The BP Oil Spill in the Gulf of Mexico essayEssay Writing Service

The BP Oil Spill in the Gulf of Mexico essayEssay Writing Service The BP Oil Spill in the Gulf of Mexico essay The BP Oil Spill in the Gulf of Mexico essayExecutive SummaryThis report discusses the issue of concern because an oil spill is considered to be a disaster for both for human beings and the environment. The BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico is no exception. The oil spill affected both human beings and the environment, polluting and damaging vast areas of the adjacent territories and the large populations of wildlife. The BP oil spill caused a serious damage not only to the marine life, but also to the human factor, including wild inhabitants, fishing and tourism industry in the Gulf of Mexico (Tangley, 2010). A large number of factors, including Petroleum toxicity, Corexit dispersant usage and oxygen depletion can be viewed as the major causes of the disaster which led to the negative impact on ecological system (Smithsona Venette, 2013).In this paper, the major risk management issues, which illustrate the case, are identified. Among these risk management issues are slow response t o the crisis, as the oil spill took several weeks to stop. The results of risk management assessment demonstrate that loss prevention measures in the case of the BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico in 2010 were in place to prevent the oil spillage starting and the proper cost containment steps were taken to manage the cost of the required clean-up operations, recovery procedures to promote business continuation, many days had been lost. Second, the BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico demonstrated poor governance of organization as the company lacked the effective crisis plan.Thus, the BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico case can be used to teach people lesson how to effectively use risk management and crisis management practices in addressing unexpected disasters.   To manage the crisis, a special plan should be developed and tested. Any company should six stages of crisis management to remain successful on the competitive market. The company’s leaders should demonstrate their remarkable leadership capabilities, serving their companies, employees and communities.Introduction and AimsThe Gulf of Mexico is one of the most valuable territories because of the availability of the great variety of marine life, including fish, shrimp and other species. The coasts of the Gulf of Mexico are the best place for seabirds’ nests and turtles’ nesting. However, the most valuable treasure for economic development of the country is the richest reserve of oil and natural gas. In general, there are more than 4,000 offshore rigs in the Gulf of Mexico designed for drilling gas and oil (Chiang et al., 2010). According to researchers, â€Å"many people who live in the five U.S. states that border the Gulf of Mexico (Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama and Florida) depend on the Gulf for jobs and survival†(Chiang et al., 2010, p. 5). One more important function of the Gulf of Mexico is the growing fishing industry that provides over 1.3 pounds of fish an d shellfish each year. This information helps to better understand the negative consequences of the BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico that occurred on April 20, 2010.   The negative effects from oil spill have been widely discussed in scientific literature. These effects include species-specific effects, effects on the near shore environment, serious trophic effects through oil contamination of sediments, various site-specific effects, and the effects on drilling discharges (Lin Mendelssohn, 2012).   Based on recent research findings, â€Å"the BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico that followed the explosion of the exploration platform Deepwater Horizon on 20 April 2010 was the largest accidental oil spill† in America that requires finding the proper solutions to develop effective risk management practices. It is very important to find out â€Å"if an accident of this size could have been expected† (Acton, 2013, p. 501).The general aims of the analysis presented in this paper include:providing an overview of the key facts surrounding the caseidentification of the major risk management issues identified in the caseComparing and contrast the way in which these three risk management issues were dealt with by the firm(s) involved with material presented in the course or other reference material dealing with the concepts or issues that the case illustratesAssessment of the effectiveness with which the crisis, created as a result of the failures in risk management evident in the case, were managedIdentification of the lessons that can be learned from the case, providing conclusions and the nature of any control procedures and/or risk treatment systems that should have been implemented or where failures occurred.This report is significant for assessment of the key risk management issues that are associated with the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. The BP’s handling of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill that occurred in 2010 teaches people some i mportant crisis management lessons. Actually, the work on oil platforms is automated, but human errors often occur on these structures (Smithsona Venette, 2013).   According to researchers, these oil drilling rigs are considered to be the largest movable human-made structures in the world, as such â€Å"they have become virtual cities afloat that will always have minor equipment failure and human error, not to mention working in hurricane-prone environments† (Ostrom Wilhelmsen, 2012, p. 23). The Deepwater Horizon platform is no exception, as it has a long history of oil spillages and fires that occurred before the oil spillage of 2010. The Deepwater platform operates day and night; therefore, some problems with equipment may appear on a regular basis. This report is aimed at giving explanation of some important risk management practices that should be taken into consideration by other companies to avoid negative consequences, similar to the Deepwater Horizon platform†™s disaster.Case StudyDescription of the key facts surrounding the caseThe BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico is considered to be the â€Å"largest accidental marine oil spill in the history of petroleum industry, being 8%-31% larger in volume that the previous largest oil spill, the Ixtos I oil spill† (Holland Schemwell, 2014, p. 23). The BP oil disaster is often called the Deepwater Horizon oil spill. It occurred on 20 April 2010 in the Gulf of Mexico on the BP-operated Macondo Prospect. Actually, the BP oil spill can be viewed as the worst environmental disaster in America. The BP oil spill occurred near Mississippi River Delta, as a result of a deep-sea floor oil gusher, which was made by the massive explosion of the Deepwater Horizon platform, one of the most efficient and effective semi-submersible drilling rigs in the Gulf of Mexico. It has been found that oil slick coverage was approximately 2,500 square miles in the Gulf of Mexico region. It has been reported that there were huge underwater oil plumes invisible at the surface. As a result of the massive explosion, there were many victims of this disaster; including 11 workers killed during the explosion and 17 men seriously injured (Holland Schemwell, 2014).  On the 15th of July, 2010, the gushing wellhead was capped, but the Deepwater Horizon platform released over 4.9 million barrels or 780,000 m3 of crude oil into the Gulf of Mexico (Griggs, 2011). This fact means that as a result of the explosion, over 53,000 barrels of oil were spilled each day of the accident (from July 10 till July 15) before the workers could cap the well. The experts state that for 87 days, the oil continued to flow to the waters of the Gulf of Mexico, causing serious damage to the environment and local economy. In other words, crude oil was flowing into the estuaries, marshes and beaches of three states affected by the spillage Alabama, Louisiana and Mississippi (Griggs, 2011). The U.S. government declared that the BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico can be regarded as a national disaster.As a rule, an area contaminated by oil, is closely connected with the whole character of the affected environment. The free spilling of oil leads to a wide range of negative consequences, including â€Å"the spread by wind and wave† (Bai Bai, 2014, p. 363). The oil spillage from the Deepwater Horizon platform floating on the surface could evaporate through air and sun, spreading over the water surface. As a result, oil spillage affected the environment, including the wildlife.Identification of three major risk management issues illustrated by the caseThe BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico that occurred in 2010 gives an opportunity to identify three major risk management issues, which can be assessed by experts as significant risk management lessons. One of the key risk management issues is that â€Å"the oil spill took some weeks to stop† (Hopkin, 2012, p. 175). Although the results of risk management assessment show that loss prevention measures in the case of the BP oil spill were in place to prevent the oil spillage starting and the proper cost containment steps were taken to manage the cost of the required clean-up operations, recovery procedures to promote business continuation, much time had been lost. According to Paul Hopkin (2012), â€Å"it is, perhaps, the case that the damage limitation measures were not as robust as may have been required†(p. 175).Besides, the BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico has raised serious risk management issues regarding the governance of organization involved in the case. Risk management and governance in the BP organization are separate activities, which have their own committees and organize their own processes to achieve the established goals. According to researchers, â€Å"the BP oil spill disaster has clearly shown that the board has to own both the general governance of the organization and its many and varied risk activities† (Wright et al., 2013, p. 16). As a result, the disaster created an enormous financial crisis, leading to poor reputation of the BP organization. According to Otto Lerbinger (2012), â€Å"its image as a leader in deep sea technology was shattered, as well as its professed dedication to corporate social responsibility and the environment†(p. 24).   Now the organization needs to use the proper strategies aimed at restoring its reputation in order to successfully operate in the Gulf of Mexico.Based on the US federal government report that was issued in 2011 after investigation of the key causes of the disaster, the following failures were identified:Poor risk management practicesLast-minute changes in decision making (Anastas et al., 2010)Failure to adequately observe and effectively respond to critical indicators that were identified on the platformInadequate and insufficient well control responseâ€Å"Insufficient emergency bridge response training by emplo yees responsible† (Guinness Walpole, 2012, p. 227).Comparing and contrast the way in which these three risk management issues were dealt with by the firm(s) involved with material presented in the course or other reference material dealing with the concepts or issues that the case illustratesIn the case discussed in this paper, the BP failed to avoid certain management errors that led to massive damage to the environment and caused considerable harm to people. The explosion of the Deepwater Horizon platform rig can be viewed as an example of â€Å"a designation that is a prevailing contention of government and other reports on the disaster† (Lerbinger, 2012, p. 24). The disaster in the Gulf of Mexico that occurred in 2010 was caused by certain management failures both by the organization (the BP Company) and its contractors (Transocean and Halliburton). Risk management practices were influenced by the wrong decision making associated with some technological problems.Ac cording to the material presented in the course lectures, the risk management cycle involves several stages, which help an organization to manage risks: Identification, Quantification, Risk assessment, Risk treatment, Monitoring, Risk context. These stages are interrelated (Business Risk Management Week 2, 2014, p. 2). Based on the established components of risk management process, it is possible to avoid negative consequences of disasters in all spheres of human activity, including oil and gas industry. In the Deepwater Horizon platform, many events led to the disaster because inadequate risk management practices were ineffective in that situation.In the case of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, â€Å"the behaviors and attitudes of leaders have been disappointing at best and irresponsible at worst† (Corkindale, 2010, p.1).   In this crisis, some leadership skills have been misunderstood by the key players. The BP are responsible for the environmental disaster, but the BP CE O Tony Hayward demonstrated some failures in leadership practices, providing control over the â€Å"organizational culture that sanctioned extreme risk-taking, ignored expert advice, overlooked warnings about safety issues and hid facts† (Corkindale, 2010, p.1). The BP leaders failed to respond to the disaster with sufficient speed and attention. Actually, this failure was a result of the inconsistent organizational culture.Assessment of the effectiveness with which the crisis, created as a result of the failures in risk management evident in the case, was managedThe effectiveness with which the crisis of the Deepwater Horizon platform, created as a result of the failures in risk management is evident in this case. There are six stages of crisis management, including â€Å"avoiding the crisis, preparing to manage the crisis, recognizing the crisis, containing the crisis, resolving the crisis and profiting from the crisis† (Business Risk Management Week 3, 2014, p. 1). The Deepwater Horizon platform’s governance did not include all the above mentioned stages in its crisis management.In the Deepwater Horizon platform, there were serious problems with governance as the Company failed to examine all possible scenarios, assess all possible consequences and identify the cost of prevention of these negative consequences. The response to the crisis was not planned in a proper way. This fact means the BP Company failed to use the appropriate strategies to avoid the crisis. Because of the explosion on the Deepwater Horizon offshore drilling platform, over 5 million barrels of oil were sent into the waters of the Gulf of Mexico.   This fact proves that the company failed to avoid the crisis. According to researchers, the BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico is an example of a â€Å"company without crisis planning† (Cox, 2012, p. 87). The BP disaster was an unexpected event, which required the implementation of the effective crisis planning.   According to Charles E. Cox (2012), â€Å"BP’s advantage was that, even without a crisis plan, the company had billions of dollars in the bank and enough cash reserves to manage its way through the crisis and take steps to rebuild its reputation† (p. 88). Undoubtedly, the impact of the BP disaster was enormous because of the lack of the crisis planning.Nevertheless, the BP governance managed to take some reasonably decisive action, using the media and public relations to address the issue of concern and demonstrate the company’s response to the disaster. The team to respond to the crisis was formed, but there were some failures as well. Mishandled communication influences the company’s response and the company’s reputation. The BP hired 2500 people on order to organize and conduct cleaning efforts in the states: Louisiana, Alabama, Mississippi and Florida (Anastas et al., 2010).   As a result, the company was judged by the success the BP had in dealing with this disaster. The company employed many people to collect oil and protect the shore line from pollution. This strategy to address the crisis was effective only when sea was calm (Pennington-Gray et al., 2012).ConclusionThus, it is necessary to conclude that pollution from the activities of offshore companies leads to degradation of the marine environment. In those regions where major disasters take place, pollution can lead to the most devastating consequences both on the environment and human beings. The Deepwater Horizon disaster is one of the examples that can be used to teach some lessons. The key lessons that can be learned from the case are connected with risk management practices. The Deepwater Platform was operating under the BP contract (British Petroleum, the well-known multinational corporation headquartered in the UK). The discharge of oil had negative impact on the region, caused serious damage to fisheries and marine habitants, bringing to light the risk s of deep water oil and gas drilling.The lessons that can be learned from the case give an opportunity to other companies to avoid negative consequences of the crisis and develop, maintain and implement effective crisis management practices. One of the most important strategies to manage crisis is to implement a well-developed crisis plan, provide effective control procedures and risk treatment systems that must be developed and implemented in the areas, where failures occur frequently. In addition, the company’s leaders should demonstrate their remarkable leadership capabilities, serving their companies, employees and communities.

Natural Disasters and the Ancient Sumerians Essay - 1

Natural Disasters and the Ancient Sumerians - Essay Example These different legends and myths also involved the data concerning the location and the duration the last great floods are perceived to occur as it is the one that caused the rise and development of these narratives. Even though there is no existing evidence concerning the enormous floods that is believed to have covered almost every mountain in the world, only many narratives from all over the world that is told concerning the great floods which was the major disaster that was faced by the people of Sumerian2. The floods are considered to have destroyed the human race in the unsociable past and which resulted in the map of the world to change in the process. As a result of the floods, the Sumerians were forced to migrate and as a result of this migration, the early Mesopotamia culture was passed to the people where the Sumerians settled3. In the year 5000 BC, the floods of the Caspian Sea and the black sea occurred. The effects of the floods were greatly faced on the northern shores of the sea as in causing the water level of the Mediterranean Sea to rise. This made the red sea to connect itself to the mar Mara Sea that is located next to the modern turkey. The developing pressure that was happening in the earths crust resulted in a region that is considered to be active and of high earthquake magnitude. This is believed to have triggered some of the major earthquakes and some of the volcanic eruptions4. This was also regarded as the great floods as it is explained by the Sumerian legends, which was later hired by the civilization of the ancient Mesopotamia and was eventually recorded down in the bible. The people who managed to escape the floods relocated from these fertile lands to the Western Europe region even though many of the Sumerians went to regions that were warm which is believed to be the southern Mesopotamia region. While in the southern Mesopotamia, the Sumerians found the first humankind civilization and where their

Informal Class Assessment Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Informal Class Assessment - Essay Example Likewise, in the employment information, not one shares similar work. On the other hand, in terms of interests, there were three who are fond of sports; one is into hiking; two loves reading (but on different facets); one loves travelling; two are into volunteer work, and one is into art, as well as modeling. Even other noted information was vastly diverse. Due to the diversity of the group in educational background, line of employment, and interests, the topics that could be of interest to the batch could be current events, especially one that is controversial in nature; or a general topic that could appeal to all: food, health, love, or relationships, to name a few. These suggested topics could be tackled with enough authoritative research and by establishing a thesis statement to determine which point of view or contention one would propose. For instance, a current controversial topic on gun ban or gun control could be a subject of discussion based on the amount of current news articles written on the subject. One could even solicit their respective views on the subject regarding their preference for gun ban or gun control and signify one’s stance. The topic of food could also be interesting in terms of arguing whether American society has manifested a food dilemma in terms of exhibiting increasing trends on obesity despite being health conscious on nutritional contents of the food Americans regularly eat. This topic could also lead to health concerns, especially trying to determine whether advertisements pose more threats for the children in promoting food items that endanger their health. As such, despite the disparities in educational backgrounds, employment experiences, interests or hobbies, and plans for the future, there are different interesting topics that one have thought of which could spur the interest of the class as the potential

Design Experiment Ecology - effect of acid rain on plat growth Assignment

Design Experiment Ecology - effect of acid rain on plat growth - Assignment Example These substances are highly toxic to the living world and directly affects plant and other small organisms thereby, indirectly influence the proliferation of other organisms as well. The present study is designed to understand the effect of acid on plant growth. The study requires 2-3 weeks. The amount of acid added to water, for watering the plant is inversely related to the growth of the plant, which is calculated as the height of the plant. Excess of acid adversely affects the physiology of the plant which should be displayed in the form of pigmentation of the plant, more yellow leaves should appear in the plant which is treated with higher acid concentration as compared to the plant treated with less concentration of acid and with tap water. Hence, survival of the plant is directly related to the concentration of the acid given to the plant. The process will also demonstrate the appropriate pH of water required for the plant growth. Make two acidic solutions with two different concentrations, using water and H2SO4. pH is measured with the help of a pH strip. Adjust the pH of one of the solutions as pH = 2 while adjust the pH of the other solution as pH = 4. Pour equal amount of water/ acid solution simultaneously in all the three sets, A, B and C. Plant A should be provided with an acidic solution of pH 2 and plant B should be provided with the acidic solution of pH 4 while plant C should be provided with same amount of tap water. Growth of the plants was monitored and recorded on a regular basis with the help of measuring tape. The experiment continued for two weeks and observations were recorded in the following table for the comparative analysis of the impact of acid on the growth of plants. Control plant, C was watered with tap water and its growth was also recorded in the following table- Acidification of rain-water occurs

Essay examples --

Laura Greene SOC 421 Section 1002 Fall 2013 Dr. Mann Marxist Theories in Todays Society Karl Marx was a German philosopher whose work are thought to still have an influence even on todays society. Marx believed that material goods were the root of the social world and that social life is fundamentally about conflict over food, land, money, and other material goods. The ideal government for Marx would be a communist state where resources are equally shared. However, here in America it seems we will always have a democratic government where the rich get richer and the poor get poorer. For my final paper I will use the marxist theoretical ideas to investigate how Wal-Mart uses their economic and financial power to exploit their workers and suppliers. I will use Marx’s theory to understand how Wal-Mart not only manipulates and exploits its employees and suppliers but, also how they are able to alienate their employees. Marx’s theories remain as powerful framework for explaining the actions of a billion dollar multinational company because of its focus Wage-La bor, Surplus Value and Alienation. By sharing with the reader the reasons why Wal-Mart should be considered a threat to our society by using Marx theories, I hope to bring attention the true cost of getting things for a bargain. For the purpose of this paper I will be focusing on his theories about Wage-Labor, Surplus Value and Alienation and using them to explain Wal-Marts actions. Throughout the course of his life, Marx came up with many theories. However, Marx was very interested in the topic of capitalism.nCapitalism can be defined as being an economic and political system in which a country's trade and industry are controlled by private owners for profit, rather than by th... ...ncome. However, today’s materialistic society is so obsessed with the idea of commodity fetishism that we are blinded by the effects of it. We only think of where we can buy great products at low prices? Wal-Mart is always the answer, but if only we knew at what price of exploiting and alienating their employees, would we change out minds. Consumers never see the work that goes into making the product or how the labor has turned the worker into nothing but another commodity. All the consumer sees is the status or wealth depicted by the product. In all capitalism is what keeps our society in order. Even though Wal-Mart has become the bourgeoisie that Marx was against and feared, he would be happy to say that his prediction came true. In all, through these examples, I hope to open the publics eyes and show them at what cost their bargains are costing the workers.

Criminal Law and Procedure Assignment Essay

1) At the Trial of Scissors Lee, the prosecution would like to produce to the court the caution statements of Scissors Lee as evidence of his confession. Can you write out a list of your objections you will raise with the court to the production of the caution statement at the trial? Ans:  Upon the production of the caution statement of Scissors Lee, I would like to raise some objections in term of its arresting procedure, reliability and voluntariness. Arresting Procedure: PC34567 should have cautioned Scissors Lee at the football ground According to the Rules and Direction for the Questioning of Suspects and the Taking of Statements issued by the Secretary for Security in 1992, when PC34567 has evidence that Scissors Lee might have committed an offence, he must caution Scissor Lee before putting him into further questions. In the caution statement, DPC13579 first quoted the conversation between Scissors Lee and PC34567 to induce Scissor Lee to have a consensus in the fact described in that conversation, however that conversation record was not obtained under caution and therefore it should not be mentioned in questioning Scissors Lee. Therefore, the caution statement is not obtained in a proper procedure and should be inadmissible. Arresting Procedure: DPC13579 did not tell Scissors Lee his rights fully under arrest After Scissors Lee was brought to the police station, he was not told by the police that he should have the chance to contact his family or get a lawyer. In that circumstance, Scissors Lee may be put in a situation of helpless and unassisted. Besides, DPC13579 told Scissors Lee that he could only go if he had given him a statement, therefore, there is a reasonable doubt that Scissors Lee may be induced to cooperate to work out the caution statement. If he was told that he may get a lawyer to represent him, he should have stayed silence during the interview of DPC13579. Reliability: The caution statement is recorded in English The interview should be conducted in the mother tongue of Scissors Lee, that seems not to be English but Cantonese, upon the conversation between Lee and PC34567 to avoid any ambiguity and misunderstanding. Scissors Lee is only a Form 4 student at a secondary school and do not do well in academic. Therefore, there is a reasonable doubt that Scissors Lee has the proficiency in English that he understood all the statements made by DPC13579 and stated concisely in his speaking about the whole story of the event. Voluntariness: The length of the time of the interview is too long The duration of the interview is 2 hours. It may be a factor that sapping the free will of Scissors Lee in signing the cautioned statement. When the interview time is lengthened, Scissors Lee was anxious to go home, and there is a reasonable possibility that Scissors Lee just signed the cautioned statement for letting DPC13579 to release him to go home, therefore the cautioned statement may not be made voluntarily and thus should be inadmissible. Voluntariness: Scissors Lee was in hunger but was rejected to take snack Throughout the interview, Scissors Lee was not given any refreshment. The interview was held at the time of having dinner (2000-2200), as he was quite hungry during the interview, he asked DPC13579 for some snack, however DPC13579 ignored him. In such circumstances, it is reasonable to object that the voluntariness of Scissors Lee to sign the cautioned statement was greatly affected by hunger and ignorance of DPC13579, thus the cautioned statement should be inadmissible. Voluntariness: Scissors Lee was deceived in signing the cautioned statement DPC13579 showed the cautioned statement to Scissors Lee, and simply asked him to sign on it without explaining the content. Scissors Lee thought the cautioned statement was a paper stating his right after his arrest and signed on it without full acknowledgement. There is a reasonable possibility that Scissors Lee was deceived into signing the cautioned statement and therefore, he was not voluntary in admitting hitting Ah Ho, therefore the cautioned statement should be void and thus inadmissible. Voluntariness: Scissors Lee was afraid of prejudice in admitting the offence Scissors Lee was told by DPC13579 that he was the only one arrested by the police and he must admit hitting Ah Ho otherwise the police would be very angry and come to his school to see him every day. Scissors Lee was afraid that if he did not admit the offence, the police would really come to see him every day which will obviously cause unexpected harassment to him. Therefore, the cautioned statement is clearly involuntary as it has been obtained by â€Å"a fear of prejudice†. Voluntariness: Scissors Lee was promised in admitting the offence Scissors Lee was told by DPC13579 that hitting is a common assault and he would get away with a fine. Since Scissors Lee thought that he already has a criminal conviction of bound-over and so that one more common assault would not further taint his character. DPC13579 had made an offer of release from police custody and therefore, it is obvious that Scissors Lee signed the cautioned statement in the hope of release, thus that statement is inadmissible. Voluntariness: Scissors Lee was unsuitable for confession upon his emotional status Throughout the interview, Scissors Lee was scared and anxious to go home. Under this mental condition, he was easily affected by external factors, such as the persuasion or threat by DPC13579, impatient to go home; therefore, it appears a reasonable doubt that he admitted the offence in absolute voluntary. As a result, the cautioned statement should not be admissible as it is not fair to demand Scissors Lee to make a comprehensive decision in the interview. Voluntariness: Scissors Lee may be affected by alcohol On the day in question, before PC34567 brought him back to police station, Scissors Lee was forced to drink whisky. It was hard to determine that whether the decision of Scissors Lee was affected by the alcohol. Therefore, there is a reasonable doubt that Scissors Lee signed the cautioned statement in an unconscious status, thus the cautioned statement may not be made in voluntary and so inadmissible. 2) Supposed Scissors Lee would plead guilty at his trial, can you advise him what mitigating factors you should address the court on his behalf? Ans:  After having a detailed analysis in Scissors Lee’s background and the circumstance of the offence, I may address the court some mitigating factors upon the facts of this case and of his background. Case Fact: Scissors Lee was scared of offending Mr. Big Mr. Big was an older boy who started to offer Scissors Lee drinks and snacks and treated him to bar after the match. He taught Scissors Lee how to drink and everybody in the football ground treated Mr. Big like their leader. In this case, Scissors Lee’s offence was instigated by Mr. Big. Mr. Big told Scissors Lee to be at the football ground at 3.30 pm so that he would like Scissors Lee to â€Å"teach Ah Ho a lesson.† Mr. Big continued to threaten Scissors Lee that if he did not come, Mr. Big would treat him naughty and teach him a real nasty lesson. Scissors Lee committed the offence only in fear of Mr. Big but not intentional. Case Fact: Scissors Lee was not the prime mover In this case, Mr. Big was throughout the only prime mover of the offence. Scissors Lee was only in control of Mr. Big because of fear of Mr. Big. He played a less important role than his accomplices in this offence and therefore he should be held less guilty. Without the threat by Mr. Big, there appears no evidence that Scissors Lee would commit the offence and cause any harm to Ah Ho, therefore, Scissors Lee was only a puppet of Mr. Big for his offence to Ah Ho. Case Fact: Scissors Lee attempted to stop others hitting Ah Ho When Ah Egg, Zero, Ah Kin were hitting Ah Ho, Scissors Lee went up and shouted to them to stop. His attempt to stop others hitting Ah Ho shows that, at first, he had no intention of hitting Ah Ho. Scissors Lee only pushed Ah Ho once after Mr. Big yelled at him, the purpose of his offence was only to make a false appearance to Mr. Big that he was hitting Ah Ho but not intended to cause bodily damage to Ah Ho. In such circumstances, his offence was relatively unsubstantial when compared to his accomplices. Case Fact: Scissors Lee was affected by alcohol which was forced to drink by Mr. Big Scissors Lee never like drinking wine. But before the offence, Scissors Lee was forced by Mr. Big to drink a lot of whisky. His offence may be affected by alcohol. Therefore, in such unconscious status, Scissors Lee was partly involuntary to commit the offence. There was no evidence that Scissors Lee will commit similar offence in the future. Case Fact: The injury of Ah Ho was not too serious Ah Ho was sent to the hospital for medical treatment, from his medical report, he was discharged with no complication from his wound and he would be expected to recover fully within two weeks. Although Scissors Lee and his accomplices did damage to Ah Ho, there was no evidence that the offence of Scissors Lee was causing any substantial damage and left any unrecoverable wound to Ah Ho. The offence committed by Scissors Lee was relatively light and it can be seen that the intention of Scissors Lee was not to cause serious harm to Ah Ho. Case Fact: Scissors Lee did not attempt to approach Ah Ho after the offence Scissors Lee has not tried to harass Ah Ho after the event and he stays a distance from Ah Ho, even if they are still in the same class. Scissors had shown genuine remorse for his offence and regret to what he had done to Ah Ho. Base on these circumstances, Scissors Lee is less likely to recommit any offence to Ah Ho. Case Fact: Scissors Lee pleaded guilty in sincere manner and cooperated with the police Scissors Lee was regret for his offence to Ah Ho, and he pleaded guilty in sincere manner. Throughout the arrest, Scissors Lee cooperated with the police and told the fact without any concealment. From the above evidence, we can see that Scissors Lee has the intention to repent and reform, he is less likely to commit any similar offence in the future. Therefore, the court should sentence him in high discretion. Background: Scissors Lee has good relationship with people surrounded From the background report of Scissors Lee, he came to Hong Kong 10 years ago to reunite with his father. However, his father since divorced his mother 8 years ago and left them. Scissors Lee is although come from a complicated family background his relationship with his mother is good. At school, he always has good relationship with school friends, class teacher and the principal. Scissors Lee has good personality and there is no substantial risk of reoffending. Background: Scissors Lee is a person of responsibility Scissors Lee is an active participator at school and he always help the school in important events like open-day, parents-day and whenever Justices of Peace come to visit them. It shows that Scissors Lee has a good character and a good work record at the school. Besides, Scissors Lee is also the sports captain of his school. He is responsible for organizing sport events and taking care of other schoolmates during sport events. All of his achievements at school show that, he is a person of responsibility and therefore he chose to bear the consequence of his offence. Background: Scissors Lee has a clear direction of future career Scissors Lee planned to be a footballer, a dancer or an artist after he has finished Form 5. He has a realistic prospect of career and therefore is outstanding from others of the same age. It shows that he is a mature and thoughtful youngster and therefore the criminal conviction of this minor offence would be a stain in his personality which may substantially affect his career and life in future already. Background: Scissors Lee was not really familiar with the prime mover Mr. Big Scissors Lee was not really familiar with the prime mover Mr. Big and his accomplices, Zero, Ah Kin and Egg. They are only met at the football ground and play football together. After this event, Scissors Lee is much likely to aloof from those people and he will no longer be influenced by these bad friends. Background: Although he was in bind-over, that offence was not relevant to this case Although Scissors Lee has a criminal conviction of fighting in public place on 5 Jan 2009 and he is under bound-over in $1000 for 12 months to be of good behavior and refrain from acts of violence. However, that offence was obviously provoked by the victims and it is not relevant to this case as in this case, Scissors Lee was in threat of Mr. Big. Therefore, the court should not impose any relationship from this record to the present case. Proposed Sentence Since Scissors Lee’s mother who earns only about $8,000 a month is the only financial support in his family, and the maintenance from his divorced father is always received on an irregular basis, to impose a fine may not be suitable as it may cause financial problem to his family. Therefore, a community service order should be imposed as Scissors Lee (1) is one with a light criminal record, (2) has a stable home background and good relationship with his mother, (3) has a good record in school important events, (4) has a realistic prospect of being a footballer, a dancer or an artist, (5) has shown genuine remorse upon his confession and (6) has no more than a slight risk of re-offending upon his background and facts in this case.

Mr. Smith Goes Washington Analysis - 1180 Words

Mr. Smith Goes to Washington Analysis In Frank Capra’s Mr. Smith Goes to Washington, a modern David and Goliath story of a man taking on a system way more powerful than himself is evident in its themes of patriotism and standing up in the face of injustice. James Stewart’s portrayal of a naà ¯ve and patriotic junior senator serves as a vehicle with which Capra exposed a side of American politics that previously had been beyond the eyes of the everyman. With the help of incredible supporting actors, such as Jean Arthur and Claude Rains, Stewart’s character became one of the most well liked and rooted for characters in cinema. The film is â€Å"considered by many to be his greatest achievement in film†www.filmsite.org, and for good reason. Beyond any tangible merits the movie contains, there is a quality of wholesomeness about Smith’s story that is inspirational as it is reminiscent of the modern American dream. 1939 was an important year for such a movie to come out. The second world war had just begun, and patriotic and nationalistic feelings in the United States were growing to what would become an all-time high. Despite the Great Depression causing millions of Americans to question the competency of the government, only a small minority actually saw the government as largely crooked or self-absorbed. Most Americans still had, while not to the degree of the Smith stereotype, a simplistic rule-following perception of Congress. The controversy that surrounded Mr. Smith Goes toShow MoreRelatedCharacter Analysis Of Mr. Smith Goes To Washington995 Words   |  4 Pages Throughout the film Mr. Smith Goes to Washington the main character, Mr. Smith, shows his unfaltering patriotism and devotion toward being an honest man, promoting liberty and freedom. The politicians in the film seem to be the exact opposite of Mr. Smith because they forget that everything is about the people and doing what is right. 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