Court Issues Analysis

Court Issues Analysis Michelle Capps CJA/394 October 29, 2012 Troy Hokanson Court Issues Analysis Today’s criminal justice system has come a long way from when it first was established, but with no question there is still much work that needs to be done. The juvenile justice system needs to work at making sure that the juveniles get a better and faster justice process. The debate of the juvenile justice system and the effectiveness of it remains a huge controversy in debates. The issue of language interpretation is another of many issues causing a stir in the justice system.With all of the immigrants and people who do not speak English that come through the justice system there needs to proper interpretation so they can have a fair and unbiased trial. This would allow them to understand their charges and what could happen to them during trial. Then there is the issue of victim’s rights and making sure that they are not being left out in the cold and over looked more tha n the offender. All of these issues could be monitored better or ever fix if there is a strong foundation in the management that runs the court system.Communication between all parts of the criminal justice system would catch situations that may arise. Current and Future Trends Facing Courts and Administration There are many issues facing the criminal court system and the administrators today. One problem is the juvenile court system and if it should be done away with. This debate is ongoing, and looks to have no end in sight. Juvenile courts are nothing like the original concept that was formed years ago. Juvenile court was intended to help the young offenders get their lives back on the right track, but today they focus on harsh punishment instead of rehabilitation.The question do juveniles get the due process they are entitled to is a main subject being debated. When juveniles are arrested they do not receive bail, trial by jury, or the right to a speedy trial like an adult. This is where the question comes into play are they being treated fairly? The debate of keeping a juvenile court system running is still being talked about today, and the biggest concern is the cost of running the court system. The cost is extensive and this is the main reason people believe it should be done away with all together.Another problem with the juvenile court system is the use of the waiver, because this is damaging to the integrity of the juvenile court system. The system sacrifices the juveniles that are seen as adults in order to save what are seen as true juveniles. If the line of criminal and juvenile courts were to be abolished then the youth advocates could focus more on ensuring the youth get a better and quicker defense (â€Å"Can We Do Without Juvenile Justice†, Criminal Justice Magazine, Volume 15, number 1, 2000). In the future there must be more focus on having a better juvenile justice system.One factor that could be looked at to improve the juvenile sys tem would be â€Å"blended sentencing†. This would allow judges to impose juvenile and adult sentencing at the same time. This would allow juveniles to see what would happen if they did not follow the rules of their juvenile sentencing, and could deter them from becoming a repeat offender (â€Å"What of the Future? Envisioning an Effective Juvenile Court†, Criminal Justice Magazine, Volume 15, Number 1, 2000). Case overloads are another problem that occurs in the criminal justice system.Public defenders are overloaded with way to many cases and have very little if any resources to turn to that will allow them to provide a good defense for their client. Having to many cases often makes them ask the judge for more time to prepare for their case and this causes the courts to be put on hold. This does not allow an offender to a fair speedy trial and cost the court more money if they keep putting the cases off to a later date. This problem could be eliminated if there was b etter case management in the justice system. Many people believe that the judge holds all the power but this is not true.The prosecutor really holds all the cards, because he decides if a case go to trial not the judge. This is where better management would help out with how cases are handled. With a strong management base then the system would run better because everyone involved in the cases that are seen would know more about what is going on. Communication is the main key to having a strong management base in the system. If the judge, prosecutor, and defense all communicate on the cases then they could move forward faster and have a better outcome. Interpretation Services Among the nation’s most significant trends for the 1990s and the next century are the interrelated ones of immigration and cultural diversity (National Center for State Courts, 2012)†. The estimated number of non-English speaking people in the United States was nearly 32 million in 1990. Diversity makes it difficult for the justice system to ensure the Constitutional Rights of the Fifth, Sixth, and Fourteenth Amendments of the U. S. Constitution. Language barriers cause the offender to not know what is happening during their court proceedings.This is the main reason court interpretation is an issue for court management. Court interpretators are not qualified to work in a court room. This can lead to miscarriages of justice and wrongful convictions. In the future to help with this problem management needs to require that any person preforming court interpretation should have the minimum training requirements. A person being bilingual does not qualify a person to work as a court interpretator they must also know the law and how to report word for word of the statements being made.If proper training and management are carried out then this problem could not exist (National Center for State Court, 2012). Victims’ Rights Victims’ rights are an important part of the c riminal justice system. They ensure that the victims of crimes are protected from their offenders, and are allowed to follow their court cases from the beginning till the end. They allow the victim to know when their offender is set out on bail and allowed to make a victims impact statement during the trial process. This will allow the jury to see just how the crime has affected them and their family.In the future of victims; rights could highly depend on marketing more victimization prevention devices. People want to feel protected and devices such as: antitheft devices, alarm systems, license plate recognition, and surveillance cameras could do just that. The technology today makes people feel safer and they will buy devices such as these to protect themselves and their homes (Muraskin, R. &Roberts, A. R. , 2009). In conclusion, trying to solve many problems that are in the criminal justice could lead to a better running system.Making changes to the juvenile system so juveniles ge t a better outcome at their trial could lead to less juvenile crimes. Properly training court interpretors will help non-English people understand their right during their court proceedings and lead to less misinterpretation in court. Ensuring victims; rights are being followed will lead to a better understanding and trust between the community and police. New technologies made can put peace in a victims life that even police officers can’t because they cannot be there every minute of every day but security devices can.Finally, better management in the criminal justice system will lead to an altogether better justice system. This will allow for smaller case loads and less postponed cases on the docket. Communication between all parties involved could lead to fast and better outcomes to many cases, and this will cut on cost and time. Management is the foundation of the justice system and if there is a crack in the foundation of anything in time it will crumble to the ground. R eferences â€Å"Can We Do Without Juvenile Justice? † Criminal Justice Magazine, Volume 15, Number 1 1 (Spring 2000).Muraskin, R. & Roberts, A. R. (2009). Visions for Change: Crime and justice in the Twenty-first Century (5th ed). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson/Prentice Hall National Center for State Court. (2012). The Increasing Importance of Language Interpretation as a Management Problem in the Courts. www. ncsconline. org/ Publications/Res_ctlnte_ModelGuideChapter1Pub. pdf â€Å"What of the Future? Envisioning an Effective Juvenile Court†. Criminal Justice Magazine, Volume 15, Number1, (Spring 2000).

The world

There are too many parts In his recordings that do not make sense that lead me to my decision. The accounts of Pocahontas are a major factor that many say make Smiths works not credible. When John Smith was kidnapped by the King of the Photostat Tribe, Pocahontas' dad, they were about to kill him then and there. Side note: they kidnapped Smith just to kill him instead of ailing him during the battle between Smiths men and the Native Americans.Why would they spear Smith's life after they killed all his men? Anyways, right before the King & his men were about to kill him, weapons drawn, this young girl Jumps in and shields Smith from the men. â€Å"Pocahontas with no appeal or petition got his head in her arms and laid her own upon his o save him from death. † She happened to be the king's daughter. She was so brave that she risked her own life Just to save a stranger that was an enemy In her father's eyes. But John Smith does not give us any time of season why Pocahontas did th is for him because when Pocahontas covered him they didn't kill him.Later in the story he records how after he was released, Pocahontas was providing him with food and other things so he wouldn't starve to death. But yet again Smith doesn't record why she is doing this for him, making a reader like me suspicious about his credibility. Maybe she had a crush on him but I don't think they were secretly in love because she was probably too young for him. Throughout Smiths writings in â€Å"A General History' & his accounts of Pocahontas, e makes mostly everything seem to not be his fault.He doesn't tell us or explains to us the wrong decisions he made that lead to his close encounters with death. He makes It seem like he was o innocent. He was proud, arrogant, and boastful, writing in 3rd person about himself, removing himself away from the narrative. He TLD care about the other tribes around his area, stealing food and necessities from them. Even though it was for the good of his own colony or group of people, it still isn't right to steal from others and sin like that, then go on to write about Religion and how people should go about it in the â€Å"New World. Most likely the other tribes will fight back. I question if Smiths recordings of Pocahontas are real because how can Smith get kidnapped & released all because a girl he never met shielded him. Pocahontas saved him and now he gets to go? Why didn't the king search for him? It's funny because Smith refers to the king as a devil and refers to the Native Americans as â€Å"Barbarians. † How was the King the devil if he spared your life and traded with your colony In the future?I think Smith was captured then released on a deal that was dad between him and the King, probably a deal to help the Photostat tribe out because Smith was a smart resourceful man. I don't know why he had to put the Pocahontas story into his recordings instead of just telling the truth, because that accounts of Pocahontas in hi s 1607 recordings, but he mentions the Photostats. It wasn't till his 1624 recordings 20+ years later, that he mentions Pocahontas long after she died. So now we don't have any witnesses or any accounts from Pocahontas about what really happened or if the story is fabricated and never actually appended.I believe Smiths accounts in â€Å"A description of new England† are credible. He drew maps for future colonies and focused heavily on religion, encouraging people to come to the New World. But I do not think he cared about any of these things. He probably wanted people come to so he could make money by promoting the World, because maybe somebody was paying him. He probably sold the maps he drew to the people he was recruiting to come to the new World. To conclude my paper I tell you again that I do not believe that John Smith was a reducible writer.If he explained the things that happened in the Photostat tribe more thoroughly, I think I would have a change of mind about his c redibility. Why would a young girl who is a stranger to Smith save his life twice for no reason? Why wouldn't Smith explain why she does these things? The king released Smith and later became friends with him, why? That makes no sense. A normal person would be confused as am while reading this. As I said if one story isn't believable, it makes me question all his other accounts of what happened. The World The world’s biggest software maker felt that it had been robbed, so much so that they posted a high-level summary of 235 patents that were allegedly violated by Free and Open Source Software (FOSS), including the Linux Kernel, Samba, OpenOffice. org, and others . Microsoft does not play when it comes to patent infringement, but did they have a case? †Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ So if Microsoft ever sued Linux distributor Red Hat for patent infringement, for instance, OIN might sue Microsoft in retaliation, trying to enjoin distribution of Windows.It's a cold war, and what keeps the peace is the threat of mutually assured destruction: patent Armageddon an unending series of suits and countersuits that would hobble the industry and its customers. † (Parloff may 28, 2007). Shortly after that, Microsoft entered into a series of three contracts with Novell, one of which was a patent agreement that basically said, â€Å"Don’t sue us and we won’t sue you. † So now the qu estion is â€Å"At the time of the scenario, some dire consequences were predicted for FOSS. How has FOSS fared since then? † From what I have researched so far FOSS generally has still faired fairly well through the whole ordeal.The GNU still viewed as a pinnacle for open source software and distribution. The Deal with Novell was made to walk around the GPL of the GNU and expose loop holes for Microsoft’s gain but also creating a pressing dilemma for the GNU. The deal struck between Novell and Microsoft was a â€Å"we don’t sue you and you don’t sue us† which indicates that not only was FOSS involved in patent infringement but also Microsoft. The Deal included over 200 million dollars to Novell and 43 Million to Microsoft for â€Å"license distribution† of Novells’ Server software.Linux has grown from its earlier days as a fringe operating, evolving more and becoming more wide spread as a use for servers. What impact have these event s made since then, or will they make? The threat of a lawsuit had little if any impact on the free open source market at all. People continued to download just about anything these days. Why you ask? It simple, FOSS has good quality codes that can be changed, shared, copied at will, and downloaded. It's adaptable and it can be tailored to perform almost any large-scale computing job and it is almost crash proof.Software that is free is good to anybody no one can deny that. Many individuals that used open source applications on their smart devices, as well as large companies which use these applications for daily activity for their need in their company. FOSS is great for everyone because it can be shared, copied, changed and of course downloaded. FOSS is not going anywhere just for the reason being that it’s free. Has FOSS been hurt, helped, or neither? Big corporate companies have been changing their philosophy on open source software since Microsoft posted their findings in 2006.Major corporations like IBM, Oracle and Google have been using FOSS. They are big allies to FOSS so in my opinion I think it has helped them because then other small companies that actually look up to these powerful corporations would later start using FOSS. When something is starting to being used and downloaded on a constant basis, this means it’s becoming popular and it is in high demand. So it has helped them since then. Free software is great, and corporate America loves it. What in FOSS’s or Microsoft’s actions against FOSS has changed since then?Microsoft actions towards FOSS since then allegations were published is to get paid, the company is trying to still get royalties from developers that use FOSS. After the deal between Novell and Microsoft, Novell continued getting open source software getting their royalties and charging for them instead of being free. Microsoft did not sued FOSS but are lobbying their hardest (unsuccessfully I might add) in getting most of the large corporations to not join or ally themselves with FOSS. Bibliography Parloff, R. CNN Money, â€Å"Microsoft Takes on the Free World. † Last modified may 28,2007. Accessed July 29, 2012. http://money. cnn. com.

Observation Report Essay

On the 7th of March 2013, I visited the Kogarah Court House for two hours. During this time period, I became particularly aware of the court’s role, purpose and place within the Australian legal hierarchy of courts rules and boundaries, set by adults and peers alike, that the children often encounter when attempting to frame their interactions in an acceptable way. To simply walk up to a group of children and ask them to play in a friendly manner represents only a miniscule factor of social development. As a child interacts, he or she must learn to interpret a wide variety of complex cues and requirements. Problems arise when separate requirements conflict with one another or with the child’s own perceived needs and, at times, it is difficult for the child to understand that these requirements even exist! The internalization of formal rules is one facet of social development to which adults assign great significance. Indeed, noncompliance is the â€Å"most frequent reason for psychiatric referral of young children† (Schaffer, 1999, p. 250). Self-control is important, of course. â€Å"Adults play a crucial part in helping children to achieve control over their own behavior; it is only through initial dependence on others that a child can develop autonomy† (Schaffer, 1999, p. 249). What many adults tend to overlook, however, is that children are sometimes trying to operate within several different â€Å"realities,† each of which sets forth an entirely different set of rules. For example, Turiel (cited in Schaffer, 1996, p. 268) notes that the requirements set forth by the family differ significantly from the requirements set forth in the â€Å"outside world.† Similarly, the objectives of the adults on the playground are very different from the objectives of one’s cohorts, and the child must find a way to interact that satisfies the rules delineated by both groups if he is to function successfully. Finally, the child must also learn the appropriate ways to meet his or her own needs. Thus, the process of moral development is far more complex than memorizing simple phrases such as â€Å"do this† and â€Å"don’t do that.† Several attempts have been made to construct a model that tracks the moral development of children. In this paper, I have found the work of Piaget, and Kohlberg to be the most useful references to explain the observations I made on Woodward’s playground. In some way, each of their theories assumes that moral development follows a pattern in which the child progresses from fulfilling the needs of the self to fulfilling the needs of the whole. It is important to note, however, that, like any form of development, the internalization of rules does not occur in a rigid, homogeneous pattern. I witnessed displays of egocentrism in children who, according to Piaget, should have moved well into the third stage of moral development by then. The concept of â€Å"soft assembly† (Thelen, 1994, p. 30) in the dynamic systems perspective provides a much better format for the progression of moral development. According to the dynamic systems perspective, there is no predetermined outcome. Rather, certain innate possibilities, such as the potential for various types of moral reasoning, that lay within the child are assembled in a malleable configuration when the environment for such growth is provided. A pattern of behavior emerges as the self-organizaition continues, becoming more and more stable over time (Thelen, 1994, pp. 30-31). In the example of moral reasoning, the child, recalling memories from each stage in his or her life, attempts to create a sensible â€Å"pattern† from these experiences. It is this pattern that leads to the internalization of a belief system, the belief that â€Å"this† is the way things â€Å"ought to be,† and therefore, this is what I â€Å"should† do in this situation. Everyone has a unique life experience. Therefore, it makes sense that some children may have had more opportunity than others to expand their realm of self-awareness into the more complete awareness of the whole. In this paper, I will explore different aspects of several experiences that I had with the children, attempting to make sense of their moral interpretations of each situation. I will use the theories of Piaget, Kohlberg, and Eisenberg to provide a loose context for their behavior, with the understanding that each child is different, and may not fit the profile set forth by each theory in other situations. On the playground, the children do not know that they are learning. Their behavior is, for the most part, purely spontaneous, and, sometimes, they happen upon a new form of successful interaction quite by accident. It is then up to them to remember this behavior, and to utilize it in future situations. * To protect their identities, fictitious names have been given to all children mentioned in this report. Observations Monday, April 16, 2001 Immediately upon entering the playground setting, I became engaged in an opportunity to define a rule for a group of children and apply its importance to a greater context. The discussion took place between myself and three little girls who were enthralled by my necklaces. The necklaces, I told them, came from my grandmother, and so they were pretty special to me. I then took the necklaces off to give them a closer look, and offered to let them wear one each for the duration of recess. I made it clear, however, that I needed them back at the end of the play period, assuming that they would understand that this deal was non-negotiable. The girls wanted to keep the necklaces for themselves, however, and seemed unable to comprehend that I had set this boundary because I had a â€Å"greater motivation† (i.e. I did not want to keep the necklaces simply because I liked them and was being â€Å"selfish,† but because they were from my grandmother and therefore had sentimental value). Instead, they were more focused on the immediate, tangible evidence, which to them implied that I should be more thoughtful of their needs. â€Å"Why should you get to keep all of them?† one of them asked me. I had several necklaces, they went on to explain, so why couldn’t I just give each of them one of mine and keep one for myself? When that didn’t work, they tried to show me how similar the necklaces were—I could give them that one and keep the one that looked just like it. When I held my ground, they resorted to bargaining: if they could make it all the way across the monkey bars, then would I consider relinquishing the jewelry? At this point I reminded them that gifts from relatives were very important to people, and that my grandmother would be hurt if she knew that I sometimes gave away the presents that she had given to me. I asked them how they would feel if somebody wanted to take a gift from their grandmothers. I also stressed that I had explained the conditions before I took the jewelry off. After this explanation, they seemed to be more thoughtful, and willing to accept the limitations of our agreement. At the end of the play period, each of them willingly sought me out and gave the necklaces back, asking if they could wear them again next time. Without guidance, these girls evidently operated within Kohlberg’s second stage of moral understanding, the instrumental purpose orientation. At this stage, children are able to understand individualized needs, but believe that each individual should and will act in his/her own best interest (Kohlberg, 1969, cited in Berk, 2000, p. 493). Accordingly, the girls formed the belief that they deserved to have the necklaces based on their personal desires, and believed that my desire to keep the necklaces were purely based on self-interest as well. This level of thinking coincides nicely with the â€Å"needs of others† orientation, which is the second stage in Eisenberg’s levels of prosocial reasoning. Without my guidance, they displayed limited perspective-taking skills, as they were unable to conclude on their own that I might want to keep the necklaces because they were a gift. Their interest was more focused on the concrete, material desire (Eisenberg, 1982, cited in Berk, 2000, p. 493). Once I pointed out that my grandmother would be hurt and discussed how they might feel if they were in my position, they were able to take a more empathetic perspective on the situation. In this situation, the girl’s thinking process coincided more effectively with Eisenberg’s level of empathetic orientation (Eisenberg, cited in Berk, 2000, p. 505), as Eisenberg was less concerned more with an empathetic understanding of rules than Kohlberg, who is more oriented toward a utilitarian ethical structure that focuses on punishment, authority, and the needs of society (Berk, 2000, p. 505). With my reminder, they were able to reflect hypothetically upon the situation and understand how they would feel if they were either in my situation, or my grandmother’s. While it is helpful to classify the children’s level of moral reasoning in order to understand that a progression did take place with the proper instruction, it is more important to understand that a child’s moral development is just that: a progression. With their life experience, the girls were not yet able to instantly consider how another person would feel, and based their demand on their immediate need. Here, the theory of soft assembly comes into play. They would be able to take this experience and apply it in the future, incorporating more and more experience into their moral development. Selman (1980) indirectly supports the theory of soft assembly through his model of children’s stages of empathy, by postulating that children begin upon the path to empathy by understanding the views of others as being highly individualized and flexible. Later, as their ability to think in more abstract terms develops, and as their experiences accumulate, they begin to consider the views of others simultaneously (Selman, 1980, cited in Schaffer, 1996, p. 173). Although the fact that they were unable to advance right away is partially due to their lack of sufficient cognitive development, empathetic reasoning is also hindered by lack of experience, and a sufficient â€Å"template† of the circumstances of others. I provided this template by describing my feelings and my grandmothers feelings, connecting both of our individual sentiments to the overall concept of sentimental value. When I reminded them to reflect upon â€Å"how they would feel,† they considered their own varied assortment of life experiences and applied certain experiences to the concept I had just explained, and were more capable of understanding why I had placed this limitation on their use of the necklaces. With clear and positive guidance, these third graders demonstrated that they were capable of developing a sense of empathy and understanding a standard in the spirit of its application, but only when they were provided with the opportunity to think about their actions. In order to facilitate this development, the authority figure can use several techniques. Each can have a different impact upon the way that a child processes information, and therefore each can lead to a different outcome in the development of a moral code. Hoffman (1977) hypothesizes that authority figures use three methods of discipline to show children the nature of their â€Å"moral mistakes:† love-oriented discipline (if you do/don’t do this, my opinion of you will be enhanced/lessened), power-assertive discipline (do/don’t do it because I said so), and inductive discipline (do/don’t do it for this reason) (cited in Schaffer, 2000, pp. 305-306). Hoffman’s research has shown that inductive discipline is usually the most effective, because it not only explains the rules, but also appeals to the child’s own emotions (Hoffman & Salzstein, 1967, cited in Schaffer, 2000, p. 306). This was the technique that I used, and it did indeed prove to be effective. Through this exchange, one can see the connection with the dialogue between the authority figure and the child described by Schaffer. With patience, the adult uses the child’s questions to provide feedback about important details in everyday life, and to establish and negotiate rules and boundaries (Schaffer, 1996, p. 261). I used the girl’s questions to talk about the relationship between grandparents and grandchildren, and the nature of giving gifts. By the end of the conversation, the little girls had a slightly deeper understanding of the concept of â€Å"sentimental value.† Thursday, April 19, 2000 Hoffman has found that, while most parents tend to use one of the three techniques more often than the others, parents usually end up using some combination of all three in order to gain compliance from their children emotions (Hoffman & Salzstein, 1967, cited in Schaffer, 2000, p. 306). I found that, in order to effectively maintain control over a larger group of children, I sometimes assumed the role of the enforcer, using power-assertive discipline along with inductive discipline. The first incident that illustrated this combination of techniques involved a small group of boys, both in the third or fourth grade, who were threatening to jump off of the swings. I told them that this might not be such a good idea, because, I explained, they seemed to be able to swing very high. They talked back, claiming that they would, and I told them that if they did, they would have to sit with me for the rest of the period. This assertion seemed to have the desired impact. The boys decided not to jump off of the swings. Later, however, it became apparent that my more authoritative instruction failed to instill a true sense of â€Å"playing safely on the playground.† This was illustrated five minutes later, when I turned around and saw that the boys were challenging the other children to walk between the swings without getting hit. Once again I informed them that their behavior was unsafe, but they continued to play in this manner until I stepped into the area between and physically stopped the swinging. â€Å"If you can’t play safely,† I told them, â€Å"You can’t play.† By assuming a more authoritative role, I was responding to two aspects of the situation. First of all, their behavior was dangerous, and there was a very real chance that one of the children running between the swings could have gotten hit at any moment. Secondly, these boys were responding in a very confident manner, and acting assertively was the only way I could get their attention. Actively stopping the swinging by itself without providing an explanation would have been a purely power-assertive role, however, because I provided the boys with feedback for why I was doing this (they were not playing safely and somebody could have been seriously injured) I was also using inductive discipline. However, there were drawbacks to my reaction, and, while it did keep them safe for the moment, power assertion is not the best way to instill an autonomous reaction to a rule. The rule came from the â€Å"outside,† and (fortunately) they were unable to witness the consequences of their actions. Piaget argues that the best way for children to obtain his highest stage of moral understanding, moral subjectivism, in which children recognize that rules are â€Å"arbitrary agreements† that are sometimes based on motivation, is to interact with their peers. He believed that â€Å"cognitive conflict,† which is the most powerful motivating factor in provoking change, can be caused most easily by â€Å"interpersonal conflict† (Piaget, 1932, cited in Schaffer, 1996, pp. 292-293). It is difficult for interpersonal conflict to emerge in a vertical relationship between a child and an adult, the one-way interaction wherein the adult sets aside his/her own needs in order to meet the needs of the child. In a horizontal relationship, however, which takes place between peers, reciprocal behavior is demanded by both parties, and conflict can easily begin if one party feels that his/her needs are not being met (as cited by Tan, 2001). It was not until I became involved in a more structured game, where adult rules were consistent and obvious, and the interactions of the children were cooperative and directed at meeting a wide variety of goals, that I was able to observe the scope of the variables in moral development. I also was able to compare the more flexible nature of the informal rules that emerge within a group of children without direct adult feedback. Thursday, April 26, 2001 The game that allowed such a rich opportunity for observation is called â€Å"Pom Pom Pull- Away,† and it is usually run by Mary, one of the head playground supervisors. The formal rules are quite simple: players run across the soccer field in order to avoid being tagged by the players who are â€Å"it.† The â€Å"its† are accumulated until one runner is left out. This runner then gets to choose whether or not he wants to be it for the next round. This game, I have found, is the most efficient way to observe the children’s behavior on their own terms, in â€Å"their world,† according to their own laws of social functioning. When the game runs smoothly, Mary and I are merely there to ensure that the game proceeds at a quick pace, and that the â€Å"chaos† remains ordered. The kids in this group are fourth graders, and they seem to be quite competent at following the simple structure of the game. According to Piaget, children of this age have generally entered what he calls the â€Å"cooperation stage† of the application of rules. At this age, winning is still the primary goal of playing the game, but by now the children have developed a â€Å"sense of mutual control, unification of rules, and agreement within a game† (Piaget, 1932, cited in Singer & Revenson, 1996, p. 99). The children tend to be â€Å"hyper-conscious† of the rules, and are quick to point out the mistakes of their teammates. Usually they try to direct Mary’s or my attention to the actions of the â€Å"culprit.† 9 Although their censure usually coincides with an action that has negatively affected their own performance in the game, their awareness demonstrates that they are beginning to internalize the need for the rules, and most of them understand that the rules do not merely exist because the adults â€Å"said so.† I am more interested, however, in the kids’ set of rules; they have their own â€Å"code.† Piaget accounts for this in his stages, stating that children at this level often retain individual interpretations of the rules (Piaget, 1932, cited in Singer & Revenson, 1996, p. 99). During the course of the game, it also became apparent that they had a separate understanding of the purpose of the game from the adults. Mary mentioned that she has them play this cooperative game because it helped them to function better as a group, and since they had started it she had noticed a significant improvement in their cooperative behavior at lunchtime. The children themselves, however, seem to play the game for various other reasons, especially status. The game becomes an excellent opportunity for the child to view his or her own behavior compared to other members of the group, and, generally, there is a firm consensus about what is acceptable to the group and what isn’t. For example, whiny or pouting behavior is tolerated far more easily by the adults than by the children, whereas, interestingly enough, the children seem to have a higher tolerance for aggression, unless it is directed at them. For example, I observed several particularly â€Å"rough† tags during the course of the game, but only the children at whom the aggression was directed would respond. However, when children resisted assuming the position of â€Å"it,† (and they often did) I would frequently hear comments from his/her peers such as â€Å"You are holding up the game!† Conversely, Mary and I are more likely to stop aggression, and we are far more sympathetic to tired or frustrated children, reminding them frequently that it is ok to take the option of resting on the side of the field. Nevertheless, it seems to be far more detrimental to one’s social status to break the code set forth by the children themselves than it is to break the rules set forth by the adults! This â€Å"code† is far more intrinsic in their behavior; it is simply expected that their standards (such as bravery or stoicism) will automatically be known. This higher expectation could be because they have yet to understand the situational nature of behavior—as stated before, â€Å"rules† are still rather rigid and universal before Piaget’s stage of moral subjectivism is reached. Also, the rules set forth by the adults represent a convention that shifts from situation to situation; the teachers in the classroom hold different expectations from Mary on the playground. However, at Woodward, the children’s group always remains the same—the same class has the same playground hours. Thus, they have more of an opportunity to observe one another, and they establish a more consistent code, which I will call the â€Å"code of social morality.† This code is intrinsic enough to be consistent with Turiel’s definition of convention versus morality, as described by Schaffer: â€Å". . . children learn to make the distinction between these two categories from a quite early age because of the different types of social interaction that they involve. Conventions are dogmatically taught, being handed down by authority. Initially, they may be regarded as universal; it does not take long, however, before children realize that the done thing in one’s own family is not necessarily the done thing in any other family. Moral principles, on the other hand, are acquired because children perceive that certain actions have consequences for other people that are intrinsically harmful: witnessing a younger child being hit is sufficient to show that such an act, in whatever social context, is undesirable. Thus children begin to construct two quite different domains of knowledge about the social world and its functioning† (Turiel, 1983, cited in Schaffer, 1996, p. 268). In this quote, the teachers play the role of the â€Å"family,† and the playground assumes the role of the â€Å"real world.† Here, the children have the opportunity to witness the actions that are intrinsically harmful within the social needs of their age group. Because they are less closely supervised on the playground, they are more likely to â€Å"be themselves,† and witness the consequences of their behavior firsthand. And, because status is so important, the requirements of the adults naturally become a second priority. One boy grew particularly angry at his peers during a hiatus in the game and a shoving match began. Later, I saw two children collide, and their immediate response was to ask one another if they were all right. Positive and negative responses such as these occur without any adult intervention, and it is the social outcome of these behaviors that catalyze the child’s formulation of a moral theory. Friday, May 11, 2001 Frequently, the children search for ways to â€Å"bend† the adult rules in order to advance their status. Most of the time, in this game, the key to status is to be tagged last, proving that they are faster and better athletes than their peers. Others resort to other methods, such â€Å"playing tricks.† This is usually amusing to the adults as well as the kids. They are permitted to take breaks that last one round, sitting on the sidelines when they get too hot or too tired. Several of the boys, however, simply began to walk across the field one day, stating that they could not be tagged because they were â€Å"on break.† For them, this was merely a strategy that would help them to avoid being tagged until they reached the other side of the field, at which point they would call â€Å"time in† again. When I reminded them that breaks could only be taken on the sidelines, they claimed that the rules stated that breaks had to be taken by walking across the field. I understood that this was not the case, and another supervisor supported me. At this point the boys laughed, and began to run again. It is amusing to fool the adults and their peers, and none of the children would ever label their own behavior as â€Å"cheating.† They are quick to recognize it in others when it interferes with their efficacy in the game, but they do not seem to realize that these rules can be applied to themselves as well. When they are labeled as â€Å"cheaters,† they will in fact say almost anything to defend their behavior, demonstrating that, while children of this age are just learning to understand the actual value of the rules as they apply to the group, they are simultaneously learning to view themselves as playing a functional role within this group. Although the boys were â€Å"breaking the rules,† Schaffer reminds us not to become worried by some demonstrations of noncompliance. Through simple tricks such as these, the boys were developing â€Å"social skills and strategies to express their autonomy in a socially acceptable way† (Kuczynski, Kochanska, Radke-Yarrow, and Girnius-Brown, 1987, cited in Schaffer, 2000, p. 251). They were tired, but they did not want to be removed from the game, and it was perceived as being more socially acceptable by their peers to walk across the field rather than to sit down. Furthermore, it is completely understandable that they would still demonstrate some egocentrism by believing that  the rules apply to others and not to themselves, for they are still forming their identities in a group context. Schaffer cites a study by Hartshorne and May (1928-1930) that found that children’s tendency to lie fluctuates depending on the situation with which they are confronted, and that a child’s tendency to lie is therefore not an innate characteristic (Schaffer, 2000, p. 301). It seems that, when children engage in behaviors such as bending the rules, they are in fact testing socially acceptable boundaries. Monday, May 14, 2001 I observed the most obvious struggle for status in a child whom I will call Justin (not the child’s real name). He did not seem to be as athletic as the other children, and many times he would accidentally collide with somebody, or trip, and then burst into tears. After falling, he would often blame the other child for his misfortune, and at times making an appeal to authority, telling me that he had been singled out by his peers, once more, as an object of their aggression. Early in the game, I observed that this was not the case; that the falls were all accidents, and Justin’s reactive behavior might be exacerbating his social situation. After one particularly bad episode, I decided to talk to Justin. As he collected himself, he began to tell me how he felt. He claimed that â€Å"Nobody ever left him for last,† meaning that he felt that his teammates were singling him out personally to tag first. Here, he demonstrated that he had a more egocentric interpretation of the social code. Like a younger child in Piaget’s egocentric stage of moral interpretation, his concept of rules was flexible, indefinite, and tailored to fit his individual needs (cited in Singer & Revenson, 1996, p. 98). At this particular moment, he firmly believed that one of the implied rules of the game was that he, as an individual, should not be tagged so often, even though, to an adult, it would seem that he did not get tagged any more often then the other children. This slight difference in maturity also affected his perception of the â€Å"social code,† and he eventually developed a tendency to rely upon me to enforce his current interpretation of the rules. For example, when we returned to the game, he expected that I would tell the other children that it was his turn to be â€Å"it.† According to Piaget, write Singer & Revenson, in the egocentric stage of social development, â€Å"[children] feel a communion with the abstract, ideal adult who epitomizes fairness and justice, but at the same time they may be inventing their own rules throughout the game† (1996, p. 98). Justin clearly hoped that I would intervene when it seemed that his peers were not treating him according to his perception of fairness, even though this perception would alter to fit the current situation. His style of interaction with me also often assumed the form of a â€Å"monologue,† which is Piaget’s stage of language development that coincides with the egocentric stage of rule development (cited in Singer & Revenson, 1996, p. 98). In the collective monologue, a group of children play together and speak, but the speech is often unrelated to what the others are saying or doing, and the purpose is rarely to exchange real information (cited in Singer & Revenson, 1996, p. 60). This immature style of communication may inhibit a child’s ability to communicate with more mature peers, limiting his or her opportunity to absorb the â€Å"code† set forth by the group. Shortly before Justin and I returned to the game, I tried to encourage Justin by stating that â€Å"everybody has different talents,† and that â€Å"some people are better at sports than others.† He comprehended my implication, and stated that he was good at playing tic-tac-toe. However, he then attempted to show me how to play the game by drawing in the dirt, when I needed to be with the other children, because the other playground supervisor had gone in. He did not seem to notice that I needed to be interacting with the other children, and showed little interest in the bigger game until he realized that he now had an opportunity to be â€Å"it.† â€Å"I want to be ‘it,’† he told me, but made no further comment when the other children protested. He simply looked at me and was apparently waiting for a response. Here, he relied heavily on our vertical relationship to ensure that he would be treated fairly. For him, it was perfectly natural to put the game â€Å"on hold† while he showed me his skill, and to expect me to help him to assume a leading role once he was finished. Unfortunately, this perception did not coincide with that of his peers, and Justin experienced even more trouble with acceptance as the game progressed. Later on, Justin did tag one of the bigger boys. This particular child, Alex, often displays reactive tendencies as well, but is far more athletic, and generally it seems that the other children leave him alone. I happened to be watching Justin, and thus happened to witness Alex’s immediate reaction as well. Immediately he turned around and leaned over Justin, who was a good head shorter than he. His eyes were wide and his expression was angry, and it seemed to me as though he was ready to push the smaller child. I yelled Alex’s name and told him that this action was not acceptable, that Justin had tagged him â€Å"fair and square.† This diffused the immediate conflict. Alex, however, continued to insist that Justin â€Å"always went after him,† and that â€Å"it wasn’t fair.† Once again, this illustrates how children have the egocentric tendency to alter their own rules to fit their needs during the course of a game. Alex did not want to be â€Å"it† anymore, and so he felt that he was justified in blaming Justin for tagging him â€Å"all of the time† so that he would not have to be. Perhaps he selected Justin because his peers were biased against Justin at the time, and would be more likely to accept his assertion that â€Å"Justin was acting out again.† In this instance, the â€Å"understood rules,† the intense desire for â€Å"fairness† that so often dominates the game, could have very well developed into a bully/victim dynamic should this aggressive pattern have been allowed to continue. However, in this early stage of the interaction, it was clear that Alex’s behavior was largely due to his perception of Justin’s intent. In late childhood, asserts Schaffer, children are more likely to link their behavior to the motivations of others (1996, p. 280). Alex also displayed some egocentric behavior, however. His actions, in this instance, can be linked to Kohlberg’s stages of moral understanding. By stating that Justin â€Å"always went after him,† he assumed that Justin (and probably others) was doing this in his own self interest, probably because it made Justin â€Å"look good† to tag one of the bigger boys. This fits nicely into Kohlberg’s instrumental purpose orientation, in which behavior is reciprocal, but each participant acts in his own self interest with the assumption that the other will do the same (cited in Berk, 15 2000, p. 493). This provides insight into the perspective that bullies often take when defending their actions toward victims. Because the aggressive child attributes his/her actions to another’s behavior, he/she is likely to believe that the other child â€Å"brought it on himself.† The aggressor’s assumption is precluded by another assumption, a moral belief that may lead to a bullying dynamic: that the victim should know that the bully will behave in a way that will further his own interests, and therefore, the victim should take the appropriate measures to protect himself. Fortunately for everybody, the need for social status also encourages prosocial behavior, especially in children such as Justin, who are having difficulty with acceptance from the group. This was certainly the case with Justin. The next observation I made of Justin’s interaction with his playmates had a far more positive outcome. Either somebody had been teaching him the benefits of prosocial behavior, or he had simply figured out that it is more beneficial to act in a manner that keeps the game moving â€Å"forward.† This time, around the beginning of the game, Justin entered late, when the team member who had been tagged last was trying to choose a partner who would be â€Å"it.† Justin asked rather brightly if he could â€Å"help,† and the other boy said that he could. Mary, Bill and I all acknowledged his contribution. The need for acceptance, however, is not the only motivation for internalizing the rules. I believe that, above all else, the children like each other, and participate in the game with the understanding that everybody should be having a good time. These children had moved well beyond the stage of egocentric empathy described by Hoffman (1987), and well into the stage of having empathy for another’s feelings. Schaffer expands upon Hoffman’s theory by stating that â€Å"it is . . . when confronted by another person’s distress that a child’s prosocial tendencies become most evident† (Schaffer, 1996, p. 271). Most of the children whom I have come to view as more confident and popular seem to have internalized the rules of empathy and are able to put them into practice during the appropriate times, indicating that they have improved their social skills with their peers, not simply their ability to interact well with adults. For example, during this game it is very likely that children will fall, and, while it is not very likely that the child is hurt, most of the kids demonstrate concern for their fallen peer. After one particularly rough collision, the boy who stood up first immediately and sincerely asked the other boy if he had been hurt. Replying that he wasn’t, the other boy reciprocated by asking his friend if he had been hurt. This demonstration of prosocial skills exemplifies the awareness that is required for successful peer interaction. Conclusion As time went on, it seemed that more and more of the children were truly integrating the various codes set forth by the different situations in their lives. They began to develop a sense of empathy necessary to understand the purpose of boundaries, and they began to internalize the real rules of the game and understand how the restrictions of the game applied to their group function. This is partially due to the modulation provided by the adults. For example, I indirectly talked with the three girls about empathy, and Mary continually stressed the importance of â€Å"keeping the game going,† and, eventually, they began to demonstrate their new understanding in several ways. For instance, they tend to argue less now when they are caught breaking the rules. During the beginning stages of the game’s development, they would become very argumentative when they ran â€Å"out of bounds,† which serves as the equivalent of a â€Å"tag.† Often, they would blame the person who was chasing them for â€Å"making† them run out of bounds. Now, however, they are far more good-natured. When a player runs out of bounds now, I am often amused to witness the realization spread over his or her face. Usually, they grin and shake their heads, make a comment such as â€Å"Oh, man!† and go to their proper place as a â€Å"tagger.† This slight difference in reaction illustrates a more mature interpretation of the rules. Children who react in this manner have made a connection between their realm of understanding and the realm of the adults; they realize that the rules do not exist in order to restrict them as individuals, but to keep the game going and to help them to function more smoothly as a whole unit. The interaction itself also gave the children feedback on how to play the game. By acting, and observing the acceptable and unacceptable interactions of their peers, the children first internalized the socially acceptable ways of responding and, in turn, began to view the rules in the spirit in which they were intended, instead of interpreting them as â€Å"moral realism,† the outside edict of an adult with the power to punish (Piaget, 1932, cited in Singer & Revenson, 1996, p. 101). Mary has noted that the game proceeds far more smoothly now, and the children seem to facilitate decisions more quickly about who will be â€Å"it† at the end of the game, when there is usually some confusion. Arguments about whether somebody was tagged or not are usually less frequent now, which tells me that the children have begun to apply the rules as â€Å"something built up progressively and autonomously,† thus eliminating the â€Å"need to quarrel† (Singer & Revenson, 1996, p. 100). This increase in cooperation signifies the gradual emergence into the â€Å"codification of rules stage,† the final shift into an adult decision-making system based on the needs of the group and the individual. It seems that, while this integration of social codes is a natural occurrence, that the opportunity to negotiate and interact in a cooperative setting provided the greatest environment for the children to learn about the value of rules. When the rule came as a command to â€Å"get off the swings,† for instance it was simply an inconvenient imposition. Provided with an in-depth explanation of how their behavior might affect others, however, as well as the opportunity to improvise and test new styles of interaction, the children grew remarkably quickly. They are indeed eager to learn the system as quickly as possible, and absorb information rapidly. It seems that a host of factors, such as a wide variety of new situations, appropriate feedback, and positive reinforcement throughout development all contribute to a child’s development, allowing him/her to flourish a thoughtful, attentive, and adaptable adult. References Berk, Laura E. (2000). Child Development.Massachusetts: Allyn & Bacon. Schaffer, Rudolph H. (1999). Social Development. Massachusetts: Blackwell Publishers. Singer, Dorothy G., & Revenson, Tracy A. (1996). A Piaget Primer: How a Child Thinks. New York: Plume. Thelen, Esther. (1994). The improvising infant: Learning about learning to move. A dynamic systems approach to the development of cognition and action. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press/Bradford Books. Tan, S.L. (2001, April 25). Lecture, Kalamazoo College.

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Management and Leadership Skills - Essay Example Body Communication is a major part of all jobs. As such, most employers recruit employees who posses good interpersonal and communication skills. Personally, my communication skills are quite good. However, I have to admit that I am more adept at communicating through writing than I am at oral communication. In the job market, it is critical to be able to communicate both orally and in writing. This is because; while formal written communique may be used to keep record of business meetings transactions, oral communication is used in almost all other interactions in the workplace. In view of this, it is clear that I need to develop my oral communication communications skills so that I can be able to express my ideas and opinions orally. After all, since most job interviews are conducted orally, my ability to communicate orally could determine whether or not I get recruited by potential employers. In order for a manager to be effective in his work, his professional and personal ethics must be irrefutable. This is because; managers are required to rely on their professional and personal/moral code of conduct when making managerial decisions. An ethical code of conduct is often regarded as a guide of behavior and employers are likely to recruit employees whom they deem ethical. ... In both my personal and academic life, I have dealt with different changes at various points in my life. This has equipped me with skills that are necessary to be able to manage change. As such, I believe that if I was in a position of leadership, I would be able to manage any changes that are required in order for the organization to meet its goals and be successful. In order to be able to manage and lead people, one needs to have the ability to motivate others. This is because; In order for people to perform well, they need to be inspired and motivated to do so. Since different people are often motivated by different things, a good leader should be able to gather knowledge about the specific factors that can be used to motivate each of his team members and use this knowledge to his advantage. In the course of my academic training, I have been able to effectively provide leadership for several teams. My ability to motivate team members to commit to the overall goals of the team has been one of the key reasons for my success. My ability to motivate others is a skill that I have recently perfected and it would be very handy in the job market. Over time, I have been able to develop and hone my analytical and problem-solving skills. Initially, whenever I was faced with a problem in my academic and personal life, I was often inclined towards determining which solutions other people who had been faced with a similar problem used. However, I have gradually learnt to investigate any problems I encounter in a critical but logical manner in order to formulate solutions that are best suited to my specific problem. In the workplace, the ability to analyze and solve problems is

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Drugs And Society - Assignment Example The use of smokeless tobacco has been in existence in many parts of the world. In the United States, this habit was common among baseball players who used it for numerous reasons including making spitballs to facilitate their game. This was later on banned and even the baseball players left the habit to start smoking. Again, they heard of the odds of smoking and fled back to chewing tobacco, only to realize later that this was still harmful as well. A point of important concern is therefore to come up with a solution to this situation of dilemma. As has been stated, the use of smokeless tobacco was prompted by an attempt to solve the problems that smoking caused to the health of the user. Actually, one fifth of the deaths in the United States are related cigarette smoking. Smoking causes lung cancer, mouth cancer, cancer of the bladder and many other forms of cancer that inclusively contribute about three out of ten deaths related to cancer. The severe ness of the resulting cancer will depend on factors like the number of cigarettes smoked daily, the frequency and the time smoking started in the person’s life (Hanson, Venturell & Fleckenstein, 2006 p338). Smoking also has a negative effect to the circulatory system, which can be seen as high or low blood pressure and low or high pulse rate that can affect other body systems. Women smokers are not spared either as this interferes with their reproductive systems and can cause barrenness, stillbirths, or miscarriages that eventually affect their social life. Cigarette sm okers also find problems in their respiratory systems especially if they already have other infections like pneumonia. Smoking also has some mild effects like yellow teeth, eye problems, and even premature aging. On the other hand, the use of smokeless tobacco has some dangers that it pose on the health of the users

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Community law - Essay Example For analyzing how the principle of indirect effect effectively bridges the gap between the vertical and the horizontal direct effects, the requirements for the applicability of the direct and indirect effects have to be considered. Direct effect is of two types, namely Vertical Direct effect or Individual versus the State and the Horizontal Direct effect, wherein the litigation is between Individuals. The concept of direct effect follows from the supremacy of European Law as formulated by the ECJ. This implies that if an EC Law has direct effect then such law grants rights to individuals, which must be upheld by the national courts. For any EC Law to have direct effect, it must satisfy two conditions. First, the relevant EC Law must be part of the recognized legal order, i.e., it must be a treaty article, a regulation or a directive. Secondly, the terms of the relevant EC Law must be such as are appropriate to confer rights on individuals. Directives have vertical Direct effect only if they have clarity, precision, unconditionality in as much as they fulfil the Van Gend criteria, independence in operation and its date of implementation should have been over and the person or body against whom the directive is pleaded must be public body1 or an emanation of the state2. This has created a duty to try to interpret national law consistently with EC Law, whether or not is has Direct effect. This is the underlying principle of the indirect effect, which establishes the supremacy of EC Law.The doctrine of direct effect enables national courts to apply EC Law. Uniformity is preserved through the preliminary reference procedure using which the national courts refer to the European Court of Justice for interpretation of EC Law. The ECJ is the sole authority for interpreting the various treaties of the EC. However, this dual court system is not conducive to a single uniform interpretational application of EC Law. Treaty Articles should be so worded that they have direct effect. They must further fulfil the Van Gend En Loos criterion and should have both the vertical as well as the horizontal direct effect. This criterion states that the EC Treaty should be applicable not only to the member states but to the individuals also. EC Treaty Articles will overrule any provision of the national law, which does not conform to it, irrespective of whether it was passed before or after the passing of the articles. Similarly, regulations of the EC Treaty are capable of having vertical and horizontal direct effect. Direct applicability of these regulations is enabled by Article 249 of the consolidated version of the European Treaties. These have to be enforced by the national courts. As such limitations were imposed on the doctrine of direct effect in order to ensure that national courts did not face difficulty in implementing community law. For the application of the principle of direct effect the conditions discussed above in respect of the directives, articles and regulations of the treaty should be complied with. Whenever these conditions can not be fulfilled and the direct effect in not applicable, the principle of indirect effect will take over and the implementation of EC Law through the national courts is ensured.In the case Marshall v. Southampton Area Health Authority3 (1986) the European Court of Justice ruled that the relevant Directive had direct effect as it satisfied the four requirements of direct effect. It contended that Marshall could rely upon this to proceed legally against the State. It was also held that the Health Authority, which was Marshall's employer, was part and parcel of the State as it performed a public function on behalf of the State. This case is an example of the horizontal direct effect and in this case the health authority was considered to be an emanation of the state. In the case of Foster v. British Gas the Marshall principle was extended and the European Court of Justice ruled that the Directive had direct effect even against the private British Gas. This decision was

Nursing Research Paper - Leukemia Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Nursing - Leukemia - Research Paper Example Introduction The word leukemia is derived from the Greek words leukos and aima, which stand for ‘white blood.’ Leukemia is a form of blood and bone marrow cancer and it points to an abnormal production and multiplication of white blood cells (leukocytes) in a person’s body. Blood cells are produced in the bone marrow and they divide to form new body cells according to the requirements of the body (there is the dying of old cells and new cells have to replace them). In a person suffering from leukemia, the DNA of immature white blood cells somehow becomes damaged and they grow and divide chaotically. The old cells do not die and there is rapid division of body cells – more and more cells are produced in the body taking up more and more space and cancer problem arises. Simply put, the bad cells in the blood crowd out the good cells (Nordqvist, 2009). History of Leukemia Ancient Greeks discovered leukemia way back in the 4th or 5th century BC. However, John Hu ghes Benett officially diagnosed it in Edinburgh in the year 1845. In the 19th century, some physicians from Europe further realized that a number of of their patients were suffering from peculiarly high white blood cells levels. They termed this condition 'weisses blut', meaning â€Å"white blood†. In the year 1913, leukemia was categorized into four types namely acute lymphocytic leukemia, chronic lymphocytic leukemia, acute myelogenous leukemia (Erythroleukemia) and chronic myelogenous leukemia. Further, in the year 1970, it was proven that there was cure for leukemia, and by 1980s and 1990s, roughly 70% of patients suffering from leukemia had been cured. This brought high hopes to all patients suffering from leukemia globally. For ages, people have been fighting with cancer, the only difference being that they were not aware of the details of what they were battling (Johnson, 2011). Treatment options Just like the information concerning leukemia has changed with time, the treatment options available for the patients have also changed. The earliest treatment option administered to leukemia patients was arsenic. Generally known in the West as a poison, arsenic has been used to treat leukemia and such conditions as psoriasis and syphilis in traditional Chinese medicine for almost two thousand years. It has been proven to have a considerable anti-cancer effect for leukemia although the mechanism for this effect has remained unknown till recently when scientists in China found out that it targets proteins which contribute to cancer cells’ growth (Edwards, 2010). Healthandnutritiontips.net (2011) records that arsenic is still used in the treatment of some types of leukemia and that it has proved very successful. In the early 20th century, radiation therapy replaced arsenic (Johnson, 2011). Scientists found out that exposure to radiation decreases the cancerous tumors on patients in size. Radiation is still a very common and a very effective treatme nt option for leukemia, as well as other cancer types. However, it has several side effects that a patient needs to take into consideration (Healthandnutritiontips.net, 2011). Other modern/recent treatment options for leukemia include biological therapy or immunotherapy, chemotherapy surgery and bone marrow transplants. Biological therapy/immunotherapy has to do with treatment

Compare and contrast men and women in taking responsibilities Essay

Compare and contrast men and women in taking responsibilities - Essay Example As the report declares as adults men and women take up several responsibilities such as family responsibility, parental care, caring for the elder people, working towards the financial security, and above all the job responsibilities. Men and women have different outlook towards these responsibilities and handle them differently. This report stresses that while men compete for powerful positions, women are concerned with developing personal relationships and helping others. Men value gaining status by following "the rules," i.e. achievement over attachment. Where as women value being sensitive and maintaining good relationships, i.e. they give preference to attachment over achievement. Men are considered to be physically stronger than women. As a result, the physical duties of a household always seem to be a job for the man of the house. Parental care is one of the most important issues concerning the society today. In general it can be seen that men take active role in parenting by providing for more of the physical needs of the child rather than the emotional needs, such as providing good education, materialistic needs etc. Men's commitment to their children is a key to the quality of family life and the prospects of the next generation. Women play an active role in providing for the emotional need of the c hild and less towards their physical and materialistic needs. For instance, they take active role in teaching children, looking into their personal hygiene, feeding them with good nutritious food etc.

Movies and Television Shows Should Include Better Role Models for Their Audiences Essay Example for Free

Movies and Television Shows Should Include Better Role Models for Their Audiences Essay I’m sure it has happened plenty of times. When you finish watching a movie and afterwards feel so inspired. This is often when the movie hero was presented as someone we would like to be or has a personality that we admire. Sometimes it can be other characters that are shown to be â€Å"cool†, attractive, and popular that also inspires us to mimic their personality traits. Movies can also prompt us to try certain activities. Of course this can be seen as the beneficial side of media; the fact that there could be that one movie that has the power to influence someone to become a better person. But like almost everything, there’s a downside to it too. The fact that media can be convincing in positive ways suggests that it can equally convey negative messages as well. The way that movies or television shows portray their characters is something that definitely needs to be paid attention to. The rebellious heroes, senseless social statuses, and unhealthy activities characters engage in are all factors that will influence the audience. Therefore it is important to consider whether it is worth presenting the characters in this way. A large majority of movies are presenting their characters as bad people, yet the people that anyone would find themselves wanting to be. I believe that is wrong, thus movies and TV shows should include better role models for their audiences. Current movies portray violence without consequence, inaccurate representations of social statuses and social interaction, and encourage characters to engage in activities with more harm than good. Many of the heroes in movies happen to be quite rebellious and are often involved in violence. It’s usually the fact that they’re so involved in violence that helps them obtain their cool, heroic status. The characters we see as role models are always showing that violence can be used as a quick fix for conflicts to avoid negative consequences. K. A. Earles states, â€Å"This depiction of violence increases the probability that violence will be one of the first strategies chosen by a child. † Bandura, a professor in psychology at Stanford University demonstrated that preschoolers learn aggressive behavior by watching television. Three groups of children were shown a film n which a man commands a human-sized doll to move, and when it did not he hit the doll with his fists, a mallet, and then rubber balls. In other words, he used violence as an immediate strategy. Group one saw the man rewarded. Group two saw the episode end without reward or punishment. Group three saw the actor receive a verbal lecture. After watching the film, the children in groups one a nd two were seen to behave more aggressively than the ones in group three. This proves that the consequences characters find themselves facing has quite a strong impact on how the audience will act. What encourages violence even more is that it is often carried out by the hero in the story line who is then rewarded for his/her endorsement in violence. â€Å"Such constant exposure to portrayals of physical violence, some of which viewers do not even recognize as violent, may dull a child’s aversion to this behavior. † says K. A. Earles. Reenactments of national worldwide disasters such as terrorism scenes or brutal wars are one thing. But for a fictional superhero to battle and beat his â€Å"enemies† with realistic and bloody dramatizations is not a good way to entertain kids. There aren’t many positive or useful characteristics of the role model heroes for the children to gain besides their â€Å"charismatic† and â€Å"brave† personalities but they express these lovely character traits through violence. They care for the ones who are in danger so they save them with violence. As they stand up to their enemy and begin to battle them they show out their bravery. These heroes are showing young boys that if you are not strong enough, not brave enough to endorse in a physical fight then you are not capable to be someone as amazing and powerful as they are. Physical strength is spotlighted while intellectual strength is forgotten. Sharon Lamb, a professor of mental health at University of Massachusetts-Boston surveyed 674 boys aged 4 to 18 to analyze marketing trends for action figures and movies. This resulted in violence, emotional aloofness, and general hyper-masculinity being the main messages directors of these movies are promoting to young boys. This shows us that there aren’t many useful or healthy things these movies are promoting to their audiences. This only leads me to conclude that directors need to think over the way they are presenting their heroes. Violence is not the only existing strategy. As well as action movies, there are the modern teenage soap operas. I’ve noticed that these programs have a distorted portrayal of the theoretically existing teenage social statuses. There are always the good people and the bad people, the â€Å"cool† people and the â€Å"lame† ones. Although most television programs are to entertain, having a message or lesson for the audience to gain is also important. As mentioned earlier, the way the characters are portrayed is very significant to the audience since they are what influence the audience. There are the more obvious heroes which are the supermen in action movies but the less spotlighted ones in calmer, closer-to-reality programs. In these kinds of films, the â€Å"hero† would be a character the audience finds themselves admiring and looking up to. This depends on the way the characters in the film are presented. A person who our society would admire and want to be has very precise but general character traits; a confident, rich, bossy girl who has an attractive appearance and good leadership skills. It’s practically the same for boys. Society’s image of a picture perfect female or male is neglecting the many other personality traits of a human being that makes them a good and interesting person. Movies present the â€Å"popular guy† typically as someone who is necessarily good at sports for instance, and send the message to younger boys that if they are not good at sports they can’t expect to be at the top of the theoretical social scale regardless of other good qualities they can have. The same goes for girls. These films portray the â€Å"popular† girls as girls who are very narrowed down in their interests. Female adolescents are portrayed as being obsessed with their appearance. † Smart people are shown to be socially unaccepted. â€Å"Intellects are frequently viewed as social misfits. † These movies are encouraging and strengthening society’s distorted image of who the â€Å"popular† kids should be and contribute to a very inaccurate picture of what social interaction and social status is built on in reality. Young girls or boys may start to think that if they are not what the â€Å"cool kids† are presented as in movies, then they will not be successful or liked. This is definitely not the kind of message that should be sent to the younger generations. Lastly, quite a few of the activities characters in movies or TV shows engage in are not healthy and do not set good examples for young teens. The usage of alcohol and drugs is always by the cool, popular kids who will then convince the kids and teens a part of their audience to try them at one point. â€Å"Social Learning Theory suggests that children learn by watching, imitating, and assimilating. † This only proves that the majority of the children that are exposed to media that is practically encouraging alcohol and drug usage will most likely try it in attempt to imitate their role models. Movies propel the idea of these bad habits being â€Å"cool†. With teenagers picking up their first cigarette as early as 14 years of age, evidently there’s a problem. As many parents and adults may have noticed, kids/teens are beginning to have a distorted idea of what sex is all about and media may be the main cause for their way of thinking. Many movies and shows portray it as a normal thing to indulge in, therefore teens are enacting what they see from the media and often end up being pregnant or contracting a sexually transmitted disease. A study was done on 75 girls in which half were pregnant. It was found that the pregnant girls watched more soap operas than the non-pregnant girls and were found more surprised when told that their favorite soap opera characters used any sex protection. According to the National Survey of Children, males who watched more television were found to be more sexually active than the ones who watched less television. â€Å"Television may be a significant contributor to the sexual practices and attitudes of young people. † All of these things may be a part of a movie to show what it’s like out there but there must be some sort of proof of it being a bad thing to no give out the wrong message. Having characters in movies continuously smoking cigarettes and never even considering the consequences of having sex may influence kids in a completely wrong way. All of these reasons strongly suggest that the role models portrayed in movies and television shows can influence the younger audiences in negative ways. If teenagers are continuously exposed to such behaviors their minds will adjust to thinking in a certain way and no matter how hard their loved ones will afterwards try to convince them that these activities are wrong, that these behaviors are wrong, they will not be capable of changing their minds. Dear parents, are you okay with your 14 year old daughter already indulging in sexual activity, and your 15 year old son reacting violently and aggressively to any confrontations? Dear world, do you believe it’s acceptable for young girls to stress about their appearance and feel bad about themselves simply because of the way they look? For boys to believe that sports are what they are bound to engage in to be liked? Directors of movies should start to think how to get society to think differently, rather than encourage its shallow beliefs. Fighting scenes should not be the only entertaining scenes for kids. More creative ways of how to entertain children in a positive way could be thought of. The modern teenage popular kids should all have different interests and be liked for who they are and not what they look like. Pathetic assumptions and senseless social statuses in general should be presented in a brighter way in programs. Unhealthy activities should be portrayed as the bad things to do rather than the â€Å"cool† things. Kids will follow their role models, and if they’re role models are doing good things, it’s likely they will too.

The nuclear power

The nuclear power Introduction I am writing this essay to debate the idea of having nuclear power developed for future use by us. This takes on a major issue and covers many aspects of my nations energy use both in present and for the future. When we think about nuclear power we do not automatically think of it as a non renewable energy source. This is because it is not part of the fossils fuels; coal, oil and gas, which we all know will not last us as reliable energy sources for much longer. However, nuclear power is a non renewable energy source and Nuclear energy is considered an important fuel to produce energy How is nuclear energy made? Nuclear energy is obtained by processes of nuclear fission and fusion. In nuclear fission the energy is released by splitting the atom sending a neutron blasting through the nucleus, this makes other neutrons fly off at high speeds setting up a chain reaction. Nuclear fusion is the opposite by which the nuclei of two or more atoms fuse together, in the process mass is lost and this is then converted into energy. Production of energy takes place inside a nuclear reactor which consists of a core surrounded by a thick concrete shield, steam pipes, turbines and a final (electricity) generator. After the mining of the ore (this is mainly uranium or plutonium ore) has been done the pure uranium is turned into uranium dioxide which is made into pellets. Several of these pellets are placed inside fuel rods. Usually there are about 90,000 fuel rods placed in the core of a reactor. Nuclear fission takes place inside the core by which the isotope splits using the atoms in the uranium dioxide from the pellets. The immense heat produced by this is carried away by fluid circulating through the reactor core. Once the fluid becomes heated it is used to produce steam, this steam drives the turbines which in turn rotate the main electricity generators to produce clean, reliable electricity. During this process there is a massive amount of radiation and so this is why the core is surrounded by a thick concrete shield to absorb this radiation. Arguments FOR using and developing nuclear power To satisfy our general needs of heating our water, heating our homes, cooking our food, powering our appliances and lighting our rooms, we need to retrieve energy from the many many methods available to us. One of these choices is nuclear energy. There are very good reasons why it should be considered and developed further, to be used in the future. Firstly, by comparing it to the other non renewable energy sources (coal, oil and natural gas), nuclear power is a very clean energy as it does not produce any of the greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide, which lead to the greenhouse effect or global warming. This problem is significant for the disintegration of the ozone layer when fossil fuels are burnt to release energy. Plus using this form of energy can save the reserves we have left of some of the precious fossils fuels like oil, which is said to run out within the next 50 years. Because nuclear power already supplies lots of energy, it is also much more reliable at present than many of the renewable options we have available such as wind, solar and wave. A very important point and something that must be considered is that there can be huge amount of energy produced from just a small amount of nuclear element. Just one kilogram of uranium can produce as much energy as 3,000,000 kilograms of coal. Finally, with the nuclear energy economy being one of the safest in the world, producing the cheapest energy, development in the future can provide thousands of jobs and other opportunities of stable employment for many people. Arguments AGAINST using and developing nuclear power As well as the very well argued points agreeing with the future use of nuclear energy, there is opposition to this expansion. There are many people and often groups that raise concerns about the safety of nuclear power. Nuclear waste that is produced from the nuclear power stations emits a very high amount of dangerous radiation that can stay radioactive for up to 25,000 years so it must be disposed of very carefully. Any accident is extremely dangerous and can kill any life in the surrounding area immediately. A case study that shows the extreme risk of development of nuclear power and what can happen if an accident occurs is the 1986 incident in Chernobyl, Russia. Here a nuclear reactor exploded killing 31 people, and around 140,000 people were evacuated as quickly as possible. This area around the explosion was contaminated by radiation and this will remain for a long period of time. The clouds of radioactive material that were also released by the explosion spread, reaching even as far as Sweden. The wind that blew from Chernobyl also came across to Britain and caused acid and other toxic rain that ruined farmland, making the soil radioactive. Farmers are still having problems in parts of Wales because of the radiation that has spread as a result of an accident at a nuclear power plant. Rather than looking at nuclear energys dangers, it also has a few faults. One of these are that a big part of the energy that is created must be blown away because it cannot be used. Nuclear power is also unable to adjust to a lower power production for night. These are faults which not only can cause problems but also inconvenience. Back to the issue of the nuclear waste, focusing away from its safety concerns, and more about where it can be disposed of without causing major problems. As it does stay radioactive for a very long time it must be discarded carefully. The pollution of this waste can cause serious effects on both people and the environment. An example of pollution has been in the Irish sea which was dreadfully polluted by the nuclear waste from the power plant at Sellafield in Cumbria. This fuel should ideally be stored in a safe environment either underground or in special concrete surrounded stainless steel liquid tanks. Another concern that is brought up with nuclear power is the potential for nuclear weapons to be developed. In these weapons would be uncontrolled nuclear fission where even if just a small amount of unstable uranium or plutonium is used, a bomb would explode. If more countries turned to the development of nuclear energy we could be at risk of production of these weapons by countries such those in the Middle East and terrorist groups, some believe it may even lead to a possible nuclear war in the future. Conclusion Looking at all of the arguments for and against the issue of whether nuclear power should be developed for future energy supplies, they are all valid reason that should be taken into account. As for my personal response, I feel that nuclear energy should not be developed as the building of more power plants could cause harmful effects, especially if accidents occur. I feel that the chance of accidents taking place are far more likely if this source of energy is developed. This can lead to the deaths of many lives due to the sheer amount of radiation. Plus looking at the locations of nuclear power plants in the UK, they are mainly in remote areas, for obvious reasons, and also near the sea. More of these can lead to their expansion in more populated areas putting many lives in danger. I also feel that instead of turning to another non renewable energy from fossil fuels, it is far better to invest and research into the development of renewable sources which will give us clean, cheap energy in the future. By looking at changing the technology for these alternatives now, we can help plan for the future. However, if the nuclear industry was developed then when reserves of uranium and plutonium ran out we would once again be searching for other ways. So overall I feel that nuclear energy, although cheap and reliable, is not the best option to be developed for future use, not just in this country but around the world.