Critical Thinking Essay Example for Free

Critical Thinking Essay 1. Is it wrong to kill someone in self-defense? I think that ultimately it’s wrong to kill anyone no matter the situation. Do I understand killing someone in self- defense? Yes I do, if you are at your home and someone breaks and enters into your home and your safety and family’s safety is jeopardized I feel that a person should protect themselves at all costs no matter what. It’s not against the law for an individual to bear arms, unless they are a felon. But I believe that no person should not react if there life is at risk. 2. Should people be given equal opportunities, regardless of race, religion, or gender? Yes I do believe that no matter race, gender, or religion, everyone deserves a fair chance at success. Whether it’s applying for school, jobs, etc. I don’t think that these things can affect the way and individual works! I do believe in equal opportunity! 3. Is it wrong to ridicule someone, even if you believe it’s in good fun? Yes I do believe it’s wrong to ridicule someone even if it’s fun to you, it may not be fun to the person you ridicule. What’s funny to you can be very hurtful to the next person; you don’t know what the person your ridiculing has been through or what they are going through. I have seen and heard of people being ridiculed by someone and they have actually taken drastic measures as far as committing suicide or have gone on a killing spree. Killing the ones that have ridiculed them or put them through a lot allowing people to ridicule them. It’s easy for one to look at someone’s misfortunes and tease them and make fun of them. Just because you want to make yourself feel better. I think that people that do this are unhappy with their life, that they have to make other’s feel bad about there’s. It’s not right and it’s not fair.

London Underground Extension Project Management

London Underground Extension Project Management The Jubilee line originally opened in 1979 and consisted of 2 and a half mile tunnel leading from Baker Street to Charing Cross. However due to the short distance of line compared to others there was a need for an extension to fill the void. At the time the London transportation system did not fully accommodate direct train access to areas such as Westminster, the business sector in docklands and most of South and East London. London underground Ltd decided to extend the 2 and half mile line with an additional 10 miles from Green Park to Stratford. London Underground Ltd had already planned to undertake a extension of the line along with various other project such as creating new lines. However as with most public sector projects government approval was necessary before work could commence. Initially the project faced being scrapped during parliamentary debates. Fortunately it was saved by its main selling point which was unlike any of the other lines underground the jubilee line would be able to interchange into all existing underground lines. (Kenneth powell). Moreover the proposal for the line accommodated, one of Europes fastest growing business districts (Canary Wharf), the lack of transport links in south London (London bridge inter change) the regeneration of East London (Stratford) and a addition transport link to Parliament (Westminster). (Kenneth powell) The government eventually approved and designated funding for the project on 29th October 1993 with construction beginning in December (JLE project bob mic Page 48-49 ). The expected project completion time to be set around spring 1998, lasting a total of 52months and the estimated was approximately  £2.1bn in 1994 (BBC). At the tendering stage It was decided that more than 30 major contracts and a number of smaller contracts will be awarded; this posed a test on how the project would be managed reason being the difficulties that could arise from multiple contracts. (JLE project bob mic ) The different contracts were awarded for numerous amounts of activities such as tunnelling, signalling and communication, M and E, the construction of the 11 new stations and other various works. (Kenneth powell JBLE). The WNSL opted for a low risk method of procurement known as design and build which the Australian contractor won the tender bid for the price of  £326.5m (guardian). With design and build the contractor (multiplex) is appointed to design and build the project, this generally gives the contractor overall control of the project. However the contractor must follow the clients (WNSL) instructions from the brief. The client will hire a employers agent is hired to monitor the site and enforce their instructions. (Murdock and Huges) The Client choose a fixed price contract with the contractors after the bid was signed it was agreed between both parties that the price would increase to  £445m. Originally at the proposal stage the scheduled time for completion was set to be late 2003, however this goal was perceived to be impossible due to the nature of the time the bid was won. As a result a realistic date was agreed upon with a stipulation that a penalty payment would incur if the project was over due by 31 Jan 2006. () The concept of this project came about from the realisation in the early 1960s there was a lack of facilities and shortage of space in the British museums dome reading room in Bloomsbury. It was decided that something had to be done to preserve the national library and an act was passed to re-house the increasing collection and build a national library. (the British library, colin st john Wilson) Different design concepts were proposed based on the intentions of retaining the library in Bloomsbury but expanding it a further three floors. However they did not allow much room for design changes one construction commenced. The government approved the design in 1964 to expand the reading room with in the library. However there were strong debates which suggested that the dome reading room expansion should be scrapped since it would not be able to keep up with the storage demand of books in the future. This lead to the government ratifying their original decision and in 1973 the British l ibrary act allow the library to be constructed as a separate entity from the museum. (Inside the British Library, by Alan day) Even though the project had been approved to be a separate building, the location had still not been decided, there was protests made by the reading room staff for the library to be built in Bloomsbury. The solution was to build in the St Pancras area because of the convenience of the large space and the number of transport links there. ( the british library, colin st john Wilson) In 1975 the decision was made to move the project from Bloomsbury to St Pancras. The final design offered a library with number of reading room for humanities, science, business and various other subjects, a plaza, offices, laboratories and conferences rooms. The building was proposed to be built in three phases and would have been able to hold all incoming books without storage out houses. The first stage of construction was approved in 1980 with excavation and construction of the site began in 1984 and was meant to be complete in 1993 at a cost of  £170m. The procurement strategy that was chosen for Phase 1A of the project was management contract this was very similar to JCT construction manager. However at the time this was not a JCT standard form of contract, since JCT had not issued this method and it was not commonly used in the UK. (Murdock.J ,Hughes. W) The Management contracts was design to be a method of procurement use for high risk and complex projects, with the purpose of reducing the risk which is usually exposed to the contractor/ managing contractor. The idea behind this modified construction manager contract is the client employs a design team and hires a construction manager to help coordinate the design and construction and to supervise site activity. There is no main contractor and all the work is sub contracted out, construction is divided into individual work packages carried out by different trade contractors. The use of Management contract had a negative effect on the project because there was literally no risk directed to the managing contractor and therefore no one to blame in the occurrence of cost over-runs and time delays. (Murdock.J, Hughes. W) In Hindsight one of the main causes for failure with project was as a result of the procurement method chosen. It was considered by Day that the four key weaknesses with the management contract were: The aim of contract choice should always be to distribute risk clearly; the client needs to understand that each procurement route decides the level of risk that can be controlled by the parties involved. With the help of contract consultants the client can be advised on the best procurement option that suits their needs. No one procurement system is better than another, each procurement route is designated for different circumstances. The majority of these risks can be trace back to procurement route and the success or failure of a project can depend on the choice of procurement; reason being that different contracts have different clauses, and each contract has its own contingency plan which distributes the risk according to the situation and who is responsible for the risk.

Comparing Frank Baum’s Dorothy Gale of the Oz series and Lewis Carroll’

Comparing Frank Baum’s Dorothy Gale of the Oz series and Lewis Carroll’s Alice of Alice in Wonderland Lewis Carroll’s Alice and Frank Baum’s Dorothy are two of the most well-known and well-loved heroines of all time. At first glance, both Alice and Dorothy appear to be rather accurate renditions of actual little girls who embark on their own adventures in strange and fantastical lands. However, closer scrutiny reveals that only one of these characters is a true portrayal of what a little girl is really like, while the other is but a fulfillment of what most girls would only dream of being like. Like many young girls across the world, both today and in centuries past, it seems that Alice was taught the etiquette that all proper young ladies should follow. Throughout the novel, we see Alice in conflict with certain societal rules – there are several occasions when she is frustrated with what others say and do to her. But only those privy to her innermost thoughts (i.e., the readers) are capable of seeing her true feelings on any matter, for she remains, with the exception of an episode at the end of the text, extremely courteous to all those she meets. One of the passages that clearly describes this general acquiescence is when Alice sees the Duchess after meeting the King and Queen on the croquet-ground: â€Å"Tut, tut, child!† said the Duchess. â€Å"Every thing’s got a moral, if only you can find it.† And she squeezed herself up closer to Alice’s side as she spoke. Alice did not much like her keeping so close to her: first, because the Duchess was very ugly; and secondly, because she was exactly the right height to rest her chin on Alice’s shoulder, and it was an uncomfortably sharp chin. However, she did not like to b... ...relate to a child’s need for escape from the educational system, even if only through a book.) While both Alice and Dorothy are meant to be portraits of typical young girls, I believe that they represent two different facets of a young girl’s nature. Carroll’s Alice undoubtedly portrays the true image of what real young girls are like, possessing some qualities that may not be considered extremely attractive but are nevertheless present in the lives of young women. On the other hand, Baum’s Dorothy is more fantastic, a heroine who encompasses all the qualities that any young girl would like to have but cannot always attain. Together, then, the two characters make up everything that a young girl is — the influences and restrictions that society places on her, the unspoken thoughts that she has when speaking to others, the dreams that she wishes to aspire to.

Oliver Cromwell a Hero not a Villain Essay -- Leaders Politics English

Was Oliver Cromwell a hero or a villain? I think Oliver Cromwell was a hero. He was good – hearted and ambitious, and he wanted England to be at it’s best with no corruption and unfair methods. He thought Charles was not doing the right thing, so he worked hard and got him executed. Oliver Cromwell was a Member of Parliament (MP) and was against king Charles and his ways, so he worked hard and got the king executed. After that, he got offered the post of king, but he refused it, but was Lord Protector of the country. After some time, he dismissed parliament (because he thought they were getting selfish and greedy), and ruled on his own until he died of an infection on the 3rd of September 1658. Lots of people thought of Cromwell as a hero because he got the king executed for his bad ways and got the country in a really good, wealthy position. He put things right. Cromwell was a hero.â€Å" We need a person of great honesty and courage to clear the country of evil men making their riches from our poor starving and miserable countrymen. In other words, Oliver Cromwell†. The poor man’s guardian, 1831. These people were trying to show that Oliver Cromwell was perfect for the country. It is a newspaper so it would most probably be quite reliable. But you can never say because it is the ‘Poor Man’s Guardian’, and only focuses on the poor people’s views (whom Cromwell helped a lot). It does not state the views of wealthy people (whom Cromwell did not help too much). Oliver was a hero. He was brave rather than cruel, he did what he needed to and acted in god’s name when he killed lots in Drogheda. He did not mean to kill innocent peop le. He killed fewer than many are assuming. â€Å"It’s not fair to say he was like Hitler or Mussolini, ... ...t town on a Sunday’ or ‘no mending a dress on a Sunday’ (basically, no work on Sundays). No one was allowed to enjoy themselves because of these harsh rules. He did not allow people to play, even a small game of football. He banned Christmas. Just because his puritan beliefs, why should everyone else suffer? Just because he believes in it, why should he force other people to? Shouldn’t they have their own freedom? Cromwell was a villain. He just wanted others to suffer. Many people hated Cromwell, but about the same number thought of him as god. People’s opinions and impression on him were different, but personally I think he was a hero. He put some discipline into the country (there is none now), he tried to train people to be good and brave, but unfortunately, many rebelled. They did not get his policy. Many did. Oliver Cromwell, overall, I think he was a hero.

Comparison between Woman Work and Overheard in County Sligo Essay

Comparison between Woman Work and Overheard in County Sligo Woman Work and overheard in County Sligo are both poems which give us an image of the role of woman in the past, and how she contributed to society Through reading both these poems, it is apparent that both of the poets’ backgrounds have influenced the poems. In the past, women were not considered important in society, and their efforts were not valued, not even by woman herself. Women were expected to stay at home, and become housewives. Woman lived in a society in which there was pressure to get married, wither by family pressure or societal pressure. It was not necessary for woman to conform to the beliefs and wishes of society, but many women felt compelled to follow the typical image expected of woman. Maya Angelou and Gillian Clarke are two female poets who felt it was important to write about the situation that some woman had to live in. Maya Angelou is a black female who felt compelled to write about how woman were treated in the years before her. She felt her ancestors were suppressed, not only because of their African race but because they were woman. Her poem, Woman Work, is about a woman’s struggle everyday to keep up with life, and do the housework. The woman in Woman work is unhappy with her life. She has many jobs to do, and does not show any positive emotion towards them. She is constantly working, and this is her main priority in life. We know that she has children. She says ‘I’ve got the tots to dress’’. There is no mention of the children’s fat her in the poem, which may indicate that he gives her no help in the housework. The woman is very tired and flustered. She says ‘Let me rest tonight’, which implies that it i... ...pped by their lives. I think that even though the woman in ‘Overheard in County Sligo’ is richer, and may be more well-off than the woman in ‘Woman Work’, they are both unfortunate and have the same amount of pressure on them. I like both poems, but I prefer ‘Woman Work’ as I like the use of language and imagery in the last four verses. I like the lines ‘Fall softly dewdrops and cover me with white’ I think using nature at the end of the poem makes the poem better, as it emphasises all the lack of materialistic things she owns, and nature is all she has. I think the use of vocabulary is very good, and Maya Angelou has made the majority of the last four verses very peaceful. On the other hand, I like that ‘Overheard in County Sligo starts off with an overview of a woman, who, on the surface, has the perfect life, while she is secretly living in misery. Comparison between Woman Work and Overheard in County Sligo Essay Comparison between Woman Work and Overheard in County Sligo Woman Work and overheard in County Sligo are both poems which give us an image of the role of woman in the past, and how she contributed to society Through reading both these poems, it is apparent that both of the poets’ backgrounds have influenced the poems. In the past, women were not considered important in society, and their efforts were not valued, not even by woman herself. Women were expected to stay at home, and become housewives. Woman lived in a society in which there was pressure to get married, wither by family pressure or societal pressure. It was not necessary for woman to conform to the beliefs and wishes of society, but many women felt compelled to follow the typical image expected of woman. Maya Angelou and Gillian Clarke are two female poets who felt it was important to write about the situation that some woman had to live in. Maya Angelou is a black female who felt compelled to write about how woman were treated in the years before her. She felt her ancestors were suppressed, not only because of their African race but because they were woman. Her poem, Woman Work, is about a woman’s struggle everyday to keep up with life, and do the housework. The woman in Woman work is unhappy with her life. She has many jobs to do, and does not show any positive emotion towards them. She is constantly working, and this is her main priority in life. We know that she has children. She says ‘I’ve got the tots to dress’’. There is no mention of the children’s fat her in the poem, which may indicate that he gives her no help in the housework. The woman is very tired and flustered. She says ‘Let me rest tonight’, which implies that it i... ...pped by their lives. I think that even though the woman in ‘Overheard in County Sligo’ is richer, and may be more well-off than the woman in ‘Woman Work’, they are both unfortunate and have the same amount of pressure on them. I like both poems, but I prefer ‘Woman Work’ as I like the use of language and imagery in the last four verses. I like the lines ‘Fall softly dewdrops and cover me with white’ I think using nature at the end of the poem makes the poem better, as it emphasises all the lack of materialistic things she owns, and nature is all she has. I think the use of vocabulary is very good, and Maya Angelou has made the majority of the last four verses very peaceful. On the other hand, I like that ‘Overheard in County Sligo starts off with an overview of a woman, who, on the surface, has the perfect life, while she is secretly living in misery.

Psy/285 Final Week 9

PSY/285 Elizabeth Davis November 11, 2012 Bettye Griffin I am well rounded, independent, and unique. I believe that being well rounded means that you are not just one way or another. It means you have a little bit of every thing. I think that independent means for a person to be out on their own in life. It means to be able to take care of them selves in life, along with other people. I am independent not interdependent. I do not rely on others for any thing. Meaning I do not get help with bills, money, school, child, car, or any other aspect in life. Interdependent means you get help from others or depend on other to do things for you.I think that self serving bias is some thing that every one has to some degree or another. I think that it is a bias opinion that enhances or widens your ego or self esteem. For me I am self bias towards my self in the fact that I am a very vain person. I believe I am very attractive meaning my self esteem is great about how I look when others are arou nd. Locus of control theory is where people believe that they can control events that can affect them. External locus of control is a person that believes the whole world is out to get them, luck does exist, and that life is unfair.Internal locus of control is when a person has feelings of being responsible for the outcomes that happen in their lives. I know that confirmation bias is where a person has a tendency to favor information that goes along with their own beliefs. A person does this by gathering or when they remember information by picking out pieces of it. I think then that confirmation bias is some thing that we all do. I know for my self I have selective hearing. With this I pick out what I want to hear from a conversation, perceive it, and use it how I want to.My experiences that I have had with beliefs generating from their own confirmation have not always ended well. I know that nothing in life will happen exactly how you want it to. I do this all the time and plan ou t how others will react in a certain situation I am always wrong. I know that my behaviors influence my attitude a lot. I simply put my desires and actions first. My attitude or my intention only pushes my desires and actions further. Our text did suggest that there are several ways that genetics influence gender identity. My gender identity is influenced by my genetics because I was raised by my great grand parents.This means I am more apt to take on the old fashioned ways or believing in what a woman should act or be. I think that my gender identity has been shaped by the environment that I was raised in. I think that some evidence to support this would be that I do believe that me as a woman should do the cooking and cleaning. A woman should be married to one man in her life. A woman place in the world is behind her man. A woman must be able to do what a man does and work as hard as they can. I think that now in life that I am not at a great risk of conforming.I know that growing up at one point or another I was influenced to conform to a great many different aspects of life. I am stable in who I am and what I am today. I think as a person grows older in life it is harder to sway to conformity. I just don’t feel the need to impress or to be or act like some thing I am not. I have always had a hard time with both authority and also obedience. I think that in my opinion they go hand and hand with each other. I think that fear of authority or the stubbornness of just not wanting to both has a clear view of why the obedience will then not look.I think that the foot in the door technique has had a lot of influence on me doing things in my life. I think the biggest foot in the door was when I was younger and with my friends. When I would hang with them and they would start to do some thing illegal or dangerous. That means I would have a choice of walking away or since I am all ready there so why not concept. Oh, of course I have used the foot in the door t echnique on others. This is used in peer pressure situations when some one does not want to do some thing but convince them to using the foot in the door.I think that when I am in the presence of others I am very stand back and watch kind of person. I like to take in what is going on around me. I think that with or around others I know that I act with respect and honesty. When alcohol is involved that bearer that was there to just sit, watch, and be kind of shy is lost. When that is gone I am just full of confidence and the life of every one else around me. I know that no matter what group project that you get your self in to that there will always be some kind of social leafing.I volunteer at our church a lot, and at the veterans hall we work in groups and there is always one or two people who I have to pick up the slack from, because they refuse to help in any way. I don’t think that it will get any better in the future. I don’t think that it will because I can not c hange other people and how they see life. Only that person can make the conscious decision to change is them selves. I believe that Deindividuation is a concept that is mostly thought of as one loosing their self awareness in other groups.I think that deindividuation is where people sway into other groups other than what they would usually. It is acting different in a group than you would usually, that would be completely out of character for you. People that are in groups over time lose their own self awareness and self restraint because of the group they are in. At this point they would loose their own self as an individual and become more like the others. I think that people whom are in groups would do things that they would not on the account that the person would then be less responsible for their own actions.I think that I was influenced and have gotten in a lot of trouble in the past because of deindividuated presence of other people. I am not now though taken over in any gro up nor do I want to be my life is fine with out getting in trouble. I think that there are many different levels that a person can be attracted to another person. I think that at first it is the attraction of what a person looks like. I think that personal things you have in common helps. I also think that being around a person for long time will increase the chance of being attracted to one another.There is so many things that can make a person attractive to me. I do know that the preference at attractiveness is different between each person. I think that there are many things that you can do to help sustain relationships. Here are some of the things that I do to help sustain a relationship is trust, compassion, compromise, and respect. I think that all of these are needed to have a healthy relationship. I think that trust is big to be able to feel at ease. Compassion is needed for your self the most to put it into the relation ship, and also to be healthy for you to have compassio n towards other things in life.I would say that compromise is like picking your battles. This would come along with talking to your partner. I would also say that to have respect is both for your self as well as the other person. When I have to resolve a conflict there is just a few things that I do to help with this. I first pick a time to talk about it. I make sure not to go into talking about it when I am angry or mad. I would also take into consideration to bring in an out side party to monitor the conflict, if we can not come to a compromise or agreement about the conflict.I am glad that this class has opened my eyes to so many different views and ideas of what I need to take a look at in life. I think that it is good to know what the things are that centers around who I am and also why I am that way. I think that I have been able to change some of my views and ways from what I have learned in this class. Although, I do know that even though this class has made me aware of some of my actions and beliefs, that I am just not ready to take control of and change. It has also made me aware of why others act in the way they do.I will not be so judgmental of certain behaviors or actions in the future. I am more aware of the world around me, including my self and other people who I choose to surround my life around. I loved what this class has taught me and will keep it with me in my mind and thoughts for ever. I wish that other people would take vane and learn why things are what they are. To find reason for behaviors this makes it so that maybe some time knowing why will become action to change to some thing better.

Webster Clay Calhoun Comparison Essay

Henry Clay, John C. Calhoun, and Daniel Webster dominated national politics from the end of the War of 1812 until their deaths in the early 1850s. Although none were ever President, they had a huge impact in Congress. Their impact outweighed the impact of any of the presidents of that era, with the exception of Andrew Jackson. There was one issue effecting the nation throughout their time in power — slavery. They were all successful in keeping peace in America by forging a series of compromises. The next generation's leaders were not so successful.The Gold Rush led to the rapid settlement of California which resulted in it quickly becoming the 31st state. Southerners recognized that California would be the 16th free state, giving the non-slave holding states the Senate, and they were already holding the House of Representatives. At this time, Texas was claiming land in New Mexico. As a slave state, any expansion of the boundaries of Texas would be expanding slavery. Northerner s were opposed. The north was also appalled at the ongoing practice of slavery in the nation's capital. The lines were drawn as Clay, Calhoun and Webster took the stage. Henry Clay had brokered compromises before.When the Congress was divided in 1820 over the issue of slavery in the Louisiana Territory, Clay set forth the Missouri Compromise. When South Carolina nullified the tariff in 1832, Clay saved the day with the Compromise Tariff of 1833. With the new dispute in the nation he put forth a set of eight proposals that he hoped would work. John C. Calhoun took to the floor next. Although he was sick and dying he sat in the Senate chamber as his speech was read. The compromises would betray the south, he claimed. Northerners would have to agree to federal protection of slavery for the south to feel comfortable remaining in the Union.His words foreshadowed the trials the Union that would soon experience.. Daniel Webster spoke three days after Calhoun's speech. He asked northerners to accept southern demands for the sake of Union. Withdrawing his former support for the Wilmont Proviso, he hoped to persuade people to move closer to Clay's proposals. Although there was no immediate deal, his words impacted Congressmen as they debated into the summer. By 1852, Clay, Calhoun, and Webster had all died. They left behind a huge impact on the nation. They united their country in a way no learned to follow behind them could.