Inetrview With A Person From A Controlled Environment Essays

Inetrview With A Person From A Controlled Environment What controlled environment did you spend time in? How long? When I graduated from High School I entered into the Merchant Marine Academy at Fort Schuyler in New York. From then until I was in my mid thirties I was involved with ocean liners, tankers and ships. For periods of one year at a time I would be on a ship traveling the world, making shipments and patrolling the seas. The controlled environment was both on the ship and in the academy. Once on the ship I had to obey the rules and morals taught to us in the academy. Was there an effort to separate you from your former identity? No not really. Contrary to the NAVY, ARMY or Marines our boot camp was less severe and did not include such physical conditioning. Our personalities were not changed because we were not in combat and did not have to learn to be a killing machine. What were the most important rules you had to follow? Besides not falling in the water, we had to obey almost everything our captain told us. Our captain was like our parents his wishes were our commands. The captain set the standards and the rules for us to follow. What were the least and less important rules you had to follow? There was a uniform but it was not very important that we followed it. As an officer we had to look respectable but usually the uniform requirements were not met. We also had a curfew but that was rarely followed and it was rare for a person to get into any trouble for breaking curfew. What were some of the ?make-do's? the inmates made up for their deprivations with? Since there was no T.V. almost every night after dinner we held chess and checkers tournament. The games were fast paced and mostly just for fun, no money was ever wagered. We also drank a lot of beer when we were at sea for extended amounts of time. Which were accepted by the authorities and which were not? Well the chess tournaments everyone enjoyed and were accepted by all, officers, Plebes and Captains. However drinking and other drug use was prohibited. Being caught with illegal drugs meant immediate dismissal from the corps. Being caught with alcohol meant some kind of military punishment(I never got caught). How did the inmates respond to their situation? Almost everyone on the ship enjoyed their work and being away from home. However after long periods, occasionally fights would arise and officers would end up with a black eye or broken nose. But on a whole it was usually pretty peaceful and an enjoyable environment. Do you consider your experience in the controlled environment beneficial? Absolutely, it taught me discipline and how to treat others. My experience also taught me to value what I have at home and didn't have when at sea. Do you miss the environment? When my kids are bothering me I miss the solitude of the open ocean. However, at the same time I have also had my fill of that lifestyle. Would you do it again? In a heartbeat. The person whom I interviewed is a very close family friend who entered in to the Merchant Marine Academy at the age of 18. I also interviewed another friend who was in the army and fought in Vietnam. Many of his answers coincided with those of Owen(from the merchant marines). Mike's experiences in the ARMY were a little more structured than Owen's. But Mike's experience was not as enjoyable or beneficial. The benefits received from the ARMY were discipline and respect. As a sailor Owen also benefitted by seeing the world and experiencing many cultures while being in a controlled environment. Mike portrayed the ARMY to be a very structured environment, where everything that a soldier did was monitored and taken into account. The rules he had to follow were very distinct and if broken meant physical punishments (push-ups etc.). The ARMY's rules based around the constitution and defending our Nation. The Merchant Marine rules based around the safety of their officers and the good being transported. Finally, contrary to Owen's experiences Mike's, made an effort to separate him from his identity. Mike was reshaped from an average

Court Transcript of BTKs Confession

Court Transcript of BTKs Confession On February 26, 2005, the  Wichita Police announced that investigators had made an arrest in the BTK serial killer case after taking into custody an employee of nearby Park City, Kansas in a routine traffic stop – bringing to an end an era of terror for the Wichita community which lasted more than 30 years. Dennis Rader,  a city employee, a cub scout leader, and an active member of his church, confessed that he was the BTK serial killer. Here is the transcript of his confession. The Defendant: On January 15th, 1974, I maliciously, intentionally and premeditation killed Joseph Otero. Count Two – The Court: All right. Mr. Rader, I need to find out more information. On that particular day, the 15th day of January, 1974, can you tell me where you went to kill Mr. Joseph Otero? The Defendant: Mmm, I think it’s 1834 Edgemoor. The Court: All right. Can you tell me approximately what time of day you went there? The Defendant: Somewhere between 7:00 and 7:30. The Court: This particular location, did you know these people? The Defendant: No. That’s –(Off-the-record discussion between the defendant and Ms. McKinnon.) No, that was part of my – I guess my what you call fantasy. These people were selected. The Court: All right. So you – (Off-the-record discussion between the defendant and Ms. McKinnon.) The Court: – you were engaged in some kind of fantasy during this period of time? The Defendant: Yes, sir. The Court: All right. Now, where you use the term â€Å"fantasy,† is this something you were doing for your personal pleasure? The Defendant: Sexual fantasy, sir. The Court: I see. So you went to this residence, and what occurred then? The Defendant: Well, I had – did some thinking on what I was going to do to either Mrs.  Otero or Josephine, and basically broke into the house –or didn’t break into the house, but when they came out of the house I came in and confronted the family, and then we went from there. The Court: All right. Had you planned this beforehand? The Defendant: To some degree, yes. After I got in the house it – lost control of it, but it – it was – you know, in back of my mind I had some ideas what I was going to do. The Court: Did you – The Defendant: But I just – I basically panicked that first day, so – The Court: Beforehand did you know who was there in the house? The Defendant: I thought Mrs. Otero and the two kids – the two younger kids were in the house. I didn’t realize Mr. Otero was gonna be there. The Court: All right. How did you get into the house, Mr. Rader? The Defendant: I came through the back door, cut the phone lines, waited at the back door, had reservations about even going or just walking away, but pretty soon the door opened, and I was in. The Court: All right. So the door opened. Was it opened for you, or did someone – The Defendant: I think one of the kids – I think the Ju – Junior – or not Junior – yes, the – the young girl – Joseph opened the door. He probably let the dog out ‘cause the dog was in the house at the time. The Court: All right. When you went into the house what happened then? The Defendant: Well, I confronted the family, pulled the pistol, confronted Mr. Otero and asked him to – you know, that I was there to – basically I was wanted, wanted to get the car. I was hungry, food, I was wanted, and asked him to lie down in the living room. And at that time I realized that wouldn’t be a really good idea, so I finally – The dog was the real problem, so I – I asked Mr. Otero if he could get the dog out. So he had one of the kids put it out, and then I took them back to the bedroom. The Court: You took who back to the bedroom? The Defendant: The family, the bedroom – the four members. The Court: All right. What happened then? The Defendant: At that time I tied ‘em up. The Court: While still holding them at gunpoint? The Defendant: Well, in between tying, I guess, you know. The Court: All right. After you tied them up what occurred?

Written reflective commentary on group work Assignment

Written reflective commentary on group work - Assignment Example Body I would say this assignment has strengthened my communication abilities within a group setting such as this. It becomes very important when you are working as part of a team to be able to effectively and clearly communicate what it is that you need the other person to understand. Information exchange concerning who will be doing what and devising a schedule and determining who will lead the group are key periods when your communication ability becomes evident. Our group chose to meet weekly to discuss and update each other on what is going on with our part of the task. We had four meetings that the group was able to attend and the final meeting we had to change plans and meet at my flat due to the library being full. We did not have any issues with group members being present and on time. Our group did not find it necessary to have a group leader as we all did our own parts and took equal initiative. Eaxh group member completed their part successfully. We also used email to corr espond and exchanged telephone numbers. Flexibility and patience are elements of a successful group task, both of which I was able to use within the group. I was able to use flexibility when the library was closed. Because my group was on task it wasn’t necessary that I had a great deal of patience.... In dealing with members not contributing there is no reason for me to get angry as I know that I cannot influence the contribution of another. It is best in this case to contact them several times after which if they are still not contributing then let the instructor know and be certain that I have completed my own part to the group task. We did not have any issues with attendance or anyone being tardy for any meetings on the group work. Interpersonal abilities and skills are the main skills one needs to work within a group setting in completing a task. Usually before doing a group presentation you will want to find out who your audience will be. Finding out what they already know about your subject, what their attitude is and what their interest level is in your topic can help you make a more successful presentation. Knowing the size of the audience and what type of people are in is will also help. Are these business members of the community? Are they students? Are they being forced through go to your presentation for job reasons? Are they truly there on their own because they have a deep interest in what you have to say? We also would like a way to receive feedback after we’ve done our presentation/ power point and in this case we will get from the instructor. In forming groups there are different steps and stages to make a successful group that can communicate effectively together. Forming the group is when we are all assigned the group and initially noticing who else is in our group. Storming is when the ground rules get set, roles are clarified, purposes and responsibilities of each individual decided. Norming is when the