Disasters Management in US

Disasters Disasters are random acts of nature or human activities which are symbolized by extremes in life and they cause stress to human beings. Hurricane Katrina remains one of the deadliest storms ever to hit the United States.Advertising We will write a custom critical writing sample on Disasters Management in US specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More There are various methods applied in efforts to combat disasters and their aftermath. Some of the attempts made have met stiff resistance from civilians, while others have been overtaken by time. There are three main approaches that have been used over time producing different results. Introduction Human ecology has several parts which involve the study of individual groups in the aspect of biology, nutrition, sociology, economic, age, environmental and such akin factors. These are some of the aspects that play an important role in analyzing and determining the situation and conditions of the population after a disaster, they also determine how different groups feel the effects of a disaster. Civil Defence Civil defence is a strategy undertaken by the United States government to equip civilians with knowledge on how to minimise damage caused by enemy attack this entails, rescue efforts, Medicare and evacuation. The citizens were taught how to handle post attack situations in such a way that further damage is avoided. This concept encountered serious hitches mostly due to resistance it met from citizens. There was little acceptance on this program by citizens, and some times the resistance even cumulated to civil disobedience and street demonstrations like it happened in New York between 1955 and 1961. The same scenarios of resistance were experienced in the late 70s. Heightened nuclear activity worldwide created general disinterest in the whole program amongst citizens. The argument that was posed was that, there was little the people could do in the event of an attack but with the bombing of World trade Centre in September, 11 2001, Civilians realised that other forms of attacks apart from nuclear could be launched on them and they embraced this program. There should be harmonisation of all the activities of the civil defence; this will facilitate coordinated response and communication in times of disaster.Advertising Looking for critical writing on public administration? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More It is inevitable that disasters will strike; it is therefore important to include the subject in school curriculum since this will ease the burden of recruiting citizens as volunteers as well as bring down the cost of the whole process, at the same time equipping all citizens with the necessary knowhow on disaster management. (Oakes 1994). Home Land security The department of homeland security has created FEMA, a sub department bestowed with the responsibility of assisting victims in case of a disaster. There is also a program that trains emergency responders on chemical, biological and nuclear weapons as well as explosives. Disasters will for ever happen, their nature is unpredictable this calls for comprehensive precautionary measures to be taken in order to effectively control disasters. There are situations when the government may suspend some functions executed by some government agencies or arms depending on the nature of the calamity. Freedoms and some rights are also curtailed and this happens when the disaster poses a threat to national security or poses danger to human beings. The United States constitution does not provide acts or special powers to be used during emergencies, the assumption is that this may kindle the emergency and therefore compromising the real situation on the ground. The constitution provides that national government should let individual state handle their emergencies according to respective state laws and policies. The police in these states are bestowed with the responsibility of protecting property, lives and the general citizen’s welfare. (Banks2011). Disaster Approach Pundits in disaster affairs have attempted to explain some approaches that can be used to explain the course taken by a disaster, and different effects it has on people of different social economic backgrounds. Technocratic Approach Technocratic Disaster approach employs geographic information systems approach which is a scientific method that employs the use of mapping and geological knowledge to predict ,prepare and respond when natural disasters like Earthquakes, Tsunamis and any other disaster that emanates from natural causes strikes.Advertising We will write a custom critical writing sample on Disasters Management in US specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More This method applies testing of real time emergency equipment, disaster communication channels and management assembled to be on the look out when disaster strikes (Waal 2006). Pundits view this as a weak and in effective way of handling disaster due to the scope they take. One definite thing about a disaster is that it can strike any time and in any way. With the employment of GIS, a wide loophole is left since disasters take many forms and this approach is not comprehensive since it does not cover other disaster avenues apart from the natural causes. This model has been tried but the reality is it that whatever transpired was just like a drill where data was collected but actual implementation was not effected. Hewitt’s (1983). There is also another takes at disasters which views them as socio economic problems, rather than a culmination of natural happenings. The model seeks to venture beyond what would be called natural causes. In the yester years disasters were viewed as one off happenings which were to be handled by the government. This model failed to take into consideration the social eco nomic factors, a situation that left the victims more isolated largely due to their poor economic status. The concept of poverty eradication was mooted as a way of disaster management, since the vulnerable mostly are the poor. This brought about the on set of disaster programs that are planned for and financed, how ever they fell short of addressing the poverty question. (Yodmani1999) argues that the biggest short coming of this program is that the poor, the elderly who are the most vulnerable are left out n plannning. Instead the wells to do citizens are enlightened so as to accept any eventuality. Some of the practices include like stockpiling relief food an activity undertaken by the well to do citizens and yet their risks are lower. Poverty and vulnerability. It has been a common conception that the poor are most susceptible to disasters, this does not mean that this is the only group that warrants all the attention. There has been an argument that the poor in times of disasters have little or nothing to loose, even when data is being collected on the economic effects of a disaster, most of what is captured is on those victims with economic might, the informal economies are largely ignored since they are deemed as inconsequential (Terry 1994)Advertising Looking for critical writing on public administration? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More First it is important to reduce poverty since this way part of the battle would have been accomplished, how ever it is important to note that other aspects like ethnicity, race, community structure and class amongst others play a major role in determining ones vulnerability. A community might be economically disadvantaged but in times of disasters there are other strong factors emanating from race, culture, and such factors that are employed and they help the community withstand the calamity. (Maskrey 1999).it is therefore imperative for planners to take into consideration all factors and incorporate the victim group’s methods, since they help in times of disasters. Human Ecology Approach This is a model that seeks to look at disasters from human environmental aspect, some factors that come into play include geographical, political, sociological and psychological. This model takes a broader look in to matters of disasters at the same time offering a comprehensive approach sin ce core matters of human life are tackled. There need more that surveys and studies since there are naturally given divisions on all aspects of life like age, culture, that play a role in shaping the course of a disaster.(AG 2005) This method suggests that tackling of a disaster should approach different avenues since this is the only way to reach to every body. It is important to note that when a disaster strikes, human beings tend to retreat to their respective divisions and they are best accesses as par the groupings. Each of these groups presents a unique set of challenges that are best handled separately. Solutions Disaster response calls for all inclusive plan formulation including the poor, since some groups will have other avenues other than the conventional ways of overcoming calamities. This are alternatives that are used internally, and if they get the backing of the relevant authorities they speed up the process of post disaster recovery. There should be a comprehensive plan well understood and accepted by all citizens irrespective of their social economic status. Economic Economic situation of any given group is a factor that has effects on a disaster. New Orleans is predominantly a black race county while Mississippi is a white dominated county. In many sections of New Orleans there was no electricity for a period of over four weeks while power was restored in Mississippi within three days. There were high death rates in New Orleans since there were many elderly people living alone these ones were hard hit by the disaster compared to Mississippi. In the latter county the standards of living were higher and hence people had many options when the tragedy struck. They were able to arrange for quick evacuation and the injured and the sick were swiftly taken care of this was facilitated by high economic levels in Mississippi. In the New Orleans they depended almost entirely on government and aid organisations for food shelter and medication. Environme ntal The environmental aspect of human ecology played a major role in determining the out come of the hurricane. In comparing the urban setting of the two counties, in New Orleans there was congestion in structures coupled with dense populations. Many structures in New Orleans were old and of lower quality in workmanship, in comparison to those in Mississippi. This made them susceptible to disasters and hurricane Katrina did a lot of devastation. Some parts of what is New Orleans today were reclaimed from low lands and levees constructed to prevent high sea water from getting to the land. All this was done to create space for town expansion, and this made people settle on low grounds which contributed to high damage on property and high mortality rates. (LCA 2006). Psychological Hurricane Katrina brought about untold suffering t of the victims due to the nature of households in New Orleans, there were high cases of depression and anxiety disorders as compared to Mississippi. The mai n reason being that there were many elderly people suffering in loneliness and when they were exposed to the tragedy they were very likely to get psychological disorders. The damage on the infrastructure as well as the levels and durations of being submerged was higher in New Orleans as compared to Mississippi and this increased the prevalence of mental illnesses. About 80% of New Orleans was submerged for weeks. Family There are domestic or personal issues that come into play on this field. The family system is a determining factor on how to cope with a tragedy. There is usually a heavier impact on single parents, as compared to complete family units since there are more places to seek refuge from and to offer assistance. Well knit family units are better placed to handle disasters. New Orleans is ranked as the third unhappiest city in the United States; divorce rates are high since it is ranked 26th in the US. While in depression it was ranked 25th. There are also high unemploymen t rates hitting as 27 %. The unemployment rates in Mississippi were then in all time high of 22% which also impacted negatively since with low financial power, families were bound to disintegrate. There was a huge population in poverty which could not afford to resettle and cater for their families else where, and this led to men deserting their wives and children. Most of these had to rely on the government and humanitarian organisations for food and shelter. Medicare Medicare of one of the worst hit sectors in New Orleans, the hurricane come and submerged hospitals affecting thousands who needed medical attention. These come at that time when it was badly needed as there were many injuries. The largest hospital, the Big Charity in New Orleans was closed down and this brought about untold suffering to patients who had to do without the required care for as much as three weeks. The injured had also to endure lots of suffering due to lack of proper medical attention. The situation wa s different in Mississippi since the hospitals suffered minimal damaged and they were operating almost to capacity, this brought a big influx of patients stretching facilities. Other in patients bore the burnt of Katina as they had to be airlifted to other facilities. Disaster Myths There are several myths that circulate around trying to demystify the aftermath of a tragedy and they contribute to misconceptions and spread of wrong facts about disasters. Myth 1 There goes a myth that disasters happen at random in a democratic way and that hurricanes chemical spill kills all in discriminatory. The reality of the matter is that disasters will happen but the impact felt, differs depending on some factors like social class age and economic muscle amongst others. A heat weave occurred in Chicago in 1995 and with the temperatures soaring to between 100-120 degrees; it killed more than 700 people. 75% of the victims were elderly people above 65 years and most of them happened to live in iso lation. Some of their dwelling units were neglected by service providers as well as owners and some systems like air conditioning were not functioning. Most deaths were not caused by the heat alone, but by lack of any form of help even to those confined in their houses. (Spana2005). This is a clear indication that those in lower social classes and senior citizen are at a greater risk in times of disasters. Myth 2 A myth says that it times of disaster people will act selfishly and only save them selves. This is not true since in times of calamities people behave responsibly and take care of their neighbours. There are usually combined efforts to save and rescue the affected. Instances like fire tragedies have proved that there are heroes who even risk their lives in order to save others. The undue attention given by the media to those engaging in negative vices or selfish acts like looting at the expense of those engaging in positive rescue work is responsible for the wrong impressio n created amongst the masses. Journalists tend to give more air time to side shows to spice their stories, and this leaves a much distorted impression of the real situation on rescue efforts and human behaviour. Myth 3 There is a belief that if people get too much information on the disaster they are bound to behave erratically, over react or panic. The truth is that this happens if the information provided is vague, or it was communicated by someone who is not abreast with crisis communication or the disaster details, this can give rise to a situation where there is confusion or disillusionment. Majority of disaster victims will very much comply with the rescue operations and adhere to set rescue and safety guidelines. People will also behave in an orderly manner but this has to be preceded by good communication that will assure all is in control. To facilitate total compliance, the communication should be done by qualified personnel so that the information disseminated would be ju st enough mo make people understand what is happening, and it assists the people in behaving and acting rationally. Myth 4 Children feel little or no effect caused by disaster, this myth banks on the fact that in the initial stages after a disaster, children might not show any sign of disturbance like nightmares or restlessness. They seem like they are coping with the tragedy without any change in behaviour. The reality of the matter is that children get affected by disasters just like adults but they postpone their reactions until when they feel it is safe for them to express their feelings which manifests it self in their behaviours. In many situations such children develop erratic behaviours and counselling is required to assist the child regain the normal mental status. Usually the delay lasts until a time when they feel that their parents will be able to cope with them and they explode. In many situations the reactions would be inform of bad behaviours and that way it would be easy to help a child overcome. (A.G2005) Conclusion Some of the existing laws should be changed to allow for a more comprehensive emergency response program. There should be a proper definition of what can be termed as a national disaster. As things stand today, the president was granted the powers to declare an incident a national disaster by the 1976 National Emergencies Act; however the only parameter to quantify this is the discretion of the president. One change I recommend is that, the national government should have direct control on how disasters situations are handled, instead of waiting for the president; this would enhance swiftness a measure that can save lots of lives. This would enhance response programs since the national government has the capacity to pull a major disaster response irrespective of the disaster’s magnitude. The programs should be tailored in a way that they are able to uphold the constitutional right to life, protection of property and security . This can be effectively achieved by addressing the root causes of the disaster and equipping the citizens with knowledge so that that they are able to cope with maximum resilience. The whole issues of disaster should be managed in a way that all the three levels of government should have a department to handle any happenings, this would facilitate coordination since the set guidelines will be the same and hence irrespective of a disasters magnitude all rescuers and other humanitarian aid providers will be reading from the same script. References Australian Government. (2005). Myths of Human response in a Disaster. Retrieved from http://www.anbg.gov.au/disact/human-response.html Banks, W (2011). The legal landscape for emergency Management in the United states. Retrieved from http://insct.syr.edu/uploadedFiles/insct/publications/faculty/Banks_Legal_Landscape.pdf Hewitt, K. (1983). The idea of calamity in a technocratic age: Interpretations of calamity. Retrieved from www.ilankelman .org/miscellany/DisasterLexicon.rtf Linking Climate Adaptation.(2006). Reducing disaster Risk while Adapting to Climate.  Retrieved from http://www.linkingclimateadaptation.org/lcadiscuss/ Maskrey, A (1999). Reducing Global Disasters. Natural Disaster Management, Tudor Rose, Leicester, U Oakes, G (1994). Imaginary war: Civil Defence and American Cold War Culture. Retrieved from http://www.answers.com/topic/civil-defense Spana, M. (2005)Top 5 Disaster myths. University of Pittsburgh. Retrieved from http://www.rff.org/rff/events/loader.cfm?url=/commonspot/security/getfile.cfmpageid=20180 Terry, C (1994), Vulnerability Analysis and Natural Disasters. Varley Disasters, Development and Environment, Wiley, West Sussex, UK Waal, A.2006.An Imperfect Storm: Narratives of Calamity in a Liberal-Technocratic Age  Retrieved from http://understandingkatrina.ssrc.org/deWaal/ Yodmani, S.1999. Disaster risk Management and Vulnerability Reduction: Protecting the poor. Retrieved from http://www.ad pc.net/infores/adpc-documents/PovertyPaper.pdf This critical writing on Disasters Management in US was written and submitted by user Reece Wooten 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.

6 Steps for Self-Discipline When You Study

6 Steps for Self-Discipline When You Study Have you ever heard the quote, Self-discipline is the difference between choosing what you want now and choosing what you want most? Its a quote that tons of people in the business world follow religiously in order to get exactly what they most desire from their companies. Its a theory that many people use to get themselves out of bed to get to the gym before going to work. Its a mantra that athletes use to do that last set of squats, even though their legs are burning and they want nothing more than to quit. But its message of endurance and self-denial is perfect for those students looking to gain an edge on their competition by acing the ACT in order to get into the college or university of their dreams or those students who simply want to score their highest on their midterm or final exams.   Why Self-Discipline Is Important According to Merriam-Webster, the definition of self-discipline is the  correction or regulation of oneself for the sake of improvement. This definition implies that certain regulation or stopping of ourselves from certain behaviors is important if we are going to improve in some way. If we are relating this to studying, it means that we need to stop doing certain things or start doing certain things while studying in order to get the positive results we crave. Regulating ourselves in this way is incredibly important because it can build self-esteem. When we achieve the goals we set for ourselves, we get a boost of confidence which can improve many aspects of our lives. How to Have Self-Discipline When You Study Step 1: Remove Temptations Self-discipline is the easiest when things that distract you from your studies are out of sight, out of earshot, and out the window, if necessary. If you find yourself tempted by external distractions like your cell phone, then by all means, turn the thing completely off. Nothing is going to happen in the 45 minutes that you are going to sit down to study (more on that in a minute) that cannot wait until you have a scheduled break. Also, take the time to remove the clutter from your study area if clutter makes you crazy. Unpaid bills, notes to yourself of things you need to accomplish, letters or even pictures can pull your focus off your studies and into places it does not belong when you are trying to learn how to write a stellar essay for the Enhanced ACT test. Step 2: Eat Brain Food Before You Begin Studies have shown that when we are  exercising willpower (another word for self-discipline), our  mental energy tanks slowly get  emptied. Forcing ourselves to give up what we want in the now for what we want later physically zaps our reserves of glucose, which is the brains favorite fuel. This is why  when we are sitting diligently ignoring our cell phones and pushing back our need  to check Instagram, we are more likely to head to the pantry for a chocolate chip cookie than we would be if we were not practicing self-discipline at all. So, before we ever sit down to study, we need to be sure to indulge in some brain foods like scrambled eggs, a little bit of dark chocolate, maybe even a jolt of caffeine to make sure that our glucose is steady enough to NOT drive us away from the learning were trying to do. Step 3: Do Away With Perfect Timing There is never a perfect time to begin studying for your test. The more time you give yourself the better off you will be, but if you sit around and wait for the  perfect  moment to start studying, you will be waiting for the rest of your  life. There will  always  be something more important than reviewing the SAT Mathematics test questions. Your friends will beg you to go out to the movies to see the final showing of the seasons top film. Your family members will need to be driven on errands or your parents will need you to finish cleaning your room. If you wait until everything is just right- when everything else is accomplished and you feel  great  - you will never find the time to study. Step 4: Ask Yourself If I Had to, Could I? Imagine that you are sitting at your desk. Behind you is an intruder with a weapon pointed at your head. If the only thing between life and saying goodbye to the world as you know it was studying for the next several hours (with scheduled breaks), could you do it? Of course, you could!  Nothing in the world would mean more than your life at that moment. So, if you could do it then- drop everything and give studying everything you have in you- then you can do it in the safety of your own bedroom or library when the stakes arent quite that high. Its all about mental strength. Give yourself a pep-talk. Tell yourself, I have to do this. Everything depends on it. Sometimes, imagining a real life-death scenario works when youre staring at 37 pages of differential equations. Step 4: Give Yourself a Break And by giving yourself a break, we definitely dont mean abandoning all self-discipline and settling down in front of the TV. Schedule mini-breaks into your study session strategically. Set a watch or timer (not the phone - thats turned off) for 45 minutes. Then, force yourself to study for those 45 minutes, making sure that nothing interferes with your work. Then, at 45 minutes, take a scheduled 5- to 7-minute break. Use the bathroom, stretch your legs, grab some brain food, reorganize, and get back at it when the break is over. Step 5: Give Yourself Rewards Sometimes the answer to being self-disciplined lies in the quality of the reward you give yourself for exercising willpower. For many people, the practice of self-discipline is a reward in and of itself. For others, especially those who are just trying to learn to have some willpower when studying, you will need something a little more tangible. So, set up a reward system. Set your timer. Practice studying for that final  for 20 minutes with no interruptions. If youve made it that far, then give yourself a point. Then, after a short break, do it again. If you make it another 20 minutes, give yourself another point. Once youve accumulated three points- you have managed to study for a full hour without surrendering to distractions- you get your reward. Perhaps its a Starbucks latte, one episode of Seinfeld, or even just the luxury of getting onto social media for a few minutes. Make the reward worth it and withhold the reward until youve met your goal! Step 6: Start Small Self-discipline is not a natural thing. Sure. Some people are more self-disciplined than others. They have the rare ability to say no to themselves when they want to say yes. What you need to remember, however, is that self-discipline is a learned skill. Just like the ability to make a perfect free-throw with a high percentage of accuracy  only comes after hours and hours on the court, self-discipline comes from the repeated exercise of willpower. Dr. Anders Ericsson, a Florida State University psychologist says that it takes 10,000 hours to become an expert at something, but â€Å"You don’t get benefits from mechanical repetition, but by adjusting your execution over and over to get closer to your goal. You have to tweak the system by pushing,† he adds, â€Å"allowing for more errors at first as you increase your limits.† So, if you truly want to become an expert at having self-discipline while studying, you not only have to practice the skill, you have to start small, especially if you repeatedly give in to what you want now instead of waiting for what you want most. Start by forcing yourself to study (I have to style) for just 10 straight minutes with 5-minute breaks in between. Then, once that becomes relatively easy, shoot for fifteen minutes. Keep increasing the time you manage self-discipline until you are able to focus for the full 45 minutes. Then, reward yourself with something and get back at it.

Speaking annhiliation Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Speaking annhiliation - Assignment Example The writer tests his hypothesis by informing the user about the wars between World War 1 and 1962.He shows that countries moved from contained warfare towards â€Å"total warfare† during this time. It was also the time when chemicals were sprayed on a large scale to kill mosquitoes and lice. The books explain how the US chemical industry and the US military have grown with each other. One example given by the author is of 2 institutes – Chemical Warfare Services and Bureau of Entomology. These two institutes operated in such a way that military helped in the growth of the chemical industry and vice-versa. United States gradually accepted the practice of using chemical toxins such as DDT to control insect populations and along with this as military warfare and chemical industry started sharing common ideology – humans – enemy soldiers were also treated as insects to be completely eliminated without any mercy. With this book the author tries to highlight the environmental consequences of both war as well as chemical used against insects. The very chemicals which were supposed to help humans fight diseases have now become toxic elements which are accumulating inside the food chain and threatening to bring more deadly diseases than the earlier ones. Russell’s books come out with historical reasons as to why mankind was not able to stop the advent of these chemicals in