Project Task-List Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Project Task-List - Essay Example Effective and quality ensuring training programs are of vital importance for successful execution of human resource development. Training programs follow a four step methodology that includes planning, implementation and finally the assessment of the training program (EPA, 2000). Ideal training programs are expected to, We are planning to carry out a two day training session that should be very effective. After the venue has been decided by the top management as per their financial suitability, some important tasks need to be carried out. Designed systematic analyses are needed to identify and target the gaps in the employees’ skill set for training progression. After a clear picture of why and where training is needed, the training activity gets a direction for plan. Most commonly used tools for gap analysis are questionnaires, group discussions or direct question answer sessions. Once the training objectives have been worked out, it gets further easy to decide upon the main topic that can add good impression to the organization’s literature history. The topic can be further broken down by the chief trainer and other experts about it would be imparted and what parts would be covered on the first day and what parts would be covered the second day. After the sub contents have been prepared, the trainer needs to see how the training would actually be done. He needs to decide upon the tool that would be used, for instance PC, projector etc and working upon the infrastructure management for the project. The contents of the training session have to settle according to the available time frame (Upadhyay, 2012). The methodologies for instance, group discussion oriented training, role playing, case study or any other type has to be selected based upon its suitability with respect to the contents and the knowledge and interest level of target group. The most important aspect is breaking down of the methodologies between

The Importance Of Wastewater Treatment Environmental Sciences Essay

The Importance Of Wastewater Treatment Environmental Sciences Essay Water scarcity is the major problem that is faced all across the world. Although 2/3rd of the earths crust is made up of water but all this water is not available for drinking and for other human activities as either it is locked in the form of ice or present in the form of vast saline oceans and seas. It has been found out that 97% of the total water is salty that is of no use to human and animals (except marine animal) and the remaining three percent is available as freshwater. More than half of this three percent is locked in glacier and less than 0.01% is available as fresh water. So water resources are less as compare to human demand for water. Above this, the major part of water that can be consumed is getting polluted because of human activities. This polluted and untreated water is causing abundant water borne diseases. Then the world is facing a huge climatic change which is further aggravating the water problem. Some of the regions are getting more rain water than earlier and some are getting almost negligible. Experts even believe that the next World War would not be for oil or land but it will be for water. Also because of improper use of water and lack of water treatment, the problem of water crisis will further increase where 884 million people are already not getting easy access to safe drinking water. And a further 2.5 billion people are getting difficult access to water for disposable and sanitation. Agriculture is also overusing and polluting the ground water thus depleting the natural source of water. So here water treatment plants will play important role. Water crisis at present is the biggest problem according to the United Nations. Almost 25 countries of Africa, parts of China, Peru and Brazil in Latin America, some parts of Middle East like Iran, Chile, Mexico, and Paraguay are some of the countries that are facing the water crisis. Even other parts of the world are facing the varied levels of the water crisis. Because of acute shortage of water, the food problems are getting aggravated. About 40 million people in Africa are facing the problem of food shortage. It is expected that if the similar conditions will persist then there will be 500 million till 2025 who will suffer from these problems. Nature has its role but the major water problem is arising because of its increasing consumption and faulty usage. Major chunk of the problem can be solved if the wastewater treatment is taken very seriously and precautions at every step are taken to improve the water quality. The supply and demand The demand for fresh clean water delivered to our homes is ever increasing as more and more residential homes are being established. Although 70% of the world is covered with water, only 1% is fresh water and thus raises a need to recycle waste water to satisfy our needs. Efforts to continuously recycle waste water are always stressed upon as a shortage would mean a disaster in heavily populated areas. Governments have committed billions towards research and development to such projects. Fresh water is also needed in agriculture. The demand for water in this sector is very high as farmer need fresh water for crops and cattle. Therefore, stresses the demand for sewage water treatment plants to be built. Water from rivers and lake are inadequate to provide water for farm and residences alike. The supply of sewage water treatment facilities are slowly dwindling. A crisis may arise from a lack of sewage water treatment plants as this would greatly reduce the supply of fresh water. Governments are desperately trying to keep up with the pace of development of the population but are slowly lagging behind. The supply of fresh water will be adequate for the next few years but if the development of sewage water treatment plant continues at its current pace it without a doubt a shortage would take place. Furthermore, the agriculture industry will be greatly impacted and the supply of food will go down as well leading to famine due to a shortage of water. The prospects of this industry The wastewater treatment industry most probably will be successful in future due to presence of new wastewater treatment technologies. Advanced Immobilized Cell Reactor technology is one of the new technologies which immobilize the organisms such as bacteria in the pores of the carbon matrix. This process can avoid the immobilized organisms from shock load application as the diffusion of the pollutants from bulk fluid phase to organisms follows Ficks law. Through conventional biological wastewater treatment, infinite electrical energy and vast land area are being consumed. Besides that, a huge investment in electromechanical equipment is involved which will bring about a huge total cost of operation. Generally, the total cost of operation for new technology is lowered compared to the convention technology. By using the new technology, the total cost of operation can be cut down to approximately 50 percent of the total cost of conventional treatment. Furthermore, the biological oxygen demand and chemical oxygen demand are reduced by 94 percent and 90 percent respectively. Oxygen consumption in the new technology is lower than in conventional technology. The oxygen gas is supplied in the form if compressed air from the bottom of the reactor. Both liquid and gas streams are in counter-current direction which facilitates the oxidation of dissolved organics and desorbs the converted products. This is to make sure the activated carbon keep up its activity throughout the process. Moreover, with all those new wastewater technologies such as Advanced Oxidation Process, NERV (Natural Endogenous Respiration Vessel), Wet oxidation and many others processes, wastewater treatment can be done efficiently. For instant, through the new technologies less land is required to use to build plant; the power consumption is lowered. Besides that, the requirement for electrical and mechanical equipment is lower compared to conventional technology. In a conclusion, wastewater treatment industries have a good prospect in the future with the help of new technologies. By using all those new technologies, waste water treatment can be done efficiently with lower overall lifecycle costs, lesser energy and equipment needed. We are sure that there is more new technologies will be invented in order to improve the wastewater treatment. The impact on the environment When the waste water is mixed with the waste materials such like garbage, household waste, toilets liquid and disposable things, the resulting product called sewage or waste water. This sewage water is normally will undergo a few process before it is release to the environment but there are still some impact on the environment. One of the impacts on the environment is agricultural impacts. The sewage water contains salts which is soluble that may accumulate in the root zone with possible harmful effect on soil health and crop yield. The physical and mechanical properties of the soil, such as dispersion of particle, stability of aggregates, soil structure and permeability are very sensitive to the types of exchangeable ions present in irrigation water. Thus, when effluent use is being planned, several factors related to the soil properties must be taken into consideration. On the other hand the effect of dissolved solids in the irrigation water on the growth of plants is also another aspect of agriculture which we have to concern. Dissolved salts increase the osmotic potential of soil water and increase the osmotic pressure of the soil solution which increases the growth and the yield of most plants decline progressively as osmotic pressure increases. In addition the one of the environment impact is ecological impact where the drainage water from waste water irrigation schemes drains particularly into small confined lakes and water bodies and surface water, and if phosphatesin the ortho phosphate form are present, the remains of nutrients may cause eutrophication. Here the overloading organic materials resulting in decrease in dissolved oxygen may lead to changes in the composition of a aquatic life such as fish deaths and reduced fishery. The eutrophication potential of waste water irrigation can be assessed using biological indices, which in turn can be qualified in monitory units using economic valuation techniques. The hidden impact on the environment is the increase on the production of green house emissions. The large agriculture reuse project might cause to the environmental externalities associated with pumping water uphill which emits greenhouse gas. Another impact is on the health. The sewage water contains pathogenic microorganisms like bacteria, viruses, protozoans and parasitic worms, the diseases and signs related with such infection are also diverse including typhoid,dysentry and cholera, diarrhea and vomiting. the concentration of he pathogens in waste water is dependent on the source population and the susceptibility to infection varies from one population to another. So basically he waste water is actually harm for the nature even though its treated and release to the environment so as a human being we should not dispose the waste into the water thus our water will be clean and the cost of the treatment can be reduced. The Processes involved in this industry Pre-Treatment(prepared by Brian Lee CL, 0902669) Pre-treatment consists of three sub-stages which are Screening, Grit Removal and Fat and Grease Removal. Pre-treatment is done to remove materials which are easily collected such as debris, leaves and trash which would damage or clog up pumps and skimmers of the primary treatment. Screening is used to remove large objects such as leaves, twigs and cans in the sewage stream. This is normally done with a giant mechanical rake bar which is automated. The rake bar revolves around a central axis at a rate varying on the accumulation and flow rate of the sewage stream. The screens vary in sizes to optimize solid removal. Objects accumulated are collected and disposed in landfills. Grit is minute granules such as sand or stone. The wastewater is channeled to a chamber where to velocity of the water is adjusted so that the grit would settle at the bottom of the chamber. Grit may cause damage to the pumps or other equipment. Grit removal may not necessary in smaller plant. Fat and grease are groups of compounds which are generally insoluble in water. The fat and grease are normally found floating on the surface of the water. In some plants, the fat and grease are removed by using skimmers to collect the fat and grease on the surface of the water in a small tank. However this can also be done in the Primary treatment stage in the same manner. 2) Primary treatment (prepared by Tan HY, 0903497) Primary wastewater treatment is the second step in the wastewater treatment process ahead of the preliminary treatment of a headworks, involves the physical separation of suspended solids from the wastewater flow using primary clarifiers. The objective of primary treatment is the removal of settle able organic and inorganic solids by sedimentation, and the removal of materials that will float (scum) by skimming. Approximately 25 to 50% of the incoming biochemical oxygen demand (BOD5), 50 to 70% of the total suspended solids (SS), and 65% of the oil and grease are removed during primary treatment. Some organic nitrogen, organic phosphorus, and heavy metals associated with solids are also removed during primary sedimentation but colloidal and dissolved constituents are not affected. The effluent from primary sedimentation units is referred to as primary effluent. On the other hand, primary treatment is the minimum level of reapplication treatment required for wastewater irrigation. It may be considered sufficient treatment if the wastewater is used to irrigate crops that are not consumed by humans or to irrigate orchards, vineyards, and some processed food crops. However, to prevent potential nuisance conditions in storage or flow-equalizing reservoirs, some form of secondary treatment is normally required  in  these countries, even in the case of non-food crop irrigation. It may be possible to use at least a portion of primary effluent for irrigation if off-line storage is provided. Primary sedimentation tanks or clarifiers may be round or rectangular basins, typically 3 to 5 m deep, with hydraulic retention time between 2 and 3 hours. Settled solids (primary sludge) are normally removed from the bottom of tanks by sludge rakes that scrape the sludge to a central well from which it is pumped to sludge processing units. Scum is swept across the tank surface by water jets or mechanical means from which it is also pumped to sludge processing units. 2) Secondly treatment (prepared by Harintharan S, 1101379) The secondary treatment in this sewage treatment is one of the most important part in this process. This process is basically designed to remove the waste product from the sewage. This system is also classified as fixed-film  or suspended-growth  systems. The secondary treatment contain a few processes, the 1st process is activated sludge. This activated sludge is majority from the plants which encompass the variety of mechanisms and processes that use dissolve oxygen  to promote the growth of biological flock that substantially removes organic material. This process basically change the ammonia  to  nitrite  and  nitrate  and ultimately to  nitrogen  gas. The 2nd process is this treatment is the Surface-aerated basins also known as Lagoons. This process basically removes the BOD from the sewage water. In an aerated basin system, the aerators provide two functions: they transfer air into the basins required by the biological oxidation reactions, and they provide t he mixing required for dispersing the air and for contacting the reactants (that is, oxygen, wastewater and microbes).However, they do not provide as good mixing as is normally achieved in activated sludge systems and therefore aerated basins do not achieve the same performance level as activated sludge units. The biological oxidation in the Surface-aerated basins is sensitive to the temperature and the rate of reaction increase with the temperature. The suitable temperature for this process is in between  0  °C and 40  °C. Besides that the constructed wetland is one of the process also. This process is a process which cleans the drainage of animals and used to recycle the waste water. The constructed wetland are known to be highly productive systems as they copy natural wetlands, called the Kidneys of the earth for their fundamental recycling capacity of the hydrological cycle in the biosphere and they provide a high degree of biological improvement but depending on design. T he next process is the filter beds which is knows as oxidizing beds are used where the settled sewage liquor is spread onto the surface of a bed made up of  coke, then liquor is typically distributed through perforated spray arms, then distributed liquor trickles through the bed and is collected in drains at the base, and the  biological films of bacteria, protozoa and fungi to reduce the organic content. The next process is the Biological aerated filters are a combine filtration with biological carbon reduction,  nitrification  or denitrification. Its a dual processer in purpose of to support highly active biomass that is attached to it and to filter suspended solids. Carbon reduction and ammonia conversion occurs in aerobic mode and sometime achieved in a single reactor while nitrate conversion occurs in  anoxic  mode. This process is operated either in up flow or down flow configuration depending on design specified by manufacturer. In addition the Rotating biological contactors are the next process in this secondary treatment. This is actually a secondary mechanical treatment system which is capable  of withstanding surges in organic load. The rotating disks support the growth of bacteria and micro-organisms present in the sewage, which break down and stabilise organic pollutants. Oxygen is obtained from the atmosphere as the disks rotate. As the micro-organisms grow, they build up on the media until they are sloughed off due to shear forces provided by the rotating discs in the sewage.   Effluent from the system is then passed through final clarifiers where the micro-organisms in suspension settle as sludge. The sludge is withdrawn from the clarifier for further treatment. After that the membrane bioreactor combine activated sludge treatment with a membrane liquid-solid separation process. The component on this system uses low pressure for microfiltration or ultra-filtration membranes and eliminates the need for clarification and tertiary filtration.   The elevated biomass concentration in the system process allows for very effective removal of both soluble and particulate biodegradable materials at higher loading rates. The final process in this secondary treatment is the secondary sedimentation where the process is to settle out the biological flock or filter material through a secondary clarifier and to produce sewage water containing low levels of organic material and suspended matter. 4) Tertiary treatment (prepared by Raiminder S, 0904743) The main purpose of the tertiary treatment is to ensure that the treated water which is to be released on to the environment is biologically accepted by all other fresh water organisms such as weeds and algae. This part of the treatment includes processes like physical water treatment, lagooning, and excessive nutrient removal processes.to ensure that the discharged water is raised in effluent quality before proceeding to the final stages. In physical water treatment, much of the residual suspended matters are removed using only physical processes such as sedimentation  method and the infamous filtration method. In the sedimentation  method, the water is place in a certain tank to allow all the remaining heaver objects to sink down to the bottom of the container. After few hours went most of the dense object are separated from the water, the cleared effluent or waste stream is removed. Sedimentation is one of the most common methods, quite often used at the beginning and the end of many water treating processes. Another physical method that is commonly used in the sewage water treatment system is the filtration method. In filtration, the water is allowed to pass through filters to separate the contaminating solids from the water. Sand filter is a common filter used in this process. In a number of wastewater treatment methods, semi-solid contaminants like grease and oil are allowed to float on the surface of the wat er, and then they are physically removed. Besides the in lagooning where lagoon is a stationary system having a continuous flow: several ponds working in parallel in which the inlet flow and the outlet flow are equals form lagoon plants. The lagooning technique is a natural and very efficient technique that consists in the accumulation of wastewater in ponds or basins, known as biological or stabilization ponds, where a series of biological, biochemical and physical processes take place. In these ponds or lagoons, certain types of the microorganism are actually supported as these biological agents help in treating the water further by removing the fine particulates. These types of biological ponds are usually classified as anaerobic ponds or oxidation ponds depending on the shape, depth, organic rate, level of treatment of that particular lagoon itself. The excessive nutrient removal is the most viral step in the last stages of the water treatment before the water is released to the environment. When the previously treated water comes to this area of the system, the nutrients level mainly nitrogen and phosphorus in the water is checked. Where when found in excess, the excessive nutrient removal step is carried out. This is because if the unchecked water supply is to be released into the natural water system (river, pond, etc.) it will cause a sudden increase in the native microorganism population of that certain water system. Some of the native microorganisms which are commonly found in ponds today are usually weeds, algae, and cyanobacteria. Therefore, after the sudden rapid grown in the population of these microorganisms, the number of algae for example, becomes unsustainable which causes most of them to die and eventually decay. The following decay process would substantially increase the biochemical oxygen demand (BOD) in that p articular pond, which would cause the other fresh water living organism such as fishes to die as well. Firstly, the nitrogen removal process is carried out. There are various methods of removing nitrogen, each with advantages and disadvantages. However, the biological treatment method is used most commonly. With this method, organic nitrogen and ammonia nitrogen is converted into nitrous and nitrate nitrogen in an aerobic environment, and is dispersed into the atmosphere as anaerobic nitrogen gas. Therefore the gas is removed from the water and released to the atmosphere. And as there is no secondary pollution, this can be called an effective method. In the removal of phosphorus is usually carried out using a method called enhanced biological phosphorus removal (EBPR). The first process in EBPR is the mainstream biological treatment process. Where the utilizing of aerobic and solids separation zones and the provision of return activated sludge are carried out. The next is a first side stream process for anoxic/anaerobic selection of desirable BPR organisms such as the polyphosphate accumulating organisms (PAOs). Finally, a second side stream process serves to ferment organic material in some of the return activated sludge to produce food utilized in the first side stream selection process. The system permits the three processes to be separated from each other by creating two side streams, allowing all three processes to be controlled separately and optimized in satisfying their own specific goals. Besides this biological method, the removal of phosphorus can also be done via chemical precipitation, usually with salts of iron, alu minum, or lime. Chemical precipitation is usually more reliable, easier to operate, and requires smaller equipment footprint than biological removal. But the main back draws of this chemical method is that it may form excessive sludge production as hydroxides precipitates and the chemical used in this method might be considered expensive. 5) Disinfection (prepared by Lim CS, 1001012) The main purpose of disinfection in the wastewater treatment is to provide a degree of protection from contact with infectants and pathogen organisms which will cause waterborne diseases such as cholera, dysentery and hepatitis. Disinfection is also used to reduce the load of microorganisms in the wastewater to be discharged to the environment. Primary, secondary and even tertiary treatments do not fully remove the incoming waste load and microorganisms in the water stream and as a result, many microorganisms still remain in the wastewater. Therefore, various methods of disinfection are introduced such as chemical methods, physical methods and biological methods. The effectiveness of disinfection depends on different factors including the quality of wastewater being treated, disinfectant dosage, type of disinfection being used and others. For instant, cloudy wastewater will not be treated efficiently due to less contact time between ultraviolet light and microorganisms. These microorganisms are shielding by those solid matters in wastewater stream and it reduces the contact time. Generally, long contact times, high concentration of disinfectant and optimum temperature and pH value will increase the effectiveness of disinfection. Chlorination is one of the chemical methods which is commonly used for disinfection in the wastewater treatment. It is widely used through the world due to its low cost and long-term history of effectiveness. Chlorine can be applied in two general ways, liquid and gas. Chlorine in gaseous form is generally added to the wastewater stream rather than liquid form which is also known as hypochlorite because the former costs lesser than the latter. When chlorine dissolves in pure water, hypochlorous acid is formed followed by hypochlorites which are known as free residual chlorines Chlorine is an extremely active oxidizing agent which will react with many other substances in the water stream. For instant, it reacts rapidly with such compounds as hydrogen sulfide, ferrous iron and manganese which found in industrial wastewater. However, if all of the chlorine is consumed in these reactions, no disinfection will result. Hence, to accomplish disinfection, sufficient chlorine is added into wastewater stream to satisfy the chlorine demand and produce residual chlorine which will destroy bacteria. There are few factors which will affect the effectiveness of chlorination. Among the factors are pH, temperature, turbidity, control system and many others. However, chlorination brings some disadvantage to environment. Chlorination of residual organic material can generate chlorinated-organic compound which may be harmful to the environment. Those residual chlorines are toxic to aquatic species; therefore, dechlorination is needed, adding to complexity and cost of treatment. However, chlorination becomes less favoured as disinfectant due to rising cost and it had found to be toxic to aquatic species. As a result, ozone and ultraviolet begin to be used as disinfectant. Ultraviolet (UV) light is more environmental friendly to be used as no chemicals are used and leave no toxic residual. Ultraviolet radiation and damages the genetic material of microorganisms, destroying their ability to reproduce. Before pass through the UV disinfection unit, the wastewater must pass through an advanced pretreatment component. Wastewater flows in the stream parallel to the UV light in a thin film in order to increase the contact time. To increase the effectiveness of the UV light, the UV radiation must come in direct with pathogen organisms and other microbial in the wastewater stream. The effectiveness of a UV disinfection system is affected by few factors including characteristics of the wastewater, the contact time, intensity of UV radiation and many others. Turbidity, flow rate of water stream and suspended solids are also play an important roles in UV disinfection. These factors must be kept at low levels to ensure proper treatment. Disinfection of wastewater, primarily by chlorination, has played an important role in the reduction of waterborne disease. However, there are more new disinfection processes are being developed in order to maximize the effectiveness of disinfection. Role of engineer in this industry The Chemical Engineering is the profession that combines chemistry and engineering concepts that help to solve problems related to world hunger, pollution of our environment, creating new materials, or meeting demands for energy. Chemical engineers develop low cost processes for useful chemical products, which make it possible for both poor nations and the United States to manufacture important fertilizers. The roles of a chemical engineer in waste water treatment have to minimize the waste across the plant or reduction of waste loading to the treatment plant. Other than that, chemical engineer need to state whether its systems for the treatment and reuse of wastewater, process water treatment for industry, high-purity water for sensitive medical or scientific applications, or systems to supply clean drinking water to people and their families. Besides that, as a chemical engineer also responsible for providing expertise in their respective discipline as it applies to the hazard analysis of the process being studied. Therefore, we also in charge for attending the initial hazard analysis kick-off meeting. On the other hand, we are also required to be available to the team as required with the understanding that the team leader will give adequate advance notice when their expertise is required. Lastly we are necessary to provide documents of any existing safeguards and procedures. Skills/ knowledge required Many types of skills and knowledge are required for chemical engineer in waste water treatment. They required intensive knowledge in wastewater treatment technologies, so that they will more easy to solve the problems when they face the difficulty. On the other hand, they also need expertise in equipment design, influent water treatment, effluent monitoring, and wastewater recycling. In addition, proficiency in computer, programming, modeling and data analysis, for example AutoCAD, Microsoft Office, FOTRAN, Origin, Maple, Polymath, and other software are also the knowledge needed for chemical engineer. Moreover, strong technical writing, presentation, and project management skills are also useful skill for chemical engineer in order to present the researches after they have completed. Besides the skills at above the hazard and operability study (HAZOP) technique also needed for a chemical engineer working in industry. The HAZOP technique is most popular in most industry because that is technique which is structured and systematic examination of a planned or existing process or operation in order to identify and evaluate problems that may represent risks to personnel or equipment, or prevent efficient operation. Otherwise, HAZOP as well a qualitative technique based on guide-words and is carried out by a multi-disciplinary team (HAZOP team) during a set of meetings.

Immigration to Canada :: Canadian Canada History

Immigration to Canada Early immigration to Canada was generated by a network of emigration agents who were salesman who advertised to Canada's attraction's to prospected immigrants. They targeted wealthy farmers, agricultural laborers and female domestics, preferably from Great Britain, the United States and Northern Europe. Canada's first immigration legislation, the Immigration Act of 1869 reflected the laissez-faire philosophy of the time by not saying which classes of immigrants should be admitted but , merely that the "governor" could prohibit the landing of pauper or destitute immigrants at any Canadian port. The Chinese, who were arriving in large numbers to build the railway, were a special target of fear and suspicion. An act passed in 1885 to "restrict and regulate" Chinese immigration, was later complemented by head taxes designed to discourage Chinese immigration. It wasn't until the 1960's that regulations and restriction to Chinese immigration were completely lifted. The 19th century closed with a world wide depression and a slow down of immigration to the West. But all that changed in 1895, when Clifford Sifton was appointed as Minister of the Interior at the start of an economic recovery. Sifton believed that "a stalwart peasant in sheep skin coat" made the most desirable immigrant , and set out to attract people suited for farming, In 1896, 16,835 immigrants entered Canada. When Sifton left in 1905, the population was 141,464. It rocketed to 400,970 by 1913. Some three million newcomers arrived between 1896 and the outbreak of World War 1. But Sifton's policies triggered criticism, despite success in attracting farmers. Immigration from central and southeastern Europe raised a ground swell of hostility on the prairies because residents didn't believe theses newcomers could assimilate readily into the dominant Anglo-Saxon society. The authorities wanted to keep African-Canadians out of Canada because they thought that they were useless to Canada.

Teen Drinking

Teen drinking is a serious problem and each year the statistics go higher and higher and more and more teens are drinking. This is a safety issue for teens are not old enough to know how to control their drinking. In an article I read called, â€Å"let my teenager drink†, written by T. R. Reid, suggests that it’s okay to let our teens drink. On the opposed side, Author Joseph A. Califano writes in his article that it is not okay to allow teens to drink. Reid does make some good points in his article.He believes that it is safer for our teens to be allowed to drink. He brought up binge drinking and how bad it is for teens. He says, â€Å"the only reason for this binge drinking is because teens are not allowed to drink so they do it secretly, most often in unsafe places like a car, or a house where adult supervision is not present†(REID). Reid claims that if we let our teens legally drink then teens can be safer and be able to drink throughout the evening instead o f getting drunk in the short amount of time they have before a social event.He believes teenagers are going to drink no matter what law is put in place, and that we should all just allow teens to legally drink. Author and current president of the National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse at Columbia University, Joseph A. Califano suggests the first article is a dangerous opinion to go by. He lists straight facts on this specific issue like, â€Å"in 2001 the Justice Department released an analysis comparing drinking rates in Europe and the United States.The conclusion: American tenth graders are less likely to use and abuse alcohol that the people of the same age in almost all European countries†(CALIFANO). Califano also said how Reid was wrong about the binge drinking, since British fifteen year olds are more than twice as likely to binge drink as those of American teens. He also lists the dangers of teen drinking. Califano says it can seriously damage the growth proc ess of the brain, and how teen drinking can lead to poor school performance.My opinion on this issue is teens should not be allowed to drink yet. I believe the drinking age should stay at twenty one. That is when a person is mature and developed enough to drink alcohol. There is a good reason why there are age limits on things. Rules and laws are made for good reasons, to keep us safe. I would not want to live in a country where there were no age limits on drinking, for I believe we Americans would get dumber than we already are.

In 1485 – 1603 to what extent was the government of England dysfunctional in the mid-Tudor period?

In the context of the years 1485 to 1603 to what extent was the government of England dysfunctional in the mid-Tudor period? During the Tudor Dynasty it is easily thought that the years between 1547 and 1558 were ones of crisis. With the succession of a child and the first woman within England, people have assumed that the years between Henry VIII and Elizabeth I were an unproductive interlude. The mid Tudor period is seen as negative years within the Tudor Dynasty.It is regarded that Henry VIII and Elizabeth I’s reputations were a factor in why historians such as A.F Pollard and S T Bindoff supported the ‘Mid Tudor Crisis’ . The ‘two little Tudors’, referring to Edward and Mary, seemed colourless in comparison to their surrounding successors, so much so that A Pollard says â€Å"Edward was portrayed as a sickly boy who, throughout his reign, was the pawn of two ‘regents’† while Mary was seen as an ‘intolerant, dogmatic and n eurotic woman who failed to produce an heir’ .Therefore it could be seen that people believed the years of crisis were at their most dysfunctional between the years 1547-1558. W R D Jones argued that Edward and Mary’s reigns were a period of religious disruption, large scale disorder and rebellion alongside the inefficiency and sterility in government and administration, social and economic problems and disastrous foreign policy. This supports the description of the mid-Tudor period being dysfunctional. However there could be influence from the 16th Century writers such as John Foxe who was author to ‘Book of Martyrs’, which was written just after Marys death and depicted her as a monster. Foxe was responsible for a lasting picture of Mary as it fitted prejudices of a confident.Under these circumstances it was not surprising that the period 1547 – 1558 were marked by disasters. However historians such as David Loades, Jennifer Loach and Robert Tittl er stress that there was much creativity in the period. Government under Duke of Northumberland and Mary continued to be effective; also there was continuity in religious beliefs and some foreign policy successes. There were problems within Edward and Marys reigns that were also found in times of Henry VIII and Elizabeth’s for example Pilgrimage of Grace in 1536, Spanish Armada in 1588 and social and economic problems in late 1590’s matched those in 1540’s.Therefore the significance of Edward’s and Mary’s reign was what did not happen rather than what did in supporting that their reigns were the least dysfunctional in England. But in order to gain an understanding of whether or not there was a â€Å"Mid-Tudor† crisis in this period, it is important to compare and contrast other periods of the Tudor dynasty. Some revisionist historians argue that certain areas of Henry VII’s reign, 1485-1509, involved a â€Å"crisis†, for exampl e the Pretenders of Lambert Simnel and Perkin Warbeck.Also the death of the next heir to the throne, Arthur Tudor, in 1502, Elizabeth I and the Pilgrimage of Grace, 1536, the greatest rebellion that threatened England during the reign of Henry VIII, which would have caused the monarchy more concern then the alleged Mid-Tudor crisis . Above all this however, was the Spanish Armada in 1588 during the reign of Elizabeth I. The Spanish Armada threatened national security. Revisionist views of this period have already questioned the presence of a dysfunctional government during the reigns of the Mid-Tudors. Historians such as S. J Lee and D.Loades argue that other parts of the Tudor regime were crisis ridden and that the Mid-Tudor period was relatively stable in comparison. When it came to foreign policy, Henry VII was far less extravagant than his son. Henry’s greatest achievement in foreign policy was possibly his alliance with the Catholic monarchs and the Treaty of Medina del Campo in 1489. After his policy successes he suffered a defeat in Brittany which was a low point for the King’s foreign policy. His main weaknesses in his foreign policy were not helped by the successive losses of his family members, firstly his son Arthur in 1502 and then his wife Elizabeth in 1503.He then failed to re-marry and achieve stronger diplomatic relations outside of England following the death of Elizabeth creating a weak government in England. Also the death of Isabella of Castile was another problem for Henry as he would have Ferdinand as his rival instead of an ally over territorial gains in Europe and in the New World. The later years of Henrys foreign policy were definitely his most challenging and difficult period of foreign affairs allowing the government to be weak and therefore vulnerable to a crisis.His son, Henry VIII was a commanding figure who immediately set about wanting to gain respect and authority in Europe. Henry VIII’s foreign policy can be divided into two separate periods of time in which he went to war. The first period was at the beginning of his reign, in 1509-1515, Henry enforced a policy of aggressive and glorious warfare, this policy allowed invasions to occur within in France and Scotland. He was victorious within both invasions however it was an expensive policy to initiate.The second time period was during the years 1540-1547, this is when Henry, yet again, wanted more glory and domination over foreign affairs. This period of foreign policy was extremely expensive and came at a great financial cost. The gaining of Boulogne and loss of military personnel, costing ? 2,144,765, achieved nothing greater than personal glory for Henry showing his reign as one of dysfunction. The disastrous warfare policy in France and Scotland left Henry’s son Edward with little in the treasury and no financial platform to build upon as well as weak alliances with these countries.Therefore Henry VIII weakened the govern ment for his sons reign which could have created a crisis, this supports that the mid-Tudor period was highly influenced by previous successors allowing any dysfunction to be partially blamed outside the years 1547-1558. So when the death of Henry VIII occurred, the throne was left to his child Edward VI in 1547 with England’s financial stability and foreign relation being left in a poor condition with uncertainty on whether it will recover. As Edward was a minor, his two Lord Protectors, firstly the Duke of Somerset and later Northumberland advised Edward with his decisions.Somerset’s administration was faced with rebellions and uprisings in 1549. The rebellions were part of a mixture of religious and social upheaval. Kett’s rebellion in Norfolk, suffered particularly seriously from the enclosure laws . They were not, however, a threat to the ruling dynasty in the way the Pretenders were to Henry VII. With Lord Somerset ruling at the beginning of Edwards reign, England yet again was at war with Scotland; however this time was without royal approval. Somerset funded his efforts against Scotland with money from the debased coinage.It is possible to say that Somerset allowed the foreign policy to dominate over other royal problems, especially the king’s finances, which he lost all control of . The economy within England suffered from inflation after the debasement of the coinage. This was mostly seen in England's wool and cloth exports as they collapsed in 1551, mainly because of prices rising. In 1552, an Act was passed regulating the manufacture of wool to try and encourage trade . The inflationary pressures increased due to a poor harvest in 1548.This led to unrest within the country that then provoked uprisings the following year in Cornwall and Devon . To some historians, it can be viewed that Somerset’s ruling was as if he was the King. This was thought due to Somerset treating Edward as a child and not respecting the Kin g’s authority. The lack of respect and underestimation of Edwards authority ultimately led to Somerset’s death. Due to the rebellions, this period under the ruling of Somerset it would be seen to be leading towards a crisis.The situation was rescued and turned around by the more pragmatic approach of Somerset’s successor, the Duke of Northumberland. Once Edward replaced Somerset and appointed Northumberland as his new protector, Northumberland faced the task of restoring the Crown’s finances. To do this, the expenditure would be reduced to fund the campaigns in France and Scotland. Northumberland entrusted Cecil with reorganising the Crown’s finances. This was seen as an achievement as Cecil managed to gain extra revenue out of the Church.Edward’s protectors Somerset and Northumberland had different ways of ruling. Somerset continued to debase the coinage and spend large amounts of money on placing troops in Scotland and going to war with Fr ance as if the king’s money was limitless. Northumberland on the other hand, helped by Walter Mildmay, the Treasurer, reorganised the governments finances which involved the stopping of debasement and pulling England out of conflicts with France and Scotland. This progress continued in to Mary I reign and then without Mary I, Elizabeth could never have completed the process of recoinage.This is argued in Michael Hutchings article: â€Å"Elizabeth’s government could never have tackled the coinage problem so swiftly had the ground not been prepared† . This allows Edward and Marys reigns to show great improvement and only positive progress regarding finance, therefore turning away from the period being a ‘crisis’. But the greatest action of the Duke of Northumberland’s financial success as Edward’s protector was to put an immediate end to the disastrous foreign wars in Scotland and France, wars which Somerset had financed .Northumberland had gained his funds by signing the Treaty of Boulogne in 1550 this stopped the expenditure flow out of Boulogne. Despite much criticism, Northumberland’s actions in foreign policy were positive due to England gaining financially, a profit of ?133,333 which was received from the French. Even though a truce was decided, there was still a constant threat from the Scots and French to the English security . J. Guy states that Northumberland’s success in foreign policy was due to ending Somerset’s wars . This is because Northumberland had recognised that foreign affairs should not be mixed into a domestic policy, which is something which Somerset failed to understand and led England towards a financial crisis.Edward’s full authority and respect as King is hard to assess, mainly because of his short reign as King and the fact that he had two Protectors at his side constantly. It is well known that Edward was an intellectual and had a strong grasp on how the gov ernment and court functioned due to being well educated and taught about ruling from an early age. But Edward’s death occurred too early to tell if he would have made a successful king.In theory it is thought that he had the skills and knowledge to rule England successfully. In David Starkey’s documentary about the reigns of Edward and Mary, it was said that Edward was â€Å"not a puppet King† and that he made decisions in court due to his knowledge of the government . Edward was naturally studious, intelligent and a devout Protestant. Apparently he was always self-disciplined and gained advanced knowledge of government, economics and the nobility from an early age due to his Father, Henry VIII, relying on his male heir to be his successor.Edward made decisions in his own interests, for example the disposal of Somerset. The King showed a lack of emotion and was described as â€Å"mature and driven† which was a combination of qualities from his two previou s successors. This does not support the belief of the mid-Tudor period being dysfunctional due to the qualities of Edward being a strong combination of the positive and successful qualities of the previous reigns, showing a solid base of a successful reign. After the death of the boy King Edward, for the first time a woman gained the throne of England.Mary’s initial concern before her rise to the throne was marriage and producing an heir for her reformed Catholic society. Foreign policy was not high on Mary’s list of priorities. Therefore the preference of gaining a foreign husband in Philip II of Spain allowed an Anglo-Spanish alliance against European rivals and gained Mary a husband. But her aim to gain a foreign husband was not welcomed by the English people as many felt that a male foreign ruler would take the control of England from the authority of Mary.This led the marriage to result in immediate discontent which brought uprisings in the country. The most threa tening rebellion was Wyatt’s Rebellion in 1554. The Wyatt rebellion arguably was the greatest threat to Mary’s reign. The social unrest brought into England, due to high unemployment figures was evident as many chose not recognise a foreign ruler in an English government. Although it represented a real threat to Mary the uprising never had the backing or strength to take over and control Mary so the possibility of a crisis was avoided.One of Mary’s greatest achievements economically, however, was her government’s plans for recoinage. Even though the completion of the recoinage took place after her death in Elizabeth’s reign, according to C. E. Challis ‘Elizabeth could never have tackled the problem of the coinage either as quickly or as effectively as she did had it not been so thoroughly aired amongst government officials in the immediately preceding years’ . This supports the purpose of Marys reign and shows that her reign was not an unproductive interlude before Elizabeth’s reign.David Loades supports the positive view towards Mary. He states that â€Å"she succeeded in enforcing her will over three major matters: her marriage, the return to Rome and the declaration of war† . In M. Hutchings article of Mary Tudor, he makes the statement that â€Å"Mary gave financial stability†¦ countered unemployment and social problems. Above all, simply by establishing her own claim to the throne and maintaining it, Mary re-established the legitimacy of the Tudor succession† . The Succession of Elizabeth I after Mary I as Queen of England occurred in 1558.The reputation of Elizabeth I is of high standard and she is considered as good as English monarch as some of the male rulers. The foundations of this reputation were found in the impressive nature of the Elizabethan court, the development of the English culture, the defeat of the Spanish Armada and her successful re-creation of the Church of Engl and following the death of the Catholic Mary I . However, during Elizabeth’s reign as Queen was full of revolts and uprisings. These included key revolts the Northern Earls revolt in 1569, The Ridolfi plot of 1571 and the Babington plot of 1586 which aimed to remover Elizabeth from the throne.The plots were due to the social, economic and religious unrest within England. The rise in population and vagrancy were issues in which Elizabeth had to contend with. Therefore these revolts do not portray a Queen who did not face crises throughout her long reign and also display more serious displays of dysfunction than that of the mid-Tudor period. During Elizabeth’s reign the Spanish Armada and social discontent was much more of a threat to the English crown than any other rebellion or foreign policy with the other monarchs in the Mid-Tudor period.The real possibility of invasion from a foreign force was more of a threat than any other rebellion during the reigns of Edward VI and Mary I but due to their successful reigns this was avoided. This is the Armada Portrait which was taken after her victory against the Spanish Armada. It depicts Elizabeth as the gloriana figure in her country. The picture portrays a stormy, defeatist view of the Spanish loss against the English navy with the picture showing light shaded sky, calm and steady water and the English navy in the foreground on the left side.On the right of the picture is the defeated Spanish Armada. However what dominates the picture is Elizabeth herself. The portrait displays Elizabeth in all her glory, with her flame red hair and whitened face . Her dress and jewels show her power as well as beauty. The portrait captures Elizabeth as a very beacon of defiance which suggests that her reign was one of no dysfunction but as one of many successes and victory, however due to much propaganda within the era this could be an unfair representation of Elizabeth’s reign.This portrait is named the Rainbo w portrait and Elizabeth is displayed in a light tone again. The crown symbolises her royalty and her clothes suggest that her royal magnificence and aura over the English people is maintained due to their extravagance. Elizabeth is holding a rainbow in her right hand. The rainbow symbolizes peace, and the inscription reminds viewers that only the queen's wisdom can ensure peace and prosperity . This could suggest that she is an idol to her people for showing defiance in the tough periods of the 1590s when poverty was rife and harvests failed in England.The snake on her left arm also denotes the wisdom of the Queen. The whole portrait is one of a warning to those who oppose Elizabeth. At the time of this portrait, Elizabeth was 60 years of age, the light shades of the portrait show the Queen as a youthful and a beautiful figure who is in control of her country. In the rainbow portrait, Elizabeth is ageless . All this is powerful propaganda and shaped people’s opinions and vie ws of her, this suggests that she needed to create a false view of herself in order to make up for the dysfunction during her reign.During the years 1485 to 1603 it is certain that financially they were extremely unstable in many different moments during the reigns of each monarch. Henry VII was the only monarch that kept control of his money and died with money left to pass down, this is the main reason as to why Henry VII is regarded as a successful King. However the enclosure issue and the Cornish rebellion threatened to drain him financially. So at the end of his reign, Henry’s popularity suffered greatly but despite this, Henry VII was able to provide his son with a large treasury to start him off as King.Henry VIII however failed to follow in his father’s footsteps. Even though Henry VIII did gain financially through the Break with Rome and the Dissolution of the Monasteries in 1536, within his second period of â€Å"aggressive and glorious† warfare he use d all his money to go to war which left him with nothing financially. Even though during the next two reigns social unrest and major propaganda took hold, Mary in particular was effective in controlling the masses with her councillors and effective revenue and recoinage reforms.Also Edward was able to manipulate his two Lord Protectors despite being a minor; he had very good intellectual knowledge of the process of government and had the power to implement his policy into the country. The governments of the two monarchs were kept intact and were not as faction-ridden as Henry VIII’s final years as King. The Mid-Tudors if anything strengthened the finances of the government; stabilized the government and increased the diplomatic skills of the monarchy.The most significant part of the reigns is what didn’t occur as there was no breakdown in parliament, no overhaul of Royal Supremacy, no foreign invasion and no civil wars. Historians such as S. J Lee and D. Loades have pr esented the question of â€Å"Was there a Mid-Tudor crisis? † They reviewed the Mid Tudor period and allowed an argument to support Mary’s and Edwards reigns as the opposite of a crisis. Therefore I believe that the â€Å"Mid-Tudor crisis† is an over-exaggeration to describe the period of Edward and Mary.Even though there were a number of personal crises to test the Mid-Tudor monarchs such as being a child and the first woman on the throne, but nothing that threatened the public order, government and security. This is in comparison to other events during the period of 1485-1603, the Pilgrimage of Grace in 1536 threatened national security more than Wyatt’s rebellion of 1554. The pretenders to Henry VII’s throne, Lambert Simnel and Perkin Warbeck threatened to de-stabilize a Tudor regime that had only just begun following the Wars of the Roses in the 15th Century.And Elizabeth was not the â€Å"golden monarch† that she was portrayed as follow ing the succession crisis of 1603. The conclusion is that the Mid-Tudors have been unfairly criticized during their reigns due to the way in which they were depicted by their people and historian commentators, such as John Foxe, and it was until recently revisionist historians started to review the events of the Mid-Tudor period presenting an argument against the time period being a ‘crisis’ but as one of tests and tribulations that were all over come, showing a period of an effective government of England.