TMI essays

TMI essays I chose to write my paper on an article about the near meltdown of a nuclear facility near my home, Three Mile Island. It was about 22 years ago, on March 28, 1979, in Middletown, Pennsylvania, when TMI almost had the worst commercial nuclear power accident in the history of the United States. Uranium was melting in the reactor, and hydrogen gas was exploding around the facility. No one knew whether to evacuate people in nearby towns, or to tell them to stay put. Evacuation could cause chaos on the roads, while keeping people there could have grave effects, whether right then, or in the future. Since this, 60 nuclear power plants across the U.S. have been shut down or abandoned. No new plants have been built since 1973. 103 reactors were still operating at the time this article was published. After Three Mile Island, new regulations have been made, like better trained plant operators, and more workers, these requirements have made nuclear power more expensive than burning coal or hydroelectric power. In 1999, TMI still had one functioning unit. Operators said it was a model of efficiency and safety. But in a deal that summer, the plant was to be sold for $100 million, just one seventh of its book value. The reason for this price was that TMIs Unit 2 was dismantled just enough to reveal a steel skeleton under its cooling towers. Never to reopen, it cost $700 million to build, and $973 million to run. At the time of the accident, the people of central Pennsylvania were the focus of everyones attention. Robert Reid, the mayor of Middletown, tried to get to someone in the plant, but with no luck. He called TMIs corporate owners in New Jersey and was assured that no radiation had escaped into the air, but radioactive gas had been released to relieve pressure inside. Dick Thornburgh, governor then, recommended that pregnant women and young children living within 5 miles of the plant e ...

Free Essays on The Color Purple - Celies Greatness

Celie’s Greatness â€Å"Greatness in spite of its name appears not to be so much a certain size as a certain quality in human lives. It may be present in lives whose ranges very small.† (Philip Brooks) In Alice Walker's The Color Purple, the main character battles with oppression in the search for her own greatness. Celie, a black woman of the South, is constantly pushed down until she reaches near the absolute bottom. Throughout the novel, Celie's behavior gradually moves up the road to greatness. In order to do this, she must discover her self-confidence, learn to stand up for herself, and learn how to affect the people around her. To be considered great, one would probably imagine someone with physical qualities of greatness such as wealth and power, but to be great one can possess more spiritual qualities such as self-confidence, love, and equality - such qualities that Celie gains. Celie sacrifices her own life to please those she loves: her sister Nettie and her idol Shug Avery. Cel ie gives up all that she has for them, which in reality, is absolutely nothing. Although she loves them dearly, she mainly sacrifices herself because she believes she has nothing to lose. As the novel proceeds, Celie realizes her own greatness and gains love, dignity, and equality. Celie achieves this throughout her difficult life in the South. However, it took Celie almost a lifetime to realize that her greatness was always there inside of her, waiting to come out. In the beginning of the novel, Celie not only puts herself down, but also is put down by others. "I don't have nothing to offer and I feel's poor." (15) The setting, which takes place in the South, contributes to the effectiveness of this work. Celie expects to be treated badly because she's a double minority in the South; she’s black and a woman. She faces a difficult life of growing up without a mother, and with her father who continually beats and rapes her. Through thes... Free Essays on The Color Purple - Celie's Greatness Free Essays on The Color Purple - Celie's Greatness Celie’s Greatness â€Å"Greatness in spite of its name appears not to be so much a certain size as a certain quality in human lives. It may be present in lives whose ranges very small.† (Philip Brooks) In Alice Walker's The Color Purple, the main character battles with oppression in the search for her own greatness. Celie, a black woman of the South, is constantly pushed down until she reaches near the absolute bottom. Throughout the novel, Celie's behavior gradually moves up the road to greatness. In order to do this, she must discover her self-confidence, learn to stand up for herself, and learn how to affect the people around her. To be considered great, one would probably imagine someone with physical qualities of greatness such as wealth and power, but to be great one can possess more spiritual qualities such as self-confidence, love, and equality - such qualities that Celie gains. Celie sacrifices her own life to please those she loves: her sister Nettie and her idol Shug Avery. Cel ie gives up all that she has for them, which in reality, is absolutely nothing. Although she loves them dearly, she mainly sacrifices herself because she believes she has nothing to lose. As the novel proceeds, Celie realizes her own greatness and gains love, dignity, and equality. Celie achieves this throughout her difficult life in the South. However, it took Celie almost a lifetime to realize that her greatness was always there inside of her, waiting to come out. In the beginning of the novel, Celie not only puts herself down, but also is put down by others. "I don't have nothing to offer and I feel's poor." (15) The setting, which takes place in the South, contributes to the effectiveness of this work. Celie expects to be treated badly because she's a double minority in the South; she’s black and a woman. She faces a difficult life of growing up without a mother, and with her father who continually beats and rapes her. Through thes...

Video tape evaluation Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Video tape evaluation - Case Study Example As a 'good girl,' she is expected to meet the domestic demands of the family without complaining. She is also required to excel in studies in the university course. I recognized that I had a tendency to rush through the questions during interview. I did not allow much time for reflection, and summarizing the discussions. At times, I did not ask more probing questions, even when such opportunities were present. I therefore decided to use this session to practice reflective listening, and "stay with the interviewee" than "getting ahead of her." I also wished to practice empathic response, and make concerted efforts to understand the interviewee's propositions. I also studied the tools presented in the video training material, "Building on Strength" which provided practical techniques in effective counseling for community based family workers (Armstrong, 1994). In particular, I decided to use Genograms and family maps to identify the immediate and extended family members, their interdependencies, and interconnectedness (Maidment, 2004). I subscribe to Adlerian Family Therapy (Bitter, 1997), which assumes that both parents and children often become locked in repetitive, negative interactions based on mistaken goals. I also believe that the climate of relationships that exist between members in a family exerts tremendous influence in one's belief, thinking and responses (Sherman & Dinkmeyer, 1987). I found this paradigm useful in the context of current counseling session. I also find great merit in adapting to the Adler's theory, that each person must be viewed as an individual from a holistic perspective (1938). I feel it is important to understand the whole person in a social context, than understanding different aspects of one's life or personality. In this regard, I applied the Genogram tool to the current counseling assignment. Demonstrated Positive Counseling Behaviors: Reflective Listening: I tried to reflect upon the interviewee's feelings through empathic response during the interactions. A strong feeling that emerged from discussions was that the interviewee has been subject to unfair quantum of work at home. Despite three younger siblings, incidentally all brothers, the mantle of domestic chores directly fell upon her. The interviewee was also expected to perform equally well in her full time University study. She had to carry