The Social Reality of Violence and Violent Crime

The book â€Å"The Social Reality of Violence and Violent Crime† by Henry H. Brownstein concerns a very critical and disturbing aspect of life of our modern society. Indeed, some of the most hotly debated topics today are in one way or another connected to violence, be they issues of adolescent crime, the high percentage of violent behavior at the workplace, in families, violence by drug addicts, etc.To put it simply – it must be acknowledged that the anxiety about violence as such within our society has become one of the most prominent elements of our world view. In this regard, the mentioned book by Henry H. Brownstein aims to accomplish a truly important task of uncovering the role that violence and violent crime play within our perception of the social reality that surrounds us.In accordance with this task and considering the complexity of the field of his study, the author of this work decided to maintain a live connection with his audience by means of collecting s tories from real life, which helps to characterize violence and violent crime in the United States from points of view of both individuals and social groups.This approach of the author is really important as in this way he manages to convincingly show how violence may be perceived differently by different people, and how those differences in perception of violence have developed in our society during the last century.Thus, the author`s views on the perception of violence are to a large degree based on the principles of social constructivism which state that our knowledge is not completely objective, but rather is to a certain degree subjectivity constructed by existing social influences (Brownstein 1999, p.3).I think that the useful tool that helped the author to achieve his aim was his ability to meld together his personal narratives and experiences of other people related to violence with excerpts from reports of media, official statistics, and research.As the author opens each ch apter with some story that helps readers properly understand what forms violence may take, where it exists, and what are probable reasons of its existence, readers can begin to see how all those complex and often seemingly separated from real life sociological concepts in fact stem from concrete historical and cultural conditions of our society.Indeed, even though it might sound quite sad, it seems that for many of us who were lucky to avoid personal encounters with violence it takes only shocking stories of real victims of violence and violent offenders to be able to see violence not as a merely dry statistics but as a terrible reality.At the same time, I think that one of the merits of Brownstein is that along with his personalized approach to interpretation of place of violence in our lives he nevertheless does not forget about more general social considerations and at the end of every chapter also discusses relevant social policies.This allusion to the realm of political decisio n-making is valuable as such because of the competence of the author, and at the same time it helps complete the picture of how violence is socially constructed, because policies towards violence too often impose upon us some fixed and almost compulsory perception of it.Finally, I feel that aside from his academic talent, Brownstein managed to convey to readers some fine nuances of his personal, even intimate, perception of violence. This is done in a very subtle way through his writing style and his ability to depict moods of people and his personal experiences. For example, he begins his book with a very impressive description of his visit to the infamous Sing Sing prison, and as he described his slow advance thought a series of security points and bars, I felt as if coming closer and closer to something truly terrible. However, the story of the man whom Brownstein interviewed in Sing Sing left me somewhat baffled due to its ambiguity.On one hand, the author described the case of a dangerous murderer, but on the other hand left me wondering whether the circumstantial evidence against him based on his cocaine usage was sufficient to be sure in his guilt. This story vividly illustrates the power of stereotypes that shape our perception of violence, and serves as a good start for the author`s endeavor to shed light on this complex phenomenon.SourcesBrownstein, H., H. (1999). The Social Reality of Violence and Violent Crime. Allyn & Bacon.

Is Wikipedia a reliable source of Knowledge? Essay

Knowledge is a justified true belief that are passed down from generation to generation. The ones who have passed down these knowledges and information are known as sources. However, not all sources are reliable nor are they all true. Wikipedia is a very worldly wide known website that is used to look up for informations on any matter. Even so, this website is also famous for its unreliable information that are given. So, I believe that wikipedia is an unreliable source with wrong facts of knowledge. For a knowledge to be true there should be facts and evidence that goes along with it. In our enormous world we rely on expert’s opinion to justify many of our knowledge claims, however, for wikipedia everyone seems to be an expert. Wikipedia, which is known for its information, relies on other who are not even experts to give opinions on certain knowledges. Wikipedia is not a reliable source especially since the actually sources will not be identified. WIthout knowing where the sources comes from we can not claim if the information or knowledge is true. Wikipedia is not perfect nor are newspaper articles or scholarly journals, each and everyone of them can make an error. But, the differences of newspaper articles and the scholarly journals from wikipedia are that we know where the source are from and the information are accurate on. For Wikipedia, even the stupidest and the most incomplete source can become a source that lets other believe it to be true. Wikipedia creates and spreads unproven and false information to society, like a plague. Also, one of many reason that wikipedia is an unreliable source is because the company of this website can agree and disagree with other people viewpoint. Administrators on Wikipedia have the power to delete or disallow comments or articles they disagree with and support the viewpoints they approve. In 2003, for example, an U. K. scientist William Connolley became a Web site administrator and subsequently wrote or rewrote more than 5,000 Wikipedia articles supporting the concept of climate change and global warming. More importantly, he used his authority to ban more than 2,000contributors with opposing viewpoints from making further contributions. In addition,in 2007, a new program called WikiScanner uncovered individuals with a clear conflict of interest that had written or edited some Wikipedia entries. Employees from organizations such as the CIA, the Democratic National Party and Diebold were editing Wikipedia entries in their employers’ favor. Addition, to the last paragraph, on Wikipedia accurate contributors can be silenced. Deletionists on Wikipedia often rely on the argument that a contribution comes from an â€Å"unreliable source,† and decided the editor if it is a reliable source. Last year, an incident, showed the degree to which editors at the very top of Wikipedia were willing to rely on false information as long as it suited their purpose. Wikipedia is not a website where it wishes for the consumers to use the right information, but rather to show them their side of viewpoint in certain topics. Lastly, another reason why wikipedia is an unreliable source is because it is also written on their website. Wikipedia has a page where it has been typed â€Å"We do not expect you to trust us. †onto the website. It adds that it is â€Å"not a primary source† and that â€Å"because some articles may contain errors,† you should â€Å"not use Wikipedia to make critical decisions. † Wikipedia is not a source where experts who written the information made a wrong, it is a website where someone who has no knowledge of certain information telling others about it as if they are a truth. Wikipedia is a well known informational website throughout the country, however, it is also known as an unreliable source. The sources that wikipedia uses aren’t from experts on certain knowledge but just regular people who has their own viewpoint to tell. I believe that wikipedia is not a reliable source because of it’s use of wrong editors, silencing accurate contributor, and the fact that it is written on their website. Knowledge and information should come from people who are an expert’s on certain topic and can prove that their claims are the truth, but for wikipedia it not one of those sources that should be used. Source:http://www. findingdulcinea. com/news/education/2010/march/The-Top-10-Rea.

APUSH spring terms unit 10 Flashcards Example for Free (#10)

APUSH spring terms unit 10 the transfer of certain powers from the United States Government back to the states; name of President Ronald Reagan’s economic program signed by the US, Canada, and many of the European states in an attempt to improve relations between the Soviet bloc and the West a law intended to check the President’s power to commit the United States to an armed conflict (such as the Vietnam War) without the consent of Congress The United States supported this country’s deposed shah, and its inhabitants retaliated by taking American hostages A communist republic originally led by Josef Stalin; improved relations with the US came with Ronald Reagan and Mikhail Gorbachev the setting of a partial nuclear meltdown in Pennsylvania; the worst accident in US commercial power plant history a revolutionary government in Nicaragua that allied themselves with the USSR and Cuba a Multinational force was sent here in 1982 to oversee the withdrawal of the Palestine Liberation Organization; in 1983 two truck bombs killed 299 French and American servicemen invaded by the Soviets in 1979 and occupied for 10 years; the invasion caused President Carter to withdraw the Salt II Treaty a country who led by Saddam Hussein invaded Kuwait, and the US retaliated with Operation Desert Storm which basically consisted of massive air strikes against Iraqi targets proposed by Ronald Reagan to use ground and space based systems to protect the US from nuclear missiles the setting of student-led popular demonstrations in Beijing that led to troops invading the square with assault rifles and tanks that inflicted thousands of casualties (also known as the June 4th massacre) served as secretary of state under Presidents Nixon and Ford; pioneered the policy of detente with the Soviet Union; opened relations with the People’s Republic of China; negotiated the Paris Peace Accords which ended the Vietnam War; received the Nobel Peace Prize Chief Justice of the Supreme Court from 1969-1986; ruled against Nixon in his attempt to withhold tapes during the Watergate Scandal; also determined the legality of abortion in Roe v. Wade an American astronaut and the first person to walk on the moon released the Pentagon Papers to the New York Times in 1971; a study of top-secret government documents about information withheld from the American people during the Vietnam War presided over the trial of the Watergate burglars; ordered President Nixon to turn over his recordings of White House conversations two journalists that uncovered a system of political â€Å"dirty tricks† and crimes that eventually led to indictments of forty White House and administration officials, and ultimately to the resignation of President Richard Nixon (The Watergate Scandal) the first special prosecutor for the Watergate Scandal; indirectly fired by Nixon for demanding that he release his recordings of the conversations in the Oval office Special counsel to President Nixon; one of the â€Å"Watergate Seven†, those who pled guilty to obstruction of justice for defame Daniel Ellsberg the 37th president of the United States who was the only president to resign from office became Vice President under Richard Nixon after Spiro Agnew resigned; became president after Nixon resigned; only president to serve as both Vice President and President without being elected by the Electoral College; criticized for pardoning Nixon; served under a weak economy and wanted to â€Å"WIN† (Whip Inflation Now) created the Department of Energy; oversaw the signing of the Camp David Accords between Israel and Egypt; failed to recover hostages during the Iranian Hostage Crisis applied the theory of supply-side economics (if corporate taxes are reduced, those corporations will earn greater profits and then hire more employees, called voo-doo economics by Bush); lobbied Congress for a tax cut for all Americans; greatest success was with American-Soviet relations with Mikhail Gorbachev (â€Å"Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall†) campaign focused on â€Å"Read my lips: no new taxes†; criticized for eventually raising taxes as part of a budget agreement with Congress in 1990 President of Egypt; assassinated by fundamentalist army officers in 1971 evangelical fundamentalist Southern Baptist pastor, televangelist, and a conservative political commentator; cofounded the Moral Majority a Marine Corps colonel and National Security Council Staff member who was involved in the clandestine sale of weapons to Iran in order to encourage release of hostages held in Lebanon (Iran-Contra scandal) Secretary of State under George W. Bush; first African-American secretary of state he co-founded Solidarity, the Soviet bloc’s first independent trade union, won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1983, and served as President of Poland Gerald Ford’s running mate in 1976 and the Republican nominee in 1996 against President Bill Clinton established NAFTA, also impeached for perjury during the Lewinsky scandal spent 27 years in prison for â€Å"sabotage and conspiracy to overthrow the government† in South Africa, and upon his release, he began negotiations with President F.W. de Klerk which led to the removal of apartheid; then elected President of South Africa in 1990 We use cookies to give you the best experience possible. By continuing we’ll assume you’re on board with our cookie policy We will write a custom sample essay on APUSH spring terms unit 10 specifically

How to prepare for a job interview PowerPoint Presentation

How to prepare for a job interview - PowerPoint Presentation Example When you get your interview call instead of thinking how will you dress for the interview you need to do some homework. The goal of a job interview is to present your best possible self to the employer. Most importantly is to show how you are an excellent match for the vacant position at the company. Having a casual attitude towards the job interview and thinking that you can wing it won’t help much instead you will land hard on your face on the day of the interview because nervousness causes huge deal of trouble and the only way to get rid of that nervousness is to prepare well before hand. The employer’s panel is looking for qualified applicants who show a serious commitment to their work and this commitment starts right from the interview phase. Employers seek out candidates who know the industry well and understand the mission of the company. They want someone who is eager to learn, open to new challenges, competitive and knows what to do in critical situations. All it takes is a few minutes for an employer to decide if one possesses these qualities or not. The very first thing before you start preparing for the interview is to gather all your confidence and get your mind right. Remember you are the best person for the job and you have to show them. First of all do some research on the company, know their markets, products and goal. Look for the smallest detail that might help you during your interview session. You should have an in depth knowledge of the position you are applying for. Know some facts about the company and make sure to cite them during the interview. Make a list of your skills or knowledge that would be valuable to them. You can even take help from your friends who are willing to list some traits about you which they have admired most. Rehearsals for the interview can be done with friends, career counselors or even in front of a mirror. The more you practice, the better you’ll get and the more comfortable you’ll feel. Self-assessment of your achievements, weaknesses, goals, interests, strengths, and vision (long term and short term both) is another very important thing that one should be prepare before the big day. Prepare yourself for all the questions that an employer might ask you after having a glance at your cv/resume or you. Be prepared to discuss anything on your cv/resume even if there are questions that you don’t want to answer to. Your answers should always be concise, to the point and clear. If you are given the opportunity ask questions that reflect your future prospects. Next thing to look for is your personal appearance.   You have to dress right for the job interview; don't wear anything that’s too vibrant. Decent, neat and clean are more important than fashion. Write down what you need to take with you. Your cv/resume, qualification papers, copies of references, samples of your work or anything else that they may want to see. Make sure everything is well orga nized and in a presentable manner and is error free. Hand gestures, body language, facial expressions, your voice, energy and enthusiasm in your answers should be checked and re-rechecked several times. Improvements and developments should be made to them where necessary since they might turn out to be a major turn over in the interview. Work on non-verbal’s to control anxiety or nervousness. Read articles about how you can polish

Implications of Differences in National Culture for International Assignment

Implications of Differences in National Culture for International Business - Assignment Example Due to the tight spot that is progressively afflicting the large global companies, international business ethics has ascended to facilitate in attending to these oppressive subject issues. International business ethics makes an effort to contend with inquiries of what to accomplish in circumstances where ethical morals are scrapped and become at odds in consequence of different and, oftentimes, opposing cultural practices. Negotiations in the international business platform can be deliberated from a wide or a restricted sense: negotiations in a wide sense comprise nearly all, if not all, forms of "consultation, communication, discussion, exchanging of views, reaching a consensus, and formal negotiations" (Chang, 2006). Those which are in a restricted sense comprise the undertakings that are accomplished in locations that are openly or officially arranged for negotiations (Chang, 2006). The academic sphere of discussions gained differing stance towards the relationship between culture s and the manners of negotiations. A few people are certain about the fact that negotiations have turned out to be a collective and shared behavior, and notwithstanding the cultural upbringings of those involved in the negotiations, and in the international business in general, the manner of negotiations is achieved inside the pre-set structure. Nevertheless, there are still those who are positive about the fact that negotiations in different nations are divergent from each other in that they manifest manifold and, more often, conflicting forms, and are basically diverse. To a wide-ranging expanse, varying cultural backgrounds result in varying kinds of organizations. This relationship is not complete and conclusive, nonetheless, and labeling, categorizing should be evaded (Liu, 1996). To appreciate the influence of national cultural difference on multinational business and negotiations, as well as in terms of the decision making process, a multi-cultural study and the varying natio nal cultural strengths and weaknesses can be employed in order to project a differing countries’ potential behaviours in negotiation process, and to recognize the cultural factors that may impact the decision making process (Chang, 2006). It is normally considered that multicultural investigations are concentrated on particular occurrences and deliberate the parallels and differences among countries. While this type of investigation may have limited potential in terms of the selected nations or particular behaviors on international business negotiations, it remains to hold a considerable importance in terms of facilitating individuals to understand business negotiations in a global perspective considering that it touches on different values, behaviors, and decision-making models of individuals coming from different nations (Ghemawat & Reiche, 2011). For instance, China and the United States have absolutely varying styles in carrying out a negotiation owing to: (1) Americans h ave diverse personalities in so far as the geographical divisions of Americans are concerned: â€Å"southern, eastern, and western regions are like different worlds† (Chang, 2006), as compared to (2) China’s extremely analogous, communism-inspired personality traits. National Cultural Differences and International Business Negotiations Regardless of the nature of the discussion of the personality traits as influenced by one's national culture, it is quite thought-provoking and challenging to profoundly comprehend and figure out international business negotiations considering that it involves manifold complex factors.

The Fall of the House of Usher Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

The Fall of the House of Usher - Essay Example To be specific, psychological thrillers combine gothic elements and human psychology and entertain human minds. Besides, Poe leads the readers towards the secrets hidden inside the layers of human mind. So, Poe’s literary craftsmanship is beyond the scope of traditional mode of storytelling. One can see that Poe’s works help the readers to analyze the problems faced by the characters from a different angle of view. Thesis statement: The Fall of the House of Usher by Edgar Allan Poe can be regarded as a psychological thriller because the same exposes the deep relation between horror and insanity. This essay is broadly divided into: horror, insanity, and the relationship between horror and insanity. Horror: One can see that the author consciously links the main theme with the element of horror. To be specific, Roderick Usher’s dwelling place itself is the most important aspect of horror in the short story. The geographical location of the house in a remote area, ad ded with strangeness, forces the readers to feel the element of horror. On the other side, Roderick Usher’s strange behavior and his warm relationship with the narrator creates doubt in the minds of the readers. But the sudden twist in the story, related to the strange incidents at Roderick Usher’s dwelling place, leads the readers towards an illusionary world of horror. Still, the narrator tries to be cordial with Roderick Usher and his sister. But this does not help Roderick Usher to maintain his emotional equilibrium. On the other side, Madeline’s fate as the victim to her brother’s hallucination adds the element of horror to the plot. Kirsten Hinzpeter states that, â€Å"Madeleine’s illness which stuns even the physicians would additionally be a source of terror† (60). At the same time, Poe provides ample importance to unexpected events in the short-story. This unexpectedness, added with gothic setting, accelerates the free flow of the e lement of horror in the work. In short, the author’s interest in abnormal psychology results in the escalation of the element of horror in the work as a whole. Insanity: Insanity is another element in the short-story that leads the readers to suspect the real aim of the main characters. For instance, the narrator’s decision to visit a family infested with insanity is really suspicious. In this stage, the readers may suspect the narrator as an insane individual. Roderick Usher tries to keep himself as a normal person, but fails to do the same. For example, he tries to forget his illness by immersing himself in music and painting. He does not try to seek sympathy from others, but seeks help from his close friend. Still, his real aim by inviting his friend is ambiguous because he is totally abnormal in his behavior. Roderick Usher does not like to socialize with others in his locality. He leads a secluded life within the interiors of his home. This proves that Roderick Us her is aware of the problem of lunacy faced by his sister and him. Dawn B. Sova states that, â€Å"The dilemma faced by the romantic artist is represented by Roderick, who effectively plunges into madness when he leaves the real world behind in his search for the sublime† (69). But his sister is not an active participant in the story line. In the short-story, she is presented as an individual who is dead. One can guess that Roderick Usher killed his sister and is trying to cover his crime. This ambiguity and hallucination related to the element of insanity leads the readers towards the realms of abnormal psychology. So, one can see that the element of insanity adds strangeness to the main theme of the short-story. Relationship: horror and insanity: The author links the elements of horror and insanity in the short-story to create logical balance to the plot. For instance,

The Capital Appellate Process and the Unkept Promise of the Essay

The Capital Appellate Process and the Unkept Promise of the Antiterrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act - Essay Example All victims are entitled to appeals and should they apply for one, the state gives them an alternative for representation through a state sponsored attorney. While other convicted offenders begin their jail terms soon after the verdict is passed, death row culprits stay for long before facing justice. In Oklahoma, the duration between the judgment and the actual execution gets to up to ten years. This is contrary is normally contrary to the provision of justice, the society expects justice from the legal system, the justice in such a case is the execution of a victim, by delaying this, the society is deprived of the justice. To ensure the smooth and effective execution of criminals in time, the congress passed the Antiterrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act (AEDPA). This Act aimed at speeding the execution process of the indicted criminals (Nicole 9). The act was informed by the fact that prisoners often suffered from death row phenomenon. The anxiety brought about by the lengthy waiting slowly seeps sanity out of such inmates. They therefore suffer mental breakdowns and become burdens to the state and risks to their fellow inmates. Th is threatened the safety of other inmates besides being an inhumane treatment. The paper is written in an official report format implying that it serves an official purpose. Its potential target is law scholar interested in understanding the operations of the judicial system and the coordination between the justice department and the department of correction. The paper provides the details of this relationship clearly outline the weaknesses that exist and the possible consequences of the weaknesses. The headline is bold and written in a font clearly larger than the rest of the text, this is a writing method employed by newspapers and magazines, its sole objective is to draw as much attention to the article from a browsing reader. Scholarly