Analysis of School Policies

Analysis of School Policies Introduction Assignment one is to review several policies in an existing school policy manual and to analyze each evaluating its efficacy. The school chosen for this assignment is Miami Shores Presbyterian Church School (MSPCS) located in Miami Shores, Florida. MSPCS is a small religious based school for students age eight weeks to fifth grade and provides families an affordable option for an outstanding academic and social-emotional program. Created in 1966 as a parents morning out program, MSPCS was, and is, well known for its small community and loving environment. The parents morning out program transitioned into a preschool program during the 1970s. In 1999 the church added a kindergarten class to their preschool program. Beginning in 2003 the school began to add one grade each year until finishing with the 5th-grade. In 2008 MSPCS had its first 5th-grade commencement. In July 2013 the school hired a new Headmaster, and a year later he hired a new preschool director. The school began developing a rigorous academic program. With an increased effort on providing students with a quality school experience and the hiring of new teachers with proper certification/credentials, the school is now seeing the benefits of the transformation. Policy Making Procedures The Miami Shores Presbyterian Church School Commission, appointed by the Miami Shores Presbyterian Church Session members, governs MSPCS. The School Commission has a set of specific by-laws, which clearly outline the role of the commission versus the school (Wirth). The policy manual is intended to provide guidelines and directives from the School Commission to the Headmaster regarding general policies, processes, and guiding beliefs of the School. As such, the document contains critical information for executing management plans and processes necessary to meeting and maintaining the school purposes stated in the Miami Shores Presbyterian Church School Bylaws. Policies outlined in the MSPCS Policy Manual may be altered, amended, newly established, or repealed by a two-thirds majority vote of the Commission at any regular or special meeting, providing that such changes be proposed and presented to the Commission in writing at a previously scheduled commission meeting at least two weeks prior. The Headmaster may create interim policies when necessary, and the policy will remain in effect until which time the Commission acts to establish permanent policy on the given matter. There are six overarching sections in the MSPCS Policy Manual. They are academic and educational, finance, health and safety, parents, personal and School Commission, and students. For the purpose of this assignment, analyzing one policy in each section would prove to be beneficial to gathering full insight into the creation, purpose, and efficacy of the schools manual. Challenge of Materials Policy Academic and Education Section Objectives: To establish a policy that helps Miami Shores Presbyterian Church School to respect the convictions of parents and teachers in various academic subject areas, while at the same time maintaining our goal of teaching all subjects in the light of a comprehensive Christian worldview. Scope: This policy applies to all literary materials used at Miami Shores Presbyterian Church School. Definitions: Objective Materials: A subject which Christian families and churches commonly consider divisive, whether or not the introduction of the topic was planned by the teacher or brought up by a student. Examples include: Environmentalism, the War Between the States, old earth/young earth, partisan politics, etc. Guidelines: The MSPC School Commission has the final authority in retaining or excluding a book from the collection. Any definition of objectionable material needs to keep our target readers in mind. The library exists to meet the needs of Elementary students. Materials that might be deemed inappropriate for younger readers will not be omitted on that basis. Parents/Guardians that feel a book contains offensive material should follow the following steps to address the issue: Bring the book in question to a Teacher, Media Specialist or Administrator. The Administrator or Media Specialist will review the book and determine if the offensive material is egregiously and indefensibly objectionable. If the material is not found to be egregiously and indefensibly objectionable, the book shall be returned to the collection. If the material is found to be objectionable, the book will be taken out of circulation. The Challenge of Materials Policy is an original policy from the prior administration, there is no reference number, and the creation date and author are unknown. The policy is designed to address a parent who questions a book or material that the school and the Commission deem to be appropriate. In 1986, in reply to questions from librarians facing book or material challenges, the Intellectual Freedom Committee (IFC) established a list of definitions to explain vocabulary related to challenges (Merola). The charge for the IFC was to recommend such steps as may be necessary to safeguard the rights of library users, libraries, and librarians, in accordance with the first amendment to the United States Constitution and the Library Bill of Rights as adopted by the ALA Council (Klipsch). The significant step of defining terms that are universal provides library staff with an appropriate and consistent terminology when responding to a complaint. With this understanding, to date, the MSPCS Challenge Material Policy has not been confronted or questioned. Therefore, no revision is necessary to this policy. Although the policy addresses adult concerns, it ultimately affects the students due to the potential of removing reading material and media from their library choices. Volunteer Hours Policy Finance Section Objective: To set guidelines for volunteering requirements of families with children who attend the elementary school of Miami Shores Presbyterian Church School. Scope: This policy applies to all families with children who participate in the elementary school of Miami Shores Presbyterian Church School. Guidelines: Parents or guardians of elementary school students must complete a minimum of 20 family hours of volunteer service per year. It is the sole responsibility of parents to sign-in and out on the volunteer card/sheet and to verify the card/sheet is validated by an MSPC or MSPCS staff representative. Volunteer hours that are not completed by April 30th will be charged the rate of $25.00 per hour to the familys account. The Volunteer Hours Policy is an original policy from the prior administration, there is no reference number, and the creation date and author are unknown. Establishing a policy for mandatory volunteerism theoretically helps support the school and their initiatives to meet the mission. This policy addresses apparent shortcomings or lack of desire for families to become involved with their childs education and other school matters. There is currently legislation in California and Pennsylvania in regards to parent volunteerism. In both instances, the legislation protects families that are required to volunteer at their childs school from their employer who may not allow the time off. As recently as January 01, 2016, California expanded upon the Family School Partnership Act allowing, employees to take job-protected time off to find, enroll, or re-enroll their children in a school or with a licensed child care provider (Corcoran, 2017). The volunteer policy at MSPCS requires families to serve a minimum of twenty volunteer hours per year or pay $25 for each hour under the required minimum. A volunteer is defined by Merriam-Webster (1960) as, a person who voluntarily (proceeding from the will or from ones own choice or consent) undertakes or expresses a willingness to undertake a service. By definition, requiring volunteer hours is an oxymoron and furthermore, charging individuals for not completing the requirement could be justification for litigation. The policy is in need of elimination more than a revision. When parents understand and appreciate the significance of their support, a punitive Ifà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ then policy is not necessary. When prospective parents come to school, they receive the mission statement and discuss its importance with an administrator.   The first part of the schools mission statement is A Christ-inspired experience. Being Christ-inspired means for an individual to broaden their se nse of giving to others. As long as parents understand the importance of their participation in their childs education, there is no need of a policy requiring their presence. Evacuation, Reverse Evacuation, and Safety Drills Policy Health and Safety Section Objective: To set guidelines for Miami Shores Presbyterian Church School stakeholders in being prepared for an event when they may be in potential danger. Scope: This policy applies to all Miami Shores Presbyterian Church School stakeholders. Definitions: Evacuation: The immediate and urgent movement of people out of a building from the threat or actual occurrence of a hazard. Reverse Evacuation: The immediate and urgent movement of people inside the building from the threat or actual occurrence of a hazard. Lockdown: A confinement of all individuals to a secure location due to a perceived or real threat. Guidelines: All drills (evacuation, reverse evacuation, and lockdown) will be held on a monthly basis. During the first week of school, staff members shall take their class for a practice fire drill. Follow the evacuation map in the room using the primary route. The secondary route is also noted, and there will be one fire drill a year when the secondary route will be utilized. The school is equipped with an intercom, fire alarm system and sprinkler system. The Evacuation, Reverse Evacuation, and Safety Drills Policy is an original policy from the prior administration with two key additions from the current administration in 2013. There is no reference number, and the creation date and author are unknown. Before 2013, the policy only addressed evacuation drills. The drill is typical in all United States schools and is mandated by federal law. The federal Occupational Safety and Health Act (OSH Act), which oversees Floridas business safety and health structure, requires that companies with ten or more employees have written fire prevention and emergency exit plans, as well as practices for such an emergency for each workplace. During 2013, the new MSPCS administration included the reverse evacuation and lockdown safety drills to the policy in reaction to the climate of todays society of schools under attack by unstable or angry people. The first known instance of a reverse evacuation drill policy was after the state of Kentucky put out a school crisis planning guide, and then FEMA included the policy in their guide (Dorn). Additionally, in 2013, a lockdown drill was instituted at MSPCS. On December 14, 2012, a tragedy occurred at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut, when a disturbed man went into the school and shot many students and several teachers. The administration recognized the potential of this occurring anywhere and why it is important to establish a policy for children and educators to understand and know what to do in this type of emergency. The Federal Government does not mandate lockdown drills. However, several states have legislation in place requiring schools practice lockd owns as frequently as they practice evacuation drills. Each of the safety drills and their continued practices is essential to keeping students and educators prepared for an emergency situation. No one can tell how someone may react in an actual emergency, but having the knowledge of what to do, may decrease further stresses or even casualties. There are no plans to revise this policy, because of the eminent danger that society faces. Parental Non-Compliance Policy Parent Section Objective: To establish a set procedure for Miami Shores Presbyterian Church School administrators when parents are not in compliance with school policy or procedures. Scope: This policy applies to any time administration believes parents are not in compliance with school policy or procedures. Definitions: Non-Compliance: Failure to act in accordance with a wish or command or inability to conform to rules or standards. Guidelines: When an incident is considered serious enough according to the schools parameters, all family members will be asked to withdraw from the school regardless of previous incidents. In most instances, the following will take place: FIRST INCIDENT: Written notification regarding the incident or offense will be sent to the family and placed in the families file. A parent or guardian may be required to attend a meeting, at school, with the Administration. SECOND INCIDENT: Written notification regarding the incident or offense will be sent to the family and placed in the families file. The parent, parents, or guardian will be required to attend a meeting with the Administration. The family will be put on probation for the remainder of the school year. THIRD INCIDENT: All family members will be asked to withdraw from school the following year, or if deemed appropriate, immediately. The administration has an obligation to inform the School Commission of any incident that reaches non-compliance status. In the event of family withdrawal, the School Commission has final authority to accept or reject the administrations recommendation. The Parental Non-Compliance Policy is an original policy from the prior administration along with a recent 2015 revision by the new administration. Included in the revised version are the three step process and the paragraph giving final authority to the School Commission. Adding both parts to the policy ensures and protects the family and the administration from emotional decision making. There is no federal or state legislation on parental non-compliance at school, but many private schools do have some policy written to safeguard all parties. All members of a school community, including families, educators, students, visitors, and the administration, have the intention to work in partnership to provide the children the best experiences in their education and care. From the onset, families and staff agree at the time of acceptance or employment to acquaint themselves with and meet the terms of the schools philosophy and Code of Ethics. There are times when behaviors or actions go against the philosophy or code. Therefore, it is essential to have a policy and process for dealing with such occurrences. If the administration selects families into the school community that are mission appropriate and who can abide by the schools philosophy, then this policy, in theory, would not be necessary. Unfortunately, circumstance can arise, and each party needs to be protected and valued during trying times. In the next revision, an initial step of a verbal warning may be beneficial in providing due process to the policy and may mitigate any further escalation. Currently, the first step is to write up a warning of the incident, and this does not comply with the schools Caring Community philosophy. Within the Caring School philosophy, one of the schools goals is to empower and listen to others to further understand their perspective. A conversation to express the school displeasure with a parents behavior or action allows the parent to provide their point of view. Through respectful and honest conversation, the school and parents may agree on a solution without further incident or create hard feelings. Evaluations/Personnel File Policy Staff, Personnel, and School Commission Section Objectives: To ensure consistency of procedure and standards in all performance assessments of the staff of MSPCS. Scope: This policy applies to commission evaluations of the Headmaster, the Headmasters evaluation of administrative staff, and the Directors assessments of the teaching staff. Definitions: Evaluation: A procedure for measuring a staff members performance in helping to achieve the goals and policies of MSPCS, the curriculum objectives of the school, and the observation of the guidelines and handbooks. Personnel File: A file maintained by the Headmaster in the administrative office of MSPCS for all faculty and staff members of the school. General Statement: Several fundamental principles underlie the MSPCS approach to supervision and evaluation. These principles are grounded in current research that identifies effective instructional practices that maximize student learning and achievement. The MSPCS model for supervision and evaluation recognizes the importance of linking teacher evaluation to professional development and student learning. It also acknowledges the value of a differentiated structure that supports teachers at varying stages of their career and experience and promotes greater teacher involvement in the evaluation process. At MSPCS we recognize the importance of the supervision, evaluation, and Professional Growth process. The MSPCS Supervision, Evaluation, PGP program incorporates supervisory options connected to personal growth in a collaborative environment. MSPCS is a professional community, which encourages feedback and reflection as a means of promoting continuous teacher growth and improved student achievement. Meaningful feedback comes from multiple and diverse sources and provides an opportunity for reflection which sharpens our teachers skills of self-assessment. Supervision, Evaluation, and Professional Growth is an interactive process perceived as valuable by all involved. The MSPCS program involves assessment structures that promote an array of reflective, creative and analytic skills. In the MSPCS program, outstanding teaching is studied, sought, recognized and supported. By promoting structures that encourage professional development, a reflective school culture and research-based practices; MSPCS ensures that it will remain focused on its mission, vision, and continued goal to improve student achievement. The objective of teacher supervision, evaluation, and professional learning is to increase student achievement by encouraging and supporting the professional growth of all teachers. Administrators Assurance The MSPCS Supervision, Evaluation, and Professional Growth Plan will: Provide clear, concise, comprehensive teaching standards based on current research of best teaching practice. Provide a fair, clear system for teacher evaluation used on current research. Provide useful, timely feedback related to MSPCS teaching standards to guide professional development goals. Foster a culture of trust, mutual respect, and constructive professional dialogue, which encourages risk taking in a learning community. Refine the craft of teaching through reflection and risk-taking. Utilize data from student assessment to guide teaching practice as related to MSPCS teaching standards. Encourage teachers to chart their course for professional development. Value the diversity of teachers perspective, skills, knowledge, and practice. All MSPCS educators will have: Support and encouragement from the Preschool Director, Headmaster and other staff members. Reviewed procedures and be informed on the supervision and evaluation format and forms. Professional development goals that incorporate one or more of the MSPCS Teaching Standards. Numerous opportunities to be observed through walkthroughs. An annual formal written observation grounded on teacher reflection and growth. Opportunities to discuss their growth with the Preschool Director or Headmaster. Guidelines: All employees will be formally evaluated at least once a year. Each director will be responsible for assessing the teachers and staff members immediately under his/her supervision. The Headmaster will be responsible for the evaluations of the directors, the accounting staff, and other support staff, and the commission will be responsible for the assessment of the Headmaster. The evaluations will be based principally on formal observations of the staff member and interviews with the staff member. Observations and opinions of third parties (parents, other staff members, individual commission members, etc.) may only be taken into account if the staff member being evaluated is given an opportunity to respond to the third partys questions/concerns raised before the finalization of the evaluation. The evaluation will be considered finalized when the staff member being evaluated and the one responsible for the evaluation both acknowledge by signature that the assessment has been discussed in detail. When the evaluation is finalized, the Headmaster will place it in that staff members personnel file. Other appropriate inclusions in the archive of staff would include letters of commendation or reprimand, as well as any responses, comments, or relevant data the staff member may wish to add. Under no conditions will a staff members personnel file be made public to other staff members, parents, or anyone outside MSPCS line of authority. The file of staff may be used by an authorized representative of MSPCS to draft a letter of recommendation to a prospective employer. The file is only to be used for purposes of refreshing the memory and is not to be reproduced for the prospective employer. The Evaluations/Personnel File Policy, entirely rewritten in 2016, from the original policy that was not a policy but more of an outline of procedures. In the original policy, there was no mention of school beliefs or the purposes of the assessment. Also, the wording in the original policy was punitive and full of if-than statements as opposed to helping an educator grow and develop their skills. Often formal evaluations cause stress to an educator, because of the judgment or perception of another persons point of view placed on the individual. At MSPCS, the elimination of judgment and the focus on individual improvement and self-reflection help create a positive experience for all parties during evaluations. Marzanos model of instructional evaluation focuses on specific strategies and how well they are working. Taken one step further, MSPCS adds a component where the teacher generates the level of specificity during a self-reflection period and a pre-observation meeting with the administrator. During the pre-observation meeting, the teacher shares the learning targets for the students and how they plan to prepare the students for the lesson. The teacher provides a brief overview of the sequencing and strategies of the content of the lesson, how the students will practice or demonstrate the new content, and how students will summarize the lesson. During the meeting, the teach er selects an area they would like to improve upon and asks the administrator to assess him/her on a specific task or technique. Additionally, the teacher prescribes two or three questions that he/she would like the administrator to ask the students. During the observation, the administrator documents what is heard or seen, without opinion or judgment. He/She then moves around the room asking the prescribed questions the teacher presented to him/her during the pre-observation meeting and documents the answers the students gave to him/her. A post-observation meeting is held within a day or two to capture the momentum and to provide effective feedback. The meeting always begins with the question, On a scale of one to ten, ten being the best, what would you rate your lesson? Not one person in seven years of asking the question has rated themselves a ten, which means the conversation begins with the understanding that everyone has room to improve. Much of the conversation revolves around the administrator continually asking what do you think and why do you think type questions, because the process is a self-reflection, not a judgment of being good or poor. After analyzing the data, we set goals to work on for the next observation, which may not be a formal one. The idea of the evaluation as a growth process instead of a judgment allows teachers to step back and truly look inward at their practice in a non-threatening way. There are no plans to change this policy as it has proven to be very effective. Discipline Policy Student Section Objectives: To ensure consistent biblical discipline at Miami Shores Presbyterian Church School. Scope: This policy applies to all elementary students at Miami Shores Presbyterian Church School. Definitions: Discipline: The practice of instructing and training people to understand and adhere to rules or a code of behavior. Guidelines: Each class develops their student appropriate discipline guidelines. Under no circumstances is corporal punishment allowed. Staff members may not withhold the bathroom, withhold food or belittle the student. MSPCS believes that everyone has the right to experience a safe and friendly school environment. Therefore, we have expectations that students will: Keep hands, feet and all objects to themselves. Show respect for adults and other students. Cooperate and show self-control at all times. Follow directions the first time without questioning. Be prepared for class each day. Be punctual and attend class each day. The school will not tolerate any of the following behaviors and may be cause for expulsion: Verbal and physical fighting. Defacing or damaging school property. Theft of school or personal property. The use of profanity or name-calling. Procedures: When a student violates classroom/school rules for the first time, teachers will discuss the infraction with the student and document the incident. In the event a student commits a second infraction, the teacher will contact the parent to discuss the issue and document the parent/teacher conference as a Step Two Referral. A parent must be contacted for a StepTwo Referral to be completed. If a third infraction occurs, the StepThree Referral must be documented on the referral form. If the student is disrupting the class to the point where learning cannot take place in the classroom, they may be sent to speak with the Preschool Director or Headmaster. If infractions continue to occur and are impeding upon the learning process for the student and others, the student may be sent home. A follow-up meeting will happen with the Preschool Director or Headmaster when the student returns to school. This session will be reflective in nature and to set guidelines and goals for the student to meet. All missed class work due to an infraction of a rule must be completed at home and returned to the teacher when the student arrives back to school. Transgressions, including but not limited to fighting, weapons, severe disrespect, bullying, etc. will result in disciplinary action which may include dismissal from school, even for a first offense. Also, if the MSPCS staff identify, through the course of observation and discussion with parents, that a students particular behavioral issues are beyond the capacity of the program to serve them, the school reserves the right to terminate enrollment at any time. The Discipline Policy is an original policy from the prior administration, there is no reference number, and the creation date and author are unknown. All schools have a discipline policy because it is a critical element in maintaining a safe environment for students and staff. In many schools, a discipline policy states all of the things a student cannot do and what will happen if they do it. At MSPCS, the student discipline policy is more of a threat of words on paper, because the current administration does not believe in sending students home as a punishment. Skiba, Shure, Middelberg, Baker (2011) offer there is no evidence proving that discipline practices that eliminate students from classes by the punitive acts of suspensions and expulsions help to improve either student behavior or school climate. Instead of sending a student home, where they will often be unsupervised, developing an effective intervention at school is more in line with the schools Caring Community philosophy. Another part of this policy that is inaccurate is in the first line that states consistent biblical discipline. The Bibles view on discipline clearly demands that parents be responsible and diligent in spanking, but strongly prohibits physical abuse of any kind (Ingram, 2006). Further, in the MSPCS student discipline policy, it states under no circumstances is corporal punishment allowed. At MSPCS, the administration is not reinforcing the written policy properly, and the language in the policy is sending mixed messages to our families. An easy fix to the discrepancy is to eliminate the word biblical from the policy. However, a complete rewrite of the policy is necessary to match the schools philosophy of a Caring Community and preserving dignity for all. The Caring Community requires a positive-based discipline program where students are self-reflective and empowered while maintaining their dignity. The goal is for students to take responsibility for their actions and learn from each of their experiences. At MSPCS, the school teaches students to look inward to work towards developing intrinsic motivation, while at the same time reducing teacher-centric external motivation. The objective is to influence change in a students undesirable behavior through conversation, demonstration, and sending a consistent message. At MSPCS teachers receive training in the art of being an authoritative classroom leader. Bear (2010) states, An authoritative teacher set high standards and hold high expectations; enforce rules and standards in a firm, fair, and consistent manner; and promote autonomy by encouraging students active participatio

The Continual Emerging Threat and Use of Weapons of Mass Destruction By Terrorist Organizations to the United States of America

The utilization of Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD) by terrorist groups and states alike will continue to threaten the U. S. Homeland and its interests abroad. The National Intelligence Council (NIC) provided the following estimate of this emerging threat in its December 2000 analysis of global trends through the year 2015 (Cordesman, 2002).Strategic WMD threats, including nuclear missile threats in which (barring significant political or economic changes) Russia, China, most likely North Korea, probably Iran, and possibly Iraq have the capability to strike the United States, and the potential for unconventional delivery of WMD by both state or non-state actors also will grow (p. 3).The NIC report additionally goes on to discuss the accessibility and advancement of technology for WMD will increase, saying: Prospects will grow that more sophisticated weaponry, including weapons of mass destruction–indigenously produced or externally acquired–will get into the hands of s tate and non-state belligerents, some hostile to the United States. The likelihood will increase over this period that WMD will be used either against the United States or is forces, facilities, and interests overseas (p. ). For these and other reasons, individuals in the security and law enforcement profession need to continue to maintain their focus on the capabilities and the potentiality of WMD use by a variety of interests. I use this paper as an opportunity to further educate myself on the use of WMD by terrorist organizations. I do this by giving an overview of the many types of threats that fall into the category of WMD, to include chemical, biological, radiological, and nuclear.I then continue my education by looking at the countries involved with WMD. I'll conclude the paper with looking specifically at some of Iraq's capabilities and programs. Chemical weapons pose significant threats to both the civilian populace and military organization. One of the biggest reason chemi cal weapons pose such a threat to both of these groups is the psychological effect caused by their use. Although chemical weapons are no more lethal then conventional weaponry, they cause great fear when even someone thinks of them being used.The most common example would be the exploitations of the media and the footage seen of the Kurds in Iraq when Saddam Hussein used blister and nerve agents. Not only were there dead civilians laying in the streets, but gruesome pictures of the effect that these agents have on the body, both to those killed and survivors. â€Å"Chemical weapons are weapons of terror and intimidation as well as a means of producing casualties and physical destruction† (Cordesman, 2002, p. 101). In 2003 the Department of Defense (DoD) stated that most forms of CW are employed in the liquid form, called droplets.Droplets make the substance more stable and easy for use in weaponry. The DoD also put chemical weapons into two categories, persistent and nonpersi stent–persistent lasting for days, and nonpersistent only lasting from minutes to hours (Defenselink, 2003). The U. S. Centers for Disease Control (CDC) put CWs into a few distinct categories, these being; nerve agents such as VX, blood agents like hydrogen cyanide, blister agents like sulfur mustards, and pulmonary agents like chlorine. The latter are the more commonly used and known, but there are also many more†¦ specially the ones that fall into the commercial category, such as metals, pesticides, etc†¦ (Kahn & Levitt, 2000). Most organizations wishing to use some type of WMD tend not to turn to chemicals as their primary weapon. There are many challenges facing someone that wants to effectively employing CWs. The DoD (Defenselink, 2003) lists a variety of issues concerning the factors that must be considered. These factors include; agent type, how it will be disseminated, amount available to be disseminated (droplet size), meteorological conditions, including t emperature, wind speed and direction.Without the right combination of all of these factors, the desired outcome will be greatly reduced. An additional challenge is that of actually acquiring and/or producing a chemical to be used as a weapon. The Gilmore Commission (1999) gives the following example for explaining just how difficult it would be. It has sometimes been claimed that producing sarin and other nerve agents is a relatively easy process, to the extent, according to one authority, that â€Å"ball-point pen ink is only one chemical step removed†.While sarin may be less complicated to synthesize than other nerve agents, the expertise required to produce it should not, however, be underestimated. The safety challenges involved would, at a minimum, require skill, training, and special equipment to overcome. For this reason, the level of competency required for producing sophisticated chemical nerve agents, including sarin, will likely be on the order of a graduate degree in organic chemistry and/or actual experience as a organic chemist–not simply a knowledge of college-level chemistry, as is sometimes alleges (p. 91).Although the Gilmore Commission points the necessity to have the required level of expertise for composing chemicals into weapons grade, there are many countries that already posses a vast array of CWs. Terrorist organizations without access to CWs or the expertise to produce them, resort to using resources they do have (normally money, but sometimes services) to exchange with countries that do have CWs. According to Cordesman (2002) the following countries are potential national threats because of their chemical weapons program: China, India, Iran, Iraq, Libya, North Korea, Pakistan, and Russia.Russia has the largest stockpile, 40,000 metric tons of chemical agents. Even more frightening is that reportedly some of this stockpile is comprised of â€Å"new agents†. These new agents are designed to circumvent Western detec tion methods and can be hidden within commercial chemical plants. The employment challenges of CWs are far out-weighed by the vast capability to acquire them, and the terror effect they have. Biological Weapons (BW) pose a significant risk to U. S. interests for many reasons. There are a wide range of agents with many different effects and they offer a wide range of ways to attack American citizens, crops, and livestock† (Cordesman, 2002, p. 135). The World Health Organization (2000) explained the significance of BW and diseases by recounting history, pointing out Napoleon's devastating retreat from Moscow. This wasn't caused by the great Russian Army or even the cold temperatures of the Russian winter, but because of typhus, a louse-borne infection that reduced his army from 655,000 to 93,000.Cordesman (2002) states that there are five categories: bacterial agents such as anthrax, rickettsial agents like the Rocky Mountain spotted fever, viral agents like small pox, toxins in cluding botulinum, and fungal agents. The above agents are the major ones that would be used to pose a threat to humans, there are many others that would affect plant and animal life. The Center for Disease Control (Kahn & Levitt, 2000) further categorizes agents that are a threat to national security, labeling them â€Å"high priority†. These high priority agents: â€Å"- can be disseminated or transmitted person-to-person cause high mortality, with potential for major public health impact – might cause public panic and social disruption; and – require special action for public health. † As with chemical weapons, biological weapons offer a psychological threat, but additionally the BWs bring a great deal of physiological issues. Much of the challenge with biological weapons occurs when trying to detect that one (or many) have been used. There are many ways that BWs could be used covertly, and the medical symptoms becoming visible long after the terrorist has departed.The CDC (Kahn & Levitt, 2000) outlines this fact and emphasizing the importance of early detection by the public health infrastructure by giving this scenario: Only a short window of opportunity will exist between the time the first cases are identified and a second wave of the population becomes ill. During that brief period, public health officials will need to determine that an attack has occurred, identify the organism, and prevent more casualties through prevention strategies (e. g. , mass vaccination or prophylactic treatment).As person-to-person contact continues, successive waves of transmission could carry infection to other worldwide localities. Another twist that a terrorist might use to inhibit the effective detection is to employ a variety of different BWs at the same time. Health care workers would potentially read the symptoms of only one of them used, while the other continues to grow, infect further, and kill. In addition to BWs being very opportunisti c for covert use, the DoD (Defenselink, 2003) says that BWs are preferable to chemical or nuclear WMD because of being very compact and low in weight.The DoD additionally went on to say that the â€Å"dissemination of infectious agents through aerosols, either as droplets from liquid suspensions or by small particles from dry powders, is by far the most efficient method† (Defenselink, 2003, p. 5). A Russian assessment of microbiological agents mostly likely to be used identified eleven. The top four were smallpox, plague, anthrax, and botulism. These were at the top because of the ability to be used as an aerosol, and their theoretical lethality rates being 30 percent to 80 percent and because of their capability to be massed produced (Henderson, 1999).There are two countries besides the United States that are well know for their pursuit of weaponizing biological weapons, Iraq and the Soviet Union. In 1975 the Soviet Union used the biotechnology industry as a front for its we apons program, called Bioprepart†. The program had the capability to mass thousands of tons of agents and distribute and store them strategically throughout the Soviet Union. The program also included the ability to rapidly produce these stored agents to weapons grade levels (Alibek, 1999).According to some intelligence analysis this program involved 60,000 to 70,000 personnel (Roberts, 2000). Even more alarming was that a vast amount of these were â€Å"infectious agents designed to follow up a strategic nuclear attack on the United States with contagious diseases designed to decimate the population (Alibek, 1999). Although the looming threat to the United States from the former Soviet Union isn't as prevalent with the ending of the Cold War, the possibility of these technologies and actual agents falling into the hands of rogue states or terrorists, is a very good possibility.The General Accounting Office (GAO) (2000) states that in addition to the large collections of dang erous pathogens, there are also as many as 15,000 underpaid scientists and researchers, and an additional vast amount of specialized equipment and facilities just waiting to be exploited. This concern, in addition to the many outlined above concretely justify the continued efforts by the United States to counter attacks to its interests through the use of biological weapons. The likelihood of a conventional explosive vehicle bomb like the one used in the Oklahoma City bombing by Timothy McVeigh still posses a serious risk.Recently there has been a concern of these conventional vehicle bombs also including radioactive material. â€Å"Radiological weapons are generally felt to be suitable largely for terror, political, and area denial purposes, rather than mass killings† (Cordesman, 2002, p. 194). Cordesman (2002) further goes on to explain that as opposed to nuclear weapons, radioactive material posses such a great threat because of its contamination capability. Therefore, rad ioactive weapons are best suited for use when wanting to deny accessibility of a specific area or building/s.A Gilmore Commission Report (1999) explained that, A combination fertilizer truck bomb, if used together with radioactive material, for example, could not only have destroyed one of the New York World Trade Center's towers but might have rendered a considerable chunk of prime real estate in one of the world's financial nerve centers indefinitely unusable because of radioactive contamination. Radioactive weapons are designated into two categories, â€Å"radiological dispersal devices† (RDD) and â€Å"simple radiological dispersal devices† (simple RDD).As Cordesman (2002) points out, the main difference between the two being that a RDD is designed to â€Å"include any explosive device utilized to spread radioactive material upon detonation†, and the simple RDD â€Å"spreads the radioactive material without an explosion†. There are a couple of differe nt types of radioactive material that could be used as RDD or as simple RDDs. The list includes hospital radiation therapy, radiopharmaceuticals, nuclear power plant fuel rods, and universities, laboratories, radiography and gauging (Cordesman 2002).The Gilmore Commission Report (1999) explains the harmful effects caused by radioactive material by saying, â€Å"Radiological weapons kill or injure by exposing people to radioactive materials, such as cesium-137, iridium-192, or cobalt-60. † The harm is caused by a variety of different ways including in-haling it, or ingesting it (contaminated food or water supply). The level of the harm caused is of course determinate of the amount of exposure to the radioactive material, long periods or short periods. The difficult thing to assess initially is the level of exposure.The U. S. Army (2002) explains that lethal and serious doses are very difficult to determine, even within the same geographical area. Additionally the U. S. Army (2 002) points out that symptoms and effects are largely changed if someone has burns on their body or their body has been through physical trauma, which is almost certainly the case if most scenarios (except for maybe covertly) that would involve radiological contamination. For these reasons, early detection of decontamination is imperative.The U. S. Army's USACHPPM report (2002) goes on to explain that once prompt detection has occurred, â€Å"about 95 percent of external agents can be removed by simple removing outer clothing and shoes†. So where would a terrorist group mostly likely acquire radioactive material to be used as a WMD, and furthermore, what is the likelihood that they would chose radioactive material as their weapon as opposed to, lets say nuclear? The former Soviet Union posses a threat regarding the lack of control over its any radiological materials, especially the â€Å"accumulation of large quantities of plutonium from reactors that is intended for reproce ssing and/or storage. † (Defenselink, 2002, p. 2). The DoD (Defenselink, 2002) also points out that Iraq and Chechnya have furthered their knowledge of radioactive weapons that could be used to contaminate water, food crops, and livestock. It further concludes that with many countries (Korea, etc†¦ ) advancing their nuclear power interests, radiological material will be tougher to monitor and control, and thus easier to acquire.One of our biggest threats may not be from a conventional weapon with radioactive material, or even the contamination of water or food, but direct contamination through the exploitation of a nuclear power plant right here in the United States. Even though an attack on a nuclear power plant would have to take a great deal of timing during the planning phase, it could produce very effective results. â€Å"The possible venting or overload of a reactor could then act as a radiological weapon, and cover hundreds of square kilometers as well as have a m ajor potential affect on regional power supplies (Cordesman, 2002, p. 97). † Some theorize that the method of using an existing nuclear power plant would elevate the hazards that go alone acquiring radioactive material. The Gilmore Commission Report (1999) points out that spent fuel rods are very hot, heavy and thus hard to handle. Cordesman (2002, p. 197) concurs with the Gilmore Commission stating, † A seizure of spent fuel would be particularly dangerous during the first 150 days after the downloading because iodine-131, and iodine-123 are present, which are extremely volatile, and affect the thyroid†.There is still a great deal to be learned about the potential loss and employment of radiological materials, and ultimately the use of it by a terrorist or state would have on a population or army. When it comes to the use of nuclear weapons of mass destruction, the retaliatory consequences of their use would probably discourage the would be state or terrorist to u se them. There are many other reasons that would prohibit a terrorist group from having the capability to do so, but as some experts have argued, when it comes to the homeland defense, security planners must look at a time-frame twenty five years from now (Cordesman, 2002).The DoD (Defenselink, 2002) makes the point by explaining that no one foresaw the Cold War ending so quickly, or that twenty five years ago the Persian Gulf War would have happened†¦ thus the need for such long range planning, and more importantly looking at what the capabilities could be out there, and the United States vulnerabilities to them. A great deal of the threat would come from countries that currently have nuclear programs, whether directly, or indirectly through the proliferation of technical expertise and equipment.Thus, we must look at these countries, and gain a firm understanding of their current programs. The DoD (OSD, 2001) gave the following overview in explaining the states with a potentia l nuclear threat to the United States. -Iran: Iran is currently actively pursuing the acquiring of fissile material and technology for nuclear weapons development. They are doing this by an elaborate system of military and civilian organizations. Iran's claim is that these elaborate systems are for the development of a civilian energy program–the DoD thinks otherwise. Much of the success of Iran's attempts will depend on Russia and China.Russia is currently in a mutual partnership with Iran to build a 1,000 megawatt power reactor. Iran is using this product to both acquire sensitive nuclear technologies, along with weapons-usable fissile material. China on the other hand ended its nuclear projects with Iran in 1997. Additionally, in 1998 China created new export controls over dual-use nuclear equipment†¦ it seems they're living up to their 1997 commitment. – North Korea: In 1994 an agreement between the United States and North Korea ended nuclear weapons material production at two of its facilities.In question, is whether North Korea was able to divert enough plutonium to make a nuclear weapon, the United States thinks it did. Also in question is the spent fuel from one of these reactors that was also removed in 1994. If this fuel was reprocessed it could've produced several nuclear weapons. – Pakistan: In response to India's testing, Pakistan tested six devices in 1998. Pakistan has a very good infrastructure to support a nuclear weapons program, especially facilities that allow for uranium conversion and enrichment.Much of the foreign assistance received by Pakistan was from China. The Pakistan's military government has been and will be for the foreseeable future be in control of its countries nuclear resources, to include research, and wartime command and control. Much of Pakistan's program is designed to deter the threat from India. Pakistan has publicly stated that it will not assemble or deploy its nuclear warheads, nor will it resume testing unless India does so first. – Syria: Syria has no current capability, but does have a small (China supplied) research reactor.Additionally, in 1999 Syria signed an agreement with Russian to build another research reactor. Although it has an interest in nuclear technology, it just doesn't have enough expertise and infrastructure to develop nuclear weapons, and therefore they are not pursuing it. Even though most believe that the retaliatory consequences of using a nuclear weapon would prohibit their use, there are still too many vulnerabilities to the United States which warrant careful consideration and homeland defense planning. One of these vulnerabilities is our communications and intelligence satellites.A nuclear weapon launched to a very high altitude would destroy the DoD's communications and intelligence satellites from the Electromagnet Pulse. We all know the significance of these satellites for the United States' war-fighting capability. Another vulner ability is the contamination of primary facilities, like ports and airfields. Both airfields and ports played an integral part of the success during Operation Desert Storm. The U. S. Air Forces' superiority over Iraq during the Gulf War would not have been as quick and extensive if it had to deal with contaminated and/or destroyed airfields. Defenselink, 2002). With Iraq being the major threat to the United States, both directly and indirectly (support of terrorist groups), Iraq's Weapons of Mass Destruction capabilities are addressed completely separate from the rest of this research. Laqueur (1999) noted that a great deal of Iraq's WMD program was unknown to the United States and world prior to the Gulf War, even though they had used in during the war with Iran and on the Kurds in their own country. Prior to the Gulf War, Iraq admitted to having 2,850 tons of ustard gas, 790 tons of sarin. Additionally, when the Gulf War began, Iraq had fifty missile warheads with chemical weapons . These figures were from Iraq, so the actual extent of their program was unknown (Laqueur, 1999). In October, 2002 the Central Intelligence Agency issued a report outlining its concerns for Iraq's continued development of WMD. Some of the conclusions made by the CIA (2002) include; – Iraq acquiring it's first nuclear weapon will depend mostly on its ability to acquire fissile-material.Once this is done it could have a nuclear weapon within one year. Additionally, Iraq has made an effort to purchase high-strength aluminum tubes that could be use for conventional weapons, but most conclude that it is for the nuclear centrifuge enrichment process. – It is believed that Iraq has stocked a few hundred metric tons of chemical agents, mostly consisting of mustard, sarin, and VX. – Efforts in the biological weapon program are very active and larger than prior to the Gulf War. Iraq still has a small missile force to include Short Range Ballistic Missiles with ranges of 650-900 km. Additionally, extensive research and tests have been done with unmanned arial vehicles, most likely to be used for delivery biological warfare agents. Concluding this review of Weapons of Mass Destruction, as the information provided above points out, there is an obvious threat to the United States' homeland and interests abroad from the use of WMD. Significant differences between nuclear and chemical or biological WMD exist.All three types of weapons can kill or injure personnel and spread contamination over broad areas, only nuclear weapons can destroy equipment and facilities. † (Defenselink, 2002) This of course has a cost factor. Many civilian chemical and biological production facilities can easily be turned into a weapons program, where a nuclear program would cost a great deal more. Henderson (2001, p. 29) makes the point about the attitude of 21st century terrorists by stating, â€Å"Weapons of mass destruction are becoming more accessible to terrorists.T hey appeal most to â€Å"new terrorist† who seek total destruction for symbolic reasons. † From a military standpoint, a great deal more emphasis must be placed on the policy makers and planners for DoD doctrine that applies to chemical, biological, radiological, and nuclear threats. As technology and capable means of proliferation of these threats, so will the use of them against us. Much of this planning as been done in the past, but we have only begun to prepare ourselves for the terrorist or state that is likely to use Weapons of Mass Destruction.Further emphasizing the importance of this issue, the Center for Strategic and International Studies in May of 2001 concluded, â€Å"There is no way to predict the nature of the WMD threat to the U. S. homeland in the near or long term. The U. S. military superiority in itself is no longer sufficient to ensure the safety of the United States. National security planning must be broadened to encompass WMD counterterrorism. à ¢â‚¬  (Cilluffo, Cardash, & Lederman, 2001, p. 9). Only a few months later on September 11, 2001 there point was further made.

Plato And Augustine Of Hippo Philosophy - 1769 Words

Elvis Presley once said, â€Å"Values are like fingerprints, nobody’s are the same, but you leave them over everything you do.† While Elvis Presley was not an ancient historical philosopher, his quote is applicable to the lives of two of the most well-known ancient philosopher: Plato and Augustine of Hippo. Both men dedicated their lives to the work of philosophy and higher thinking and both men developed revolutionary ideas for their time, influencing the world around them in the process. By looking at the lives and beliefs of both Plato and Augustine of Hippo through their written works, their backgrounds, worldviews, views of reality, and values are made apparent and able to be compared. Augustine did not begin his life as a Christian. In†¦show more content†¦God completely broke through Augustine’s wayward heart and when he was done with him Augustine became one of the most prominent Latin Church Fathers. Plato, on the other hand, was from an aristoc ratic and upper-class family in Athens. He was also one of Socrates’s most highly regarded students and ended up opening his own Academy. Plato’s life was heavily influenced by the ideas of Socrates and heavily impacted by â€Å"the deterioration of Athenian politics (Pg. 80).† After the conclusion of the Peloponnesian War, political tensions in Athens began to arise between different groups of people and Plato despised it. More specifically, Plato despised democracy, as he thought it allowed unqualified people within the government to make important decisions. After the execution of his beloved teacher, Plato vowed to make a change. After Augustine’s conversion, he wrote about his worldview, which is laid out in his written work, The City of God. In this work, Augustine’s â€Å"Two Cities† concept is explained. Augustine wrote about two worlds or cities: an earthly and a heavenly world. One world was formed by the love of the individual, wh ile the other was formed by the love of God. One is grounded in the power and abilities of man, while the other is grounded in the power and abilities of God. In short, man is at the center of everything in the earthly world, while God is at the center of everything in the heavenly world. Augustine condemned the earthly world for its corrupt waysShow MoreRelatedSaint Augustine s Influence On The Development Of Western Christianity And Western1220 Words   |  5 Pages Saint Augustine, also known as Augustine of Hippo was an early Christian philosopher and theologian. He was born on November the 13th, 354 CE in Thagaste and died on August the 28th, 430 CE in Hippo Regius. Saint Augustine s writings and works have had a profound influence on the development of Western Christianity and Western philosophy. Augustine was born in the municipium of Thagaste (now Souk Ahras, Algeria) in Roman Africa. 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The keystone work of Saint Augustine must be his very personal Confessions while Saint Thomas Aquinas’sRead MoreThe Existence Of God And The Renaissance Era821 Words   |  4 PagesDuring the medieval period in philosophy, the existence of God was a philosophical topic that was shared by most of the well-known philosophers and theologians of the time. The very name medieval (meaning, the in-between time) philosophy suggests the tendency of modern thinkers to go directly from Aristotle to the Renaissance era. What seems to justify this attitude is the tendency of philosophers during this period to seek truth along with orthodoxy. Most of the medievalRead MoreRelationship between St Augustine and Plato1773 Words   |  8 PagesSt. Augustine and Plato Great philosophers over time have shared ideas about their lifetime. There were no more captivating philosophers than Plato and Augustine who fed off one another. 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Both authors used their work to teach lessons in a wayRead More Saint Augustine Essay1445 Words   |  6 PagesMany consider Saint Augustine of Hippo a main figure in the development of orthodox Christian doctrine during the early Christian Church. Augustine was born in Northern Africa in AD 354. His father was a pagan and his mother a Christian. Though his parents were not extremely well to do, they had enough money to allow Augustine to obtain an education in the liberal arts. This education will eventually affect how he sees Christianity, especially concerning the use of neo-Platonic ideas in ChristianRead MoreSt. Augustine: A Man of Great Genius Essay1778 Words   |  8 Pages Throughout the ages, there have been countless influences on not only social and political life, but on religious character and prevalence as well. Aurelius Augustine, who would eventually rise to the position of bishop in the early Catholic Church, was one of the most interesting characters that wo uld surely leave his mark on the Roman Empire, especially in the few decades before the western part of the empire was to be taken over by Germanic tribes from the North. Perhaps, his most influentialRead MoreSocrates And St. Augustines Views On Death1305 Words   |  6 PagesLouis Ferrara Dr. Edwards Philosophy 101-02 October 13, 2017 What is Death? Death is the most inevitable and unknown aspect of life. It is unescapable, and by most of today’s population, it is feared in the utmost regard. Our materialistic views and constant desertion of religious ideals has forced our society to view death as an ultimate end. Socrates and St. Augustine’s views on death differ from many views on the subject in 2017, however, for their time, these men had the power to influence a

The Classic Treatise Evolution By Jay Gould - 1171 Words

The late Stephen Jay Gould, a noted paleontologist who once described himself as an â€Å"agnostic leaning towards atheism,† wrote the classic treatise Evolution as Fact and Theory for Discover magazine back in 1981. His distinguished career and scientific achievements did earn him respect amongst his peers, but to the general public he is best known for his popular science writings and, to smaller circles, as a champion of evolution. As his treatise was written for a non-academic, science themed magazine, a basic understanding of science, and specifically evolutionary mechanics, was assumed of his audience. The treatise itself is on the often overlapping distinction between â€Å"theory† and â€Å"fact†; two words, he asserts, that creationists†¦show more content†¦And, as colorful exchanges are far more entertaining than dry discourse, it also remains a source of his popular appeal. As for addressing fact versus theory, the two keywords in the titular treatise, he is slow to get to the point. Over the next paragraph he asserts creationists, as a sweeping generalization, have â€Å"presented not a single new fact,† and they have â€Å"†¦arguments that seemed kooky just a decade ago.† This, with the accusation that creationist’s true motivations are political, along with the improper comparison of â€Å"scientific creationism† to the Orwellian term â€Å"newspeak,† bears no relevance to the denotive differences between fact and theory in any context. Also, his attacking an opposing stance, and failing to point out any contradictions or fallacies therein, could be an indication that his own position lacks substance. Of course Professor Gould’s writings were rarely without substance. He does go on to point out two creationist’s argumentative fallacies and then, finally, he addresses the issue of fact versus theory. His distinction, summed up both imperfectly and incompletely: a theory is comprised as a rigid, codified series of explanations of the facts; therefore, the theory of evolution, a consistent explanation of the recurring trends found in the fossil record, is in line with said â€Å"facts.† It is a