Arms And The Man Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Arms And The Man - Essay Example The second act takes place four months later after the war ends and Sergius and Major Petkoff return. Though Raina and Sergius declare eternal love, they are only acting and their real feelings are very different. Sergius soon begins flirting with the maid Louka, and Raina’s thoughts keep returning to her chocolate crà ¨me soldier. Bluntschli comes back to return a coat he has borrowed from the Petkoffs and now that the war is over he is welcomed by Sergius and Major Petkoff and even helps them in moving their armies since as a pragmatist, he is willing to fight for whichever side pays. Bluntschli makes fun of Raina's romantic pretentiousness; though he is secretly attracted to her. Things come to head when Louka in trying to get Sergius for her self-tells him about Raina and Bluntschli. Sergius gets jealous and challenges Bluntschli to a duel, he accuses Raina of secretly trysting with Bluntschli, but they both deny this. Bluntschli tries to help Sergius repair things with R aina, but it is too late as Sergius’s philandering with Louka also comes out also. During all this, a letter arrives informing Bluntschli that his father has died and that he must return to Switzerland immediately. Sergius finally rejects his romantic ideals and declares his intention to marry Louka. When Bluntschli discovers Raina is twenty-three and not a teenager as he had thought he quickly asks her parents for her hand in marriage. When they find out how wealthy he is, they agree, and after some token resistance, Raina submits 1.

The Changing of American Workplace Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

The Changing of American Workplace - Assignment Example The Changing of American Workplace There are various factors which may affect the workplace and working environment in a radical manner. One of the important factors is balancing family and work life. Balancing family and work life signifies that an individual should be engaged as well as satisfied with his or her responsibilities in relation to work life and family life. Employees are required to develop a balance amid work life and their personal life so that they are able to perform their activities in a relaxed way with zeal and dedication. Furthermore, the instability in personal and professional life has been affecting the working environment as well as personal life. It has been ascertained that there lays numerous factors such as workload pressure, demographic changes in relation to dual-income family and the sandwich generation and changes in workforce composition which dramatically influence both personal as well as professional life. This paper intends to discuss the various factors in relation to work-life balance which are accountable for affecting environment and workplace environment. Additionally, the discussion will also emphasize on asserting certain recommendations towards facilitating social as well as economic benefits. Work-life balance plays an important role in the life of every individual. Moreover, this aspect is also seemed to be adversely affecting the workplace and working environment. There are few major components on which the balances for work and life are dependent. These components are as follows: Time Balance An individual is required to devote equal time for personal and professional life. In this respect, time should be managed in an effective manner with the objective of creating a better balance amid work and life so that an individual is able to play his or her role proficiently. Time is to be managed in a flexible way so that individuals are capable to co-ordinate their activities efficiently (European Agency for Safety and Health at Work, 2013). Involvement Balance Individuals are required to be involved psychologically in both family life as well as work life. In this regard, individuals should be mentally involved with activities in order to accomplish the required objectives successfully. Subsequently, employees with better psychological involvement are likely to deliver or execute their activities in accordance with the objectives and goals of an organization (European Agency for Safety and Health at Work, 2013). Satisfaction Balance Individuals are required to have a balance in their satisfaction level both in their roles as well as activities which are performed in their professional and personal life. The appropriate balance in their professional as well as personal life, employees will attain increased level of satisfaction from their work and personal life accomplishments (European Agency for Safety and Health at Work, 2013). These are the three major components which are essential for employees in order to manage and balance their work as well as personal life. On the basis of these three elements a work-life balance can be ascertained. The working environment and workplace are significantly influenced with certain social changes. The social chan ges are the major factors which are accountable for an increased concern in relation to balancing professional and personal life in an effective manner. The ultimate factor which is primarily accountable for the social changes in the working environ

TQM in Academic Environment Essay Example for Free

TQM in Academic Environment Essay Abstract Total Quality Management was originally a concept coined in the late 1800s and early 1900s. This concept sought continuous improvement in performance, laying a lot of emphasis on the customers. A lot of organizations and military institutes started implementing the principles and integrating them within their entirety. Very soon, people started debating on the effective use and implementation of TQM within academic circles. Irrespective of resistance by some circles, certain academic sectors integrated TQM and were surprisingly successful. Students, specializing in their respective fields were the focus of attention. It was decided that transformation will not take place through movements emphasizing greater specialization, grades, and standards of performance accountability or through training students to fit into existing academic environments. Rather, a change that would produce improvement not only the fundamental changes with which we manage and design our educational systems but also how we design them, keeping in view the needs of our clients/constituents. The paper focuses and throws light on the nature of total quality management. How it found way into the academic circles and its coherence as far as inculcating leaders in the society is concerned. It delves into the nature of change asked for and essential rethinking that follows post realization that TQM caters to the needs of the society and organizations at large. This involves budging out of the rules established, encouraging complex mental models, thinking out of the box, working on processes that improve grades rather than the grades themselves, eliminating prejudices with respective to normal and special cases, improving interaction between the departments, working towards a shared vision, increased commitment on the part of faculty and teachers, overcoming resistance to change and being adaptive. TQM in Academic Environment TQM or Total Quality Management marks certain philosophies and universally acknowledged notions to achieve organizational effectiveness. This is in essence an attempt to go beyond customer satisfaction and to ensure good will throughout the industry. Japanese firms have held their integrity and superiority over other firms for the past two decades, thanks to their successful implementation of total quality management. Today, TQM is considered as a key tool in ensuring that efficiency of the organization is sustained. It has been implemented, across the board in various corporate organizations and has produced desired results. They are customer driven, keep in perspective all the stake holders involved, inter-departmental communication is an important consideration, cross functional teams are operative, jobs are empowered and performance appraisal and feedback is regularly conducted. Thus, it was essentially through business organizations and militia that TQM entered the academic arena. In this context, we mould our definition of TQM as a means of achieving continuous unimpeded success, making use of certain tools and principles and producing effective leaders in the process. TQM has time and again proven to be an effective strategy for sustaining and improvising growth and development. Unfortunately, it is yet to bear its fruits in education, in particular primary and secondary education. The state of education in most nations around the globe has by far marked an average only. There is a lack of purpose, a focus, and most educational institutions in the world are not customer driven; a myriad of departments exist with no focus on cross-departmental interaction; conventional and old forms of imparting education continue being practiced and people outside the academic circles are given little or no regard; the notions are rigid and facts don’t count; excellence is rarely sought and no benchmarks are made. Keeping expectations from such institutes is hogwash. Most surprisingly the belief that these quality programs are expensive is false. The primary, secondary and higher sectors of our academic education will continue struggling unless a proper plan is chalked out to combat all the short comings, these sectors face. The aim of an educational system and its mission must be coherent with each other. The procedures, policies and tools applied in a department or a division should conform to the mission the academic institute caters to. Standards are set and a common understanding of the system at hand should prevail. Managers follow the aims targeted to devise the system proceedings and ensure that maximum quality is achieved. TQM in essence follows Deming’s 12 principles that were carved keeping the customers in perspective. On an academic scale, they are treated analogously. We begin by focusing on the major areas that TQM aims to improvise, what factors contribute its successful implementation and what goals are intended to achieve through it. The rules that govern our teachers, administration, students and support systems have been long standing and limit the ability to think and reason. Boundaries that are fenced around these rules are a comfortable resort not because they are easy to be taken care of but also because they stem for universally acknowledged practices. TQM, on the contrary advocates for the contrary. It aspires for change and thinking beyond the box. It does not believe in the conventional system of adjudging capabilities by marks but directs its focus towards the process that was put into practice to achieve the results. It is not possible to assess how the results changed, how the performance improved, unless the light is shed in the process that was used to produce the change. Continuous improvement should be sought for and educational systems should be continuously designed and redesigned unless goals stipulated are achieved. TQM, to this effect deliberates a framework that fosters continuous improvement. There is a marked difference between the traditional modes of achieving improvement and those set against TQM. Under TQM, education is dealt as a cafeteria which seeks to satisfy hunger pangs of its customers. Improvement efforts and traditional processes are laid down on a menu card and offered to its customers (educators, institutes, colleges, universities, students, schools, administration) who seek to satiate their hunger pangs. As a result, those customers, who are able to satisfy their hunger walk out content and satisfied while the others stay in, unless their hunger demands are not dealt with. The rules established, thus have to be pondered over again in all major genres. To this effect, quality principles have to be especially dealt with. Quality in this context means, that a shared vision guides the purpose of education; its is acceptable by everyone; it focuses on collaboration and interaction instead of competition; it realizes that every individual is unique and different in its own right and seeks to optimize the expectations met for each one of them; grades and other performance indicators are considered as the capability of the system or the process and not the difference between a good and an unsuccessful student; it is devoid of prejudice and bias against students on the basis of their grades; it seeks to nurture the needs of all them and support them in times of distress; practices that berate people for instance ranking of staff, faculty, students are avoided and their morale are boosted and it emphasizes on self evaluation through collaborative evaluation. The rule rethinking under TQM also seeks to rethink roles allocated in an educational system. The most important of all being the managerial roles, who now have to deal individuals on an individual basis, keeping in perspective the context of the situation. This means having complete control of the environment and forces that work against the nurturing and development of intrinsic motivation (Bryan, n.d.). This fosters an education system in which students actively take part in planning and evaluating their learning process. They are made to realize that they are responsible for their learning and this responsibility only increase as they grow and mature. This is implemented by effective management of the system. This involves complete understanding of the coherence and co-relation between the various departments of the system. The administration manages their system and the faculty manages their system. Students on the other hand as discussed take control of their lives. This nurtures and builds up an enjoyable environment of learning and development where individuals exercise authority over their roles and seek to improve it continuously. However, care must be taken that this reallocation of roles adheres to the quality standards. This involves using teams to improve effectiveness of the higher education environment and student learning; quality in education emphasizes managing the processes used to produce the results then the results themselves; it designs a curriculum such that students are able to adapt them in their lives and integrate the parts they are exposed to accordingly; a win-win situation is produced and there is no concept of win-lose; quality in education is managed as a system by educational leaders who seek to understand their role and commit themselves to its strict adherence; it provides freedom, and inculcates novelty across the board. However implementation of TQM in academic institutes has met with resistance by various circles. The most oft repeated argument against its favor is the belief that it’s a panacea of the 1900s and holds no value in today’s time and era. Many argue that is a fad and like Management by Objectives, its going to be wiped away very soon. For this reason any many others that there are few organizations in the US who have completely embraced the concept of TQM. When it was first introduced many chose to turn a blind eye to it. For those who did successful implement TQM had to bypass a lot of obstacles. Most notably being the resistance to adapt, mould and change, adamant claims by naysayers who believed that TQM won’t work, lack of trust and unwillingness to train and empower employees. To challenge the deeply embedded academia culture will and is a mountainous task. Limited marketing alternatives and rare cost cutting opportunities have added more fuel to the fire. Most of these institutes are run by political sectors whose demands vary frequently. (Total Quality, n.d.) While TQM aims at ridding the society where grades judge capabilities, the society at large remains grade conscious. Other problems include the lack of coherence between the academic institute’s managerial strata and its academic functions. The two run parallel to each other working towards their own goals. TQM approach, on the contrary requires that the groups work parallel to each other. Excess division over subjects pursued is another obstacle. Cultural beliefs and practices embedded within most of these schools gives way for resistance to change. Irrespective of these obstacles, TQM has found audience in the literature and the health sector. They have successfully implemented the principles associated with TQM. Not only has this improved the quality standard but reinforced customer trust in these sectors. Students are able to develop a complex model of problems and delve into analytical evaluation of their performance. Their comprehension skills have improved and they have built on their ability to adapt their learning to their life. This can be achieved by provided instructions that are clear and focused; students should be taught different strategies to remember what they have learnt and apply them accordingly; actions such as head nodding, maintaining consistent eye contact, smiling and being responsive can help develop a student’s interest; continuous desire and urge on the part of principal to seek improvement and meet quality standards; instructional effectiveness is sought for such that no one has issues when it comes to changing the mode of instruction directed and a staff that is involved in learning activities. (Kathleen, n.d.) Leaders in such schools would thus not only look out for ways to change but to manage and embed the change process throughout the institute. References Kathleen, C. (n.d.). Applying Total Quality Management Principles To Secondary Education. Retrieved March Friday, 2008, from file:///C:/Documents%20and%20Settings/M.Sajjad/My%20Documents/originals/research%20work/s035.html Bryan, R. Cole. (n.d.). TOTAL QUALITY MANAGEMENT AS A TOOL TO ENHANCE THE QUALITY OF HIGHER EDUCATION MANAGEMENT IN THE 21ST CENTURY. Retrieved March Friday, 2008, from file:///C:/Documents%20and%20Settings/M.Sajjad/My%20Documents/originals/research%20work/keynote1.htm Total Quality Management in Higher Education: Is It Working? Why Or Why. (n.d.). : Green wood Publishing group.

Kuwait Oil Fields Reconstruction Projects Construction Essay

Kuwait Oil Fields Reconstruction Projects Construction Essay During the Gulf war, Kuwait was invaded by Iraq and by the end of it almost all of oil production facilities of Kuwait had suffered extensive damage and had become defunct. Even after their Liberation in Feb, 1991 a large number of oil wells were on fire. To rebuild the countrys major source of income of the country a project was taken to reconstruct these oil fields. This was the Kuwait oilfields reconstruction project. Bechtel International was the project management firm given the contract to manage this reconstruction project by the Kuwait Oil Company. Work of planning of the project had started in November 1990 within three months of the start of the Iraqi Invasion, in the offices of Bechtel in London. Planning and organizing activities were being done in the offices in London, Houston, San Francisco, Dubai and Riyadh even when the war was still on. Since the war was still on, there was little knowledge of the total extent of the damage to the oilfields and how much work was to be done. However those damages that were identified till then were taken into consideration and front-end planning and procurement for the same had been started. During the end of the war, the retreating Iraqi troops had set the oilfields on fire. Thus to continue with the project first it was necessary to bring these fires under control. The personnel of Bechtel arrived in Kuwait 4 days after a complete sweep of the City was done by the allied troops. The main objective then of these personnel was to organize and manage the firefighting efforts. This was names project Al- Awada (Arabic for return). The vivid scenes shown by the newspaper, magazine, and television reports came alive for Bechtel project personnel. The days were dark with smoke from the fires blocking the sun, oil droplets filled the air, clean water and sanitary systems were not working, power plants were down, transportation was minimal as tires were a precious commodity, and food was very scarce. Initial accommodation was in refurbished ship quarters and in some vandalized apartment complexes without water and electricity, no more than a foam mattress on the floor, and a long hike up a darkened staircase. In addition to these problems, booby traps, land and water mines, unexploded shells and rockets, and other ordnance had littered the country. The temperatures in summer consistently were above 50 à Ã‚ ¦ C in shade (seldom below 37 à Ã‚ ¦ C at night), exposing the people in the field to temperatures of 55-58 à Ã‚ ¦ C in many locations, and hotter nearer to the fires. Just providing drinking water was a ma jor undertaking. John Oakland, senior vice president of Bechtel Corporation, who served as the manager of projects in Kuwait, remarked, This campaign, which was well covered by the international news media, was one of the most complex engineering and construction efforts in history. However, the following assignment, which was the reconstruction of the Kuwait oil fields, was an even bigger and more challenging task. The project of the reconstruction of the oil fields, which was named Al-Tameer (Arabic for rebuild), will be discussed in this report. Status of the Facilities The state of the two million barrels per day oil export industry in Kuwait after the completion of the fire-fighting effort was as follows: 647 wells had burned in total, 751 wells were damaged. Twenty-six oil gathering, separation, and production centers were damaged or totally destroyed. One marine export facility and its related single point mooring was totally destroyed, and the second marine export facility was partially damaged and out of commission. The equivalent of ten million barrels of crude oil storage tankage had been destroyed. The Shuaiba refinery was totally destroyed. A crude unit in the Mina Al Ahrnadi Refinery was completely destroyed. The rest of the refinery was partially damaged and the refinery was out of commission. The Mina Abdullah Refinery was partially damaged and the units were not operable. All communication towers and networks were destroyed. Most of the working population had either fled or were in hiding. Project Al-Tameer After the successful completion of the fire-fighting effort, KOC invited Bechtel to present its plan for the reconstruction of the oil fields production and exporting facilities damaged during the war, starting work by November 1990. KOCs goal was to be able to produce 2 million bpd of oil by September 1992. Planning and Organizing Phase The planning and organizing effort for the Al-Tameer project started with the Bechtel team that was already on-site as part of the Al-Awada project fire-fighting effort. An organization totally different from the Al-Awada project was required to scope, estimate, plan, execute, and turn over operational facilities to KOC. This organization had to be self-sufficient and be able to fully support and service a massive work force of more than 16,000 people. The main organization was divided into five main functions. One was to support KOCs future five-year budget planning with identification, scoping, and planning future projects. This was named KOC Major Projects Group. The other four groups consisted of: manager Al-Tameer projects, responsible for all planning and project management, as well as engineering and procurement manager coordination, responsible for scheduling, cost control, estimating, project reporting, public and community relations, and other relevant functions manager services, responsible for providing all the required support services for the project team including explosive and ordnance demolition group manager operation, responsible for field execution of all the defined work. A damage assessment and scoping team consisting of engineers, planners, and estimators walked every foot of the oil fields production and exporting facilities preparing a scope of work, cost estimate, a plan and schedule of work for each facility. The planning was based on a back to front scheduling defining the dates and production goals first, working backward to see when the drilling effort and facilities reconstruction work had to start to meet this goal. This approach also determined the required manpower and helped with direct hire and subcontracting plans. The overall plan defined the sequence of the work and prioritized the resources to make sure facilities with least damage were first priority for completion. The master schedule was developed based on nine subproject organization work breakdown structures (WBS) Oil recovery Tankage south North Kuwait Pipelines/flow lines Power, buildings, cathodic protection Marine facilities De-salters South gathering centers West gathering centers. Figure : Al Tameer Organization Each subproject having its task force, budget, schedule, and its priority on resources identified was headed by a project manager. The Al-Tameer project organization chart is shown in Figure 1. The teams were integrated with available KOC personnel who performed some of the project functions. Each subproject team was supported by local functional managers to provide them with staff and resources to execute the work. The key driver behind the plan was meeting the schedule and the production capacity. Execution Phase The project execution consisted of three main functions: detail engineering, procurement, and construction management. Detail Engineering Engineering and construction teams worked very closely during the planning phase to determine the best and most expedient way of rebuilding some of the facilities. This close collaboration continued until construction was complete. More than 200 designers and engineers worked in the makeshift project offices at various sites, with strong central support from a base that was set up in an old war-damaged girls school. This was later transferred to a newly constructed KOC engineering building. Additionally, a team of more than 200 engineers from various Bechtel regional offices worldwide provided continuous support and specialized expertise. The main deliverables of the engineering teams were construction drawings, construction packages, and material requisitions and technical bid tabs. This effort was not limited to oil production and exporting facilities; it included some of the necessary infrastructure required for the day-to-day operation of KOC. Offices, warehouses, guest houses, employees housing, roads, power, water, etc., were all part of the scope of the work. Because most of the original drawings and specifications were destroyed during the war, field sketches and measurements had to be used. A total engineering effort of 450,000 hours resulted in 4,500 major drawings. One totally new and fully modularized gathering facility (GC-17) was designed and built in Houston, Texas, and shipped to the sites. Other facilities were designed for rebuild based on their original concept, but modernized wherever possible. Some of the units were very old and were upgraded with the more modern versions of the equipment available. A more extensive use of distributed control systems and automation was one of the key areas that were upgraded. Procurement The project procurement group was established in full force during the firefighting phase of the project to provide resources for that very important effort. In the Al-Tameer phase the team was further expanded to support the massive procurement and contracting effort that was required to meet the target schedule. In addition, inventory control and warehousing material were also part of the procurement teams area of responsibility. The procurement team was also responsible for incorporating all the material into KOC1s automated material and inventory control system. The procurement effort driving the execution phase was centralized, and it was divided into three main areas: Material management Contracts management Warehouse management. Material management included purchasing, inspection, expediting, and traffic and logistics. Contracting included formation and administration. Warehouse management included central warehouses and satellite warehouses. The procurement team had three main goals within the projects overall objective: ensure the right material and resources were available in time to meet the schedule maximize the use of available local resources to assist in rebuilding the local economy ensure sure final warehouse inventory met KOCs material coding and identification system. The size and the particular nature of the project required that the procurement team be divided between material management-reporting to the manager of projects-and contracts management-reporting to the manager of construction. This arrangement facilitated the communication and management of site contractors work with Bechtels direct hire construction work. Material Management Project managers were responsible for development and processing of the material requisitions for their areas of responsibility. Orders over $100,000 required further approval by KOCs manager of the Al-Tameer project. Almost everything required for the execution of the project had to be imported from outside the country. At the early phases of the project the port facilities, custom facilities, and other services required for the proper importation of goods and services were not functioning. Bechtel established a staging area in Jebel Ali port of Dubai (UAE) to receive, inspect, and accept material. Utilizing much smaller vessels and boats, Bechtel then transported goods from Dubai to various Kuwait ports depending on availability and cargo size. This plan also included most of the air freighted material. Because timely delivery of the material was critical to meeting the project schedule, a very detailed material requisitioning plan had to be developed identifying every required detail. This plan was then incorporated into Bechtels worldwide Procurement Tracking System (PTS) that enabled all Bechtel offices to monitor and follow through each order until it reached the site. At later stages of the project when Kuwait ports and custom facilities became functional the above arrangements were changed and everything was imported directly into Kuwait. During this period more than 26,000 purchase orders were issued, and more than 520,000 tons of material were imported utilizing 742 aircraft and sea-going vessels. Warehousing Management One of the key activities of the warehousing management team was to incorporate the variety of material that was left behind after the war and the fire-fighting phase with newly ordered and engineering-specified material. Also, by continuously adjusting and monitoring quantities and specifications they could respond very quickly to emergency and out-of-schedule circumstances. The engineering and warehouse both utilized a common software (PCMC) to identify, locate, and quantify most of the bulk material making sure that when the material was required it would be made available immediately. Contract Management Although due to scheduled requirement reconstruction of some of the flow line, all of the gathering centers and booster stations were performed by Bechtel direct hires, nevertheless more than 300 major construction contracts and 650 equipment rental agreements were issued by the contract management team during the Al-Tameer project phase. The contract formulation team worked as a central group serving all subprojects. The contract administration group managed the administration work more by function than by area. Project managers were ultimately the responsible parties for the contractor work in their areas, receiving the necessary support and services from these two centralized teams. Construction Management Al-Tameer was probably one of the most challenging construction projects ever managed by Bechtel. The work required provision of labor, equipment, and support facilities in fifty-five locations and in four different parts of the country-North fields, South (marine facilities and refineries), West fields, and Burgan fields. The work involved construction of drill pads; roads for heavy rig transportation; well heads; flow lines; gathering centers; gas booster stations; oil storage tanks; water supply, distribution and storage; and marine export terminal and loading facilities. In addition, KOCs own infrastructure (offices, housing, clubs and restaurants, warehouses and buildings, telecommunication, etc.) had to be reconstructed. Construction efforts were divided between direct hire construction and subcontracted work. The total scope of work was divided into nine construction areas, each managed by a field superintendent. Each superintendent was responsible for both direct hire execution as well as field administration of the subcontractors scope of work within his area. Construction superintendents were supported by the central construction group that was the functional group supporting a project matrix team. Prioritization of resources and construction equipment was one of the major functions of the central construction team. Field construction teams were comprised of multinational forces (from thirty-six countries) with totally different cultures, languages, and performance capabilities. Catering and other cultural requirements had to be addressed to ensure each group could perform its function satisfactorily. Each task had to be tailor made to suit the team available. It was important that planning of the manpower and resources take into consideration availability of the right foreman and support group to be able to communicate and perform work with each team. Summary Approximately 1,000,000 hours in the regional offices and 4,000,000 hours in Kuwait were spent for project management/engineering/construction management during the first two phases of this project. Field labor hours were 50,000,000. These project man-hours were spent within the following project schedule milestones: start of planning November 1990 start implementation in Kuwait March 199 1 project completion June 1993. The sources of the project personnel were various. A total of 16,000 workers from thirty-six countries on five continents were involved in this massive effort. The countries that participated in the supply of manpower to this reconstruction included Kuwait, the United States, Great Britain, Canada, France, Australia, Belgium, Holland, Germany, Ireland, New Zealand, Mexico, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Iran, Lebanon, Bahrain, Yugoslavia, Colombia, Indonesia, Nigeria, Bangladesh, Brazil, Afghanistan, the Philippines, India, Djibouti, Sri Lanka, Somalia, Syria, Tanzania, Thailand, Tunisia, Pakistan, Trinidad, and Sierra Leone. Key Milestones Some of the more notable milestones in the program were: The last fire was extinguished and the well was capped on November 6, 199 1, eight months after the arrival of the first Bechtel team on-site. The first postwar oil was pumped from two of the original gathering centers on May 26, 199 1. By December 1991, more than 400,000 barrels of oil per day were being produced from the rehabilitated facilities. By April 1993, more than 11,000,000 barrels of weathered crude had been reclaimed from oil pits and lakes, and processed through the field treatment centers and the refinery. By the end of June 1993, eighteen of the original centers were back in operation, with all the production goals achieved as scheduled. Operation Phase Accomplishments The work was conducted in fifty-five locations that included fields in the north of Kuwait on the border with Iraq, west and south of Kuwait on the borders with Saudi Arabia and Iraq, and in the refineries and loading facilities along the coast and offshore. Five hundred square miles of land were swept and cleared of unexploded ordnance. More than 23,000 pieces of explosive devices were destroyed by explosive ordnance disposal teams. Although all work areas were swept, the risk from undetectable ordnance was ever present and some fatalities did occur. More than 26,000 purchase orders and 300 major construction contracts and 650 equipment rental agreements were awarded during Phases I and I1 of the project. (A more normal project performed over the same time frame may have 4,000 to 6,000 purchase orders.) A complete communication system dedicated to the oil industry was installed that included twenty-three satellite telephone systems, 4,500 telephones, and 2,000 portable radios. A twenty-four-hour health care and safety program was established that included two helicopter medivac teams, a forty-bed hospital, a dental clinic, and a team of approximately 100 professional medical personnel on duty at seven medical stations. More than 5,800 pieces of field operating equipment ranging from the larger bulldozers, cranes, trucks, front-end loaders, and heavy industrial equipment to ambulances, pickup trucks, cars, buses, and other support vehicles were shipped to the job sites. These pieces of equipment were purchased from twelve different countries. A total of 742 aircraft and sea-going vessels were deployed to ship more than 520,000 tons of equipment and material to Kuwait in support of this project. Six full-service dining halls with catering support staff provided about 3,500,000 meals for the workers during the fire-fighting campaign and 10,000,000 meals during the reconstruction phase. Menus were established to cater to the different ethnic backgrounds. Provisions and housing for 12,000 manual and 2,000 non-manual Bechtel employees were provided. All of the members of project management and their support teams, over 200 design and engineering personnel and around 200 procurement, administration and subcontracts management teams, were resident in Kuwait. Construction of a number of permanent offices, workshops, warehouses, maintenance shops, and housing complexes for KOC was completed at the same time. Fire-fighting efforts originally involved the four major international teams of Boots Coots, Red Adair, Safety Boss, and Wild Well Control. They were later joined by an additional twenty-three teams from Kuwait, Iran, China, Hungary, Great Britain, France, Canada, Romania, and Russia. Four hundred kilometers of water and oil pipelines were installed during fire-fighting efforts. Water lines and pumping stations could deliver 25,000,000 gallons a day to fire sites. Each of 360 lagoons was excavated, lined, and filled with 1,000,000 gallons of water for use in fire-fighting. Drilling pads and access roads were constructed for 700 new and work over wells. Three-thousand kilometers of new flow lines were constructed. One-thousand kilometers of new and refurbished pipelines were installed. Fifteen crude gathering centers, including a totally new and modularized early production facility, were assessed, designed, and constructed. Three gas booster stations were constructed Restoration and reconstruction of the marine loading terminals, offshore terminals, and SPM were completed. Construction of more than 10,000,000 barrels of new crude oil storage tankage was managed. Restoration of overhead and underground electrical power transmission and distribution system and cathodic protection system within the oil fields was completed. Construction repair and operation of water systems (fresh, brackish, and salt water) were completed. Construction and operation of oil recovery systems and facilities that collected and treated more than 25,000,000 barrels of weathered crude were completed.

Othello Essay -- essays research papers

One of the most interesting and exotic characters in the tragic play "Othello," by William Shakespeare, is "Honest" Iago. At first glance, Iago seems to be the essence of "motiveless malignity." However, despite Iago's unquestionable malignancy, the motivation behind his actions lie more in Iago's quest for personal gain, as opposed to just being evil for evil's sake. Iago's rapacity can be validated by examining his manipulation of Roderigo, Cassio and, most importantly, Othello. Iago's main interest is the destruction of Othello. The reason being that Othello has chosen another man, Cassio, as his second-in-command, preferring him to Iago. This resentment, accompanied by Iago's fabricated accusations of adultery and his blatant racism, cause Iago to despise the kindly moor, and shortly thereafter, begin to conspire against him. Because Iago is much too smart to immediately kill Othello, he proceeds with the arduous process of dismantling him emotionally. Iago also knows that he must distance himself from any of the harrowing occurrences that transpire, so he cleverly gets other people to do his dirty work. The first to fall victim to Iago's illiberal manipulation, is the half-witted Roderigo. Iago knows Roderigo is consumed by lust for Desdemona, and would do anything to make her his own. Iago tells Roderigo that the only way to win Desdemona's love, is to make money to procure gifts for her. "...put money in thy purse.." (Act 1,...

Cell Injury and Cell Death

â€Å"Common biochemical themes are important to understanding cell injury and cell death regardless of the injuring agent† (Heuther & McCance, 2012). Cellular injury arises when a cell is unable to sustain homeostasis. The injury can be reversed if the cell can recover from whatever damage was done but if it does not recover the cell will die. The three common forms of cell injury are hypoxic injury, free radicals and reactive oxygen species injury, and chemical injury.The most common form of cell injury is hypoxic injury, or hypoxia, the deficiency of adequate oxygen. Ischemia is the most common cause of tissue hypoxia and is caused from a decrease in blood flow. Hypoxia can also be caused by a reduced amount of oxygen in the air, loss of hemoglobin, diseases of the respiratory and cardiovascular systems, and decreased production of red blood cells. Cardiac ischemia is one of the most recognizable forms of hypoxic injury and is caused by a blockage in the coronary arteries o f the heart.Once the blood flow to heart tissue decreases or stops completely, the heart tissue is damaged and can lead to further complications including a myocardial infarction. Another form of cell injury is free radicals and reactive oxygen species. â€Å"An important mechanism of cellular injury is injury induced by free radicals, especially by reactive oxygen species (ROS); this form of injury is called oxidative stress† (Heuther and McCance, 2012). Free radicals are produced by cells and are crucial to normal cellular metabolism.Free radicals can form damaging chemical bonds with lipids, proteins, and carbohydrates. The most commonly defined free radicals are the reactive oxygen species (ROS) which contribute to mitochondrial dysfunction and are linked to many human diseases and the aging process. According to a holistic physician, Dr. Jill Marjama-Lyons, â€Å"oxidative stress is one of the leading theories as to what might cause dopamine cell death in Parkinson†™s disease† (2003). Chemical injury is the final form of cell injury.â€Å"About 4 billion pounds of toxic chemicals are released per year in the United States. Of these, approximately 72 million pounds are known carcinogens† (Heuther and McCance, 2012). We are frequently exposed to xenobiotics, a variety of compounds that include toxic, mutagenic, and carcinogenic chemicals. â€Å"These chemicals can react with cellular macromolecules, such and proteins and DNA, or can react directly with cell structures to cause cell damage† (Heuther and McCance, 2012).Tissue damage caused by xenobiotics can lead to organ and systemic toxicity,  mutations, and cancer. Lead , a heavy metal found in the environment, is a chemical highly toxic to children. The exposure primarily effects the nervous system, the hematopoietic system, and the kidneys. Lead exposure can result in learning disorders, hyperactivity, and attention problems if exposure is too high. Cell injury occurs when a cell is unable to sustain homeostasis. Maintaining homeostasis within the body is vital to prevent serious complications and death. Cell injury forms include hypoxic injury, chemical injury and oxidative stress.Hypoxia is the insufficiency of oxygen, without oxygen the body cannot keep its tissue healthy and that can lead to tissue death and organ system failure. Unfortunately, due to the 4 billion pounds of toxic chemicals released into the environment each year, chemical injury is common and hard to avoid. Chemicals can be found the air, the food we eat and the water we drink. Exposure and a reaction to the exposure depends on an individual’s health. Cell injury can be reversed but it must happen quickly to prevent lasting complications or cell death.

Counter-terrorism

What is counterterrorism? Why is it important to understand the motivations behind terrorism efforts? What kind of general motives might you find among terrorists in this country and abroad? Counter-terrorism is a combination of practices, strategies, techniques and practices that the various governments, police departments and the military service units use to stop terrorism acts with both the response to completed acts and the detection of potential terror acts included in counter-terrorism.The techniques and practices used in counter-terrorism aim at preventing or stopping certain terrorism acts, with the strategies usually offensive in operation. One major reason why the motivations behind terrorism efforts need to be understood is its great role in the development and implementation of effective counter-terrorism strategies. Since counter-terrorism measures depend on the nature of the terrorism act being mitigated, it is vital to identify how and why certain terrorism act is und ertaken in order to also combat it successfully.Understanding the motivation behind terrorism efforts forms the base for the development of an effective countering action where lack of a clear understanding of all the issues surrounding a terror act, makes the possibility of curbing the act properly and effectively almost impossible (Bolz. F et al. 2001). In addition, understanding the motive behind terrorism efforts allows the appropriate government organizations to select amongst the many, an effective action to counter a terrorism act that seems like an isolated event.This kind of understanding promotes good intelligence which forms a very vital component of preparing an effective counter-terrorism strategy. Another reason why identification of terrorist motives is vital is the huge role it plays in hunting down hard-core terrorist. It is through proper knowledge of a terrorist’s motives, that a government can isolate the hard-core terrorists and cut them off from external supplies. This makes it possible for the terrorists to be referred to as criminals, making it easy to hunt terrorists according to the law and with popular support.When a government or an organization plans and implements a counter-terrorism strategy, there is need to understand how terrorism efforts violate the human rights. This in turn enables the governments to develop effective measures that ensure that severe and appropriate actions are taken against the terrorists who are viewed as human rights violators, a situation that may repel others from participating in terrorists’ activities.Counter-terrorism experts are able to eradicate any terrorist organization if they correctly and accurately understand the terrorists’ motives, where one is able to understand the terrorists’ thoughts so that one can anticipate their next move correctly to stop it on time. In the USA and other countries, terrorist’s motives are many and they vary (Crank, J. et al.. 200 5). In the USA, Some of the general motives that might be found in terrorists include, political motives, fighting for the injustice of a given group of people, economic superiority as well as the creation of fear and a sense of insecurity in the American citizens.When they view themselves as the underserved underdogs on a mission, the terrorists use the strategy of using the weak to weaken the strong and to strengthen the weak. Question 2 Is counterterrorism a tactic of warfare or crime-fighting? What role does due process play in either context? What are the implications when terrorists can be characterized as the â€Å"enemy† rather than mere criminals? Counterterrorism can be used as both a warfare tactic or as a crime fighting tactic. However, in the United States counterterrorism is usually used as a crime- fighting tactic.For instance, the computer and the Internet are used to undertake warfare actions through the cyber space. Counter terrorism as a warfare tactic is t hen used and can be used to stop people from using terrorism tactics against a given nation or organization. In such a case, comprehensive tools can be used to deal with possible terrorist incidents and can further be used to repulse attacks that have been directed against a nation. As a crime fighting tactic, counter terrorism is used by the law enforcement authorities to hunt down terrorists who have been labeled as criminals.The authorities normally cut off hard-core terrorists from external sources of supply so as to label terrorists as criminals, and then use the law to easily hunt the terrorists down (Combs. 2005). When terrorists are referred to as â€Å"enemy† instead of â€Å"criminal,† it encourages more terrorist’s attacks or strengthening of terrorist organizations. For example, it leads to the recruitment of more followers in the terrorist organizations because those who are recruited have developed great desire to become fighters against their enem y.The labeling of terrorists as an enemy serves as a motivation for every group to strengthen itself to attack another group they view as â€Å"enemy†. It further encourages terrorism behavior of solidarity, loyalty and self protection even when the group faces difficult times. The members get convinced that they need to protect themselves from a group that views them as an â€Å"enemy’. Finally, referring to terrorists as ‘enemy’ instead of criminals makes it very hard for the concerned organization or government to hunt down the terrorist according to the law.In addition, the organization lacks the popular support to hunt down the terrorists (Crank. J et al.. 2005) because they are seen as just revenging against other people with an unjustified reason. The terrorists cannot be tracked down in pursuit of justice which makes it difficult to use force against hard-core terrorists with the use of brutal force generating more terrorism and terrorists. Questi on 3 How has surveillance changed from the â€Å"traditional† to â€Å"new surveillance†? Are these changes potentially problematic for civil liberties in any way in the United States?Should law enforcement be permitted to use all technological resources available to accomplish its mission including in the fight against terror? Are there limits? Traditionally, counterterrorism strategies and techniques against terror acts were hugely the responsibility of the military force, and the level of surveillance not as intensive as it is in the new strategies of surveillance. The major reason for this is that in the past, terrorism acts were not as many as they are in the modern world.Traditional institutions approved surveillance only when it was seriously necessary to do so, as compared to new surveillance which has been blamed for overstepping the bounders. The ever increasing terrorist attacks against certain states in the world have demanded the development of many and ef fect counter terrorism measures through surveillance, in comparison to the traditional surveillance. In new surveillance, building of the counterterrorism plans has integrated all the segments of the society or government agencies (Mahan, S and Griset, P. 2007).New surveillance has seen the development of counterterrorism strategies that have increased both the standard of the police as well as domestic intelligence. While traditional surveillance involved the interception of communication and tracing of the suspected terrorists, new surveillance has expanded its ways of operation due to the advancement in technology. For instance, new surveillance has managed to expand the range of both the law and the military enforcement operations. The direction of domestic intelligence at specific groups that is based on origin and religion is a feature of the new surveillance.Mass surveillance is also done in new surveillance where an entire population is investigated. In the United States, ch anges in the surveillance have raised concerns based on the civil liberties. One good example is the mass surveillance which involves the surveillance of an entire population, an issue that has been objected since it is considered to defy civil liberty of the citizens (http://www. usatoday. com/news/washington/2006-05-10-nsa-x. htm). The surveillance defies the citizen’s liberty in that mass surveillance is done whether or not there is the consent of those being surveyed.Furthermore, surveillance is done whether it serves or it does not serve the citizen’s interest. For instance, use of a network of secret police informers is considered a new surveillance abuse. In the United States, the government has been accused of illegally cooperating with the National Security Agency to monitor the US citizens’ phone records. Further allegations that the government has conducted electronic surveillances of domestic phone calls without warrants are an issue that has been sa id to go against the civil liberty.However, the law enforcement organizations should not be fully allowed to use technological resources to fight terror. This is because uncontrolled use consequently may result to severe negative effects. For instance, there have been some instances where technological measures against terror have resulted to the abuse and violation of the human rights. The return and extradition of people within countries and restriction of freedom of citizens are some of the examples that violate human rights during the process of counterterrorism.Invasion of people’s private lives through technology-advanced tools need to be stopped by limiting how far the law enforcement bodies should go to fight terror. Lack of a boundary within which technology can be used poses a great risk, where the authorities may undertake counterterrorism practices while they violate the human rights at the same time. Question 4 What is the FISA court? Explain how it works. What a uthorities can it grant law enforcement? How is it different from traditional courts? What concerns exist about expanding the use of FISA?A FISA court refers to a secret court in the USA that has the responsibility of approving the wiretaps that target the terrorists. It was established and has been working since 1979 to ensure that terrorists and foreign agents are monitored. The FISA court was established under the 1978 US Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act. The court has approved domestic wiretaps and has continued to handle very sensitive domestic wiretaps in the US national security investigations| (media filter. org/CAQ/cqq53. court. html). The FISA court operates through a process that is based on probable cause.An application to a FISA court judge is normally made by the FBI (Federal Bureau of Investigation) if it believes that it can show probable cause that the target of the surveillance is either a suspected terrorist or a foreign agent. The application should contain 4 documents; a request for a wiretap, FBI directors’ or executive branch official’s certification that information cannot be acquired through the normal investigative tactics, and an FBI supervisory affidavit with a statement of fact about the target of surveillance.This is then followed by the submission of the documents to the Justice Department for the Justice Department attorneys’ review. The application is then forwarded to the FISA court and presented to a federal judge. There are 10 federal judges in the FISA court who sit on the court on a rotating basis. The FISA court grants authority to the law enforcement authorities based on the probable cause presented to them. It gives warrant to the authorities to conduct surveillance on a suspected target, if enough evidence is provided in the court to justify why a suspect should be surveyed.It receives an application if the FBI director certifies that there is need to obtain information above the normal invest igative tactics. Clear indication of facts about the target of surveillance is also demanded by the FISA court before they give the authority and the judges often demand for more details about the targeted communication to authorize or approve a wiretap. It maintains a high rate of secrecy where a judge can make an ultimate decision to approve a wiretap (FISA orders 1979-2004)The FISA court is different from the traditional court in its secret nature of operation where the court makes approval of the applications in secret. Furthermore, the FISA court is considered to have acquired expanded authority than a traditional court to approve surveillance applications made, after President’s Clinton signing of the Executive Order 12949. Unlike in the traditional courts, the FISA court evidence can be used in criminal trials after the 1995 expansion as compared to the traditional courts where the evidence could only be collected and stockpiled only for intelligence purposes.The FISA court has expanded powers and it has the authority to allow both the electronic and physical searches due to its expanded powers. The expansion of using the FISA court in the USA has raised great concern. One concern of the FISA court expansion is the possibility of government’s extreme intrusion into people’s private lives. Because the court operates secretly, government measures that may intrude into people’ lives unnecessarily may result. Another great concern is the fact that, it promotes surveillance that defies people of their liberty.For instance, the expansion of the FISA court has made it able to give legal authority to approve black-bag operations, that authorize the Department of Justice to conduct both electronic and physical searches without an open court warrant. Furthermore, the subjects are not notified and an inventory of seized items not provided. Sometimes the surveillance allowed by the FISA court is considered to be unconstitutional. The Civ il liberty lawyers in the United States have stated that some searches that have been conducted are unconstitutional.It is a great worry that under the FISA court cover of secrecy, the court is likely to exceed its own broad legal mandate. The expansion of the court has been argued to have been motivated by the governments need to conduct searches they would not have been allowed to undertake under the nation’s national provisions. For instance, the US government may attempt and fail under the traditional constitutional argument to secure a search warrant, but it would go to FISA court and secure approval for a search by converting the case into a national security investigation. Question 5 How has aviation security changed since 9111?What were the provision of the Aviation and Transportation Act? Did this Act change Aviation security in a dramatic way? What role does racial and religious profiling play in securing the aviation industry and its consumers? What role should it play? Before the 9/11 terrorist attack, the aviation security in the USA was the responsibility of the Federal Aviation Administration within the Department of transportation. However after the 9/11 attack there was great urgency in securing the US nation’s entire transportation systems. The federal agencies concerned with transport security were transferred to the Department of Homeland security (www.encyclopedia. com/doc/iG2-34033000149. html). The need to increase aviation security after the 9/11 led to the enactment of the Aviation and Transportation Act on Nov 19, 2001. This saw the creation of the TSA (Transportation Security Administration) within the DOT (Department of Transportation). The Act permits the existing authorities to permit the TSA to flexibly manage and deploy the workforce to carry out important security work where the national security is concerned. The act mandates the increase in the number of federal air marshals and has placed the US airport securit y screeners under federal control.All the screeners were required to be US citizens, though the provision was later changed by American Civil Liberties Union. It was the Act’s provision that all the bags in the airports to be first screened and then matched to the passengers. Another provision of the Act was the $1. 5 billion award to the airports and private contractors so that the direct costs of meeting new security requirements were met. Checks for baggage in the airports was made necessary with screening recommended by use of explosive detection machinery or manual methods.The Act allowed the Transportation Secretary to authorize airports to use all the necessary equipment for the chemical and biological weapons detection. The Act did change the aviation security dramatically. For instance, before the 9/11 attack, the civil aviation security was handled by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). After the creation of the Act, the civil aviation security was put under the Transportation Security Administration (TSA). There were also changes in the federal statutes that covered aviation security (contained in title 49 of the Code of Federal Regulations Chapter XII).The provisions that were made by the Act changed security practices in the airports with the airports implementing changes in the checking and screening procedures, where tight security procedures were and are still being developed. The placement of the airport security screeners under federal control made changes when all screeners were required to be US citizens and the matching of bags to passengers was made necessary with new security requirements adopted in airports. Racial and religious profiling in the US Aviation Security practices has been seen by some as illegal and inconsistent with American values (travelsecurity.blogspot. com/2007/09lantos-warns-tsa-against-religious. html). Furthermore, this profiling is detrimental to the national security. Civil liberties of some religio us groups have claimed that TSA employees conduct secondary screening for passengers wearing ‘religious’ clothing. For instance, TSA employees have discriminated the Sikh by ordering Sikh Americans to remove their turbans, which defies their faith. There have been an estimated 50 incidents of religious discrimination since the institution of the new policy. Racial and religious profiling has led to discrimination and humiliation of people including the ordinary Americans.The practice leads to stereotyping of some citizens as terrorists and provokes a sense of fear against innocent citizens. The racial and religious profiling should instead promote changes that will prevent discrimination and humiliation of travelers. The profiling should not be used as a means of abuse but instead should be used with respect for the civilians. Exposing people to extra screening procedures simply because they belong to a certain race or religion should be done away with, but instead ever yone subjected to the procedures to promote equality. References Bolz, F. , Dudonis, K. and Schulz, D.(2001). The Counterterrorism Handbook: Tactics, Procedures and Techniques. Second Edition. CRC Publishers Crank, J. P. , & Gregor, P. E. 2005. Counter-Terrorism After 9/11: Justice, Security and Ethics Reconsidered. Cincinatti: Anderson Publishing Colangelo, P. The secret FISA court: Rubber Stamping on Rights. Covert Action Quarterly. Online at: media filter. org/CAQ/cqq53. court. html. Retrieved on June 26, 2008 Combs, (2005). Terrorism in the 21st Century, 4th Edition. Prentice Hall. FISA orders 1979-2004 Judson, K. Civil Aviation Security United States. Encyclopedia of Espionage, Intelligence andSecurity. 2004. Available at: www. encyclopedia. com/doc/iG2-34033000149. html. Retrieved on June 26, 2008 Lantos, T. US representative from California. Lantons Warns TSA Against Religious Profiling Insensitivity Sept 7, 2007. Online at: travelsecurity. blogspot. com/2007/09lantos-warns-t sa-against-religious. html. Retrieved on June 26, 2008 Mahan, S and Griset, P. 2007. Terrorism in Perspective. Sage Publications, Inc USA TODAY Com – NSA has Massive database of American’s phone calls http://www. usatoday. com/news/washington/2006-05-10-nsa-x. htm. Retrieved on June 26, 2008