Death Penalty Essays (1052 words) - Capital Punishment, Penology

Death Penalty This sound rings through each and every death row inmate a thousand times a day; But should it? Capital punishment is one of the most controversial topics among Americans today. Since every person has there own opinion on this topic, either for or against, the question always raised is "Is it morally right." The number of problems with the death penalty are enormous, ranging from innocence to racism, and these problems will never be resolved unless the death penalty is abolished. The problems with capital punishment stem as far back as the ritual itself. The number of occurrence on why the death penalty is racist is uncountable. A 1990 report released by the federal government's General Accounting Office found a "pattern of evidence indicating racial disparities in the charging, sentencing and imposition of the death penalty after the Furman decision." Professor David Baldus examined sentencing patterns in Georgia in the 1970's. After reviewing over 2,500 homicide cases in that state, controlling for 230 non-racial factors, he concluded that a person accused of killing a white was 4.3 times more likely to be sentenced to death than a person accused of killing a black. The Stanford Law Review published a study that found similar patterns of racial dispair, based on the race of the victim, in Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Mississippi, North Carolina, Oklahoma and Virginia. For example, in Arkansas findings showed that defendants in a case involving a white victim are three-and-a-half times more likely to be sentenced to death; in Illinois, four times; in North Carolina, 4.4 times, and in Mississippi five times more likely to be sentenced to death than defendants convicted of murdering blacks. There is also the issue of Capital Punishment being a deterrent. But does the death penalty really deter crime? The death lobby wants you to believe the answer to that question is "yes." But, in fact, it is a resounding "NO." Consider this...the US is the only Western nation that still allows the death penalty, and we also have one of the highest crime rates. During the 1980s, death penalty states averaged an annual rate of 7.5 criminal homicides per 100,000, while abolition states averaged a rate of 7.4 per 100,000. That means murder was actually more common in states that use the death penalty. Also consider this...in a nationwide survey of police chiefs and sheriffs, capital punishment was ranked last as a way of reducing violent crime. Only twenty-six percent thought that the death penalty significantly reduces the number of homicides. The theory behind the deterrence doctrine is flawed itself. Murderers do not examine risk/reward charts before they kill someone. Being a criminal is inherently irrational...life imprisonment ought to deter a rational person itself. Besides, no criminal commits a crime if he believes he will be caught. The next issue that deserves some observation is that of Capital punishment being economically correct, meaning will it save the U.S. and its taxpayers money. "The death penalty is not now, nor has it ever been, a more economical alternative to life imprisonment," said Spangenberg and Walsh in an article in the Loyola of Los Angeles Law Review. A study by the NY State Defenders Association showed that the cost of a capital trial alone is more than double the cost of life imprisonment. In Maryland, a comparison of capital trial costs with and without the death penalty for the years 1979-1984 concluded that a death penalty case costs "approximately 42 percent more than a case resulting in a non-death sentence," according to the US Government Accounting Office. In 1988 and 1989 the Kansas legislature voted against reinstating the death penalty after it was informed that reintroduction would involve a first-year cost of more than $11 million. And the Miami Herald reported that Florida, with one of the nation's largest death rows, has estimated that the true cost of each execution is approximately $3.2 million, or approximately six times the cost of a life-imprisonment sentence. The last issue that should be observed is that of innocence. Are there really innocent people on death row? At least twenty-three people have been executed who did not commit the crime they were accused of. And that's only those that we know. And here lies an inherent danger of capital punishment...when we execute an innocent person; the real killer is still on the streets, ready to victimize someone else. But when an innocent person is arrested, he is often the driving reason behind further investigation, and if he is executed, than the case remains closed forever. Or, at least,

Understanding the Ballot Initiative Process

Understanding the Ballot Initiative Process The ballot initiative, a form of direct democracy, is the process through which citizens exercise the power to place measures otherwise considered by state legislatures or local governments on statewide and local ballots for a public vote. Successful ballot initiatives can create, change or repeal state and local laws, or amend state constitutions and local charters. Ballot initiatives can also be used simply to force state or local legislative bodies to consider the subject of the initiative. As of 2016, the ballot initiative process was used at the state level in 24 states and the District of Columbia and is commonly used in county and city government. The first documented approval for the use of the ballot initiative process by a state legislature appeared in the first constitution of Georgia, ratified in 1777.   The State of Oregon recorded the first use of the modern ballot initiative process in 1902. A major feature of the American Progressive Era from the 1890s to 1920s, the use of ballot initiatives quickly spread to several other states. The first attempt to gain the approval of the ballot initiative at the federal government level took place in 1907 when House Joint Resolution 44 was introduced by Rep. Elmer Fulton of Oklahoma. The resolution never came to a vote in the full House of Representatives, having failed to gain committee approval. Two similar resolutions introduced in 1977 were also unsuccessful.According to the Initiative Referendum Institutes Ballotwatch, a total of 2,314 ballot initiatives appeared on state ballots between 1904 and 2009, of which 942 (41%) were approved. The ballot initiative process is also commonly used at the county and city levels of government. There is no ballot initiative process at the national level. Adoption of a nationwide federal ballot initiative process would require an amendment to the U.S. Constitution. Direct and Indirect Ballot Initiatives Ballot initiatives may be either direct or indirect. In a direct ballot initiative, the proposed measure is placed directly on the ballot after being submitted by a certified petition. Under the less common indirect initiative, the proposed measure is placed on a ballot for a  popular vote only if it has first been rejected by the state legislature. Laws specifying the number and qualifications of names required to place an initiative on a ballot vary from state-to-state. Difference Between Ballot Initiatives and Referendums The term ballot initiative should not be confused with referendum, which is a measure referred to voters by a state legislature proposing that specific legislation may be approved or rejected by the legislature. Referendums may be either binding or non-binding referendums. In a binding referendum, the state legislature is forced by law to abide by the vote of the people. In a non-binding referendum, it is not. The terms referendum, proposition and ballot initiative are often used interchangeably. Examples of Ballot Initiatives Some notable examples of ballot initiatives voted on in  the November 2010 midterm elections included: Washington State Initiative 1098 would impose a first-ever state income tax, initially on individuals with incomes above $200,000 but later possibly extend to other groups at the legislatures discretion. This action would remove Washington from the list of nine states without a state income tax.Californias Proposition 23 would suspend enforcement of the sweeping California Global Warming Act and all laws related to it until the states unemployment rate eases and becomes stable.A ballot initiative in Massachusetts would  slash the states sales tax from 6.25 percent to 3 percent, and repeal in most cases the state sales tax on alcoholic beverages.Californias Proposition 19 would legalize the possession, cultivation, and transportation of marijuana for the personal use of persons 21 years of age or older.As a sign of opposition to the new federal health care reform law, voters in Arizona, Colorado, and Oklahoma considered ballot initiatives affirming individuals choices on purchasing insurance or participating in government plans.

Testing Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Testing - Coursework Example White-box test design allows one to peek inside the "box", and it focuses specifically on using internal knowledge of the software to guide the selection of test data. There are distinct advantages to white-box testing like: 1. Thoroughness: As such, white-box testing is much more thorough in terms of what percentage of the application we can test. This helped us in finding out that it will overwrite the point character if you first enter it and then enter a number. 2. Stability: Delivers greater stability and reusability of test cases if the objects that comprise an application never change like the calculator whose multiplication is constant but whose exception was not correct. But there’s the flip side of the coin as well and each of these come with a few disadvantages as well. The Black-Box Testing Techniques lack accuracy and despite the ease of use lack thoroughness and it doesn’t look very stable to me. Other disadvantages include the fragility of scripts and lac k of introspection that comes with no knowledge of the internal structure. ... GUI testing JUnit testing Success of any GUI application depends on how it interacts through its user interface with different users. An application with invalid behavior or incorrect user interaction can lead to large problems. GUI testing is a process to test the application's user interface and to detect if the application is working fine functionally. GUI Testing includes how the application deals with keyboard and mouse events, how different GUI components like menu-bars, tool-bars, dialog-boxes, buttons, entry fields, list navigations, images etc. respond to user input and to ensure that the tasks are performed as desired. The GUI testing can be implemented either manually or through automated methods. Manual testing is often error prone as well as far from exhaustive thus automated approach is preferred. Automated GUI Testing is use of a software program to check if the application is working fine functionally. This includes automating manual testing tasks which are mostly tim e consuming and error prone. To test a GUI, we needed a good method of finding the components of value, selecting cells in a table, dragging things about, clicking buttons, etc. The events we test are similar to assembly language only these are applicable for GUI testing. What the ideal approach is in describing the expected behavior is that we clarify the developer's goals before penning the code can; this avoids overbuilding useless feature and the correlated feature sets. Below is the required refactoring of the Java calculator program using Test-Driven Development (TDD). There is no possibility of exception in multiplication function so exception part of code can be considered as a dead code and can be removed. Public DivideByZeroExeption(String s), this function can

Israel and the Middle East, Jerusalem center for public affairs Research Paper

Israel and the Middle East, Jerusalem center for public affairs - Research Paper Example Not if it is your own history; remarked Abdullah and continued saying; and you have a brother lost in it. Oh, I am sorry to hear about your bother, I have lost quite a number of my friends and family members and I know how it feels like. But what history are your reading? Asked Paul. Well, it is the history of Palestine and Israel. So, you must be a Palestinian. Not, Exactly, My father is from Palestine but my mother is Egyptian, I was born and grew old in Egypt. Now, my father wants me to leave for Palestine and lay my life for Jehad, which I do not understand why is going on. All the bloodshed and the stories of war have always intrigued me to find out what actually is going on, why are people fighting over a small piece of land when they both can live peacefully. Paul has understood the point and with a small smile asked; what is your name? Abdullah. Listen Abdullah, It is not just a matter of land between the Israelis and the Palestinians. It is all about religion, it is about le gacy and it is about home, not for one but for both sides. How long have you been reading the book? About two hours. And what did you read? Not much, all the stories that I have heard and what I see in the news channels and what I have read in the book may seem easy to read and listen to, but not that easy to digest. It all becomes contradicting. Everyone seems to be on the right side of the gun and then everyone seems to be doing wrong. It is all mixed up. I do not know why exactly did my brother die. Was it for right or just a waste of life. Hmmm†¦. Tell me what you have read and what you know then I might be able to help clear up the confusion you are having, Paul said. Well, first of all the Jews lived in this region, then the region was over taken by the Muslims under whom the... The Jews did not ask the Muslims to leave at first, but after the war, the Muslims were rioting all the places, the Jews had not other choice other then ask them to leave, Commented David. What do you think is the solution to all the blood shed that is going on now in these states. There are lives on both sides that are being wasted, asked Abdullah. The solution my friends lie in the commitment to mutual peace. Both sides have to come to common terms and conclude peace and that is only in the forms of accepting the recommendations of the UN. But both sides are adamant on wanting the complete land which I believe is not ever possible. The result will be that the blood shed will continue on the both sides. Until and unless both the communities do not talk on the humanitarian basis this, all will remain for the next generations to suffer. The only way out is speaking above religion, above ego and above nationalism and the peace will prevail. It is not what I feel, it is what I have seen , concluded Paul.

McDonalds Marketing Communications Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 6000 words

McDonalds Marketing Communications - Essay Example We will be seeing how McDonalds reaches its way out to the customers, what strategies does McDonalds have in order to stand fast in the market against the competitors in the fast food retailers market. What is the importance of the marketing strategies to the McDonalds organization and how are they implemented in the real market to compete with the competitors. Introduction to McDonalds By many people, it is believed that McDonald is the food empire, which was founded because of sales representative from the location of Oak Park situated in Illinois. The name of the sales representative is mentioned in the history as Ray Kroc. Ross and Holland (2006) argue that some say that the foundation of McDonalds was laid down in the year of 1954, as Ray Kroc had heard of two brothers named as McDonalds. They had bought some mixers to work on their running burger business that was already gaining too much profits and success all around the area. Kroc was wondering as to what is the need of such a large number of the mixers for such a small business. Kroc set out for a journey to meet the McDonalds brothers. At the point where the brothers were running a quiet successful business, Kroc was astonished to see the management that the two brothers were having in feeding all the demanding customers with there burgers, French fries and the shakes for which the mixers were being used.

The Prevelance Of Elderly Abuse Social Work Essay

The Prevelance Of Elderly Abuse Social Work Essay Elderly abuse has been prevalent in our society and it has not been discussed frequently as compared to other issues in our society and not much research has been done on elder abuse in Singapore. Due to such limitations present in the study of elderly abuse, this creates an impression that elderly abuse is a rare occurrence and is not a potential threat to our society. With the reports on real life elderly abuse cases, it is evident that elderly abuse does exist and is not a rare occurrence in Singapore as most of the time, such incidences go underreported. Furthermore, it is often difficult to detect elderly abuse as in the first place, there is a lack of awareness as to what actually comprises elderly abuse. Dr Vivian Balakrishnan, minister for community youth and sports, at the annual family violence symposium in the year 2009, cautioned that as Singapore comprises one of the fastest ageing populations in the world, we have to be prepared and expect an increase in the number of c ases involving elder abuse. ( straits Times). What is more worrying that majority of the elders suffer abuse under the hands of their own children due to the stress induced on them from care giving. Hence, elderly abuse has become one of the most important compelling social issues which have to be addressed due to the nature of Singapores demographic trends which consists an increasing proportion of elderly. Thus, in this paper, the social issue of my focus would be elderly abuse in Singapore. A common problem faced with regards to the discussion of elderly abuse would be the issue about what exactly constitutes elder abuse. As a result, many cases of elder abuse go unreported. ( pg 28, say no to elder abuse).The Golden Life Workgroup on Elder Abuse Prevention formed in Singapore in the year, 2002, adheres to the World Health Organization (WHO)s definition of elder abuse. It defines elder abuse in its report presented to the government as A single or repeated act or lack of appropriate action, occurring within any relationship where there is an expectation of trust or duty of care, which causes harm or distress to an older person. (Golden life workgroup on elder abuse, 2004 PG 16, World Health Organization 2002) CITE PROPERLY The Ministry of Community Youth and Sports (MCYS) categorises elderly abuse into 5 main groups such as financial, neglect, abandonment, physical and psychological abuse. (Understanding Elder Abuse and Neglect pg 8 check year 2004?). The ageing trends of Singapore suggests that with increase in life expectancy, the elderly would now require more long term care than before and there will be an increasing level of dependency on their children to support them. With declining birth rates, there would be fewer care givers in the family. This creates ample opportunity for elderly abuse to take place. (UN Secretary-Generals Report, March 2002). The percentage of elderly who are aged above 65, in 2009 was 8.80% and the projected percentage of elderly in the year 2030 is expected to rise to 18.7%. (Statistical Indicators on the Elderly, MCYS) .The United Nations uses the dependency ratio as a marker of the potential dependency burden to predict the amount of burden which has to be carried by the working population. (Source: Population Division, Department of Economic and Social Affairs, United Nations Secretariat 2007 http://www.un.org/ageing/popageing.html). In the case of Singapore, as the old-age dependency ratio is in creasing each year whereby in the year 2008 it was 11.9 per 100 and in the year 2010 it increased to 12.2 per 100. (Department of Statistics, 2011). This has serious implications for Singapore, as the working population has to shoulder the burden of care giving and financial support. Now, it becomes even more challenging with the rising number of singles and married couples choosing not to have any children or just having one child . Such situations have serious repercussions as the future trend will be such that care giving on the elderly will be solely shouldered by the only child and this creates an increasing amount of stress and pressure on the sole caregiver which in return causes them to abuse the elderly. It was reported in the Straits times that each year a total of about 178 cases of elderly abuse were being reported and out these 178 cases reported about 120 cases of the elderly were abused by their own children. (Theresa Tan, The Straits Times (Singapore) October 22, 200 9 Thursday). There are various theories to explain the reasons for the occurrence of elderly abuse. The social exchange theory seeks to further explain the reasons for elderly to experience violence from their perpetrators using the concept of social resources such as power, financial stability and status. ( Quote : social work textbook pg 324), Pillemer, 1989 refer to no eldlerly abuse book behind). Increasing level of dependency on children creates a potential environment for abuse to take place, as the elderly authority is now diminished due to lack of power and necessary resources which the potential caregiver has. Hence, such a power dimension with regards to the availability of resources creates imbalance and strain in the relationship between the elderly and the caregiver. Another instance whereby an elderly abuse can take place can be explained through another theory known as the ecological theory, is when the caregiver of the elderly themselves might be undergoing several problems for in stance they themselves might have financial difficulties or could be suffering from some health conditions. Thus, looking after an elderly may induce stress on the caregiver whereby in some situations, as a form of coping mechanism they might vent out their frustrations on the elderly under their care through verbal and physical abuse and this causes the elderly to be in a greater exposure to abuse. (MCYS , booklet). An example to illustrate such a case which was cited in a Straits times article will be about an unmarried son who was in his forties who had to give up his job to look after his mother who was bedridden and suffering from dementia. Not being able to handle the stress that he was going through, he used to hit his mother frequently. (Theresa Tan, The Straits Times (Singapore October 22, 2009 Thursday). Most of the times , the victims of elderly abuse tend to be elderly who are completely dependent on their children in terms of financial and healthcare aspects and therefo re the perpetrators of elderly abuse are usually their children or someone they dependent on.( Quote: The Pattern of Elderly Abuse Presenting to an Emergency Department, G W M Cham, E Seow, 2004, pg 571). Although, the number of elderly abuse and neglect cases are less than 200, it should not be taken at face value that the elderly abuse is a rare phenomenon. Coming from an Asian society, especially in a region whereby Confucian values are prevailing, since most of the perpetrators are their own children, the elderly seldom report about them being abused as they do not want to be embarrassed or do not want to be judged upon, looked down for raising children who are abusive. ( Penhale 1993, british journal of social work, 23,2) . For other elderly, they might choose to suffer under the hands of their children rather than reporting them as they are increasingly dependent on their children to fulfil their basic needs, they fear of losing them or they fear of the future consequences such as intensified level of abuse from the perpetrator when they resort to reporting them.(Lee and Pang, 2003, pang 2000). Due to such underreporting and the denial of being abused further heightens this soci al issue as the elderly tend to suffer in silence. The social issue of elderly abuse should be viewed in terms of a micro and macro level. (social work)From the examples cited in this paper, it can be seen that most of the Elderly abuse which is one form of family violence was initially seen to be a private affair which was confined to and occurred usually in the family sphere which is the micro level. When the issue of the elder abuse is also being experienced by majority of the citizens in Singapore as well, with the increasing number of cases of elder abuse being cited in the newspapers and with the fast paced ageing population in Singapore, this issue of elder abuse now becomes a public and national issue which the state has to address. (textboo) For instance, in the earlier years when it came to issues about abuse more attention had been given to child and spousal abuse but not elderly abuse.(say no elderl abuse) Currently as more cases of elderly abuses are coming to the limelight, it is an issue which is worthy of concern. The refore, elderly abuse and neglect is a social issue which not only affects the elderly but it also the rest of the population who now have to shoulder the responsibility of supporting the elderly. There are many perspectives with regards to the issue of elderly abuse and how it should be tackled. Firstly from the states point of view, it strictly adopts a non-welfare approach .The state believes that various social safety nets such as the community, social services and non-profit organizations have to come together to tackle the social issue of elderly abuse. The state mainly uses the legal approach and tertiary intervention in the form of laws to tackle elder abuse and neglect. For example the Womens charter seeks to deal with family violence and protect family members including the elderly who are being abused. The financial neglect of elderly is being handled under the Maintenance of Parents Act which allows the parents to demand financial support from their children through the Tribunal court. ( say no to elder). The Maintenance of Parents Act although allows parents to demand for financial provison from their children. This solution can help the elderly to seek financial support from their reluctant children especially when they have no one to turn to. Unfortutantely, this is only a temporary solution as the law only address the financial neglect aspect and does not address the emotional aspect of the elderly. It is because the law cannot mandate children to be loving towards their parents .This present solution posses certain shortfalls, for instance, ,many parents may not want use this maintenance act in order not cause further trouble for their children. Another problem with this solution is that many of the elderly are not even aware about the existence of such legal framework. From the medical doctors and healthcare professionals perspective, there has been increasing concern with regards to elderly abuse and neglect. Hospitals now see an increasing number of care givers committing suicide due to not being able to handle the pressures of care giving and some even result to abusing their parents under their care not because of the intention of abusing them but because they do not know who to handle the situation.( srraits times) In a recent stratis time a doctor in the article mentioned that one of her patientss daughter who was the sole care giver would force feed her until the patient had to be treated in hospital for malnutrition and despite continuously being admitted into the hospital, she was not told where to get help and the caregiver by chance found out that there is a centre which provides help in care giving. ( straits Times). From the health care professionals view, they feel that the state can come up with even more rigourous legal framework an d the state could help in creating a strong network between hospitals and various caregiving centres so that the patients are able to get revelant help to cope with the demanding tasks of care giving. Furthermore, health care professionals can play a key role in detecting elderly abuse. The emergency department is one important place whereby elderly who are abused are being isolated and it can be the only appropriate situation to detect cases of elderly abuse. (W S Pang, 2000).The health care professionals face a dilemma when they encounter or suspect that their elderly patients might have been abused. It is because there are no specific laws addressing elderly abuse or neglect which results in not having a clear focus of what actually constititues an elderly abuse. (Quote pg 50). There are efforts to implement laws such as Maintenance of Parents Act by the state to protect elderly in some ways however, there is no laws which calls for mandatory reporting of elderly abuse cases. Hen ce this creates a predicament on part of the doctors as to whether or not to report cases of abuse. Due to the absence of a clear and proper framework or solution for the hospital professionals to strictly adhere to, such a situation causes an elderly to be trap in a vicious cycle of abuse. This has underlying consequences in the future as more cases of elderly abuse may become undetected. From the social workers and policy makers perspective, they believe that more can be done in training healthcare professionals and social workers in terms of understanding and detecting elderly abuse. In addition, they believe that more care giving centers can be set up to reduce stress of the care givers and serve as an intervention for abuse cases. This solution is can be very useful in the long run as it helps to protect elderly and helps to consell and educating the stressed caregiver which eventually helps to prevent the elderly from being further abused. However, one area of concern would be that the availability and increasing number of caregiving centers and residential homes can also create a room for misuse whereby children of the elderly for their convenience and in order to discard their responsibility as they might use such places to dump their parents there. Thus, there has be stricter regulations with regards to the admission into the caregiving centers. After considering all the different perspectives being offered pertaining to elderly abuse, in my view, I would support and favour health professionals, social workers and policy makers view especially with the view that the state has to adopt stricter and harsher laws when it comes to elderly abuse. The absence of mandotary reporting of elderly abuse, creates the main problem for allowing elderly abuse cases to go unreported. Furthermore with the absence of a clear framework of what actually constitutes elder abuse or how this social issue can be tackled it creates a form of helplessness on the part of the healthcare and social work professionals as they are not being able to intervene in elderly abuse cases promptly. In my view once the state has come up with a clear set of laws specifically addressing to elderly abuse and once there is an the implementation of mandatory reporting then it becomes easier for the healthcare professionals and social workers to be better equipped in in tervening in elderly abuse cases. In conclusion, as discussed in this paper, elderly abuse is one of the key social issues which the states has to constantly look into as elderly abuse requires lots of intervention programmes, training and education of the public and social work professionals. Elderly abuse can have serious consequences on the mental health of the elderly and they might lose their dignity in living as a normal human and their basic human rights such as the freedom to fight against any abuse and discrimination against them is being lost. Therefore it becomes a necessity to ensure that these group of elderly not just will have the proper healthcare facilities but it is also our societys outermost duty to ensure that the elderly age with dignity and they spent their last years in a protected and non abusive family environment. .

Early Ideas Behind Logic Programming :: Computers

Early Ideas Behind Logic Programming Historical Perspectives Logic programming is an approach to computer science in which the first order predicate logic is used as a high level programming language. The use of symbolic logic as a programming language has a history of not more than thirty years, but the study of the symbolic logic goes back to the work of Aristotle in the fourth century B. C. First Order Predicate Logic is a branch of symbolic logic that has evolved largely in the twentieth century. The history of logic programming started with symbolic logic, and then First Order Predicate Logic emerged from symbolic logic to form the base for Logic Programming. The history of logic programming can be classified into three eras. The first era was the era of the pioneers in founding a symbolic language. The real development of the symbolic logic occurred in the second era, where the third era is the era of transition from symbolic logic to logic programming. In each of the three eras many people contributed to the journey of developing Logic Programming, but we are going to mention only those who had deep influence on this development. Early Ideas of Symbolic Logic What is now known as traditional logic began at the time of Aristotle over 22 centuries ago. Aristotle work was assembled by his students after his death in 322 B. C. Aristotle attempted to codify the knowledge into scientific system. His work is best understood as a theoretical study of successful reasoning techniques. Syllogism was Aristotle major reasoning technique to reach a rational conclusion. The syllogism is a set of rules governing what conclusion can be reached from a set of statements written in four statement forms. Based on the syllogism, students of Aristotle were able to isolate principles of deductive inference on a restricted form of statements called propositions. A proposition is any statement that can be assigned a truth value. Aristotle approach to logic became sacred, especially in the Middle Ages that no one even considered trying to improve until the seventeenth century. In unpublished writings, Leibniz (1646-1716) expressed his doubt about the perfection of Aristotelian logic. Leibniz found certain points where the syllogism seemed to be wrong or incomplete. Leibniz wrote about a new, universal language of mathematical logic to replace the syllogism. He anticipated that such a language would be able to solve philosophical problems in a mechanical way, and thereby bring peace to the world.

Each Man Kills the Thing He Loves Essay

â€Å"It seems to me that we all look at Nature too much, and live with her too little† This quote provides a philosophical insight into the main theme I will explore within my chosen poems. Nature is defined as the phenomena of the physical world collectively, including plants, animals, the landscape, and other features and products of the earth, as opposed to humans or human creations. However this simply states that nature and humans are opposites, and one opposes the other. The poems I have chosen question this definition of nature and put it to humankind to answer the question, are we one with nature, or merely manipulating it to our own advantage, giving little back to our heritage? Oscar Wilde’s ‘The Ballad of Reading Gaol’ explores our own humanity and how easily two conflicting emotions become each other; whilst Charlotte Mew’s ‘The Trees Are Down’ examines human ignorance and through use of language she unravels the ever changing connections with nature. However it is Lawrence’s ‘The Snake’ that uses strong imagery to portray humankind in all its shapes and forms, forever changing. These three poems utilize a series of techniques that bring forth a common phrase we are what we hate, kill and love, which ultimately contributes to a universal relevance, the main idea I will be focusing on, ‘each man kills the thing he loves’. Oscar Wilde is considered a gifted author, playwright and poet of the nineteenth century. He was intimately involved in the up rise of aestheticism, a philosophy of nature and expression of beauty; Wilde expanded the narrow-mindedness of the Victorian Era, ultimately bringing a new light to society. ‘The Picture of Dorian Gray’, a semi autobiography, is considered the most seminal and serious of all Wilde’s works. However it is after being accused of homosexual offences, by his lover’s father, and further incarcerated at Reading Gaol that Wilde’s writing took a more melancholic approach. After serving his two years of hard labour, Wilde then moved to France, and was in ‘penniless exile’ It was in his last remaining years that Wilde produced two extremely heart felt pieces of work; De Profundis, a Latin term for ‘from the depths’, was an epistle addressed to his lover, Lord Alfred Douglas, and recounted his lifestyle of extravagance and love, within the first half. In the second part the text looks into his recent experiences, during his time at Reading Gaol, as he comes to terms with his spirituality. The other, ‘The Ballad of Reading Gaol’, a six ‘cantos’ poem, further subdivided into six lined stanzas, describes his experiences of loneliness and death, whilst incarcerated at Reading Gaol. The initial scene of the ballad, ‘He walked amongst the Trial Men, In a suit of shabby grey’, was inspired by the hanging of Charles Thomas Wooldridge, on Saturday 7th July 1896, a thirty year-old man convicted of cutting the throat of his wife. Charlotte Mew was an understated poet, whose works were less recognised, in comparison to Wilde, however she was highly praised by the likes of Siegfried Sassoon and Virginia Woolf. Mew lived a traumatic life, from beginning to end; facing close family deaths and two of her siblings being diagnosed with mental illness. These early experiences affected her future and had major influences on her; beginning with her and her sister Anne making a pact never to marry, in fear of passing on her family’s madness. Additionally Mew had similar sexual orientations as Wilde, attracted to ones own sex, however due to the condemnation of homosexuality, in the nineteenth century, Mew was left with a strong sense of suppression. Her life was extremely stifled by such experiences of death, loneliness and disillusionment and hence reflects these themes within her work. ‘The Trees are Down’ is a six stanza poem, that follows no structured form, merely ranging from one to nine lines, each stanza. The poem is based around the Revelation reference, at the beginning of poem: ‘-and he cries with a loud voice: hurt not the earth, neither the sea, nor the trees† and relates this to our society, past, present and future. David Herbert Lawrence, D. H.  Lawrence, was an extremely successful writer and artist. Publishing many plays, novels and volumes of poetry. He lived a very modest life, born in the small mining township of Eastwood, England, in 1885. Lawrence was an outcast, with few friends at school, who didn’t follow in his father’s footsteps of becoming a miner. So Lawrence went on to study, gaining a scholarship at Nottingham High School and then becoming an elementary teacher. However it was after falling in love with his old professor, Earnest Weekely’s, wife, Frieda von Richthofen, that his life was altered. Breaking off his engagement and ending his teaching career, Lawrence developed his writing into a career. ‘Sons and Lovers’ is a semi-autobiographical account of Lawrence’s experiences as a boy, under the name of Paul Morel, who loved his mother and full of hatred for his father. Lawrence wrote this novel after the death of his mother, in 1910, and explores the love of a mother â€Å"As her sons grow up she selects them as lovers–first the eldest, then the second. These sons are urged into life by their reciprocal love of their mother–urged on and on. † All three poets lived extremely different lifestyles, however the common thread between them is the literary period they lived in, the nineteenth century. Wilde’s work, pre-incarceration, was considered extremely lush and light, however post-incarceration it grew sad and he adapted Dark Romanticism into his works. Mew explored Naturalism where the environment controls people, especially in ‘The Trees are Down’, which is similar to the works of Lawrence who combines naturalism with Pre-Raphaelitism, combining literacy with the visual arts, which is seen through his strong imagery. Comparing these three literary movements helps shape each poem, providing a purpose behind the theme of each text. The intent of these poems differ slightly from one another, however all three have embedded the allegory of killing our intimates within their texts. Wilde takes his own personal experiences of loss, and additionally the example of Wooldridge’s own act, to reveal how within love echoes hate and vice versa. Mew, who’s poem seems completely ahead of her time, exposes the ignorance of the human race. This exposure of human’s prejudice towards nature is again echoed within Lawrence’s poem through the line ‘my education said†¦ he must be killed’. The common purpose within these texts is the exposure of human’s ignorance and how inevitable it is. Lord Alfred Douglas’s father took Wilde to court for alleged homosexuality and this life altering moment in Wilde’s life is easily identified within the poem ‘The Ballad of Reading Gaol’. However Wilde carefully entwines Wooldridge’s own attempt of ‘killing the thing he loved’ within his own story to expose the wider occurrence of this tragedy. It is questioned whether or not Wilde came up with this statement or whether it is a nod to Shakespeare’s Merchant of Venice when Bassanio asks ‘Do all men kill the things they do not love? ’ Wilde is well known for his stimulating epigrams, yet this phrase seems to generate a metaphor for life and although not a question, like in Merchant of Venice, Wilde questions the similarities of love and hatred. When searching the word ‘love’ up on Thesaurus. com it provides a list of antonyms, including ‘hatred’, and vice-versa and yet here we see Wilde placing the two, opposing verbs, hand in hand. Wilde’s underlying purpose within ‘The Ballad of Reading Gaol’ is not to recount his experiences at Reading, but what Wilde is really looking for is the mode of interaction in which love and hatred are one and indivisible, in which the bitterness is an expression of the admiration. Written in the nineteenth century Mew’s poem, ‘The Trees are Down’, was completely ahead of its time and in today’s society is seen as an empowering demonstration of humanity’s destructive ignorance. Using the line from the revelation Mew makes deep connections with the past and by examining her present looks into the future of what is to come, what is now extremely relevant. The purpose of this is to reveal society’s destructive nature and speak out against the destruction of our heritage as ‘half my life it has beat with’. Lawrence examines prejudices of the human race towards animals, within the poem, ‘The Snake’, and how we accept the words fed to us in an alleged ‘education’. However the irony of it all is that we are one with the Snake and this is what Lawrence was trying to achieve. Describing the snake drinking from trough as if ‘he’ is a person, the same as the narrator, then ‘he’ looks up ‘just like cattle do’. Lawrence’s connections across the animal kingdom; man, snake and cattle alike, break down the barriers of humans vs. animals, generating a scene of equality. However it is once the narrator’s ‘voice of†¦ education’ convinces him otherwise, his face becomes humanity; fearful and paranoid. Each text focuses on humanity and from here branches off the love-hate, ignorance and prejudices of the human race. Wilde highlights the correlations between love and hatred we express towards one another, Mew exemplifies humanity losing touch with their heritage, whilst Lawrence’s reveals the irony within humankind’s prejudices. In all three cases the writer is attempting to exemplify how two effects, wildly different, grow closer together, reciprocating off one another, or how two objects, scientifically/emotionally tied together can push one another away.

Charismatic Leadership Research Paper

Charismatic Leadership Research Paper Abstract Many leaders, past and present, have been identified as charismatic leaders. The author explains the history of charismatic leadership and its characteristics. Different charismatic leaders and their leadership characteristics are discussed. An explanation of the characteristics and behaviors of followers of charismatic leaders is discussed. Cultural and situational charismatic leaders are explained and why certain individuals originate as leaders. A comparison and relationship between transformational, transactional, and charismatic leadership styles is discussed. Charismatic Leadership Society is made up of many different types of leaders. One of these types is charismatic leadership. Charismatic leadership was introduced around the turn of the century and has been researched and studied ever since. The leaders that are defined as charismatic leaders display characteristics that followers relate to. Charismatic leaders’ posses’ characteristics that enable them to win follower’s respect and support for his or her beliefs or visions. Leaders from all walks of life both good and bad have been identified as charismatic leaders because of their ability to persuade others that their beliefs were right. The history, characteristics, charismatic leaders, and charisma related to other leadership styles will be discussed in this paper. Charismatic leadership can be a forceful leadership style that can be used to improve societies and organizations or it can also be used for detrimental purposes. The German sociologist Max Weber is the person responsible for introducing the idea of charisma as being a type of leadership. Weber believed that leaders who possessed charismatic leadership qualities were highly esteemed persons. Due to his research on leadership, sociologist began to study the concept of charisma in both social and political walks of life in the early twentieth century. Talcott Parsons is widely credited with importing Weber to the United States; Parson’s introduced his work The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism in 1937 which dominated American sociology for decades. Parson’s view of Weber’s ideas was challenged over the decades by famous sociologist such as Pope, Cohen and Hazelrigg. They believed that Parson’s views of Weber’s ideas were distorted by misinterpreting the German’s original ideas. Lowell Bennion was the first person responsible for making available Weber’s original ideas in the United States. He translated Weber’s ideas and writings from German to English in a dissertation, Max Webster’s Methodology, where only a hundred copies were published in 1933. Bennion’s dissertation was written 13 years after Weber’s death and was influenced by scholars who were Weber’s contemporaries. (DiPadova, 1996) According to DiPadova, Weber introduced the concept of charisma when viewing authority in regards to religion. In this he describes three types of power:   charismatic authority (â€Å"the external or internal rule over man made possible by the faith of the ruled in this supernatural power of the leader†)   traditional authority (â€Å"the traditionalistic rule of man is based on the faith in that which has always been†); and   rational-legal authority (based on impersonal rules and norms. Its typical representative is the bureaucratic rule made possible by the victory of the formal juridic rationalism of the Occident†) From these three types of power sociologist began to research Weber’s authoritative leadership ideas. Charismatic leadership was not researched strongly until the 1970’s where sociologists began to survey and experiment with charismatic leadership ideas. (DiPadova, 1996) Since Weber introduced the idea of charismatic leadership into society, many charismatic leaders have been identified. Leaders that are considered charismatic leaders tend to have similar basic characteristics. These characteristics are:   Self-confidence and self assurance   Need for power and low authoritarianism   Expert power   Referent power   Communications and rhetorical skills   Assertive, dynamic, outgoing, and forceful Leaders such as John F. Kennedy, Martin Luther King, Charles Manson, and Adolph Hitler were considered charismatic leaders. All four leaders possessed self-confidence and self assurance along with other charismatic characteristics. They believed in their â€Å"vision† whether good or bad. As leaders they were able to persuade others to follow and fight for the vision they essentially believed in. Many followers believed so whole-heartily in the vision that they committed murder and even suicide. People that follow the charismatic leader possess many of the same characteristics as their leaders. Characteristics of followers:   Identify with the leader and the leader’s beliefs   Heightened emotional levels   Willing subordination to the leader   Feelings of empowerment Followers of charismatic leaders often follow there leaders blindly because the leader is so confident in his beliefs that whatever the leader says or does is accepted by all without comment or thought. Leaders of religious cults and sects often attract followers that are lonely and insecure; these followers are looking for someone that will take control of their â€Å"pathetic† lives and many are looking for a place to belong. Some sociologist believes that a person becomes a charismatic leader if the situation arises. These situational charismatic leaders form characteristics similar to the following:   Crises   Task interdependence   Innovation   More receptive to change   Organizational downsizing Lee Iacocca became a charismatic leader because of the situation at hand. He was able to pull the Chrysler Corporation back into being because of his charismatic leadership abilities. Cultural charismatic leaders often arise when cultures and their cultural values are threatened. These situational leaders promote unlearning and the search for new actions. Many arise when traditional authority cannot meet an organization’s need for leadership. Charismatic leaders often appear because the culture is expecting or prophesizing the leader’s arrival. When this happens certain characteristics contribute to charismatic leadership. These characteristics are:   Social crises   Carries or spreads a â€Å"message†   Stimulates guilt or shame   Supernatural stature is assimilated Charismatic leaders that evolve because of cultural unrest tend to be religious leaders that followers think of as â€Å"prophets† or â€Å"saints†, these leaders become the route to salvation. Charismatic leadership can have both a negative and a positive impact on society and organizations. In the United States alone charismatic leaders such as John F. Kennedy and Martin Luther King used there leadership abilities to make society a better place for all individuals and races to live and work. While on the other hand Charles Manson used his charismatic leadership abilities to persuade his followers to commit horrendous murders on random individuals. Hitler convinced millions that his beliefs were the only true beliefs; in turn his followers committed murders because they believed in Hitler’s vision. Few studies have been made on the impact of charismatic leadership on society and organizations. Charismatic leaders that impact society can be distinguished as ethical or unethical charismatic. The ethical charismatic wants what is good for society or the organization and its members, while the unethical charismatic is motivated by personal power and achievement and purs ues anything which makes him or her look better and stronger. Transformational leadership is the leadership defined by a work-based exchange relationship. In this relationship the leader promotes alignment by providing fair extrinsic rewards and appealing to the intrinsic motivation of the collaborators. Transactional leadership is the leadership defined by an economically-based exchange relationship. In this relationship the leader promotes uniformity by providing extrinsic (positive or negative) rewards to the collaborators. Transformational leadership is the opposite of transactional leadership. Transformational leaders tend to be concerned with values, ethics, standards, and long-term goals, while transactional leaders focus on exchanges between leader and follower. Many politicians are elected to office because they are transactional leaders; they promise the voters to change laws and policies in exchange for their vote. A person can be both transformational and transactional depending upon the situation. Evangelists for instance are trans formational leaders when they are trying to convert followers to their religion and at the same instance they are transactional leaders when they entice their followers to contribute money in exchange for a new worship area or prayer book. Transactional leadership tends to be transitory; the leader is effective as long as the relationship between leader and follower is mutually beneficial. Transformational leadership tends to have a strong bond or hold on its followers, there is no need to â€Å"dangle† promises and gifts. Transformational leaders have followers because the followers believe in the same vision as the leader. The transformational leader places the follower on a pedestal almost as high as the one he or she is preaching from. The leader makes the follower feel important and that the follower is making a great contribution to the vision. In transformational leadership, charisma plays a major role. Charisma is defined as a special personality trait that gives an individual superhuman or exceptional power. Leaders that possess charisma appear to be competent and have high expectations for themselves and their followers. They also articulate ideological goals to their followers. These characteristics that define a charismatic individual is the same characteristics or traits that a transformational leader possess. Some sociologist interchanges transformational leadership with charismatic leadership because the two are closely related. Charismatic and transformational leadership provide the followers with a vision and a sense of mission, they instill pride among their followers. Charismatic leadership, intellectual stimulation, and inspirational leadership are components of transformational leadership. Charismatic leadership throughout this century has development into a strong, forceful leadership style. The charismatic leader must possess characteristics that make him or her almost superhuman and mystical. Leaders and followers must share the same visions and goals for the charismatic leader to survive. Charismatic leadership qualities are mutually shared by other leadership styles such as transformational and transactional leadership. Charisma is a trait that a successful leader should have to become an effective leader. As spoken by Bass in 1985 he states that, â€Å"Charisma is in the eye of the beholder and, therefore, is relative to the beholder. Nevertheless, the charismatic leader actively shapes and enlarges his or her audience through energy, self-confidence, assertiveness, ambition, and opportunities seized.†

Free Essays on Are Grades Really That Important

Are Grades Really That Important? I remember taking a class in high school called â€Å"post war America†. I loved this class so much because it dealt with all the neat stuff that people went through after a certain war. I also remember the teacher giving me back mostly all C’s or D’s on all of the tests. This really ticked me off because some kids just can’t perform well at taking tests. I mean, I was a total geek in this class. I read every assignment, looked forward to doing the homework, and even studied because I enjoyed this class so much. Still, every time I got back a test, the grade was always â€Å"just passing†. I started thinking after seeing how no progress was getting done, and I began to wonder about the system of grades. Why are the majority of grades focused on test taking? Why aren’t grades on what a kid learned because of taking a class? It ended up that I made a â€Å"C-† in the class, and the class is still one of the best classes I have ever take n. I know the teacher probably thought I was a bull shitter trying to get my grade boosted, but I honestly learned something in that class. I learned that a grade is on a piece of paper because of a test, but the knowledge is stuck in your head because of what you made of the class. What is a grade? A grade is a letter or number that is sent to your parents to evaluate one’s overall level of ability in a class. What does that mean? Does that mean if Bobby runs out of time on a test because he is slow, he is going to get a poor grade for not finishing half the test? Or does that mean if Johny participates all the time and he completes all of his homework but he â€Å"freaks out† on tests failing them, that Johny should deserve a â€Å"D†? Or should Billy get a â€Å"B† because he has never done any of his homework, but he makes a 100% on every test or quiz that is laid in front of his face? I feel that all the grades given to the imaginary kids are hogwash. A student... Free Essays on Are Grades Really That Important Free Essays on Are Grades Really That Important Are Grades Really That Important? I remember taking a class in high school called â€Å"post war America†. I loved this class so much because it dealt with all the neat stuff that people went through after a certain war. I also remember the teacher giving me back mostly all C’s or D’s on all of the tests. This really ticked me off because some kids just can’t perform well at taking tests. I mean, I was a total geek in this class. I read every assignment, looked forward to doing the homework, and even studied because I enjoyed this class so much. Still, every time I got back a test, the grade was always â€Å"just passing†. I started thinking after seeing how no progress was getting done, and I began to wonder about the system of grades. Why are the majority of grades focused on test taking? Why aren’t grades on what a kid learned because of taking a class? It ended up that I made a â€Å"C-† in the class, and the class is still one of the best classes I have ever take n. I know the teacher probably thought I was a bull shitter trying to get my grade boosted, but I honestly learned something in that class. I learned that a grade is on a piece of paper because of a test, but the knowledge is stuck in your head because of what you made of the class. What is a grade? A grade is a letter or number that is sent to your parents to evaluate one’s overall level of ability in a class. What does that mean? Does that mean if Bobby runs out of time on a test because he is slow, he is going to get a poor grade for not finishing half the test? Or does that mean if Johny participates all the time and he completes all of his homework but he â€Å"freaks out† on tests failing them, that Johny should deserve a â€Å"D†? Or should Billy get a â€Å"B† because he has never done any of his homework, but he makes a 100% on every test or quiz that is laid in front of his face? I feel that all the grades given to the imaginary kids are hogwash. A student...

Should texting and driving be against the law Essay

Should texting and driving be against the law - Essay Example This has made texting while driving common among drivers coupled with the high numbers of youngsters on the road who are a fun of this method of communication. Texting while driving has been a threat to road users since it distracts the attention of the driver from the wheel and the road causing him to cause accidents. It is therefore necessary to come up with rules that can regulate the use of mobile phones by the drivers. Texting while driving is dangerous to the road users and should be illegal in Alberta. Alberta is a country which has always been keen on improving road safety rules by enforcing traffic policies and regulations. In addition, Alberta transportation aims at ensuring safety for all road users in the province through monitoring and enforcing safety standards. The Traffic Safety Act and regulations of Alberta guides all the road users on the traffic rules to be followed and the possible consequences of going against the set rules. Though these rules have helped manage traffic in Alberta, there are a few issues that crop up with time that hinder road safety in the province thus the rules need regular amendments in order to keep up to date with the advancing technology. The case of texting and driving on the roads of Alberta has been on the spotlight in the recent past and right now there is an outstanding bill that is waiting to be passed concerning whether texting and driving should be made illegal. Anyone who owns a mobile phone and has ever chatted online is aware of what communicating through text messages involve. It takes all the attention of a person leaving very little or none to the wheel and the road. The result of this is may be causing an accident and probably involving a chain of other road users since the roads in Alberta are usually busy. It would therefore be good if the outstanding bill passes to check on the rising road

John Brown Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

John Brown - Essay Example This essay takes a neutral view at the life and deeds of Brown and finds that John Brown was not a terrorist. If we look back in history we find that this title was given to him because of his revolt against slavery. In that period, slavery was an accepted norm of life and any movement against it was "anti-social". Today when slavery has been wiped out, he can be declared a hero for starting a war against an inhuman practice of slave trade. John Brown born on 9th May, 1800, became the first American to raise his voice against the practice of slavery. He has been one of the most controversial personalities of the 19th century. Even President Abraham Lincoln said that Brown was a "misguided fanatic".( Blue, 2006) Many other intellectuals also called him as terrorist. He had started a liberation movement of the black slaves in 1857-58 in Kansas. He collected some young men and gave them military training at Springdale Iowa. In 1958, he took this small army to Chatham in West Canada and on 8th of May, he called a convention where he declared a provisional constitution for the people of United States. If we read the wordings of this constitution, it goes like "slavery is none other than a most barbarous, unprovoked and unjustifiable war of one portion of its citizens upon another portion." Anyone who has not been influenced by the name "Father of Terrorists", can not say that these words are unjustified and anyone believing and promoting these words and thoughts should be executed. Brown formulated the constitution and also formed a committee. On 10th the committee was finalized and declared adjourned sine die. In July 1859, Brown came to Harper's Ferry under disguise and prepared grounds for his further attack. Finally on 16th October, 1859, he invaded Harper's Ferry with his army of 20 militants. Twelve of these were killed one was captured and executed and one was unaccounted for. Rest four of the them including Brown were turned over to the Sheriff. On 2nd December, 1859, Brown was executed. Historical Interpretations Most of the historians have Called John Brown a terrorist. Later some of them have come up with more cordial view. The friendliest biography of Brown is supposed to be the one written by Oswald Garrison Villard in 1910. Villard was himself the grandson of William Lloyd Garrison who was an abolitionist. While explaining John's arrival in Harpers Ferry he says that his intention was to "begin his revolution in a spectacular way, capturing a few slaveholders and release some slaves( Villard, 1910)". He has expressed admiration for Brown in many places but he has also called him a murderer. Some of the African American writers later presented a positive view about him.(DeCaro, 2005). Even in the middle of the 20th century, some Southern writers expressed strongly negative views about him. In the beginning of the 21st century, there has been a remarkable change in the attitude of the writers. Few of them are Toledo 2002, Decaro, 2002, Peterson 2002, Reynolds 2005 and Carton 2006. There have been some writers in this period also like Bruce Olds 1995, who has written a very negative work on Brown. At the same time Russel Banks has portrayed a fictional work on Brown putting him is the