Friday, January 31, 2020

How effective is the strategy of nuclear deterrence Essay

How effective is the strategy of nuclear deterrence - Essay Example The use of weapons of mass destruction may not be a realistic option to solve issues because it goes against the principle of life (Nuclear Age Peace Foundation, 2013). Some countries use nuclear deterrence to impose sanctions on their enemies and prevent them from using their nuclear weapons. This is because they inflict fear on their adversaries such that if the adversary used their nuclear weapons in an unacceptable way, the threatening state will react by using it supposedly superior, nuclear weapons against the adversary, and the damage will be devastating for both countries. Therefore, nuclear deterrence is an attempt to create risks that may make the opponent not to engage in a certain policy or action (Nuclear Age Peace Foundation, 2013). This essay discusses the merits and demerits of the strategy of nuclear deterrence to evaluate its efficacy. As mentioned earlier, nuclear deterrence is the act that involves the prevention of using nuclear weapons (Nuclear Age Peace Foundat ion, 2013). This means that the threatening nation prevents its adversary from using Nuclear weapons against it or its allies, lest the threatening nation will attack its adversary, using nuclear weapons. Therefore, nuclear deterrence is the threat to strike back with nuclear weapons (Nuclear Age Peace Foundation, 2013). ... A threatening nation must be capable and willing to use its nuclear weapon, as well as, effectively communicate this to the nation that is to be deterred to ensure the success of nuclear deterrence (Nuclear Age Peace Foundation, 2013). This means that a deterrent force inflicts unacceptable damage on the nation to be deterred. Secondly, the threatening nation must have the ability to exact payments by disallowing the opponent to accomplish its objectives of using nuclear weapons or by charging the opponent a disproportionate price for achieving the objectives to use nuclear weapons (Nuclear Age Peace Foundation, 2013). Alternatively, the threatening nation can combine the two aforementioned strategies. Further, the threatening nation must ensure that the safety of its nuclear arsenal is guaranteed. Additionally, the opponent must not access a way or method of eliminating the deterring capability of the threatening nation. Therefore, the threatening nation must ensure that technical a nd policy means do not allow the opponent to access a way or method of eliminating the deterring capability of the threatening nation (Nuclear Age Peace Foundation, 2013). Finally, the threatening nation should ensure that it is always ready to demonstrate to its adversary that it can deliver on its message. Therefore, the threatening nation must show that it is willing to engage in a nuclear war that it tries to deter or prevent, if circumstances dictate so (Nuclear Age Peace Foundation, 2013). Having known the preconditions that should be met to ensure the success of nuclear deterrence, it is worthy to analyse the benefits that may accrue from nuclear deterrence, when it is carried out successfully. First, it has been argued by Waltz (1994, p,

Monday, January 27, 2020

What Materials Can Be Recycled Environmental Sciences Essay

What Materials Can Be Recycled Environmental Sciences Essay Recycling involves processing used materials into new products in order to prevent waste of potentially useful materials, reduce the consumption of fresh raw materials, reduce energy usage, reduce air pollution (from incineration) and water pollution (from landfilling) by reducing the need for conventional waste disposal, and lower greenhouse gas emissions as compared to virgin production. Recycling is a key component of modern waste management and is the third component of the Reduce, Reuse, Recycle waste hierarchy. Recyclable materials include many kinds of glass, paper, metal, plastic, textiles and electronics. Although similar in effect, the composting or other reuse of biodegrabale waste- such as food or garden waste- is not typical considered recycling. Materials to be recycled are either brought to a collection center or picked up from the curbside, then sorted, cleaned up, and reprocessed into new materials bound for manufacturing. In a strict sense recycling of a material would produce a fresh supply of the same material, for example, used office paper to more office paper, or used foamed polystyrene to more polystyrene. However, this is often difficult or too expensive (compared with producing the same product from raw materials or other sources), so recycling of many products or materials involves their reuse in producing different materials (e.g., cardboard) instead. Another form of recycling is the salvage of certain materials from complex products, either due to their natural value (e.g., lead from car batteries, or gold from computer components), or due to their hazardous nature (e.g., removal and reuse of mercury from various items). Critics dispute the net economic and environmental benefits of recycling over its costs. Specififically, critics argue that the costs and energy saved in collection and transportation detract from (and possibly outweigh) the costs and energy saved in the production process, also that the jobs produced by the recycling industry production, can be a poor trade for the jobs lost in logging, mining and other industries associated with virgin production, and that the materials such as paper pulp can only be recycled few times before material degradation prevents further recycling. Proponents of recycling counter each of these claims, and the validity of arguments from both sides led to enduring controversy. History Early recycling: recycling has been a common practice for most of human history, which recorded advocates as far back as Plato in 400 BC (Greek, 428/427 BC 348/347 BC, was a Classical Greek philosopher, mathematician, writer of philosophical dialogues.Academy in Athens, the first institution of higher learning in the Western world. Along with his mentor, Socrates, and his student, Aristotle, Plato helped to lay the foundations of natural philosophy, science, and Western philosophy. Plato was originally a student of Socrates). During periods when resources were scarce, archeological studies of ancient waste dumps show less household waste ( such as ash, broken tools and pottery)- implying more waste was being recycled in the absence of new material. In pre-industrial times, there is evidence of scrap bronze and other metals being collected in Europe and melted down for perpetual reuse. In Britain dust and ash from wood and coal fires was collected by dustmen and downcycled as a base material use in brick making. The main driver for these types of recycling was the economic advantage of obtaining recycled feedstock instead of acquiring virgin material, as well as a lack of public waste removal in ever more densely populated areas. Wartime recycling Resource shortages caused by the world was, on other such world-changing ocurrences greatly encouraged recycling. Massive government promotion campaigns were carried out in the World War II in every country involved in the war, urging citizens to donate metals and conserve fibre, as a matter of signigicant patriotic importance. Resource conservation programs established during the war were continued in some contries without an abundance of natural resources, such as Japan, after the war ended. Post-war recycling The next big investment in recycling occured in the 1970s, due to rising energy costs. Recycling aluminium use only 5% of the energy required by virgin production, glass, paper and metals have less dramatic but very significant energy savings when recyclind feedstock is used. Process Collection: A number of different systems have been implemented to collect recyclables from general waste stream. These systems tend to lie along the spectrum of trade-off between public convenience and government ease and expense. The three main categories of collestion are drop-off centres and curbside collection. Dro-off centres require the waste producer to carry the recyclables to central location, either and installed or mobile collection station for the reprocessing plant itself. They are the easiest type of collection to establish, but suffer from low and unpredictable throughput. Buy-back centres differ in that the cleaned recyclables are purchased, thus providing a clear incentive for use and creating a stable supply. The subsides are necessary to make buy-back centres a viable enterprise. Curbside collection: Curbside collection encompasses many subtly different systems, which differ mostly on where in the process the recyclables are sorted and cleaned. The main categories are mixed waste collection, commingled recyclables and source separation. A waste collection vehicule generally picks up the waste. At one end to the spectrum is mixed waste collection, in which all recyclables are collected mixed in with the rest of the waste, and the desired material is then sorted out and cleaned at a central sorting facility. This results in a large amount of recyclable waste, paper especially, being too soiled to reprocess but has advantages as well, the city need to pay for a separate collection of recyclables and not public education is needed. Any changes to which materials are recyclable is easy to accomodate as all sorting happens in a central location. In a commingled or single- stream system, all recyclables for collection are mixed but kept separate from other waste. This greatly reduces the need for post-collection cleaning but does require public education on what materials are recyclable. Source separation is the other extreme, where each material is cleaned and sorted prior to collection. This method requires the last post-collection sorting and produces the purest recyclables, but incurs additional operating costs for collection of each separate material. An extensive public education program is also required, which must be successful if recyclables contamination is to be avoided. Source separation used to be the preferred method due to the high sorting costs incurred by commingled collection. Advances in sorting technology (explained in Sorting paragrapgh below), however, have lowered this overhead substantially-many areas which had developed source separation programs have since switched to commingled collection. Sorting: Once commingled recyclables are collected and delivered to a central collection facility, the different types of materials must be sorted. This is done in a series of stages, many of which involve automated process such as the truck-load of material can be fully sorted in less than an hour. Some plants can now sort the materials automatically, known as Singke Stream. A 30% increase in recycling rates has been seen in the areas where these plants exist. Initially the commingled recyclables are removed from the collection vehicle and placed on a conveyor belt spread out in a single layer. Large pieces of cardboard and plactic bags are removed by hand at this stage, as they can cause later machinery to jam. Next automated machinary separates the recyclables by weight, splitting lighter paper and plastic from heavier glass and metal. Cardboard is removed from the mixed paper, and the most common types of plastic, PET(#1) and HPDE (#2), are collected. This separation is usually done by hand, but has become automated in some sorting centres, a spectroscopic scanner is used to differentiate between different types pf paper and plastic based on the absorbed wavelenghts (lenght of wave cycle), and subsequently divert each material into the proper collection channel. Strong magnets are used to separate out ferrous metals, such as iron, steel, and thin-plated steel cans (tin cans). Non-ferrous metals are ejected by magnetic eddy currents in which a rotating magnetic field induces an electric current around the aluminium cans, which in turn creates a magnetic eddy current inside the cans. This magnetic eddy current is repulsed by a large magnetic field, and the cans are ejected from the rest of the recyclable stream. Finally, glass must be sorted by hand based on its color: brown, amber, green or clear. Common recyclables Many different materials can be recycled but each type requires different technique. Aggregates and concretes: Concrete aggregate collected from demolition sites is put through a crushing machine, often along with asphalt, bricks, dirt, and rocks. Smaller pieces of concrete are used as gravel for new construction projects. Crushed recycled concrete can also be used as the dry aggregate for brand new concrete if it is free of contaminants. This reduces the need for other rocks to be dug up, which in turn saves trees and habitats. Batteries: The large variation in size and type of batteries makes their recycling extremely difficult, they must first be sorted into similar kinds and each kind requires an individual process. Additionally, older batteries contain mercury and cadmium (mettalic chemical element), harmful materials which must be handled with care. Because of their potential environmental damage, proper disposal of used batteries is required by law in many areas. Unfortunately, this mandate has been difficult to enforce. Lead-acid batteries, like those used in automobiles, are relatively easy to recycle. Biodegradable waste: Kitchen, garden, and other green waste can be recycled into useful material by composting. This process allows natural aerobic material to break down the waste into fertile topsoil. Must composting is done on a household scale, but municipal green-waste collection programs also exist. The programs can supplement their funding by selling the topsoil produced. Clothing: Recycling clothe via consignment or swapping has become increasingly popular. In a clothing swap, a group of people gather at a venue to exchange clothes amongst each other. Electronics disassembly and reclamation: The direct disposal of electrical equipment, such as old computers and mobile phones, is banned in many areas due to toxic contents of certain components. The recycling process works by mechanically separating the metals, plastics, and circuit boards contained in the appliance. When this is done on a large scale at an electronic waste recycling plant, component recovery can be archived in cost-effective. Ferrous metals: Iron and steel are the worlds most recycled materials, and among the easiest to reprocess, as they can be separated magnetically from the waste stream. Recycling is via a steelworks, scrap is either remelted in an electric arc furmace (90-100%scrap), or used as the part of the charge in a basic Oxygen furnace (around 25%). Any grade of steel can be recycled to top quality new metals, with no downgrading from prime to lower quality materials as steel is recycled repeatedly. 42% of crude steel product is recycled material. Non-ferrous metals: Aluminium is the most efficient and widely-recycled materials. Aluminium is shredded and ground into small pieces or crushed into bales. These pieces or bales are melted in an aluminium smelter to produce molten aluminium. By this stage the recycled aluminium is indistinguishable from virgin aluminium and further processin is identical for both. This process does not produce any change in the metal, so aluminium can be recycled indefinitely. Recycling aluminium saves 95% of the energy cost of processing new aluminium. This is because the temperature necessary for melting recycled, nearly pure, aluminium is 600 Â °C, while to extract mined aluminium from its ore requires 900 Â °C. To reach this higher temperature, much more energy is needed, leading to the high environmental benefits of environmental benefits of aluminium recycling. Also the energy saved by recycling one aluminium can is enough to run a television for 3 hours. Glass: Glass bottles and jars are gathered then sorted into color categories. The collected glass cullet is taken to a glass recycling plant where it is monitored for purity and contaminants are removed. The cullet is crushed and added to a raw material mix in a melting furnace. It is then mechanically blown or molded into new jars or bottles. Glass cullet is also used in the construction industry for aggregate and glassphalt. Glassphalt is a road-laying material which comprises around 30% recycled glass. Glass can be recycled indefinitely as its structure does not deteriorate when reprocessed. Paper: Paper can be recycled by reducing it to pulp and combining it with pulp from newly harvested wood. As the recycling process causes the paper fibres to break down, each time paper is recycled its quality decreases. This means that either a higher percentage of new fibres must be added, or the paper downcycled into lower quality products. Any writing or colouration of the paper must first be removed by deinking, which also removes fillers, clays, and fibre fragments. Almost all paper can be recycled today, but some types are harder to recycle than others. Paper coated with plastic or aluminium foil, and paper that are waxed, pasted, or gummed are usually not recycled because the process is too expensive. Gift-wrap paper also cannot be recycled due to its already poor quality. Plastic: Plastic recycling is the process of recovering scrap or waste plastics and reprocessing the material into useful products. Compared to glass or metallic materials, plastic poses unique challenges. Because of the massive number of types of plastic, they each carry a resin identification code, and must be sorted before they can be recycled. This can be costly, while metals can be sorted using electromagnets, not such easy sorting capability exists for plastics. In addition to this, while labels do not need to be removed from bottles for recycling, lids are often made from a different kind of non-recyclable plastic. To help in identifying the materials in various plastic items, resin identification code numbers 1-6 have been assigned to six common kinds of recyclable plastic resins, with the number 7 indicating any other kind of plastic, whether recyclable or not. Standardized symbols are available incorporating each of these resin codes. Textiles: When considering textile recycling one must understand what the material consists of most textiles are composites of cotton (biodegradable material) and synthetic plastics. The textiles composition will affect its durability and method of recycling. Workers sort and separate collected textiles into good quality clothing and shoes which can be reused or worn. There is a trend of moving these facilities from developed countries to developing countries either for charity or sold for cheaper price. Usually, international organisations collect used textiles from developed countries as a donation to those third world countries. This recycling practice is encouraged because it helps to reduce unwanted waste while providing clothing to those in need. Damaged textiles are further sorted into grades to make industrial wiping cloths and use in paper manufacture or material suitable for fibre reclamation and filling products. If textile reprocessors receive wet or soiled clothes however, these may still disposed of in a landfill, as the washing and drying facilities are not present at sorting units. Wood: Recycling wood has become popular due to its image as an environmentally friendly product, with consumers commonly beleiving that by purchasing recycling wood the demand will fall and ultimately benefit the environment. The arrival of recycled wood as a construction product has been important in both raising industry and consumer awarness towards deforestation and promoting wood mills to adopt environmentally friendly practices. Other techniques: Several other materials are also commonly recycled, frequently at an industrial level. Ship breaking is one example that has associated environmental, health, and safety risks for the area where the operation takes place, balancing all these considerations is a environmental justice problem. Tyre recycling is also common. Used tyres can be added to asphalt for producing road surfaces or to make rubber much used on playgrounds for safety. There are also often used as the insulation and heat absorbing/releasing material in specially constructed homes known as earthships.

Thursday, January 23, 2020

Restoring Wolves to Yellowstone :: Essays Papers

Restoring Wolves to Yellowstone In his book, Never Cry Wolf, Farley Mowat tells an Inuit tale, saying that in the beginning, caribou were created for humans to hunt. However, humans â€Å"hunted only the big, fat caribou, for they had no wish to kill the weak and the small and the sick,† creating a weak population of caribou. The creator then made wolves to eat the sick, weak, and small caribou, creating a natural health and balance to the earth (124). Humans have traditionally seen wolves as a competitor and a danger, but these misconceptions can now be put to rest. Because wolves regulate the carrying capacity, preserve the health of herds, and complete the ecological cycle in a balanced system, they must be restored to Yellowstone. To understand why wolves should inhabit the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem (GYE), we must first look to history. As Douglas Smith et al say, â€Å"The history of wolves in North America and the west is straightforward: we killed them† (108). This statement may sound simplified, but actual wolf extermination was thoughtless and thorough. Many wolves were removed from regions where they weren’t even threats to humans or livestock (Klinghammer 446) because wolves, like grizzlies, were perceived as competitors for land and food. Unlike grizzly bears, wolves didn’t survive in the Northern Rocky Mountains because of poisonings, shootings, and bounties for their pelts (Barker 177). These actions caused the extinction of wolves in western states, changing the ecosystems by eliminating a natural predator. The reasons for this genocide, according to David Mech, were â€Å"the possible predation by the wolf upon man. . ., competition by the wolf for man’s livestock, and the possible competition by the wolf for wild animals that man regards as game† (289). Each concern needs to be addressed to move to move arguments beyond social threats to ecological issues. The first threat, the danger of wolves to humans, is rarely known outside of fairy-tales. The only existent evidence of wolf-induced danger remains in countries with less wild prey, more protection of domesticated animals, and less protection of young children than in the U.S. (Mech 291). In Superior National Forest, which has many wolves, there have been 1909 recorded visitor days â€Å"without any incident of wolves attacking humans† (US Cong 101st 79).

Sunday, January 19, 2020

The Drive Towards Insanity Essay -- Character Analysis

The descent into madness is never a pretty road to travel. The journey involves multiple paths which are staggered into twists, turns, a fork in the road, and sometimes a glimmer of hope before reaching complete insanity. Edgar Allan Poe’s â€Å"The Black Cat† is one such story of a man who has stepped fully into the realm of madness. The end result of the narrator’s actions due to his mental state involve the maltreatment of his beloved pets, the hanging of his prized cat, and the eventual murder of his caring wife. The protagonist begins the tale by reassuring the recipient of the letter that he is perfectly sane, and that the entire ordeal was not a dream by any means. Many figures in history and in fiction have stated the same claim while performing evil acts. Christopher Nolan’s â€Å"The Dark Knight† shows one such character the Joker, played by Heath Ledger, who also claims to be perfectly sane while performing heinous crimes. He openly murde rs innocent civilians, causes destructive-mayhem, and openly tries to convert other characters into his cult of madness while believing himself to be fully sane. The Joker explains to Batman that â€Å"madness, as you know, is like gravity. All it takes is a little push† (Ledger). Poe uses carefully chosen language, flawless imagery, and gothic characteristics in â€Å"The Black Cat† to show that beneath every individual the drive toward insanity can explode into a reality. Poe masterfully uses carefully chosen language to make the narrator seem like a regular human being with some destructive tendencies. He playfully suggests that each individual â€Å"himself [committed] a vile or silly action, for no reason than because he knows he should not? Have we not a perpetual inclination [†¦] to violate that which i... ...985. Print Foerster, Norman. American Criticism: A Study in Literary Theory from Poe to the Present. New York: Russell & Russell, 1962. Print Ledger, Heath, perf. The Dark Knight. Warner Brothers Pictures, 2008. Film. Magistrale, Tony. Student Companion to Edgar Allen Poe. Westport: Greenwood Press, 2001. Print. Ruiz, Don Miguel, and Janet Mills. The Voice of Knowledge. San Rafael: Amber-Allen Publishing, 2004. Print. Oliver Jr., Lawrence J. "Kinesthetic Imagery And Helplessness In Three Poe Tales." Studies In Short Fiction 20.2/3 (1983): 73. Academic Search Premier. Web. 15 Apr. 2012. "Pluto, In Greek Religion And Mythology." Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, 6Th Edition (2011): 1. Academic Search Premier. Web. 15 Apr. 2012. Turvey, Malcolm. "Vertov: Between The Organism And The Machine." October 121 (2007): 5-18. Academic Search Premier. Web. 16 Apr. 2012.

Wednesday, January 15, 2020

The American Idea

The notion of modernity is a concept that is employed to illustrate the state of being associated to modernism which, on the other hand, refers to a pattern of thought that confirms the influence of individuals to construct, enhance, and reform their environment. Further, the enlightenment project envisions the idea that new knowledge or understanding can be obtained which enables the clearness of perception.Hence, taken altogether, modernity in the context of the enlightenment considers the capacity of human beings to establish or reestablish their environment through the development of new wisdom and, more importantly, through the use of their reason or rationality. Jean Jacques Rousseau argued that the original state of man is one which is essentially free, or that freedom is originally humanity’s own. Moreover, he asserts that freedom has been lost but can yet be brought back through emancipation.In terms of modernity and the enlightenment, this emancipation can be taken b ack by using man’s rationality in order to clearly perceive what must be done so that individuals can reform their environment and, in the end, reclaim the freedom that they originally have. All these notions can be seen in Jose Marti’s Nuestra America specifically in the context of how he suggests that the Americans should act in order to reshape their environment and to eventually build a government that is uniquely their own and one that is devoid of foreign ideas and forms.There are quite several sharp notions in Nuestra America by Jose Marti, and all of these notions very well contribute to the revelation that with diversity comes the great possibility of acquiring an identity independent as it is from everything else outside. Although much of what is written verifies the idea that the creation of a government of the people surpasses that which is merely imitated, the role of the external elements can be argued as indispensable elements in the establishment of an identity.One of the central themes in Nuestra America is the idea of the formation of the government that is distinctive and proper to the Americans. Marti’s argument is grounded on the premise that a government that is shaped according to other nations or that which resembles or at least partly incorporates external elements from foreign nations will not be suitable for the people and for the entire nation. It can be observed that Marti firmly adheres to the principle of having an identity that is solidly based on what is natural to the people and to the rest of the country.What is natural supersedes those that are artificial. And what is essentially natural to America is ‘diversity’ in the truest sense of the word. Apparently, Marti makes it a point to bridge the issue with diversity to that of having a strong government structured according to the innate qualities of the American people. However, it fails to consider the fact that diversity also grants the sub stantial possibility of not actually unifying all the corners of the country into a single and identifiable sphere.What Marti does is to transcend this ‘diversity’ and patch all the different—albeit intrinsic—‘American’ elements into a unified concept that virtually quells, at least in theory, the force of other external factors. He does this at least in the sense of proposing an ‘ideological’ battle, one that treats ideas far superior than brute or physical force. Although Marti argues that bloodshed is inevitable, he also suggests that the ideas of man will have to take the core of the movement towards the establishment of an independent and unique government and that these ideas should come from the American people themselves and not from anybody else.In the opening parts of Marti’s work, it can be noted that he argues that men must unify themselves from the various ranks against the ‘seven-league giant’ thr ough the force of their ideas since ideas cannot be physically destroyed. While it is remains feasible that ideas cannot be destroyed in the physical sense and that while they can significantly proliferate and claim the victory of an entire nation, the role of sheer physical force in propelling such ideas towards certain goals cannot be denied.It should be noted that ideas have to be juxtaposed with physical and actual attempts of progressing towards a certain goal which, specifically in the context of Marti’s Nuestra America, is the creation of an American government in the strictest sense. By remaining as mere ideas contextualized solely on that rational or thinking part of human existence, ideas can hardly be a revolutionizing tool in altering the undesirable elements within the society.In another sense, there should be the ‘correspondence’ between such ideas and their physical or actual manifestation (Glennon and Johnson 2006). The absence of such a correspon dence may very well inhibit the ideas from ever reaching the desired outcomes, for what good is a prolific idea that is short of touching the actual existence of social problems and the reality of the clamoring for a physical government? Will ideas alone revolutionize a whole nation without even concretizing these ideas? Apparently, the answer to these questions is a resounding skepticism.History, at the least, tells one that most, if not all, of the changes or alterations in the society have, in one way or another, physical and actual movements which are strongly fastened to certain beliefs and ideologies (Merrill 1948). For instance, the American Revolution is considered to be founded on political and social ideologies that greatly contribute to the social movement during those times where the metaphorical ammunitions for artilleries are ideas that define what is being aimed at (Nelson 1965).Wars in Latin America are likewise strongly founded on the correspondence between ideologi es and the actual manifestation or enacting of these ideas (Thies 2005). Nevertheless, Marti also recognizes the notion that bloodshed is a strong coefficient of his proposed ideas of the unification of the American people and the establishment of a government solely their own and from their own.Marti strengthens to solidify his claim by suggesting that those who would seek the governance of America must focus on and attempt at identifying the reality of the nation and of the people—of the existing diversity that direly needs unification—in order to fulfill the idea that the spirit of the government is indeed the spirit that is truly derived from America and not from any other (Saldivar 1998).Hence, for those people seeking to identify what is being suggested to be identified must necessarily have the keen perception to not only feel what is real but to notice and extract the solutions for the reality of the social problems or, at least, of what is intended to be addre ssed. Otherwise, those who seek to eliminate the external or foreign elements seeping into American thoughts will utterly fail for lack of the capacity to transcend the blurring of the mind and of critical thinking.Such an attempt to identify the reality of the nation and of the people reinforces the idea that the better and fitting individuals to achieve such feat are those who are accustomed to America—and there can be no better person who does not only know much of America but acts and feels like America than the American. This goes to show that the foreigner cannot exactly feel the American reality, or that the foreign elements cannot entirely suffice to define the American experience although in some parts it may have something to do with it.Nevertheless, Marti’s Nuestra America clearly emphasizes the author’s strong attachment, at least in terms of the content of the literature, with the clamoring for a ‘pure’ American nation, a nation that is founded on American elements. Yet what is striking about Marti’s Nuestra America is the fact that it proposes for a unified government able to identify the reality of the nation, a unified government that is nonetheless rooted on a wide array of individuals or on a, roughly speaking, diversified society.It is indeed a widely held idea that the rest of America is diverse (Sullivan 1973), and that this entails the notion that a ‘unification’ of all the recognized and unrecognized sectors of the nations is a monumental task. While Marti champions his assertion that foreign ideas and forms have caused the delay in the rising of a logical structure of a government of America, he fails to note that the very diversity of America also has a role in such a delay.What he does in the article is to espouse the idea that such diversity can be committed towards the creation of a unique government and a unified people and to set aside or, at least, subtly put his hands off the lingering argument that this diversity may in fact be the one which will hinder the creation of an American government bereft of imported ideas and forms.Although native forces—‘forces’ not to be limited in the military sense—can keep at bay impending external or foreign forces from entering the layer that separates what is pure from what is alien, these same internal forces have a connection with the external forces in one way or another. Part of the evidence to this can be rooted from the argument that there is no such thing as a pure race that is distinct from the rest of the races since all of mankind emerged from a single ancestry otherwise known as Homo sapiens (McBrearty 1990).With the idea that all of humanity came from a single line of ancestry, by definition there can be no such thing as ‘race’ and that the demarcation between the American race and the ‘other’ races is dissolved. Technically, it may be true that mankind belongs to the same ancestry. Practically, there are staggering realities that ultimately create a wide space between socially constructed ‘races’ or equivalents thereof.Hence, although Jose Marti actually claims that there is no such thing as hatred for the other races because there are no races, he actually argues in Nuestra America that the people should consider the past, family and ancestral roots of the Americans and do away with what can be termed as ‘colonial inheritance’ for it entails things that are corrupt and defunct. By criticizing the ‘Parisians’ or ‘Madrileà ±os’, Marti actually draws the line between what is American from what is not.And in doing so, it cannot be avoided that Nuestra America in essence may contribute to the enlargement of the space that divides America from the imported ideas and forms and, thus, the treatment of these foreign entities as ‘others’. Marti’s work also appears to signify that America is indeed its own, and that what belongs to others is theirs as well which brings us back to what Marti’s work purports to address yet fails to meet—that there is no hatred among races because there is no such thing as ‘race’.Ironically, while Nuestra America echoes the clamoring for a unique government that is purely American by vanquishing the foreign or imported ideas that are imbibed into the society, it also establishes the idea of separating what is American from what is not if indeed a separation can ever be achieved at all, if not physically, at least ideologically. The fact that America and its people are diverse is a compelling reason to push the idea that the rest of America can hardly a government molded into a single, unified entity where opposition is inexistent or kept at a manageable level.Moreover, cultural relativism proclaims the idea that several values such as ethical values of rightness or wrongness may actually vary from culture to culture, and that cultural supremacy or the superiority of one culture from the other relatively varies as well on certain cultural perspectives (Schmidt 1955). From this, one can observe that Marti’s article conveys the idea that, by excluding anything that is foreign to the system of ideas of the American population, the American ideals are preferred over the foreign ones.Although there is no explicit mentioning that American ideals are far off better than imported ideas, by embracing American ideas in the formation of a unique government one actually albeit subliminally pursues the underlying assumption that what is native is more preferred since it applies better and fitting to the contextual nature of America and, therefore, is superior over the rest at least when put into the context of the formation of a unique government.Interestingly, cultural relativism tells us otherwise. The American attempt to furnish for themselves a unique government exclud es the assumption that imported ideas may also serve a contributive purpose in meeting such an end in replacement for defunct native ideas.While Nuestra America purports to assert for an American identity through its government and purely American ideas while straining foreign elements away from such a glaring feat, it also substantiates on the thesis of using the American diversity as a means towards unifying the whole, condensing them altogether into a single native label called ‘America’ without discussing much about the weakening force such a diversity may take with it.Nevertheless, Jose Marti nails the crucial point in his work—the great significance of ideas in the advancement of an American identity—by taking consideration the role of ideas in revolutionizing a nation flustered with unfamiliar or imported ideas. While it may be the case that ideas without corresponding actions are like vehicles without wheels, it certainly is the case that actions w ithout ideas are like violent storms which display their destructive might while leaving debris and rubbish after the winds and heavy rains abate.

Saturday, January 11, 2020

Functions of Management Essay

The following will include the four major functions of management in a health care setting, how these functions apply to managing others, important roles for health care manager and leader in the diversified health care industry and the most significant aspect related to health care management that I would like to gain by taking this class. The four major functions of management in a health care setting are: organizing, planning, controlling and leading. The four functions mentioned all work hand in hand when managing others or while being managed. Each manager is expected to be a leader of their department and make sure that patient’s needs are being met. A leader has to be well organized within the department to accomplish things as checking in patients, calling patients to remind them of upcoming procedures and appointments, referrals, and insurance authorization, paper work needs to be well organized to make sure that everything is done in order and correct. Organizing make it easy for changing of shifts between employees. Planning comes in to play when schedules are mapped out to make sure that enough health care workers are present for each day’s work load. It also help to plan around a physician surgery schedule and so forth. Controlling helps the manager to keep focus on work performance which in turn helps to build relationships with employees and patients due to the active contact. Leading in management is very important and the responsibility is more. A leader is responsible for training, department meetings, work schedule and goals to be accomplished each day without compromising the care for each patient. Planning plays an important role for a health care manager and leader in a diversified health care industry, without planning ahead it puts a health care facility at risk of not being able to perform above and beyond for their patient’s health care needs. According to Harvard business â€Å"In addition to negotiating the day-to-day demands of a busy and complex organization, healthcare executives must also be able to evaluate and understand the impact of alternative care delivery models†.

Tuesday, January 7, 2020

A Sample Instructional Essay (Process Analysis)

The purpose of an instructional essay is to instruct the reader as to how to perform some action or task. Its an important  rhetorical form which students must learn.  How successful do you think the writer has been in converting a set of instructions into a process analysis essay? How to Break in a New Baseball Glove Breaking in a new baseball glove is a time-honored spring ritual for pros and amateurs alike. A few weeks before the start of the season, the stiff leather of the glove needs to be treated and shaped so that the fingers are flexible and the pocket is snug.To prepare your new glove, you will need a few basic items: two clean rags; four ounces of neatsfoot oil, mink oil, or shaving cream; a baseball or softball (depending on your game); and three feet of heavy string. Professional ballplayers may insist on a particular brand of oil or shaving cream, but in truth, the brand doesnt matter.Because the process can be messy, you should work outdoors, in the garage, or even in your bathroom. Do not attempt this procedure anywhere near the carpet in your living room.Using a clean rag, begin by gently applying a thin layer of oil or shaving cream to the external parts of the glove. Be careful not to overdo it: too much oil will damage the leather. After letting the glove dry overnight, take th e ball and pound it several times into the palm of the glove to form a pocket. Next, wedge the ball into the palm, wrap the string around the glove with the ball inside, and tie it tightly. Let the glove sit for at least three or four days, and then remove the string, wipe the glove with a clean rag, and head out to the ball field.The end result should be a glove that is flexible, though not floppy, with a pocket snug enough to hold a ball caught on the run in​ the deep center field. During the season, be sure to clean the glove regularly to keep the leather from cracking. And never, no matter what else you do, never leave your glove out in the rain. Comment Observe how the writer of this essay has guided us from one step to the next using these terms: Begin by . . .After . . .Next . . .And then . . . The writer has used these transitional expressions to direct us clearly from one step to the next. These signal words and phrases take the place of numbers when turning a set of instructions into a process analysis essay. Questions for Discussion What was the focus of this instructional essay? Did the author succeed?Did the author include all necessary steps in their instruction?How could the author have improved this essay?