Socrates believed that right insight leads to right action Essay Example

Socrates believed that right insight leads to right action Paper Socrates believed that right insight leads to right action, this means that our judgment in choosing right over wrong causes us to do good. He says that our actions should be based from our reason and that ignorance causes us to think wrongly and in turn will make us do evil. We must conquer our ignorance if we want to do good in order to achieve our end goal, to have a happy life. A happy life is understanding what life really is, doing what is apt and conquering ignorance.Socrates philosophy has a big impact in my life. I know that I am still so ignorant about a lot of things. Even simple things like locating places in Cagayan de Oro and so many more. This bothers me so much it hinders me from being happy. It makes me uncertain of my direction in life. I am quite uncertain of my future, I am so afraid to move forward because I dont know what Im going to leave behind. I dont want to go to college because I am afraid of what it would be like, I am ignorant of college life and besides , it also means that soon, ill be graduating and I then will be leaving my family because if God permits, I would be working abroad, that has always been my dream.But Socrates said that ignorance hinders us from doing good then I realized, Im afraid not because by the thought of being away from my family, but because I dont know what to do in college, moreover, I dont have any idea on what life would be when I will soon be independent. I guess I am too spoon-fed by my family that I usually depend on their decisions and not on mine alone. I hate my ignorance; it thwarts my happiness, which is for me, one of my priorities that have to be achieved in my life.PLATO believed that reality is of two realms; the world of senses and the world of ideas. The world of senses is the material world, it is changing and there is incomplete knowledge. The world of ideas, on the other hand is the permanent world. Our soul belongs to this world; there is perfect knowledge of truth. I believe in souls, I believe that we are all souls and our bodies are only shelters. Plato believed that truth is difficult to understand because we fail to see that there are things that are really true. We dont use our minds. Just like Socrates, we fail to see the truth of something because of our ignorance.Many of us are materialist, I, oftentimes are. I see things by its appearance but not by its deeper meaning. There was a time when I encountered someone, who today, became one of my closest friends. I did not really like her at first because she looked, not really bad, but sort of untidy and at first I found her so annoying. I hated the mere sight of her but then, it just happened, I was given an opportunity to actually know that girl, and found out we have a lot in common.In that situation, I was trapped in the world of senses, I judged her by her looks which was not very attractive, yet, her real self is stunning. Compared to a time I tried to befriend someone who looked so pretty, physically. However, I only ended up as her follower and I did not like it. The situation I once encountered is similar to the saying foul is fair, fair is foul. From that experience, I realized what Plato was saying the Idea of something is more real than the appearance of something. He was referring to the inner beauty of something is far more important than its physical features. Platos philosophy affected my life in such a way that I dont judge a book by its cover; I dont judge people through their appearance or status. Rather than, I first look into their real self, if they have good hearts, then, no problem.I can relate Arristipus Epicureanism in my life. Though I may contradict a lot of their belief, I would just like to point out some of the things the Epicurus believed that I too do. Pleasure to the max is slightly similar to my motto two years ago which is Live life to the fullest for the future is scarce. The future is uncertain, for the time being, you only have the present, theref ore, we must make the most out of the now. But I dont mean living life to the fullest includes vices, I limit my motto to making my life exciting in a good sense. And it works! I have lots of joyful memories during my childhood years and even until now. The second thing I like about the philosophy of these people is about the four medicinal herbs, particularly about death is nothing to be feared.I believe that death is a natural occurrence; it is there for a purpose, to regulate life on earth. Why fear death? When we are alive, death is not present, when we are dead, then better death will not come back. But why do we fear to die? I made my own reflecting and I came up with an answer it is the process of dying which is frightening, not death. The uncertainty of how we die, how great the pain we have to go through before we pass away, is the main thing that make us fear. Another thing would be the fear of leaving behind your loved ones. Like when a mother still has dependent children to care for, the mother fears death because she worries about the future of her kids if she will die.I can relate this to the situation when I was in elementary. My mother was in manila, undergoing several operations, she told me that she almost gave up and nearly died, but she thought about what would happen to me if she no longer is there, and found the courage to fight. Whenever she tells me that Im her only reason why she is still around, why she still works, I often get teary-eyed I hate to think that death is unpredictable I dont want to see another member of my family pass away, to tell you the truth, I dont fear death. In fact, I would stand first in line to save my family, I could not bear to see my loved-ones pass. I know Im being unfair. I know I am wrong; this is one ignorance I find hard to rid off.

Rebuilding New Orleans

Rebuilding New Orleans Free Online Research Papers The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) in 2001 named a major hurricane hitting New Orleans as the most serious emergency threat to the nation. In August 2005, a category IV Hurricane by the name of Katrina ravaged the City of New Orleans. After the storm, LT. General Carl Strock, Chief of Engineers for the Army Corp of Engineers stated â€Å"the intensity of this storm simply exceeded the design capacity of this levee†¦which had a 200 or 300 year level of protection. That means that an event that we were protecting from might be exceeded every 200 to 300 years.† [1] The following probability will be the basis for determining the expected profit of rebuilding the city of New Orleans. As consultants advising the City of New Orleans, we felt it necessary to quantitatively prove that rebuilding was the best option before exploring recommendations for the rebirth of the city. After proving that rebuilding New Orleans is financially astute, we will discuss the current structure of the Commission along with recommendations for changes that would allow the commission to be more effective. Because of the many diverse groups associated with the BNOB Commission we asses that the ability to negotiate effectively will be key to satisfying the stakeholders and thus achieving the more broad strategic goals. Finally, we should not rebuild the City of New Orleans without a more effective flood control system. We used the concept of positive deviance to identify other areas in the world that have experienced similar disasters and had success in rebuilding. We identified the Netherlands a positive deviant for building a more modern and effective flood control system for New O rleans. Two estimates will be significant in determining the cost and benefits of rebuilding New Orleans. First, an estimate of how much money will be required to repair the flood damage from Hurricane Katrina. The second important factor is the estimated Gross Metro Product (GMP) for a newly rebuilt New Orleans. I will base this estimate on  ¾ of New Orleans pre-Katrina population and multiply this number by New Orleans’ 2004 per capita GMP. This is to compensate for the fact that at least in the short run, a rebuilt New Orleans will most likely have a significantly smaller population due to permanent migrations away from the city. How much money will it take to rebuild the city of New Orleans? Congress allocated $62 billion in September 2005 and the House of Representatives approved an additional $20 billion on March 16. Obviously, the Federal Government will provide the bulk of the recovery money for damage caused by Hurricane Katrina. There will be additional state; county and city monies along with private donations that will help rebuild the city of New Orleans. A conservative estimate of the amount required to rebuild New Orleans is $28 billion more than the amount promised by the federal government. So far, $110 billion is the amount needed for rebuilding but this amount does not address the issue of Louisiana’s sinking coast. The city of New Orleans was built on a river delta formed by natural silt deposits from the Mississippi river. After the Great Mississippi floods of 1927, the city of New Orleans surrounded the river with levees to protect the city from future flooding. Hurricane Betsy in 1965 caused a great deal of flooding in New Orleans and the federal government began building more levees to protect the city from a category 3 hurricane. The levees have blocked the natural silt from replenishing the delta, which has caused the coastal wetlands of Louisiana to wash away, and the city of New Orleans to sink deeper below sea level [1]. To combat this degeneration of the coastal wetlands the state and federal government has recently passed a $14 Billion plan to rebuild the wetlands. Many of the levees protecting the city of New Orleans broke during hurricane Ka trina and must be replaced. Recently, the Army Corp of Engineers revised their estimates of how much money it would take to rebuild the levees to federal standards. â€Å"The change followed a surprise announcement from the Army Corps of Engineers that the levee reconstruction project, most recently estimated at $3.5 billion, would now cost $9.5 billion if insurance-certified levees were extended throughout the region.† [2] From the above-mentioned costs, the aggregate total is $134 Billion to rebuild the city of New Orleans. This is a conservative estimate, and others have estimated the costs of rebuilding to be as much as $200 Billion, but I will use $134 Billion as my benchmark in the expected profits equation. The second important estimate to take into consideration is the predicted Gross Metro Product of New Orleans. In 2004, according to the US mayor website, New Orleans Gross Metro Product was $47 Billion dollars for the Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA). The U.S. Bureau defines an MSA as â€Å"that of a core area containing a substantial population nucleus, together with adjacent communities having a high degree of social and economic integration with that core. Metropolitan and micropolitan statistical areas comprise one or more entire counties.† Since the core of New Orleans plays such a key role on the communities surrounding it, I will be using the 2004 metropolitan population of 1,363,750 from the Census Bureau County estimates and multiplying it by  ¾ to take into consideration the short term population loss that will take place due to permanent migrations of former New Orleans residents away from the city. I then multiply the derived number 1,022,812 by the 2004 per capita GMP of $35, 606 to give me 36.4 Billion. Expected Profit = (.005 x -134 Billion) + (.995 x 36.4 Billion) = 35. 5 Billion Prob. disaster Cost (Bil) Prob. no disaster GMP (Bil) Profit (Bil) 0.005 -134 0.995 36.4 35.548 0.025 -134 0.975 36.4 32.14 0.045 -134 0.955 36.4 28.732 0.065 -134 0.935 36.4 25.324 0.085 -134 0.915 36.4 21.916 0.105 -134 0.895 36.4 18.508 0.125 -134 0.875 36.4 15.1 0.145 -134 0.855 36.4 11.692 0.165 -134 0.835 36.4 8.284 0.185 -134 0.815 36.4 4.876 0.205 -134 0.795 36.4 1.468 0.225 -134 0.775 36.4 -1.94 0.245 -134 0.755 36.4 -5.348 0.265 -134 0.735 36.4 -8.756 0.285 -134 0.715 36.4 -12.164 0.305 -134 0.695 36.4 -15.572 0.325 -134 0.675 36.4 -18.98 Using the information on hand, the expected profit to rebuild New Orleans is $35.5 Billion, which quantifies the decision to rebuild. However, the spreadsheet above indicates that if the probability of a disaster the size of Katrina ever reached the point where a disaster of the same nature took place once every five years (approx. 21% probability), it would no longer be profitable to rebuild the city of New Orleans. The federal government should watch this statistic very closely. Statistically the chance of a disaster of this magnitude hitting New Orleans within the next 5 years is very slim. However, if it did this could be an economic harbinger for the federal government to close shop on any projects in New Orleans, move historical buildings out of the area and invest any remaining money in either the expansion of Baton Rouge or the movement of New Orleans to a safer area. In the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina a team of six qualified urban planners were assembled to assess the capacity of the city’s planning function. The American Planning Association assembled this team as part of a request by the New Orleans City Planning Commission in association with the Louisiana Chapter of The American Planning Association. The present plans are for the City of New Orleans to be different in the future. Hurricanes Katrina and Rita changed the landscape and the community forever. Mayor Ray Nagin led the efforts in the establishment of the commission. In fact, Mayor Ray Nagin created The â€Å"Bring New Orleans Back† (BNOB) Commission. The mayor was faced with the monumental task of developing a plan for the city’s rebirth by the end of the year. Mayor Nagin saw fit to engage a panel of civic leaders for the task. While the key members of the BNOB Commission have attempted to explain the full mission and concept of their organization, they have not official revealed their strategic goals, or a comprehensive plan. In a news briefing, Mayor Nagin stated that â€Å"The commission is charged with a fundamental goal to advise, assist, plan and help the city of New Orleans as it makes recommendations for how the city will be rebuild. Additionally, New Orleans Archbishop Alfred C. Hughes stated that â€Å"the commission members represent a cross-section of race, ethnicity, geography, background, expertise and experience†. The primary attr ibute that unites the current members of the BNOB Commission is a commitment to work together for the common good. Archbishop Hughes said that Mayor Nagin gave them a mandate: â€Å"To finalize a master plan, to advise, assist and plan the direct funding of the rebuilding of New Orleans culturally, socially, economically and uniquely for every citizen.† The Commission’s deadline for delivery of the plan was December 31, 2005. The Mayor will present the plan to the City Council for review, refinement and adoption. The commission further divided into seven sub-committees. These sub-committees are chaired by members of the Commission and composed of people from the community. The issues that they will be addressing include urban planning for housing and land use, infrastructure, economic development, education, health and social service, culture and administration and/or government efficiency. Four of the most important sub-committees are: The Education Committee, The Cultural Committee, The Technology Committee and The Government Effectiveness Committee. The Education Committee is responsible for developing a plan to reform and rebuild the educational system in Orleans Parish. The Cultural Committee is developing a plan to repair and rebuild the cultural fabric of New Orleans. Hence, the Cultural Committee’s objective is to establish a sustainable economic environment for the local creative industries by preserving in perpetuity the heritage and vitality that create a unique cultural fiber. The Technology Sub-committee’s goal is to assure an open, inclusive and vibrant business community that will create a livable wage and higher salaried jobs. The Government Effectiveness Committee will recommend changes in local government structure and function that would ensure effective responses to the challenges facing the city post-Katrina. Despite their efforts, it took four months after Hurricane Katrina devastated New Orleans before it unveiled its plan. In this plan, the mayor approved a moratorium on building permits. Most affected by this proposal were lower income areas of New Orleans. Not only did the mayor and the commission impose the moratorium on the poorest of citizens, but it also forced that same region to pass a so called â€Å"critical mass† test if they would have any chance of returning to their property. During this same period, it was incumbent upon the residents to demonstrate with sufficient and substantial evidence that the community could meet the â€Å"critical mass† in their neighborhoods that the population planned to return and rebuild. People from those neighborhoods and communities that failed to obtain the needed numbers to past the â€Å"critical mass† test would be at risk losing their property. The Crescent City Redevelopment Corporation would buy some out and others would be seized through eminent domain. Areas not rebuilt would be returned to wetlands and green space. The Bring New Orleans Back Commission’s mission in part is to develop a master plan for rebuilding the City of New Orleans. The master plan is broad in scope and focuses initially on the displaced citizens of New Orleans. The commission set out to host six town hall meeting to gather displaced citizens of New Orleans input into the rebuilding strategies and to foster constructive participation in the revival of New Orleans. The six meeting will be held in Atlanta, Ga., Houston, Tx., Baton Rouge, La., Memphis, Tn., Dallas, Tx., and Fort Worth, Tx. All of these communities were selected because the relocation areas where the largest portions of New Orleans residents now reside. The Urban Land Institute (ULI) is the agency that stands at the forefront of BNOB Commission. ULI, an international research and education institute dedicated to responsible land use, will assist the commission with its master visioning efforts. The program of work will be carried out through four key activities: 1) the formation of an advisory panel of international and national experts on post-disaster redevelopment and urban regeneration; 2) the development of Ten Principles for Temporary Communities; 3) input from the breadth of ULI’s membership; and 4) coordination with other groups who have dedicated valuable resources to the rebuilding effort. Immediately after inception the ULI presented a proposal to support the commission’s goal to develop a rebuilding vision during the first three months of the entity’s tenure. It is imperative to protect this extraordinarily valuable asset. This statement is on the minds of many of the displaced residents. The BNOB Commission is faced with several essential elements that are crucial to the economic recovery of New Orleans, so much so that it was made a part of the plan to rebuild. The BNOB Commission felt that they must focus on these four areas; Administration of Funds – they feel that with the funds obtained from government agencies and private donors they must maintain sound fiscal management structure to maximize its impact. The administration felt that without sound fiscal management structure many businesses and other industries would break down or not return at all. In this plan, it speaks of the need to be business friendly. Because of the major setback that Katrina imposed, and a significant competitive disadvantage, the administration felt that the city that they must consider adjustments to taxation and regulation accordingly to get the industries and business back and running. The BNOB Commission has developed plans to jumpstart the economy as an immediate acti on that must be taken. Their reasoning behind this move is to get industries operational and returned to steady state business as usual. Other measures include temporary housing, government guaranteed loans and grants, and business incentives are essential, tax-exempt bond financing for rehabilitation of business properties in the disaster zone. The BNOB Commission feels that without the security of the infrastructure investors will lose confidence. Therefore, the infrastructure of the city must be sound for business to flourish. A secure infrastructure would mean, levee system repaired to category III storm protection. The committee’s approach focused on two physical scales and periods simultaneously. City residents of New Orleans denounce the rebuilding plan of the â€Å"Bring New Orleans Back Committee†. Based on the plan more than two third of the poorest and hardest hit communities would not be allowed back to begin rebuilding. In addition, Mayor Nagin im posed a moratorium on the issuance of building permits. The moratorium is expected to last for approximately four months. During the city’s imposed moratorium each affected neighborhoods must demonstrate the existence of sufficient â€Å"critical mass†. The residence must demonstrate this by showing that at least one half or more of the population intend on returning and rebuilding. This is a monumental task that the administration is placing upon the residents on such short notice considering their financial situation. An overwhelming number of the displaced residents feel as if the plan amounts to a calculated scheme to depopulate the low-income parts of New Orleans. They also feel that wealthy investors will, at some point, get an option to purchase the vacant land at very low prices and later make a killing in the real estate market. Moreover, tens of thousands of working class New Orleans residents scattered over the United States think that they will be left out on their own as Mayor Nagin underscores an agreement of the two political parties to tailor the rebuilding effort to the wealthy. The same sentiments were driven home when President Bush visited and underscored his administration’s opposition to boosting the city’s limited resources. The President’s demeanor and comments revealed his true feeling toward the suffering of the poorest residents. The President’s took a 10-minute ride from LAI Airport to a closed-door meeting with business leaders and elected officials in an area showing no signs of hurricane damage. The Bush administration touted support of $3.1 billion in federal funds to repair and reinforce the levees. However, experts estimate that it would cost over $9.5 billion – or more than 3 times what the Bush administration is willing to spend. The organization responsible for the reconstruction of New Orleans, BNOB Commission has several faults, which will ultimately decrease its effectiveness in completing the rebuilding of the city. The primary fault is the fact that the commission did not identify all of the stakeholders, therefore the organizations mission, and strategic goals have not taken into account many of their needs. This will ultimately cause problems as the reconstruction of the city proceeds and conflicts arise. The association of homeowners in the lower 9th ward, who is currently pursuing legal action against the city of New Orleans to prevent their homes from being demolished after failing to show they could achieve â€Å"critical mass† as previously discussed, is having a significant negative impact on reconstruction efforts in the area. There are several reasons that the BNOB Commission has not integrated all of the stakeholders into the overall process of planning the reconstruction. The primary reason is a large portion of the population, particularly in the poorer areas of the city, has not returned to New Orleans. Related to the first reason, the second reason is, some special interest groups appear to be taking advantage of the fact that there are people have not returned to accomplish their goals. Our team is recommending a â€Å"whole scale change† approach to helping the organization to move from its current structure to one that; integrates all key stakeholders’ needs. (The Change Champion’s Field Guide, 5) Ensuring the interests of all key stakeholders are integrated into the Strategy and actions will require the BNOB Commission to create a structure that can identify and integrate conflicting positions among all of the stakeholders to ensure that each contributes to the overall success of the reconstruction program and not just to their own area of interest. In discussing, the actions required by the BNOB Commission we will talk first about the most complicated; integrating all of the stakeholders needs into the process. The primary reason that this is so difficult is, many of the displaced people from the city of New Orleans are scattered across the country and even simple communication with them is challenging. First, there must be a concerted effort to identify and contact those people to determine whether they plan to return to the city. Second, after taking into account their interests (homeowner, business owner, etc.) they should be educated and given the opportunity to align themselves with different representative bodies based on those interests. Only after these groups of stakeholders have been identified and made their interests known can the BNOB Commission truly move forward with confidence that they are operating with the stakeholders interests in mind. Before moving on, a brief mention of the star model of success is important. (The Change Champion’s Field Guide, 9) The BNOB Commission must consider each star point to have a clear understanding of the strategic direction, what work they must do to reach their goals and how they should accomplish that work. Of the five star points one, the resources point, enjoys broad support from the American people and all levels of government from local to federal, so for the purposes of this discussion we will assume that the resources point is â€Å"twinkling†. Two other points, processes and form, as related to the reconstruction effort itself are both somewhat driven by the nature of reconstruction work. We will consider both of these to be sufficient as long is they are both designed to allow the different parts of the organization to efficiently accomplish their goals ensure that each goal supports the achievement of the overall strategic goals. Since we discussed Strate gic Direction earlier, I want to focus now on shared information. Sharing information within an organization so diverse and geographically separated is a significant challenge, but one that must be met if the organization is to reach its goals. Information sharing must be seamless from the onset. Just to get the word out to all of the scattered stakeholders will require extensive use of mass media. After the organization is more firmly established an organizational structure must establish the microcosm(s) using organizational structure to build committees and subcommittees and connecting them through simple effective communications methods. The BNOB Commission must develop systems to ensure continued interaction between committees and subcommittees to maintain focus on the larger â€Å"system†. To summarize, processes, forms and resources will likely not be the major challenges of BNOB Commission. Rather it will be effectively sharing information across diverse groups and over large geographic areas and establishing strategic goals that truly represent the stakeholders in the reconstruction of New Orleans. Both will require organizational leadership that truly has the best interests of the stake holders in mind as well as leaders that are willing to courage to allow all of the voices to be heard. Ultimately, if they fail to capture the true strategic goals of the people who will live in New Orleans after the reconstruction is complete the people will miss an excellent opportunity to reshape their city into something that is more than the sum of its parts. The power of negotiation is vital to the success of BNOB Commission. There will be many different viewpoints from each sub-committee as well as each population group in New Orleans. In order for the Mayor’s plan to come to fruition, there needs to be a consensus to one idea and that idea needs to be effectively coordinated within the committee and the citizens of New Orleans. The structure is already set to perform a strategic negotiations committee. This committee should have a negotiator to represent each subcommittee from the educational, cultural, technology, and government, and other groups. In addition, there needs to be representation from the citizens of New Orleans. This piece of negotiation is the most important, because the displaced citizens are the main effort of this rebuilding process. The negotiations committee works directly for the mayor. Their main goal is to have each committee and group in agreement with one idea that takes into account all of the following: coordination, timeline, and resources/funding. Each group is going to have their own idea of how to accomplish this, so the negotiations committee should put these ideas together into one consolidated plan. Once the mayor approves this plan, the implementation will occur in an efficient manner in which all parties involved are supportive and willing to help in the rebuilding process. The task of negotiations should be handled first within each subcommittee. The subcommittees or groups should come up with one plan in place that includes all of the main elements discussed above. We will presuppose that the Mayor has already sectioned the city of New Orleans in zones and that a substantial population of citizens from each zone is represented in each work group or committee. Once a plan is developed, the negotiator should develop the â€Å"Best Alternative to the Negotiated Agreement† (BATNA) for negotiations with the other committees or groups. After each group has met and formulated a detailed plan, the negotiating committee will meet and present these plans with broad guidelines set by the mayor such as: timeline, budget, and resources. This process will take some time as negotiators will have to go back to their committees repeatedly to develop new BATNAs. The result should be an agreement on one plan composed of all groups in which all broad guidelines are met and mutual gains between the subcommittees are realized. These are the suggested steps for a negotiations committee to take in the planning phase of the rebuilding effort. We believe that once these steps are taken; the implementation phase will run effectively and efficiently. Jerry Sternin describes Positive Deviance as â€Å"based on the belief that in every community there are certain individuals/entities whose special practices or strategies enable them to find a better solution to a pervasive problem than their neighbors who have access to exactly the same resources.† (The Change Champion’s Field Guide, 20) Although Sternin’s focus was individuals, the same principle can be applied to countries. Some countries can develop special practices or strategies that distinguish them from other countries with similar problems. Living below sea level and fighting the water are situations that both the Netherlands and the City of New Orleans faced. However, the Netherlands, the positive deviant learned on earlier in its history the importance of defending its shores from the onslaught of the unpredictable sea. How do we know that the Netherlands is a positive deviant? On January 9-12 2006, five months after Hurricane Katrina ravaged the city of New Orleans. The governor of Louisiana as well as an entourage of state senators toured the modern flood protection system developed in the Netherlands to learn more about effective water control. The education that they received in the Netherlands will hopefully lead to the construction of an effective flood control system set up in the city of New Orleans. The Netherlands learned the hard way the importance of having a competent water control plan in place. In 1953, the Netherlands experienced a flood, which was the worst Dutch disaster in 300 years. â€Å"In February 1953 the Netherlands faced disaster when the dikes protecting the southwest of the country were breached by joint onslaught of a hurricane force northwesterly wind and exceptionally high spring tides†¦resulting in almost 200,000 hectares of land swamped, 3000 homes and 300 farms destroyed and 47,000 heads of cattle drowned.† (The Holland Ring) The disaster was a wake up call for the country and inspired the Delta Project that would one day be considered the most advanced water control system in the world. The significance of the delta project was the fact that it was based on a cost-benefit analysis. â€Å"The required safety level was based on a comparison between the economic damage owing to failure of seawalls and the cost of strengthening the coastal defense works.† (d’Angremond) This detailed analysis meant that much more money was spent on protecting highly populated areas with flood walls that would be exceeded only once every 10,000 years vs less populated areas with dikes that would be exceeded once every 1,250 years. This is a vast contrast to the levees in New Orleans which where built to be exceeded once every 200 years. The Oosterschelde dam is 1.75 miles long and crosses three channels in the Eastern Schelde. The dam is made up of 65 pillars, which can slide 62 iron floodgates in less than an hour during an emergency. This is an example of the ingenious Dutch engineering that has made the Netherlands safe from major flooding in the last fifty years. The Maaslandkering storm surge barrier at Rotterdam is the largest hydraulic project in Netherlands. Almost as long as the Eiffel Tower in Paris and weighs four times as much. If a water level of 3.20 metres above NAP is anticipated for Rotterdam the Storm Surge Barrier in the New Waterway has to be closed. As a group of consultants, we were charged with assisting the Bring Back New Orleans Commission in developing a successful organization. After a cost benefit analysis, which validated the BNOB Commission’s decision to rebuild New Orleans, we explored the current composition and disposition of the BNOB Commission. We discovered that there were some shortcomings in the Commission, which were holding it back from achieving its goals. While our recommendations for change to the organization will assist them in ultimately achieving their goal, we identified that due to the complexity of the organization negation skills and strategies would be crucial to success. Finally, we used the concept of positive deviance to determine that Norway’s complex national flood control system could be a model for the future reconstruction of the city of New Orleans. References [1] Hurricane Preparedness for New Orleans http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/predictions_of_hurricane_risk_for_New_Orleans [2] Levee Repair Costs Triple washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/03/30/AR2006033001912.htm [3] Sternin, Jerry, The Change Champion’s Field Guide, Practice Publications, 2003 [4] 1953 Flood Disaster: The Dutch Struggle against the water thehollandring.com/1953-ramp.shtml [5] D’ Angremond, Kees: From Disaster to Delta Project: The Storm Flood of 1953. March 2003 [6] Bring New Orleans Back Commission Announced. 5.11.2006. http://new.neworleans.com/index.php?option=com_content task=viewid=83Itemid=37 [7] Bring New Orleans Back. 5.01.2006 bringneworleansback.org/ [8] Bring New Orleans Back Commission to Work with Urban Land Institute on Developing Rebuilding Strategy for the City. 5.01.2006 [9] City residents denounce â€Å"Bring New Orleans Back† rebuilding plan. 05.06.2006. wsws.org/articles/2006/jan2006/newo-j14.shtml Research Papers on Rebuilding New OrleansQuebec and CanadaCanaanite Influence on the Early Israelite Religion19 Century Society: A Deeply Divided EraThe Project Managment Office SystemDefinition of Export QuotasPETSTEL analysis of IndiaInfluences of Socio-Economic Status of Married MalesAnalysis of Ebay Expanding into AsiaIncorporating Risk and Uncertainty Factor in CapitalNever Been Kicked Out of a Place This Nice

Linnaean Classification System (Scientific Names)

Linnaean Classification System (Scientific Names) In 1735, Carl Linnaeus published his Systema Naturae, which contained his taxonomy for organizing the natural world. Linneaus proposed three kingdoms, which were divided into classes. From classes, the groups were further divided into orders, families, genera (singular: genus), and species. An additional rank beneath species distinguished between highly similar organisms. While his system of classifying minerals has been discarded, a modified version of the Linnaean classification system is still used to identify and categorize animals and plants. Why Is the Linnaean System Important? The Linnaean system is important because it led to the use of binomial nomenclature to identify each species. Once the system was adopted, scientists could communicate without the use of misleading common names. A human being became a member of Homo sapiens, no matter what language a person spoke. How to Write a Genus Species Name A Linnaean name or scientific name has two parts (i.e., is binomial). First is the genus name, which is capitalized, followed by the species name, which is written in lowercase letters. In print, a genus and species name is italicized. For example, the scientific name for the house cat is Felis catus. After the first use of a full name, the genus name is abbreviated using only the first letter of the genus (e.g., F. catus). Be aware, there are actually two Linnaean names for many organisms. There is the original name given by Linnaeaus and the accepted scientific name (often different). Alternatives to Linnaean Taxonomy While the genus and species names of Linneaus rank-based classification system are used, cladististic systematics is increasingly popular. Cladistics categorizes organisms based on traits that can be traced to the most recent common ancestor. Essentially, its classification based on similar genetics. Original Linnaean Classification System When identifying an object, Linnaeus first looked at whether it was animal, vegetable, or mineral. These three categories were the original domains. Domains were divided into kingdoms, which were broken into phyla (singular: phylum) for animals and divisions for plants and fungi. Phyla or divisions were broken into classes, which in turn were divided into orders, families, genera (singular: genus), and species. Species in v were divided into subspecies. In botany, species were divided into varietas (singular: variety) and forma (singular: form). According to the 1758 version (10th edition) of the Imperium Naturae, the classification system was: Animals Classis 1: Mammalia (mammals)Classis 2: Aves (birds)Classis 3: Amphibia (amphibians)Classis 4: Pisces (fish)Classis 5: Insecta (insects)Classis 6: Vermes (worms) Plants Classis 1. Monandria: flowers with 1 stamenClassis 2. Diandria: flowers with 2 stamensClassis 3. Triandria: flowers with 3 stamensClassis 4. Tetrandria: flowers with 4 stamensClassis 5. Pentandria: flowers with 5 stamensClassis 6. Hexandria: flowers with 6 stamensClassis 7. Heptandria: flowers with 7 stamensClassis 8. Octandria: flowers with 8 stamensClassis 9. Enneandria: flowers with 9 stamensClassis 10. Decandria: flowers with 10 stamensClassis 11. Dodecandria: flowers with 12 stamensClassis 12. Icosandria: flowers with 20 (or more) stamensClassis 13. Polyandria: flowers with many stamensClassis 14. Didynamia: flowers with 4 stamens, 2 long and 2 shortClassis 15. Tetradynamia: flowers with 6 stamens, 4 long and 2 shortClassis 16. Monadelphia; flowers with the anthers separate, but the filaments united at the baseClassis 17. Diadelphia; flowers with the stamens united in two groupsClassis 18. Polyadelphia; flowers with the stamens united in several groupsClassis 19. Syngenesia; flo wers with 5 stamens having anthers united at the edges Classis 20. Gynandria; flowers having stamens united to the pistilsClassis 21. Monoecia: monoecious plantsClassis 22. Dioecia: dioecious plantsClassis 23. Polygamia: polygamodioecious plantsClassis 24. Cryptogamia: organisms that resemble plants but dont have flowers, which included fungi, algae, ferns, and bryophytes Minerals Classis 1. Petrà ¦ (rocks)Classis 2. Minerà ¦ (minerals)Classis 3. Fossilia (fossils)Classis 4. Vitamentra (possibly meant minerals with nutritional value or some vital essence) The mineral taxonomy is no longer in use. The ranking for plants has changed, since Linnaeus based his classes on the number of stamens and pistils of a plant. The animal classification is similar to the one in use today. For example, the modern scientific classification of the house cat is kingdom Animalia, phylum Chordata, class Mammalia, order Carnivora, family Felidae, subfamily Felinae, genus Felis, species catus. Fun Fact About the Taxonomy Many people assume Linnaeus invented ranking taxonomy. In actuality, the Linnaean system is simply his version of ordering. The system actually dates back to Plato and Aristotle. Reference Linnaeus, C. (1753). Species Plantarum. Stockholm: Laurentii Salvii. Retrieved 18 April 2015.

War trauma and masculinity Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

War trauma and masculinity - Essay Example These two changes are extremely ambivalent and are determined by the personal qualities and conditions the person faces. First of all, in order to understand masculinity as a phenomenon, it is important to study its definition. Maculinity is a specific gender identification, related to stress, independence and self-management. "Like femininity, masculinity operates politically at different levels. At one level, it is a form of identity, a means of self-understanding that structures personal attitudes and behaviours" (Leach, 1994,p.36). Another level is associated with seeing masculinity as a form of ideology, in which "it presents a set of cultural ideals that define appropriate roles, values and expectations for and of men" (ibid, p.36). It is important to note that masculinity is not 'natural', as it can be developed (or, conversely, destroyed) throughout the life course as a response to certain social expectations. It can be viewed as cultural interpretation of maleness, developed and maintained by participating social relationships. The sociocultural nature of masculinity is shaped by values, beli eves, and, naturally, requirements, dictated by the epoch. For instance, Spiegelman and Hemingway's time is characterized by the belief that man is a breadwinner, problem-solver, or more specifically, autonomous, strong and independent person, who is capable of defending his motherland from invaders. Furthermore, this definition of masculinity is basic for the present paper, as it is the starting point of the whole analysis.In 'Soldier's home' Hemingway depicts a personality, torn in two by controversial attitudes towards his home, where he's just returned. In spite of Harold Krebs's parents comfortable middle-class life, he experiences a sense of homelessness, of quilt and despair, because of having experienced his close friends' death' and all the problems related to war. First of all, it is important to note that Hemingway doesn't reveal why Harold has been wandering for many years before he comes back (about ten years, in fact), so this time probably has been devoted to searchin g for a new home and re-thinking his own life. By that time "all the other former soldiers have found a niche for themselves in the community" (Imamura, 1996, p.102), but Krebs needs some more time to get accustomed to new conditions; he plays pool, "practiced on his clarinet, strolled down town, read, and went to bed" (Hemingway, 1995, p.146). "What he is doing, of course, is killing time" (Imamura, 1996, p.103).The problem is associated with Harold's understanding of who has become. He realizes he has been altered by the circumstances, and this alteration becomes much more dramatic, once he sees that his town has remained almost the same comparing to the period when he graduated from higher school: the same streets and the same girls walking down the streets, the same parking place for his father's car (Hemingway, 1995). In fact, these changes in his own outlook can be explained by his pre-war and war experiences.Before the World War I, as Hemingway narrates us, Harold studied at a Methodist school, an educational

E-Learning in Pharmaceutical Industry Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

E-Learning in Pharmaceutical Industry - Essay Example There are three major forms of e-learning, which include computer-based learning, internet-based learning, and virtual learning environments. In this paper, we will discuss the role of virtual learning environments in enhancing pharmaceutical students’ knowledge. A slight overview of the effectiveness of web-based learning will also be included in the paper. In the present world, online learning is getting more and more famous because it is proving very beneficial for the students. "E-learning with its more active and interesting opportunities is gradually replacing the traditional form of teaching† (Roy). It not only helps pharmaceutical students manage their study schedule in accordance with other commitments of life but also provides a good overview of the market, which they need to serve. â€Å"E-learning is one way of helping to change the sales force’s perception of the market† (â€Å"E-Learning†). The pharmaceutical industry of any specific co untry has a well-established practice of providing effective training to the pharmaceutical students, medical representatives, and pharmacists. However, trainers related to this field cannot provide regular attention to every sales person properly in the field. â€Å"Much more personal support can be provided with a well structured e-learning programme as long as there is an effective tracking system in place† (â€Å"E-Learning†). Distinguishing Features of Online Learning Environment â€Å"E-learning is undoubtedly a more flexible way of learning† (Roy). Online learning environments provide an interactive way of learning to the students in which teachers and students can interact with each other without physical presence. Online quizzes, assignments, and threaded discussion boards are some of those features, which distinguish online learning environments from traditional learning environments. Discussion boards not only enable communication between students and teachers but also provide a way to the students to interact with other students enrolled in the course. Some online institutes make use of graded discussion boards to measure knowledge of the students. In graded discussion boards, teachers ask the students to write short paragraphs on the topics provided by them. Students need to have awareness of the ways to use internet and other modes of communication not only to participate properly in general and graded discussion boards but also to complete their quizzes and assignments within time. Ways to be Successful in Online Learning Environments â€Å"Although the online education is a popular option among the students, not all students suit the education style in online setting† (Harvard). The reason is that some students do not know the basics of learning in such environments. Some students do not have the required skills whereas some students do not have proper facilities to study in such environments. To be successful in onl ine learning environments, students need to possess some key skills and abilities. There exist a number of strategies for the students to do well in online learning environments. Some of the main techniques include development of proper study schedule, written communication skills, and web navigation skills. All of these skills play a very important role in making students adapted to the online learning environments. Let us discuss these skills in some detail in order to know how these skills can help students of pharmacy learn

Executive Summaries Essay Example for Free

Executive Summaries Essay The executive summary is usually no longer than 10% of the original document. It can be anywhere from 1-10 pages long, depending on the reports length. Executive summaries are written literally for an executive who most likely DOES NOT have the time to read the original. †¢Executive summaries make a recommendation †¢Accuracy is essential because decisions will be made based on your summary by people who have not read the original †¢Executive summaries frequently summarize more than one document Types of Summaries Summaries written in order to recommend a specific course of action are executive summaries. Summaries that highlight the major points of a long piece are called abstracts. The purpose of an abstract is to allow readers to decide whether or not they want to read the longer text. View our Writing Guide about Abstracts Standard summary only refers to a summary of someone elses published work and is written for a variety of purposes. View our Writing Guide about Standard Summaries Processes for Writing an Executive Summary Executive summaries are typically written for longer reports. They should not be written until after your report is finished. Before writing your summary, try: †¢Summarizing the major sections of your report. You might even copy text from your report into the summary and then edit it down. †¢Talking aloud or even tape recording yourself summarizing sections of your report. Questions to Ask Yourself as You Write †¢What is your report about? †¢Why is it important? †¢What is included in the report? †¢What is included in each section? Concise Statement As a cover sheet to your document, an executive summary need not go into ANY mention of how you conducted your analysis and/or what youre basing your conclusion on. Instead, begin with a concise statement of the conclusion you reached after conducting your analysis and/or research is the paper that will be attached. For example, after a comparison of what other schools like CSU do about personal calls for faculty, you conclude that the CSU is charging for calls most other institutions do not. How you word the conclusion will differ depending on your audience and what they care most about. The following examples illustrate how the wording must change given an audiences needs. Example One Colorado State should discontinue the practice of charging faculty for personal calls. This is a good example if the people you work for are only interested in this issue. It begins with a summary of conclusions regarding only the CSU population. Example Two Because I have found that over 75% of comparable institutions do not charge for personal calls, I have concluded that our faculty is justified in objecting to this practice which should be seen as a perk for our faculty. This sentence provides unnecessary information about other institutions and/or why the faculty think they deserve to have these calls paid for. Your readers can get that information from the report. Further, the use of I is unnecessary since your readers already know who wrote the report. Writing Recommendations After beginning with a summary statement of your findings, the executive summary should go on to provide a specific recommendation for action geared toward your audience. For example, the report on charging for personal calls was requested by the presidents office, not the individual departments and colleges who actually determine policy. As a result, the recommendation for action is geared toward what the presidents office should do, not the other departments involved. To learn more about writing recommendations: After summarizing the entire article and/or research report(s), an executive  summary ends with a one or two line recommendation for action. Simple Formula Executive summaries frequently make use of transitional phrases to encapsulate the preceding information in the same sentence as the recommendation. The format can almost be envisioned as a formula: [transitional word] + [concise statement of information provided in summary], I recommend that [corporation, office, person in question] do [recommendations]. More Complex Recommendations In other cases, the recommendation might be complicated enough to justify a summary of causes for the recommendation. In this case, the recommendation paragraph usually begins with a summary of how the writer reached the recommendation. Example Susies Cookies began as a small business in Cleveland, Ohio which has expanded to include 45 stores throughout the Midwest. Plans have already been instituted to expand sales nationwide, using the same mall-concept marketing strategy which has proven successful in the Midwest. Despite these plans, Susies Cookies may be in danger of bankruptcy. Susies quadrupled its sales in the last two quarters, realizing a profit of $750,000 in the current year, an increase of $250,000 over the previous year, due to its increase in advertising. To realize equivalent sale figures nationwide, however, it is projected that advertising costs will increase by 200% for the first two years of the national expansions. Further, construction costs for the new stores are estimated to be 20 million dollars. The result of increased advertising and construction costs will put a substantial debt burden on Susies cookies, an estimated $750,00 to 1 million a year. Given that sales did not reach current levels in the Midwest until the 45 stores had been operating for five years, projected sales nationally will not cover expansion costs. As a result, Susies Cookies is likely to show a loss of almost $2 million for at least the next five years. Due to the high advertisement and development costs of national expansion. Susies Cookies may not be able to continue doing business in the future. Therefore, I recommend that Mrs. Fields does not participate in the hostile takeover  under consideration because the threat of competition will not be realized. Justification Finally, an executive summary provides an analysis and/or justification for the proposed action in terms the audience will consider important. In many cases, this might involve a monetary analysis as in the example to the right, but actions can be justified many ways, depending on the concerns of the audience and the topic of the report (e.g. for CSU these might include increase in student learning, better relationship with the community, etc.). justification for the recommendation by referring to information summarized. A recommendationà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s justification is usually based on a reference to material already provided in the summary. In other cases, the justification for the recommendation might be complicated enough to justify a summary of causes for the justification. In this case, the recommendation paragraph usually begins with a summary of how the writer reached the conclusion that leads to the justification. Example Justification Based on the current number and length of long-distance personal calls by faculty, such a proposal would cost the university $150,000 annually. In comparison to the overall budget, this is a small amount, but one which might pay for itself in terms of faculty satisfaction and possible recruitment benefits. Example Susies Cookies began as a small business in Cleveland, Ohio which has expanded to include 45 stores throughout the Midwest. Plans have already been instituted to expand sales nationwide, using the same mall-concept marketing strategy which has proven successful in the Midwest. Despite these plans, Susies Cookies may be in danger of bankruptcy. Susies quadrupled its sales in the last two quarters, realizing a profit of $750,000 in the current year, an increase of $250,000 over the previous year, due to its increase in advertising. To realize equivalent sale figures nationwide, however, it is projected that advertising costs will increase by 200% for the first two years of the national expansions. Further, construction costs for the new stores are estimated to be 20 million dollars. The result of increased advertising and construction costs will put a substantial debt  burden on Susies cookies, an estimated $750,00 to 1 million a year. Given that sales did not reach current levels in the Midwest until the 45 stores had been operating for five years, projected sales nationally will not cover expansion costs. As a result, Susies Cookies is likely to show a loss of almost $2 million for at least the next five years. Due to the high advertisement and development costs of national expansion. Susies Cookies may not be able to continue doing business in the future. Therefore, I recommend that Mrs. Fields does not participate in the hostile takeover under consideration because the threat of competition will not be realized. Example Executive Summary The Mountain Resort charges below average rental rates. (concise statement of findings) The attached report recommends a 20% increase in price for the following equipment: 1. downhill skis, 2. telemark skis, 3. boots/shoes for downhill, telemark, and cross-country skis. (specific recommendation for action) Based on average rental business for 1992-1995, these increases would generate an annual rental profit for Mountainview of $750,000. This figure represents an overall gain of $150,000 over current rental profits.(justification for proposed action) Additional Resources Other Writing Guides are available to help you write executive summaries. Choose any of the following for more information: †¢Purpose †¢Audience †¢Organization

Alzheimer’s Disease Essay -- Alzheimers Disease Essays

Alzheimer’s disease is a neurodegenerative disorder, meaning it attacks the neurons within the brain. Neurons are the areas of the brain that allow for chemical messages, or neurotransmitters, to be transmitted. These neurons are necessary for connections with other nerve cells, and without them, the neuronS ultimately die. Alzheimer’s is a form of, and the most common cause of, dementia, or loss of intellectual capacity and personality. ("Dementia.") Alzheimer’s disease, or AD, is not a normal part of aging, although risk of developing the illness increases with age. The onset behavior of the disease normally doesn’t appear until age sixty and older. Though symptoms that appear before age sixty have occurred, it is less common and tends to run in families; these early onset also tend to progress more rapidly. (â€Å"Alzheimer’s Disease†) AD is one of the top ten most leading causes of death in America. In fact, estimates say that as many as 5.1 million people in the U.S. may have Alzheimer’s; that number steadily increasing with the growing elderly population. (â€Å"About Alzheimer’s†) In the last forty years, AD has become a prevalent topic amongst the medical and non-medical communities affecting lives and families; giving us motive for further our understanding of the brain. Alzheimer’s disease has been known since the turn of the century but was not a prevalent concern until the 1970s. In 1907, Alois Alzheimer, a German physician, documented a case of a fifty-one-year-old woman who was suffering from severe cognitive disabilities. She exhibited difficulties in areas such as memory, language, and social interactions. (Reger 1) After death, Alzheimer performed a brain autopsy using silver staining techniques. This allowed him to ... ...int. â€Å"Dementia.† Dictionary.com Unabridged. Random House, Inc. 02 May. 2015. Reger, Beth. "Alzheimer's Disease: A Brief History and Avenues for Current Research." Journal of Young Investigators: Undergraduate, Peer-Reviewed Science Journal 6.2 (2002): 1-3. Web. 29 Apr. 2015. Robinson, Lawrence, Joanna Saisan, and Jeanne Segal. "Alzheimer’s Disease: Signs, Symptoms, and Stages of Alzheimer’s." Helpguide.org: Expert, Ad-free Articles Help Empower You with Knowledge, Support & Hope. HelpGuide, Mar. 2011. Web. 29 Apr. 2015. "Studies Demonstrate Link Among Alzheimer's Disease, Down Syndrome and Atherosclerosis." ScienceDaily, 15 Jan. 2010. Web. 3 May 2015. Wattamwar, Pandurang, and P. Mathuranath. â€Å"An Overview of Biomarkers in Alzheimer’s Disease.† Annals of Indian Academy of Neurology 13.6 (2010): 116. ProQuest Research Library. Web. 12 April 2015.