Thursday, November 28, 2019

Central-State Materialism Essays - Cognitive Science,

Central-State Materialism In my readings of the two chapters from the book, Body and Mind, written by Keith Campbell, I explored my mind to Central-State Materialism and Functionalism. Both these states have differences and similarities between them. Starting off with Central-State Materialism; then, I reflected my readings, and then viewed Functionalism and stated my readings. The main point of this paper is to give a few supporting details on the similarities and differences Central-State Materialism, and a few points supporting Functionalism. The chapter on Central-State Materialism first introduces us to the Casual Theory of mind, and learning new terms such as, essentially casual and essentially effectual. This is just like a cause and effect concept, that every decision you make is a decision that you made through your mental state because of a certain effect. Our essentially effectual mental behavior is produced by an action, but our essentially casual mental behavior is made for a condition of capacity for a behavior. However we do not always use a capacity for a behavior, but the thought always arises. Central-State Materialism evolved from the man known as Armstrong, but a man by the name of Place was the first to get an Identity Theory out in the open. Campbell tells us, the Casual Theory of mind is coherent to Behaviorism, and these states show the disposing of men to certain forms of their behavior(79). For example, a mans actions are based upon his inner states and that causes him to act differently in particular situations. As the Casual Theory says that all of the mental states of mind causes a person to seek one path rather than seeking another throughout his life. In Central-State Materialism the Casual Theory of the mind has two strands that many mental events and processes are yet factual causes of parts of behavior that belong to different patterns. Thus mental causes get their name from the different behavior patterns of the mind. The mental states in the first strand of the Casual Theory of mind under Central-State Materialism is casually producing a desired effect or an influence in the behavior. Campbell clarifies that doing this will avoid a major problem of Behaviorism. The first strand acknowledges that the mind is an inner, separate, and standing behind behavior (80). Campbell directly states the second strand of the Casual Theory of the mind says mental terms get meaning by reference to behavioral effects of the mental states they denote. But the difference between the first and second strands are that one tries to shun away a problem frm Behaviorism to occur, and the other preserves the truth of Behaviorism (81). In the Casual Theory of mind corresponding to Central State Materialism shows that Behaviorism has a connection of mind with behavior, but they may not be referring to the same ideas. In the Casual Theory of mind we place positivism under meaningful conditions, which are given that bodily movements are perceptible and they lead to the Behaviorism of minds using some of our sense organs. Descartes' view of the Mind is stating that it is all on the inside, and that our minds are a private thing. The Identity Theory says and identifies that types of mental states correspond with types of physical states, but this is only true in some cases of Central-State Materialism. This is saying that for example the type-type Identity Theory, all types of pain are physical types just like everyone else, and takes response to the mental being of your brain. This renders that no alien, no non-human brain, otherwise known as an animal, no artificial brain like computers could feel pain because none of them have human like brain states. We have what are known as stimuli and their responses to our behavior, and these stimuli come from the experiences we gather over time. The central nervous system plays an important role in this mental state because without this system we could not find what our behavior is intending on doing for us. Many Casual Theorist which are also know as Dualist describes mental life as inner states of causes in bodily actions. The events and processes are mainly the effect of behavior, the central nervous system is this because of our behavior reacting to the system this is also in the same way to Functionalism. "Central-State Materialism is thus the most uncompromisingly economical version of the Casual Theory of mind." (Campbell 87). In Behaviorism the only defense is that Central-State Materialism is with the mind, not with the Mind-Body problem. In Central-State

Sunday, November 24, 2019

Oil spill in the Galapagos essays

Oil spill in the Galapagos essays On January 16th a tanker carrying 243,000 gallons of oil, ran aground near the Galapagos Islands. This terrible event spread oil slicks over 488 square miles, and has potential to cause serious irreparable harm, to this historic chain of islands. In addition to endangering many precious species, the human population in this area has also suffered greatly. Thankfully only 170,000 gallons of oil managed to escape the vessel. Companies and the U.S. coast guard later retrieved the additional oil. Emergency aid was also requested to contain the spill as quickly as possible. Containment is currently said to be fairly successful, but most of the damage has already been done. Sea Lions, booby birds and over 30 pelicans along with other birds have been spotted with diesel stains at Santa Fe. Island nearly 37 miles away from the original accident. The sea life has also suffered with dead fish tolls reaching the thousands. Sadly this damage could be grave for the hundreds of sea lions and thousands of reptiles that populate Santa Fe. The fishing waters have been destroyed, leaving over 700 people with little hope of income. All islands in the chain of Galapagos depend on the sea; it's a large part of their life, and their job. The Galapagos National Park has warned residents not to eat fish or swim in the water, causing the public serious alarm. Shamefully the danger put upon this area was caused by human error. Apparently by study of a navigation chart, it was found that the captain had mistaken a signal buoy for a lighthouse. Ecuadorian President Gustavo Noboa has ordered a full investigation. It angers and disappoints me, when I hear about something like this occurring. All of this damage was done because a fairly simple mistake was made. This in turn will affect hundreds of thousands of animals, and a protected environment. An interesting fact is that before 1950 fewer then 1,000 people populated the Galapagos, now it is ho...

Thursday, November 21, 2019

Risk & Value Management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2750 words - 1

Risk & Value Management - Essay Example As the discussion highlights, political risk may be defined as the risk to the assets of an entity due to exposure to a political event. Political risks are related to a specific action from the government which can reduce the profitability of the firm. Political risks can be of 2 types – macro level political risk and micro level political risks. A macro level political risk is related to the general business environment of the country whereas a micro level risk is associated with the politics of a particular place and is site specific. The risk faced by AutoPlast is clearly a micro level risk. Due to the pollution caused by the chemical leak from the site and the fire outbreak; the resentment against the factory among local population is on the rise. This resentment can force the local administration as well as various political parties to take action against the factory .Possible risks include expropriation of property, repudiation of the contract for the factory and civil disturbance in the form of protests against the factory. The likelihood of the risk is medium as the factory has been in existence for the past 25 years. Although people may be angry due to the current issues but long term relationships will help the factory tide over the risk. Mitigation plans for this risk can be taking the political representatives into confidence; making the people aware of the contributions by the factory and working with the administration to ensure no future repeat of the disasters take place. AutoPlast faces economic ri sks due to two factors – one is the competition from cheaper products from Eastern Europe which places a question mark over the viability of the factory and other is the possibility of additional investment to safeguard the factory from further hazard.

Wednesday, November 20, 2019

The Importance of Developing and Using Cultural Stereotypes to Improve Essay - 1

The Importance of Developing and Using Cultural Stereotypes to Improve Cross-Cultural Communication - Essay Example Throughout history, humans have experienced both fascinations with and trepidation towards the other - understood as different nationalities, but also [as] any group of people perceived as different - perhaps in terms of so-called ethnicity, religion, political alignment, class or caste, or gender (Eunson, 2005). Thus, communication techniques should be based on certain cultural stereotypes, which should be taken into account in intercultural communication. The given paper will prove that learning and developing cultural stereotypes will help improve intercultural communication. It is determined that individual from a certain state may apply his own communication techniques during business negotiations or simply communicating with people from the foreign country he visited on vacation (Carbaugh, 1990). His behavior may not be typical for the country he arrived in. This atypicalness may cause difficulties or even frustration. In negotiations, for example, there can be dramatic differences in the way people define their opening positions, use tactics, persuade and listen. Even the practice of haggling over a price is an integral part of some cultures - which many revel in and Thus, the study of cultural stereotypes is necessary for effective cross-cultural communication. If one makes attempts to generalize about the behavior of people from the certain culture, he may need to identify, which age or society group of that particular culture he analyses. The region of the country a person came from should be also taken into account (York, 1994). Though it is necessary to learn and develop cultural stereotypes, this process contains a lot of difficulties that should be overcome. Scientists create special models to help overcome these difficulties (Mearns, 2009). When the primary variant of Hofstede's model of culture was introduced in the 1980s, it drew the attention of many scientists at once. The approach of the model is unique, and it is significant not only because of considering definite cultures but for making comparisons (Fishburn, 1995).

Monday, November 18, 2019

Nursing acutely ill patient Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3500 words

Nursing acutely ill patient - Essay Example This work is mainly going to discuss the management of patients admitted in Accident and Emergency departments suffering from Angina. It also focuses on the treatment, pathophysiology, monitoring, and reassurance. Angina can also be referred to as Angina Pectoris1. Angina is condition causes a severe pain in the chest that often spreads to the arms, shoulders and neck. This condition is mainly caused by inadequate blood supply to the heart muscles. Angina is discomfort or chest pain that is caused when the heart section is deprived of oxygen2. It is also subjected to a symptom of heart disease like the Coronary artery disease. There are three main types of angina. They include, variant angina, stable and unstable angina. Variant angina is a type of angina that occurs when one is at rest or during sleeping hours3. It is very easy to treat using medication. This type of angina in not common and occurs free of atherosclerosis that might be there incidentally. 4Some researchers state tha t variant angina occurs because of coronary artery muscle contraction. Stable angina is the most common type of angina that takes place the heart is overworked. It is easy to predict when it can occur, for instance, when carrying out some activities. Stable angina can be relieved either by rest or through angina medications5. The last type of angina, unstable angina, follows an unpredictable pattern unlike stable angina. It can occur during an activity or when at rest. It is rather complex because it cannot be relieved by both medication and rest. Its occurrence may indicate an impending heart attack. 6The symptoms of angina include; sensation of heaviness or pressing pain on the chest under sternum, the breast bone. The pain is mainly experienced in the arms, neck, jaw regions and shoulder. Physical exertion normally increases the condition because angina occurs only when the heart requires excess oxygen beyond the available oxygen from the blood that nourishes the heart. The main causes of angina are extreme temperatures, smoking cigarette, emotional stress, heavy meals and alcohol. Some of the causes of angina are very serious and threatens life. Musculoskeletal is one of the most common causes of chest pain that are common in patients under forty years. Some of the causes of chest discomfort include respiratory causes such as pleurisy and pulmonary embolism, the digestive causes such as esophageal spasm and heartburn7. The worst condition that threatens life is the cardiac chest pain. Cardiac chest pain sums to 18% of the chest pain cases combined. Chest pain reports sums up to 40% of the admissions in emergency hospitals out of which, 5% visits the Accident and Emergency departments. It is very important to differentiate between non-cardiac and cardiac pain in the admissions of chest pain in a hospital, even though, it can be hard to be sure about the nature8. Early assessment helps to know if there is a heart disease within a patient while early treatmen t increases the survival chances of the patient. It is therefore important to do early assessment and early treatment in order to discover the presence of a heart disease and increase the patient’s survival chances respectively. According to various statistics, the incidences of Coronary Heart Disease have been increasing for the last decades; though there were, low death rates. The

Friday, November 15, 2019

The Solutions And Effects To Prison Overcrowding Criminology Essay

The Solutions And Effects To Prison Overcrowding Criminology Essay The purpose of this paper is to look at the overcrowded prisons that are plaguing the U.S. The prison system that we have is constantly evolving, but seems to circulate through the same prison philosophies. An overcrowded prison does not lend itself to a productive environment for inmates. Many would not care about the environment that the inmates encounter as they feel the inmate has brought this upon himself through his deviant behavior, however not all inmates will stay in prison forever. We will examine some possible solution to curb the overcrowding that is prevalent in prisons today. Solutions to Prison Overcrowding Prison overcrowding has been a problem that has plagued the U.S. prison system since its inception. The solution to this problem for many has been to build more prisons to house the additional prisoners that have been sentenced there. Those who advocate building additional prisons fail to look at what is behind the overcrowding in the first place. Research has found that crime rates are decreasing. It has also shown that prison populations are increasing. Much like the Kevin Costner movie Field of Dreams with the infamous quote, If you build it, they will come that by building more prisons, we will only seek to put more prisoners into them. To fully understand our current overcrowding issue, we must look at the history of the U.S. prison systems and the philosophies that drove them. Then we must look at the sentencing practices that have increased the number of inmates that are incarcerated. This will include the truth-in sentencing laws, the impact of the war on drugs and the enforcement and the increasing of the length of prison terms for certain offenses. We will also take a look at the cost of building a prison and the daily costs of housing an inmate. Then we will look at solutions for reducing prison populations which include rehabilitation and the release of aged offenders and inmates with minor offenses. The U.S. derived many of its ideas about the prison system from England. In the Middle Ages, prisons were used for housing criminals as well as debtors. Juvenile delinquents also began to be housed in prisons. As prisons developed and emerged, the purpose of them changed as well. Drawing from the ideas presented in Essays on Crimes and Punishment by Cesare Beccaria in 1764 a move towards less physical punishment for crimes was made. Beccaria was also responsible for the idea that a punishment should be severe enough to deter crime, but not too extreme. In 1557, England began the use of workhouses. Initially, they were to remove the homeless and vagrants from the streets during the day. During this time, many believed that most criminals were lazy and committed crimes as a result of that. This allowed inmates to work, however they did not learn any useful skills and were not kept in the workhouses overnight. In 1790, the Quakers from Pennsylvania reformed the Walnut Street jail into a prison. The Quakers drew from their religious background and sought to use the prison as a place for an inmate to perform a penance and to make amends for their actions against society. Also, known as the Pennsylvania System, the prison layout allowed for solitary cells. The inmate was placed in the cell, so that they could think about their actions and gain remorse. Work was completed in the cells as well, so the interaction with others was limited to an hour of exercise a day. Although the prison sought to reform the inmates through solitary work, some prisoners could not handle the solitary times and reform did not occur. There was also a high cost involved in maintaining this type of prison. In an effort to improve the prisons, the Mass Prison Era was implemented in 1825. Also known as the Auburn system after the first facility in Auburn, NY, this prison featured areas where inmates worked in groups. However, prisoners still maintained solitary cells when they were not working. When in work groups, silence was enforced. This was done through corporal punishment to maintain order and obedience as well as a strong code of silence at all times. The Auburn prison was also the first to experiment with solitary confinement as a punishment for not following the rules of the prison. One huge difference which produced negative results when compared with the Pennsylvania system is that inmates were not allowed any exercise and they were not given any work to complete. In this system, many inmates went insane, were suicidal and classified as unfit for re-entry into society. Unhappy with their current prison system, The Reformatory Era was developed next. This was the first to introduce the concept of indeterminate prison sentences in the U.S.. This concept came from two European counterparts. The first leader who emerged during this time was Captain Alexander Maconochie who was a warden at Norfolk Island, a prison off the coast of Australia. Maconochie was alarmed at the condition of the prison and sought to reform it. He developed a system where prisoners could earn an earlier freedom with good behavior. Ultimately, it placed the inmates freedom in the hands of that inmate. This was the introduction of the concept of indeterminate sentencing. Another leader during the Reform Era was Sir Walter Crofton who was aware of Maconochies progress and adapted it to the Irish Prison system. Crofton was able to set up a four stage system. In the first stage, prisoners stayed at Mountjoy Prison in Dublin. They were restricted in their activities and movement. In the second stage, they were in Spike Island where they were to begin work. In the third stage, the prisoners were placed in the community on public-service projects. The fourth stage was called the ticket of leave where inmates were allowed to live and work in the community under mild supervision. The response to this was positive until there was an increase in crime which resulted in longer sentences. Crofton did not have the citizens support and could not keep it up. Back in the United States, the indeterminate sentence was introduced by Gaylord Hubbell who was impressed by the Irish Prison system. The indeterminate sentencing was started with approval from The New York Prison Association. Hubbell worked to implement the reformatory practice where prisoners who showed themselves as reformed could earn an earlier release. There were criteria that needed to be met in order to qualify for the indeterminate sentencing: the offender had to be between 16 and 30 years old and it had to be his first offense. Unfortunately, the reform prison era did not last too long as offenders would reoffend. Similar to Ireland, society was not willing to risk the higher crime rates and did not lend its support. It still was the basis for many of the ideas that we hold regarding parole, training and education today. As well as emphasizing the reform of a prisoner over the punishment of a prisoner. In 1890, the Industrial Prison era was sparked. This era brought to light an option to profit from the increasing prison population. There were several systems that utilized inmate work to bring an income into the prison system. The inmate labor systems were: contract system, lease system, piece-price system, state- use system, public-account system and public works system. In contract system, labor was contracted out to private businesses through the prison. Work took place in the prisons, but supplies were provided by the private businesses. In lease system, inmates were taken out of the prison facility and leased out to a private contractor for the day. Piece-price system was similar to the contract system, but inmates produced products that were sold to private businesses. The state-use system had inmates producing products for state offices. The public-account system was a combination of contract, piece-price and state-use systems where inmates produced, managed and sold product s in the free market that was fully run by the prison. Finally, the public-works system had inmates working on roads, highways, cleaning public areas like parks, and restoring other building in the community under the supervision of prison officials. During this time, inmates produced furniture, clothing, cleaning products and other items. The Prison Industry Era was running quite smoothly and making a substantial profit until workers from society like mechanics complained that inmates were taking over their jobs and with cheaper labor. Workers could not compete with them and felt it was unfair. These protests lead to the Ashurst-Summers Act of 1935 where Federal legislation which specifically prohibited the interstate transportation and sale of prison goods where state laws forbade them. (Schmalleger, 2007). This limited the sale of inmate produced products. In conjunction with the Depression, the once profitable Prison Industry ended. The Prison Industries Era lasted for over 40 years and was followed by the Punitive Era. The focus moved back to an age of confinement where the prisoner was to be locked away for their crimes. During this time, larger maximum security facilities were built like Alcatraz. Prisoners who were released from these types of facilities did not receive any education, valuable skills or treatment. The rate of recidivism was high. Luckily, this type of prison systems only lasted about 10 years. The Treatment Era began in 1945. This era relied on treating the inmates like patients versus inmates. Based on a medical model where a therapeutic perspective on correctional treatment that applies the diagnostic perspective of medical science to the handling of criminal offenders. (Schmalleger, 2007) One-on-one therapy was introduced as well as group therapy helped to get an understanding of the emotional and psychological reasoning for crime. There were drawbacks of this era, too. Some inmates fought against being forced to participate in these programs. Prison guards were not properly trained in how the medical model functioned and were also not trained in how to handle the inmates. In 1967, the Community-based Era arrived. In this era, prisons were again faced with overcrowding and coming off of the medical model with the optimistic view that inmates could be rehabilitated. This time they would move them back into the communities where they had committed their crimes to serve their time. The belief was that inmates would not be able to fully rehabilitate in a prison setting. The halfway house was reintroduced and gave the inmates the opportunity to work and reside in the community while being watched at the same time. However, lack of programs caused the inmates to be returned to society the same as they were before committing their crimes. The U.S. watched as recidivism rates and prison populations soared as they entered into the Warehousing Era. Deterred by the crimes that were committed by those inmates who were on work-release or residing in a halfway house, the U.S. decided to limit the liberties that the inmates had once enjoyed. The Warehousing focused on imprisonment for inmates to remove them from society to avoid the possibility of further crimes being committed. In 1970, a new treatment model emerged call the nothing works doctrine which was popularized by Robert Martinson that correctional treatment programs have had little success in rehabilitating offenders. (Schmalleger, 2007). This doctrine helped to implement the mandatory minimum sentencing provision and truth-in sentencing requirements. Calls for truth-in sentencing occurred when the average inmate was serving one third of their time that was handed out by the judge at sentencing. Victims and other citizens were dismayed to learn that the full sentence was not being fulfilled. In the 1990s another popular law was developed called the three strikes and youre out in California and was soon adopted by many other states. The premise for the three strikes law is that if someone was to commit a felony three different times, then the only option was to sentence them to life in prison without the possibility of parole. This has also contributed to a dramatic increase in prison populations. According to the Bureau of Justice Statistics, in 1985 there were approximately 550,000 inmates in the U.S. prison and this figure jumped to 1,400,000 by 1995 (Bureau of Justice Statistics, 2011) Opponents of this law argue that this law costs too much with the increased number of inmates, that it unfairly targets minority offenders, does not help to decrease crime and that not all who were convicted under the three strikes law were convicted of serious, violent crimes. Besides the sentencing guidelines, there was also a war on drugs that was taking place. Sentences for drug-related offenses became more severe and more of the sentence that was handed out by a judge was actually being served. The current era that we are in is the Just Desserts Era which started in 1995. Prisons had now become essentially warehouses for inmates who were receiving longer sentences for the same crime. Rehabilitation was not working, so the inmates are essentially being held. When we look at the past prison systems of the U.S., it is important to look at the goals that each of the systems advocated. Starting with the Penitentiary Era the focus was on rehabilitation and deterrence. The Quakers utilized their religious belief that time alone would lead a person to become remorseful for their actions. The Mass Prison system focused on deterrence as well as incapacitation. The Reformatory Era was focused on rehabilitation. The Industrial Era reverted back to incapacitation and restoration. The philosophy of retribution was strong in the Punitive Era. Not surprisingly, the Treatment Eras philosophy was on rehabilitation. In addition to rehabilitation, the Community-based Era also looked at restoration. The Warehousing Era looked at incapacitation. Finally, the Just Desserts Era looks at retribution, incapacitation and deterrence. The task before us is to find the right balance for todays society of rehabilitation, retribution and deterrence to decrease our pri son populations. One strategy to reduce or stop the increase in our prison populations comes from the sentencing phase. It is important to know the different goals of sentencing. They are: incapacitation, retribution, deterrence, rehabilitation, vindication, and punishment. In incapacitation, the offender is sentenced to a prison with the goal of not allowing them to commit further crimes. In retribution, which was popular in the early ages of history, the goal is to seek revenge against the offender. An example of this is the eye for an eye mentality. Deterrence refers to stopping criminal behavior and there are two types: general and specific. General deterrence refers to the ability stop the criminal behavior by the public. An example, would be watching someone getting their hand cut off for stealing. The hope is that it serves a general deterrent to the public to not commit that crime as you have seen what happens to a person when they commit that crime. In specific deterrence refers to the offen der specifically in order to stop them from committing that crime again. Rehabilitation is means to change a persons behavior, so that they no longer commit criminal acts. Vindication refers to the making and enforcing of the law and punishment that goes along with a criminal act. Finally, punishment is the punishment of an offender fairly and equally. The consequences of the punishment for the offender are not taken into consideration. Currently, the determinate sentence law is used throughout the U.S. This started when the government and citizens gave up on the idea of rehabilitating prisoners. Its goals were to have a punishment in proportion to the crime and eliminate the disparity in the prison terms. There are three levels of a term that is ordered by a judge depending on the facts of the case. The terms are called: presumptive, aggravated and mitigated. Presumptive terms are the middle of the road terms. In an aggravated term, there may things that occurred that made the crime a little more severe when compared with similar crimes. In a mitigated term, the offender may have had a limited role in the crime or the crime was not as severe. Another caveat in determinate sentence law is that there is typically not any parole. Once the inmate has served their time, they are released automatically. Also, inmates may work to earn days off their sentence. Prior to 1970, the indeterminate sentencing law was used. This law felt that rehabilitating inmates was the number one priority. Known for parole which released inmates into the community after part of their time was served in prison, indeterminate sentence law failed in the successful rehabilitation of the inmate. In indeterminate sentence law, judges were handing out a minimum and maximum time for a sentence. Then a parole board would complete an annual review of the inmate to determine if they were ready for release. The process was not consistent which caused many to become upset with the unfairness. Another important factor to consider is what do we hope to achieve with those individuals who have proven that they are not able to follow the rules of society? If our goals come from retribution, then we are not looking at deterrence, reformation and economic considerations. We are only looking at public safety. If our goal is to rehabilitate, then will we risk public safety in releasing supposed rehabilitated inmates. While we have increased our prison capacity we have also increased our prison populations. We have now learned that we cannot hold all these inmates as our prison are becoming overcrowded which is unsafe for the prison guards and staff who run them as well as to the inmates who reside in them. One major contributor to the increasing population is the mandatory drug laws. It is not uncommon to find stories of inmates who received a mandatory minimum sentence for their minimal parts in drug offenses. According to Family Against Mandatory Minimums, there are many stories those affected by the strict sentencing laws that were created during the war on drugs. Here is one of them: Stephanie dated several men who were involved in selling drugs. At times, they would help Stephanie support her family. In exchange, she occasionally delivered and sold drugs and took messages for them. On October 26, 1993, police arrested Stephanie after she was found sitting on the front porch of a house next to a bag that contained cocaine residue. She confessed she had crack in her possession and surrendered it to the officers. She received probation. On November 10, several weeks after her arrest, police sent a confidential informant (CI) to make a controlled drug buy from Stephanie. On November 15, the CI purchased two crack rocks for $120. On December 8, the CI bought $40 worth of crack from Stephanie and several codefendants. After this final controlled buy, officers searched Stephanies residence and found four pieces of crack cocaine and drug paraphernalia. Stephanie was fined and sentenced to nine months in jail. Nearly three years later on August 16, 1996, police raided Stephanies residence after a CI reported that he had seen crack in the house.   Officers found 500 grams of powder cocaine and $13,710 in an attic safe belonging to Stephanies former boyfriend, Michael. In the master bedroom, police found utensils that tested positive for drug residue. Michael had the key to the safe, along with $797 in cash in his pants pocket. He confessed to police that the money, the cocaine and the paraphernalia belonged to him and that the $797 was from 500 grams of crack he had already sold. Later, Michael would testify that he paid Stephanie to let him reside and store crack at her house. At the time of her arrest, Stephanie had no cash, no bank account and owned no other property besides her car, valued at $2,500. She depended on food stamps and welfare to provide for her children. Stephanie went to trial. She was held accountable for 500 grams of powder cocaine found in the attic safe as well as 500 grams of crack that Michael said he sold.   Several of Stephanies codefendants who dealt drugs with Michael testified against her. Because of their uncorroborated testimony, Stephanie was held accountable for an additional 290 grams of crack, for a total of 1,290 grams (about 2.84 pounds). Stephanie received a sentence enhancement for obstruction of justice because she testified that she had no knowledge of and did not participate in Michaels drug activity.   Because of her 1993 drug offenses, Stephanie was categorized as a career criminal, an enhancement which mandates a life sentence. Despite his objections, Judge Roger Vinson was forced to sentence 26-year-old Stephanie to life in prison without parole.    At sentencing, Judge Vinson said to prosecutors: Theres no question that Ms. George deserved to be punished.   The only question is whether it should be a mandatory life sentence I wish I had another alternative. He told Stephanie, Even though you have been involved in drugs and drug dealing for a number of years your role has basically been as a girlfriend and bag holder and money holder.   So certainly, in my judgment, it doesnt warrant a life sentence. Stephanie received the longest sentence of any of her five codefendants. Over a decade ago, the young mother of three was led out of the courtroom quietly crying. She has now been incarcerated for over 14 years. Her children have grown up without her and her older relatives have aged and passed away. Stephanie has been a model prisoner, actively participating in vocational and educational training and working hard at her prison job. She has completed drug treatment and is sober. Unfortunately, the mandatory minimum life sentence prevents Stephanie from ever having another chance (Families Against Mandatory Minimums, 2011). Stories like Stephanies are not uncommon. Like the judge stated Stephanie needed to be punished for her actions, however it seemed extreme to be sentenced to life in prison for such a minimal role. In many of these cases, the person who was more invested in the illegal activities seems to get away with less time in prison as they were able to make deals with the prosecution. The reason that this occurs is that the person with the most information is in a better position to help prosecutors out and may bargain smaller time in prison for themselves while the person who may have had the smaller role is left holding the bag. According to the Bureau of Justice Statistics from a report in 2009, crime rates have remained the same or decreased since 1994 in areas of rape, burglary, property crimes, robbery, motor vehicle theft, and homicide (Bureau of Justice Statistics, 2011) In contrast, the number of inmates in the corrections system which include probation, prison, jail or parole, has increased. The trend remains that prison populations are slowly increasing as well. In 2009, the FBIs Uniform Crime Report (UCR) reported a 1.9 percent decline in violent crimes and a 0.8 percent decline in property crimes reported in 2008. This drop in crime came at a time when the prison and jail growth rates fell from previous years (2008). This data shows that while crime rates were decreasing in contrast the incarceration rates had increased. There should also be guidelines when determining who should be sentenced to prison instead of community service orders. A person should be sentenced to prison or jail if any lesser punishment would depreciate the seriousness of the crime that was committed, imprisonment is needed in order to deter them from crime, and if the person has had other sanctions applied to them. The cost of building a new prison is rather staggering. The estimated cost to build a new prison is $250 million and another $45 million a year to run it. In todays economy, it would be unwise to not consider economical factors when debating the construction of new prisons. It is not a mystery that a majority of inmates that were sentenced to prison will one day be released back into society. It is important to remember that once a person has spent time in prison, the chances that he will return are quite high. In a two year time frame, it was found that 70% of inmates committed another offense and were returned to prison. Since we know that many of these offenders will be returning to society (some for a shorter amount of time than others), it is important to ensure that are prisons provide inmates with opportunities. One opportunity that is a win-win situation for all is prison industries. Federal Prison Industries (FPI) emerged during the Prison Industries Era, but was limited by the Ashurst Sanders Act. Today prison industries are in place making license plates, office furniture and other items. However, they are limited as to who they may sell things to. This seems to be a resource that is not fully appreciated. If we were to implement additional trades to provide inmates with some skill upon leaving the prison system, then they would be better able to make the transition into society. Many inmates have an 8th grade education. If they were appropriately trained, they would be able to pay compensation to the victim of their crime, assist in supporting their family while in prison and build confidence in knowing that they have a skill that would allow them to work on the outside. Some examples of valuable skills would be to teach welding skills, automotive skills, electrical skills, farming techniques and other technical skills. Also, the profit that the prison industry makes could go to costs of running the prison facilities, provide education to the inmates, and other rehabilitative programs. There are those that against the prison industries who say that the inmates are being paid unfair wages, however the inmate is currently being housed, fed and clothed which are huge expenditures by a citizen out in society. It appears to balance out. There are others who dont think that the skills being taught are not useful; however it is a skill that they did not have prior to arriving at prison. It also gives the inmate something to do while incarcerated. Boredom in a prison is not a good thing; it could lead to violence and riots. Lets look at some other solutions or alternatives to building additional prisons. It is clear that in order to avoid building new prisons, the inmate population will need to either decrease or remain the same. An alternative to imprisonment would be day fines. Day fines are successfully being collected in both Germany and Sweden. The day fine process has two steps. First, you need to consider the severity of the crime. For example, the more serious the crime the higher the fine will be. Second, you need to look at the income of the offender. Currently, in the U.S. day fines have not completely caught on. Many times, day fines are not enforced or collected. This is the result of fines handed out that a lower income person could not afford, so they dont put utilize resources in collecting them. The day fine could be used as a better deterrent for someone who is rich as they would feel it the same as a person who does not make as much. For example, if you get a $500 speeding ticket and you are someone like Paris Hilton that will not really deter you from speeding again. Now if the fine was raised to $50,000, it could deter you from speeding in the future. An idea that stirs up great controversy is the release of inmates prior to the term deemed by a judge. However, we should remember the war on drugs and many of the sentences set forth by the judge were mandated to the judge. There are many cases where judges at the sentencing stated their unhappiness with being bound to the sentence. Discretion should be given to judge when making sentences, so that the punishment is fitting to the crime. The judge is present at the trial and has access to the pre-sentence report. Having seen the full picture, the judge should be able to hand out the best sentence for the offender. The mandatory minimum sentence law should be replaced with flexible guidelines. We should also look at the idea that not all who are convicted of a crime should go to prison. There are other alternative besides sending someone to prison for committing crimes. These are often cheaper when compared with housing an inmate in a correctional facility. According to the state of Georgia, it costs $28,936 a year for a minimum security prison to house an inmate compared with $1,434 for an offender with intensive probation (FY2009 Costs of Adult Offender Sanctions, 2008). Community corrections is the when punishment involves more community supervision and activities and less confinement. Probation is one of the most commonly used sentences that are applied. There are two types: general and specific. General probation is just that, these are the rules that many offenders must abide by. They direct that the offender must obey all laws, stay within the jurisdiction of the courts, stay employed, allow access to their homes by a probation officer or police officer and not be i n the possession of a firearm. In specific probation, the judge may add specific limitations and rules that pertain specifically to that offender. For example, if the offense was drug-related perhaps mandate drug tests and rehabilitation programs in addition to the general probation guidelines. Intermediate sanctions or alternative sentencing strategies are sentencing alternatives that cover a variety of options. Split sentencing is usually completed in a jail versus a prison. Then there is shock probation where the offender is sentenced to prison, but serves only a short amount of time, they are then released with probation. The goal of this is to surprise the inmate with a shorter prison term. Shock incarceration has the offender in a boot camp like setting for about 90-180 days to shock the inmate into better behavior. It is more commonly used for young offenders and first time offenders. Community service is a common punishment where the offender must dedicate some of their time to a community organization. Some pick up trash on the side of the road or volunteer in soup kitchens; this is usually reserved for minor offenses. Home confinement is another alternative to prisons. This is beneficial as it allows the offender to remain in his community, has the ability to keep his employment, and with his family. They utilize an ankle bracelet which is equipped with GPS to know the location of the offender. This is easily monitored 24 hours a day. Some monitoring devices are able to detect alcohol in the offenders system which would be useful in settings where alcohol or drug use was forbidden. Today satellites assist with detecting the location of the offender. This technology is constantly evolving and is sure to develop some other useful tools in monitoring large amounts of offenders. These are also done at a lower cost compared with incarceration. The Irish System that was created by Sir Walter Crofton is a good basis for the parole system. Under this system, inmates would be able to demonstrate that they have changed their behavior and are ready to enter back into society. It would be a system where they would have to work to be able to move into the next level and are rewarded with additional freedoms. Communities would benefit from the free labor that they receive from inmates through their trash pick-up and the fixing of buildings that are in disrepair. The ticket of leave inmates could be monitored with ankle bracelets which posse

Wednesday, November 13, 2019

Los Vendidos :: essays research papers

Los Vendidos means the sell-outs. All the characters in the play sold-out at some point during the play. The characters sold out both their races and their way of life. I would say that the person who sold out the most was the Mexican-American because he sold-out both his Mexican, his American heritage and way of life. He wanted to be perfect, so when he found that the Americans and the Mexicans had their flaws he sold them out. He now has to search for a new and perfect race to identify with. (He will be searching for a while.) The Mexican- American sold out his Mexican Heritage when he said, "The problems of the Mexicans stem from one thing alone he's stupid, he is under-educated, he needs to stay in school. He needs to be ambitious and be forward looking, most important he needs to think American" (Page 382). In his statement he is only finding the bad of his people and stating it for the entire room to hear. He shows great disrespect for the Mexican heritage by saying all that is wrong with them. He shows their flaws, weaknesses, and imperfections. I believe your heritage makes up who you are and that is you, so you should never disrespect yourself by disrespecting your heritage. I believe thee way he sold-out was by disrespecting his heritage. the Mexican- American is still trying to decide weather he is going to live Mexican or American. When the Mexican-American says, "The only thing I don't like is how come I always got to play the goddamn Mexican-American"(Page-384). You are unsure by this statement weather he is selling-out his Mexican or his American lifestyle. You know he wants to perfect because of his attitude toward playing the part of the Mexican-American. The Mexican American doesn't know where he wants to go in life I guess this proves no matter how old you are or how much of an education you have you sell people out and walk all over them.

Sunday, November 10, 2019

Environmental Examples Essay

The lamentable condition of the Amazon River is featured in the You Tube video â€Å"The Amazon Dries Up†. It shows major portions of the river drying up with boats stranded, fish dying because of lack of oxygen, and people traveling far in search of clean water to drink. Going through this video brought up feelings of sadness and anxiety at the same time because of the deplorable status of the environment in the area, and the apparent hopelessness of the situation. Forests have been denuded for the benefit of a few but with a predictably great impact in the offing. It is scary to think about the future basing from this video especially since this video was done in 2006 yet. The emphasis of the film is against deforestation and more emission of greenhouse gases which are said to be the culprits behind the drought in the Amazon. Environmental degradation (Ferris & Stein, Ch. 15) has emerged to become one of the world’s major social problems as humans have acknowledged its effects like global warming (Ferris & Stein, Ch. 15) and climate change. The problem is actually one that is of a major dimension because many people will be affected if these problems continue to worsen. As we feel the effects of global warming, not a lot of the world’s inhabitants may survive and some species may become extinct. Furthermore, climate change can bring about devastations of unknown magnitudes. Just the recent flooding and earthquakes which occurred this year are some typical examples of unexpected destruction to the environment, to man and property. Furthermore, ongoing extinction of species may cause ecological imbalance which may also result to other unanticipated results which are still unknown, and may never be reversed. The environment needs to be everyone’s concern. Taking things one step at a time will not bring anyone to the goal immediately, yet slowly but surely, the goal can be reached. Small simple steps like the 3 Rs : Reduce, Reuse, Recycle, making use of car pools, conserving electricity will all add up to make the goal of making the environment more habitable an attainable possibility. The worst case scenario is one where the leaders we look up to seem to be passive in their stance regarding these issues. Nevertheless, it is still a conglomeration of efforts which will be the best way to address these environmental issues. Works Cited Ferris, Kerry & Stein, Jill, The Real World: An Introduction to Sociology New York: W. W. Norton & Company, 2009. Print.

Friday, November 8, 2019

Discussion #4 Ethics Example

Discussion #4 Ethics Example Discussion #4 Ethics – Essay Example American Capitalism: Wage Discrepancy between CEOs and Other Workers Compensation of CEOs and other workers should be based on the contribution of the employee to the organization. It follows that pay differences should reflect each person’s effort towards the success of the firm. Executive members are responsible for major decisions and thus have more liability in case of business failure. As a result, their package should reflect the risk they take and obligations towards the continuity of the organization. However, this does not imply that the CEOs increase their salaries indiscriminately without consideration of the widening wage gaps as it poses a social-economic risk to the country. Firms downsize the workforce due to reasons such as financial stress or restructuring. In financial distress, it is unfair to increase a CEO’s salary while firing workers. It is ethical for CEOs to also accept a pay cut to save the jobs of fellow workers. However, if the downsizing is a result of restructuring, then the pay increase of CEOs cannot be morally unjust. The revisions on compensation of CEOs should follow well-structured system that involves a non-partisan board. The board should consider all relevant issues affecting compensation like growth in the revenues of the firm as a result of CEO’s actions, risk adjustments, economic considerations and also wage gap issues. Compensation for the CEOs and other workers can be adjusted without subjecting workers to pay cuts and layoffs as a result of pay increase of the executive. The government can regulate the ratio of the CEO salary to that of the average workers. By doing this, the workers can also benefit from an increase in the salary of the CEOs.

Wednesday, November 6, 2019

Answers to Questions About Plurals

Answers to Questions About Plurals Answers to Questions About Plurals Answers to Questions About Plurals By Mark Nichol Here are DailyWritingTips.com readers’ queries about plural usage, and my responses. 1. Is staff singular or plural? Staff can be either singular or plural, though the singular form is preferred: â€Å"The staff is encouraged by the new policy† is correct. â€Å"The staff are encouraged by the new policy† is also correct but is better rendered â€Å"The staff members are encouraged by the new policy.† â€Å"Staff members are encouraged by the new policy,† however, has a slightly different connotation; when staff is preceded by the, the implication is that the opinion is one of consensus. Without the, it’s assumed that the conclusion is based on a sampling, though that distinction would be clearer if the sentence read, â€Å"Some [or many, or another qualifier] staff members are encouraged by the new policy.† 2. â€Å"Is shingles referring to the disease, not the roof covering singular or plural?† Shingles or any similar condition (hives, measles, mumps) should be referred to with a singular verb: â€Å"Shingles is more common in adults than in children.† If that seems awkward, you could write, for example, â€Å"Contracting shingles is more common in adults than in children.† 3. I am confused about something, specifically singular and plural usage when writing about music groups. For instance, I might write about the fictional music group Music Band: â€Å"At last night’s concert, Music Band was awesome!† I have been told it is more correct to say, â€Å"At last night’s concert, Music Band were awesome!† Which is more correct? Isn’t was more correct when referring to the band as a whole? And yet, almost every instance I’ve seen uses were instead of was, which just doesn’t sound right to me. In American English, the verb should be consistent with the form of the name. Plural-style names (â€Å"the Beatles†) take plural verbs, and singular-style names (â€Å"the Who†) take singular verbs. In British English, both forms take a plural verb. (This post discusses these usages and the convention for references to sports teams.) Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Grammar category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:What Does [sic] Mean?Latin Plural Endings7 Sound Techniques for Effective Writing

Monday, November 4, 2019

The Ecological Impact of the Destruction of Wetlands Research Paper

The Ecological Impact of the Destruction of Wetlands - Research Paper Example Wetlands crop up in places ranging from elevated altitude heap ranges (seeps), throughout to mid-catchment places (mainly marshes), via estuaries at the shoreline. A number of wetlands are continually drenched, but others provisionally dry up. The marshland type present centers mainly on the soil types, precipitation, typical weather and topography. Wetlands are significant to the present biodiversity, and the guarding of wetlands is necessary. Before investigating the consequences of wetlands loss, it is significant to give a description of wetlands and offer the idea of what they are, the locations of wetlands, and the grounds for their importance. With the exemption of Antarctica, these water bodies can be established nearly ubiquitously and are commonly located in the structures of bogs and fens. Even though, wetlands could vary extensively as a consequence of environmental, climactic, and geological differences, commonly speaking, wetlands are termed as domains where infiltratio n with water is the overriding feature formative of the scenery of soil progress and the kinds of life form communities existing inside and also on its exterior. Wetlands are habitats to many earthly and amphibious creatures. They are frequently key locales during propagation seasons as representative genus from transversely the food chain being composed in the soil and swampy land. Several disparities of plant existence survive merely in wetlands and numerous varieties of itinerant birds reproduce and relax in these prolific areas. In wetlands, minute shellfish, and additional marine life flourish and are consumed by land-dwelling animals. Overall, wetlands act as a mini ecological unit and devoid of such areas; numbers of countless genus would be in danger. The wetlands loss poses risks to wildlife in addition to human existence both in stipulations of defense of landscape and an extensive economic sense. Even though endeavors to discontinue the speedy wetlands loss have been a co mparatively current development, it is imperative that efforts carry on or, troubles already encountered could be augmented worse. In any debate concerning the loss of wetlands it ought to be affirmed that a chain effect is going to frequently exist. The spoil or loss of a single feature of wetlands does not merely have a consequence on that scrupulous issue, but possesses more comprehensive penalties that have immense and habitually devastating outcome on human and animal existences in addition to the entire ecosystem. Until lately, there were numerous motivation for wetland drainage, chiefly for industrialized and undeveloped purposes. Widespread actions for instance dredging, building, the conception of levees and dams, in addition to basic chemical pollution have promoted to an enormous diminish in the quantity of wetlands. In the period of 1600s, more than 220 million wetlands acres are contemplated to have subsisted in the subordinate 48 states. Ever since, wide-ranging losses have cropped up, and more than half the innovative wetlands have been exhausted and rehabilitated to other applications. In the last 50 years, anticipated 60, 000 wetlands acres of wetlands were lost. This destruction, predominantly ever since the 1950s has by now outcome in augmented flooding and problems of drainage in addition to the additional unsurprising effects on inhabitant wildlife existences. Besides the human aspects affecting the destruction of wetlands,

Friday, November 1, 2019

Corporate Governance & Ethics Course Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Corporate Governance & Ethics Course - Case Study Example This obsession made Bernie encourage managers to push a rise in revenue realization of the company; the manager gave less consideration to whether capital investments would overshadow the short-term returns from the projects of the company. As business operations deteriorated in the 1st quarter of the year 2000, the company’s revenue also declined thus affecting the already set E/R ratio. CFO Sullivan applied the following accounting tactics to achieve the desired performance of the organization: 2. Expense capitalization: Sullivan formulated an excellent getaway plan where he began identifying current expenditures of surplus network capacity as longterm expenditure rather than current expenses. Earnings management is approaches applied by the manager of a particular organization to intentionally alter the company's earnings so that the end result matches a pre-determined objective against the reality. This exercise is conceded out for the resolution of income smoothing. Instead of having a prolonged period of high earnings which may later be followed by a poor performance of the company the management may choose to try to keep the figures relatively stable by adding and removing cash from reserves. This will show how, over a certain period, the company has performed. Abusive or fraudulent reporting is considered by the S&EC to be "a substantial and deliberate distortion of financial results". In the event of income smoothing becoming extreme, the Securities & Exchange Commission may issue fines against the organization. The internal audit department was supervised by Cynthia Copper; the internal audit department was expected to report directly to Sullivan. Struggles by Cooper to obtain more information concerning WorldCom’s capital expenditure and accruals were with no success. Andersen’s the external auditor was offered restricted access to the bookkeeping records.Â