Mimetic Architecture, 1927 to the Present

Puritans And The New England - 1344 Words

Puritans were a group of English Protestants who believed that the Reformation of the Church of English was still to stuck on Catholic formalities and wanted to simplify and regulate types of worship. The Puritans left England out of a need to purify the church and their own lives. They followed the writings of John Calvin to America and formed The Massachusetts Bay Colony. The Massachusetts Bay Colony was one of the original settlements, settled in 1630 by a group of about 1,000 Puritan refugees from England, under the guidance of Governor John Winthrop. In 1929, The Massachusetts Bay Colony received a charter from King Charles I allowing them to colonize in New England between the Charles River and the Merrimack River. The Puritans created a government with theocratic rule which was limited to church members. The Puritans initially settled in Boston in 1630. After Boston, they settled in Cambridge, Lexington, Concord, Watertown, Charlestown, and Dorchester. The Puritan population, in New England, rose from 17,800 people, in 1640, to 106,000, in 1700. The beliefs of the puritans were simple and straightforward. They believed that the Bible was God s true law and it provided the blueprints for a righteous life. People who did not agree with the Puritans theological views were advised to disperse from the area or convert to the popular beliefs of the majority. In fact, those who deviated from the socially acceptable way of living were strictly disciplined. The PuritansShow MoreRelatedPuritans And The New England1248 Words   |  5 PagesThroughout fifteenth century England, Puritanism was severely persecuted. Puritans were forced to go to the Anglican Church where they were also pushed into associating with those that were predestined for Hell. The Puritans wished to purify the Church of England in a way that allowed them to not only practice their religion, but to do so in a different location than the Hell-bound. In 1620, the Puritans left England and settled in Plymouth, Massachusetts, where they were free to practice Puritanis mRead MoreNew England As A Refuge For Puritans Essay1984 Words   |  8 Pagesconcern: New England, the Middle Colonies, and the South. New England was a region with some aspirations of profit, but these aspirations were largely overshadowed by a desire to reform or purify English religion. Massachusetts was founded by John Winthrop as a refuge for Puritans escaping persecution. The Puritans were successful in promoting education, creating a sense of social cohesion, establishing a centralized form of government, and fostering a strong work ethic. However, the Puritans were limitedRead MoreEssay on Puritans in New England461 Words   |  2 PagesPuritans in New England Raised during the aftermath of the fall of the Spanish Armada to England, the Puritan generation they were children and grandchildren of the Protestant Reformation in Europe. An idealistic generation of the Colonial Cycle, the Puritans came to America seeking freedom, to practice religion in a manner different than that of the English. Puritans regarded New England as a place to establish a visible kingdom of God, a society where outward conduct would be accordingRead MoreThe Accusation of Witches in Puritan, New England1634 Words   |  7 Pagesweakness in times of trouble is the instinctive act of finding a scapegoat. Stemming from the Calvinistic religious beliefs of the Puritans who immigrated to America, anything that strays from the predestined lives of these puritanical people is the result of sin. The ideas of original sin and predestination are at the heart of Calvinism. Thus, the Calvinist Puritans have their lives planned out for them by God before birth and anything that disrupts that plan must be eradicated. It was on theRead MoreInfluence of the Puritan Faith on the Development of New England768 Words   |  3 PagesThe New England colonies rapidly developed though out the 1600s. This mass of development was influenced by the Puritans, whom founded a majority of the New England and several Middle c olonies. The Puritan philosophies and values formed and directed the progress of the colonies. Socially, strict emphasis on church and community was influential in other colonial settlements as well. Politically, unification and representation derived from the Puritans. Economically, ideas such as fair pricing originatedRead MoreThe Unjust System of New England Puritan Court System Essays1018 Words   |  5 Pages The court system in Puritan New England was an unfair and unjust system, stemming from the general court of Massachusetts. Many of the trials and procedures were ludicrous. General life in the Puritan communities was centered around religion and the judicial system reflected this. Religion crept into laws and the courts until they were practically combined. Puritans valued their religion zealously and it became part of everyday life in the colony. Religion was a huge part of law, the court, andRead MoreThe Impact of the New England Puritans and the Chesapeake Catholics on the Development of Colonial Society1144 Words   |  5 Pagesgroups often arrive and settle on a new piece of land, and happen to shape that society, around their beliefs and religion. The New England Puritans and the Chesapeake Catholics are prime examples to show how religion shaped the development of a colonial society. In 1624, the early 17th century, the religious group called the Puritans, settled for the first time in the New England territory. Once there, they chose to inhabit the Massachusetts area. The Puritans were a varied group of religiousRead Moreâ€Å"in What Ways Did the Ideas and Values Held by the Puritans Influence the Political, Economic, and Social Development of the New England Colonies from 1630 Through the 1660’s?†861 Words   |  4 PagesIn the 1630s and the 1640s, the Puritans traveled to the colonies to detach from their opinion of a convoluted Church of England. They set up towns and started new lives that were all based on their idea of a pure religion. The Puritans definition of a pure religion did not include many of the ideas of the Church of England. They built the colonies and made a system based upon the idea that God was the most important aspect of life. Puritan ideas and values influenced the political, economic,Read MoreHow Were The Puritans Dif ferent From The Pilgrims?961 Words   |  4 PagesHow were the Puritans different from the Pilgrims? According to US History, a community of christians traveled across the ocean to an unknown land, different from the society they left behind, they called themselves Pilgrims. The Pilgrims made up the states of Virginia, Maryland, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Georgia, which were the southern colonies. The Puritans made up the New England colonies, they were located in Massachusetts, Rhode Island, New Hampshire, and Connecticut. The firstRead MoreThe Realities Of Puritan Life With M. Night Shyamalan s Theatrical Interpretation1390 Words   |  6 PagesIn order to compare the realities of Puritan life with M. Night Shyamalan’s theatrical interpretation, The Village, it is important to understand who Puritans were and what kinds of beliefs they had. Puritans, different from Pilgrims, attempted to â€Å"purify† the Church of England in the seventeenth century as they felt it had been insufficiently reformed. Their idea of reformation consisted of a Calvinistic appr oach to society; believing in the absolute sovereignty of God, absolute dependence on divine

Classical ethical principles in ICT -MyAssignmenthelp.com

Question: Discuss about the Classical ethical principles in ICT. Answer: Classical ethical principles in ICTfor the self-driving cars in Australia: Now, the time has come that the organizations need to be aware of the ICT Ethics in their company. The places where the progress is to be made, where the challenges or limitations exist and the future potential are needed to be identified (Goodall, 2016). The following essay has identified the case of driverless cars changing Australia. The classical ethical theories are applied on it. Lastly, the justifiable and logical conclusions are derived to solve the ethical problems. The most exciting technological development of ICT is on the horizon in Australia. However, the creation of driverless vehicle can devastate Australia. The economy of Australia has been depending highly on the logistics and transport industry. This could demolish the jobs of truck drivers with far-reaching impacts. The outline of the transportation industry has been strongly tied to the wider economy. It is not a surprise that the rise of the transport sector has been tracking nearer to the GDP rise ("The jobs killer is coming", 2017). The companies like Uber have been reducing the standards of the labors by stealth. This is done through employing the drivers as the independent contracts. This has not been supplying any profits that were possessed by the Australias generations. The Uber has been undercutting the present standards of poor labors existing in the taxi industry. The industries are bound to lift the standards not permitting them to be decreased further. Moreover, they hav e urgently needed the strategy for deciding from where the quality jobs of the future will arise. The drivers could be left without jobs and there have been concerns regarding the supposed technology resulting in chaos to the crucial industries (Nyholm Smids, 2016). The driverless trucks are still semi-automated and the human drivers would need to advocate the admitting of particular issues, required to be ironed out, despite the computers perform the driving. The safety issues would not be eradicated as the technology has not been infallible. There has been also inevitable catastrophically mismanagement of the driverless vehicles. This would no doubt happen just as presently few heavy vehicles have not been maintained rightly resulting in fatalities (Bringsjord Sen, 2016). The challenges with this technology must indicate the disaster on the larger scale with the unmanned drones and the warships eradicating the weapons that are human operated. The civilization must require making few dramatic changes for adapting the driverless cars in new reality. Let in case of an unavoidable crash, the car needs to go for crashing with two distinct sets of people. The utilitarian approach, a popular classical theory of ethics would opt for the least loss of life. This is because there has been a clear aim to reduce harm to human, morally the most effective approach benefiting the wider society (Lin, 2016). This method is the most intuitive. This is because it is expected from the artificial machines to take decisions on the basis of algorithms. No emotion is taken into account here. This is the most natural development for the intelligent systems. This is because the technology makes use of the rational approach and most logical to consider. The ethical considerations could be on the basis of the principles of utilitarianism that are constant and not influenced by the occupants of the state of mind of the vehicles. This analyses the safety of the autonomous vehicles regardless the passengers are intoxicated or unable to drive. Thus it reduces the risks regarding the vehicle being programmed for driving in a less perfect way. The programming constancy if programming of various vehicle manufacturers leads to lesser legal ramifications for everyone (Bonnefon, Shariff Rahwan, 2015). As one manufacturer uses the alternative programming, it is used to make the vehicles safer for the drivers. Through using the utilitarian method to program the self-drive vehicles indicates that they are created to be programmed in the similar manner none of the cars cannot prioritize the life of the driver. This must be rather than what has been in the best interest for everyone. The programming of utilitarian is simpler to impose. This is because the ability to make decisions has been only based to reduce the loss of life in any case. The ethical systems like the virtue ethics need complex computation for deciding the most suitable course of action in the situations of inevitable crashes (Belay, 2015). The utilitarian process minimizes the expense to develop the technology and simplify the needed programs. This could also the playing sector between the low and high-end manufacturers of car and improving the consistency. Further, the insurance companies could see the approach of social contract must easier in comprehending. Moreover, the premiums get lowered compared to other ethical frameworks. This has been because of the simpler calculations for the insurance brokers who have been pricing the strict decisions of the social contract made by the vehicle for the humanitys best interest (Goodall, 2014). The online services have been already delivering the automated proposals for latest services and products. These are a few cases the possible invasions of privacy. The usage of the social contract algorithm needs no personal data for the vehicles in modeling itself as the human driver, unlike the virtue ethics. Thus it has been reducing the quantity of the privacy infringement. Again the social contract has been bound to the psychological facts as by the legal and technological ones. The modern-day government is the result of the implicit agreement also known as the social contract (Goodall, 2016). In this way, the self-automated cars could be conceived as they try to embed the will of the machines into the algorithmic social contract. The deontologists, on the other hand, could struggle with the concept of the computers having the free will while acting to avoid the crash. While the car could make choice between the killings of any pedestrian or any driver is a good intention or simply the process executed and carried out arbitrarily is raising concern (Bonnefon, Shariff Rahwan, 2015). However, an ideal deontologist must be in the favor of the self-driving cars since the opting to use the safer self-autonomous cars at first could override the decisions made by the technology of the cars. The report has shown how the ethical principles could be applied to the self-driving cars. It has applied the classical ethical principles where it could be applicable. However, the autonomy is unable to save all the people. The technology can never be perfect. The society needs to remind this before arriving of the technology. They also need to understand that this innovation for greater good. To convince the public should start the understanding what the public has been worried about and the psychological mechanisms involved. The self-driving cars possess bright future. However, this can only happen as the public overcomes the psychological issues standing in their way of the widespread adoption. Another ethical aspect of this industry which requires development has been how the people describe and set the expectations from the viewpoint of the consumers. Moreover, the consumers are needed to be educated more regarding the technology of autonomous vehicle. In this way they could be informed about the easy in the vehicle would be operating along with its responsibilities. As the consumers make sense of the long-term and immediate advantages of the self-driving cars, they could be provided with the green light. References: Goodall, N. J. (2016). Can you program ethics into a self-driving car?.IEEE Spectrum,53(6), 28-58. Bonnefon, J. F., Shariff, A., Rahwan, I. (2015). Autonomous vehicles need experimental ethics: are we ready for utilitarian cars?.arXiv preprint arXiv:1510.03346. Nyholm, S., Smids, J. (2016). The ethics of accident-algorithms for self-driving cars: an applied trolley problem?.Ethical Theory and Moral Practice,19(5), 1275-1289. Lin, P. (2016). Why ethics matters for autonomous cars. InAutonomous Driving(pp. 69-85). Springer Berlin Heidelberg. Bringsjord, S., Sen, A. (2016). On Creative Self-Driving Cars: Hire the Computational Logicians, Fast.Applied Artificial Intelligence,30(8), 758-786. Belay, N. (2015). Robot Ethics and Self-Driving Cars: How Ethical Determinations in Software Will Require a New Legal Framework.J. Legal Prof.,40, 119. Goodall, N. J. (2014). Machine ethics and automated vehicles. InRoad vehicle automation(pp. 93-102). Springer International Publishing. Goodall, N. J. (2016). Can you program ethics into a self-driving car?.IEEE Spectrum,53(6), 28-58. Bonnefon, J. F., Shariff, A., Rahwan, I. (2015). Autonomous vehicles need experimental ethics: are we ready for utilitarian cars?.arXiv preprint arXiv:1510.03346. The jobs killer is coming. (2017).NewsComAu. Retrieved 17 September 2017, from https://www.news.com.au/finance/business/travel/the-jobs-killer-is-coming-how-driverless-trucks-could-change-australia/news-story/4f5b8a42b0452703d62e00f3e7644d7b

Theories of Play free essay sample

Child development was previously largely ignored, and there was little attention to the progress which occurs during childhood and adolescence in terms of cognitive abilities, physical growth and language usage. However, researchers have found interest to study typical development in children as well as what influences development. Many theories have emerged which have helped full understanding of the social, emotional and physical growth which occurs in a child from early childhood to early adulthood (Hughes, 2004, p. 0). Jean Piaget proposed one of such theories and looked human development in a biological angle and explained it in four development stages. The stages are sensorimotor development stage, preoperational development stage, concrete operational development stage and formal operational development stage. However, Vygotsky proposed another theory of cognitive development which looked development in social interaction point of view. Although these theories differ in some a spects, they both consider playing as a key element in child development. We will write a custom essay sample on Theories of Play or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page This paper will discuss Piaget and Vygotsky theories of development and attempt to relate play to the theories. In addition, the paper will cover the applications of these theories in real life situation by giving real life examples, as used by teachers to their students. Piaget looked at the cognitive development concept from a biological point of view. To him, the key principles in the child’s growth and intellect are adaptation and organization. This theory indicates all organisms should have the ability to adapt to the environment, which is a necessity for survival. According to this theory, learning involves constructivist process thus knowledge is not acquired from the environment and imitation of other people’s actions. Rather, knowledge is acquired through a slow but a continuous process of learning. Piaget noted that children need three basic kinds of knowledge in order to develop; they need physical, social and logical-mathematical, and psychological knowledge (Hughes, 2009, p. 29). This theory also notes that physical knowledge is essential for survival and growth of the body. Physical knowledge is obtained by performing activities which allow children to observe and make conclusions of physical characteristics of objects. On the other hand, social knowledge is obtained from experience when a child interacts with other children. Children are, therefore, able to apply what they gain from social situations. Logical-mathematical knowledge allows children to discover the relationship between objects, ideas and people. Lastly, psychological knowledge is essential for the growth of intellectual structure of a child’s mind. According to this theory, adaptation encompasses two stages, assimilation and accommodation process. Assimilation involves taking in new things or ideas, from the outside world and trying to fit it in the existing structure. Children take information and use it at their pleasure without necessarily adapting their thinking to it. The accommodation process involves the existing structure adjusting to new acquired materials. The physical body reacts by internal process, such as digestion, and responds by growing and changing in size. On the other hand, minds reacts by accommodating new intellectual materials and responds by growing intellectually (Oakley, 2004, p. 27). In the development of a child, play is a crucial element to consider. This is essentially because, as children play they encounter (assimilate) new material. If the new ideas are not fitting to their current knowledge, a sense of confusion will result (disequilibrium). Thereafter, the child may master new idea by adjusting current ideas (accommodation) to the new information and, therefore, learn something new. To Piaget, there are four critical stages which a child must pass through during cognitive development (Watson, 2004, p. 38). First, there is sensorimotor stage, which starts from birth to about two years, apply motor activity without the use of symbols. Children gain knowledge through physical interaction and experience, however, knowledge is limited at this stage. They learn through trial and error since they cannot predict reactions. However, as children become more mobile, their abilities for cognitive development increases and early language development begin. Between seven to nine months, children develop object permanence, and they realize that an object still exists even after it is out of their sight (Keenan, 2009, p. 24). Preoperational, Stage which occurs between two and seven years, is the second stage in cognitive development. During this stage, children begin to use language as a way of communication and their memory and imagination develop. They also engage in make-believe and they in symbols which allows flexibility and planning in their problem solving skills. During this stage, children are egocentric; they think all people view the world as they see (Martin, 2008, p. 0). They also begin to remember past events and even imagine future events (Watson, 2005, p. 65). Concrete operational is the next stage of Jean Piaget theory of child development. The third stage occurs between seven and eleven years. The stage is marked by conservation whereby a child understands that things still maintains their attributes even if they change their essential appearance. Children begin to demonstrate their intellectual development by using logic and manipulation of symbols which relates to concrete objects. Their egocentric nature of thinking becomes less and their awareness of external events increases (Martin, 2004, p. 40). The last stage of development according to Piaget theory is the formal operational stage. This stage begins when a child is about eleven years. . A child will acquire another level of understanding during this stage, in addition to the ability of, applying logical principles attained in concrete operational stage to more abstract and hypothetical situations. The child, who is now an adult can formulate a hypothesis and be able to think about concepts and abstract relationship. They become interested about the broad social issues such as fairness, justice and equality. Piaget concludes that development is a lifelong process, and new structures are needed after operational stage (Martin, 2004, p. 40). Piaget theory of development can be used in school for development and growth of children. The implication of this theory is an adaptation of instructions to the development of the learner and the instructions should be consistent with the learner’s level of development. The role of a teacher is to facilitate learning of through the provision of a variety of experiences. This will enable a child to experiment and explore, which in turn encourages new understanding. Teachers should use concrete hands on experience to allow students learn and acquire another level of understanding (Watson, 200 4, p. 65 and 66). Piaget theory has found wide application in school. For instance, the teachers teach children through sensory experiences whereby they are given objects to touch, smell and taste. As the children grow, they can be given texture names, colour names, colour names and the names of the objects around them. In addition, they can also be taught new vocabularies accompanied by pictures; however, teachers should keep in mind the level of their understanding. As they progress, children are given complex problems, e. g. maths, whereby they are required to use logic. They are, therefore, able to make more connections with reality rather than fantasy. Secondly, children can be involved with plays like hide and seek at the primary level. These kinds of plays help them to develop physical skills and enhance their coordination. They can also be involved with game of numbers, riddles and coded messages. As they grow, their plays become more organised and structured. Teachers can organize games and sport events with rules. This level teaches them that winning comes as a result of following the rules. As they progress, they can be organised into clubs and team sports which helps them in understanding how they can fit to the societal system. Vygotsky proposed another theory for cognitive development. This theory places emphasis on the fundamental rule of social interaction in the child’s cognitive development. It notes that community plays a significant role to develop a child and that they adapt through their cultural and social interactions with people who are more skilled, such teachers or parents. The basis of this theory is the idea that children will use tools such as language, maps and numbering systems in order to develop high level of thinking. According to this theory, language is a hugely critical factor in children development since it helps them to develop new ideas and control their behaviours. They also use language to engage in internal dialogue, which helps in solving difficult task. Vygotsky theory of development is based on three main principles, which are zone of proximal development (ZPD and Scaffolding or more knowledgeable other (MNO). The theory notes that there is a difference between what a child can learn independently and what they can learn under the guidance of skilled instructor. This is difference is captured in the zone of proximity development. Vygotsky sees ZPN as the area in which most guidance and instruction should be given. This will allow children develop essential skills they will later use on their own. He also notes that every day experience plays a vital role in children’s development because they learn through social interactions with skilled helpers, such as teachers or parents. The theory suggests that tutors should use cooperative learning exercises (Martin, 2008, p. 41). On the other hand, more Knowledgeable other principle of the theory refers to people who are more skilful and knowledgeable. When these people interact with children, they provide them with problem solving skills which serves as cognitive scaffolding, which help children to gain the ability to function independently (retrieved from rojects. coe. uga. edu). Vygotsky theory of child development has found a wide application in schools. The current application of Vygotsky theory is in the reciprocal teaching which is used to improve the abilities of children to learn from texts. Here, teachers and pupils collaborate in learning summarizing, clarifying, questioning and predicting, through practicing. Teache rs should also come up with group activities, which allow more skilled peers to interact with less skilled children. With the assistance of adults, children can perform tasks which would be impossible on their own. Scaffolding should thus be used whereby the helper adjusts their level of assistance in accordance to the child’s performance level. Lastly, zone of proximal development should guide assessment methods, which describes what a child can do without the help of a more skilled person. It should consider both actual and potential development of a child (retrieved from projects. coe. uga. edu). Vygotsky theory is can be simplified for quick learning of children. For example, children are shown pennies representing each sound in a word (e. . four pennies for four sounds). In order for them to master the words, they may be requested to place the items on the table showing each sound in a word. Finally, the teacher may ask the children to indentify the words without using pennies. In this case, pennies act like scaffolding to help children move from being assisted to unassisted during a task. In advanced levels, such as high school, a lab tutor may provide students with scaffolding by first giving them detailed experiment procedures and then a brief outline. Thereafter, the tutor may ask the students to set up the experiment on their own. In conclusion, it is clear that Piaget and Vygotsky theories differ in some aspects; however, both theories indicate that children development is a slow but continuous process, which can be achieved as children, interacts with one another, with the surroundings as well as with more skilled persons. These theories, therefore, shows the fundamental aspect of play the development and learning of children. Teachers can effectively use these theories to enhance development of children, but they must take into account their levels of growth and understanding.

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