Punishment Of Offenders Essays - Sentencing, Criminal Justice

Punishment Of Offenders According to the Bureau of Justice Statistics, in the year 1980 we had approximately 501,900 persons incarcerated across the United States. By the year 2000, that figure has jumped to over 2,014,000 prisoners. The current level of incarceration represents the continuation of a 25-year escalation of the nations prison and jail population beginning in 1973. Currently the U.S. rate of 672 per 100,000 is second only to Russia, and represents a level of incarceration that is 6-10 times that of most industrialized nations. The rise in prison population in recent years is particularly remarkable given that crime rates have been falling nationally since 1992. With less crime, one might assume that fewer people would be sentenced to prison. This trend has been overridden by the increasing impact of lengthy mandatory sentencing policies. The proliferation of harsh mandatory sentencing policies has inhibited the ability of courts to sentence offenders in a way that permits a more problem solving approach to crime, as we can see in the most recent community policing and drug court movements today. By eliminating any consideration of the factors contributing to crime and a range of responses, such sentencing policies fail to provide justice for all. Given the cutbacks in prison programming and rates of recidivism, in some cases over 60% or more, the increased use of incarceration in many respects represents a commitment to policies that are both ineffective and unfair. I believe in equal, fair and measured punishment for all. I dont advocate a soft, or a hard approach to punishment. But we must take a more pragmatic look at what the consequences of our actions are when we close our eyes and blindly carry out sentencing which is neither fair, nor warranted, given the circumstances. I would like to address two primary areas in punishing offenders that I believe need attention, Mandatory Minimums and Three Strikes Policies. Our lawmakers must take on these misguided policies, which have thus far been inefficient and ineffective. They must do this in order to curb our rising prison populations and return us to a level playing field of fair punishment for all persons regardless of race, sex, or ethnic background. The mandatory minimum sentencing policies that now exist in every state have been used disproportionately for drug offenders, who now constitute one of every four inmates nationally. Because of the severe and rigid sentencing scheme mandated by the drug laws, low-level drug offenders face years in prison. According to the Bureau of Justice Statistics, of the total population of drug offenders in custody, the average maximum sentence for first time felony offenders convicted of drug related charges range between 87.6 months for Class B felonies to 42.4 months for a Class E felony. These statistics also reveal that one in five of the drug offenders incarcerated had no prior felony convictions. Nearly two-thirds of these drug offenders also were never convicted of a violent felony in the past. What we are dealing with here is non-violent, first time offenders and judges have no choice in most states but to incarcerate them for lengthy periods of time which only places more pressure on our prison systems. As I stated earlier, I have a down the middle approach to punishment, not too hard or not too soft. Stiff prison sentences can be appropriate for addressing violent crimes and protecting our communities. But such sentences are misguided and destructive when it comes to these types of nonviolent drug offenders. Also, according to the Federal Bureau of Prisons they cost the American taxpayer approximately $20,747 per inmate per year. Another bi-product of mandatory sentencing is a disparate impact on non-white offenders. The United States Sentencing Commission and Federal Judicial Center have found that among offenders who engaged in conduct warranting mandatory minimums, white offenders were less likely than blacks or Hispanics to receive the mandatory minimum term. I belie ve there are better alternatives to this policy that can more effectively express our values and accomplish our goals without increasing our prison populations and disparaging minorities. Another sentencing policy that is having a major impact on punishment and its fairness are the so called 3 Strikes Laws that many states have enacted. These

The Right to Develop “Designer Babies”

The Right to Develop â€Å"Designer Babies† The Right to Develop â€Å"Designer Babies† Eugenics is the study of selective breeding of human beings with the objective of improving the human genetic qualities and it is specifically applied in the prevention of congenital disorders and in the heritability of the human IQ (Duster Troy, 1990). The recent developments in Eugenics have given people the possibilities of growing designer babies for various reasons. Prenatal screening and testing are a routine part of pregnancy for most expectant mothers in the US, widening the genetics which were once confined to the clinics and the general world of obstetrics. Parents can use In-Vitro Fertilization (IVF) to have unborn babies tested for various genetic defects though a process known as Pre-Implantation Genetic Diagnosis (PGD). Eugenics is slowly allowing people to be able to breed human beings that will help in treating genetic diseases and get babies of a preferable gender at the same time giving us a chance to enhance desirable traits and eliminate the undesirable one. Alth ough this may not be ethically acceptable, genetic screening helps parents to intervene in the genetic make-up if their children and therefore, the development of designer babies should be allowed. This essay explores the support for the development of designer babies which is achieved by using reproductive technology in a eugenic manner. It evident that this has been done successfully when in 2000, baby Adam Nash of Colorado, USA was born. He had been selected using Human Leukocyte Antigen (HLA) and PGD testing as an IVF embryo. This selection was done on the evidence that he did not have the genetic disability which his sister Molly had. The genetic disability Molly had was Fanconis Anemia. The other argument was that his tissues matched those of Molly (Josefson, 2000). If a transplant could not have been done, Molly would not have lived past seven years of age and she was only six when Adam was born. At birth, blood was taken from Adams umbilical cord and used to successfully transplant stem cells in Molly who with all intentions and purposes was completely cured and fully recovered (Boyle and Savulescu, 2001). It is apparent that what the Nashes did was for a noble cause. T hey decided to have an IVF embryo developed in order to save another life. At the same time, there seems to be nothing wrong with growing a baby with the intention of saving the life of another person. This was advantageous to Mr. and Mrs. Nash because they were able to intervene in Adams genetic make-up who was completely healthy and free from the genetic disorder their daughter had when he was born. In addition to this, they were able to save their dying daughter. It also helped them psychologically since they were saved from the agony of having to live with a daughter with a genetic defect they could do little about and being parents, it would have really affected them. I support the growing of designer babies because they reduce the chances of siring children with serious genetic diseases like Famial hypercholesterolemia, Down Syndrome and blood disorders like Diamond Blackfan Anemia like in Adams case as seen above. Scientists can genetically select the embryos so that their children possess the right cells that do not lead to the manifestation of the particular genetic disease. If there is a history of a particular genetic disease or a blood disorder in the family, the chances of an unborn child getting the disorder are very high. An embryo is therefore chosen that does not have that particular genetic disorder (McLaren Angus, 1990). The unborn child is therefore guaranteed to be healthy and his or her chances of survival are increased. An example is with Charlie Whitaker who had the blood disorder; Diamond Blackfan Anemia. In order to save his life, a designer baby was grown who was totally free from the disorder and like in the case of Adam, t he baby was used to donate blood to Charlie and his life was saved. Growing designer babies can assist a lot in identification of genes that contribute to the understanding of how these genes work (Weil, 2004). With time, the continued development of designer babies will assist couples and scientists to know what kinds of genes are associated with various behaviours and traits. This makes an addition to the knowledge we have about the genetics of many more diseases, behaviours and traits, but the capacity to biologically analyze genetic samples whether from maternal serum, IVF embryos and amniotic fluid will increase rapidly. This will give us a chance to learn more about our future babies and the likely behaviours they might possess. This will then allow us to analyze for thousands of genetic diversities in comparison to the limited analysis of just a few diseases that are done in case designer babies are not grown. The major advantage of such knowledge as far as designer babies are concerned is that, couples are allowed to interfere in their babys genetic make-up and in the process, they are sure of a healthy baby developing in the womb with the desired traits. This inevitably reduces the cost and increases the efficiency (British Medical Association, 2003) of screening, making prenatal analysis very desirable and have its scope broadened. Another reason why I advocate for couples being able to intervene in their babys genetic make-up is that it helps to avoid the cases of terminating pregnancies just because a certain genetic disease was not selected for at the beginning of the pregnancy. This point is very similar to the ones given above but it is important to note that if a couple had not selected for certain disease and the condition is detected during the pregnancy, there are chances that the pregnancy will be terminated to avoid giving birth to a child with the particular genetic defect. The termination of pregnancies have several disadvantages in that it can result to the death of the mother and if she survives, she might become barren due to damages that can be result from the pregnancy termination processes, not to mention the fact that safe terminations of pregnancies are very expensive. Therefore, PGD screening of embryos will ensure the selection of embryos through IVF which allows prenatal diagnosis of fer tilized eggs just before they are implanted in the uterus (British Medical Association, 2004). Therefore, perfectly healthy embryos are chosen for implantations and the cases pregnancy terminations are reduced. Intervention in the genetic make-up of our babies will make a great contribution to eugenics. This is because since the 1990s, there has been very little progress in gene transfer process despite this process being risk free. With the growing of designer babies, this process will be made possible and gene transfer will be done and used for gene therapy of certain genetic diseases. Some research shows that It will be difficult, if not impracticable, to use gene therapy to treat some types of genetic conditions. By now, scientists are focused on using the gene therapy to transfer viable genes to people with recessive genetic conditions that come as a result of their genes to produce the essential enzymes. Using gene transfer is a practical way to help someones body to produce that missing enzyme. Though complex, this process is simpler than the consequences brought about by the chromosomal abnormalities or the dominant mutations (Friedmann, 2005). With the advancement in growing of des igner babies the process of gene therapy will made easier than before. It is good to imagine that the effort and desire to control the occurrence and treatment of genetic diseases will be great. At this particular point growing the designer babies will be integrated with true treatment of and cure for diseases. Gene transfer also opens doors to positive eugenics where it is focused on improving births which comes as a solution to the prevention of undesirable births. Growing designer babies is used to enhance particular desirable qualities in addition to just treating diseases. It is important to note that there is a difference between treatment of genetic diseases and improvement of births. Using extreme distinctions, treatment of genetic diseases focuses at the eradication of the disease like providing a gene that prevents a baby from inheriting a certain genetic condition (as discussed earlier) but the main point of concern here is birth improvement which focuses on improving on the norm. An example here is where transfer of genes is done to help a child with medium height that theoretically occurs at somatic level of cells or the germ level of cells allowing the child to grow to a normal height. When this is done at the embryonic level, it is possible to come up with a designer baby tha t will have a normal life without the undesirable traits like being too short. Creation of designer babies helps to improve future generations in one way or the other (Duster Troy, 1990). This sometimes presents the greatest extremity of trying to create the designer babies. The goal of this essay was to explore issues supporting the growth of designer babies using eugenic technologies as well as finding out the advantages couples have in being able to interfere in the genetic make-up of their children. Even though the current eugenics are not similar to those practiced in the past, many of the similar drives exist even today and most notably the passion to improve the human species and the genetic make-up of our children by making some important reproductive choices. Eugenics has been brutally criticized in the past and this can be attributed entirely to how the underlying goal was pursued. It was done through involuntary limitations of the reproductive autonomy which were done entirely on the weak and the underprivileged and not necessarily because of the goal. The modern and future eugenics evades some of these threats. However, eugenics has more advantages as laid out in the paragraphs above. Eugenics as a practice is based on the underlying intentio n that is aimed for the best interests of a family or a child. It is not based on discriminatory attitudes as proposed by Galtons theory at the beginning to Hereditary Genius: I put forward in this book that the natural abilities of a man are derived by inheritance, under precisely the same restrictions as are the form and physical features of the whole natural world. As a result, as it is easy, notwithstanding those restrictions, to obtain by careful selection a stable breed of dogs or horses gifted with special powers of running, or of doing anything else, so it would be quite realistic to generate a highly-gifted race of men by well judged marriages during several successive generations (Galton, 1883). The morals of eugenics are usually addressed as ethics on the larger level of the society but where individuals and small groups like families are involved, it becomes a case of choice and eugenics can confer to them the benefits shown in this essay.

Describe your key leadership experiences and evaluate what leadership Personal Statement

Describe your key leadership experiences and evaluate what leadership areas you hope to develop through your MBA experience - Personal Statement Example However, I realized that due to my relative inexperience, I would be facing two immediate problems. First, I had no experience of how to allot shares and at what prices. I approached managers of the firm to know their intentions and discussed with them the different parameters to be followed in the proposed buyout. I than approached a Merger & Acquisition expert to work as our consultant. Through formation of dynamic and multi-dimensional team, I succeeded in defining criteria for allotting shares as well as their prices. Secondly, due to my unknown business characters, I was unaware of how to acquire bank loans to finance the acquisition of shares by the managers. I had to coordinate with the local municipal government to facilitate us through banks and pursue them to provide necessary finance for buyout. I pursued them because my mother grew in reputation because of her contribution to the local society and government. Finally, we were able to sign off the deals with the banks to get bank financing for our managers to get the shares in acquisition. The second occasion when I was able to demonstrate leadership was during 2007 when I was working at IBM's China Development Lab. I served as the project manager for the renovation of the Next Generation TPMS (Translation Planning and Management System), a tool for managing the IBM globalization and localization processes. The previous generation system, developed by a team in Egypt, had failed to deliver what users really needed, which translated into super-low customer satisfaction ratio at 26 percent. My background investigation suggested four important variables which were the main cause of the failure of the system to deliver the results. This included the fact that system was slow, did not cater user requirements, too complicated as well as difficult to use. Building on that information, I thought that an upgraded system should be built around with more of the customer focus rather than technology driven as it should attempt to reflect what actually end users require. During our investigation, some of the users required us to develop a web based application whereas some of the users demanded that the system may be developed as a desktop application therefore we also decided to build a system which serve both the purposes. We begun our work around this idea and succeed in developing a systems which was hybrid of a web application as well as desktop application and which catered most of the needs of our end users. Subsequent testing by most of the users across different countries appreciated our efforts and due to my strong presentation and persuasion they agreed to test the application and provide their feedback on the new system after thoroughly using it. Both of these situations were unique for me however I believe an MBA would have provided me a better understanding of both the situations and I would have been able to address both of these issues with much more details as well as professional maturity. An MBA would also provide me more theoretical as well as practical education regarding the nature of leadership and how it can be effectively used to get things done through others. I also believe that an MBA will make my

Leadership Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 39

Leadership - Essay Example Nobody was ready to settle for the status quo. In addition, everyone was looking for newer and better ways of accomplishing our goals through very practical ideas and highly original thoughts. Most of the members of the group were able to quickly discard impartibly ideas and adapt practical useful ones and every person took their responsibilities very seriously. It was so easy to work with our group because people were ready to work and ready to put in hard work both physically and mentally. We were amazed by each other and this led to peer respect among ourselves. It also made communication within the group very easy. We did not assign a leader for the group but we found out that Hether was the leader initially for the practical reason that we needed at least for one person to chair the discussions so we could go ahead with our work. This was also agreed upon without much ceremony among the group. There was really no reason for too much emphasis on the leader’s role since it was agreed that we would all participate on an equal basis within the group and that decisions would be arrived at democratically or because of what made the best sense. There was no power struggle as we all worked well together and no particular leader was assign to hold power. The only problem that was presented by this arrangement was that we had no leader to make the final decision. We solved this by deciding to take votes in order to adapt or sanction decisions through majority. The other challenge that we faced was the issue of time management because everybody had different schedules and finding the right time for us all to do our group activity was a bit of a challenge but we finally managed to pull through. The best description that fits my group’s situation is the democratic style, which is participative. This is because it values all the input of all group members. Our group’s morale was very high and everyone was

Lab Report Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words - 1

Lab Report Example Like any other laboratory experiments, reference is made to physical background of measurement tools and CAD version. Each tool requires an apt application to realize the most appropriate experimental results. In this section, vernier calipers and micrometer screw gauge were used to measure various dimensions of the Duplo block provided. In each case, these tools were aptly applied as described in the material attached to the laboratory manual. The Duplo block used in this experiment had a mixture of rectangular and circular shapes with internal and external diameters. With reference to manuals provided, the use of vernier calipers to determine internal and external dimensions of the various shapes on the Duplo block was studied. This is inclusive of evasion of any zero errors that might have occurred. Outer dimensions of circular, square and rectangular shapes on this block were determined by placing it between the lower jaws of the vernier calipers (Benedettelli, 2014). For inner dimensions, upper jaws clip inner surface of shapes measured and are screwed until they firmly hold. Measurements of depth are carried out using the movable head adjustable by the screw clamp whose shape and specifications differ for various vernier calipers. Once an object is in position, readings are made off systematically by determining initial significant figures by reading off values just to the left of vernier zero mark, along the main scale. The reading at which markings in vernier scale coincides with a division on main scale forms decimal readings. Thus, measurements on a vernier scale are usually expressed to two decimal place (Benedettelli, 2014). Relative to micrometers, measurements by vernier calipers are less precise. The use of ratchet knob, vernier scale and main scale of a micrometer was demonstrated as described in laboratory manuals. This instrument applies in

Worship Of Hindu Gods Now And Then Religion Essay

Worship Of Hindu Gods Now And Then Religion Essay Hinduism: Hinduism or Sanatan (meaning a universal religion) is considered to be the worlds oldest religion that originated on the Indian sub-continent. According to its Vedic records, its history of origin is dated between to 6,000 to 10,000 years and that is why it is considered as one of the ancient religions of the world. It is the native religion of India and it has neither a specific human founder nor a single book of reverence but rather laid its foundations on ancient sacred scriptures that were passed down the generations by a word of mouth and later written down into scripts and texts forms (Zavos, 2001). Hinduism has a massive number of followers reaching up to one billion worldwide with majority of them (95%) being from Indian and the rest in United States ,Europe and other parts of the world. Demographically, it is the world third largest religion after Christianity and Islam. Hinduism constitutes a complex mode of worship ranging from the grand festivals like Kumbhela, which is a religious big gathering of up to 45 million people to the very simple Darshan, the devotional seeing in home shrines. Hindus worship in the numerous ancient and contemporary mandirs and shrines. Hindus regard Vedas (ancient texts) as the most ancient and the most authoritative texts of the religion and hence they form the foundation of all branches of Hinduism. Hindu has three trinity which include Shiva, Brahman and Vishnu unlike Christian who have only one trinity. These gods represent the cycle of rebirth and reincarnation where Vishnu is responsible of preserving the universe, Shiva destroys the re-creator of the universe and Brahman create the Universe. The three goddess are the second trinity of Hindu as well as the gods wives of the first trinity. However, all the goddesses and gods have their forms of incarnations. Hinduism involve the worship of God and its numerous deities with the major ones being Brahma (creator) Vishnu (the preserver) and Siva (the destroyer), so depending on ones opinion Hinduism can be said to be polytheistic, monotheistic or henotheistic (which involves devotion to a single God while accepting the existence of other gods) (Zavos, 120). Modern Hinduism is categorized into two major groups: Vaishnavism (those who worship Vishnu and all other living things subservient to him) and Shaivism (stream of Hinduism who worship Shiva and believes that Shiva is the destroyer and the creator of the universe). Hinduism is based on the principle of Brahman that states that the universe is one and all realities are a unity, Devine entity that is simultaneously at one with the universe who transcends it as well. In Hinduism human beings are preserved to be trapped a Samsara which is a meaningless cycle of birth death and rebirth with karma ;ones accumulated sum of good and bad deeds and these determines on which level in the caste system will one be born in the nest cycle life. Ancient Hindus worshiped and interacted with their gods in a slightly different way as compared to contemporary mode of Hinduism. According to ancient Hindu scripts ancient In the Vedic religion, there were no temples of worship as compared to contemporary Hinduism where there are millions of temples and mandirs build for worship. Hindus worshiped in the open and temples were first constructed in India in 200 years and it marked the transition of Hinduism from the Vedic religion of ritual sacrifices to the religion of Bhakri or love and a devotion to a personal deity. Ancient temples were constructed of wood and brick but in later times, use of stone became a preferred building material. Temples constructed in the medieval era varied in architectural styles and often symbolized the ruler at the time and his richness and devotion. In ancient Hinduism, the followers worshiped nature and had gods that represented each element of nature for instance the god of wind, god of fire, god of the sea and god of light. More over, Hindus worshiped animalistic deities (Sacred animals that represented various gods).they believed that animals just like human shad spirit and soul. Sacred animals in Hinduism are cows, monkeys, tortoises and elephants. According to ancient Hindu texts, Hindus worshiped mother goddess with great reverence than it is in modern Hindu religion. Contemporary Hindu followers put a great regards in worshiping of personal deities who represent their God who is the overall deity. According to ancient Hindu texts, there is evidence that suggests that ancient gods intermarried with humans and that gods had human characters and would come to humans in several avatars. These gods had spirits not different with that of humans and interacted freely as they both worshiped the Brahma who is their overall deity. There is no such kind of relationship between Hindu gods and its worshipers. The type of human interactions with gods depended on individual position in the caste system and those in higher caster were regarded to be more close to gods than those in the lower caste levels. There was no priestly class in ancient Hinduism but today priest are the ones responsible for leading the worshipers in temples. In ancient Hinduism, social mobility in the caste system was allowed though it was very difficulty. The social caste system was involved of two dynamic social systems one based on age (Varna) and the other Asrama that clearly defined individuals roles and responsibilities sin the society. From time to time people could move from one caste to another or establish a new one. In the contemporary Hinduism, the evolving caste became unfair to those in the lowest order and was gradually disregarded as it was seen to be discriminatory (Ghanshyam, 45). Caste system though still plays an important factor in modern in arranging for of Hindu marriages. The government in 1947 abolished caste system and hence caste discrimination is now illegal in India. In modern Hinduism, the social system has been degraded and no longer a main major religious characteristic of Hinduism. Ancient Hinduism was not oppressive to women and most scholars believe that women had somewhat important roles they played in the rituals of the early Vedic period, but with time the Vedic ritual became more complex and the importance of roles women played diminished gradually. Also during this period, there were other ritual traditions that women were allowed to participate in. In ancient Hindu religion, some sacred rituals and ceremonies for instance the ritual of scared dance and music offering were practiced. Some of these traditional sacred rituals (upacharas), changed with time. A classic example of a change in Hinduism ancient traditions and rituals in the past few hundred years, is the replacement of the music offering and dances which are sacred which were prescribed by Agama Shastra, with the modern offerings of rice and sweets. In ancient Hinduism the Vedic rites of fire-oblation (yajna) were often practiced but are just now only occasional practice in the modern Hindu religion, these practices are however are highly revered in theory. According to Vedic scripts, in ancient Hinduism, slaughter of animals was permitted but this ritual has virtually disappeared in modern Hinduism. It is in the 19th and 20th centuries that, prominent figures of Indian spirituality like Swami Vivekananda, Swami Sivananda and Ramana Maharshi emphasized the importance of ahimsa. In ancient Hinduism, the Brahmins never allowed members of the lower caste to enjoy equal status privileges. There is little tolerance mostly for lower section of the Hindu community which in any fact their own people. This has been the norm over the years that it is until recently such lower sections of the community were allowed to read Vedas which was another important religious scriptures. In addition to that, these individuals were not in any way they were also not allowed to enter the temples, where Brahmins were worshiped, and worship god. These class of people did not as well allowed to draw water in the same well with others and neither would share their foods with higher castes. This rules were applicable either in social or religious gathering. In ancient Hinduism, sacrifices were offered to God through its subordinate gods but in modern Hinduism, food is instead offered to personal gods or individuals before eating. By offering of food to god and deities, internalization of sacrifices were achieved by eating what is being sacrificed, which is being believed as making the persons body being a sacrifice to god. It is also widely believed by Hindu community that offering gods with food is a sign of devotion or self surrender. It is also believed that those who eat food being scarified to gods would not be harmed by any tamasic or rajasic which would be in the food. (Houben Et al, 45) In ancient Hinduism, there were a less number of Hindu sects and gods as compared to modern Hindu religion where many sects have emerged with increased freedom on an individual worshiping any god he or she wishes. Many of these are as a result of varying believes in the interpretation of the Hindu texts. Modern Hinduism involve occasional especially during religious festivals going to temples for worship but many prefer worshiping at home where one often creates a shrine with icons dedicated to their chosen form or forms of god. In most cases, temples are dedicated to a deity that is primary while associated deities to most multiple deities Hindus perform their worship through icons (murtis) which each icon serves as a tangible link between the worshiper and his or her supreme God. The image or the designated is often considered a manifestation of God, as God is immanent. According to the Hindu texts the Padma Purana makes clear that the mÃ…Â «rti is not to be thought of just as mere stone or wood but as a manifest form of the Divinity. In ancient Hinduism image worship and veneration of multiple deities was a common religious practice but in the recent times, there have evolved sects of Hinduism that prohibit such religious practices. It more of fire sacrifices of the Vedic fire and Vedas, which Gandhi thought that (ahimsa). The precludes which were used were not only meant to inflict physical injury but also hatred, having evil thoughts, being dishonest or speak harsh words which do not conform with ahimsa (Farquhar, 62). Generally, in ancient Hinduism, people worshiped their dead parents honored dead by going to their gravesites and live behind flowers, candles or lighted lamps or food (Kenneth, 35). This was a practice carried out mainly by the Indo-Europeans who in the months of May and November they mostly worship their parents. At the sometime those who were dead were being honored as well but such religious practices are not practiced in contemporary Hindu religion. Ancient Indians did not tolerate religion which was opposing the religion or even comment badly about it. However, present day Hindus exhibit a greater degree of religious tolerance. This secular attitude of the present day Hindus is because of their  recent past characterized by their modern education,  an increased sense of responsibility from increased awareness of ancient religion and heritage. However, political and social change over the years have compromised the ancient Hindu which the Hindu has never embraced it and they have been trying to stop it but they have not been able to address all incoming changes

Racial Profiling by Police in Canada Essay -- systematic discrimination

Systemic discrimination has been a part of Canada’s past. Women, racial and ethnic minorities as well as First Nations people have all faced discrimination in Canada. Policies such as, Charter of Rights and Freedoms, provincial and federal Human Rights Codes, as well has various employment equity programs have been placed in Canada’s constitution to fight and address discrimination issues. Despite these key documents placed for universal rights and freedoms Aboriginal and other minority populations in Canada continue to be discriminated against. Many believe there is no discrimination in Canada, and suggest any lack of success of these groups is a result of personal decisions and not systemic discrimination. While others feel that the legislation and equality policies have yet resulted in an equal society for all minorities. Racism is immersed in Canadian society; this is clearly shown by stories of racial profiling in law enforcement. The key to understanding racialized profiling is to understand what systemic discrimination and profiling mean. Systemic discrimination sometimes called systemic racism is defined as, â€Å"Patterns and practices†¦ which, although they may not be intended to disadvantage any group, can have the effect of disadvantaging or permitting discrimination against†¦ racial minorities† (Comack, 2012, p30). Profiling in policing is defined as, â€Å"The inverse of law enforcement. In law enforcement, a crime is discovered and the police then look for a suspect who might possibly have committed it. Profiling means that a suspect is discovered and the police then look for a crime for the person to have possibly committed† (Tator & Henry, 2003, p3). The act of racial profiling is found in many different insti... ...sx> Comack, E. (2012). Racialized policing: Aboriginal people's encounters with the police. Black Point, Nova Scotia: Fernwood Publishing. Holbert, S., & Rose, L. (2006). It is difficult to establish whether racial profiling is occurring, In D. E. Nelson, Racial Profiling. Farmington Hills: Greenhaven Press. Hulbert, M. A. (2011). Pursuing justice: An introduction to justice studies. Black Point, Nova Scotia: Fernwood Publishing. Satzewich, V., & Shaffir, W. (2009). Racism versus professionalism: Claims and counter-claims about racial profiling. Project Muse, 51(2), p199-226. doi: 10.3138/cjccj.51.2.199 Tanovich, D. M. (2006). The colour of justice: Policing race in Canada. Toronto, Ontario: Irwin Law. Tator, H., & Henry, F. (2006). Racial profiling in Canada: Challenging the myth of 'a few bad apples'. Toronto, Ontario: University of Toronto Press Incorporated.

Rob Parsons -Promote Not Promote

This report presents an independent analysis addressing the insights for important management issues associated with performance appraisal and performance management in the Capital Market Services of Morgan Stanley. The analysis will be focused on identifying the major problems, analyzing the situations, and making feasible and thorough recommendations for the board of Morgan Stanley to improve the existing situations. 2. Problem Statements. Rob Parson was a star producer in the Capital Market Services Department who had been recruited from a competitor two years ago and had generated substantial revenues since joining the firm.I would like to address more specific and surface problems for this situation as follows: 2. 1 Problem 1 -Rob Parson's Performing Issues. Parson's success at generating business was offset by performance reviews from internal co-workers that painted him as a poor fit in the firm's collaborative culture. Parson's performance issues had been making his two immed iate supervisors, Paul Nasr, the senior managing director in early 1996 and Gary Stuart, the just promoted managing director in early 1997 faced the dilemma whether to promote Rob Parson as managing director. 2. Problem 2 -Rob as Irreplaceable Staff. Stuart felt certain that Parson would leave the firm if he was not promoted in 1997. This would mean losing a valuable employee and a star producer and creating an empty seat in an area important for the firm's business. Morgan Stanley needed Parson to attain the firm's strategic business objectives and even Stuart felt strongly that Parson would be impossible to replace. 2. 3 Problem 3 – Little consensus for the 360-degree evaluation process The purpose of 360-degree evaluation is to emphasize teamwork, cooperation, and cross selling.However, there was little consensus on what the 360-degree evaluation actually meant in practice since its implementation in 1993. 3 Issues / Problem Analysis. It is doubt that the 360 degree perfor mance evaluation process at Morgan Stanley yield data that were valid and reliable. It is critical to figure out whether the 360 degree performance management system well aligned with Morgan Stanley's strategic objectives. It is also important to verify the two performance evaluation results and bjectively induce the implications so that Gary or the board could effectively manage the situation. 3. 1 Not a real 360 degree performance review @ Nasr's time. The performance comment â€Å"raw data† including the quantitative, qualitative, and anecdotal — none of which is perfectly consistent from the 360 process. It is doubt that raters knew how to effectively participate in the process and the Paul knew how to use the data. There was no indication of rater's interaction with Parson and how each rater's rating contributed to the average scores shown on Summary of Performance Ratings.The arithmetic average for the collage average score is 3. 6, how ever the overall rate is a t 2. 8. It seems that quiet a number of Parson's supervisor and colleagues were admiring his cross-selling skill but it was hard to tie to the result of Downward Average 3. 0 and colleague Average of 3. 7. What were the criteria to evaluate item 4A in the Summary of Performance Ratings. -Team Player Skill and how the comments from Parson's supervisors and colleague tied to the average rating.Rater Parson E's comments in the â€Å"Development Recommendation† sections did not include concrete example but just stating rather subjective observations and feelings. The rates were not interpretable and there was no scale identification for the rates. What a 2. 0 different was from a 4. 0 average score? What were the benchmarks? There was no explicit indication of management's expectations for Parson, such as specific sales target and customer satisfaction index that are measurable and be able to described in concrete terms.It seems that there was no prior communication of the expect ations of the key performance indicators with specific values to Parson. There was no attempt to think deep the unique qualities of Parson that bring him to achieve excellent business sales. There were no indications of key success factors for Parsons that would link to the performance evaluation process. There was inherited bias from Nasr that he treated Parson harsher because he wanted to show to everybody in Morgan Stanley that he would not treat a subordinate who was hired from his previous life better. . 2 Improved 360 degree performance review @ Gary's time In early 1997 during Gary Stuart's time – A â€Å"revised† performance review â€Å"raw data† including the quantitative, qualitative, and anecdotal was come up in different ways. The process had been improved when compared with the last year exercise in the following ways: Indication of involvement from each rater and excludes the ratings from evaluators who had limited interaction with Parson when com ing up with average score in every performance criteria to ensure fair evaluation.Indication of rating scale from 1-6 and with interpretations for each rating. However, there is no in-depth explanation on how to define Top 10%, Top 20% and Top 50% etc. Each rater provided a rating with corresponding comments and valid examples for each performance requirements category Elimination of the â€Å"Team Player† rating which was previous seen as a subjective and board term. However, the review showed an extraordinary amount of Parson's progress on the team player front by examples. The overall rating from downward and colleague at 5 and 5. respectively which is in the category of Outstanding -Top 20% It was mentioned by Stuart that he need to deal with the politics in the firm, it is time to think of whether Parson was confronting the culture or he a gear to help the firm to change some of the rooted culture. 3. 3 What are the alternatives? After illustrating the underlying causes of the problems, we have to consider whether the efforts Parson had made were sufficient to be promoted, promoting Parson would mobilizing a lot of support from within the firm. The main alternatives are as follows: * Be prepared to search Parson # 2 for replacement and fire Parson. No to promote and increase payment for Parson and let him tender his resignation. * Promote Parson to the managing director and further motivate and develop his weak area. 4 ;Solutions and Recommendations. Morgan Stanley changed its corporate strategy to focus on being a â€Å"one-firm† firm, the use of the 360 degree performance evaluation procedures at Morgan Stanley has been designed to reinforce the change in culture which is now emphasizing teamwork, corporation, and cross selling. The firm should reward those who acting in accordance with the mention notions as well as great business generators.The main purposes of carrying out an efficient 360 degree performance assessment in Morgan Stanley are to develop, to manage and to pay ;amp; promote. The effectiveness of the performance assessment did affect the job satisfaction of Parson and the organization effectiveness. Therefore, it is critical to come up with a fair judgment for Parson, review and improve for any loop holes in the existing performance assessment process. I would like to recommend promoting Parson to the managing director, further motivating, rewarding and developing his weak areas.It was hard to compare the results from 2 consecutive years because it is meaningless to use some misleading or ill-defined rates from @ Nasr's time and compare to a more representative set of result this year. However, the revised process in the recent year provided more sensible data, it is worthwhile to focus on the review result of this year as decision making base. The Summary of Performance Ratings and Distribution showed that nearly all (except 33% of his supervisor rate 3 for leadership and management skills) Parson's s upervisors rated 4 to 6 for all 4 perspectives include the Overall Downward.These implied most of the Parson's higher up did recognize Parson's contributions. It should be easier to mobilize a consensus on Parson Promotion this year. The management needed to reconsider the motivation elements and to come up with a through career development plan for Parson rather than just focus on using the review result as a promotion justifications. Actions Plans: * A constructive and through feedback session to be held by Stuart with Parson and mentioned that he will be promoted to the managing director on condition that Parson need to further improvement on certain areas from leadership and management skills.Quote concrete example for his weak areas. * Make sure a detail job specifications (expectations) and key performance index for the managing director position be in placed. To communicate management's expectation to Parson clearly. * To carry out after promotion review with Parson in three months time and make sure he will still be in good shape after his promotion. * Stuart has to tender a promotion recommendations report to the management with support and firm tone that Parson is ready to promote based on this year's performance assessment results. * To involve those being rated in the development of the rating scheme.Continuous to carry out performance appraisals training to make sure all the staff understands the logic behind. To fine tune the process with more specific definition for each of the ratings. In conclusion, with proper implementations, a 360 degree performance assessment process can provide a more accurate assessment of an employee's performance and help eliminate accusations of favoritism. It will definitely lead to continuous learning, team building, growing self-confidence and improved productivity. I look forward seeing a more constructive and productive team lead by Parson in the coming future.

Free Essays on Oppisitions In Fairy Tales

The contrast and resolution of oppositions can be found throughout fairy tales. In â€Å"The Three Little Birds†, a clear conflict between good and evil is formed. Good is composed of the one older sister, while evil is displayed by the two younger sisters. The fairytale then continues to pit good against evil through the actions of the sisters. In this case, like so many other fairy tales, evil has a temporary victory while good triumphs in the end. In the beginning of the story, a king traveling with his ministers through the countryside crossed the paths of three sisters. After two encounters, the king proposed to the eldest sister and he further suggested that the two younger sisters marry the two ministers, which they did. After a little while, the eldest sister became pregnant with the king’s child. However, the king needed to leave his land, so he asked his wife’s two younger sisters to come and stay in the castle to comfort his wife. The queen gave birth while the king was away but since the two sisters were jealous of their oldest sister, they threw the baby in a river. While they did this, a bird appeared and sang, â€Å"Get ready for your death. I’ll see what I can do. Get ready for the wreath. Brave boy, can that be you.† When the king returned, they told him that his wife gave birth to a dog. The king replied that â€Å"Whatever God does is always for the best.† Shortly aft er, the wife gave birth to another son and again the king was away. The cruel sisters once again took the helpless child, through him in the river, heard the same song from a little bird, and told the king that his queen gave birth to yet another dog. Again, he took faith in G-d and assumed that He must have a reason. Finally, after the queen â€Å"gave birth† to yet another animal (a cat), the king did not have the same reaction. He grew furious and threw his innocent wife in jail for disgracing him. Luckily for the king’s children, e... Free Essays on Oppisitions In Fairy Tales Free Essays on Oppisitions In Fairy Tales The contrast and resolution of oppositions can be found throughout fairy tales. In â€Å"The Three Little Birds†, a clear conflict between good and evil is formed. Good is composed of the one older sister, while evil is displayed by the two younger sisters. The fairytale then continues to pit good against evil through the actions of the sisters. In this case, like so many other fairy tales, evil has a temporary victory while good triumphs in the end. In the beginning of the story, a king traveling with his ministers through the countryside crossed the paths of three sisters. After two encounters, the king proposed to the eldest sister and he further suggested that the two younger sisters marry the two ministers, which they did. After a little while, the eldest sister became pregnant with the king’s child. However, the king needed to leave his land, so he asked his wife’s two younger sisters to come and stay in the castle to comfort his wife. The queen gave birth while the king was away but since the two sisters were jealous of their oldest sister, they threw the baby in a river. While they did this, a bird appeared and sang, â€Å"Get ready for your death. I’ll see what I can do. Get ready for the wreath. Brave boy, can that be you.† When the king returned, they told him that his wife gave birth to a dog. The king replied that â€Å"Whatever God does is always for the best.† Shortly aft er, the wife gave birth to another son and again the king was away. The cruel sisters once again took the helpless child, through him in the river, heard the same song from a little bird, and told the king that his queen gave birth to yet another dog. Again, he took faith in G-d and assumed that He must have a reason. Finally, after the queen â€Å"gave birth† to yet another animal (a cat), the king did not have the same reaction. He grew furious and threw his innocent wife in jail for disgracing him. Luckily for the king’s children, e...

Free Essays on Kids Fingerprints

Kid fingerprinting Should parents voluntarily create detailed identification records (including fingerprints) on their children? Do to anticipation of possible runaway problems or abductions? Some agree because you can never tell when terrible things will happen to a child, so it is best to be prepared. Nevertheless, some disagree due to the vast majority of missing children that are not abducted. Whether abducted or not, fingerprinting will do no good they say. It wastes time and money and pushes us that much closer to the creation of the Orwellian National Data Center that Congress rejected fifteen years ago. As of early 1983, 11 states had launched programs to fingerprint children. These were New York, Virginia, Florida, Georgia, New Jersey, California, Pennsylvania, Massachusetts, Nebraska, Connecticut, Rhode Island, Kansas, Illinois, and Indiana; now all states participate. Most of this activity was stimulated by the passage of the Missing Children Act in October 1982. What the new law did was to legitimize the use of the FBI's national computer network, the National Crime Information Center (NCIC) for non-criminal purposes. All of the programs are voluntary. In some cases, the police departments retain the records, or the fingerprint cards are turned over to the parents for safekeeping. The apparent purpose of the program is to help provide either positive identification to link children picked up, or bodies recovered, with missing person notices. Every year about 1 million children are reported missing. Of these most, about 800,000 are away from home for less than two weeks. About 15 0,000 of the total missing are abducted; of these two thirds are abducted by a divorced parent. Some of the reasons behind the missing children are not pretty. According to an article in Parade, about 35 percent of runaways leave home because of incest, 53 percent because of physical neglect. The rest are "throwaways," children kicked out or sim... Free Essays on Kids Fingerprints Free Essays on Kids Fingerprints Kid fingerprinting Should parents voluntarily create detailed identification records (including fingerprints) on their children? Do to anticipation of possible runaway problems or abductions? Some agree because you can never tell when terrible things will happen to a child, so it is best to be prepared. Nevertheless, some disagree due to the vast majority of missing children that are not abducted. Whether abducted or not, fingerprinting will do no good they say. It wastes time and money and pushes us that much closer to the creation of the Orwellian National Data Center that Congress rejected fifteen years ago. As of early 1983, 11 states had launched programs to fingerprint children. These were New York, Virginia, Florida, Georgia, New Jersey, California, Pennsylvania, Massachusetts, Nebraska, Connecticut, Rhode Island, Kansas, Illinois, and Indiana; now all states participate. Most of this activity was stimulated by the passage of the Missing Children Act in October 1982. What the new law did was to legitimize the use of the FBI's national computer network, the National Crime Information Center (NCIC) for non-criminal purposes. All of the programs are voluntary. In some cases, the police departments retain the records, or the fingerprint cards are turned over to the parents for safekeeping. The apparent purpose of the program is to help provide either positive identification to link children picked up, or bodies recovered, with missing person notices. Every year about 1 million children are reported missing. Of these most, about 800,000 are away from home for less than two weeks. About 15 0,000 of the total missing are abducted; of these two thirds are abducted by a divorced parent. Some of the reasons behind the missing children are not pretty. According to an article in Parade, about 35 percent of runaways leave home because of incest, 53 percent because of physical neglect. The rest are "throwaways," children kicked out or sim...

Business Ethics Article Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 1

Business Ethics - Article Example This week federal prosecutors arrested two men who were involved in merger and acquisition and secretly informing partners for over 17 years. They had made millions of dollars. 2. Surrounded with such large stakes of money in such big projects, is it possible to blame such individual traders for transferring inside information and getting a fee? Martha Stewart was busted for trading inside information. Trading firms have compliance departments to keep an eye on the patterns of their traders. When people do make a lot of money suddenly they tend to spend it. Is there any argument that could support this kind of behavior? 3. No, this activity is a clear violation of ethics. One can look at Aristotelian ethics which expresses virtue for the individual as a way of obtaining happiness. In this case virtue is acquiring and showing one's best skill in their profession. For agents and brokers in the merger and acquisition business, one of those skills is trustworthiness. To trade on insider information becomes a stark violation of Aristotelian ethics. The violator should go to jail. Jessica Hall, Greed and technology tempt insider trading culprits. Accessed from http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/04/07/us-mergers-summit-insidertrading-bankers-idUSTRE7360BT20110407

Movies and Movements Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Movies and Movements - Essay Example Human history is full of moments when collective effort was needed to address public concerns. And the history of films is full of examples when the medium was used to rally collective effort. Such movies never failed to get the attention of people and stir them to action. The ability of movies to influence mass audiences has been made use of for a long time. Since the 30s and the 40s movies were used to glorify western culture, to strengthen religion and faith, to celebrate freedom, to decry communism and collectivism and to extol individual achievement and the American Dream. For many Americans the 1930s was a period of contradiction. What started out as the land of dreams was slowly playing out as a land of nightmares. Democracy, capitalism, individualism and the optimism that was based on them were all proving to be myths. Milk, honey and the good life were all mere dreams; reality was a dire struggle for survival. You simply had to see it to believe that such suffering could have existed in America. (Sutton) In the decades that preceded the 1930s settlers from the North and East flocked to the southern plains lured by the promise of an abundance of fertile soil and a happy life. The first few years looked as if they were on the way to achieving their dream. And then came a period of extended drought, which arguably is the worst drought of America. It was a double whammy of sorts. ... Desperate, many of them had to pack up and leave with their families, in search of work, to provide for their families. "The Dust Bowl was the result of a series of dust storms in the central United States and Canada from 1931 to 1939, caused by decades of inappropriate farming techniques" (Dust Bowl) Although there was both government and private effort to help ease the situation, farming communities were not able to tide things over. "Private charities like the Red Cross also helped, but in general the level of assistance available prior to 1933 was minimal (Gregory 14)". People relocated. Often this relocation was as much a nightmare as their life in the dust bowl. But ultimately true grit and hope in the face of adversity were the qualities helped farmers to weather this period. This is the message that films like "The Grapes of Wrath" carried to the suffering masses. 3 The Grapes of Wrath The film explicitly depicts the socio-economic impact of the Great Depression, and the drought of the 1930s on the thousands of displaced farmers from Oklahoma, Colorado, the Texas Panhandle and Western Kansas farmers in general and one family in particular - the Joads. The opening scene is set in Oklahoma. It shows a figure walking in the distance. The figure is Tom Joad on his way back to his family's sharecropping farm. Tom hitches a ride part of the way and then he encounters Jim Casey on the road sitting under a willow tree. Casey is an ex-preacher and together they head towards Tom's farm. When they reach the decrepit Joad cabin they find nobody there. A few moments later a figure emerges from the shadow. He is Muley Graves one of Tom's neighbors. Muley Graves is an instance of an individual who is so shattered at having lost his land that he is literally