Wednesday, July 31, 2019

“Only A Pawn In Their Game” – Dylan and The 60s

This past September 11th marked the fiftieth-anniversary of the release of Bob Dylan’s 1962 eponymous album, Bob Dylan. Fittingly, Dylan marked the occasion with the release of his thirty-fifth studio album, Tempest, an album Rolling Stone Magazine recently gave five stars, calling it â€Å"one of his weirdest albums’, and adding, â€Å"It may also be the single darkest record in Dylan’s catalog†. Tempest, rather than being an exception to the trend, is a continuation of the creative resurgence that Dylan has experienced over the past decade, proving that even though he’s now one of rock music’s elder statesmen, his advancing age has not urned him into a mere nostalgia act, but rather has served to cement his legacy as a true musical icon. Despite his prolific touring schedule and studio output, the period that is still most often associated with Bob Dylan is the early 1960s, specifically his involvement with the Civil Rights movement and hi s influence on the popular culture of American society. Louis Masur says that, â€Å"it was what Dylan sang, said, did and represented for a few years in the 1960s that continues to draw the public’s attention and ignite the imaginations of new generations of listeners†. In a three- ear period, Dylan went from being an unknown singer/guitar player to full on protest anthem composer. As a descendant of Jewish race, Dylan was also able to sympathize with visible minorities in ways that others were not able to. He wrote some of the most influential music of the time and would to turn his back on it all, only to reinvent himself. Masur summarizes it perfectly, saying â€Å"Dylan embodied two revolutions within three years, two seismic cultural shifts. Before they ended, and ever since, writers have inquired into the meaning of Bob Dylan†. Bob Dylan was born Robert Zimmerman, the son of Jewish American parents, n Hibbing, Minnesota. His father and uncles owned an electrical store and one of Dylan’s first jobs was helping his father collect on late payments or repossess equipment in situations where payment was long overdue. Growing up in Mid- western America and being Jewish in a town that, as he put it, â€Å"had a certain prejudice against Jews,† left him feeling very isolated and misunderstood. An old high school flame, Echo Star Helstrom explained, â€Å"the other kids, they wanted to throw stones at anybody different. And Bob was different. He didn’t fit in. Not in Hibbing†. In order to cope with the growing feelings of isolation, Dylan turned to music and learned to play to play the guitar that he found in the home his father had bought. He would stay up late at night, listening to a radio station transmitted from Shreveport, and it was on that station that he first heard the music of Hank Williams, Fats Domino, Elvis Presley and Little Richard. These artists left Dylan with a desire for more as he â€Å"absorbed not only these sounds but the promises of independence, individuality, and freedom that (their) music seemed to carry†. In an interview with Jeff Rosen that acts as the backbone or Martin Scorsese’s 2005 documentary, No Direction Home, Dylan, reflecting on the popular music of the time said, â€Å"nobody liked country or rock and roll, rhythm and blues. That kind of music wasn’t what was happening up there. The music that was popular was ‘How Much Is That Doggy In The Window? ’. But that wasn’t our reality, our reality was bleak to begin with, our reality was fear†. The 1950s were a tense time, and the young Dylan found that rock and roll was a good outlet to work through and express what youth were feeling. He formed a few band throughout high school, and his stated goal in his senior yearbook was â€Å"to join Little Richard†. In a voice over scene in No Direction Home, one of Dylan’s high school teacher tells a story about having to pull the curtain because the principal didn’t feel that â€Å"Robert’s piano playing was appropriate for the audience†. Though Bob’s first love was rock-and-roll, he would soon become infatuated with folk music. Folk music’s foundations were laid in the early part of the twentieth century by the International Workers of the World, or the IWW. The first members of the IWW penned songs as part of the effort to establish workers equality and rights, and would sing protest songs while marching in demonstrations. However, during the Red Scare following WWI, state and federal authorities raided the IWW offices and shut down the organization. Folk music was rescued in large part thanks to Woody Guthrie, a poor farmers son who left home at sixteen to discover his homeland. Working odd jobs, Guthrie made it through the Depression and eventually became a radio personality in Los Angeles, reading radical news of KFVD. Within two years, he was living in New York making regular contributions to Communist publications, and went on to join the Navy during the Second World War. Upon returning to the US, Guthrie settled into New York City and wrote ountless songs, including â€Å"This Land Is Your Land†, â€Å"Tom Joad† and â€Å"Pastures of Plenty†, all songs with strong socialist sentiments. â€Å"This Land Is Your Land† was actually written as a Marxist retort to â€Å"God Bless America†, and became an alternative national anthem to the New Left. When asked, about what type of songs he sang and why, Guthrie responded: â€Å"I sing the songs of the people that do all of the little jobs and the mean and dirty hard work in the world and of their wants and their hopes and their plans for a decent life†. His sentiment was expressed clearly on his instrument: â€Å"This Machine Kills Fascists†. Guthrie soon met Pete Seeger, a fellow folk musician who had formed a musician’s union, and they began to travel the nation on an informal tour. With other musicians, they formed a leftist group called the Almanac Singers. They â€Å"promoted union organizing, racial justice, and other causes with their topical songs†, and in the late 40s, they evolved into the Weavers. Things changed in the early 1950s. The Weavers were enjoying a period of great success with the song â€Å"Good Night, Irene†, moving two million copies, making it the best selling record since the end of WWII. Unfortunately, it wasn’t made to last. Guthrie and Seeger were both blacklisted by the studios and recording industry for their outspoken socialist views and communist sympathizing, and were eventually reduced from national stardom to playing small bars on the outskirts of cities. Things began to improve following the 1954 senate censure of Joe McCarthy, and there was a renewed interest in folk music. , beginning in the San Francisco Bay area. The Kingston Trio were instrumental in the resurgence of folk music. Formed in 1957 by three college students, the Kingston Trio proved that folk music, f marketed and sold properly, could be commercialized, and had the potential to be very profitable. In June of 1958, the Trio released ‘Tom Dooley’, an â€Å"unlikely pop/country hit† that sold over three million copies. The group was prolific in their recording, at one point having four albums in the Top 10, simultaneously. Between 1958 and 1966, the Trio would relea se 22 albums, 13 of which ended up in the Top 10. Though criticized for â€Å"watering down† folk songs to make them commercially popular, and standing on the sidelines through the most political and contentious period of American history to date, the group deserves credit for elping to pave the way for the general acceptance of the older folkies, as well as helping to clearing a path for newcomers like Joan Baez and Bob Dylan. In a 2007 interview, Trio member Nick Reynolds told The Huffington Post that the members of the group were â€Å"big fans of the Weavers†, and acknowledge that the Weavers experience had shown them that they were best to take another direction. Reynolds was quoted as saying, â€Å"We decided that if we wanted to have our songs played on the airwaves, we'd better stay in the middle of the road politically. We'd just got out of school. We didn't want to get blacklisted† When asked if the Weavers ad warned the Trio to avoid controversy, he simply said: â€Å"They didn't have to†. In t he fall of 1959, Dylan relocated to Minneapolis and enrolled in the University of Minnesota, though he rarely attended class. It was during this time that the Kinston Trio were beginning to have great success, and there emerged a changing perspective amongst the youth of America. The area surrounding the University had a bohemian element to it, and it inspired Dylan to sell his electric equipment and buy an acoustic guitar. This turn from rock and roll to folk music was significant, as it provided Dylan with an outlet to perform in small coffee shops and o meet like-minded people, a relatively new phenomenon for the outsider Dylan. Minneapolis was also where Zimmerman adopted the name ‘Bob Dylan’ when asked how he wanted to be presented on the bill at his first performance. It was around this time that he was introduced to the music of Woody Guthrie and was given a copy of Woody’s autobiography, Bound For Glory. Dylan described his initial take on Guthrie in his 2004 memoir, Chronicles: Volume One, saying, â€Å"The songs themselves had the infinite sweep of humanity in them †¦ [He] was the true voice of the American spirit. I said to myself I was going to be Guthrie's reatest disciple†. Dylan related to Woody’s stories about the people down on their luck and no doubt correlated his experience as a repo-man, even if just subconsciously. Guthrie’s importance was immediately clear to large number of people, and Mike Marquees has said â€Å"He was authentic because he came from and sang for the oppressed†. However, as previously stated, â€Å"Woody was an unabashed political partisan, a self-styled â€Å"full blooded Marxican† and enthusiastic class warrior†, which wasn’t a great career move in the McCarthy era. Dylan was so impressed with Guthrie that he decided to try to adopt his traits nd personality. He began wearing a corduroy hat, jeans and work shirt, imitating his Woody’s okie accent and imitating a tick he had, not conscious of the fact that he was actually imitating the symptoms of Huntington’s disease. In Guthrie’s music, Dylan found a mix of individualism and populism, humour and rage, and a general sense of the possibility of self-creation. Marquee says, â€Å"Guthrie offered an identity that was more genuinely Dylan’s own than the one his so ciety had saddled him with†. After dropping out of University, Dylan headed east to New York, having heard that Guthrie was in a hospital, on his deathbed. Shortly after arriving in New York, Dylan made the pilgrimage to see his dying idol, playing a few songs for him while there. The visits would continue for some time, but Dylan was about to explode onto the scene. Playing in small bars in Greenwich Village proved to be a great experience for the young Dylan. Only 20 at the time of arriving in New York, he was able to create quite an impression almost immediately. He played regular gigs at the Cafe Wha? and would occasionally work as a session musician for Columbia. John Hammond, a record produced for Columbia Records, happened to be watching a recording ession that Dylan was part of, and recognized his talent immediately. Before discovering Dylan, Hammond’s most notable signing was Billie Holliday, the singer of â€Å"Strange Fruit†. Released in 1939, â€Å"Strange Fruit† was a song about racial injustice and lynch mobs in the American south, which at the time was very heavy subject material. However, the song wa s a great success and helped to draw attention from the north to the injustices of the south. It also showed that Hammond wasn’t afraid to support controversial artists with opinions, given his support of the desegregation of the music industry. Dylan himself has described Hammond as â€Å"no bull-shitter. There were maybe a thousand kings in the world an he was one of them†. Dylan released his first album in 1962, produced by John Hammond. The record only had two original compositions, but that’s what the folk scene was like at the time. The album flopped, only selling about 5000 copies, and Dylan was soon being referred to as â€Å"Hammond’s folly†. Undeterred, Dylan soon sought out a manager, and found Albert Grossman. In Chronicles, Dylan describes his first impression of Grossman: â€Å"He looked like Sydney Greenstreet from the film The Maltese Falcon, had an enormous presence, always dressed in a conventional suit and tie, and he sat at his corner table. Usually when he talked, his voice was loud like the booming of war drums. He didn't talk so much as growl†. Grossman was also the man responsible for forming Peter, Paul and Mary. They were a truly manufactured form of music, where Grossman had gone so far as to change Paul’s name from Noel to Paul in order to achieve that wholesome, Bible feel. Through Grossman, Peter Paul and Mary were able to record Dylan’s Blowin’ In The Wind, achieving a #2 hit just behind the Beatles ‘Help! , and marking Dylan as an expert songwriter for the new movement that was emerging. Dave Van Rock, a contemporary of Dylan’s from his village days, told Mike Marquees that the folk revival could be described as â€Å"part and parcel of the big left turn middle-class college students were making†¦ So we owe it all to Rosa Parks†, or more s pecifically, the sit-in movement that had begun with four college students in North Carolina. The movement began to gain traction as it spread to other cities, and a few weeks after the North Carolina sit-ins, the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee was formed. The SNCC committed itself to destroying Jim Crow through nonviolent means and action, and adopted many folk songs as â€Å"freedom songs†. The SNCC had a sister group in CORE, or, the Congress of Racial Equality. Founded in 1942, the group had practically collapsed in the McCarthy era, but was finding renew strength and interest by both whites and blacks that wanted to take an active role in social change. One of the members was Bob Dylan’s girlfriend, Suze Rotolo. Rotolo booked the then unknown Dylan for a CORE gig, and wanting new material to play, he wrote â€Å"The Death of Emmitt Till†. Murdered in 1955 for llegedly making lewd comments to a shop owner’s wife, Till was only 14 years old. After being missing for a few days, his body was recovered from a river, weighed down by a cotton gin secured to his neck with razor wire. The men who were eventually charged were acquitted on all charges and the case remained unsolved. Till’s mother insisted t hat the photos of her son’s body be run in the paper to show exactly how ugly the racism of the south was, that they would kill and mame a child. Though Dylan quickly derided the song as â€Å"bullshit† and never released it, it was a pivotal moment in his songwriting career. Dylan was born the same year as Till, as was Muhammad Ali, who often said that Till’s murder was a defining moment in his own racial consciousness. Dylan’s political affiliations reached their peak on August 28, 1963, when he performed alongside Peter Paul and Mary, Joan Baez, and Odetta at the March on Washington. Peter Yarrow of Peter Paul and Mary said that the March on Washington â€Å"was not only a moment of extreme hopefulness, it was a moment of the confirmation of the possibility of that hope becoming a reality. That was the moment of recognition of what people could do to change history†. Everyone but Dylan took part in singing Blowin’ In The Wind, and then he stepped up to perform two songs unfamiliar to the audience. Seemingly unable or unwilling to express himself in anyway but song, Dylan didn’t speak, he began playing ‘When The Ship Comes In’. Singing about how â€Å"the sun will respect/every face on the deck†, Dylan shared his â€Å"jaunty vision of inclusive, unqualified liberation, unfolding as ‘the whole wide world is watching’†. The â€Å"ship† he sings of is likely a metaphor for what was being called â€Å"The Movement†. With the biblical phrasing and the egalitarian imagery, the song had a lot in common with the â€Å"Dream† speech that Martin Luther King Jr would give later that day. Dylan, though obviously not African American, was Jewish, and so the message of inclusion in both the song and the speech extend to the persecutions that the Jewish people had suffered in America as well. His second song had been inspired by the assassination of Medger Evers, an organizer for the NAACP in Jackson, Mississippi. Evers had been shot only a few months previous, on June 12, 1963, only a few hours after President Kennedy announced plans to seek new civil rights legislation. A war hero, Evers had been involved with the Emmitt Till case, and had been an instrumental figure in the NAACP. Using rap-like rhythm, Dylan sings a song simple in form but deep in content. He doesn’t condemn the assassin, but rather, he condemns the political system that encourages the behavior of the poor uneducated masses. The song was titled â€Å"Only A Pawn In Their Game†, and it has been described as a â€Å"searing class analysis of the southern skin privilege† in America. The song begin by retelling how the man shot Evers from behind a bush, and sings â€Å"But he can’t be blamed, he’s only a pawn in their game†. The next verse, Dylan cuts directly to his point; â€Å"A South politician preaches to the poor white man â€Å"You got more than blacks, don't complain You're better than them, you been born with white skin† they explain,† Dylan attempted to demonstrate the politics of racial division in song form, on a day when everyone else was focusing on unity. The song’s core message was about the persistence of racism, and â€Å"the central weight of white-skin privilege† in the American political system. Dylan doesn’t hold the individual responsible, he holds the state responsible, and the political system that pits poor whites against poor blacks. This was the ultimate finger-pointing song. Not long after, Dylan released his 3rd album, The Times They Are A-Changin’, but he had already become isillusioned with The Movement. No sooner had he been appointed the musical conscience and spokesman of a generation than he rebelled against in. Echoing his own song lyrics showing that he, like the â€Å"sons and the daughters† in Times They Are A-Changin’, was also â€Å"beyond your command† . When President Kennedy was shot in November 1963, it affected Dylan more than he would admit. The entire country was in shock, and less than a month after the shooting on Friday December 13, The Emergency Civil Liberties Committee presented Dylan with the Thomas Paine award for his work with the civil rights movement. Dylan, still only 22 at the time, was very nervous and became fairly intoxicated. When he got up to accept the award, he didn’t make much of an effort to mask his contempt for the people there: â€Å"I haven't got any guitar, I can talk though. I want to thank you for the Tom Paine award in behalf everybody that went down to Cuba. First of all because they're all young and it's took me a long time to get young and now I consider myself young. And I'm proud of it. I'm proud that I'm young. And I only wish that all you people who are sitting out here today or tonight weren't here and I could see all kinds of faces with hair on their head – nd everything like that, everything leading to youngness, celebrating the anniversary when we overthrew the House Un-American Activities just yesterday, – Because you people should be at the beach†¦.. There's no black and white, left and right to me anymore; there's only up and down and down is very close to the ground. And I'm trying to go up without thinking about anything trivial such as politics. † Essentially, the speech served as his declaration of independence from politics. Dylan’s assertion that he now considered himself â€Å"young† was further emphasized the following June when he released Another Side Of Bob Dylan. The songs on the album were a different variety than that of his previous material, especially the song ‘My Back Pages’, with its refrain of â€Å"I was so much older then, I’m younger than that now†. This song served to boil-down his drunken babbling at the ECLC to a beautiful piece of art that explained his position in a way that people would understand. In March of 1965, Dylan released his fifth album, Bringing It All Back Home. It wasn’t a complete departure from what he had been doing, with the album content split 50/50 between acoustic and electric arrangements, but it was a clear indication f where he was going with the music. The defining moment came when he played the Newport Folk Festival in July of that year, in what would later be referred to as â€Å"the most written about performance in the history of rock†. Dylan wanted to play electric instruments and asked members of the Paul Butterfield Blues Band to play with him. Together, they played three, ‘Maggie’s Farm’ off of Bringing It All Back Home, ‘Like a Rolling Stone’, which had just been released, and an unreleased version of ‘It Takes a Lot Too Laugh, It Takes a Train To Cry’. There was a large amount of booing, and the performance was a clear eparture from his previous two appearances at the festival, when he performed acoustic songs with Joan Baez. The irony though, was that in not wanting Dylan to change as an artist, they were actually acting like the Establishment that they were hoping to change. Their reaction to his evolution and change in direction was a desire to maintain the status quo, and was actually is counterintuitive to the emerging counterculture. Over the next year, Dylan would go on to make Highway 61 Revisited and Blonde On Blonde, each with fully electric arrangements. Throughout his fifty-year career, Dylan has proven countless times that he’s apable of reinvention. After starting out as a rock and roller, he turned to folk and protest music. When that lost it’s appeal, he went back to rock music, and by the end of the sixties he had invented folk-rock and country-rock with his albums John Wesley Harding and Nashville Skyline, respectively. His turn away from politics and the New Left movement set the precedent for the selfish behavior that would dominate late sixties and early seventies culture, and he came to be recognized as a symbol for what was, and largely still is, considered â€Å"cool†. The guy is so â€Å"cool† in act, that when President Obama presented him with The Presidential Medal Of Freedom earlier this year, saying that â€Å"There is not a bigger giant in the history of American music,† and that the â€Å"unique gravel-y power of his voice helped redefine not just what music sounded like, but the message it carried and how it made people feel†, Dylan accepted the medal wearing aviator sunglasses. The significance of the President being a young black man from Chicago, wh ere protesters chanted Dylan’s line â€Å"The Whole World Is Watching! † during the 1968 riots outside the democratic national convention should not be overlooked. Dylan’s work throughout the early 60s created a legacy for the rest of the musicians and bands that would come out of the decade. Bruce Springsteen, an artist also signed by John Hammond and who was called â€Å"The New Bob Dylan† when he released his first album, inducted Dylan into the Rock-and-Roll Hall of Fame, saying that while â€Å"Elvis freed our bodies, Bob Dylan freed our minds†. Springsteen also spoke for the countless band and groups that Dylan inspired, saying: â€Å"without Bob, the Beatles wouldn’t have made Sgt. Pepper’s, the Beach Boys wouldn’t have made Pet Sounds, the Sex Pistols ouldn’t have made ‘God Save The Queen’, U2 wouldn’t have done ‘Pride In The Name Of Love’, Marvin Gaye wouldn’t have done ‘What’s Goin’ On? ’, the Count Five would not have done ‘Psychotic Reaction’, and Grandmaster Flash might not have done ‘The Messageâ €™ † Springsteen outlines the influence that Dylan has had a wide scope of genres, but the defining characteristic that these bands have in common is that they were all willing to produce songs on touchy subjects in new, bold interesting ways. Dylan inspired these artists to look at what society was offering, and to say â€Å"here’s something better†.

Tuesday, July 30, 2019

State and Poem

Journal: â€Å"Sun in My Skin† Robert Johnson The poem â€Å"Sun in My Skin† is a poem that comprises of a Bahamian man who expresses a love for his Bahamian culture. He portrays what it truly means to be â€Å"Bahamian. Johnson shows love of his culture when he states â€Å"But in my brash vibrating arm the cowbell dances† Also he shows pride in our country considering the state we are in when he states â€Å"And when I go to banquets, the food don’t agree with me†.The main focus of the poem is how the writer exquisitely expresses his way of life and how being Bahamian makes him proud. Johnson feels as though being Bahamian is not all about being rich, but to stand up rightfully as people maintaining a peaceful and tranquil Bahama land. The poem also talks about â€Å"rich and cultivated† which means Johnson feels no matter what state, race or situation our country is in, nothing makes him less of a Bahamian. I feel as though the poem is a commemoration of our culture and way of life.How as people, we must fend for ourselves rightfully as â€Å"Bahamians†. I also feel that Johnson had a sense of excitement towards the poem; expressing himself effectively. Other significances are the sun which reflects on our beautiful Bahama land and the cowbells signify the love for our culture and the excitement it brings to the lives of many. The poem â€Å"Sun in My Skin† is one of the many poems that reflect on what it means to truly be Bahamian.

Monday, July 29, 2019

Alcohol and Family Violence Essay Example for Free

Alcohol and Family Violence Essay Alcohol and family Violence has been an issues with families for many years, these are two demons that some just can’t break, families have been experiencing the traumatic of one’s physical uncontrollable actions. Alcohol has become one’s stress reliever in all views that it began to take over one’s way of thinking and reaction, this is ways individuals express their evil thoughts and the sad thing it that the abuse of alcohol has a domino effect on their children’s as they become adults and parents later in life. If community members understand violence differently, their responses may be inconsistent and even harmful to victims. (Advocate. Minnesota, (2003)). Almost 6,500 children across the world have been a victim of family violence which leads up to being in a single parent home, One in three children globally (30%) said as leader of their country; they would tackle violence by improving law and order. For children in developing countries, improving education (17%) was the next priority (compared with just 6% of children in developed countries). (2003). Child Fund.) Finally, a 1991 study in the United States found that the average amount of alcohol consumed prior to the use of violence was only a few drinks, which â€Å"suggests that the act of drinking may be more related to woman abuse than the effect of alcohol.† Two other studies indicate that drug use is more strongly correlated to domestic violence than is alcohol. (2003). Child Fund.) Improving their self-esteem, they abuse the victim physically, emotionally, and sometimes, sexually. Another key factor in wife abuse is alcohol. When the man is stressed, he turns to alcohol to relieve it. Little does he know that the alcohol makes him more irritable? â€Å"He started really drinking excessively and that is when the abuse started. He had been drinking I sat down to read the paper and he wanted his supper . . . he kicke d the cat to the ceiling, he started slapping my face with both hands,† (Berger, 1990, pg. 42). So, if you’re in an abusive relationship what is the best way to get out and stop of the battering abuse? After notorious acts of abuse, usually, the woman will finally realize that the situation will never get better. Basically there  are three basic reasons why women leave a violent relationship: Educated themselves about the necessary available help, being faced with the impact on their children (mentally, physical, sexually and courage to know when enough is enough) and women having a tolerance level of abuse. (Berger, 1990, pg. 48). Family Violence is Willfully or knowingly placing, or attempting to place, a family member in fear of hurt, causing hurt, wrongful confinement or restraint against the family member’s will or continual harassment which causes anguish.. A family member can be your spouse or ex-spouse, child (including adopted and step child), sibling, parent or in-law. Now there are many factors that contribute to family violence, the most commonly see n are the characteristics of the abused and the abuser. There is no one specific country or culture that is more abusive than another, abuse is spread across countries, cultures, socio-economic statuses, races, religion and ethnic groups (Goldman, Salus, Wolcott & Kennedy, 2009). For example, one may be very educated and well-kept but if unable to control behavior caused by emotions, he may be abusive. While if one may be poor and lowly educated, if he is well controlled in his behaviors and emotions, he will then not be abusive. More often, in cases of child abuse, the abuser usually a parent, father or mother, could be one who may be in situations of stress or someone who simply cannot control their emotions, anger. In a paper written by Professor Harry J. Gaynor (1998), in 1,356 cases of child abuse reported by National Burn Victim Foundation, there were 176 spontaneous cases, of which 97% of them are parents that are known to have aggressive response behavior. There are two kinds of aggressive response, active and passive. Active aggressive behaviors do not have concern over the impact that anger will have to the abused, this translates to actions of hurting the abused verbally, could be hurling hurtful words, humiliating, and physically, hitting the abused. While the passive aggressive response behaviors are those that have cooped up, suppressing negative emotions of a length of time and a blow up or breakdown can be expected, this translates to behavior of neglect and not paying attention to the abused (Gaynor, 1998). Children are victims of adult’s uncontrollable behavior of anger. As much as we blame abusers, and we should look at their background and past, that when they were children were tormented as well. Baltimore County, Maryland Police Department (2012),  shared some facts about child abusing inmates, that 84% of them were abused as children, families with more than four children have higher rates of abused and neglect, more than 80% of the abusers are parent or someone the child is close to and parents on drugs is physically abused regularly. There are parental histories and the cycle of abuse that we have to factor into the characteristics of the abuser. Many of these individuals who are maltreating their own children were victims of abuse and neglect themselves. (Goldman et al., 2003). There is no major difference in percentage of perpetrators being female or male. An apparent close percentage of 50% and 58% of mothers and fathers are found to abuse their own children. However, while single mothers are accused of child neglect, many fathers who abandon the child are almost never considered in the neglect (Newton, 2001). Abuse often happen in environment or family situation where it is overcrowded, usually happens with families with more than four children. If the living conditions are cramped and isolated and parents do not hold proper stable jobs, the chances of abuse in those families, whether parent-child or sibling abuse may occur (Baltimore County, Maryland Police Department, 2012). From the Encyclopedia of Mental Disorders (n.d.), some causes of abuse at times are simply due to parent’s ignorance of developmental stages. This ignorance can lead to frustration and eventually aggressive behaviors. They are under stress because their child has issues with toilet training or not meeting their expectations. Understanding developmental stages can help parents to understand their child’s learning curve better and they will learn to cope with their expectation. Another cause is mental disorders, parent with depression, personality disorders or anxiety disorder etc., can affect their ability to care for their children. The abused, children as the focus, can contribute toward family violence toward themselves and they may never know it. Disabled children, children with mental disorders, children with development disorders, hyperactive children are all at a higher risk compared to a healthy child in receiving abuse. These children have needs that are special, if they do not attain required needs, manner of communication from them can be highly distressing. According to Sullivan (1996) from the Boys Town National Research Hospital, children with disabilities are found to be at greater risk of abuse and neglect compared to children without disabilities (Official Journal of the American Academy  of Pediatrics, 2001). Children with disabilities of any form may be unable to retort, have no understanding that they are abused or cannot communicate the happenings of the abuse may have issues because adults know that they can get away with it because their abuses will not be reported. Knowing one can get away with it makes it easier to push through the abuse compared to risking the child complaining to others about the abuse. Children although still the ultimate victims whether or not they are the cause of the abuse and abused children and the abuser may have much effect in the society. There are long term effects surrounding family violence and any forms of family violence have effects to both the abused and the abuser. Some of the effects are physical and neurobiological, cognitive and emotional and social and educational. First, physical and neurological damages are the visible effects on a child, direct trauma from physical abuse can cause ruptured organs and even possible brain deformity or retardation. Neglect will cause the child to be underfed and/or nutritional deficit, the child will have slow growth rate and development of the physical and brain would be unhealthy. This makes deficient in mental growth as well. Repeated trauma produces changes in the neurochemistry of the brain that affects memory formation. This causes the person to will time to time continually getting flashbacks of fragmented memories of emotions throughout their life. Cognitive and emotional damages are relative unseen. Some children resort into extreme methods to deal with the trauma tic experiences. Some lash out at people around them and themselves. Some become depressed and do things that make them feel better, example by taking drugs and alcohol, some even go to the extent of attempting suicide. Bonding and attachments with their parents or people in general may cease and understanding of the abusing behavior might become permanent if assistance does not come. Children that have been abused also show no concern when someone else is under distress, they may even result to behave in ways like hitting the other child the same way their abuser did to them (Sigelman & Rider, (2012). A social and educational effect becomes obvious when the child become less sociable or not sociable at all, isolating himself. The child may also become distrustful toward people in general making them unable to properly have a normal relationship. Due to this, the child will grow up having issues with self-esteem, have low level of confidence. Behaviorally, some children may  grow up to become abusive or they become isolated (Encyclopedia of Mental Disorders, n.d.). Some of the children who do not seek and have support to recovery may consider what they have been through has normal and appropriate. This is how the cycle of abuse goes on. Abused children are often emotionally and physically in pain at school; hence they are unable to concentrate at what they have to do, leading to them falling behind their grades. They find it hard to make friends and hence either become a bully or get bullied at school as well. Because of this, teachers at school might see them as a problematic child if they are not aware of the happenings that are going on at home. With society (school) labeling them as problematic and being abused at home by parents they are likely to feel rejected by everyone. Intervention as a Human Services Professional I would suggest that all family members seek counseling to express all issues and get to the root cause of the problem. When children are involved seeing a therapist with the family and without the parents would be one of my intervention to help their family, I would also have the parents go to parenting classes. Advocate. Minnesota, (2003).Alcohol and Domestic Violence. www.umn.edu/hutments/svaw/ domestic/link/alcohol.htm Attorney-General’s Chambers (31 October 2009). Interpretation of this Part. In Women’s Charter (Chapter 353, Section 64). We have essays on the following topics that may be of interest to you

Sunday, July 28, 2019

Culture Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Culture - Essay Example However, it is often debated as to whether the religion is a part of the culture or culture is part of the religion. The historical roots of every religion suggest a very strong correlation between the culture and religion as most of the religious rituals are finally being shaped by the culture of the society within which the religion evolve. It is therefore because of this fact that Historian Dawson claim that "The heart of Western civilization says Historian Dawson, is its Christian culture. By this he means not the Christian religion but its impact on the social life and institutions of the West. Today that Western heart is not beating at the center of things, where it belongs, but is fluttering on the fringes, and Western civilization is sick with a bad case of secularism." (www.time.com). Thus there is very strong historical evidence as to how the religious values and culture has shaped the overall form of Christianity which is prevalent today. As defined above that culture is a set of patterns of an individual's life which portray the human activity and present a symbolic representation of that person's or group of persons' lives. In its essence, culture is a collection of values commonly practiced by a large number of people sharing a common heritage. The first definition of the word culture came in 1871 when in his book "Primitive Culture" he defined culture as "complex whole which includes knowledge, belief, art, law, morals, custom, and any other capabilities and habits acquired by man as a member of society" (Tylor). Culture is considered therefore as a powerful human tool necessary for the survival of the human beings but it is also considered as fragile too as cultural bondages define not only common heritage but common sentiments and emotions too. It is often believed that there are various layers of the culture also commonly known as subcultures. First layer is called the cultural traditions which effectively distinguish and specify a society from others whereas second layer of culture is called subculture which is often considered as the very own identity of the individual. The third layer of culture is called cultural universals and is considered as shared behaviors which are being used by all the humanity across all the geographical regions of the world. Cultural Difference As discussed above that culture have three different layers. This very fact clearly suggests that culture is itself diverse in nature. This diversity creates cultural differences between the various societies and within cultures even. These cultural differences can sometimes be the source of great embarrassment for people who are relatively alien to that culture or even present a great opportunity to create an environment where society can be shared by various cultures belonging to different regions etc. Since "Culture is vital because it enables its members to function one with another without the need to negotiate meaning at every moment. Culture is learned and forgotten, so despite its importance we are generally unconscious of its influence on the manner in which we perceive the world and interact within it. Culture is significant because as we work with others it both enables us and impedes us in our ability to understand and work effectively together." (Learning). Thus

Is self-confidence necessary for effective leadership Essay

Is self-confidence necessary for effective leadership - Essay Example Learning to be lowly and learning to be small will make us great somedayThere is a great host of leaders recorded in the Bible. If we have to learn their ways, faith, principles, and beliefs, we will come to the inevitable conclusion that these great leaders like Moses, Noah, Peter, Paul, and many others, was found to be able and successful leaders because they have learned to accept that they are nothing; that the Creator is able to produce great things from nothing. Nothingness is the best place and idea to start a creation. When we do something out of something that already exists, we fashion it in a manner by which we always consider the kind of material that exist; but everything is possible, and every idea can be freely conceived if you create something out of nothing like what God have done (Soriano, E. F., 2004). Hollenbeck and Hall also mentioned in their article that "Leader's self-confidence causes followers to believe in the capabilities of the leader and the direction set." Contrary to that, Soriano said that "A leader, in the truest sense of the word, must be someone being followed intelligently by followers of understanding.

Saturday, July 27, 2019

Leonardo Da Vinci Contribution To Aviation History Research Paper - 2

Leonardo Da Vinci Contribution To Aviation History - Research Paper Example It is evidently clear from the discussion that one of the great achievement made by Leonardo Da Vinci was his most significant contribution to the industry of Aviation. Leonardo Da Vinci was fascinated by the concept of flying human beings and this promoted him to develop thousands of words as well as hundreds of sketches that focused on the subject of aviation. His ideas regarding the aviation have been presented in the form of several codexes and one of the codes that specifically focuses on the aviation industry is recognized as the Codex on the Flight of Birds. His interest in the concept of aviation seems to be guided by the huge amount of in-depth work he has performed on the subject of militia and technology for military purposes. Due to his focus on military based technological advancements, he was able to develop the concept of aerial reconnaissance. He was the one who came up with the idea that there should be a machine that can fly and help in attaining the objective of ae rial reconnaissance. Most of Leonardo Da Vinci’s ideas were based on nature and he applied the same basis to the idea of developing an airplane or an aircraft that can fly with the assistance of flapping wings. This idea led him to design an aircraft which is recognized as ornithopters. While developing this design he did not take into consideration that fact the human beings have limited amount of capacity to move their muscles. But the design of two arms or wings flapping can be said to have provided a direction to aircraft developers in realizing that an aircraft needs wings to fly. A much realistic design and thought provided by Leonardo Da Vinci was on various concepts of aviation in his Codex on the Flight Birds. In Codex on the Flight Birds, he focused on the importance of center of gravity and its use in lifting the weight.

Friday, July 26, 2019

W7Department-wide Information Systems Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

W7Department-wide Information Systems - Essay Example This section will discuss the concept of â€Å"Dysfunctional departments† and problem associated to these departments. The complicatedness of dysfunctional departments bend forward to begin through unusual structures of department society that builds up when one individual or a little group of individuals make use of a crucial as well as negative pressure on friendly discourse over an extensive period of time. In this way we reached to dysfunctional departments that are recognized, not born. Sometimes high position administrators support the conditions in which intact department turns out to be dysfunctional. A dysfunctional organization or department can be dysfunctional in many ways, like that the major reason is the deprived administrative performance, and then there is also lack of business knowledge as the main reason at the back of the dysfunctional behavior. The negative internal departmental politics is also one of the main reasons at the back of the dysfunctional depa rtments (Maghroori., 2006). This section covers few main elements that are the fundamental reasons behind the dysfunctional department. All the way through this assessment we will be able to access the reason behind the failing of the information system in the dysfunctional departments. (3) Administrators are able to prevent from this progression if they are capable to become aware of it unfortunate and if they are ready to smoothly model additional positive types of collegial behavior, but frequently ignorance of the management make the overall environment more critical. In up to date business practices the information system is the fundamental need for any business. The business with an information system can be able to take an effective lead in the marketplace. The accomplishment of the information system sometimes exposes lot of realties and

Thursday, July 25, 2019

Statistic paper Statistics Project Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Statistic paper - Statistics Project Example A significant correlation was observed between days and charges, r(287) = .80, p Hospital managers bear the overall authority over the running of the hospital. However, their authority is usually curtailed when administrative duties come into play. This is due to the overpowering roles of physicians. Physicians control a significant portion of hospital costs and the length of time that a patient stays in a hospital. They also determine the drugs used in treating a patient and determine the suppliers. Despite these crucial roles, the physicians are not employees of the hospital. At times, hospitals give individual physicians admitting privileges and periodically review their performance. However, the hospital’s influence over various expenditures remains at the minimum. On the other hand, the revenues of the hospital are largely dependent on the patient’s insurance coverage. This insurance coverage may cater for a more or less fixed amount and is classified using the diagnosis related group (DRG) system. It may also cater for a percentage of the hospital bill. The performance of a physician is crucial to the general well-being of a patient. An outstanding performance

Wednesday, July 24, 2019

Globalization and Diversity Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2750 words

Globalization and Diversity - Essay Example This essay discusses the globalisation, that is altering the international economy today. Many activities are local in nature, many people, even today, live and work outside the international economic structure. But the direction of change is clear. The world aims at economic growth and higher returns and in return aids towards poverty reduction. Businesses and companies have spread all around the globe as well as people, each following a different religion and speaking a variety of languages, that come together for the purpose of trade of goods and services. The ability to conduct business internationally is an absolute necessity today. Business globalisation refers to a business expanding its sales and their assets over the national boundaries, involving a surge in capital, labour, goods and services. Coca cola is a perfect example, as they have profitably expanded their business in the global consumer market. Coca cola has used various tactics to achieve this. To reduce their prod uction costs, they have established transnational corporations. They have also focused on product branding and positioning, and revised their prices according to the competition. In conclusion globalisation creates an opportunity for businesses to expand revenue streams, diversify risk and increase brand equity. Many companies have successfully expanded their business as a response to the drivers of globalisation. There has also been a noticed development in the global strategies of companies as a response to globalisation.

Tuesday, July 23, 2019

Discussion 11- economics- span of control Assignment

Discussion 11- economics- span of control - Assignment Example Initially, Windows CE targeted handheld computers. However, with the purchase of Web TV networks Microsoft will be able to make Windows CE an operating system for the whole consumer electronic world. The new operating system would conquer the electronic world from cable set top boxes to DVD players to internet telephones. Integrating Windows CE and Web TV will make consumer electronic companies such as Sony and Phillips to adopt windows CE as their multi-purpose operating system for their products. Purchasing Web TV would make Microsoft continue to stay on top of the market because the ‘new smart consumer goods’ would be cheaper but only operate on Microsoft platforms. The main span of control issues that may face the purchase of WebTV by Microsoft mainly relate to coordination of functions and divisions of the new company. Since Microsoft is buying WebTV technologies, span of control issues might include hierarchy of authority in term of coordinating subordinates. Since Microsoft may still service from WebTV in managing the new technologies, a major span of control issue would be to coordinate activities of people, functions and divisions with a clear hierarchy of authority. However, proper integrations and agreements during the purchase can help control some of the span of control

How Women Are Portrayed in Lynx and Cosmo Essay Example for Free

How Women Are Portrayed in Lynx and Cosmo Essay ‘Men act and women appear. Men look at women. Women watch themselves being looked at’ – John Berger, ‘Ways of seeing’. For my research investigation I intend to explore to what extent specific media products use similar representations of women to appeal to their target audiences. The examples I have chosen to focus on are the iconic, international women’s fashion and lifestyle magazine ‘Cosmopolitan’ and Lynx’s controversial ‘beach campaign’. I will therefore be exploring what similarities and differences they embed due to their oppositional target audiences and content. Throughout my research the main theory I will be linking to my texts is that of Laura Mulvey, her theory explores ideas of sexism and male gaze within the media industry. Hearst the publisher of Cosmopolitan describes the magazine’s target audience as ‘Fun, Fearless Females’, the alliteration of the ‘F’ sound connotes a sense of attitude and fierce behaviour. Alongside the brand proposition ‘celebrates†¦a passion for life and inspires young women to be the best they can be’ consciously supporting women by portraying a sense of empowerment and ambition. In contrast, Unilever, owners of the Lynx brand state their brand prospect is that all their products are ‘designed to give our customers the edge in the mating game’ establishing itself as ‘UK’s leading male grooming brand!’. Cosmopolitan are iconic for telling their audience about two main topics; lifestyle and sex. Just by looking at the magazine covers, it is clear that these two topics dominate. I researched the April 2012 cover of Cosmopolitan, it follows the generic conventions of a typical magazine format for a women’s fashion and lifestyle magazine. In terms of the colour scheme the pink fonts and neutral clothing convey a sense of femininity and perhaps the everyday domestic lifestyle of women, although the lifestyle aspect of the magazine seems overpowered by the topic of sex. The cover features an attractive women – in this case the iconic Megan Fox, posing some mildly alluring body language, showing a lot of skin, all whilst looking directly at the camera (audience) with a sexy, serious facial expression with the eyebrow promiscuously raised, and suggestive parted lips. Although the model is simply posing the latest fashion, the low cut, tightly fitting dress connotes an over sexualised view of the celebrity who is universally known as a sex symbol in the media world, taking her place in FHM’s sexiest women each year and continuously playing the role of the sexy female in various popular films. It is clear that Cosmopolitan use bold sexual connotations surrounding women, although argue that their intentions are in fact to empower women through their sexuality. Notice the models strong body language , the hand on hip look used alongside taglines such as ‘Naughty or nice? You decide†¦Ã¢â‚¬â„¢, and sexual puns are even added in regarding none sexual subjects such as career advice ‘You on top’, these are bold sexual connotations implying that woman should dominate to get what they want, mostly regarding the topic of sex. Perhaps fighting the controversial debate of sexism towards women in media by surprisingly embracing La ura Mulvey’s theory of ‘male gaze’. Cosmo put across the idea that if men find women attractive then it should accredit them by making them feel good about themselves, knowing that they look sexy and attractive. The magazine are conscious to do this in a sophisticated manor, opposed to other trashy and over sexualised magazines. Mediaknowall.com state that ‘Women’s magazines have moved on and offer visions of independence and confidence as well as beauty and domestic concerns, yet women are still encouraged to look good’. Body image and size have become a growing issue in society in result of magazine content. The overuse of petite, photo shopped models throughout magazines has resulted in these images becoming the dominant ideology. Over the years images printed in women’s magazines have contributed to this universal feeling to look good and be a certain size. Lynx are known for their voyeuristic product advertisement, this element of the company is what attracts their buyers, yet is also their downfall. Lynx have been publicly criticized for their overuse of objectifying women, using sexualized and provocative imagery and overall blunt sexism. The BBC news state that ‘in 2011 six of Lynx’s advertising campaigns were banned after mass numbers of complains were made’ they added that ‘the 113 complaints said it was sexually suggestive and demeaning to women’. I researched Lynx’s recent TV advertisement and accompanying print advert titled ‘The cleaner you are, the dirtier you get’. Although I believe this is one of Lynx’s milder sexualised adverts even the title itself contains a sexual pun, suggesting the promise of sex if you shower with the product. The girl on the print advertisement is no doubt an attractive young female, fitting the iconic ‘blonde bombshell’ look. The girl’s enticing facial expression creates the impression she is inviting the audience (male) into the shower with her. Although the girl’s expressions look confident, there is a contrast between this and her body language. For example the way she has to cup her bikini top to stop it from falling. This vulnerability of the woman standing half nude for a male audience completely visually depicting her as a female, making her a passive object of male visual pleasure. A comment by Jean Killbourne (a popular media activist) backs up my point by stating that ‘women’s bodies are often dismembered into legs, breasts or thighs, reinforcing the message that women are objects rather than whole human beings’. Killbourne suggests that women have become dehumanised into erotic objects for male pleasure. One element of Lynx’s campaigns which continues throughout is the idea of fake portrayal. In each advert the male role is played by your everyday, not overly-attractive man, contrasted with the female role being a desirable, young beauty. In an everyday world the changes of the male role attracting that type of woman are very slim. Despite this the main message that Lynx put across to their audience throughout their advertisements is that if men wear the product – women will find them irresistible – False portrayal. Of course this element adds humour to the advertisements, although all at the expense of objectifying women in the process and promoting the gender role of the dominant male. Bibliography Websites: www.mediaknowall.com Hearst, http.//www.hearst.co.uk/magazines/Cosmpolitan/5-about.htm Cosmopolitan, http://www.cosmopolitan.com/celebrity/exclusive/megan-fox-april-cover-cosmopolitan Exploring the media: representations and responses

Monday, July 22, 2019

Importance of Swot Analysis Essay Example for Free

Importance of Swot Analysis Essay Why is the process of conducting an internal and external analysis on a regular basis important for any size company? The process of an internal and external analysis on a regular basis is important for any size company because it allows the company to know where it stands at the moment and determines the development and forecasts of those factors that will influence the organizational success. This is also known as environmental scanning where the external and the internal environments are scanned for information like ongoing trends patterns, occasions and changes going around and the effect it has to both these environments. External analysis: These analyses are performed outside the firm and depend on the following factors: a, MACRO: technological, demographic/economic, political/legal and social/cultural, national and global environment b. MICRO: competitors, suppliers, customers, publics, channels etc. Internal Analysis: This analysis is performed within the firm that includes the employees, management and the shareholders, resources, organisational structure etc. SWOT Analysis  The most common way of analyzing this external and internal environment is by performing the SWOT analysis. SWOT is an acronym used that describes Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats that are strategic elements for a firm. A SWOT analysis should not only result in the identification of a corporation’s core competencies, but also in the identification of opportunities that the firm is not currently able to take advantage of due to a lack of appropriate resources. (Wheelen, Hunger pg 107) The External analysis comprises of the Opportunities and Threats that the company needs to identify or focus on for its profitability and development of defensive actions. * Opportunities: This analyzes the area where the firm can identify its opportunities so as to have a competitive advantage over its competitors. Once identified, the firm has to work on them to make it one of its strengths. Its main aim is to find an area where they need to develop to be profitable. * Threats: These are the threats that the firm faces from outside the firm and can be from any of the external sources. The firm has to be prepared to tackle these threats by developing strategic decisions when required so that it does not affect their profitability or sales. The Internal analysis focuses on the internal environment of the organisation and analyzes the Strengths and Weaknesses of the company. * Strengths: These are the core competencies of the firm that provides them the advantage of achieving their goals. These should be aligned in meeting the customer requirements because at the end of the day, it is the customer whom they serve. Therefore, it should be customer focussed and market oriented. * Weaknesses: These refer to the firm’s limitations in fulfilling their strategic decisions or failure to implement them. It has to be analyzed from the customer’s point of view so as to get a clear idea. These steps need to analyze the firm’s resources and the capabilities to meet their goals and identify events and trends that might impact the strategic plans and decisions of the company.

Sunday, July 21, 2019

Crime and Society Essays criminal justice considerations

Crime and Society Essays criminal justice considerations INTRODUCTION the problems of society become most visible when change occurs, and recent decades have brought immense social and economic changes (Pampel, 2000: 52). This can be revealed most clearly in the sociological aspects of youth crime. However, it has also been claimed that social policy should evaluate how policies impact on peoples lives (Blakemore, 1998: 5). Durkheim noted that society works best when it exercises control over individuals (Pampel, 2000: 72). Acceptable behaviour is enforced through law and morality which is maintained through rules and principles: the cement of society (Devlin cited in Elliott and Quinn, 1998: 449). This cement illustrates legal moralism that has been identified as socially significant (Cotterrell, 1989, Page 1). Accordingly, an analysis of laws conceptual structures (Cotterrell, 1989, Page 3) could be ascertained and the importance of shared values emphasised, ultimately influencing individuals behaviour (Pampel, 2000, Page 57). This has been reflected in a decline of organic solidarity, differentiating societys collective conscience, and thereby creating an environment for an increase in crime. This philosophy of inter-related support has been recognised as structural functionalism which, taken to extremes, acknowledges that poverty and crime are normal and natural functions within any healthy society (Pampel, 2000, Page 75). The rule of law should represent the ideal of a universal goodness exhibiting no negative impact on any given society, and no negative characteristics that could apply to its nature according to Thompson (Thompson, 1975, Page 266). Unfortunately, it appears to be this concept that has swung too far in the favour of societys miscreants, to the detriment of their victims, the communities in which these offenders live, and the weaker members of society, prompting the current debate on victims rights and David Blunketts intentions to re-address the balance to deliver real justice to victim s and the wider community (Blunkett, 2002b). This essay evaluates the wider issues surrounding the criminal justice system, social policy and how feminism and the study of gender impacts on these sectors. Classicism and positivism are particularly relevant to any study of criminology and lead to an introduction of criminological theories which attempt to put feminism into the context of social policy within the criminal justice sector. Crimes amongst the youth might also be considered to be a reflection of the current social trends and this facet has briefly been evaluated in terms of social environment. The conclusion summarises many details introduced in this essay. 2. DISCUSSION 2.1 Definitions of crime The Royal Commission on Criminal Justice was set up to: examine the effectiveness of the criminal justice system in England and Wales in securing the conviction of those guilty of criminal offences and the acquittal of those who are innocent (Zander, in Martin, 1998). The Runciman Commission made 352 recommendations in 1993, from police investigations to disclosure of evidence (Field and Thomas, 1994 cited in James and Raine, 1998: 40). All aspects of the criminal justice system came under scrutiny, with 600 organisations contributing to its evidence (Martin, 1998: 115). During this period, the Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1994, the Criminal Appeal Act 1995 and the Criminal Procedure and Investigation Act 1996 were all implemented, with varying interpretations and capricious emphases which altered according to Management changes. Pampel observes, however, that: the problems of society become most visible when change occurs, and recent decades have brought immense social and economic changes (Pampel, 2000: 52). Durkheim, meanwhile, noted that society works best when it exercises control over individuals (Pampel, 2000: 72) with Weber maintaining that: societies work more smoothly when the use of power has legitimacy in the eyes of both the rulers and the ruled (Pampel, 2000: 113). Deterrence, retribution, rehabilitation and incapacitation constitute the four major theories of punishment. Deterrence aims to reduce crime through threat of punishment, or through its example. The concept is that the experience of punishment would create an impact unpleasant enough to prevent any further offence. Penalties are established to prevent crime being contemplated, with the idea that the example of unpleasant consequences would make potential criminals reconsider any future offence. Retribution requires an offender to contribute community-based endeavours through proportionality related to the crimes committed. The concept involves cleaning the slate through enforced labour to account to society for any misdemeanour. With the intention of better justice through more consistent sentencing, the White Paper preceding the Criminal Justice Act 1991 suggested that convicted criminals get their just deserts (HMSO, 1990a). This concept does actually limit the States power through limiting exemplary sentences, achieving parity when two offenders receive similar punishments for similar crimes. The National Victim Support Programme was considered a way forward with respect to societys acceptance of restorative justice but both of the major political parties have pursued half formed and in many ways half hearted policies in relation to victims of crime. There is little indication of change in this area (Newburn and Crawford, 2002: 117). Conformity through inner positive motivation exemplifies the theory of rehabilitation, although it has been criticised for disparity in proportionality. The concept is not based on the degree of offence committed or focused on the criminals past, but on future rehabilitation to preclude re-offending through changes of circumstances. Conversely, incapacitation recognises that some offenders fail to respond to deterrence or rehabilitation and continue to commit crimes as and when an opportunity to do so presents itself. For criminals with this mindset the only option is protective sentencing to prevent further crimes being committed, thereby punishing the offender for crimes committed with a further implication of punishment for future crimes that could be envisaged if released. An equally important part of restorative justice must be in measures to prevent crimes being committed. Funding of 6 million has been invested in a Government programme to reduce crime. Some of these measures include restorative justice, enforcement of financial penalties, CCTV initiatives, treatment of offenders, youth inclusion initiatives, targeting policies and intervention work in schools To be effective in developing suitable policies the criminal justice system need to approach the problem from different angles simultaneously, and adopt a policy of co-operation and co-ordination across all involved parties. Since the inception of the Regional Crime Squads (South cited in Maquire, 1994, 423), co-operation has existed across autonomous police forces, and surveillance intelligence squads can acquire information which, along with co-operation from the other agencies which make up the criminal justice system, can be collated and used to prevent some of the worst excesses of violen ce and crime erupting. Novick argues that the basis of the State is a need for a single and efficient protective association in a territory (McCoubrey White, 307) with Jacques considering that economic efficiency needs to be assessed in respect of its impact on human feelings, on community and on social relationships and the quality of life in society (Jacques, 1976, 15). Adjudication provides a formal mechanism for resolving disputes, with rules of change available to deal with new problems requiring further elucidation and rules of recognition involving prerogative powers and the sovereignty of Parliament. These rules do not account for those natural rules which acknowledge those inherent fundamental human rights. According to Finnis (2002), each individual is aware that deviation from societys code of behaviour would result in sanctions being applied to avoid injustice. The ethos Finnis applies to his explanation of retribution is considered to rectify the distribution of advantages and disadvantages b y depriving the convicted criminal of his freedom of choice in proportion to his unlawful act. Regardless of theories, an escalating scale of crimes continue to be committed, with 5.2 million offences recorded in England and Wales during 2000 (Recorded Crime, HMSO Press Release, 19/01/01) which, when compared to 3.87 million in 1989 and 479,40,018 in 1950, has an effect on long term projections in the prison population to 2008 (British Crime Survey 2001 2002). Evidence of this was exhibited when the disturbances in Strangeways prison took place in 1990, prompting the Woolf Report (Custody, Care and Justice, HMSO, 1991). It was published as a White Paper in 1991 and highlighted the relationship between overcrowding in prisons and the maintenance of control, promoting ongoing discussions about the aims of imprisonment. Meanwhile, the crime response and solving rate has fallen from 45% to 29% despite the number of police officers having increased from 63,100 to 126,500 (British Crime Survey 2001 2002). Maguire suggests that: increasing numbers of police officers, an increase in telephones making reporting easier, increasing use of insurance, and reduced levels of public tolerance to violence have all contributed (Maguire, cited in Croall, 1997). Stern recognises the system often precludes dedicated people from a more effective route of exacting retribution (Stern, 1989: 247). The diversity of ideas and practices associated with the restorative justice movement exemplify the difficulties associated with the concept. Johnstone (2003) highlights the paradigm of justice associated with practical experimentation that underlies the values and ideas which involve a number of models of theoretical law covering criminal and civil law together with restorative justice. The relevance of this earlier part of the essay reflects the ethos of restorative justice: this is not a new concept, nor can it be viewed in isolation. 2.2 Classicism, Positivism and Realism The divergence of positivism from its precursor, classicism, was described by Austin as a rule laid down for the guidance of an intelligent being by an intelligent being having power over him. (Austin, 1995: 9). Parallels with this concept can be illustrated within the feminist model whereby women were classed as irrational beings and of secondary importance to men. It has been acknowledged that criminological theories have been developed by men for men and attempts to categorise women offenders in accordance with these precepts fails to be applicable (Gelsthorpe and Morris, 1990: xii-8). In other words, men have acquired a dominant position in society. Left realism reflects this dominance. The ethos of left realism illustrates that certain types of behaviour that is more prevalent amongst the less powerful would be classed as criminal. Criminal laws were then introduced to reflect this concept. Rather than the criminal being regarded as an acquiescent offender, left realism would ha ve them portrayed as a victim of society. Furthermore, it is from the concept of left realism that the notion of a number of actors, involving the offender, the police, the victim and the criminal justice system has developed. Left realism distinguishes between a macro level of crime theory and a micro level, the former involving the sociological aspects and the latter a more micro level involving an individual and personal viewpoint of crime (Lilly, Cullen Ball, 1995) and takes into account the role of the victims of crime. Constraints on space preclude a detailed discussion on left and right realism, but an overview identifies four important factors which are regarded as being inter-related and which contribute to a holistic image of crime on both a micro level and a more integrated macro level (Young, 2002). The various theories, such as Labelling Theory, represent right realism and tend to focus on the offender and the reasons why they acted in the way they did. The emphasis on feminism within the field of criminology evolved through the ethos of left realism, where male dominance was recognised for its fundamental contributions to traditional criminological theories. A universal assumption relates to womens particular role within society and, accordingly, studies of women offenders are considered particularly relevant to the sociological facets such as morality and economic situations (Smart, 1976). It has been recorded that 84% of known offenders in 1984 were men, from which Heidensohn notes: Women commit a small share of all crimestheir crimes are fewer, less serious, more rarely professional, and less likely to be repeated (Heidensohn, 2002, 491). Furthermore, according to Barclay (1995, page 20), just 8% of women were convicted of an indictable offence from a population born in 1953 (cited in Heidensohn, 2002, 494). It must be noted that, whilst violence is most often perpetrated by men, 1 in 5 occurrences of violence against women were committed by other women (Coleman and Moynihan, 1996, page 97). According to Gelsthorpes model, however, any studies focusing on womens criminality often tend to focus on their gender rather than the crime itself (1986: 138 149), resulting in sweeping generalisations being made and an assumption that women are mad not bad (Lloyd, 1995: xvii cited in KeltaWeb, 2005). Taken further, it has been suggested that laws are constructed and enforced by men to the disadvantage of women (Burke, R, 2001). Criminology from the feminist perspective is exemplified through either liberal, radical, Marxist or socialist models, the latter also incorporating post-modernism and eco-feminism. The significance of the feminist stance within the criminal justice system relates partly to societys perception of their biological function and lack of rationality, in accordance with Lombrosos theories of atavism. This positive philosophy is a disparate variation from classicism, and was introduced into criminological theory by Lombroso, Ferri and Garofolo (Williams and McShane, 1991: 35) although it was noted that They failed to find the numbers of born female criminals marked by physical, atavistic traits which they anticipated (Heidensohn, 2002, page 492). Heidensohn notes, however, that the evidence of Lombroso and Ferreros work has survived whereas their equivalent rese arch relating to men did not (Heidensohn, 2002, page 493), although other research revealed the importance of sociological and environmental factors (Heidensohn, 2002, page 493). The distinct theories of classicism and positivism have been recognised in criminological studies as the two major hypotheses in the science of penology, conceding criminal anthropology as inherent in identifying criminals through their genetic structure, likening it to atavism (Lombroso, 1876). All people are considered equal according to classicist precepts and governments are created by those individuals to protect the peoples rights through the recognition of a social contract (McCoubrey and White, 1999: 60 84). Classicists aspire towards civil rights, realised through the law as a system of due process. It is this emphasis on the social contract that compounds the deviance as a moral offence against society. Punishment is proportional to the seriousness of the offence and can only be justified to preserve the social contract and deter others (Williams, 1997: 8). The constrained concept of Classicism identifies as autonomous a person who is the result of their environment. Positivism, however, has been documented as either internal, [assuming an atavistic involvement of the psychological or biological aspect], or a sociological aspect of positivism which is outside an individuals control (Burke, 2001: 272) and assumes a dependency in individuals. Positivists approach deviance from a scientific perspective which enables deviance to be rectified through a combination of power and knowledge. The correlation between positivism and criminological theory identified criminals through an inherent genetic structure, perceived as atavistic features edifying villainous characteristics which could be identified through isolationist principles and surveillance experiments and through case studies (Lombroso, [1876] in Williams and McShane, 1991: 35). These sociological studies exhibited a reciprocity which was attributed to a specific social order, deviation from which society recognised as a criminal act. Positivist theory attributed this deviation to an abnormality that could be treated, with the hypothesis suggesting that criminals could be reformed. As the final result was intended to protect society from harm, punishment was sanctioned to provide treatment, not to punish, with cognitive treatments involving group therapy sessions and the use of drug therapies to achieve these objectives. Conversely, Bentham and Beccaria propounded the classical theory of fundamental rights associated with natural law. Their utilitarian principles of autonomy, liberty and rationality acknowledged deviance as a rational act against the rules of society and from which these miscreants needed to be dissuaded through the application of punishments (Burke, 2001: 270). 2.3 Criminological Theories Hobbes observation of human actions being ultimately self-serving, including the concept of morality, related cognisance to a state of nature which guarantees the survival of the fittest. Classicists such as Hobbes, Bentham and Beccaria considered that deviance is an inherent characteristic in the psyche of all individuals (Gottfredson and Hirshi, 1990), displayed as an expression of human rationality towards the presence of bad laws (Beccaria, 1963). Beccaria suggested that punishments should be consistent and logical and bound within the legal system. From the basis on non-conformity to societys rules, deviance has been regarded as a miscreants response to temptation and the exercise of their power over others. Use of a structural method elucidates relationships between a hierarchy of individuals and groups which have been considered to be inherent within the structural approach to criminology and, equally important, societys reactions to criminal behaviour. Crime tends to exhibit specific reactions against deviance, evidence of which can be seen with the Labelling Theory (Lemert, 1967) which focuses attention on the hierarchical role of crimes in society. Control theory, meanwhile, unearths links between individuals and institutions, for example family background and upbringing and corresponding behavioural actions and reactions. Hagan relates this philosophy to what he terms the structural study of crime (Hagan, 1988: 3) and the Power-Control Theory which plays a significant role in explaining the social distribution of delinquent behaviour through the social reproduction of gender relations (Hagan, 1988: 1 287) and affects the social distribution of delinquency. Moreover, one important aspect of this theory is the ethics associated with crime and delinquency, for example, the effects of gender on criminality. Gottfredson and Hirschi (1990), meanwhile, suggest that classicism is revealed through the control theories which exhibit consequences painful to the individual. (Gottfredson and Hirschi 1990) Positivism in relation to criminology depended on the scale of rationality between free will and determinism according to precepts of Cesare Lombroso whose explanations of criminal behaviour resulted in the criminal born man or woman who exhibited physical attributes leading to their recognition as criminals, a situation not supported by Durkheim. Too many variables made Lombrosos theory precarious but his typologies were correlated between certain offenders committing certain kinds of crime (Gottfreddson and Hirschi 1990). A number of other theories exist to explain a psychological or sociological basis to the science of criminology. Bandura and Eysenk studied observational learning, conditioning and personality traits, whilst the Strain Theory and the Anomie Theory of Merton blame environmental pressures on deviance, with the Subculture Theory attributing lack of attainment to societys expectations to be at the heart of offending. 2.4 Sociological Aspects of Youth Crime Whilst all people might be considered equal according to classicist precepts, with governments created by those individuals to protect the peoples rights through the recognition of a social contract (McCoubrey and White, 1999, Page 60 84), David Blunkett singles out a specific sector of society by suggesting that: nearly three quarters of street crime offenders are under 17 and a hard core five per cent of juveniles are responsible for 60 per cent of offences for their age group (Blunkett, 2002c). Clearly, despite the introduction of innumerable projects designed to re-integrate offenders back into their communities, the growth in lawless behaviour has not diminished. Many measures to restrain unacceptable behaviour are now available, amongst which are Youth Offending Teams, Final Warning Schemes, Detention and Training Orders, Acceptable Behaviour Programmes, Parenting Orders, Reparation Orders and Anti-Social Behaviour Orders (Blunkett, 2002c) although, retrospectively, little appears to have improved. In December 2003 Lord Falconer of Thoroton emphasised that this: crime and anti-social behaviour corrupts communities, eating away at the fabric of the way we all want to live our lives (Lord Falconer, 2003). An increasing lack of morality appears to be more prevalent within modern society, with Chief Superintendent of Greater Manchester Police describing these amoral youths as feral (The Times, 2005). Despite all the legislation at the disposal of the criminal justice system, however, the yob culture appears to be endemic, with the vulnerable in society more at risk of becoming victims than ever before. The media report lurid headlines on a daily basis: Beaten to death on his doorstep (Daily Mail, 2005); Beaten up on Video Phone (Daily Mail, 2005); Hoody ban eases shoppers fear (Daily Mail, 2005, page 8). The edition on May 19th 2005 reported how thugs attack a funeral car by launching an 8 foot length of wood through the windscreen of the car travelling immediately behind the hearse. It has been reported that some forces are not making good use of legislation and tackling the imitation firearm problem (Deputy Chief Constable, Daily Mail, 2005, Page 8) when children, some as young as 13, routinely carry replica BB guns, which can cause serious injury to targets up to 30 yards away, around the streets. CONCLUSION In 2002 the Home Secretary intended: to deliver real justice to victims and the wider community and strike a fair balance between the rights of victims and the accused (Blunkett, 2002a). The Legal Action Group suggest that victims and defendants rights are mutually incompatible (Cape, 2004, page 1) and suggest that victims rights are not being catered for; their rights are neither acknowledged nor respected. However, they also ascertain that, in making it easier to convict defendants is not in the best interests of the victims. The fragility between rights to security and freedom and the obligation to protect communities, reflects a natural result of shared morality without which rules would lack meaning (Pampel, 2000, Page 67). This factor was clearly recognised by David Blunkett who acknowledged the public felt that the system had swung too far in favour of the accused (Blunkett, 2002a). This intensely deep-rooted problem of lawlessness within communities cannot be solved by the police alone. Henham observes that this can only be achieved through: disregard of formal legal controls which prove an obstacle to the production of a high conviction rate although he acknowledges that due process maintains an adherence to courtroom procedure and protection of the individual (Henham, 1998, Page 592). Many organisations have highlighted the growth in recorded crime despite measures in place to punish the offender. Punishment falls into various areas from incapacitation to retribution, deterrence to rehabilitation. A large number of theories abound, all attempting to explain the reasons behind criminal actions. These theories investigate the backgrounds of criminals, their psychological and physical attributes and their positions in society together with their abilities to cope with expectations placed on them by society. As yet there has been no definitive answer and, due to so many variables, there possibly never will be. Controversially, Durkheim believed that a certain amount of crime failed to harm society and was normal and valuable in a healthy society (Cotterell, 1992: 159), with the ideas of right and wrong being reaffirmed through the existence of crime and punishment (Pampel, 2000: 59). This reflects a natural result of shared morality without which rules would lack meaning (Pampel, 2000: 67), promoting the concept of the durability of social life inevitably assuming a definite form. Individual and collective morality would assume that offenders should be punished to maintain the stability of the community and maintain their safety. Our collective conscience ensures that the majority accept the rule of law and accept that deviance needs to be punished. Psychologically, restorative justice is assumed to invoke aesthetic sentiment of forgiveness for miscreants and release for victims. What it fails to do is provide society with assurances that their safety and integrity will be maintained in an atmosphere where the offenders rights appear to be upheld in variance with those of the victim, or the fundamental rights the victim is entitled to expect. A personal view could be recorded which considers that restorative justice exhibits illusionary tendencies to pacify the reformers at the expense of societys status quo. Clearly, not a supporter of restorative justice this writer intuitively distorts the semantics and cognitively refers to this concept as retributive justice: more aptly named, and far more appropriate for the majority of offenders who, regardless of intervention programmes to rehabilitate them will continue to offend despite societys best efforts. BIBLIOGRAPHY Austin, 1995, cited in Martin, J (1999): The English Legal System: Oxford, UK, Hodder Stoughton, p.115 Beccaria, Cesare. (1963) [1764]: On Crimes and Punishments. Indianapolis: Bobbs-Merrill. Blakemore, Ken (1998): Social Policy: an Introduction: Buckingham, UK: Open University Press Blunkett, David (2002a): Balance of rights essential to effective justice. June, 19 Speaking at the Metropolitan Police Modernising Criminal Justice Conference http://www.cjsonline.org.uk/news/2002/june/balance_of_rights.html Blunkett, David (2002b): Justice for All Radical reform of the Criminal Justice System unveiled. July 17Criminal justice reforms unveiled. Announcement from Home Secretary to the Police Superintendents Association of England and Wales http://www.policesupers.com/police-supers-news.asp?news_id=139 Blunkett, David, (2002c)introducing the publication of the new White Paper, Justice for all, 2002, November 14: speaking at 3.30pm at the Youth Justice Board Annual. Cape, Ed (2004): Reconcilable Rights: analysing the tension between victims and defendants. Legal Action Group, 2004. http://64.233.183.104/search?q=cache:FHPdMNH7Xw0J:www.rethinking.org.uk/informed/lagbriefing.pdf+current+debate+regarding+victims%27+rightshl=en Burke, Roger Hopkins (2001): An Introduction to Criminological Theory. Cullompton: Willan publishing Cape, Ed (2004): Reconcilable Rights: analysing the tension between victims and defendants, Legal Action Group, 2004. In Victims and defendants rights: can they be reconciled?. Rethinking Crime Punishment, 2005, April, http://www.rethinking.org.uk/informed/lagbriefing.pdf Coleman, Clive and Moynihan, Jenny (1996): Understanding Crime Data: haunted by the dark figure. Buckingham, Philadelphia, USA: Oxford University Press Cotterrell, Roger (1989): The Politics of Jurisprudence: a Critical Introduction to Legal Philosophy: London, UK: Butterworths Cotterrell, Roger (1992): The Sociology of Law: London, UK: Butterworth Daily Mail Newspaper, 2005, May 20: Green, Deputy Chief Constable, Greater Manchester, Page 8 Daily Mail Newspaper, 2005, May 19: Thugs attack a funeral car Daily Mail Newspaper, 2005, May 20: Hoody ban eases shoppers fear, Page 8 Daily Mail Newspaper, 2005, May 21: Beaten to death on his doorstep, Front Page Daily Mail Newspaper, 2005, May 20: Beaten up on Video Phone, Front Page Devlin cited in Elliott, C Quinn, F (1998): English Legal System (2nd edition): Essex, UK, Addison Wesley Longman Ltd Field Thomas (1994) cited in James, A Raine, J (1998): The New Politics of Criminal Justice: London, UK, Longman Finnis, John (2002): Natural Law: the Classical Tradition. In Coleman, Jules L and Shapiro, Scott (eds): The Oxford Handbook of Jurisprudence and Philosophy of Law Oxford: Oxford University Press. Pages 1-60 Gelsthorpe and Morris, 1990: xii-8 cited in KeltaWeb (2005): A Feminist Perspective on Women and Crime. Available from: www.keltawebconcepts.com.au/efemcrim1.htm. [Accessed 09/08/05] Gelsthorpe, L (1986): Towards a sceptical look at sexism. International Journal of the Sociology of Law 14: 125-53 Gottfredson, Michael R and Hirschi, T (1990): A General Theory of Crime. Stanford: Stanford University Press Hagan, John (1988): Feminist Scholarship, Relational and Instrumental Control, and a Power-Control Theory of Gender and Delinquency. In British Journal of Sociology 39 (3):301-336. Heidensohn, Frances (2002): Gender and Crime. cited in The Oxford Handbook of Criminology. Maquire, Mike; Morgan, Rod; and Reiner, Robert. Oxford: Oxford University Press Henham, Ralph (1998): Human Rights, due process and sentencing. In British Journal of Criminology, Issue 38, Page 592 Home Office (2002): Prevalence of Drug Use. Key Findings from the 2001 2002 British Crime Survey. London: HMSO. Available from: http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/rds/pdfs2/r182.pdf [Accessed 10/08/05] HMSO, (1990a): Crime, Justice and Protecting the Public. Cm 965. London: HMSO. http://64.233.183.104/search?q=cache:n-zy-8yFCIEJ:webjcli.ncl.ac.uk/1996/issue3/rtf/henham3.rtf+HMSO%2BCrime,+Justice+and+Protecting+the+Publichl=en Jacques, E (1976): A General Theory of Bureaucracy: London, UK, Heinnemann Johnstone, Gerry (2003): A Restorative Justice Reader: Texts, Sources and Context. Devon: Willan Publishing Lemert, E M (1967): Primary and secondary deviance. In S H Traub C B Little (Eds.), Theories of Devianc

Saturday, July 20, 2019

Dramatic Irony in Oedipus Rex Essay -- essays research papers

Dramatic Irony in Oedipus Rex In Oedipus Rex, by Sophocles, there are several instances of dramatic irony. Not only does this irony give the plot a rounder shape, but it helps the audience understand, or follow along, the plot better.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Dramatic irony is sometimes used to intensify a scene or act. By doing this, the plot of the story, or play, is made more interesting. One example is Oedipus taunting Teiresias for his blindness, both physical and stellar. He says, â€Å"You sightless, witless, senseless, mad old man!†, â€Å"You child of endless night! You can not hurt me or any other man who sees the sun.† Oedipus constantly made remarks to Teiresias blindness and his sight, though unknowingly, Oedipus himself was the â€Å"child of endless night†, the â€Å"sightless, witless, ... Dramatic Irony in Oedipus Rex Essay -- essays research papers Dramatic Irony in Oedipus Rex In Oedipus Rex, by Sophocles, there are several instances of dramatic irony. Not only does this irony give the plot a rounder shape, but it helps the audience understand, or follow along, the plot better.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Dramatic irony is sometimes used to intensify a scene or act. By doing this, the plot of the story, or play, is made more interesting. One example is Oedipus taunting Teiresias for his blindness, both physical and stellar. He says, â€Å"You sightless, witless, senseless, mad old man!†, â€Å"You child of endless night! You can not hurt me or any other man who sees the sun.† Oedipus constantly made remarks to Teiresias blindness and his sight, though unknowingly, Oedipus himself was the â€Å"child of endless night†, the â€Å"sightless, witless, ...

Definition Of Good And Evil Essay -- essays research papers

Throughout human existence, questions have arisen concerning the nature of good and evil. Many scientist, philosophers, and theologians have been intrigued by these questions. Through Augustine’s Confessions and E. O. Wilson’s In Search of Nature, one is accessible to two distinct perspectives concerning the nature of good and evil.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Augustine sets up an argument in his Confession that attempts to define evil. God is the author of everything. Augustine says, â€Å"nothing that exists could exist without You [God]† (Book I, Chapter II). Nothing in this world exists apart from God.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  For Augustine, God is good because everything He made is good. Everything about God is good. No aspect of Him is lacking, false, or not good. However, the question of evil and from where it came still remains.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Augustine then asks himself where it was that evil came. Evil could not have come from God; it must have come from another source other than God. Because we clearly see evil in this world, did God allow it to enter? This would seem that God is not omnipotent.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Originally Augustine believed that evil had substance. However, his views changed later where he says, â€Å"If they were deprived of all goodness, they would be altogether nothing; therefore, as long as they are, they are good. Thus whatsoever things are, are good; and that evil whose origin I sought is not a substance† (Book VII,...

Friday, July 19, 2019

Studying Law within a Broad Context :: Law College Admissions Essays

Studying Law within a Broad Context    While the law may be too ungainly and inefficient a vehicle to directly change the world, it offers a unique opportunity to help influence people's interpretation of the world. I have always longed to be in a more intellectual environment where I might be allowed to see things from a different perspective. Having thoroughly enjoyed the academic study of Government and Politics and Economics where understanding political rhetoric and economic influences on government policies had to be analysed through abstract theories I am looking forward to studying law within a broad political, economical, historical and social context. Through obtaining a law degree, I will also be able to join many others in the struggle of our rights and dignity and strive within an imperfect political system toward the goal of greater equality within the law.    My work experience placements have left me wanting to do a lot more in the legal sphere. Whilst working at the BBC, the dominance of international and domestic issues in news items which were broadcast, highlighted the relevance of a thorough knowledge and understanding of social issues and hence the legal system. In addition my work experience in a non-governmental organisation (HCA) helped me to distinguish the different types of problems faced by those who were seeking help from the organisation, such as injustice and civil conflict. My work experience with a freelance solicitor has also been invaluable in gaining practical skills in the implementation of the existing law system. My work experiences have undoubtedly built upon the skills I have gained through my academic experiences.    Throughout my studies I have successfully undertaken individual research. I have prepared and presented seminars to my peer group and prioritised my workload to meet deadlines with work of a high standard.    Within my school community I have undertaken volunteer work. As a library assistant my duties included organising the book loan system and making sure younger students used their time efficiently. As a school prefect I held many responsibilities such as organising school events and monitoring younger students. I also participated in In-class support assistance where I assisted with year 11 German lessons.    Out of school I enjoy travelling to a variety of locations as this broadens my perspective of life. Meeting a wide range of people and learning about different cultures and traditions is I believe of paramount importance in comprehending the entire world.

Thursday, July 18, 2019

Comparison of life with seasons in nature Essay

At do you understand by the Standard Meridian? Answer Standard Meridian is the longitude on the basis of which a country’s standard time is determined. Standard meridians all over the world are generally those longitudes which are exactly divisible by 15 °. The Standard Meridian of India lies at 82 ° 30†² E longitude and it passes through Mirzapur in Uttar Pradesh. The Indian Standard Time is five hours and thirty minutes ahead of the Greenwich Mean Time. Q4) Why is Indian Ocean named after India? Answer Indian Ocean is named after India because India has the longest coastline on the ocean. It is surrounded by the ocean from three sides. The Indian Ocean serves as the major channel for India’s trade with other countries through sea route. It is the strategic importance of India on the Indian Ocean that has resulted in naming the ocean after India. Why has 82 ° 30†² E been chosen as the Standard Meridian of India? Answer 82 ° 30†² E has been chosen as the Standard Meridian of India because this longitude passes through the middle of the country. This balances the time gap of two hours between the westernmost and easternmost parts of India. Also, 82 ° 30†² E is exactly divisible by 15 i.e., a difference of 30 minutes. What is the reason for the time difference of two hours between the western most and eastern most parts of India? Answer There is a time lag of two hours between Gujarat in the west and Arunachal Pradesh in the east. This is because of the difference of almost 30 ° in terms of longitudinal coordinates between Gujarat and Arunachal Pradesh, the westernmost and the easternmost parts of the country, respectively. According to the time system, time increases from west to east by one hour with every 15 °. Since Arunachal Pradesh is 30 ° ahead of Gujarat, there is a time gap of two hours between the two. Which Indian states share their boundaries with Pakistan? What is the effect of this? Answer Four Indian states, namely Jammu and Kashmir, Punjab, Rajasthan and Gujarat  share their boundaries with Pakistan. Owing to their boundaries with Pakistan, these Indian states are of strategic importance to India. Heavy military forces are always deployed in the border areas of these states. Safety of the people of these states is a paramount concern for the government, as India does not share a friendly relation with Pakistan. 7) What is the significance of the Palk Strait and Gulf of Mannar? Where are they situated? Answer The Gulf of Munnar and the Palk Strait are situated in the Indian Ocean towards south of India. They are significant because they form the main dividing line between India and Sri Lanka. The narrow channel of sea formed by the Gulf of Munnar and the Palk Strait divides the Indian peninsula from the island nation of Sri Lanka. Q9) What were the main reasons that facilitated the growth of trade relations of India with the far-off lands? Answer Since ancient times, India has enjoyed the benefits of a favourable location in its trade relations with other countries. It is centrally located in Asia and has access to both land and sea. Since ancient times, India was well connected with countries of West Asia, Europe and China through land routes. These trade routes facilitated the exchange of goods and people on a large scale. Also, India is surrounded by sea from three sides. This opened-up the vast possibilities of maritime trade for India with south-east Asian and African countries. Owing to these favourable conditions, India was able to amass huge wealth through its foreign trade. Describe India’s location in the world. Answer India is located in the northern hemisphere. It is a southward extension of Asia. India has a total area of 3.28 million square km. It is surrounded by sea from three sides. Towards its south is the Indian Ocean, to the east is the Bay of Bengal and to the west is the Arabian Sea. The geographical coordinates of India are 8 ° 4†² N to 37 ° 6†² N latitudes and 68 °7†² E to 97 ° 25†² E longitudes. Tropic of Cancer (23 ° 30†² N) passes midway through India. India has two groups of islands: the Andaman and Nicobar islands in the Bay of Bengal and the Lakshadweep islands in the Arabian Sea. India’s north is bestowed with the mighty Himalayas. It is a favourably located country in the world.