Renewable Energy Wind Generating Plant for the Local Community

Introduction Renewable energy is energy generated from natural resources. These sources are referred to as renewable due to their ability to naturally replenish themselves after being used (Twidell, 2006, p. 18). Approximately sixteen percent of the final energy consumed globally is from renewable resources. The renewable natural energy sources include wind, sunlight, geothermal, biomass, tides and rain.Advertising We will write a custom report sample on Renewable Energy: Wind Generating Plant for the Local Community specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More The problem associated with the usage of non-renewable energy resources is that they cannot be replenished as in renewable energy resources. This has led to concerns by all the stakeholders on the sustainability as they form the bulk of the energy sources of the world (Kaltschmitt, 2010, p. 101). The non-renewable energy sources will dwindle over time, which makes them expensive, as we ll as environmentally non-friendly. In contrast, renewable energy sources are sustainable over time as they replenish themselves, easy to use, less expensive and environmentally friendly. Therefore, a paradigm shift from non-renewable energy sources to renewable energy sources is necessary. In this course, it is estimated that the use of wind power is growing at a rate of approximately 30% annually worldwide (Sorensen, 2010, p. 224). The countries and continents most embracing renewable energy sources are the United States, Brazil, Asia and Europe. The main purpose of this project is to identify the most suitable renewable energy source to introduce to the local community. The project team is to carry out a feasibility study on the viable renewable energy sources to be introduced in the community. The project manager will be charged with overall oversight of the project. The assistant project manager will be in charge of two departments, which are the marketing and financial departm ents. The financial department will deal with all the financial aspects of the project, while marketing department will handle the marketing of the energy source in the society. Motivation The key drive for the project is to provide a clean and sustainable energy source to the local community where the company is situated. However, there are other stakeholders who the company must consider in its endeavors in order to meet its objectives and mission.Advertising Looking for report on environmental studies? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More To find out the expectations and obligations of each stakeholder, it is necessary to undertake the research. Questionnaires and other techniques are used to determine their expectations and obligations. The first stakeholder is the public and community. A study on a sample of the community reveals the following expectations; a reliable, environmentally friendly and cheap source of energy. Most of the residents reveal that they would be willing to substitute their non-renewable energy sources with the renewable ones if they possess the above qualities. Based on this community need the project is initiated to meet it. The project is to obtain a license from the environmental regulation agency. The project must comply with all the legislations governing the use of renewable energy in the country. The other stakeholder is the AD chamber of commerce. The company will have to set up the required documents such as the articles of association to receive its certificate of operation from the chamber of commerce. The company will obtain its starting capital from the national bank. The bank will also handle the standing orders of the company. The payroll system of the company will be outsourced to the bank. The project will be obligated to guarantee financial health by a viable return on investment to payback the loans. Other stakeholders to the project include: research institute t o perform market trends, survey analysis and also research and development. Modern insurance company will provide employees with insurance in compliance with factory employee safety regulations. The trust fund of the company will cater for recruiting professionals for the project, providing additional funding, performing feasibility studies for the project and providing support and guidance to set up the business. Mediamax Media Company will help devise a marketing plan for the company and its products and lastly various vendors will supply equipments, materials and items required for the project. Solutions Review There are three solutions available to the company. They are those strategies that can be employed to provide a clean and sustainable source of energy for the community while guaranteeing the company a return on its investment.Advertising We will write a custom report sample on Renewable Energy: Wind Generating Plant for the Local Community specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Wind The first option to the company is to set up a wind farm. Wind turbines with a power between five megawatts and six hundred kilowatts, considering the size of the wind farm, can be run by air flow (Twidell, 2006, p. 168). The power of the wind turbine will be determined by the speed of wind. The company will have to find an appropriate location for the wind farm. High altitude and offshore areas are preferable compared to inland locations, because there are higher wind speeds, therefore, resulting in higher energy levels. The benefits of using wind power include a stream of income for the company. The company will earn profit from the supply of the wind power to the community. The expected stream of income will be the discounted present value of income. Another benefit is clean and sustainable energy for the community. The community will also benefit from lower prices of electric power. Over the long run, the community will also benefit from lower levels of environmental pollution. The costs of the project are: the initial cost of obtaining the wind turbines and land to set up the wind farm. The company will also incur a cost from the interest payments on the loans to purchase the equipments and land. Another cost is the opportunity cost on the use of land for generation of wind power. The final costs that will be factored in are employee salaries and depreciation expenses on the equipment used in the wind farm. Solar Energy The second option available to the company is to set up a solar power generation plant. The company can acquire solar technologies to be used to generate energy and distribute to the community. They can also acquire solar technologies that they can set in peoples’ homes. This would be cost effective as they will not have to acquire land for setting the solar power generating plant. The benefits include: a stream of income for the company. The expected future flow of income will be the discounted present value of cash flow. The community will benefit from a cheap alternative energy, reduced environmental pollution and sustainable source of energy.Advertising Looking for report on environmental studies? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More The cost includes: the initial cost of obtaining solar technologies, lost productivity by substituting non-renewable energy by solar power, opportunity cost of the resources used and depreciation expense on the equipments. Other costs include salaries to employees, interest payments on loans and lost production due to power outages during winter. Biofuel The company can set up a biomass processing plant to produce a variety of products such as bioethanol, biodiesel and biogas. The company will use raw materials such as sugarcane, vegetable oils, animal fats and recycled grease. The benefits are a stream of income for the company, cheap and environment friendly energy sources, sustainable energy resources and higher employment opportunities in the community. It will result in reduced emission of green house gases into the atmosphere in the long run. The costs of the project are initial capital to set up the plant and acquire raw materials, interest payments on loans, opportunity cost of the resources employed in production and depreciation expense on the equipments used in production. There are other miscellaneous costs such as salaries, operating expenses and the cost incurred in substitution. Decision Model The company will consider all the three options available to it. It will use the cost benefit analysis to make the decision. The option which has the most benefits relative to the costs will be taken by the company. The company will assign weights to the benefits and costs of each option. It will compare the score of each alternative available. Other variables will also be taken into consideration such as the community reception to the alternative energy source, the availability of raw materials and ease of assessing replacement parts for equipments used in the production process. Assigning weights to each option gives the following scores. The first option of using wind power gives a positive score. The weights of benefits obtained outweigh the weights of costs to be incurred. This generates a final positive score. However, there are other issues to consider, such as availability of high altitude or offshore areas in the community where more energy can be generated due to high wind speeds. The option to use solar power also generates a positive score. Assigning weights to benefits of using energy will outweigh the weights assigned to the costs. However, there are other issues to consider before choosing the option. The amounts of days and intensity of sunlight in the area, consider whether to set up a plant or set up the solar on the houses of the clients of the firm will be factored into the decision model. The third option also generates a final positive score. The gains that will be achieved from the use of biofuel will outweigh the costs associated with it. The project managers will therefore, address other factors to influence their decision models. They will consider the finances available to the company and accessibility to r aw materials to use in the biofuel plant. The project management chose to go with setting up a wind farm. They chose the option because of the availability of a high altitude area, which was a good site for the wind farm. The decision is also viable because of the availability of wind all year around, therefore it is a reliable and sustainable source of energy. The other alternatives were rejected on the grounds that sunlight was not a year round phenomenon therefore, not a reliable source of energy while biofuel was rejected due to the relative high cost of obtaining biomass for the plant and the high capital needed to start a biofuel processing plant. Most of the local people also supported setting up the wind farm as the area was unproductive and also due to the benefits of reduction in environmental pollution. Summary The decision to set up a wind generating plant is in line with the mission of the project to provide a clean and sustainable source of energy to the local communit y. The company will use three megawatts of wind turbines in the project. The project management team will be appointed to come up with all the critical activities to be carried out for the project to be completed. They will come up with the cost and time to take for the project success. The project meets the expectations and objectives of all the stakeholders. For the public and community, it meets their expectations of a clean, reliable and cheap source of energy necessary for them to adjust and adapt the new system (Kaltschmitt, 2010, p. 291). It is also within the legislations related to energy and environment according to the environmental agency. The project will also bring a good return on investment shown by the payback period of the project. Calculations show that through the expected streams of income, the project will be able to pay off its liabilities within the first seven years. The streams of income are calculated from demand projections and then discounting the net pr esent value of cash flows from the project. The project will also meet other stakeholders’ expectations for its success. The projects will receive certification from the chamber of commerce, the employees will be insured, and the funds will be provided to cater for support and guidance of the business and handle other issues such as recruiting exercises and carrying out of feasibility studies. Finally, the media company will market the project, the research team will do market analysis and also continuous development in the firm while the individual vendors will supply the project with equipments, materials and items needed for the project. The wind power project will meet the needs of all the stakeholders of the project. Implementation of the project is the last task of the project management team. Successful implementation will be crucial with them monitoring the project for continuous improvement in policies and procedure. Appendix Project Manager Task Time (months) Budget ($) Approval of logs of members periodical – Approval of budgets periodical – Coordination of duties periodical – Prepare quarterly reports 4 700 Assistant Project Manager Task Time (months) Budget ($) Monitor operation of departments periodical – Stand in for project manager periodical – Coordination of duties of departments periodical – Secure funds for project 1 – Financial Manager Task Time (months) Budget ($) Acquire funds 1 – Prepare budget 2 600 Prepare quarterly statements 3 300 Monitor use of funds by departments periodical – Marketing Manager Task Time (months) Budget ($) Manage advertisements periodical 2000 Consumer education 4 1500 Manage distribution 6 1200 Promotional campaigns periodical 1500 The project will be completed within the first year and performance of tasks must meet the budget. There are other tasks that are not listed, such as acquiring equipments and material and many other menial t asks. Swot Analysis This rivets a scrutiny of the strengths, disadvantages, opportunities and warnings to the project. The strengths to the project include: a receptive community that is adaptive to change its energy source, viable source of finance from the national bank, competent management team for the project, a good location for the wind farm and a competitive business environment for the business characterized by other supporting business such as banks, media companies and other firms. The weaknesses are those issues that may hinder the business from meeting its goals and objectives. The business may be exposed to risks when setting up the wind farm in the community. According to Bohm (2009, p. 19), lack of experience in the location of the business may be exposed to unforeseen risks that will distort future flow of income from the project. The risks include competition from other renewable energy sources, change in public opinion as related to renewable energy sources, maint aining a good public image of the company and having competent and motivated employees. The opportunities of the business include: continuous research and development by the research team. Research and development can lead to quality products and services offered to the consumer. It will lead to capturing of the market niche by the company. The threats that may hinder the success of the business include: change in public opinion due to the company’s failure to meet the demand of the society, change in legislation that the business may not be able to comply to and increased competition from other sources of energy such as non-renewable energy and other sources of renewable energy. The project management team will in-calculate the above analysis to best capitalize on the strengths and opportunities of the business will, at same time devising strategies to minimize the weaknesses and threats to the business. For the business to survive in the competitive and swiftly varying sett ing, the project managers should put in place mechanisms to continually adjust to the needs of every stakeholder, to ensure success of the company in the long run. References Bohm, A., 2009. The Swot Analysis. Grin Verlag, Munchen. Kaltschmitt, M., 2010. Renewable Energy: Technology, Economics and Environment. Springer, New York. Sorensen, B., 2010. Renewable Energy: Physics, Engineering, Environmental Impacts, Economics Planning. Academic Press, Massachusetts. Twidell, J., 2006. Renewable Energy Resources. Taylor Francis, London. This report on Renewable Energy: Wind Generating Plant for the Local Community was written and submitted by user J0nah to help you with your own studies. You are free to use it for research and reference purposes in order to write your own paper; however, you must cite it accordingly. You can donate your paper here.

Free Essays on No Child Left Behind

On January 8, 2002, President George W. Bush signed into law the No Child Left Behind Act (Public Law 107-110). Because the U.S. Constitution does not designate a public education role for the federal government, the responsibility of K – 12 education is in the hands of each individual state. The federal government, who has an interest in the quality of the nation’s public schools, has passed legislature to provide assistance to the states and schools. The No Child Left Behind Act builds on the foundation of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA), first passed in 1965, whose primary purpose was to improve educational opportunity for economically disadvantaged students. In researching the topic of NCLB I have found many differing opinions, both positive and negative, regarding the act as well as it’s implications on our nation as a whole. In order to fully explore this topic we must first attempt to understand the goals of the No Child Left Behind Act. Once we have reviewed this we can then explore its affects thus far, long term affects, opposing views and how we can make this law work for us as both educators and parents. Before we can discuss the No Child Left Behind Act in great detail we must first understand the act which it is a revision of. The ESEA or Elementary and Secondary Education Act was first passed in 1965 by President Lyndon Johnson. The ESEA was President Johnson’s first bill in his War on Poverty program. In 1966 an amendment to the ESEA added Title VI. This amendment added grants for â€Å"handicapped† children but in 1970 broke off from the ESEA. It is now known as the Individuals with Disabilities Act. Throughout the history of the ESEA the federal government expanded the act to include bilingual education, minority education, education in correctional facilities, safe and drug free schools, arts education, library and media services, neglected and delinquent youth, as... Free Essays on No Child Left Behind Free Essays on No Child Left Behind No Child Left Behind: A Foolish Race Into the Past† by David Marshak is clearly showing the view against this policy. Basically No Child Left Behind is a policy that allows all students to get a high quality education. This article shows how this may be a horrible idea to be carried out. There are a lot of problems that can come from the enforcement of this policy on the schools. Kids right now aren’t really getting the proper bond that should exist between a student and his/her teacher. So this policy also has connections and ties to newer and better ways for students to learn and interact differently with their teachers. Problem being that this would cause a huge shift the budget and would take a lot of planning and time to convert to the new system which would wind up being worse for the children than the original situation. I like to believe that I am a supporter of equal opportunity for students of all races, ages, social and economical statuses. After reading this article however it doesn’t seem like too great of an idea. All the time, manpower and budget money that would be spent on this project would be overwhelming for the districts to have to take on. The post-industrial idea doesn’t sound soothing to the ear either. Who is to say that smaller schools and environments are better? I believe that if the kids are in less populated schools they are missing the opportunity of diversity, or the chance to get away from certain kids they don’t like or may pick on them. The best thing about largely populated public schools is, that there really is a social group for everybody whether those kids find each other or not. In conclusion, it’s going to come down to the risks of making the change or not. 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Each year the state will produce a report card on the progress in their schools. The report card will be based on a test that students take at every school. These tests will be given to every student in... Free Essays on No Child Left Behind On January 8, 2002, President George W. Bush signed into law the No Child Left Behind Act (Public Law 107-110). Because the U.S. Constitution does not designate a public education role for the federal government, the responsibility of K – 12 education is in the hands of each individual state. The federal government, who has an interest in the quality of the nation’s public schools, has passed legislature to provide assistance to the states and schools. The No Child Left Behind Act builds on the foundation of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA), first passed in 1965, whose primary purpose was to improve educational opportunity for economically disadvantaged students. In researching the topic of NCLB I have found many differing opinions, both positive and negative, regarding the act as well as it’s implications on our nation as a whole. In order to fully explore this topic we must first attempt to understand the goals of the No Child Left Behind Act. Once we have reviewed this we can then explore its affects thus far, long term affects, opposing views and how we can make this law work for us as both educators and parents. Before we can discuss the No Child Left Behind Act in great detail we must first understand the act which it is a revision of. The ESEA or Elementary and Secondary Education Act was first passed in 1965 by President Lyndon Johnson. The ESEA was President Johnson’s first bill in his War on Poverty program. In 1966 an amendment to the ESEA added Title VI. This amendment added grants for â€Å"handicapped† children but in 1970 broke off from the ESEA. It is now known as the Individuals with Disabilities Act. Throughout the history of the ESEA the federal government expanded the act to include bilingual education, minority education, education in correctional facilities, safe and drug free schools, arts education, library and media services, neglected and delinquent youth, as...

What is Human Freedom Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

What is Human Freedom - Essay Example "Freedom implies, therefore, the existence of an environment to be changed: obstacles to be surmounted, tools to be used. Certainly, it is freedom which reveals them as obstacles, but free choice can only interpret the meaning of their being. It is necessary that they be simply there, wholly brute, so that there may be freedom." The person who constantly tells the truth develops an environment of trust around him or herself. It is our experience that an environment of trust enables a whole range of actions and relationships that could not otherwise develop. (Pg. 58) Environment and culture are principles by which human beings can choose to guide themselves to live properly, in line with what is the good life for them. There are competing ethical systems, of course, but not all can be sound. The best ethical system is the one that most consistently and completely fulfills the purpose for which it is intended, namely, to guide human living toward success in the case of any particular person. A culture is ethically sound if it is in accord with those virtues that bear on community life, that is if it is just. "Rather than being encapsulated in a specific environment by a highly specialized adaptive evolution and being controlled by a complex pattern of genetically determined instincts, a human being is free to choose different environments and to adapt to those environments in different ways. Whereas the behavior of all other living beings follows certain patterns characteristic of all members of a given species, the behavior of human beings shows extraordinary variation. Different human groups develop particular cultures as part of the process of adapting to and shaping their environment and individual human beings use the resources of those particular cultures, for example, language, with virtually infinite variation" (Pg. 58). Freedom, as Kant recognized decisively, through morality, and cannot be understood from an objective point of view. Kant places human  freedom in a new horizon of its own beyond all objective categories and forms of intuition.

Free writing journal Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 6

Free writing journal - Essay Example Everyone has the tendency to doubt and to question things. We are not perfect beings. That’s the reason why we see goodness in men and why it’s easy for us to doubt. Since we are imperfect beings, we know that there is always a tendency to turn to evil. But we expect each one of us not to. Why? Because we have the church to make sure that we are well-guided. But church teachings sometimes are not enough. When our expectations are not met, our frustrations lead us to the other side of the road. This happened to Goodman Brown. He expected the priests and other religious men and women that serve the church to stay true to the church. But when he found them at a cult gathering, he began to question and to doubt them. Since he believed that evil cannot turn the people he believed to be pure and good, his experience in the forest greatly disappointed and frustrated him. The story also emphasizes that we, as humans, can make our own decisions. And because of this, we tend to firmly stand for what we believe in. The problem is when you encounter an event that can shake this belief, that we are in control. Then, we will find a problem for everything. Why? Because humans tend to reason out. And we fail or do something out of our control, we look for reasons and

Us Policy On Iraq Essay Example for Free

Us Policy On Iraq Essay The war in Iraq has been costly not only to the Iraqis and Americans but to the whole world. Some political analysts say that it is ironical that the war on terrorism has led to increased terrorism activities in defiance and retaliation. Events such as the February 22, 2006 bombing of the Golden Mosque in Samarra, the attack in Mumbai this week and countless suicide attacks in and out of Iraq have been making headlines. In Iraq, such activities are undermining efforts of the current transitional government and the US and her allies to bring peace and stability in the region. Seemingly, terrorists and insurgents are keen to undermine Iraq’s economy, security, and political process. This has led to different quarters asking for a change in the US Iraq policy to one that is based the desire of Iraqis for the speedy formation of an inclusive, national unity government that serves the interests of all Iraqis without drawing so much resentment and hostility from the people and form a sable government. Though the Iraqis themselves produced this key provision (transitional government), the United States throughout helped facilitate agreement on it and other key provisions be it on religion, oil allocation, or federalism. Therefore, looking at the present US Iraq policy helps in understanding the whole process in Iraq as to why these polices are not working and the war continues almost 6 years down the line at the expense of the tax payer’s money. This paper looks at these policies and evaluates how successful or unsuccessful they have been and make recommendations for alternative policies. Policies According to the dossier on US Iraq policy http://www. uspolicy. be/issues/iraq/iraq. asp), the US activities in Iraq are based on †¢ A noble fair and just war †¢ Suppression of the Al-Qaeda and †¢ Reconstruction of Iraq Fairness of the war The underlying policy in the war in Iraq has been that â€Å"the war in Iraq is noble, necessary and fair†. President Bush has been clarifying o n the importance of the war saying that â€Å"Defeating the enemy in Iraq will make it less likely we will face this enemy here at home†¦. † (www. whitehouse. gov/news/releases/2008/03/20080319-3. html). This one single policy locks out all arguments that have been fronted or were fronted even the before the war began. As such, the US feels compelled to attack and occupy Iraq until she feels that her main reason of going to war as to liberate the people of Iraqis fulfilled. But does this bring another definition of freedom into the limelight? Salim 2007 asks. The author says that â€Å"the presence of American and allies troops in Iraq is a threat of the peace and freedom they claim to fight for the people of Iraq†. The Bush administration believes that the war in Iraq is noble in that it is carried out in the right manner in a conscious way. What necessitated the war were the claims by the Bush administration that the government of Sadam Hussein was supporting terror groups and terrorism activities. Now with the man they sought dead, what else could then be the driver to increased instances of terrorism activities? This is one question that the Americans have not paused and addressed it unto themselves according to one online analyst Suppression of the Al-Qaeda As one of the leading terror groups in the world and the one responsible for the terror attacks in the US world trade center, Al-Qaeda is blacklisted by the American government to be denied access to resources that would enable the group to carry out its terrorism activities. With the group based in Iraq, it is feared that it will easily gain access to the numerous oil fields and utilize those resources in undermining global peace efforts. As a result, the targeting of the Al-Qaeda as a group and not Iraq as a country has created a long list of countries that the Bush administration feels deserves action. Among them are Syria, Sudan and Somalia. In light of this view, the American government insists that the idea of attacking Iraq was not for political reasons or economic gains but by a justified reason to protect the globe from terror harm. Continued occupation of Iraq by the US and her allies thus is in pursuance of the denying the terror groups and access to resources. This is accomplished by ensuring that Iraq has a stable government that is capable of handling internal hostilities and insurgencies which are led by the terror groups. Therefore, it would seem irresponsible of the US withdrawing from Iraq without due suppression of the Al-Qaeda. Unfortunately, suppression of the group has not been as successful as such. Countless minor or affiliate terror groups have sprung up and continue to carry out their deadly attacks. This indicates that there is need to change the manner in which the US approaches the terror group. The approach of denying the groups access to oil money does not seem to work as it may be that the terror groups have other sources of resources to finance their activities. Reconstruction of Iraq Two wars against Iraq by the US have crippled the infrastructure of Iraq that is currently an eyesore. The gulf war and the present war have reduced oil production from the world’s third largest oil reserves with 84 billion barrels of oil under her surface. Decreased production has created an oil crisis in the global market leading to skyrocketing petrol and petroleum products. Reconstructing Iraq and maintaining peace and stability in the region is seen as of the ways of bringing down the global oil prices that are hurting very many economies. As the attacker, the US government is bound by moral and humanitarian obligations to correct the effects of the war and reconstruct the economy. Prior to the war, the US had promised to reconstruct the country after the ousting of Saadam. Thus even as the war continues, the US government is committed into helping Iraq find her path to economic prosperity a d realize full democracy. As evidence of this, the US government has been financing almost entirely the transitional government in Iraq either in direct aid o humanitarian aid. Unfortunately, most of the aid forwarded to the country according to Pilisuk and Rountree (2008) is in form of military aid. The future of Iraq The unprecedented length in the Iraq war has called for reevaluation of strategies used in the war. The Bush administration has unveiled six elements it incorporates in its new policy on the Iraq war (http://www. whitehouse. gov/news/releases/2007/01/20070110-3. html). 1. placing leadership on Iraqi people 2. Empowering Iraqi people to defend themselves against terrorism 3. Isolate extremists; 4. Facilitate democracy 5. Diversify political and economic efforts 6. Situate the strategy in a regional approach. By letting the Iraq people lead, then the Iraqis will take responsibility of their own actions and have more responsibility in decision making that will be very critical in stabilizing the region. The second element of helping the Iraq people protect the population has two sides of it. For one, the Iraqi nationals will be involved in fighting terrorism. Secondly, the citizens will keep away from terrorism activities national and international. All these elements are going to be accomplished in four fronts: economic, political, regional and security. Iraq was formerly the leading economy in the Arab world in the late 1980’s. Prior to the Gulf War, the country was using her oil reserves for economic development and prosperity. A series of external attacks have derailed the country from its earlier path and it today relies heavily on foreign aid to run basic government operations. At the moment, the country is just a shell of the former self. Questions have been raised over the effectiveness of the US policies on Iraq and the future of the country. Now that the US economy is facing financial turmoil, the questions on whether the aid assistance to Iraq will continue if of utmost importance. The recent signing of an agreement between the US government and the transitional Iraq government signed an agreement allowing the US troops to remain in Iraq beyond 2008 into the year 2009. Unfortunately, some of the Iraq people are not comfortable with this move. They view that the presence of American troops in their territory infringes on the country’s sovereignty and it is tantamount to total disregard of democracy and independence of one country. They therefore call for the unconditional withdrawal of all foreign troops in the region. The expected coming to power of Barack Obama as the US president provides some hope for a change in policy in how the US handles the situation in Iraq. In his campaign addresses prior to the elections the president elect promised a phased pout withdrawal of American and allied troops from the region that would approximately take 16 months. In addition to this, the fact that the president elect was against the waging of the war from the very word go shows that there is a looming drastic change in the American policy on Iraq once he occupies office. The current economic crisis in America will throw Iraq into further turmoil unless quick strategized withdrawal is put into place. Before the on start of the war, the Bush administration claimed that Iraq had in its possession weapons of mass destruction which were suspect of being used for terrorism purposes. Therefore, the idea behind the war was based on recovery of these weapons and the toppling of the Saddam regime as a supporter of terrorist groups. Unfortunately, only the toppling of Sadaam happened as no weapons of mass destruction were seized. Assuming that the terrorism groups never gained access to the weapons where else could they source such weapons? By adopting such a question, then the US government can have a broader perspective on the fight against terrorism. The resentment by the Iraq people that have fueled increased internal terror activities have resulted from the humanitarian crisis present in the country. US troops have been accused of committing humanitarian atrocities among them killing of innocent civilians and raping of women and young girls. It would seem appropriate then that the US government carries out its operations in Iraq with a lot of caution over the volatility of the region and the sensitivity of the connection between Muslims and terrorism. This is because among the many violations that the troops are accused of, a majority of them have a religious violation connotation. This is very important in that abrupt withdrawal of troops could throw to waste all the efforts made in stabilizing the region and eventually winning the war on terror. In conclusion, it would seem that the best manner in which to carry on the war and formulate polices in handling the war, the involved parties in coalition forces and the US should emphasis on winning the confidence and trust of the Iraqi people. Some of the hostilities meted against sympathizers of presence of foreign troop are not terrorism based but an expression of the anger of the presence of the troops. Unfortunately, the US has not been keen to interpret such incidences as so but is comfortable with the labeling of such activities as terrorism. Therefore, the future of Iraq lies in how strategically America positions itself in the eyes of Iraqis and the success of sanitizing the existing image of America in the eyes of Muslim extremists. Works cited Pilisuk, M. and Rountree, J. Who benefits from global violence and war, New York: Greenwood, 2008 Pillar, P. Terrorism and the US foreign policy, Chicago: Brookings 2004 US policy towards Iraq, Washington: GPO, 2003 Iraq policy at, (www. whitehouse. gov/news/releases/2008/03/20080319-3. html US troops to stay in Iraq beyond 2008 www. arabamericannews. com/news/index. php? mod=articlecat=Iraqarticle=670

The Healing Process Essay -- essays research papers fc

The Healing Process This is a brief psychological overview of the healing process. The image of healing is best described by Gloria Vanderbilt in "A Mother's Story" when she talks of breaking the invisible unbreakable glass bubble which enclosed her that kept her always anticipating loss with echoes of all past losses. She wrote, for example (Page 3),"Some of us are born with a sense of loss there from the beginning, and it pervades us throughout our lives. Loss, as defined, as deprivation, can be interpreted as being born into a world that does not include a nurturing mother and father. We are captured in an unbreakable glass bubble, undetected by others, and are forever seeking ways to break out, for if we can, surely we will find and touch that which we are missing". This concept of healing was also described by Philip Berman in "If It Is Not Good Make It So" as changing positively from the unhappy attitude of(Page 48) "we never got the habit of happiness as others know it. It was always as if we were waiting for something better or worse to happen". Psychological theory of change suggest it is possible to heal, to break out of the glass bubble, to develop the attitude of happiness. For example, in "The Process of Change: Variations on a Theme by Virginia Satir says on Page 89 that "successful change-making turns out to involve struggle, necessitating skill, tenacity and perspective". The struggle occurs when a foreign element produces chaos until a new integration occurs which results in a new status quo. Kurt Lewin echoed this view in saying that an old attitude has to unfreeze, the person experiments, a new attitude develops and a refreezing occurs. Janis and Prochasky suggest a person starts in relative complacency, is presented with challenging information, the person evaluates the new challenge to habit or policy and reviews alternate policies to create a new policy or return to the original one, The psychological theories focus on perspective and rational thought. The significance of the therapist is in giving a new perspective and in aiding self-esteem in order to break down resistance to change. Otherwise, Satir suggests people are likely to revert to their trance lik... ... learn that laws and mores are not absolutes but open to constant revision as we are to do with our inner selves. Psychology seems to share the ideas that a person in emotional pain is stuck in a self made prison which can be escaped through unconditional positive regard and a fresh perspective. What isn't clear is how rational thought combined with 'love' enters the person's heart and soul. Bibliography Bugental James,F.T. "Lessons Clients Teach Therapists", J. of Humanistic Psychology Vol.31 No. 3 Summer 1991 Mittleman Willard "Maslow's Study of Self-Actualiztion: A Reinterpretation" Journal of Humanistic Psychology, Vol. 31 No.1, Winter 1991 Pages 114-135 Morrow Susan L. and Smith Mary Lee,"Survival Coping by Sexual Abuse Survivors", Journal of Counseling Psychology 1995 Vol 42, No.1, pages 24-33. "The Process of Change:Variations on a Theme by Virginia Satir", J. of Humanistic Psychology, Vol. 34 No.3, Summer, 1994 Pages 87-110. Schoen Stephen MD "Psychotherapy as Sacred Ground", J. of Humanistic Psychology, Vol 31 No.1, Winter 1991 Pages 51-55 Vanderbilt Gloria, "A Mother's Story", Alfred A. Knopf, N. Y. 1996

Mesopotamian and Egyptian Culture

The main scripture that holds the Christian faith is the Holy Bible. It has existed for a very long time already that it is already considered as an â€Å"institution† when it comes to its teachings and the values that it imparts on the readers. Some religions have even sprung from Christianity itself, and the basis of their teachings is also the Bible. But there are some who dispels the notion as the Bible being an institution of knowledge by saying that some parts of the Old Testament has been copied or patterned to other writings from other cultures. This has greatly affected the formation of the Old Testament, since it has to incorporate some materials and information from other cultures. It could also just be a coincidence that they have similar points, other than that, neither one of them copied the contents of the other. The Epic of Gilgamesh/Gilgamesh as the Babylonian Noah One of the great literary pieces to ever exist was the Epic of Gilgamesh. It talks about how the great Sumerian King Gilgamesh lived is life. Even though epic was compiled into written form a very long time ago, it has existed way back in 2100 B.C. in another form which is through word of mouth. This just show how long it has already been in circulation, in order to establish a comparison with the existence of the Christian’s Moses, if he ever existed. Moses, when he came into the scene through the Book of Exodus in the Old Testament, is said to be 800-900 years younger than the Epic of Gilgamesh. With this information at hand, it is clear to see that the Epic of Gilgamesh came first, with a head start of 900 years before The Book of Exodus in the Old Testament came into existence. One of the arguable points in the Book of Exodus in the Old Testament was Great Flood that the Lord had given the lands of man. It was done in order to cleanse the earth of the sins of man. However, in the Epic of Gilgamesh, we can see that there was also a great flood delivered to cleanse the world of sinful people: same content, but different stories. It was Ut-Napishtim who told him about the gods giving such punishments to people. He told Gilgamesh to take down a house and make a boat out of it. He would spare Gilgamesh’ family and relatives; he was also instructed to gather as all the animals and living things that he can spare. Gilgamesh was vey much like the famous Noah who built the Ark on God’s bidding for them to be spared, along with pairs of different animals he can gather. But considering the time frame, it is more like, Noah was very much like Gilgamesh who built a large boat, and God was very much like Ut-Napishtim, who cleansed the lands with a great flood to get rid of sinful people. Gilgamesh and Noah are two different people coming from two different cultures in different time frames. They are very similar in a lot of aspects, especially in the matter of the Great Flood. If it was merely a coincidence that they both constructed a great water vessel and rounded up all the animals in the world, no one knows. It is just that These two men were both heroes and icons of their own times, and have made their marks in their own different cultures. The Code of Hammurabi and the Laws of Moses One of the most notable law maker/leader would be King Hammurabi of the Babylonian Dynasty. He was noted for his Code of Hammurabi, a very influential set of laws and corresponding punishments to its violators. He existed around 1792 B.C. to 1750 B.C., 300 years before Moses is said to have existed. The point of comparison that is being built-up here is that Hammurabi came before Moses. Most people know that Moses is noted to be the bearer of the Lord’s 10 Commandments. This is because of some claims saying that even the 10 Commandments, as well as the laws set by Moses or the Mosaic Laws were patterned to the Code of Hammurabi. There are several concepts that would attract one’s attention if he’s looking for similarities. One of these concepts is with regards to the respect for parents. For Hammurabi, a son who strikes his father should have his arm cut off. In Mosaic law, if someone curses his parents or is very rebellious, then death is the right punishment. Another would be on marriage. For Hammurabi, if a man wishes to leave his family, then he should prepare a fraction of his property and wealth in order for the mother to raise their children. On the other hand, Mosaic law says that divorce will only be allowed if a spouse becomes indecent or unfaithful. Both Hammurabi and the Mosaic law agreed that death should be the appropriate punishment for both man and woman committing adultery. Incest for them is also unacceptable, and should be dealt with sever punishment, and if necessary, it should be death for those who have committed the crime Theft is also another aspect of similarity, where both of them condone the act of stealing and robbing from other people. In the Mosaic law, whatever living property is stolen and has been killed, should be returned five folds. If it is alive, it should be returned immediately. On the other hand, Hammurabi states that it depends on the social position of the thief, whether he should pay ten-folds or thirty times the original. But for those caught in the act of robbing someone else or stealing someone else property, no matter how valuable it is, the punishment to be given should be death. Finally, the one that showed relevant similarity was on inflicting physical injury in another person. In Mosaic laws, it depends on the weight of the damage done by the offender. Injuries which are not serious should be given necessary fines, where the offender would pay this fine for the damages he has done to the victim. But for those who have committed serious injury on somebody else, then it would be necessary to exercise taking a life for a life, or a limb for a limb. The Hammurabic code is the source of the line â€Å"an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth.† The Hymn to Aton Not only did the Bible borrowed from the early Mesopotamian societies, they have also extracted some from early Egyptian cultures. Praise worship for the Lord which is found in several verses of the Bible can be traced back to tomb scriptures of some of the great men of Egypt, rulers who have made a great impact on their constituents. They are revered even after their deaths, with poems, songs and hymns being written for them as a form of praise-worship. This has been adopted by some verses in the Bible, showing how the Lord is miraculous, powerful and merciful. Not many of the people know that these verses were patterned from some dead guy’s tomb scriptures. The Sinai Covenant The Sinai covenant has been the primer of what seemed to as periodic worship, which is timely, for it was allotted a day in a week for worship. However, there are also other religions that follow this day of the Sabbath, where they would do nothing else but worship their gods all throughout the day. This is in relation to what the Bible claimed to be the day of worship for its followers. References: Anonymous. â€Å"Egyptian & Old Testament Scriptural Correspondences.†Ã‚   http://www.mystae.com/restricted/streams/thera/egypt.html. Caroll, Robert Todd. â€Å"Noah's Ark.†Ã‚   http://skepdic.com/noahsark.html. Latoundji, David Paul. â€Å"God at Sinai: Covenant and Theophany in the Bible and Ancient near East.† Journal of the Evangelical Theological Society ( Mar 1999). Nosotro, Rit. â€Å"Comparing the Content of Hammurabi's Code, Mosaic Law, and Justinian Law.†Ã‚   http://www.hyperhistory.net/apwh/essays/comp/cw03hammurabijustinlaw.htm. Tolerance, Ontario Consultants on Religious. â€Å"Comparison of the Babylonian and Noahic Flood Stories.†Ã‚   http://www.religioustolerance.org/noah_com.htm. Worldwide Church of God. â€Å"Did Moses Steal the Ten Commandments? .† Worldwide Church of God, http://www.wcg.org/lit/bible/law/steal10.htm.