Hurricane Katrina Essay Example for Free

Hurricane Katrina Essay Mike Mulally 10-11-19 In 2005 Hurricane Katrina swept through the city of New Orleans and destroyed the lives of thousands. Katrina was one of the largest hurricanes and natural disasters in the history of the United States (Wikipedia, 2009). While most of the casualties’ occurred during the actual storm, still a many took place days after, and were do to the fact that the local, state, and national government were slow to respond. This slow response was due to the nature of federalism. I believe Americans got a glimpse at how federalism and bureaucracy have flaws. These imperfections will be discussed in the pages below. The PBS documentary â€Å"The Storm,† depicts the destruction Hurricane Katrina caused, as well as what went wrong with the evacuation and rescue of New Orleans residents. Local, state, and national government officials were interviewed, such as New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin, New Orleans governor Kathleen Blanco, and FEMA Director Michael Brown. Each official gave his or her version of why events happened the way they did. Some of the their accounts contradicted each other. I believe everyone was just looking out for him or herself, trying to save face. This seems to be a common problem in American politics. I will next explore how federalisms can be a inconvenience in a situation such as a natural disaster. Federalism by definition â€Å"is a system in which governmental powers are divided between a central government and smaller units, like states†(Greenberg Page, 2009, Ch. 3). The officials at all levels of the government were somehow confused during Katrina on who exactly was in charge. Was it New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin, FEMA Director Michael Brown, was it President Bush? † (Marcela, 2005). There was also a lack of communication between the different levels of government, which, as was talked about in class, is an obvious downside or barrier to federalism (Oxendine, 2009). In a situation like a natural disaster, communication is key. If one cannot communicate with another, how is anything supposed to be accomplished? Having several le vels of government involved just makes everything in a disaster situation more complicated. I believe the U. S. needs a more centralized form of a disaster agency. If a natural disaster is to happen there ought to be one plan of action carried out by one agency. Having this central organization would have alleviated much of the confusion and frustration that we witnessed with Katrina. According to Director Brown, after Hurricane Katrina, New Orleans’ local government did not communicate very well with FEMA officials. Brown says he was never told what sorts of manpower or supplies were needed (Marcela 2009). However Louisiana National Guard Adjutant General Bennett Landreneau stated in his interview that he specifically sent requests to FEMA for what help was required. A few days after he was interviewed he sent in the documentation that proves he did indeed ask specific needs from FEMA (Marcela 2009). FEMA Director Brown lied on television. So often politicians lie about issues, why can’t they ever own up to their mistakes and just tell the truth. I believe the American public deserves to know the truth on issues, especially when dealing with something like Hurricane Katrina. In a natural disaster it is at first the state that has control. If the state becomes overwhelmed and can no longer control the situation, the state then needs to clearly articulate what services they are in need of, and that is when FEMA will then intervene. Several days after the storm, Director Brown apparently believed the state of Louisiana had the situation under control (Marcela, 2005). While the Mayor and Governor thought FEMA was going to step in and help. There was a period of time where nobody knew who was in command. Consequently there was a period of time where the many of the people of New Orleans had no food, water or shelter, and that is when many lives were lost. It bewilders one to think that this sort of miscommunication and misunderstanding could happen to a country like the United States. One would assume that our country would have one of the best disaster protocols in the world, considering our global supremacy. I will now touch on another part of U. S. government that I consider to have flaws, and that is bureaucracy. A bureaucracy as defined by Greenberg Page (2009) is â€Å" A large, complex organization characterized by a hierarchical set of offices, each with a specific task, controlled through a clear chain of command, and where appointment and advancement of personnel is based on merit† (Ch. 13). Individuals are appointed not elected and therein lies a problem. Anyone that the president chooses can be in a position of power. Many believe Michael Brown was absolutely not qualified for the position of FEMA Director (Greenberg Page, 2009, Ch. 13). After all he had no formal training in disaster relief or anything of that sort in his resume. Positions like FEMA director should have to have some sort of qualifications. One cannot just be put into that situation like Director Brown was. I believe that positions such as director should be an elected one. When someone who is not qualified is put in charge of one of biggest natural disasters in U. S. history, nothing good can come from it. And indeed that is exactly what happened, total chaos and confusion took place due to Director Michael Brown’s incompetence. After the attacks of 9/11 President Bush reorganized FEMA into a Bureaucracy. FEMA was downgraded and became a sub department of homeland security. Many believe this reorganization really hurt FEMA. Personnel, IT systems and other resources were dramatically reduced due to President Bush’s budget cutting agenda. The President also cut project impact, a program started by FEMA to help communities become disaster resistant, due to tax cuts (Marcella 2009). In addition 80 million dollars was taken from FEMA and distributed to other sectors in homeland security. This is just another problem of FEMA becoming a part of the U. S. bureaucracy. How would anyone expect an organization to do their job when they have had significant funds and resources cut? Clearly part of FEMA’s inadequacies can be linked to President Bush’s choice to make tax cuts and cut parts of their program. Again, the reorganization of FEMA was really detrimental. Hopefully in the future leaders will make more conscientious choices about which agencies should be cut back. Most would believe a disaster relief program such as FEMA should have some of the most funding and personnel available. Apparently former President Bush thought otherwise. Although President Bush does deserves a little bit of a break considering â€Å"the sheer size and complexity of the executive branch. There is so much going on, in so many agencies, involving the activity of tens of thousands of people, that simply keeping abreast of it all is no easy task† (Greenberg Page, 2009, Ch. 13). He is in charge of so much in the U. S. there is no way he could keep an eye on everything. So while the President may have indirectly affected FEMA by inducing budget cuts, he cannot be held directly responsible for the government’s lack of involvement in Katrina at the national level. The president relies on his appointees to do their jobs, which Director Brown did not fulfill. However, President Bush choose Michael Brown, so maybe Bush is in fact responsible for FEMA’s inadequacies. Obviously having a large federal bureaucracy is an inconvenience to say the least. I believe Hurricane Katrina has taught our country a few lessons. First of all that while having a federal bureaucracy has its pluses, it also brings with it it’s many flaws, and the main one being communication. Our government should be striving for interoperability. The ability for several groups at all levels of the government to communicate what resources are needed during a natural disaster will prove to be the single most important tool during a relief operation. I hope that in the future, Presidents will choose more wisely when filling high-level positions such as FEMA Director, and not just appoint those who helped with their campaign. I also hope more cities around the country have better evacuation plans than those of New Orleans. I hope National Guard buildings are better equipped with resources and manpower in the future, especially along costal areas that are known to have hurricanes.

lesson plan for race class :: essays research papers

1. Course Description: Study of historical and contemporary race relations. We will Study how racism was created and how it is still present in society today. Examine how modern racism is in a way masked through language and actions. Course Objectives: 1.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Show how racism effects the community as a whole not just certain groups. 2.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Study past problems and show what affects it still has on today’s society. 3.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Identify the different forms of prejudice. 4.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Show how people unconsciously through language seem to justify racism 5.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Identify how racism began and possible solutions. 6.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Recognize the problem with categorizing by race. 7.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Explore explanations for discrimination and inequality Course format: The class will meet once a week for 2 hours. The class will consist of lecture, discussion, group work, movies, and a fieldtrip. Course Outline: Week 1: Introduction to the course. Discuss expectations and fears of the course. Prejudice vs. Discrimination. Talk about how prejudice is learned and perpetuated. Week 2: How is race defined? Is race determined socially or biologically, or both? Talk about good and bad things associated with black and white. Week 3: Show â€Å"Racism 101†. Discuss how people change slower than institutions. Has the concept of â€Å"race† changed over time? Week 4: Talk about language, present clips from TV shows or movies that show how people can unconsciously justify racism through language. Week 5: Talk about prejudices against multiracial people. How do they fit in? What problems do they face? Week 6: Show â€Å" The Autobiography of Malcolm X.† Week 7: Finish watching â€Å"The Autobiography of Malcolm X† and discuss different opinions of his work and what he did to fight racism and discrimination. Agree or disagree with him? Week 8: Show â€Å"Cry Freedom† start to discuss how Steve Biko was different from Malcolm and compare and contrast their fights against oppression. Discuss how it effected the whole country. Week 9: Finish â€Å"Cry Freedom† discuss the hardships that Donald Woods and his family had to go through just to try and educate people about what was going on in South Africa. Week 10: Take fieldtrip to the Underground Railroad Museum, write a reflection paper. How have things changed and what things still remain today? Week 10: Discuss racism in the past. Jim Crow Laws, Different Rulings in the Supreme Court that led to the end of segregation. The â€Å"Little Rock Nine† Week 11: Show â€Å"4 Little Girls† – video about a racially motivated bombing of a black Baptist church in 1963 that takes the lives of four young girls.

Truman Show Media Essay

Trumann life is built and controlled, and revolved around media without his knowledge. Trumann â€Å"perfect world† Is a direct metaphor for our lives. Our lives are warped by the media's ideals similarly how the protagonist unknowingly lives in a life that is being controlled. In both circumstances, the media's main objective seems to be evident; a subtle way to convey a message. The media depicted in the motion picture has a significantly high Influential role to our modern day society, which Is unavoidable.This is strongly portrayed throughout, â€Å"the Truman show† solely based on three points which are commercialism, manipulation, and emotions created when engaged into media. Manipulation is a recurring theme in â€Å"the Truman show' as the media creates unrealistic societal expectations for the viewers. These expectations are created to achieve the ideal life that is demonstrated in Trumann life, as each situation he encounters Is Immaculately set up. Shaven Is a prime example of how the film shows the audience what a perfect world Is pertaining to.In the utopian world, everybody is content with his or her lives, but realistically it's embellished. The society is manipulated in thinking to believe a flawless world exists and the way people live In media Is the way humanity should live as well. The film displays Trauma's life In a nutshell, having an adequate Job and having a significant other, which are things, any typical male would request for. â€Å"The Truman Show† implemented an imaginary world to capture the viewer's attention and to give of a positive vibe, further Influencing the viewers that media can help us attain the Ideal world _In the scene, where Truman tells the teacher his dream occupation is to be an explorer, she blatantly lies to him down by telling him the whole world Is already been discovered and explored. Truman now believes he can never become an explorer, destroying all his ambitions and aspirations. The t eacher manipulated Truman so he thinks that he can't be what he wants so he doesn't disrupt what the media wants. This is similar to how civilization Is manipulated as younger kids to believe that we can't pursue what we truly desire such as being a female astronaut because it's not supported by society.Modern day society is heavily manipulated and influenced by external factors such as media and the powers of authority. Truman is not the only victim exposed to media, we all are as well. Ideals of our society are established by the messages of the media In turn to shape our expectations and attitude towards life Itself. The media often demonstrates how it plays an impact with our emotions whether it is an advertisement or television show. These emotions can either have a positive or a negative repercussion to our mood. Media Is so powerful; Its capable to take over an individual's composure.A prominent example would be when the bathtub man goes to the extent by incorporating a telev ision in his bathroom so he can watch Truman would do such a peculiar thing for the purpose of watching a reality show. The bathtub striver to emulate Truman, fixating to every move he made, felt like he was Truman or wanted to be like him. At the same time as Truman was sleeping, he was too. During the thunderstorm, where Truman was desperately holding onto his life, the bathtub man pretended he was in enduring the thunderstorm and held on to the shower curtains as followed.The media is able to toy with our emotions, which is apparent when Sylvia, Trauma's first legitimate love knelt down in front of the television in desperation when watching â€Å"The Truman Show. † This signifies that Sylvia had built up emotions and felt an intimate connection with the character. She was frantically hoping Truman realizes he is living in a constructed staged world. Sylvia felt infuriated and appalled that Christofis has the power to control one's life, physically and mentally. Due to Chr istofis repugnant actions, Sylvia took initiative to notify the director of how unacceptable it is to confine a human in sense of morality.By the behavior and emotions people generated by media indicates that media can easily influence peoples mental state. Since, Trauma's life is broadcasted 2417 to an extensive audience, it's only right to include commercialism, for profitable purposes. The labels and brands are explicitly shown as well advertised all through the movie whether it is Maroon holding his beer a or posters saying â€Å"Free Range Kaiser Chicken. † By endorsing the products, it promotes and emphasizes positive connections with the brand.Product placement is an advantageous tool to sell merchandise and is shown during the entire movie. One moment that highlighted this point is when Merely excessively describes how marvelous the cocoa is. Her method to endorse the cocoa wasn't genuine however, when someone is constantly bombarding you with information of how great this product is, people will start to believe it's true. Merely also talks about how fancy and functional this kitchen utensil is, because it's peeler, dicer, and grater integrated into a single appliance.Product placement can either be subtle or exaggerated nevertheless it's objective is to leave the audience a long lasting impression, thus unconsciously leading them to purchase the product. Media is critical factor of how society is influenced because how media is perceived whether it'd be deception, endorsements, or feelings developed when looking at media. The â€Å"Truman Show' is a fictional film created to educate the audience that everything on the media isn't authentic or accurate. We should value our own beliefs and not the interpretation the media is portraying.

Universal School Based Violence Prevention Programs

Universal school-based violence prevention programs represent an important means of reducing violent and aggressive behavior as found by Hahn et al (2007) in their study about the United States. The findings by Durlak et al (2011) from a meta-analysis of school-based, universal social and emotional learning (SEL) programs involving pupils from kindergarten through high school, have also added to the growing empirical evidence regarding the positive impact of SEL programs on improved social and emotional skills, attitudes, and behavior. In addition, macro-strategies through appropriate legislations (like those protecting against discriminatory practices and safeguarding basic human rights), policy formulation, and resource allocation mechanism can address major socioeconomic and environmental determinants of mental health (WHO 2005). Macro-Strategies deal with policies of improving nutrition, housing, access to education, strengthening of community networks, and taking policy actions against additive substances (WHO 2005). 4. Interventions in promoting healthy development environment for children There is a general consensus that a life course approach to preventing mental disorders is the most effective policy that recognizes that there are key developmental stages and transition points, healthy start in the early years is of foundational importance. The following sub-sections deal with evidence-based early childhood programs widely practiced in countries. 4.1Show MoreRelatedChild Co Workers : An Overview1259 Words   |  6 Pagescrowd, peer pressure, and bad role models. There are programs that help youth changes the way they think and help them make the right choices. These programs are also designed to help with the rate of juvenile activity. 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