Training Staff for Criminal Justice Essay Example for Free

Training Staff for Criminal Justice Essay The three key issues intricate with correctional staff are corruption, staff safety, gender and staffing. Correction officers are people that tried to become cops but failed. So their morals take a huge hit because they are upset about not being able to become a police officer. So it is easier for them to be corrupted because that’s their way of getting back at the system. Another way of corruption is by force and fear; maybe a prison gang is threatening the correctional officer family. Either way I believe that in order to prevent officers of becoming corrupted there should be more cameras and have a better ethics-training program. One effective management policies and procedures is to start a code of ethics program for correctional officers, a program that makes correctional officers comprehend the code of standards of morality since they are involved in greater demands than just being a decent person. They need to understand that without their morals people get hurt or even killed. Second key issue is staff safety there has been horrific situations were inmates murder correctional officers and thus people are afraid to work in prisons. While inmate populations go up, correctional officers are going down because the things you read and hear on the news. For example â€Å" (1) the savage murder of Correctional Officer Jose Rivera on June 20, 2008, by two prison inmates at the United States Penitentiary in Atwater, CA. ; (2) the brutal stabbing of a correctional officer on April 23, 2009, by a prison inmate at the United States Penitentiary in Terre Haute, IN. (3) the brutal stabbing of a correctional officer on November 1, 2009, by a prison inmate at the United States Penitentiary in Lewisburg, PA; and (4) the more than 350 vicious inmate-on-staff assaults that have occurred at various BOP institutions since the murder of Correctional Officer Rivera. † (By Joe Davidson,October 15, 2012) Correctional officers deal with murders, rapists, and mentally ill the refore their job can be very difficult. If failing to protect your staff, visitors and detainees then there can be major implications for your institute. Second effective management policies and procedures for recruiting and training are to set up an investigative committee to search for and punish instances of staff getting hurt. Internal policing should be balanced carefully. There should be more correctional officers at prisons that carry the most notorious criminals. Maybe have more K9s to help prevent attacks from inmates. The third key issues involved with correctional staff is gender and staffing. I don’t believe there should be females in male facilities because most girls love the attention and that’s unprofessional when its in male prisons. You hear on the news about female guards getting impregnated by inmates and that’s very immoral of them. These correctional officers should be in jail because these inmates are people that committed horrible crimes and is in prison to be punished! â€Å"Four female correction officers were impregnated by the reported leader of a Maryland prison gang, which used a network of female prison guards to help launder money, run drugs and smuggle contraband into state detention facilities, according to a federal indictment. (By RUSSELL GOLDMAN, April 24, 2013) These female guards were smuggling contraband and gifts for the black guerrilla family. If we had only male correctional officers in male prisons then there will be less temptation to giving in. Third effective management policies and procedures for recruiting is to watch officers tattoos, these female guards in MD that got pregnant from gang leader of the black guerrilla family had gotten tattooed â€Å"Tevon† on their bodies. Therefore we need to identify and monitor officers suspected of dishonesty. Officers with tattoos such as symbols of gangs on their wrists or necks may be indicating an affiliation or rank in a prison gang. Background checks on correctional officers also may be an effective way of uncovering gang ties and a history of unethical behavior. I think in order to have a good correctional officer you need to find one that’s not affiliated with gangs, try to find a candidate that has no history with gang activity. â€Å"Good officers come from a good environment. They enjoy supportive, two-parent families with siblings, quality education and at least a modicum of financial affluence. They are free of prejudice and abnormal training in arts that no human has any business practicing, such as torture and murder. They feel honest compassion for man, animals and our ecology. They are subject to guidance, oversight, quality control, censure, and feedback loops from moral individuals and real punishment for deliberate acts of abuse. They will know what it feels like to be abused. The scientific application of all these principals will make good corrections officers. †(James Bauhaus, what makes a good prison guard) Plan to Improve Correctional Facilities I believe need to help people stay out of the system. So many are in for minor offenses and come out ten times worse when they arrived inside. I’ve seen friends that came back more violent and more streets smart. So I think there should be a lot more programs and support from the government to help individuals to learn a profession so that they can have a chance to fly straight. â€Å"Once were in jail, theres no point sending us back out to do it all again. Incarceration is the punishment of someone that did something illegal; incarceration is to make someone change for the better. Youve got us locked up, so use the time to help us change. Dont turn out the same person who went in (or a worse person the party bag were sent away with usually includes a nice new line in bullying, violence, manipulation and drug use) because well carry on committing crime, as we dont know any other way to live. If prisons did nothing more than run effective drugs programs, the crime rate over the next five years would be slashed. We advocate therapy, talent recognition initiatives, training, education, and drug and alcohol programs. Some of these already exist, but there arent enough programs, and not enough of them work. In fact, a lot are expensive disasters. (Mark Johnson, The Guardian, 2008) One major target population is women in jail. Female inmates live in the same surroundings as men do however female inmates face more problems because I think they get more emotional then men do thus their issues start growing more and more eventually blowing up their anger amongst women inmates. Overall, the population of women in the criminal justice system is the fastest growing. Women in prison have gone up over twenty percent and over fifteen percent in probation. â€Å"The growth in the female incarcerated population was 2. 2 percent since 2,000. (Leonard Sipes, Statistics on Women Offenders) While the population of women in prison has been going up, there has not been a rise of women prisons. Women are more likely to be in a prison that is far away from their families. Which will hurt their family and even worse their children. With not a lot of contact with their children, I think stress levels get high among women in jail. When you put women into these situations then they look for an alternative to ease the pain and anger. That’s when drugs come into play. â€Å"In Maryland, half the women reported daily heroin use in the six months leading up to their arrest compared to lightly more than a third of men. Half the women reported daily cocaine use compared to 22 percent of men. † (Leonard Sipes, Statistics on Women Offenders) Our budget spending on facilities is ridiculous because the system is not doing what they are supposing so do. They don’t help rehabilitate inmates as much as they should. Pretty much we tax payers are not getting our moneys worth. â€Å"Ten years ago, the correctional healthcare market was $4. 5 billion in annual spending, with approximately 40% outsourced to private vendors. Today, the share of the mar ket served by outsourcing is growing alongside a rising inmate population. As a corollary, the rising costs of healthcare due to a graying correctional population and other factors have doubled the market to over $10 billion. † (Marc Baudry, 2012) There are three major keys to help issues in corrections†¦ the first one is education programs. EVERYONE knows education is very important to succeed in life. Therefore there should be more educational programs and it should be mandatory to attend. I know at first its going to be hard but once inmates get out the system and find a decent job then the word will spread and then inmates will take advantage of these programs. They should capitalize on inmates that have a family. â€Å"McElrath-Bey argues that investment can’t be limited to higher education. Though GED programs exist in most prisons, many inmates are still unable to take advantage. Typically, inmates who have financial support from the outside—from family or friends—are the ones who earn their degrees. Inmates with no help are forced to take prison work, to pay for the food, clothes and toiletries—like soap and toothpaste—that make life bearable inside prison walls. You can either go to school, or you can work to earn the basic necessities you need to survive. (Mathew Fleischer, 2013) Probation and parole is my second major key to help issues in corrections. Sometimes the probation officer gets burnt out and stops caring for inmates. I think there should be more contact and communication with the probation officer and parole. The inmate needs as much help as he can get so probation officers should do as much as he or she can to make sure that the offender does not return to prison. I know there are so many inmates that don’t care and end up coming back to prison but that still shouldn’t stop the probation officer from doing his or her job. My third one is a faith-based program. I’ve seen people change because of their new beliefs and I think that’s what most inmates need. A faith-based program is a good idea because it teaches inmates the way of believing something such as god or whatever religion. People sometimes don’t want to understand the ways of god but when you read and think about the sins you committed then you start to feel some remorse. I’ve seen this happen with two of my cousins. Both were in jail and while reading the bible it helped them understand their need to change for the better. One of them is out working at Sprint as a sales consultant doing very well for himself now. The other is still waiting for his trial in September. Whatever the outcome may be I believe with faith based programs it’ll turn inmates to a better person. One way to improve target population is better social skills for inmates. Prisons need a greater unity between warden, prisoners and staff. Also stop having a race thing. There should be a group of people that are different race put in each cell. Second way to improve population is stop the overcrowding. People that are on edge are more likely to blow up on someone when they are always around. Sometimes an inmate needs some space to try to deal with their issues. My third suggestion to improve target population is to upgrade the prisons and jails because some facilities are rundown and rotting so this could possibly present health and safety hazards for inmates. No one would like to live in poor conditions so its time to have a modernization in correctional facilities. I think with these ideas, inmate issues will decrees and that inmates frustration/problems will be resolved more quickly. Philosophy and Goals of Punishment and Reformation The goals of punishment and reformation are to rehabilitate people that commit crimes and to protect our citizens. History has taught us the nature of corrections, People need to be punished for their actions however sometimes there are some people that are sick and not know what they are doing. Times are changing so there are new tactics/programs to help criminals get back on their feet. â€Å"How criminals were punished and the methods behind the punishment changed throughout the times. Standards of punishment moved from banishment and fines to torture and blood feuds (Siegel Senna, 2005). A more organized system of punishment came forth with the formation of Common Law, which was brought over to the United States from England. With the development of a system, there was a move away from physical punishment toward methods more acceptably used yet today in the United States. † (Elizabeth Renter, 2008) With that said, there are three major challenges to corrections, using an evidence based approach can help determine the best way to deal with different offenders to attempt to achieve the different goals of the criminal justice system. Reformation is to make people fear being punished and to correct peoples behavior. Unfortunately you can go to jail for something minor like possession of drugs, traffic violations, and misdemeanor offences. The first major issue of discussion is prison and jail overcrowding. Numerous reports and television indicate that even down to the local city and county jail, overcrowding has affected the small town as well. The overcrowding of prisons and jails appears to be result of the growing number of offenders of petty crime, who ultimately end up incarcerated for short periods of time. It is hard on correction officers when they have to deal with a large number of population. The second major issue facing corrections is gangs. You always hear it from the guards and inmates that â€Å"numbers is power†. Gangs make it hard for an individual to come in and try to fly straight. Gangs will either make you suffer by selling you to other inmates or your going to have you do illegal actions that might add time to your original sentencing. They are very manipulative and real quick to kill anyone even officers just to make a point. Its all about money and power for prison gangs such as the Mexican Mafia, they make millions working the cartels and making their street gangs to move/sell drugs around the United Sates. There are lots of reasons why convicts go back to jail. They might have gotten use to being locked up and would rather stick to what they know because the real world can be scary, finding a decent job is very hard now, the digital age might be intimidating to the older criminals, and sometimes the system forces you back in. For example if you are from Florida and committed a crime in Virginia when you get out, you have to find a way back home. Sometimes you can’t leave the state till Florida reviews your case and allows you to come back. My third major issue is the increased imprisonment of crimes caused there to be a larger population in facilities, now more then ever there is more hazardous conditions for everyone because correctional officers have to deal with transmissible diseases in their facilities. One of the scariest things is dealing with prisoners with HIV and other catchable diseases. Not all of these individuals catch these diseases by sexual stuff but some of the offenders may have gotten it by sharing needles (drug use). This presents a situation where other prisoners and guards may be at risk for coming into contact with these sick people. My philosophy of corrections that includes using an evidence based approach is to not place every offender in the same category/cell as it would be very hard to deal with certain people that have the same offense. I just think that drug dealers should be all in one prison unless they committed other crimes like murder. White collard criminals should still be in the same prison with blue collard criminals. Blue collard criminals represent a more heinous level of crime however they both stole money even though one did it over the Internet and the other had a gun. Todays correctional policies appear to be unsuccessful in dealing with crime and offenders but in order to work towards a better system, research and development is necessary to understand how to correct these flaws and to build a more improve system for turning offenders into law abiding citizens. Rehabilitation and reformation are still a goal of punishment today in the United States but due to the reoffending criminals it is hard to believe it is possible to get a criminal to change their conduct. This method may work well with drug users that are ready to get clean. In conclusion corrections can be a challenging field today with obstacles in the way of finding the perfect method of dealing with crime and offenders. My philosophy of corrections using evidenced based approach is to limit the penalty for minor offenders. Have them work hard cleaning our country and building homes for poor families. This might reduce people in jail/prisons and improving the way that criminals live by not going for the easy cash. They will have learned a new skill before the leave. â€Å"The truth is, of course, that punishment practices of the recent past have, for the most part, been strikingly lenient. Thoughtful and considered public opinion is capable of recognizing when criminals are not receiving the punishments they deserve. † (Ronald Pestritto, 1996) Three goals of punishment and reformation, prison is an effective form of punishment for bad offenders such as killers and rapists. It serves a purpose to deter criminals from committing their crimes again as well as being a form of retributive justice for the victims. Second is a question, what is reformation? It is a goal of rehabilitation for many offenders, the goal for a prison to punish people instead of death. The loss of freedom to go anywhere, to drive, eat your avorite meal, and to see your friends and family. Third one is I believe a good prison should be an adequate retribution for the crime but also focus on rehabilitating the criminals that committed a minor offence such as steeling something small, people with small amounts of drugs, and young kids. The thing people need to know is that most of these folks in prison are eventually going to come out again. So we think its smart policy to try to change them while theyre locked up, so that when they return to society there will be fewer victims on the street. (Fox Butterfield, Inmate Rehabilitation Returns as Prison Goal, 2001)

Advantages And Disadvantages Of Physician Assisted Suicide Philosophy Essay

Advantages And Disadvantages Of Physician Assisted Suicide Philosophy Essay Physician assisted-suicide is a personal decision which helps end a sufferings life. Physician assisted-suicide can affect a family physically and mentally. Physician-assisted suicide is the most common type of assisted suicide. Physician assisted-suicide or euthanasia describes any case in which a doctor gives a patient the means to carry out their own suicide. This  medical procedure  is most commonly carried out on people with  terminal illnesses. Physician assisted-suicide is a controversial issue worldwide. Physician assisted-suicide has both  pros and cons. When a person is suffering from aterminal illness  they are already physically suffering, and should have the right to decide how they want to die. A terminal illness is where either way the person is going to die in a certain amount of time and cant control it. However, physician assisted-suicide is illegal in 47 states, therefore there has to be some type of problem. Physician assisted-suicide should be legal for the people who are already suffering from terminal illnesses. They should not have to suffer anymore. Physician assisted-suicide is necessary in order to put human rights in place. Physician assisted-suicide has many disadvantages. Physician assisted-suicide has many disadvantages because in some states it is not legal and therefore if a physician goes through with the practice the physician will loose their license and can face getting sued. This has happened a few times and is a major problem. Washington and Oregon are currently the only states that permit physician-assisted suicide. Some physicians are not ok with aiding patients in dying, but that is normally not the problem. In source 3 by Reyes B.J, it states that Senate bill 803 prohibits  mercy killings,  lethal injections, and active euthanasia, and requires patients to receive informed consent. This explains that if a physician or doctor under any circumstances attempts to perform the suicide in states that it is not legal in, then there will be serious legal consequences. The Senate bill 803 protects the act of physician assisted- suicide. Although many people have their doubts about physician assisted-suicide there are many advantages of physician assisted-suicide. One positive thing about physician assisted-suicide is that physician assisted-suicide gives you the right to decide how you would like to die. In source 4 written by Lee M and Alexander Stingl he discusses the Right to die  debate. The Right to die Debate discusses whether or not people should have the right to die how they want. Many people could argue this because many people have different opinions on this personal issue. This is important because dying is considered a human right. Also ODDA (Oregons  Death with Dignity Act) permits physicians to assist terminally ill patients to end their own lives by writing prescriptions for  lethal doses  of medication. This means that in the United States, suicide, is no longer against the law. However Physician assisted-suicide still is not legal all throughout the United States. This is because instead of just the individual taking their own life someone else is involved, this makes the issue more complicated because there are legal actions that have to be put in place if anything happens that isnt supposed to. On the other hand physician assisted-suicide impacts some people differently. For example physician assisted-suicide is against the teachings of many religions, such as Catholicism, and some people feel as if it is unfair and unnecessary and against human morals. It is against some religions because physician assisted-suicide is not mentioned in religious readings for example the bible, and God does not believe in physician assisted-suicide. John Pearson writes about how legalizing physician assisted-suicide is unnecessary and painful, both physically and emotionally. If suicide was right then it would have been discovered throughout the ages by the great thinkers in law, ethics, and philosophy. If suicide was right it would have been mentioned in the bible and thats the reason that it is not classified as necessary and why people think it is against certain religions. The term  Euthanasia  was taken from the Greek word easy death. This is because it provides a quick and  painless death. In some scenarios physician assisted-suicide is best. One example of a scenario where physician assisted-suicide was best, was for Sandra Wiener. This 64 year old woman was lucky to die how she wanted. This particular woman prepared for her own death. Her physician described physician assisted-suicide as an unmentionable, intensely private procedure. Even though the 64 year old knew that what was being done was illegal at the time, her physician still carried out with the procedure. Doing this, she was committing a class E felony. However, it was best for Sandra Wiener, because she was terminally ill and suffering. In the eyes of the law, there have only been 3 acceptable ways involved with taking a life. Killing in self-defense, killing in war, and in the case of capital punishment. Physician assisted-suicide has never been looked upon as right. Many persons who want to legalize assisted suicide probably never looked at the risks that could happen if assisted suicide is legalized. If assisted suicide was legal fifty years ago, we wouldnt have some of the advancements that control pain, nausea, breathlessness and other terminal symptoms, today. Not only that but the money which is obtained from patients that spend a lot on medicine and hospital bills would cease to exist if physician assisted-suicide was legal Some diseases that were terminal a few years ago are cured by newly developed treatments. If we accept assisted suicide now, we might delay the discovery of effective treatments for those diseases that are now terminal. What about the already corrupt society of America? Todays citizens mi ght not be as honorable as one might wish when it comes to collecting on insurance policies and wills. With assisted suicide legalized, how would one regard the suspicious death of a terminally ill individual within the family? Physician-assisted suicide is a term often used to describe the provisions of the ODDA (Oregons Death with Dignity Act) although actions taken within the law do not constitute suicide, physician assisted-suicide, or  mercy killing  or homicide. Many groups that advocate for the rights of the disabled are against the legalization of physician assisted-suicide. This is because their objection stems largely from what they see as a history of medical discrimination against the disabled particularly the disabled poor. They support a group called Not dead yet. This group is largely against physician assisted-suicide. In the article written by Ann Jackson, she explains the positive outcomes of physician assisted-suicide. In 1997 there was a repeal effort. This repeal effort was to make the ODDA( Oregons Death with Dignity Act) effective. In 1998 the act was successfully effective. This was important because this act allowed a terminally-ill resident of the state to ask his or her doctor for a prescription of life-ending medication. This was positive because it allowed terminally ill patients to end their lives without suffering for any longer. With the technology and advancements in medicine today, who is to say that a persons illness couldnt be cured within the next few months or in the near future. Why end a persons life when you never know what could be in store for them. There is always that possibility of a cure coming out before it is too late. There is always that chance. How can someone else know if another person is really experiencing  unbearable pain and suffering? Who gets to be the one to decide or to tell another that their life isnt worth living? The fact is that nobody should be able to dictate what one shall do. People should be responsible for making their own decisions, and if they no longer feel that their decision is right, they have no one else to blame but themselves. They cant blame it on their physician if they do decide that they want to take their own life. Physician assisted- suicide is a very personal decision that should be carefully thought about. Physician-assisted suicide is not taken lightly. This is a very serious medical matter. There are many rules and regulations regarding this  medical procedure. Many wavers and  consent forms  have to be signed and notarized before undergoing this medical procedure. This medical procedure is a positive procedure for most families who feel as if their loved one is suffering, or has been suffering for to long. To ensure that the patient receives full trust within the doctor there is an oath. The  Hippocratic Oath  is an oath taken by doctors which ensures that they swear to practice medicine ethically. This ensures that the physician or doctors prescribing the patient with the lethal medicine which kills them, understands what they are doing and ensures that they are doing it correctly. This oath is like a backup consent. If the doctors or physicians are not abiding by this oath they can face serious consequences which could make them loose their  medical license  and even be sentenced to face many years in jail. In source 5 written by Andrew Walter he mentions that the Hippocratic Oath protects the patients when undergoing this medical procedure, Andrew Walter is very true when stating this because it protects the patients and the patients understand what is going to happen during a normal procedure. Overall physician assisted-suicide has both its advantages and disadvantages. Some people believe that physician assisted-suicide is morally wrong and unnecessary, but on the other hand some people think it is the best thing to do and is necessary to move on in life. Either way physician assisted-suicide is a controversial issue and has caused many issues over time. Currently  physician assisted suicide  is only legal in 3 states and Hawaii is still trying to make it legal as the fourth state.

Anasazi Culture Essay -- Native American Indians

Long before the coming of the so-called "civilized" Europeans, North America was inhabited by traveling bands of ancient people. Nomadic tribes, these early ancestors of Southwest Native Americans traveled the land in search of food from the thriving herds of large animals. But possibly as early as A.D. 900, as the wandering herds began to diminish, these people began to settle down and developed societies and cultures around what is called the Four Corners area of the southwest, in southern Utah and Colorado, and northern Arizona and New Mexico. Referred to as "Hisatsinom" by their Hopi descendants, the people are probably better known as "Anasazi," the Navajo name said to mean "ancient enemies." Other, more traditional, Native Americans may simply refer to these ancient people as the "old ones." Whatever the name, it is evident that these people not only settled in, but were also a thriving population and cultural center for the southwest. The Anasazi, ancestors of present-day Pueblos, Zunis, and Hopis of New Mexico and Arizona, fished, hunted small game and birds, and gathered wild foods in their newly developing home. A desert culture, these ancient people learned to live off the land, and even to make the land work for their good. Eventually building elaborate structures in the cliff walls, the Anasazi moved from their early "subterranean pit houses, sunken homes with stonework walls," into elaborately carved mansions high atop cliff walls and stone structures. As they developed aboveground storage facilities, the Anasazis began to build grand houses into the stones, acquiring new living quarters and using their former underground dwellings as "spiritual centers" called "kivas." The kiva, used for religious tea... ...ur-corners regions of the Southwest. Skeletons, village archeological finds, and cliff and rock art are all that remain to tell us about the heritage and culture of the Southwest. Other evidences abound in the stories of the "old ones," still told around council fires and pow wows. The stories of these earlier people are still told by the elders of different tribes, to teach their young ones their rich cultural heritage. Whatever the reasons for the Anasazi civilization's decline, they were a proud and thriving people, filled with culture, arts, trading and civilization. It is a shame that their once proud homes are but ruins for those of us in this new century to view. Perhaps, one day in the not too distant future, some of our own most spectacular structures and civilizations may lie wasted in the dust, another ancient ruin for some future people to explore.

The Old Man and the Sea :: Free Essay Writer

The Old Man and the Sea I believe that in the past three decades, the way society has treated he elderly has remained primarily the same. Some younger citizens have looked up to the elderly with respect, yet most continue to shun them and consider them useless and hopeless in a society such as ours. I think that the elderly population is continually losing respect from the new generations. Santiago, the elderly man in the novel The Old Man and the Sea, is respected by a young boy, Manolin, yet he is also looked down upon by many of the younger fishermen in the Cuban fishing village where he lives. This book is set in the late 1930's and, I as I see it, shows that societies all around the world have had a decline in respect for the older people in their environment since the beginning of the nineteenth century. An enormous number of issues have changed since Santiago's time, allowing the elderly to have the ability to do more in their old age and live in areas specifically designed for their needs. However, there is still an enormous lack of respect for the older people in society, and it is becoming worse every day. Younger citizens of our country make fun of older people, call them names, and believe that they are incapable of doing most things that the younger ones are capable of doing. When we believe they can no longer support themselves, we place our elderly relatives into retirement homes and "old folks' homes" as many call them. Sometimes they, themselves, do not wish to go to such a place, but we force them to, which many times is the wrong choice. Some younger people help the elderly, though, and try to support them, but few of these people can be found. It is a fact that when people get beyond a certain age, their memories begin depleting and they atrophy physically. However, as Santiago shows in the novel, older people have much knowledge about the world around them and enough strength to make it through hard situations if they are determined and have the will and courage to believe in a better tomorrow. In Santiago's community, it is shown that their is still a natural respect for elders, as is seen in Manolin's support of the old man. He was one of the dying breed that truly looked up to his elders and regarded their feelings and experiences with much respect.

Global Power Dynamic Essay -- International Relations

Introduction During the era of the Cold War, the global power structure was â€Å"characterized by strategic bipolarity† (Sorensen 2004: 124). After the disintegration of Soviet Union, the global power structure turned into a unipolar world under the control of the United States. With the development of Germany and Japan, scholars, analysts and observers have predicted a decline in American power and a return to a multi-polar world. Recent years, the BRICs has been considered as a new power in global issue. its rapid and successful development, China has been exposed under the spotlight all the time. The world economic crisis happened in 2007 not only damaged the economy of America but also the international image. We have seen the vulnerability of American economy and the failing role of taking responsibility for the economic crisis. Simultaneously, as a huge economy, China is the only country recovers in the minimum duration. The recovery of China also contributes to the spring back of r egional and global economy. After the global economic crisis, China has reduced the distance with America in economy, most importantly; China has built a â€Å"powerful† image in the world. Thus this image brings one standpoint that China is becoming another super power in the world; America cannot dictate the whole world any more. Based on this view, the global power structure is emerging â€Å"a G2 structure: China and US† (Stelzer 2009). This paper is aiming to analyze this G2 assumption. Is it the real global power structure in the world now? How does the crisis affect the state? Does the world economic crisis only bring power to China? Where will be the next stop of the power structure? The transformation of the new power The emerging powerful Ch... ... Weekly Standard, Vol. 13, Issue 46, 25 August 2008. http://www.weeklystandard.com/Utilities/printer_preview.asp?idArticle=15426&R=162C82AAED Roberts, Cynthia, â€Å"Polity Forum: Challengers or Stakeholders? BRICs and the Liberal World Order†, Polity, Vol. 42, No. 1, 2010. Sorensen, Georg, â€Å"The Transformation of the State. Beyond the Myth of Retreat†, London: Palgrave/Macmillan, 2008. Stelzer, Irwin, â€Å"The real action will be at the G2: China and the US†, The Sunday Times, March 29, 2009. http://business.timesonline.co.uk/tol/business/columnists/article5993143.ece Mastanduno, Michael, ‘‘System Maker and Privilege Taker: U.S. Power and the International Political Economy’’, World Politics 61, January 2009. Wade, Robert (2008), â€Å"Financial Regime Change? New Left Review†, 53, September-October 2008. Zakaria, Fareed, â€Å"The Rise of the Rest†, Newsweek, 12 May, 2008.

Language acquisition Essay

Nature and nurture are two ways of determining the factors that are involved into the human nature. My goal in this essay is determining what are the main factors involved in the acquisition of the language in a human. By the extension of both terms, I will extend these two terms not only in the way of acquisition but also in the way of learning a language. Why? Because language is basically communication and not only children learn how to speak a language, adults can also learn. Nature Nature is the fact in which genetics and biological factors are involved. The meaning of this term affirms that is the individual the responsible of its own growing and in its extremist significance, society and enviroment does not anything to do with human learning. In the nature position, there is a branch which affirms that the brain is divided into modules and one of this has an prenatal predisposition for acquiring language. For instance: FOX P2 is a gene that is involved into the acquisition of language in children. The mutation of this gene may cause disruptions in the speech of the individual, including the unability of pronouncing any intelligible word. The most visible fact that makes nativism a theory is babies’ babbling. Children receive stimuli since the moment they are born and the way they react to that words is unique. For example, babies pay attention and react the stimulus sucking while their mothers are talking their L1 but they do not so if they are listening to other language, even if it is their mother voice. This theory is mainly supported by famous investigators such as Avram Noam Chomsky, Jerry Fodor or Ludovica Serratrice. Nurture Nurture is the fact that involves the family and the enviroment into the acquisition of a language. This theory suggests that the language is acquired by social relationships. Its most extreme position points out that human can only learn language by the exposition to it and the innateness of language is impossible: there is no genetical predisposition for learning a language for a newborn until he is into an advanced age. Nurture in language supports the idea that motherise is the origin of the language in children. The most important division of this ideology is the behaviourism, followed by Burrhus F. Skinner and Ivan Petrovich Pavlov. Behaviourism says that everything that human could learn is done by imitation. However, this theory is not valid because it cannot explain why human can create sentences that had never heard. However, in its nowadays line of thinking, admits that genetics have something to do with acquiring language. For example, a baby that sees a lollipop and wants that item would try to catch her mother attention by moaning and pointing at it. This is the first step in the communication. The second one will be acquire enough words for transmitting that information. This fact has a genetic impulse given by the recently discovered â€Å"gene of happiness†, named as 5-HTTLPR, a serotonin transporter who is able to produce satisfaction. The debate Although the debate seems to be stuck in favour of nature, there are things that make me think about what is true in both stands. Coming back to that child sitting on that wheelchair, trying to say to her mother that he is desiring that lollipop from that shop, I must say there are a lot of factors that child ignores. First of all, the reaction of calling his mother is an attempt of communication based on the newborn innate reaction of crying. When a baby cries, requires attention and this evolves into a more mature reaction that is moaning. The trouble of this idea comes when the child acquires the words. This lexicon is acquired by their environment, the family and the rest of society that has a kind of relationship with the individual. However, it is known that this child owns a genetic disposition for making structures in language but he has to learn it from others. Genes or family? Here resides the question. Logically, with these parameters already set it would not be possible to be carried to mistake. On a study looking for heritable factors took with children who were adopted, brothers and twins, it revealed that language is inherited by parents in a lower range. But genes also respond to signals from environmental factors, not just the characteristics which the individual started. if genes would determine everything in a person, society would not be possible. This receptivity allows a cultural belonging and the same behaviour into a community. Of course heritable factors are in the mix, giving the sense of family. In terms of linguistics, children first learn from their families and after a few years they learn other kind of language with a â€Å"second family†. Acquiring that language allows a person to enter into a specific community as teenagers start listening to rock music if their friends like it. An experiment took in Minnesota, United States, by T. J. Bouchard Jr determined that twins reared apart and reared together had different levels of happiness. Monozygotic twins reared together showed more correlation in genes than the ones carried apart. So heritable factors are not concluding in the study. The debate balances in favour of the nurture side talking about second language acquisition. Why is not learning a language as easy as children do. Children have a period for learning a language. Chomsky has proved in several studies that syntax can be acquired until seven years old and phonetics until sixteen. Further of these range of age, learning for a person is impossible if it is about L1 and difficult for L2, even elder the individual is. â€Å"Jenny case† is the evidence of this. Jenny was a girl who was treated as a dog since she was born, abandoned in a room of her parents’ house without any contact with people. When the police found them, she was eleven years old and she was unable to acquire language. In case of second language, everybody who attended a class of a foreign language and met a retired man attending those classes should know by experience that man would not learn that language even he works hard on it. Conclusion A native speaker is the result of himself and the society. Parents have a part in acquisition, as the society does. Bibliography http://en. wikipedia. org/wiki/Noam_Chomsky#Linguistics http://en. wikipedia. org/wiki/Nature_versus_nurture#Nature_and_nurture http://en. wikipedia. org/wiki/Language_acquisition#Representation_of_language_acquisition_in_the_brain.

Christianity and Islam: A Case for Comparison and Contrast

The world is a place marked with essential diversity. In particular, one only has to take world religions as a composite phenomenon to best exemplify the diversified character of human affairs. But much too often, diversity can become a sure catalyst for misgivings and misunderstandings. This for instance happens when, still pertaining to religion, a person pits on belief system in respect to another, or someone tries to compare one set of doctrines against another.It is thus not surprising to learn that religion was often, and is in fact currently being taken as an unwarranted cause for heated debates, if not for human conflicts all together. In view of the foregoing, it is insightful to note that roadmap of this study aims not at sowing seeds of religious division as collocating the interesting correspondences that may be gleaned from juxtaposing Christianity on the one side of the spectrum, and Islam on the other side of the spectrum.At the very least, the crux of this paper aims at pursuing a successful comparison and contrast between Christianity and Islam. In the process, this paper hopes to appreciate important strains of resemblances between the two religions in question, against the palpable differences that already define them. To this end, the central thesis of this paper lies in arguing that notwithstanding patent differences, Christianity and Islam can in fact manifest elements of correspondences, while upholding respectable uniqueness in their own beliefs.Methodology and Scope Briefly, it needs to be cited that, for purposes of clarification and delineation, this paper employs an expository approach in discussing the major themes of the religions in question. An expository approach is done so as to elucidate on, with significant analyses, the topics that may be deemed appropriate for discussion.Since this paper would not to attempt to exhaustively circumscribe all the aspects pertinent to the two religions, owing much to the limits provided for th is particular study, the discussions shall zero in on expounding on the similarities and differences between the two religions in respect to at least three distinct aspects: the role which their own founders play in their respective belief-systems, the quality of the monotheism operative in both religions, and the differing notions of Abraham’s role in their faith and life.Christianity and Islam: A Ponderous Juxtaposition Christianity emerged from a handful of followers of a man named Jesus the Christ, sometime during the first century. Put in other words, the Christian religious phenomenon takes root from a small community that first embraced the teachings of Jesus as a both compelling and sufficient cause to deflect from the more dominant religious force of the time – namely, Judaism. Thus, the â€Å"precipitating cause† of Christianity â€Å"was and is a man named Jesus† (McGrath 1).Which is why, Tavard contends that Christianity is a religious movemen t that commenced when â€Å"an undetermined number of Jews believed that the prophet Jesus of Nazareth, who has ‘risen from the dead’ was alive in their midst by the power of God’s Spirit† (15); a movement which was greeted with much disdain and skepticism initially. For Christians, Jesus Christ is both the center and crux of their faith. They hold that Jesus Christ is Son of God, who was sent by God the Father to redeem humanity from misery and sinfulness.Consequential to this belief is the equally important ascent to the divinity nature and mission of Jesus Christ here on earth. Thus, Christians unreservedly worship Jesus Christ as a divinity as well. Islam, like Christianity, started too from a small group of community who saw themselves glued by a gripping desire to follow their revered founder in the person of Mohammad. While the faith in Mohammed’s teachings started when Christianity was already an expansive religious force, the historical cir cumstances defining the emergence of Islam nevertheless manifest unmistakable strains of similarities with the Christian faith.Like Christianity, Islam started on account of one man – Mohammad. And akin to Christianity, the small Mohammedan community was at the onset despised on account of the new faith it embraced (Renard 6). Unlike Christianity however, Islam does not give its founder a respect proper to a divinity. For Moslems, Mohammad is not a god; he is instead a prophet of plain human origin and descent. The prophet however is rendered with unparalleled importance within Islam because it is believed that Allah chose Mohammad to reveal his message (Renard 7).Secondly, herein it is important to cite that the manner in which the Islamic faith refuses to render Mohammad a kind of reverence fit to a divinity reveals only the quality of monotheism which the religion professes. Islamic faith, it has to be mentioned, is operative on a type of monotheism in the strictest sense of the term – i. e. the belief that there is only one god, and that such deity, because he is absolutely supreme, does not have a competing divine force as its rival.Islamic faith believes that Allah – the proper name of God as provided by the Qur’an – is identified as the principle of ‘tawid’ or simply, the unity of God. And â€Å"according to this central Islamic idea, (God) is utterly and inevitably One, a perfect unity (and) uniqueness unto himself† (Gordon 24). Simply put, the Islam religion believes that Allah, and him alone, is the accepted singular expression of divinity. Christianity meanwhile is operative on a unique kind of monotheism.On the one hand, it has to be noted that like Islam, Christianity concurs to a belief that there is only one God to whom unqualified human obedience and worship is due. On the other hand however, Christianity does not subscribe to a radical type of monotheism; for while Christianity believes th at God is essentially one, it nonetheless takes such oneness as revelatory of a further sociality within it. Christians call this the Trinitarian unity of the God, or simply, the Trinity.And according to this doctrine, â€Å"the divine life consists in three persons of equal and same nature – the Father, the Son (i. e. , Jesus Christ) and the Holy Spirit (Neuner and Ross 86). As such, the Trinity does not speak of three separate divine entities; otherwise, Christianity would have been best described as a polytheistic rather than monotheistic faith. What this doctrine instead teaches is that the three persons of the Trinity are distinct expressions of that same divine reality which is God.Last but not least, it is certainly insightful to appreciate that both Christianity and Islam places high premium on the role of Abraham in their own profession of faiths. This is because both religions share a belief that the remotest roots of their faith necessarily throw them back to the heritage which Abraham bequeathed thousands of years passed. In fact, both the Christian Bible and the Islamic Qur’an give Abraham a special importance precisely on account of the fact that it was through him that the first strains of monotheistic faith was successfully practiced.Far more essential, both Christianity and Islam see the supreme importance of Abraham’s promethean response to God’s invitation as the primordial inspiration required for living one’s own faith; and this is for the plain reason that Abraham showed how to adore God who requires â€Å"submission to His decrees, even when they are inscrutable† (McLean). Still, it is imperative to carefully note that both Christianity and Islam differ in their particular understandings of their respective Abrahamic heritage.Christians on the one hand believe that Abraham’s faith acts as a precursor to the coming of the Messiah – who is Jesus Christ. The Christian Bible speaks of Abraham as the progenitor to a myriad of descendants commencing through Isaac, his only son to Sarah (Gen 17: 21). Thus, Christianity holds that God’s covenantal relationship with Abraham, and his children, marked the beginning of the long preparation that would welcome the sending of His Son into the world at an appointed time. On the other hand, Islam believes that the great Mohammedan tradition draws directly from the fount of the Abrahamic legacy.In other words, Islam maintains that the Moslems are the direct, nay rightful descendants and legitimate heirs to the heritage of Abraham. This is because the Islamic Qur’an speaks of Ishmael, Abraham’s son to Hagar, as the legitimate heir and the primordial progenitor of the Islamic faith. Ishmael, if only to remind, also figures in the Christian Bible as the son of Abraham to his maidservant Hagar. Both Ishmael and Hagar were thrown out of Abraham’s household â€Å"to find a life of their own† after Isaac was born to Sarah (Maxwell 168).Notwithstanding conflicting narratives, it still can be said that both Christianity and Islam recognize that the gratuitous love of God for humankind is the initial act that brings into play the faith with which both religions so sacredly profess. Conclusion This paper ends with a brief thought that affirms its central thesis expressed hereinabove – i. e. , notwithstanding differences, one can glean unmistakable similarities in juxtaposing the teachings and tenets of both Christianity and Islam. In the discussions, patterns of differences and similarities were discussed in respect to three aspects.First, it was seen that both Christianity and Islam places high regard and respect to their revered founders; second, both religion embrace monotheism as an axiomatic aspect for their respective belief-systems; and third, Christianity and Islam believe that their common Abrahamic heritage lends an initial inspiration to the subsequent coming abo ut of the faith they now both profess. In the end, it must be acknowledged that efforts to draw similarities against the larger backdrop of defining differences surely constitute a welcome avenue not only for inter-religious dialogue but also mutual respect.