and unusual punishment that the state and the federal government should abolish. These were developed as finding from the study whose focus was on the effectiveness of the death penalty practice. Although these findings suggested otherwise, the federal government and other state governments widely use the death penalty and are still recommended for federal cases (Shirley & Gelman,2015).

There was a major development in the death penalty practice in 1972 when the supreme court suspended the use of the death penalty against crimes of a capital offense. Although the suspension did not last for long, Welsh and Pfeffer (2013), viewed that this suspension came as a huge relief to the public who had mixed reactions. According to the authors, the use of the death penalty is was a violation of the fourth and eight amendments of the American constitution thus being unconstitutional (Welsh and Pfeffer,2013). This suspension did not remove the death penalty from the constitution as it was only the opinion of judges without a rationale. In a legal bombshell, the writers show how the death sentences were reduced from the pending death conviction to life imprisonment. Welsh and Pfeffer (2013) noted that the suspension was developed as a result of inconsistencies before the law thus it did not guarantee equality.

Although death sentences have been in effect since 1608, capital offences are still being reported every day showing the inefficiency of the death penalty. A study by Canes-Wrone, Clark and Kelly (2014), the finding showed that Americans thought of the death penalty as an ineffective measure to reducing or stopping people from committing capital offenses. The study shows that the united nations tend to enforce the death penalty not as a measure of deterring but as a way of showing those with intent to commit an offense to often think before committing. The study proves that Americans do not think twice before committing a capital offense as there are a number of murder cases being reported on a daily basis. Use of death sentence to deter capital offences is no longer an effective way (Cane-Wrone, Clark and Kelly, 2014). The study is supported findings from a study by Acker (2017) that recorded a 59% of Americans who acknowledged and viewed the death penalty as a cruel unusual punishment thus unconstitutional. Every person has a right to live hence as a democratic nation, the United States should lead in protecting the rights of its citizens (Acker,2017). The findings from Acker’s study show that the black community view the death sentence as a scheme to infringe on their rights by the dominant race (Barkan & Cohan,1994).

Although the application of the death sentence across 30 states and its recommendation by the federal government, the review findings show that it is on the decline. The review shows the development of the death penalty as a punishment of capital offences dating back to 1608. From the studies reviews, they confirm that the 30 counties still apply the death penalty as a punishment for capital offenders. The review findings indicate that the United States view the use of death sentence although not that effective as a way to deter people from committing capital crimes (Shirley & Gelman,2015). It shows various resistance for the application of the death sentence and how it is unconstitutional based on the American constitutional amendments that abolished the use of cruel and unusual punishments in its 8th amendment. It is believed that with the landmark ruling that suspended the use of death sentence by the supreme court in 1972, the cases of death sentences convictions are drastically reducing.

References

Acker, J. R. (2017). Scrutinizing the death penalty: State death penalty study commissions and their recommendations. The death penalty today (pp. 45-76). CRC Press.

Barkan, S. E., & Cohn, S. F. (1994). Racial prejudice and support for the death penalty by whites. Journal of Research in Crime and Delinquency, 31(2), 202-209.

Canes-Wrone, B., & Clark, T. S. Kelly., Jason P. 2014.“. Judicial Selection and Death Penalty Decisions.” American Political Science Review, 108(1), 23-39.

Lamperti, J., Marshall, J., & Nixon, R. M. (1994). Does Capital Punishment Deter Murder?. URL (consulted 17 May 2004) http://www. dartmouth. edu/~ chance/teaching_aids/books_articles/JLpaper. pdf.

Lynch, M. (2002). Capital punishment as moral imperative: Pro-death-penalty discourse on the Internet. Punishment & Society, 4(2), 213-236.

Sethuraju, R., Sole, J., & Oliver, B. E. (2016). Understanding death penalty support and opposition among criminal justice and law enforcement students. SAGE Open, 6(1), 2158244015624952.

Shirley, K. E., & Gelman, A. (2015). Hierarchical models for estimating state and demographic trends in US death penalty public opinion. Journal of the Royal Statistical Society: Series A (Statistics in Society), 178(1), 1-28.

Vito, A. G., & Vito, G. F. (2014). Capital punishment. The Encyclopedia of Theoretical Criminology, 1-4.

Welsh, B. C., & Pfeffer, R. D. (2013). Reclaiming crime prevention in an age of punishment: An American history. Punishment & Society, 15(5), 534-553.

Thank you for the feedback provided. I have gone through it and the following is my explanation

Dear Sir/Madam

Thank you for the feedback provided. I have gone through it and the following is my explanation. The paper instructions demanded that I pick an article, provide a summary and critique, and then prepare a presentation for the second part. The instructions then provided key required steps in a very succinct report format.

I chose to focus on the article by Denault and Jupe (2018), Justice At Risk. I was very careful to follow the format provided in the instructions. I introduced the article and offered my view of the book. My thesis statement was that the article was very well written and defined non-verbal communication in the confines of law and justice as an important element, one that requires more research and scholarly attention.

In the body paragraphs, I proceeded to offer an opinion and critique based on the sections provided in the instructions. I arranged the paper as follows:

An Analysis within Academic Literature and Importance of the Article in Nonverbal Communication

A Definition of Basic Concepts and Conclusion of the Article

A Critique of the Article

Application to Other Situations

I then closed my argument, summary, and critique in the conclusion paragraph. All through, I offered a detailed analysis of the text by Denault and Jupe (2018). I included arguments from extant literature to base my opinion on academic content. The use of these external sources was strictly for purposes of supporting my argument and trying to bring to light what other authors discussed on matters relating to the topic.

In part 2 of the assignment, my presentation was written strictly as per the presentation instructions. I checked the instructions again and again to ensure I did not miss any points.

Truthfully, I have spent a lot of time to search materials relevant to the article I chose to analyze. I prepared well ahead of the deadline because I hoped to score very well in this paper. From my presentation, I am sure you can tell just how much effort I have put into the task.

Fully cognizant of the feedback you provided, I would really appreciate if you can reconsider the score awarded. I really hoped to pass the work. I promise that I will continue to improve and work harder based on what you provided as feedback. Looking forward to more growth.

 

Kind Regards

thank you Letter to Professor

Dear Professor,

I’m writing this letter to thank you and also with the hope to get a recommendation letter from you.

My name is Sharonda Alexander, and I am currently Junior at University of Houston pursuing my Bachelor of Science Degree in Human Resources Development.

You have been a part of several successful studies and I would be very much interested to be a part of a team working on something very important. From the classes and sessions we have had together, I believe that you are the one who knows me better on scholarly level. You were very strict on me from my occasional late papers to my awkward reporting as a young, irresponsible sophomore. You pushed me to the better in both life and education. Your refusal to discount me as a slacker modeled me into a real Human Resources Specialist and a responsible person. Throughout the course, you watched me grow and all my success is credited from your uncompromising standards and very high expectations. My concise, professionalism in Human Resources and integrity you installed in me will make for some entertaining and informative future.

For the years I spent at the University, the time was so invaluable. I considered you my homeroom teacher, from my first year in college and now. I consider you not only a teacher but a mentor, and a friend. I so much thank you for pushing me beyond the expectations of me and also for helping me succeed academically.

Best Regards,Name of student

Name of College’s Designated Representative

Date

Your Name

Address

Email Address

Name of College’s Designated Representative

Title of College’s Designated Representative

Address

Email Address

Dear Mr. Mrs/

I recently received a failing grade in my English class. I take full responsibility for the overall grade at the end of the semester because I am fully aware that my scores during the class were very low. I write this letter of appeal to explain my case and hopefully be given a second chance at starting over the class. Several reasons triggered my low grades and I am taking this opportunity to explain the causes.

During the duration of the class, a family member got sick and passed away and this affected me in several ways. For instance, my emotional well-being was affected because for the most part of that semester, I was in shock and in the grieving stage. Therefore, I could not fully concentrate on my classes and this led to negligence on my part. Secondly, the family member was an integral part of my family because he was responsible for paying a significant amount of bills. After losing him I had to fill in the gap by taking up a part-time job. It quickly made the situation worse because I was grieving and at the same time trying to adjust to a new routine. It is during this process that I scored low grades and ended up failing the class.

A substantial amount of time has passed since the loss and therefore, I have managed to go through the grieving process. As of now, I am certain I have the right frame of mind to take part in the class again. Additionally, I have since adjusted to the new schedule and I can comfortably handle a part-time job and an online class. Nothing is more important to me than graduating and I plan to make my schoolwork a priority.

I hereby request a chance to redo the class this semester. If given a second chance, I am certain I would do a great job and eventually pass the English class. I look forward to a response and I hope that you will consider my request.

Sincerely,

Your Name

Recommendation for Keeping the Fitness Center Open

Date: 20th: Feb: 2012

To: Zachary Evans, Vice President, Operations

From: Joe Mirola; claims manager.

Subject: Recommendation for Keeping the Fitness Center Open

With references to our conversations about the closure of the Rocky Mountains mutual fitness centre, these are my analyses and recommendations.

Benefits of the fitness centre to the company

The fitness centre is part of the company’s culture and principles when it comes to leveraging our benefits to new talents in the field. Most of our competitors have the same benefits and compensation packages that Rocky Mountains Mutual has. However, the only competitive advantage that Rocky Mountains Mutual has which it can use to leverage positively its skill acquisition is the fitness centre. Most of the talents that the company acquires are young and upwardly mobile and would prefer going to the fitness centre. In addition, the productivity of the claims department is improving, and the company can only attribute this to enthusiasm and the health of the employees.

User acceptance

While it is agreeable that the number of users of the fitness centre does not justify such expenses, it is advisable to assess the rate of acceptance of the fitness centre. No company can gain that the acceptance rate whether it is about technology or fitness, but the company has registered 36% of its employees in three years, this translates to 72% give or take employees in 6 years time. This means that, if the health and fitness centre is eliminated, the company will lose its critical mass.

Cost cutting

The company has had relatively less number of medical cases since it established the fitness centre. This can be attributed partly to the company’s welfare program and fitness centre. However, the general argument is that with the nature of our work and location of the company’s offices, the fitness centre is the only rescue from monotony, boredom and burnout. The company can realize an increase save on the medical expenses. From the initial calculation, we realized that there is a large disparity in the cost benefits analysis of the fitness centre. Moreover, that the fitness centre is not breaking eve. It is also imperative to consider the fact that the company is just three years into its operations at the new offices. Despite of this, company has registered an enormous reduction I the medial expenses by $81000, [per annum ], this is also most 8.1% of the cost of the cost centre, meaning the fitness centre will have paid back in 8n years time.

Long-term consideration

The fitness centre may not be used by many employees of the rocky mountain mutual’s, but considering the rate of user acceptance and the newly implemented well program, it is likely that the management will have to either look for an alternative fitness centre for the current members who frequent the fitness centre or phase resistance from the fitness group. Seeking an alternative fitness centre might cont then companies a lot of money. I would like to request you to work out the make or buy cost analysis and make a fair decision.

Bottom line

While it is not my call to make judgment, I would like you to make both qualitative and qualitative analysis of the benefits of the fitness centre to the company. You will realize that eliminating one cost driver within the company, may results into loss of enthusiasm, which is already established. I hope my humble request shall meet your kindest consideration.

Value of Road Wrecks Reduction

Daniel Perez

Eng 1301-04

Ms. Lara

11/26/18

Major Essay 3

Value of Road Wrecks Reduction

Destruction from roads have a lack of care from cities, states, and the government itself, needing to push laws to have safer roads. We as society need to come together and demand action for the deaths of car/truck collisions. Due to unsafe roads that lack the care they need into keeping our lives at risk. Accidents have been increasing all around the world in America according to John Adams Author of Deaths of Roads, 80% have been because the roads are un safe to be driven on and are considered dangerous at all hours especially at night. The roads lack pavement refills, improper built, and heavy trucks passing by constantly needing the cities repair work. The article includes how Austin residents have begun to riot against the outside city limit roads heading up north because of the huge increase in deaths of unsafe roads. In the past 10 years Austin’s highway going north towards Dallas Texas has had increase from 1,400 to 54,000 of fatal crashes due to the horrible road builds. So, the residents of Austin are fighting to put a word out and make an impact for the city of Austin into building safer and impact able roads that can withstand heavy weight. This impact of a movement has motivated other towns into demanding better quality of roads.

City residents of States in America, pushing reckless roads has impacted other countries into starting a similar movement into preventing crashes and reckless roads causing deaths. The article “The Value of mortality risk reductions in Delhi, India”, has interviewed commuters in India to help estimate the pay amount to size the risk, income, and exposure to road traffic. Commuters in this article are attempting to reduce deaths of car crashes by willing to offer the money needed to remodel roads, safer for persons to travel through. Over the research being accurate, the author Maureen L. Cropper is presenting his positive side towards having a impact in India by constructing safer roads. Part of his assumptions are facts of over 1 million people dying in road crashes and over 75% of these deaths occur in developing countries, where road users constitute major of fatalities. Proving his point being accurate of needing to fix roads and having a safer project within roads. Based on the author presenting, I can say he’s attempting to make a change within his country and make a right doing that can benefit everyone in India. The speaker is hoping to open ears and eyes for the reader to help make a change not just within themselves but as a society’s safety

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Frances well designed streets, their reckless crashing rates is dramatically low, because of the safety hazards added to roads and the outstanding pavement designed they have created. France also has a crash rate of 5,000 per year and every year it goes down because of the time they put into creating great roads services and safety cautions to stop deaths. In the Article “The Secret of France Good Roads”, it implies how France had a scientist very time invested in finding a strong pavement design, named “Jarales D’ Howd”. Jarales created France a strong change within the country, creating safer roads for everyone and was influenced because the loss of his father and mother during a crash because the lack of poor pavement design. Jarales was able to be able influence because the death of his parents. He created and began to influence other countries such as America, China, and Germany into building more safety roads and improve as a country. All it took was a loss of someone important into creating a strong impact in the world.

Preventing reckless crashes, by fixing roads, adding more patrols to the highway, adding hazard lights to warn people. All these assumptions towards the solution will not have any affect within stopping reckless crashes increasingly as if building a stronger type of material for loads with heavy weight to carry around. The pavement needs to be able to tolerate massive amounts of weight, tires, and give good grip against cars so they don’t slip off and crash. According to the Article “Making Roads Safer” what it will take is stronger material with pavement. It doesn’t matter what else you try, cracks will continue to happen, people will continue to crash, and deaths shall keep happening. Unless we create a type of pavement such as “Sikor” this material is used in France which has benefited France into a very well-known place for its design off safety streets. The reason why America doesn’t bother listen with this intention is because the expense it cost to transport and produce the material would cost a huge amount. “, A life has no price for it, if what it takes is money to have our lives in a safer environment then what expense matters.” includes Author “Nord Dawn”. This process will continue to be pushed by the people into towns, cities, states and finally the president, deciding that it’s time to create safer roads and prevent our loved ones from passing away because the lack of road structures.

Families traveling on the road, business men, anyone out that travels in any vehicle, will have an important pause before getting on the road and think twice. Religion being a second priority within families will impact praying before getting onto the road, that the road is safe, and their life isn’t taken away while on it. Faith that the city in charge makes sure that these roads are safe and have a strong built. Leaving an influence in these certain persons, if the road they’re traveling in is safe and secured. These simple knowledgeable thoughts keep a person from expecting standards which push off those who fight for the right of stopping life’s from being taken away. Just the fact of city politicians come to mind with these thoughts of families and religious beliefs from people into finally being lifted into creating a stronger development of pavement and structure to the roads, preventing the increase of deaths. These movements are what the people push into the high rankings in charge and capable of making the change into a better society, getting the help needed.

Work Cited

Adams, John, et al. “Death on the Roads.

” BMJ: British Medical Journal, vol. 333, no. 7560, 2006, pp. 199–200. JSTOR, JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/40698790.

Bhattacharya, Soma, et al.

“The Value of Mortality Risk Reductions in Delhi, India.” Journal of Risk and Uncertainty, vol. 34, no. 1, 2007, pp. 21–47. JSTOR, JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/41761251

Miller, Perry K. “The Secret of Universally Good Roads in France.” The Military Engineer, vol. 13, no. 69, 1921, pp. 221–222. JSTOR, JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/44605058.

Robbins, Anthony. “Editorial: Distracted Driving – It Is Time for Public Health to Step In.” Journal of Public Health Policy, vol. 34, no. 2, 2013, pp. 193–196. JSTOR, JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/43287956.

“Making Roads Safer.” BMJ: British Medical Journal, vol. 298, no. 6671, 1989, pp. 408–408. JSTOR, JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/29702291.Vakil, C. N. “Railways and Roads in India.” The Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, vol. 233, 1944, pp. 187–192. JSTOR, JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/1025839.

LeBowitz, Jonathan H. “A Breach in the Blood-Brain Barrier.” Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, vol. 102, no. 41, 2005, pp. 14485–14486. JSTOR, JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/4143343.

Understanding Cultural Competence

Cultural CompetenceCultural competence is the act of understanding one’s own world view as well as those of others. Different people come from different cultural, social and economic backgrounds. It’s important to avoid stereotyping individual and this can be done through cultural awareness. This can only be possible if we understand each other and accept our cultural diversities and the unique characteristics that each of us possess. In addition, we need to be flexible in our beliefs and practices in order to understand other people’s culture (Siegel, et. al 2014).

If we don’t acknowledge culture then we limit our ability to interact. Domestic violence can be experienced by anyone regardless of their background. The individuals may experience the violence in culturally different ways (Siegel, et. al 2014). In order to understand victims of domestic violence one needs to understand the social norms of the victims involved, how the said community view violence, is it a community or personal matter. Another practice is to understand where the members of the community go to seek help when faced with issues such as domestic violence, if they seek the help from the authority, elders or counsellors. Another cultural competence practice is to get to understand the victim’s language and to be able to reflect on their culture and view their world as they do. Another question in mind is how does the topic of domestic violence resonate with the members of that culture? This will allow one to understand and view the victim’s situation in their perspective.

Cultural competence starts with self awareness of our own cultural beliefs. Self-awareness means looking critically into our values, biases, lifestyle and assumptions (Morris, et al 2010). For example our views about domestic violence are contributed by our cultural beliefs and attitudes. Being aware is the first step towards cultural competence. Learning other people’s culture is another way to achieve cultural competence. Individual appreciate personal interest in their culture. One can learn about other people’s culture through reading journals, interacting with those people, reading memoirs and book (Morris, et al 2010). s. Another way to learn the other culture is to learn the language; it will make interaction and understanding easy. Lastly interacting with diverse groups in the community, interacting with people from other cultures makes one to appreciate the details of the culture. One will get to interact with them at the cultural events, religious functions, and social functions (Morris, et al 2010); hence one is able to achieve cultural competence through these interventions.

One of the barriers is poor communication between individuals of different culture and background, communication is important for interaction. Without communication individuals will not be able to learn other people’s culture. Another barrier is lack of diversity in the workforce and leadership; hence there is little recognition of other cultures, which goes unnoticeable.

References

Morris, J. A., Day, S., & Schoenwald, S. K. (2010). Turning knowledge into practice: A manual for human service administrators and practitioners about understanding and implementing evidenced‐based practices (2nd ed.)

Siegel, C., Haugland, G., Reid-Rose, L., & Hopper, K. (2014). Components of cultural competence in three mental health programs.

Research-Paper

CSIA 301

09/21/2014

Research Paper

Stuxnet worm

The Stuxnet worm was first discovered in June 2010 and has since been labeled the most complex weapon in cyber warfare to this dayto date. Norton Symantec stated “It’s like nothing we’ve seen before – both in what it does, and how it came to exist. It is the first computer virus to be able to wreak havoc in the physical world CITATION The11 l 1033 (The Stuxnet Worm, 2011)” The Stuxnet worm is A form of malware, e or malicious software, that has over 1500 lines of code embedded in it, the Stuxnet. This worm can has the ability to infect computer systems that where with running a Microsoft Wwindows operating system,s and llyingay dormant without being undetected while itand replicatinges itself until it finds its true target. After the worm’s target is acquired it then makescauses the targeted equipment to raise its rate of rotation per minute at to a dangerously high speed and ultimatelyconsequently causinge the target to rip itself apart. Meanwhile As this is occurring, another poartion of the worm creates false positive readings to indicate showing the workers that the equipment is still working at the suggestive rate . The wormwhile simultaneously overr ridinges the manual kill switch thereby disabling any preventative or reactionary measuresso workers cannot stop this action from happening if they wanted toomight attempt.

The only known attack of the Stuxnet virus is the attack against the Iranian nuclear facilities. Although no country or group has come forward and confirmed that they initiated the cyber-attack on the Iranian nuclear facilities, due to the complexity of the worm and the amount of founding it must have taken to create it tthis cyber super weapon it is rumored that thehas led theorists to believe that the attack was carried out by the U.S. and Israeli governments for political reasons.gain. Kushner (2013) supportsSupports this belief and states that “Analysts then realized that financial gain had not been the objective. It was a politically motivated attack. Kushner (2013). CITATION Dav13 l 1033 (Kushner, 2013)” Whether staged for financial or political gain, tThe Stuxnet attack on the Iranian nuclear faculties was devastating to the whole of their nuclear program. The creator of the StuxnetWhen launched against the Iranian nuclear system, the Stuxnet worm exploited 4 different zero day vulnerabilities on Microsoft’s website. This was the first worm to exploit so many zero-days. This is howBy exploiting these vulnerabilities, the worm was able to infect it infected other computers that used the Microsoft operating system by. The worm was able to creatinge a false yet seemingly n authentic digital certificate that stated shows the update wasat it is coming from a trusted company. As a result of this seemingly authentic digital certificate, the patch was downloaded many times and traces of this worm have been tracked to personal computer systems in countries around the world. By far the most traces were found in computers in Iran and surrounding countries such as Indonesia and India. Though the impact has not been as severe or widespread, traces of the virus have even been found on some computers in the United States. When it wasThe download was just the beginning of the attack, however, and it was not until after the virus was downloaded into the systems, that the worm then replicatesbegan replicating itself and started searching fors to look for its target which is now known to be a specific Siemen software and hardware combination that runs on Microsoft operation systems. Specifically, The “Stuxnet is designed to attack the Siemens Simatic WinCC SCADA system. These SCADA systems are installed in big facilities to manage operations. CITATION Jan10 l 1033 (McEntegart, 2010) ” (McEntegart, 2010). To operate in such a way, But in order for the worm to find itself from the PC’s to the target the worm replicated itself and had to traveled on the drivers of removable USB drives. After the worm infected the drivers on the USB, it is said that an employee at the nuclear facility brought one of the infected USB’s to the nuclear facility and plugged it into a computer at theon site. Traces of this worm have been tracked to have infected personal computer systems in countries around the world. By far the most traces where found in computers in Iran and surrounding countries such as Indonesia, India and even some computers in the United states where infected by the Stuxnet virus. After the worm infected the drivers on the USB it is said that an employee at the nuclear facility brought one of the infected USB’s to the nuclear facility and plugged it into a computer at the site. After t Once the worm searched the new computer system and realized that the computerand realized it was on the same network that tas the target was ontarget, it went to work. The worm then travelbegan traveling though out the network, and found the particular targeted Siemens Simatic WinCC SCADA system, and as well as the software associated with the system, . The worm thenand raised the level of rotations per minute on the hardware on the Siemens Simatic WinCC SCADA system. The worm continues to raise the speed of rotations on the hardware,Then causing the rotors to spin extremely fast and causing eventually forcing the system to spiral out of control. As this was occurring, the worm began to complete the job it was designed to do by causing While the system was spinning out of control the worm also made the software checks to look as if the hardware was working properly . During this time the worm had alsoand takingen over the controls for the system kill switch. The workers at the facility had no way to ever prepare for a meltdown of this magnitude and. this silentThis was an attack twas one for whichhat no one was prepared. had any idea that anyone or group was capable of doing the attackers had all the angles covered besides destroy all the evidence. This attack was so deviously designed that it could have gone completely unnoticed had the designers taken the time to design a method by which all evidence would be destroyed after the attack, but they did not do so and their neglect in doing so raises questions of future motives. By not neglecting to destroying all the evidence, from the designers actually increase and enhance the effects and impact of Stuxnet. Kelley (2013) puts it this way,the attack greatly increased the effects and impact of the Stuxnet attack. “ThTat’s because the initial attack provided a useful blueprint to future attackers by highlighting the royal road to infiltration of hard targets, humans working as contractors. CITATION Mic13 l 1033 (Kelley, 2013)” The fact idea that the target now could be humansa human damages the confidentiality. In addition, Now the code that was used to create the Stuxnet worm is now openly available out on the World Wide Web and. tEven though the code is very extremely complicated, many hackers are tryingstill attempt to duplicate what it can do and while possible working on targeting other systems that will be able to cripple society as we know, such as it like electrical grids and water dams. This Stuxnet attack made the use of the nuclear facility power unavailable. If another attack was to happen to something like an electrical grid and shut down a cities electricity lives will be lost. Being that the virus was walked into the nuclear plant hurt the integrity of the system. Also the fact that the worm was able to make the software project false positives stating that the hardware was working correctly also messed up the integrity of the facility.Ways to protect computers from a Stuxnet attack. Due to the complexity of the Stuxnet worm, the most conventional ways of defending protecting computers systems are were not as affectiveineffective. This attack was totally unexpected. But since the attack patches and updates for Microsoft, have come out to fix the zero day vulnerabilities. Siemens has also put out a tool that will detect and remove the stuxnet worms from any infected system. Most anti-virus software have made changes to their software to look for the Stuxnet worm also. Now companies are coming up with ways to check a systems integrity. There is now a program called Hypercheck and “HyperCheck uses an out-of-band network card utilizing the CPU’s System Managed Mode (SMM) to check the integrity of core libraries on the target system, including hypervisor code and the host operating system kernel. CITATION Def10 l 1033 (Defending Against Stuxnet Type Threats, 2010)” If you uses While some basic core methods of protecting computers systems will improve detection of a possible Stuxnet invasion, they might may not aid in completely dhelp defending or protecting your computer or network against the Stuxnet virus.

The most important way to protect against any computer or network attack is to engage in cyber security educationbe educated and educate your employees. Everyone Every employee should have a basic understanding of computer security and . Everyone should have basic knowledge of what to look for as it pertains to computer security. Each All companiesy should have a cyber security personnel in charge aand nd also policies and procedures in place just in case there is an attack. The company should review its policies and procedures should be reviewed and modified annually and then the companies should hold mandatory annual training should be conducted for all employees and as well as introductory information security training for all new employees should be a part of the company’s practices.

The nuclear facility should put in place better physical security to check employees for things like USB drives, removable hard drives, CD and any type of equipment that data can be transferred from. Also the facility should have done more physical check of the systems and had manual ways to shut down the system before in destroyed itself. The Stuxnet worm was the first of its kind. It was malicious software that can do physical damage. It changed the way cyber war is fought it has truly raised the bar when it comes to malware or any cyber-attack. With a few copycat virus now showing up such as Duqu and Flame. The need for companies and governments to secure all systems and educate all personal are at an all-time high. Works Cited BIBLIOGRAPHY Defending Against Stuxnet Type Threats. (2010, OCT. 1). Retrieved from http://www.invincea.com: http://www.invincea.com/2010/10/defending-against-stuxnet-type-threats/

Kelley, M. B. (2013, Nov. 20). The Stuxnet Attack On Iran’s Nuclear Plant Was ‘Far More Dangerous’ Than Previously Thought. Retrieved from http://www.businessinsider.com: http://www.businessinsider.com/stuxnet-was-far-more-dangerous-than-previous-thought-2013-11

Kushner, D. (2013, Feb 26). The Real Story of the Stuxnet . Retrieved from http://spectrum.ieee.org: http://spectrum.ieee.org/telecom/security/the-real-story-of-stuxnet

McEntegart, J. (2010, September 27). Stuxnet is World’s First Cyber Super Weapon. Retrieved from http://www.tomsguide.com: http://www.tomsguide.com/us/stuxnet-cyber-weapon-worm-trojan,news-8122.html

The Stuxnet Worm. (2011, Nov. 21). Retrieved from http://us.norton.com/: http://us.norton.com/stuxnet

To protect against the Stuxnet virus companies