Criminal Justice Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words - 6

Criminal Justice - Essay Example Prior to the arrest, a magistrate who has no interest in the case has to have given permission for the warrant to be issued. This ensures that the arrest is supported on a legal foundation. The next step after the arrest is booking the suspect. In this process, the individual is fingerprinted, photographed, and expected to provide personal information. In cases where th charges include the abuse of alcoholic substances, the suspect can be allowed to enroll in a suitable diversionary program like that of alcohol rehabilitation (Spano, Freilich, & Bolland, 2008). In such cases, the suspect has to abide by the regulations of the program or continue to the following criminal justice system stage for the continuation of the process of booking. After booking, the suspected person will be given a definite date on which he or she I scheduled to appear before a judge in court. Usually, this will happen in a couple of hours after the arrest. During this process, the suspect is informed of his or her right to be released, prior to the trial date, on his or her individual recognizance. A suspect could also be released when he or she posts bail. It is up to the judge to determine the amount that will be requested in the bail. This decision is often based on the brutality of the crime as well as the suspect’s potential to escape. The judge also considers the criminal background of the suspect before deciding on the amount for bail. In cases where bail is posted, the suspect will be required to provide the court with his or her passport. In the next stage, there is an arraignment hearing in which a judge will determine if a crime was actually carried out and if the accused person could be responsible for it. If it is found that the accused could have committed the crime, there will be an indictment (Spano, Freilich, & Bolland, 2008). On his or her next arraignment in court, the suspect has to enter a no contest, guilty, or not guilty plea. In cases where

Slave Trade to America. Effects on Economies, Societies, and People Research Paper

Slave Trade to America. Effects on Economies, Societies, and People - Research Paper Example Thus, by 1610, very few colonialists were remaining due to the shortage of food and water. Precisely, only 60 of the first 214 were alive. (Littlejohn, 2003, P. 5) Despite this setback, the English colonialists were still convinced they could make Virginia prosperous. And thus the group of colonialists that followed was certain that there were unexplored metals and precious stones in the land. They therefore, aimed at identifying these precious minerals in Virginia. However, with time it became clear that Virginia did not have any minerals or metals. And therefore, the settlers had to identify some other means of survival. With other parts of America successfully dealing in Agricultural crops, the English colonialists also sought to try the same in Virginia. Tobacco farming was then started in the land and indeed it became a success to the Virginia Company. With the activity being so labor intensive, there was hence the need for more workers in the farms. The Englishmen offered to wo rk as indentured servants for a period of four to seven years in exchange for food, clothing and shipment to the New World. (Littlejohn, 2003, P. 6) Though the system of indentured servitude clearly exploited the workers, the white servants still accepted it in the hope for freedom and citizenship on completion of their contracts. With time, the system was not only being used in the farms, but also in construction, clearing of roads and timber cutting. Women could also secure jobs in households as domestic servants, but still under the same system. According to Rodriguez, (2007, P.87), the system of indentured servitude in America was to some extent a kind of slavery. This is because the servants were exploited by their masters and also faced many hardships during the contract period. Most of them were physically and sexually abused until they opted to run away. Running away would however, lead to severe consequences once captured. They would be beaten, branded and even jailed. Star t of Slave trade in America Then, in the year 1619 slave trade began in Virginia when a Dutch slave trader exchanged twenty African slaves for food. The Africans were taken as indentured servants at first but would later become slaves since even after the end of the contract they could not return to their home in Africa. By the 1920s, it became clear that the slave trade would be only option for the English tobacco farmers due to the high labor demand. (Wood, 2005, P. 4) This was due to the fact that the African slaves were much cheaper and easy to acquire as compared to the indentured servants. The slaves would only be provided with food water and shelter with no freedom promised as was the case in the indentured servitude. (Rodriguez, 2007, P.87) By this time, the transatlantic trade, which had started early in the century was booming, and thus English colonies did not have to suffer in search of a market for slaves. The demand for more slaves thus acted as a fuel to the slave tra de. The factors that promoted the slave trade of Africans in Virginia included: Availability or ready market: as mentioned above, the farmers did not have to travel all the way to Africa to purchase slaves; they could get them at the transatlantic slave trade. Racial differences also made the Africans more

ANALYSIS PAPERS Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

ANALYSIS PAPERS - Essay Example The moral ground on which the imperialists base their stand is founded on the unequivocal assumption of U.S. racial superiority. The Filipinos are considered to be â€Å"a race which civilization demands shall be improved† (Beveridge, Paragraph 6). It is therefore the moral duty of America to â€Å"uplift and civilize and Christianize them† (McKinley). This so-called moral duty, connoted to be â€Å"the White Man’s Burden† by Kipling, does not stand scrutiny, especially in the light of the letters from the soldiers fighting in the Philippines, which confirm U.S. atrocities, such as arbitrary executions, torture, a scorched earth campaign and the establishment of concentration camps. As James L. Blair rightly asserts, the moral responsibility cited by the imperialists is based on the â€Å"very tenuous assumption† (P. 12) that U.S. withdrawal would inevitably lead to anarchy. The anti-imperialists’ stand that moral duty requires the U.S. to fr ee the Filipinos is more convincing than the imperialist’s mantel of racial superiority. Legally, the imperialists justify their stand on the presumption that the Filipinos â€Å"are not capable of self-government† (Beveridge, P. 16). Lack of experience in government, Spanish misrule and, yet again, the assumed inferiority of Orientals, are cited as reasons for circumventing the â€Å"consent of the governed,† which the American Declaration of Independence holds to be mandatory. According to the imperialists, as the Filipinos are too uncivilized to understand the concept of government, their consent is not legally required. The anti-imperialists question the constitutional right of the U.S. to forcibly annex any territory and caution that the constitutional guarantee of citizenship and the vote will lead to future legal complexities. Soldiers Davis and Fetterly reiterate the Filipinos right to independence, and the

A Critical Review in the Contemporary Themes in Youth Work Practice, Essay

A Critical Review in the Contemporary Themes in Youth Work Practice, Thematic Area Mental Health and Emotional Wellbeing - Essay Example The article argues that human beings and their humanity are as a result a result of both nature and nurture and thus none can be successful without the other. In this case nature is in reference to the genetic components that make up heir system while nurture is in reference to the various experiences that they go through while growing up at the various stages of their lives (Perry, 2002). The argument is that these two factors are essential in the development of a human being thus it ca n be said that both genes as well as experience are interdependent of one another. The understanding that I received from this article is that there is a need for both genetic development as well as experience for an individual to grow into a well rounded figure and a lack of any of these factors or a provision of negative ones will in turn deprive the person from forming into a well adjusted individual when they are in the adult stages of their lives (Perry, 2002). The article also explains that the earlier stages of an individuals lives (that is, from infancy to around their years as a toddler) are the more vital parts of an individuals life when the experiences that they undergo will have a vital effect on them and their psychological and emotional development (Perry, 2002). This is clearly seen in an example whereby a child who is not touched during their early stages as a baby is likely to suffer more and such an experience have an adverse effect as compared to a child who has reached puberty undergoing the same experience. This example also exhibits that dif ferent experiences are vital during different stages of one’s life and do not really play a large role after that stage in life has already been passed. The article has also argued that the neurodevelopment of an individual is highly influenced not only by the genetic transformations that take place,

The Dividend Growth Model and Capital Asset Pricing Model Assignment

The Dividend Growth Model and Capital Asset Pricing Model - Assignment Example This paper illustrates that the CAPM model can be used to calculate the possibilities of the growth of investment. CAPM takes into account the risk involved in the marketplace as well as the risk bored by the company that issued the stock. Dividend-growth model is a model that is used in the valuation of a company’s stock. Essentially, the Dividend growth model is a model of stock valuation that primarily deals with the dividends and their consequent growth discounted to present day. The models are divided into two as; Gordon growth model commonly referred to as the dividend discount model is a method that is used to calculate the intrinsic value of stocks. However, the model is based on the assumption that the dividend growth rate is constant. The formula employed by this model is as follows; Multi-stage dividend discount model is a dividend growth model that can take any pattern of the future expected dividends; that is to mean that dividends are not expected to grow at a co nstant rate. The investor is therefore expected to evaluate dividends separately for each year while putting into consideration each year’s expected dividend growth rate. This model is given by the formula; Capital asset pricing model or CAPM is a model that specifies the relationship between risk and required rate of return on assets held by an investor in a well-diversified portfolio. The required rate of return obtained using the CAPM formula is used as the cost of equity of the company. The model has several basic assumptions; first, investors are assumed to be rational in the sense that they choose among alternative portfolios on the basis of the expected return and standard deviation of the portfolio held. Secondly, CAPM model also assumes that investors have homogeneous expectations with regard to asset return.

Movie Review Essay Example for Free

Movie Review Essay The famous, well known writer and director Meera Syal has written a breathtaking movie Anita and Me. Meera Syal is a best selling novelist and has sold thousands of her fantastic stories one of which is called, Anita and Me all over the country. Syal puts a lot of herself in her work and also she is a British born woman; however she still has her Indian origin which revolves in her storys and movies. Her movies have been compared to the following Bend it Like Beckham and East is East. These movies all have an Indian culture behind them as well as a fun and laughter side. Its also has its own culture in the movie while being surrounded by the British society, and also one which a young girl wants very much to be a part of, although the dominant culture doesnt mean it is going to be all peachy, if that is what you are thinking, that is what made it the most amusing and most incredible movie of the year. The story of Anita and Me basically revolves round Meena when she was living in a little village called Tollington. Meena is a young Indian girl who was born in Britain. She wants to be like all the other British people in her neighbourhood, eating fish finger instead of chapattis, having colourful flowers in her garden instead of crop and also have a normal life were you could go out whenever you wanted to with your mates, but instead Meena has to spend more time with her family. To be honest Meena wants to be English! See Meena is Punjabi and she cannot speak a word of Punjabi, however her midlands ascent is stronger than most of the families which have been living there for generations. Her parents brought Meena to England to have a better quality of life for their daughter, but Meena is having a difficult time adjusting to her surroundings. However trouble rides up in town when a girl gang known as the wenches, who very much enjoy teasing young boys and thieve from their local sweets shop, unfortunately for Meena, the gang leader was her next door neighbour and soon became her future best friend. Meena and Anita eventually formed an unlikely bond, and become like blood sisters, vowing to be there for each other through thick and thin. However, Meena was facing her secondary school entrance exam and during that time she had suffered domestic abuse by Anitas mother and toured the two girls apart. Meena wants to be like Anita, a blond, light-headed British girl who is 14 years old. Meena admires Anita for her charm, good looks and her independence, and in so many different ways Meena wants to be like her. The story took place in year 1972. Political correctness has not yet been invented. The called dark skins in English villages are as rare as black footballers in the First Division. Life me be quite old fashioned, but its also racist. For example:  Meenas friend Anitas mum comes home one day with a cuddly black poodle pup.  Whats it called? Anitas little sister asks. Nigger, she is told. And no-one blinks an eye. In the movie some of the British characters refer to Meena and her family as wogs and darkies. A member of Meenas family was beaten up and was killed for being Indian. Meena then finds out that Anita and her boyfriend Sam went Paki bashing (go of to kill the Indians). This starts to ring a bells and Meena then realize that it was Sam who killed her uncle. The film finally ends with English music being played in the background. The whole family starts to dance to the music and then Meenas Dad begins to sing in Punjabi along with the music. This shows that the two cultures are eventually beginning to mix and become friends. From racism to the repairs to the local church this movie covers most of the areas of life. In the movie Meena becomes more independent and begins to make her own decision towards her life, whereas before her parents used to make them all. There has been some high and low points in Meenas family life and eventually they get what they want in the end and the neighbourhood becomes more peaceful. Meena passed in her entrance exam for the Grammar School and so the family can move to a better neighbourhood. Meena found out that she couldnt please the whole world even if that did mean her racist neighbourhood because she was meant to Indian. When Meena moved away to live closer to her new school, she had left behind a chapter of her life, and had matured enough to have realized that Anita was never a real friend. I personal think that this movie a perfect example of what Indians where put through back in the days in England. The English had discriminated the Indians and the Asians just because of their skin colour, however this doesnt only happen in England, it happens all over the world. This movie is also show a culture side of the story and a bit of history about Indian, such as the independents when India and Pakistan was split into to different countries. The movie Anita and Me was amusing and enjoyable to watch and was fast moving. Anita and Me is a unique vision of the British childhood in the early seventies, a childhood caught between two cultures, each on the edge of enormous change. For these points I would rate this movie 4 star.

Objectivity Of The Social Researcher

Objectivity Of The Social Researcher Before addressing the debate, the historical significance of social theory must be addressed as there is a long history regarding issues of objectivity, and value free research. Prior to World War Two, social research was dominated by the paradigm of positivism. Philosophers such as Comte (1798-1857) strongly affirmed that methods applied to the natural sciences such as physics should be applied to the study of social behaviour (Benton Craib, 2001). The positivist perspective placed great emphasis on the objectivity of social research, accepting Science as the only general form of knowledge that produces reliable social scientific knowledge that can be generated into theory applicable to social behaviour within society (Benton Craib, 2001: 23). Moreover, like the natural sciences it requires both logical and empirical support. Causal relationships can be identified and truths can be falsified thus, positivist sociology assumes that law-like generalisations can be derived from socia l research Pedraza (2002: 75). Postivism was widely accepted throughout the nineteenth centuary as science was assumed to be the highest form of knowledge, thus by applying the methodologies of the natural science to the newborn social sciences allowed for some level of acceptance. As far as objectivity is concerned, positivist methodological approaches claim that objectivity is an ideal that is attainable, as the social realtiy of society can be observed it without any antecedents. As a result, the aim of the social scientist is to be exogenously detached from the research subject. Turning to Weber (WEBERREF) changed the direction of social research claiming that although social research should be value free, obtaining completely objective research was impossible. This is simply because researchers are subjective humans. Weber coined the term value free sociology and urged that sociologists need to be unconfined by personal values if it was to make a positive contribution towards society. Weber recognised that personal values would to some extent influence research topics but encouraged objectivity in exploring a topic once chosen. For Weber, value freedom is then a non-judgemental analysis of society in its own terms. Although Weber advocated this approach to social research, it must be acknowledged that values can enter research in a variety of ways ranging from the choice of research area, formulation of the research question; methodology including data collection, analysis of data; interpretation of data and overall conclusions (Bryman, 2008). Following from Weber the epistemological position of positivism has been overtly critiqued by various theorists, particularly those who take an ontological, interpretivist stance. For example, Becker (1964: 245) argues that, there is no position from which sociological research can be done that is not biased in one way or another. Therefore, social research cannot be completely objective as researchers can unknowingly contaminate their exploration of an issue with values developed throughout their own biography. Furthermore, Becker (1964) claims that, sociologists must either write from the position of a superordinate or from that of a subordinate (Lawson, 1991: 591). In addressing this claim, Becker (1964) discusses the credibility of hierarchy which explores the notion that social groups whom are perceived to be superior within a given society are in a position of power that can define the rules of society. The exclusivity of the natural sciences within society is an example of thi s. Becker (1964: 242) goes on to surmise that sociologists challenge this rule by refusing to acknowledge the established status order in which it is surmised that the truth of knowledge is unequally distributed. Therein, Becker suggests that social research should focus on the underdog in order to reform knowledge distribution. This is similar to the view that has been taken up by feminists such has Hartstock (2004: 7) who place emphasis on relativist standpoint theories whereby knowledge is shaped by power relations, that it is socially situated. Therefore those oppressed can give the best account fo the internal workings of their group. Hartstock (2004) attains that prior to feminist sociology, research disciplines and public policy did not account for women as group with their own knowledge. For Hartsock (2004), any social research that does not address the unequal distribution of knowledge, is therefore, potentially skewed. Thus drawing upon the Marxist notion of historic materialism standpoint theorists such as Hartstock (2004) and Harding (DATE) chose to address this with the aim of exercising social research from the position or standpoint of women. It can be surmised from this perspective that it is therefore it is impossible for a social researcher to extract themselves from power relations in thei r own situation. Therefore the feminist approach strongly advocates that objectivity should not be the primary aim of a social investigation. Rather, it is important for researchers to adopt a stance and consider how their values will influence their research. In addition, it should be recognised that feminist researchers shape the results of their analyses no less than do those of sexist and androcentric researchers. The objectivist stance should be avoided as it attempts to make the researchers cultural beliefs and practices invisible, while simultaneously skewering the research objects, beliefs and practices to the display board (Harding, 1987:9). What are the arguments against this? GOULDNER Gouldner is in consensus with Becker that social research cannot be value free yet he openly criticises Beckers claiming that Becker does not address the reasons why sociologists are more inclined to take the side of the underdog. Furthermore Gouldner asserts that is not always the case, the manner which some sociologists conceive the value-free doctrine disposes them to ignore current human problems and to huddle together like old men seeking mutual warmth. This is not our job, they say, and if it were we would now know enough to do it. (Gouldner, 1973: 13) It is clear that subjectivity poses a severe limitation for the positivist objective approach to social research. For Gouldner, however, the positivist approach posed another extensive problem, it was useful to those young, or not so young, men who live off sociology rather than for it, and who think of sociology as a way of getting ahead in the world by providing them with neutral techniques that may be sold on the open market to any buyer (Gouldner, 1973: 12). In others word Gouldner saw self interest as a powerful motivator the outcome of research being affected by the context in what it is undertaken. Thus the social researcher is not necessarily on the side of the underdog. In laymen terms Lawson (1991) suggests that the crux of this debate is the question of whether sociologists are allied with the state, accepting the state as the overall authority or should they adapt a more ethical, moral role in addressing social problems of society. Ultimately social researchers are divided by this dilemma that as Gouldner suggests, depends on the social context of the researcher. What Gouldner recognises is that the attempt of sociologists to draw upon the natural sciences to obtain an objective approach does not entirely fit with social studies and that the institutions in which professional sociologists consult such as government, academia and business can have a profound effect on a researchers values. Parsonian sociologists such as Haak (1994) and Hammersely (2000) are critical on views promoted by Becker and Gouldner arguing that that the politicisation of social research is not only misguided, but inherently dangerous, and that an intelligent and sceptical commitment to the principles of objectivity and value neutrality must remain an essential feature of social research (back cover). Hamersley (2000) promotes the idea of value-free, objective social research placing emphasis on academia as the key institution to producing knowledge. Yet the University as a place for producing knowledge itself is under threat. This can be demonstrated by addressing the tragedy of the anticommons. ANTICOMMONS 300 In response to Hardings Tragedy of the Commons whereby a resource is exploited by overuse, (HellerRosenburg1998)) address the notion of the anticommons where upstream and downstream technologies are compatible for the development of a new product yet the technology is patentable and ownership is fragmented thus the price of the new product becomes high and its consumption ends up being small or there is a gridlock in the development of the products EXAMPLE OF ANTICOMMONS This is not objective research if the notion is to make profit 250 This situation can be directly perceived by examining changes within university systems. For example, in Japan, national universities that conduct public research have transitioned to University Corporations by which there is an emphasis in profiteering from any innovations it may develop (Nishijima, 2004). According to Nishijima (2004) the Japanese ministry of education has advocated universities to acquire patents of innovations and to partake in research activities with private organisations such as corporations. through establishing Technology License Office for the past few years. The transition of National University to University Corporation implies that results of basic research will suddenly change from public goods to private goods and that the anticommons problem will emerge in the product innovation where basic research and development of new products are complementary. In the case of National University, there seems no consensus (no argument so far) on how economists should formulate the objective function of national university.10 Even if we assume that national university behaves as if it maximized a particular objective function such as probability of research success subject to budget and other constraints, equilibrium variables of national university will not be far from those arbitrarily given, as long as the particular objective function is not convincing. Therefore we have no choice but to exogenously give particular values to variables Thus as Oliver (1992) ascribes, social research are sometimes forced to take sides as funding bodies are not willing to take risks and support user-controlled research. The point that Gouldner (1973) puts across is that sociology should focus on social change therefore it must take sides. Essentially, Marx emphasised the need for social research to contribute to social change, The Standpoint of the old materialism is civil society; the stand point of the new is human society, or social humanity. The philosophers have only interpreted the world, in various ways; the point is to change it. (Eastman, 1935) like Marx, Gouldner (1973) believed that sociology should count towards human emancipation thus Gouldner became a strong believer in public sociology. REFLEXIVITY 300 The notion of reflexivity. Researchers must give an indication of the purpose of their research and how they have come to partake in such research This illustrates some of the factors that can affect social research. Namely, the need for profit. PARSONIAN SOCIOLOGY ARGUES FOR EPISTIMOLICAL RESEARCH DISCUSS!! BURAWOY PUBLIC SOCIOLOGY DISTINCTION BETWEEN THOSE THAT ACT AND THOSE WHO DONT As Burawoy (2005: 324) asserts the possibility for public sociology comes from sociologys spontaneous connection to its reflexive relation with civil society. Burawoy clearly recognises that sociology in itself is a reflexive paradigm and suggests that it clearly needs to move from ideological theory to commitment to action. In a sense Burawoy (2005: 325) advocates that social research must take sides claiming like Marx and Gouldner that society should place human society or social humanity at its organising centre. 200 words Whilst this debate continues, a few conclusions can be drawn from this essay. Firstly, it is near impossible for social researchers to complete value free research. There are several factors that account for this. Namely as Gouldner asserts, the social context in which research is conducted. Secondly, It would seem that social research is clearly divided by professional and public sociology. Thus it is not a case of whether or not to take sides but more a case of which side our values empower us to choose. Those inclined towards professional sociology may attain that objectivity is not compromised whereas those inclined towards public sociology may recognise that it can be and even more so, that it is necessary to evoke humanitarian changes.